All You Need To Know Going Into Trade On Feb. 26

Asian stocks were mixed Tuesday as early gains on Wall Street faded after a rush of trade optimism. Japanese shares ticked higher, while stocks fell in Australia and were little changed in Korea.

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, extended losses and fell as much as 0.5 percent to 10,842 as of 8:10 a.m., after a Pakistan army spokesperson alleged that Indian fighter jets violated an agreed border between the two countries.

Short on time? Well, then listen to this podcast for a quick summary of the article!

BQLive

U.S. Market Check

• U.S. equities managed to hold on to early gains and close at the highest levels in almost four months after President Donald Trump postponed the date for boosting tariffs on Chinese imports, taken as a sign of progress in the trade talks.
• The yield on 10-year Treasuries held at 2.66 percent.

Asian Cues

• The Topix index rose 0.1 percent.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.8 percent
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures climbed 0.6 percent.
• S&P 500 futures edged lower.

Commodity Cues

• Brent crude ended 3.5 percent lower at $64.76 per barrel.
• West Texas Intermediate was steady at $55.48 a barrel. It slid 3.1 percent in the previous session.
• Gold was at $1,327.67 an ounce.

London Metal Exchange

• Nickel ended 0.12 percent lower.
• Copper ended a little changed.
• Aluminium halted a three-day rally, ended 0.37 percent lower.
• Lead ended higher for the fourth day, up 0.58 percent.
• Tin ended higher for the fifth day, up 1.14 percent.
• Zinc ended 0.18 percent lower.

Key Events To Watch This Week

• Feb. 28: India eight infrastructure industries data for January.
• Feb. 28: India Q4 GDP data. (Bloomberg estimates at 6.7 percent; prior 7.1 percent)
• Feb. 28: India Q4 GVA data. (Bloomberg estimates at 6.5 percent; prior 6.9 percent)
• Feb. 28: India fiscal deficit data for January.
• March 1: Nikkei India Manufacturing PMI for January. (Prior 53.9)
• March 1: Automakers to announce monthly sales data for January.

• Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivers semiannual testimony on monetary policy and the state of the economy over two days to House and Senate committees.
• U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May updates the House of Commons on Brexit talks as the March 29 deadline nears for Britain to leave the EU. Lawmakers will vote on Feb. 27.
• President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un are expected to meet for a second summit beginning on Tuesday.
• Thursday brings fourth quarter U.S. GDP.

Indian ADRs

Stocks To Watch

• Britannia Industries Ltd. will replace state-run oil retailer Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. to enter the Nifty 50 Index from March 29. The replacement will also be applicable to Nifty 50 Equal Weight Index.
• Lupin received U.S. FDA approval for Methylprednisolone tablet. The company will be able to market generic version of Pharmacia and Upjhon Company’s Medrol Tablets. These tablets are used to treat neurological and endocrine disorders.
• Bharti Airtel to deploy Ciena’s platform network pan India. The telecom company says that the new backbone network will work with data rates of 400Gbps and higher to create a scalable network. Board to consider raising funds on Feb. 28.
• DHFL: ICRA downgrades the company’s commercial papers worth Rs 8,000 crore to ‘A2+’ from ‘A1+’.
• Adani Enterprises clarified on the news of its defense arm winning contract worth $2 billion that there no such developments as of now. Adani was also the highest Bidder to manage five Indian airports, the Airports Authority of India said.
• Tejas Networks launched broadband product. The company says the product can deliver wireline as well as wireless services
• Jet Airways clarified that is in talks with stakeholders and to ensure that the company becomes current on its salary dues. The airline company also clarified that news of SBI is mulling insolvency via NCLT to recover loan is speculative in nature.
• ADF Foods: SEBI imposed penalty of Rs 1.02 crore on company’s promoter Bhavesh Thakkar, Priyanka Thakkar and for others in an insider trading case.
• Sharda Motor Industries entered into JV agreement with Eberspaecher Exhaust Technology. The company says that in order to comply with Bharat Stage VI norms, the JV will develop, produce and sell exhaust after-treatment systems for Indian commercial vehicle manufacturers. The products will be utilised in trucks and buses from 2020 onwards.
• UFO Moviez filed an appeal before NCLT, challenging the tribunal’s decision on merger plan with Qube Cinemas.
• Thermax to acquire shareholding of its two German partners in joint venture Thermax SPX Energy Technologies.
• Bliss GVS Pharma: Board approved increasing FPI limit from 24 percent to 74 percent in the company.
• Sun Pharma: Raksha Valia releases pledge on 1.17 crore equity shares.
• DHFL: Company said that the rating action by ICRA is not merit based at all. It has not taken cognizance of DHFL’s intent to extinguish CPs by end of March and the fact that it is in advanced stages of fund-raising transactions.

Bulk Deals

• Avadh Sugar & Energy: LIC sold 58,300 shares or 0.58 percent equity at Rs 475.83 each.
• National Aluminum Company: ICICI Prudential MF sold 1.24 crore shares or 0.67 percent equity at Rs 48.03 each.

Astra Microwave Products

• Ratnabali Capital Markets acquired 7.62 lakh shares or 0.88 percent equity at Rs 78 each.
• HDFC MF sold 9.81 lakh shares or 1.13 percent equity at Rs 78 each.

CESC Ventures

• Canara Robeco MF acquired 1.81 lakh shares at Rs 434.2 each
• Canequity Diversified sold 1.81 lakh shares at Rs 434.2 each

Trading Tweaks

• GVK Power & Infrastructure and Cantabil Retail India to move into short term ASM framewrok
• GVK Power & Infrastructure and Cantabil Retail India price band revised to 10 percent

Who’s Meeting Whom

• Thyrocare Technologies to meet TA Associates and Haitong Securities from Feb. 26-27.
• Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services to meet Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC on Feb. 27.

Insider Trading

• Welspun Enterprises promoter MGN Agro Properties acquired 5.75 lakh shares from Feb. 20-21.

• Greaves Cotton promoter Karun Carpets acquired 62,400 shares from Feb. 20-21.
• Jindal Stainless promoter and director Abhuday Jindal acquired 1.8 lakh shares from Feb. 20-21.
• V-Mart Retail promoter group Hemant Agrawal HUF sold 23,000 shares on Feb. 21.

Money Market Update

• Rupee ended at 70.98/$ on Monday from 71.14/$ on Friday.

F&O Cues

• Nifty February futures closed trading at 10887, premium of 7 points.
• Max open interest for Feb. 28 series at 11,000 Call (open interest at 38.4 lakh shares).
• Max open interest for Feb. 28 series at 10,700 Put (open interest at 35.4 lakh shares).

Stocks In F&O Ban

• In ban: Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, Allahabad Bank, IDBI, Jet Airways, Reliance Power
• Out of ban: PC Jeweller

Put-Call Ratio

• Nifty PCR at 1.46 versus 1.37.
• Bank Nifty PCR at 1.37 versus 1.08.

Brokerage Radar

UBS on Eicher Motors

• Maintained ‘Sell’ with a price target of Rs 19,000.
• Dealers optimism fading; growth lagging industry in most states.
• Dealers’ outlook more mixed; financing lever continues to support demand.
• Royal Enfield growing slower than industry in almost all regions.

Credit Suisse on IIFL Holdings

• Maintained ‘Underperform’; cut price target to Rs 315 from Rs 400.
• Wealth management yields could be volatile with changing revenue model.
• Regulatory issues could be a distraction on stock.
• EPS estimates fall up to 25 percent on slower growth estimates in lending.

Goldman Sachs on Reliance Industries

• Maintained ‘Buy’; hiked price target to Rs 1,455 from Rs 1,380.
• Retail business key earnings growth pillar; see significant growth potential.
• Market share gains for organized retail players to aid growth.
• Raise price target to capture higher retail value.

HSBC on Coal India

• Maintained ‘Buy’; cut price target to Rs 320 from Rs 360.
• Cut price target to factor in lower valuation multiple and lower Ebitda growth.
• Cheap stock with improving coal deliveries over past three months.
• Volume growth is the key.