Sensex, Nifty Clock Longest Weekly Gain In Nearly Three Months

Indian equity benchmarks were little changed as losses in Yes Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India were offset by gains in TCS, which rose the most in six years, becoming India’s first company with a market capitalisation of $100 billion.

The S&P BSE Sensex was little changed at 34,415.58 and the NSE Nifty 50 was also little changed at 10,564.05.

For the week, Sensex and Nifty climbed 0.8 percent, posting their longest weekly gain since Jan. 28.

Nine out of 11 sector gauges compiled by National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty PSU Bank index’s 2.5 percent drop. On the flipside, Nifty IT index was the top sectoral gainer, up 4.8 percent.

Shares of the Hyderabad-based shrimp feed maker rose as much as 7.22 percent to Rs 2,346 after it informed exchanges that its board will meet on May 9 to discuss and consider stock split and bonus issue of shares.

• Kakatiya Cement: The Andhra Pradesh-based cement, sugar and power producer were locked in a 20 percent upper circuit at Rs 315.50 after it resumed operations at Telangana plant after the Polution Control Board revoked its closure order.
• Mindtree: The Bangalore-based IT firm rose for second day in a row. The stock rose as much as 9.3 percent to record high of Rs 981 on the back of heavy volumes. Trading volume was over 5 times its 20-day average.
• Jamna Auto: The Haryana-based auto parts maker rose as much as 3.3 percent to record high of Rs 97.50. Domestic brokerage KR Choksey recommends buying this stock for target price of Rs 112.
• Radico Khaitan: The Delhi-based liquor maker rose as much as 7.3 percent to record high of Rs 452. Brokerage house Emkay has maintained its buy call on the stock and it expects 55 percent jump in March quarter profit.

Shares of the Delhi-based news broadcaster fell as much as 3.2 percent to Rs 41.55 after the Delhi High Court ordered it to deposit Rs 10 lakh for revealing the identity of eight-year old Kathua rape victim, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

Shares of the Delhi-based insurance company staged a sudden spike. The stock rose as much as 11 percent, the most in 22 months, to Rs 498.20.

Trading valume was 6.5 times its 20-day average.

• Indian equity benchmarks were trading on lackluster note dragged by weakness in Reliance Industries, State Bank of India and Tata Steel. However, the losses were capped as TCS rose the most in six years after it beat consensus Bloomberg estimates in March quarter.
• The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.16 percent or 59 points to 34,368 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced 0.2 percent or 22 points to 10,542.
• Seventeen out of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading lower led by the S&P BSE Metal index's 1.6 percent drop. On the flipside, the S&P BSE IT index was the top sectoral loser, up 4.1 percent.

Rupee weakened by 25 paise to breach the 66-level and hit its 13-month low of 66.07 against the U.S. dollar after the minutes of the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) indicated the Reserve Bank of India may shift to a hawkish monetary stance in June.

Shares of the country's largest IT firm extended gains and rose as much as 6.5 percent, the most in nearly six years after it reported strong March quarter earnings.

Following today's gain, TCS has become India's first company to cross Rs 6.5 lakh crore in market value.

Shares of the Mumbai-based auto parts maker rose as much as 7.56 percent to Rs 249.80 after its profit more than doubled in March quarter.

Key earnings highlights:

• Revenues up 32 percent at Rs 612 crore versus Rs 465 crore
• Net profit up 132.5 percent at Rs 38.6 crore versus Rs 16.6 crore
• EBITDA up 69 percent at Rs 74.5 crore versus Rs 44 crore
• Margins at 12.2 percent versus 9.5 percent

• Sintex Plastics has 10 lakh shares change hands in a block deal. Stock down 1 percent to Rs 59.20.

Buyers and sellers were not immediately known

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of the Mumbai-based chemical maker rose as much as 7.9 percent to record high of Rs 94.90 after it received WHO Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificate for unit situated at Mahad from Food and Drug Administration following which entry to regulated business markets will commence shortly, Lasa Supergenereics said in an exchange filing.

Shares of the auto component maker rose as much as 3.3 percent to surge to a record high at 97.50.

Homegrown brokerage KR Choksey Securities has a buy rating on the stock. The brokerage expects its shares to touch Rs 112 in the next twelve months, implying a potential upside of 19 percent from the last regular trade.

Shares of the Andhra Pradesh-based cement, sugar and power producer were locked in a 20 percent upper circuit at Rs 315.50 after it resumed operations at Telangana plant after the Polution Control Board revoked its closure order.

Shares of the Mumbai-based drug maker fell as much as 7.2 percent to Rs 298.20 after it informed exchanges that it has received an order from Pollution Control Committee, Daman for closure of its formulation manufacturing facility at Daman.

Nifty 10,500 strike price put option contract was among the most active option contracts on the National Stock Exchange.

Premium on the contract rose 10 percent to Rs 44.20. Over 2.5 lakh shares were added to open interest and open interest stood at 56.98 lakh shares.

Click here to see complete options chain

Shares of the Hyderabad-based IT services firm rose as much as 9.67 percent to record high of Rs 709.60 after it beat consensus Bloomberg estimates in March quarter.

Key earnings highlights:

• Revenues up 8 percent at Rs 1,062 crore versus Rs 983 crore
• Net profit up 34 percent at Rs 118 crore versus Rs 88 crore
• EBITDA up 4.5 percent at Rs 117 crore versus Rs 112 crore
• Margins at 11 percent versus 11.4 percent

Following its March quarter earnings Motilal Oswal has maintained buy and raised its target price to Rs 750 from Rs 675. While, IDBI Capital Market expects Cyient to report double digit growth in services business.

Shares of the Kolkata-based dry battery maker fell as much as 10.6 percent, the most in over eight months, to Rs 328 after Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a fine of Rs 215 crore on the company for cartelisation in pricing of zinc-carbon dry cell batteries.

• Do not see due diligence adding to huge price discovery for Fortis
• Our bid is the most serious as we are willing to put in Rs 750 crore which the company might get in 30-40 days
• Fortis Healthcare needs money and if they go through the due diligence process it will take 3-4 months
• My offer is to save the business
• Cannot allow all non binding bidders to carry out due diligence due to timelines.

Also Read: KKR-Backed Radiant Life Care Joins The Race To Acquire Fortis Healthcare

Amit Tandon founder and MD of advisory firm IIAS, talks to BloombergQuint on race for takeover of Fortis Healthcare.

• Can ask the bidders to keep money in an escrow account to establish the seriousness for the deal
• It was best to get in a credible advisory committee
• We recommended to look at both binding and non-binding bids
• Current four directors have long relationship with erstwhile promoters
• With five bids on table the asset is valuable
• Advisory committee should ask Fosun and IHH to convert their offers to binding offers
• There is a possibility that the bid price might go up three weeks from now

• RBI MPC minutes hawkish, against market expectation
• Housing inflation, MSPs key worries for RBI currently
• More than oil price, continuing downfall in rupee will add to RBI's concerns
• Expect 10-year bond yield to cap down at current levels

Shares of the country's largest IT outsourcing firm rose as much as 4.25 percent to record high of Rs 3,326 after it beat consensus Bloomberg estimates in March quarter.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. reported higher-than-estimated profit in the March-ended quarter as its core banking and financial services vertical started to recover.

Net profit rose 5.7 percent to Rs 6,904 crore compared with the previous quarter, TCS said in a stock exchange filing. That compared with the Bloomberg consensus estimate of Rs 6,810 crore.

Key Highlights

• Revenue rose 3.8 percent over the previous quarter to Rs 32,705 crore.
• Earnings before interest and taxes rose 5 percent to Rs 8,147 crore.
• Operating margin expanded to 25.4 percent from 25.2 percent.
• Dollar revenue rose 3.9 percent to $4.97 billion quarter-on-quarter.
• TCS expects margin to remain 26-28 percent in the year through March 2019.
• It targets a dollar revenue growth of 10 percent for the year.

The company’s board announced a bonus issue in ratio of one bonus share for every one share held and also approved a final dividend of Rs 29 per share.

Indian equity benchmarks edged lower dragged by weakness in recent outperformers from metal space. However, the losses were capped as index heavyweight TCS rose after beating consensus Bloomberg earnings estimates aftermarket hours yesterday.

The S&P BSE Sensex was little changed at 34,402 and the NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.11 percent or 12 points to 10,552.

Fourteen out of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading lower led by the S&P BSE Metal index's 1.6 percent drop. On the other hand, the S&P BSE IT index was the top sectoral gainer, up 1.7 percent.

Rupee fell below 66 mark against U.S. dollar for the first time since March 2017 after Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee minutes showed a surprisingly hawkish tone.

Central bank deputy governor Viral Acharya said he is likely to shift decisively to vote for a beginning of “withdrawal of accommodation” at the June meeting.

The rupee fell as much as 0.4 percent to 66.06 per U.S. dollar against yesterday’s close of 65.79.

India government bonds are in for more pain after RBI's minutes of the last monetary policy meeting showed a surprisingly hawkish tone.

Central bank deputy governor Viral Acharya said he is likely to shift decisively to vote for a beginning of “withdrawal of accommodation” at the June meeting.

The broad consensus remains that RBI will stay on pause on interest rates, but the possibility of a hike is rising fast. Yield on the 10-year note jumped 9 basis points in the last session. For today, it is likely to stay in a range of 7.60-7.67 percent.

In the currency market, the rupee is set for its steepest weekly decline since early November. If the currency rises beyond 65.88 a dollar, it will be the lowest level for the local unit in over a year. With the dollar index up, implied opening from forwards suggest onshore spot to open at 66.18 rupees a dollar. The pair may trade in a range of 65.80-66.20 in the day.

Motilal Oswal on Cyient

• Maintained ‘Buy’; raised price target to Rs 750 from Rs 675.
• March quarter’s revenue came inline; margins beat.
• Strong double-digit growth despite challenges.
• Upward momentum bodes well for the next year.
• Expect industry leading growth coupled with long-term opportunities.

Brokerages On IndusInd Bank

Nomura

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 1,950
• March quarter’s net profit missed marginally due to lower growth in income fees.
• Steady performance on all metrics.
• Asset quality stable - No major issues from divergence.
• Completion of the merger would be the next stock catalyst.

Axis Capital

• Maintain ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 2,060
• March quarter’s results in line led by superior growth in advances and stable margins
• Financial year 2016-17 net divergence miniscule
• Loan growth remains strong at 28 percent; growth in vehicle segment too picked up.
• Watchful on the developments on the acquisition front.

Investec

• Maintained ‘Hold’; raised price target to Rs 1,975 from Rs 1,325.
• Results positive on growth but weak on NIMs.
• Performance weaker than usual owing to higher asset quality stress.
• Major concerns is relatively higher dependence on wholesale funding.
• Expect weaker NIMs and pressure on the consumer yields in the current financial year.

Brokerages On TCS

Prabhudas Lilladher

• Maintained ‘Accumulate’; raised price target to Rs 3,380 from Rs 2,770.
• March quarter’s results strong with beat on revenue and net profit.
• Strong exit revenue run‐rate raises momentum.
• Expect TCS to show acceleration in revenue growth in the current financial year.
• TCS can deliver higher constant currency growth compared to Accenture.

Motilal Oswal

• Maintained ‘Neutral’; raised price target to Rs 3,000 from Rs 2,700.
• In-line quarter; Positive outlook on growth.
• Green shoots in North America BFS.
• Robust growth seen in energy & utilities and travel & hospitality.
• Key trigger: Incremental improvements in BFS.

• India March refinery output at 2.11 crore tonnes versus 2.13 tonnes (YoY).
• India March gas production at 2.78 bcm versus 2.75 bcm (YoY).
• India March crude oil output at 3.04 million tonnes from 3.09 million tonnes (YoY).

Nifty Companies

• Indiabulls Housing Finance

Others

• Amal
• Biopac India Corporation
• Harmony Capital Services
• Sasken Technologies

TCS Q4 (QoQ)

• Revenues up 4 percent at Rs 32,075 crore versus Rs 30,904 crore
• Net profit up 6 percent at Rs 6,904 crore versus Rs 6,531 crore
• EBIT up 5 percent at Rs 8,147 crore versus Rs 7,781 crore
• Margin at 25.4 percent versus 25.2 percent
• Dollar revenue up 3.9 percent QoQ at $4.97 billion

Reliance Power Q4 (YoY)

• Revenue down 2 percent at Rs 2,428 crore versus Rs 2,466.5 crore
• Net profit up 16 percent at Rs 250.5 crore versus Rs 216 crore
• EBITDA up 2 percent at Rs 1,084 crore versus Rs 1,065.5 crore
• Margins at 44.6 percent versus 43.2 percent

Mahindra CIE Q1 (YoY)

• Revenues up 32 percent at Rs 612 crore versus Rs 465 crore
• Net profit up 132.5 percent at Rs 38.6 crore versus Rs 16.6 crore
• EBITDA up 69 percent at Rs 74.5 crore versus Rs 44 crore
• Margins at 12.2 percent versus 9.5 percent

Cyient Q4 (QoQ)

• Revenues up 8 percent at Rs 1,062 crore versus Rs 983 crore
• Net profit up 34 percent at Rs 118 crore versus Rs 88 crore
• EBITDA up 4.5 percent at Rs 117 crore versus Rs 112 crore
• Margins at 11 percent versus 11.4 percent

• TCS announces 1:1 bonus issue along with Q4 results.
• Fortis Healthcare approves evaluation of binding offers. To offer expert advisory panel to assess rival offers.
• KKR-backed Radiant Life Care makes offer to buy Fortis Healthcare at Rs 165 per share
• UBS Principal Capital Asia hikes stake by 0.43 percent in Fortis to 5.21 percent
• NTPC to exit the JV with BHEL
• Info Edge invests Rs 3 crore in B2B marketplace company Bizcrum Infotech
• Thomas Cook says Supreme Court restores order passed by Competition Commission of India imposing penalty of Rs 1 crore. Separately, board approves acquisition of 4.44 percent stake in Travel Corporation (India) for Rs 16.69 crore
• Indian Metals & Ferro alloys gets Rs 123 crore notice for excessive mining
• CCI orders Eveready Industries to pay Rs 215 crore in fine (PTI)
• Lasa Supergenerics gets WHO-GMP certificate for unit situated at Mahad
• Liberty House UK moves NCLT to challenge RP's decision in ABG Shipyard matter
• Kakatiya Cement resumes operation at Telangana plant following its closure on pollution grounds
• JB Chemicals gets orders from pollution control board directing closure of formulation unit at Daman
• Religare raises Rs 145 crore via issue of 11.14 crore warrants at a price of Rs 52.30 each on preferential basis
• Mahindra & Mahindra forms unit in Bangladesh Mahindra Susten

Sundaram Finance Holding

• Reliance MF bought 30 lakh shares or 2 percent equity at Rs 151.65 each.

Hathway Cable And Datacom

• Old Bridge Capital Management bought 1.64 crore shares or 2 percent equity at Rs 39.5 each.
• Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte sold 1.79 crore shares or 2.2 percent equity at Rs 39.5 each.

Uniply Industries

• Malabar India Fund bought 14.44 lakh shares or 6 percent equity at Rs 411 each.
• Promoter Keshav Narayan Kantamneni sold 14.50 lakh shares or 6.1 percent equity at Rs 411 each.

Trading Tweaks

• Sequent Scientific circuit filter revised to 20 percent and shifted to B group.
• Indiabulls Ventures circuit filter revised to 10 percent.
• Mishra Dhatu Nigam and MBL Infrastructures circuit filter revised to 5 percent.

• Nifty April Futures closed trading at 10,578 with a premium of 12.8 points
• April series- Nifty open interest (OI) unchanged, Bank Nifty OI up 1 percent
• India VIX ended at 13.7, down 2.5 percent
• Max OI for April series call at 10,700 strike price call option, OI at 50.6 lakh shares
• Max OI for April series put shifts to 10,500 strike price put option, OI at 54.4 lakh shares, OI up 12 percent

Stocks Seeing High Open Interest Change

• Bonds in India set for rout on unexpectedly hawkish RBI minutes
• Amazon’s India bet is paying off, Jeff Bezos says
• Fortis forms advisory panel to review takeover offers
• Oil traders try crude-pricing alternatives as U.S. output soars
• Competition Commission imposes Rs 215 crore fine on Eveready, Indo National, others
• Philip Morris plunges the most in a decade on slump in cigarettes
• Airtel likely to offer free subscription of Netflix on TV app
• Supreme Court allows Sahara to sell part of Aamby Valley property
• MPC minutes: Split set to deepen as Viral Acharya leans towards rate hike
• Deutsche Bank inadvertently made a $35 billion payment in a single transaction
• NCLT orders review of Numetal, ArcelorMittal’s bids for Essar Steel
• Apple jitters mount amid concerns of waning smartphone demand

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India fell 0.3 percent to 10,535 as of 7:30 a.m.

Asian stocks dipped as technology shares came under earnings-related pressure. Treasuries steadied after the global climb in yields that gripped markets early in 2018 made a comeback, spurred in part by recent gains in commodity prices.

Equity indexes in Japan, Australia and South Korea were lower. Tech shares were among the biggest losers after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s disappointing forecast rekindled concerns the the handset boom is waning.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.1 percent to $68.24 a barrel.
• Gold was steady at $1,343.62 an ounce.