All You Need To Know Going Into Trade On Aug. 20

Asian stocks had modest gains at the open Tuesday after some signs of progress on trade negotiations and speculation of U.S. government stimulus to shore up economic growth.

Equities edged higher in Tokyo, Sydney and Seoul. Futures in Hong Kong were little changed. The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 0.24 percent to 11,032 as of 6:40 a.m.

Short on time? Well, then listen to this podcast for a quick summary of All You Need To Know before the opening bell.

Here’s a quick look at all that could influence equities today.

• The S&P 500 Index futures dipped after the benchmark gained for a third day as U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the nation will delay restrictions imposed on some business operations of China’s Huawei Technologies Co.
• Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren pushed back against further rate cuts, arguing he’s not convinced that slowing trade and global growth will significantly dent the economy. U.S. President Donald Trump called for the central bank to cut rates by “at least 100 basis points.”
• Elsewhere, bunds tumbled as Germany was said to be preparing a stimulus plan that could be triggered by a deep recession. Oil steadied after rallying back above $56 a barrel.

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Brokerage Radar

Credit Suisse on RIL

• Upgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Underperform'; hiked target price Rs 1,210 from Rs 1,028.
• Factor in stronger balance sheet with debt reduction of $22 billion till financial year ending 2021.
• Factor in low capex intensity guidance and higher Jio valuation.
• RIL's Ebitda guidance implies Jio reaching $9-10 billion Ebitda by FY24

Credit Suisse on L&T Infotech

• Maintained 'Outperform'; price target at Rs 1,900.
• Merger with Mindtree unlikely in the near future.
• L&T management has refuted any merger plans which removes a key overhang.
• In our view, potential synergies from a merger seem overstated.
• L&T more concerned on steadying Mindtree with new CEO in place.

CLSA on NTPC

• Maintained 'Buy'; cut target to Rs 165 from Rs 170.
• Many of the one-offs that hurt first quarter shall not repeat in second half of current financial year.
• Stock can outperform as it has robust renewable energy growth.

Indian ADRs

Stocks To Watch

• Tata Motors: Care Ratings downgraded long term rating to ‘AA-’ from ‘AA’, with outlook changing from ‘Stable’ to ‘Negative’.
• Vodafone Idea: Chief Executive Officer Balesh Sharma stepped down from the role with immediate effect due to personal reason. Vodafone Group’s representative in India, Ravindar Takkar appointed as Managing Director and CEO for period of three years. Company stated that Balesh Sharma will be taking up a new role with Vodafone Group, which will be announced in due course.
• Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals stated that the refinery has been affected by a minor landslide due to monsoon. Due to the precaution, the company will shut down phase-III process units, but phase-I, phase-II and product dispatch facilities will operate normally.
• Himachal Futuristic Communications received purchase orders worth Rs 2,467 crores from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. for defence communication network. Project is to be completed in the next 18 months.
• Hero MotoCorp clarified that it has not participated in fund raising for e-mobility startup Blu Smart Mobility.
• DHFL defaulted in payment of non-convertible debentures and commercial papers worth Rs 1,571 crore, which were due on Aug. 19.
• IL&FS Transportation Networks defaulted in payment of NCDs interest worth Rs 4.74 crore, which was due on Aug. 19.
• Nestle launched its cocoa-malt beverage Milo.
• Sonata Software’s European arm completed the sale of its entire stake in Izara Aps.
• Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals: Life Insurance Corporation of India reduced its stake in the company from 5.2 percent to 3.1 percent via open market sale.
• Hindalco: LIC increased its stake in the company from 8.3 percent to 10.4 percent via open market purchase.
• Mahanagar Gas: Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s unit is seeking Rs 724 crore from sale of its remaining stake in the company, according to terms of the deal obtained by Bloomberg. BG Asia Pacific is offering 98.8 lakh shares at a floor price of Rs 733.1, representing a discount of 6.9 percent to Mahanagar Gas’s last close.

New Listing Alert

• Sterling & Wilson Solar shares to start trading after IPO received 92 percent demand at Rs 780 each.

Bulk Deals

Reliance Infra

• KBC Equity Fund sold 20.65 lakh shares (0.80 percent) at Rs 44.86 each.

Trading Tweaks

• Embassy Office Parks REIT ex-date for distribution.
• Seshayee Paper and Boards record date for share split from Rs 10 to Rs 2.
• HSIL record date for demerger.
• S Chand & Company to move into ASM Framework.
• Shilpa Medicare, Saregama India to move into short term ASM Framework.
• Camlin Fine Sciences, New Delhi Television to move out of short term ASM Framework.

Who’s Meeting Whom

• Tata Global Beverages to meet Franklin Templeton, Amansa Capital and other investors from Aug. 20-21.
• Mahanagar Gas to meet L&T MF, Grandeur Peak and Capital International on Aug. 21.
• Asian Paints to meet Capital International on Aug. 21.
• PI Industries to meet Wellington (Singapore) on Aug. 20.
• Som Distilleries & Breweries to meet SBI Caps Securities, Investec and other investors on Aug. 20.
• PSP Projects to meet Seven Canyon Advisors on Aug. 21.
• IIFL Finance to meet Saif Partners on Aug. 20.

Insider Trading

• Nava Bharat Ventures promoter & director Ashwin Devineni acquired 30,000 shares on Aug. 14.
• Camlin Fine Sciences promoter & director Anagha Dandekar acquired 23,300 shares on Aug. 16.
• MEP Infra Developers promoters Anuya Mhaiskar acquired 26,000 shares on Aug. 19.

Money Market Update

• The Indian rupee tumbled 28 paise to close at an over six-month low of 71.43 against the dollar amid growing worries over economic slump and sustained foreign fund outflows.

F&O Cues

August Futures

• Nifty futures closed at 11,058.1, premium of 4.2 points versus 16.8 points.
• Nifty futures open interest down 2 percent, sheds 3.8 lakh shares in open interest.
• Bank Nifty futures closed at 28,203, premium of 16.9 points versus 43.5 points.
• Bank Nifty futures open interest down 7 percent, sheds 1 lakh shares in open interest.

Options

Nifty PCR at 1.17 versus 1.20 (across all series).

Nifty Weekly Expiry Aug. 22

• Max open interest on call side at 11,100 (15.2 lakh shares).
• Max open interest on put side at 11,000 (17 lakh shares).
• Max open interest addition seen in 11,100P (+5.7 lakh shares), 11,050P (+4 lakh shares), 11,300C (+3.6 lakh shares).
• open interest shedding seen at 10,900P (-4 lakh shares).

Nifty Monthly Expiry Aug. 29

• Max open interest on call side at 11,500 (27 lakh shares).
• Max open interest on put side at 11,000 (37.5 lakh shares).