Sensex, Nifty Extend Record Closing Spree Led By FMCG, IT Stocks

Indian equity benchmarks extended their record-breaking spree led by IT and FMCG shares.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.13 percent to a new closing high of 38,336.76 and the NSE Nifty 50 index climbed 0.1 percent to an all-time closing high of 11,582.75.

In today's trade, the benchmarks moved in a narrow range as gains in FMCG and IT shares was offset by losses in banking and metal stocks.

Twelve out of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE ended higher led by the S&P BSE IT index's 1.2 percent gain. On the flipside, the S&P BSE Metal index was top loser, down 1.5 percent.

The mid- and small-cap shares ended mixed as the S&P BSE MidCap rose 0.2 percent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index fell 0.14 percent.

Shares of the shaving products maker fell as much as 2.4 percent to Rs 6,400 after its profit declined in April-June quarter.

Key earnings highlights:

• Net profit down 8.1 percent at Rs 34.62 crore versus Rs 37.67 crore (YoY)
• Revenue down 6.3 percent at Rs 410 crore versus Rs 437.59 crore (YoY)
• Board declares final dividend of Rs 23 per share

• Indian banks’ asset liability mismatch because corporate bond market borrowing is low
• ICICI Bank not yet replied on Videocon notice by SEBI
• Waiting for Shrikrishna panel report to reply to SEBI

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of the Mumbai-based specialty pharma company rose as much as 9.5 percent to Rs 333.

The company's board will meet on Aug. 31 to consider share buyback proposal, JB Chemicals said in an exchange notification.

Indian equity benchmarks were little changed as gains in pharma and IT stocks were offset by losses in banking and metal stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose marginally to 38,305 and the NSE Nifty 50 index was flat at 11,572.

Seven out of 11 sector gauges compiled by National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the Nifty PSU Bank index's 1.8 percent drop. On the flipside, the Nifty Pharma index was top gainer, up 1.6 percent.

The overall breadth was negative as 1,424 shares were declining while 1,132 were advancing on the BSE.

Click here for more stock market statistics

The euro weakened ahead of minutes from the ECB meeting. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed, while U.S. equity futures were little changed as investors continued to weigh Trump’s legal woes. MSCI’s Asia Pacific Index declined, but stocks were mixed across that region, gaining in China and South Korea but falling in Hong Kong.

• Security & Intelligence Services: The Delhi-based security service provider rose as much as 2 percent to Rs 1,145. Trading volume was 31.7 times its 20-day average.
• VRL Logistics: The Hubli-based logistics service provider fell as much as 1.4 percent to Rs 317.15. Trading volume was 16.7 times its 20-day average.
• Bajaj Corp: The Mumbai-based hair care products maker fell as much as 0.8 percent to Rs 412.55. Trading volume was 9 times its 20-day average.
• Suven Life Sciences: The Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical products maker rose as much as 3.9 percent to Rs 267. Trading volume was 10.2 times its 20-day average.

• ICICI Bank has 41.3 lakh shares change hands in two block deals. Stock down 0.3 percent at Rs 337.70.

Buyers and sellers were not immediately known

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of the Hyderabad-based drugmaker rose as much as 4.5 percent to Rs 2,520 after the U.S. drug regulator completed audit of its Srikakulam plant, Dr. Reddy's Labs said in an exchange notification.

Dr. Reddy's Labs received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the U.S. FDA.

Shares of the country's largest infrastructure company rose as much as 1.68 percent to Rs 1,344.75 after its board approved share buyback proposal, L&T said in an exchange filing.

The board approved buyback of six crore shares representing 4.29 percent equity at Rs 1,500 per share for total consideration of Rs 9,000 crore, the buyback is subject to shareholders approval.

The buyback price of Rs 1,500 is more than the stock’s all-time high of Rs 1,470.

Shares of the Delhi-based packaged food maker rose as much as 5.5 percent to record high of Rs 11,485 after it partnered with Flipkart to launch Maggi Special masala noodles, Nestle said in a press release.

The product will be available exclusively on Flipkart from August 25 - 30, following which it will be available nationwide through Nestle's strong distribution reach, the release added.

Speaking at an event organised by the Association of Mutual Funds in India, Deepak Parekh, chairman of the HDFC said MF assets as a percentage of GDP in India is low at 11 percent as against global average of 62 percent.

Key highlights from Parekh’s speech:

• MF assets as a percentage of GDP in India is low at 11 percent as against global average of 62 percent.
• There are concerns on commission structures, distributors are being lured with high commissions.
• Cannot encourage culture of freebies for distributors, it could lead to mis-selling.
• Industry needs to balance more business with low cost structures.

Share of the Anil Ambani-led company rose as much as 4 percent to Rs 19.55 after it completed sale of 248 media convergence nodes and related infrastructure assets worth Rs 2,000 crore to Reliance Jio Infocomm, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

Shares of the Delhi-based tiles maker rose for a fourth day in a row. The stock rose as much as 6 percent to Rs 485.95.

During last four trading sessions the stock has surged 17.4 percent.

Shares of the metal manufacturing companies declined after U.S. announced hefty preliminary anti-dumping duties on metal pipes imported from India, China and four other countries in an aggressive tactic by the Trump administration to protect the American industry and lower the trade deficit.

Nifty Metal index fell as much as 1.5 percent dragged by Vedanta, Jindal Steel and Jindal Stainless Hisar.

Shares of the Mumbai-based drugmaker rose as much as 3.3 percent to Rs 917.80 after the U.S. drug regulator gave its approval to market an oral contraceptive Nudovra.

Lupin's Nudovra is the generic version of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Natazia Tablets, Lupin said in an exchange notification.

Nudovra Tablets had annual sales of approximately $31.4 million in the U.S., the notification added.

• Tech Mahindra has 10 lakh shares change hands in a block. Stock up 1.3 percent at Rs 718.65.

Buyers and sellers were not immediately known

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of the Bengaluru-based communication equipment maker rose as much as 12.14 percent, the most in over a month, to Rs 97 after it emerged as the lowest bidder for MahaNet-I (Bharat Net-II) project in Maharashtra for Rs 2,658 crore (excluding annual maintenance charges and taxes), ITI said in an exchange notification.

Shares of the Indore-based potato and corn chips maker rose as much as 18 percent, the most in over 10 months, to Rs 1,290 after it announced plans to acquire Gujarat-based Avadh Snacks for Rs 148 crore.

The acquisition will help Prataap Snacks build its presence along with Avadh brand in Gujarat, the biggest salty snacks market in India, Amit Kumat, managing director and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

• Mahanagar Gas has 14 percent equity change hands in two blocks on BSE and NSE. Stock down 5.7 percent at Rs 850.40.

Buyers and sellers were not immediately known

Source: Bloomberg

Indian equity benchmarks scaled new highs led by pharma, telecom and power stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose as much as 0.53 percent to record high of 38,488 and the NSE Nifty 50 index climbed 0.43 percent an all-time high of to 11,621.

Fifteen out of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading higher led by the S&P BSE Telecom index's 1.2 percent gain. On the other hand, the S&P BSE Metal index was top loser, down 0.6 percent.

• Rupee weakened below 70 per dollar against Tuesday's close of 69.82.

• Arun Jaitley will take charge of ministry of finance and corporate affairs, the President’s office said in a statement Thursday.

The Indian rupee is set for a weak start today, in line with other emerging market currencies that lost ground against a higher dollar.

The greenback rallied overseas as investors awaited a meeting of global central bankers in Jackson Hole after the Federal Reserve signaled no change to its pace of monetary policy tightening.

The implied opening from forwards suggests spot may start trading at around 69.95 on Thursday, having ended at 69.8250 per dollar on Tuesday. It is not far from an all-time low of 70.39 struck last week with analysts at Yes Bank predicting more pain for the rupee amid the rising dollar and more demand for foreign currency amid a widening current account deficit.

Meanwhile, bonds are expected to follow the Indian rupee lower. The benchmark 10-year yield fell one basis point to 7.83 percent with the RBI set to hold Rs 30,000 crore 7-day reverse repo auction later in the day. Overseas, oil was trading steady at 67.88 a barrel after jumping 3.1 percent earlier.

Citi on Tata Power

• Maintained ‘Neutral’; cut price target to Rs 77 from Rs 100.
• Higher coal costs, CERC order and price cap on domestic sale of coal to impact.
• Cut EPS estimates to factor in higher losses in Mundra, lower Maithon and coal profits.
• Top pick in electric utilities is NTPC; ‘Buy’ rating also on Power Grid and CESC.

Goldman Sachs on Maruti Suzuki

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 11,041.
• Ciaz will underpin the brand’s strong customer loyalty.
• Expect new model to kick-start the roll out of hybrid powertrain in India.
• Expect new Ciaz to further widen leadership and add to existing robust order backlog.

Morgan Stanley on Ultratech Cement

• Maintained ‘Overweight’ with a price target of Rs 4,954.
• Century deal approved by CCI.
• Ultratech’s domestic capacity should increase to 104 million tonnes.
• Market share of 23-24 percent, making it 2.5 times larger than the second player by capacity.

Deutsche Bank on Federal Bank

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 115.
• Limited business impact of Kerala Floods.
• Do not see any credit risk for corporate sector and retail sector.
• Credit costs to rise marginally in 2018-19.

Nirmal Bang on Dixon Technologies

• Initiated ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 3,285.
• Preferred play in highly scalable electronic manufacturing services industry.
• Backward integration to improve value addition.
• Market leadership and capacity expansion to drive growth.
• Expect revenue and net profit to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 19 percent and 31 percent respectively over FY18-21.

Deutsche Bank on Indian Cement Sector

• Cement prices remain weak; All-India price dropped by 1.8 percent since end-June to Rs 325 per bag.
• Prices correct as expected in lean season; cost inflation to impact margins.
• Remain constructive on longer term outlook; Central and North best placed.

Insider Trades

• Nocil promoter sold 80,000 shares on Aug. 14.
• Nava Bharat Ventures promoter group acquired 20,000 shares from Aug. 17-20.
• United India Assurance Company sold 30,000 shares of Axis Bank from Aug. 16-17.
• Skipper India promoter acquired 2.5 lakh shares on Aug. 21.
• Laurus Labs promoters acquired 4.5 lakh shares from Aug. 14-17.

(As reported on Aug. 21)

Fund Flows

Bulk Deals

• Asian Granito India Limited: Edelweiss Multi Strategy Funds Management Private Limited sold 1.95 lakh shares or 0.65 percent equity at Rs 224.31 each,

Vadilal Industries

• Ashish Rameshchandra Kacholia sold 1.42 lakh shares or 1.98 percent equity at Rs 548.35 each.
• Over the last two days he has sold 504,832 shares or 7 percent equity.

F&O Cues

• Nifty August futures closed trading at 11,586.5, with a premium of 15.6 points versus 27 points.
• August series-Nifty open interest (OI) up 0.5 percent and Bank Nifty OI down 3.8 percent.
• India VIX ended at 12.9, down 1 percent.
• Max OI for August series call at 11,600 strike price call option, open interest at 34 lakh shares, up 1 percent.
• Max OI for August series put at 11,400 strike price put option, open interest at 43.5 lakh shares.

HDFC AMC (Q1 YoY)

• Revenues up 20.7 percent at Rs 471.2 crore.
• Net profit up 24.7 percent at Rs 205.3 crore.
• Mutual Fund Asset Under Management up 22 percent at Rs 301,100 crore.

Motilal Oswal Q1FY19 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenues up 10 percent at Rs 646.5 crore versus Rs 588.3 crore.
• Total Income up 8 percent at Rs 648 crore versus Rs 599 crore.
• Net Profit down 18 percent at Rs 103.8 crore versus Rs 125.9 crore.

Reliance Capital - Reliance General Insurance (Q1, YoY)

• Net Profit up 30 percent at Rs 57 crore.
• Gross Written Premium up 23 percent at Rs 1,571 crore.
• Combined Ratio was stable at 104 percent.
• Investment Book up 20 percent at Rs 8,261 crore.

P&G (Q1, YoY)

• Revenue up 4 percent at Rs 525 crore.
• Net profit down 43 percent at Rs 44.6 crore.
• Ebitda down 36 percent at Rs 84 crore.
• Margin at 16 percent versus 26 percent.
• Ebitda impacted due to higher employee cost, advertising expenses and other expenses.
• Employee cost up 56.5 percent at Rs 24.4 crore.
• Advertising expenses up 103 percent at Rs 67.7 crore.
• Other expenses up 25.5 percent at Rs 162 crore.
• Recommended a final dividend of Rs 40 per share.

• Ultratech Cement: The company received Competition Commission of India’s approval for the acquisition of cement business of Century Textiles and Industries with self. The company says that copy of the CCI order is awaited.
• Bharat Petroleum: The oil refiner Clarified on the news item: “BPCL likely to keep Mumbai refinery shut for two months”, is factually incorrect. The company says only the hydrocracker unit is closed and period of shut down is currently being assessed. All other units are operating normal.
• Tata Motors: The Mumbai-based auto company launched its compact SUV Nexon in Sri Lanka priced between 1.99 million and 4.6 million Sri Lankan rupees.
• HDFC: The country’s largest mortgage lender entered into an agreement for acquiring 30.5 lakh shares, representing 25.01 percent share capital of Good Host Spaces Private Limited from Manipal Integrated Services Private Ltd. The cost of acquisition for this transaction is Rs 69.5 crore. Good Host Spaces is engaged in the business of managing and operating student housing facilities and related services.
• Nestle India: The company has partnered with Flipkart to launch Maggi Special Masala noodles. The pre-booking starts from Aug. 21. The product will be available exclusively on Flipkart from August 25-30, following which it will be available nationwide. Suresh Narayanan, chairman of Nestle India said in annual general meeting held on May 10, that MAGGI noodles regained market leadership with close to 60 percent share after its relaunch.
• Granules India: The company has received approval for Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) from the US Food & Drug Administration for Ranitidine Tablets USP (150 mg) and Cool Mint (OTC-150 mg). The approved ANDA is bio-equivalent of Reference Listed Drug of Maximum Strength Zantac Tablets of Sanofi-aventis US LLC. Company intends to commercialise this product shortly.
• ITI Ltd: The company has received Letter of Intent from Maharashtra State Government for execution of MahaNet-I project (Bharat Net II project) for value of Rs 2,658 crore (excluding annual maintenance charges and taxes), for two packages. LoI will be converted as contract on submission of prime bank guarantee within one month and signing contract with customers. The Bharat Net II project’s main aim is to provide connectivity to all 250, 500 gram panchayats in the country using optimal mix of underground fiber, fiber over power lines, radio and satellite media.
• Prataap Snacks: The company plans to acquire 80 percent equity in Gujarat-based Avadh Snacks Private for Rs 148 crore. “This marks the entry of Prataap Snacks into India’s largest snacks market – Gujarat,” Amit Kumat, managing director and chief executive officer, said in a statement. Kumat further said Prataap Snacks would like to build its presence along with Avadh brand in Gujarat, the biggest salty snacks market in India.
• Lupin: The Mumbai-based drugmaker received tentative FDA approval for generic Nudovra tablets. The tablets had annual sales of approximately $31.4 million in the U.S., according to the company’s stock exchange notification.
• Prism Jhonson: The cement maker received letter of intent from Madhya Pradesh government for allotment of cement grade limestone mining lease for 50 years with approximately 77 million tons of reserves. The mining lease would be captive to the cement plants of the company at Satna in Madhya Pradesh.

• Check bad loan-related frauds or face action, India tells bankers
• U.S., China resume trade talks as Trump imposes new tariffs
• Trump denies Cohen’s claims as scrutiny of campaign intensifies
• How much this brokerage gained with first access to NSE’s server
• Turnbull hangs by thread as key ministers back rival
• India unlikely to accept foreign donations
• India inc. finds pricing power in fastest-growing world economy
• Fed debate on risks intensifies around post-September rate hikes
• Jet Airways to consider cost cuts, turnaround plan in next board meet
• Section 29A, IBC: The ghost of retrospective past
• Ordered something online? Here’s how it gets to your doorstep
• India spends too much on farmers and far too little on infrastructure

Good Morning

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, was little changed at 11,626 as of 7:42 a.m.

Asian stocks meandered, with Australia’s benchmark down modestly and Japan little changed, while shares nudged higher in South Korea. Futures tipped a firmer open in Hong Kong. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index closed flat.

The dollar rallied for the first day in six as investors awaited a meeting of global central bankers after the Federal Reserve signaled no change to its pace of monetary policy tightening.

Currencies

• The yen fell 0.2 percent to 110.78 per dollar.
• The offshore yuan lost 0.2 percent to 6.8586 per dollar.
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3 percent.
• The euro declined 0.3 percent to $1.1567.
• The Aussie plunged 0.5 percent to 73.10 U.S. cents.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude was steady at $67.90 a barrel after jumping 3.1 percent.
• Gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,192.76 an ounce.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

• Companies announcing earnings include Alibaba and China’s Bank of communications.
• Central bankers gather at the Kansas City Fed’s annual Jackson Hole symposium, where Powell speaks Friday.
• Euro area preliminary PMI data for August is due on Thursday.