Sensex, Nifty Post This Year’s Longest Winning Streak

Indian equity benchmarks rose for seventh day in a row posting their longest winning streak this year.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.27 percent or 91.52 points to 34,192.65 and the NSE Nifty 50 index advanced 0.21 percent or 21.95 points to 10,480.60 led by Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Infosys.

The benchmarks also clocked third weekly gain. For the week, Sensex gained 1.68 percent and Nifty climbed 1.44 percent.

Fifteen out of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE ended higher led by the S&P BSE Metal index's 1 percent gain. On the flipside, the S&P BSE Capital Goods index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.7 percent.

Shares of the country's second largest IT firm pared gains as street awaited its March quarter earnings. The stock rose 0.6 percent to Rs 1,169.

Earlier in the day, the stock rose as much as 2 percent to Rs 1,186.

Shares of Tata Steel slipped 0.8 percent to Rs 593.65 after it announced output and sales numbers.

• Tata Steel India sales at 3.01 million tonnes
• Tata Steel Europe output at 2.62 million tonnes, sales at 2.48 million tones
• Tata Steel Europe output marginally lower on unplanned outages

• Genus Power: The Jaipur-based electronic meter and power control equipment maker rose as much as 3.8 percent to Rs 56.75 after Kotak Securities reiterated its ‘buy’ rating on the stock for target price of Rs 79.
• Premier Explosives: The Secunderabad-based explosives maker rose as 7 percent to Rs 379.25 after it announced a tie up with Nexter to jointly manufacture BMCS (bi-modular propellant) charges.
• Ashok Leyland: The Chennai-based commercial vehicle maker rose as much as 3.76 percent, the most in a month, to Rs 150.55. Ashok Leyland has won an order to supply High Mobility 10x10 vehicles to carry Smerch Rockets worth Rs 100 crore from the Defence Ministry, the company said in an exchange filing.
• Rupa & Co: The Kolkata-based innerwear maker rose as much as 14.6 percent, the most in nearly seven months, to Rs 456.70. Trading volume was 46.6 times its 20-day average.

Shares of oil retailers resumed decline after Brent Crude traded above $70 mark in international markets.

• Bharat Petroleum declines 2.6 percent
• Hindustan Petroleum falls 0.95 percent
• Indian Oil declines 1.3 percent

Shares of the country's largest private sector lender fell 0.3 percent to Rs 1,923.

The bank is planning to raise Rs 50,000 crore tier 2 capital by issuing perpetual debt instruments over next twelve months by via of private placement.

• Indian equity benchmarks came off intraday highs as gains in TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Hindalco were offset by losses in Bharat Petroleum, Axis Bank, State Bank of India and Indian Oil.
• The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.26 percent or 90 points to 34,192 and the NSE Nifty 50 index advanced 0.2 percent or 22 points 10,481.
• Fourteen out of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading higher led by the S&P BSE IT index's 1 percent gain. On the other hand, the S&P BSE Capital Goods index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.5 percent
• Overall market breadth was neutral as 1,263 shares were advancing while 1,270 were declining on the BSE.

Top Sensex Gainers

• TCS up 3 percent
• Adani Ports up 2.8 percent
• Wipro up 2.1 percent
• Kotak Mahindra Bank up 1.4 percent
• Infosys up 0.9 percent

Top Sensex Losers

• Axis Bank down 1.1 percent
• State Bank of India down 1.1 percent
• Tata Steel down 0.7 percent
• Hindustan Unilever down 0.7 percent
• Larsen & Toubro down 0.7 percent

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• Rupa & Company: The Kolkata-based innerwear maker rose as much as 14.6 percent, the most in nearly seven months, to Rs 456.70. Trading volume was 46.6 times its 20-day average.
• Security & Intelligence Service: The Delhi-based private security services provider rose as much as 1.75 percent to Rs 1,128.75. Trading volume was six times its 20-day average.
• Symphony: The Ahmedabad-based air cooler maker rose as much as 1.7 percent to Rs 1,868. Trading volume was 7.1 times its 20-day average.
• Ramco Systems: The Chennai-based IT company rose as much as 5.2 percent to Rs 487. Trading volume was 6.7 times its 20-day average.

Hero group’s Sunil Munjal, who has partnered with the Burmans of Dabur India Ltd. to bid for Fortis Healthcare Ltd., said India’s second largest hospital chain doesn’t need a complex deal but a fund infusion.

Manipal Health Enterprise Pvt Ltd. has offered a “very cumbersome” and “complex” restructuring deal to Fortis shareholders, Munjal told BloombergQuint in an interview. “That will require many, many months. At this moment the company does not need that kind of diversion.”

Shares of the Anil Ambani-led company rose as much as 2.2 percent to Rs 462.50 after it informed exchanges that it has won a contract for Mumbai Metro Line 4.

Reliance Infrastructure won contracts for three out of five packages of Mumbai Metro Line 4 and the contracts are valued at Rs 1,584 crore.

Binani Industries has withdrawn its petition seeking termination of insolvency process for its debt-ridden cement unit that would have allowed an out-of-court settlement with UltraTech Cement Ltd.

Here are some of the arguments that were made in the apex court today:

• Binani Industries argued that the offer from UltraTech ensures that all creditors are paid in full.
• Dalmia Bharat Ltd. argued that it was an unholy alliance between a promoter and a failed bidder.
• UltraTech argued that there was no grounds to disqualify them from making the offer.

Shares of the country’s second largest IT firm rebounded from intraday low levels ahead of March quarter earnings which will be declared later in the day.

Infosys shares fell to Rs 1,150 but rebounded from lower levels to rise over 1 percent and hit intraday high of Rs 1,177.

• Madras Fertilzers up 7 percent
• FACT up 6 percent
• Chambal Fertilisers 5.3 percent
• Shakti Pumps up 6 percent
• Escorts up 3.7 percent

Nifty 10,500 strike price call option was among the most active options contracts on the National Stock Exchange. The premium on the contract rose 16 percent to Rs 93.70.

Over 4.6 lakh shares were added to open interest of 4.25 million shares.

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• Talwalkars Better Value Fitness locked in lower circuit at Rs 97.70 for twelfth day in a row.
• JBF Industries locked in upper circuit at Rs 115.80 for seventh day in a row.

Shares of the Andhra Pradesh-based processed food maker rose as much as 4.86 percent to Rs 718.95 after EQ India Fund bought 1.50 lakh shares or 0.6 percent equity at Rs 650 each.

Shares of the Mukesh Ambani-led company rose as much as 1 percent to Rs 937.85 after it acquired close to 73 percent stake in education technology provider Indiavidual Learning Private Ltd (Embibe).

RIL will invest $180 million into the company over next three years.

Embibe is an emerging education technology provider incorporated in India in August, 2012.

Reliance said Embibe is an early stage company has on-boarded 60 education institutions to its platform.

Shares of the Chennai-based commercial vehicle maker rose as much as 3.2 percent, the most in a month, to Rs 149.70.

Ashok Leyland has won an order to supply High Mobility 10x10 vehicles to carry Smerch Rockets worth Rs 100 crore from the Defence Ministry, the company said in an exchange filing.

Shares of the jewellery and watch retailer rose as much as 1.6 percent to Rs 991.95 after the company in an exchange filing said that it aims for 10 percent market share in jewellery business.

Titan in a notification said:

• Titan aims 10 percent market share in jewelry business
• Titan aims uniform consumer price revenue of Rs 50,000 crore by FY23
• Titan now aims jewelry operations revenue growth 2.5 times of FY17 by FY23
• Titan says this revenue growth aim extended by one more year
• Titan aims to grow jewelry business 2.5 times its FY17 revenue by FY22

• Over capacity of steel production globally is main problem of the industry
• Ramping up of capacity in process, will increase capacity to 21 million tonnes from 12 million tonnes
• Will see earnings improvement from Q1
• FY19 sales volumes to be more than 16 million tonnes
• Will see significant improvement in profitability in from Q1 and subsequent quarters
• All five steel plants in Q4 will have a positive profit before tax

After opening higher, the rupee shed 3 paise to 65.29 against the U.S. dollar in early trade today despite better-than-expected inflation numbers released yesterday.

Reflecting improvement in the economic situation, industrial production grew by 7.1 per cent in February, while key retail inflation slipped to a five-month low of 4.28 per cent in March, official data showed yesterday.

The uptick in industrial production has been driven largely by the robust performance of the manufacturing sector coupled with higher offtake of capital goods and consumer durables.

Retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) moderated in March due to easing food prices, including vegetables.

Yesterday, the rupee staged an impressive recovery from its five-month low towards the fag-end and closed higher by 5 paise to close at 65.26 against the U.S. dollar.

Source: Press Trust of India

• No trade war expectation is good news for the market
• Higher oil prices concerning for the market
• Expect Q4 earnings season to be good
• Do not expect IT companies to perform as well as they did some decades ago
• Expect midcap IT to post better returns in the short term
• Looking selectively at the four-wheeler and two-wheeler space
• Metals look good for further upside
• Expect 10-year bond yield to go towards 7.6-7.7 percent

Shares of the Delhi-based hospital chain operator rose for seventh day in a row, rising as much as 2.7 percent to Rs 158, its highest level in three weeks.

Hero Enterprise Investment Office and the Burman Family Office have offered to invest Rs 1,250 crore directly into Fortis through a preferential allotment, according to a stock exchange filing.

The proposal comes at a time when Fortis already has two rival offers from Manipal Health Enterprise Pvt Ltd. and IHH Healthcare Bhd. for its hospitals and diagnostics businesses.

Indian equity benchmarks moved higher led by gains in aluminium producers — Hindalco and Vedanta after aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange rose for seventh day in a row.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.3 percent or 113 points to 34,215 and the NSE Nifty 50 index advanced 0.3 percent or 32 points to 10,492.

All sector gauges compiled by BSE were trading higher led by the S&P BSE Metal index's 0.8 percent gain.

The mid- and small-cap shares were in line with their large-cap counterparts. The S&P BSE MidCap and the S&P BSE SmallCap indexes advanced 0.3 percent each.

Sovereign Indian bonds are poised for the worst week since Feb. 2017 as a surge in oil prices stoked concerns about inflation and the nation’s finances. Later in the day, RBI will auction Rs 12,000 crore of bonds.

Retail inflation rose 4.28 percent in March versus 4.4 percent in February, a government report showed Thursday after markets closed. That’s faster than 4.10 percent forecast in a Bloomberg Survey. According to DBS above expectation inflation is likely be marginally negative for Indian bonds.

The rupee is seen weakening in line with other Asian currencies amid concerns U.S. will strike Syria. Implied opening from forwards suggests onshore spot will start trading around 65.3163 on Friday.

Credit Suisse on Adani Ports

• Maintained ‘Outperform’ with price target of Rs 480.
• Rising coal imports an opportunity; can cover for Mundra power plant loss.
• Strong container trend on sector growth and capacity adds.
• Start of PSA International terminal may not affect because of different hinterland.
• Valuations reasonable with strong cash flows and higher dividend payments.

Deutsche Bank on Oil and Gas

• Petroleum product consumption growth accelerated in 2018.
• Expect growth to sustain with improving industrial activity.
• Auto fuel margins being sustained even in a high oil price environment.
• OMCs offer attractive risk-reward.

IDFC Securities on UPL

• Maintained ‘Outperform’ with a price target of Rs 982.
• UPL well-placed to leverage the global generic opportunity.
• Expect volume growth momentum to sustain.
• Focus on profitable growth to continue.
• Expect revenue, operating income and net profit to compound at 10 percent, 11 percent and 16 percent over the fiscal 2017-2020.
• UPL look attractive given its global scale and strong earnings visibility.

Goldman Sachs on Tata Motors

• Maintained ‘Neutral’; cut price target to Rs 366 from Rs 393.
• Turnaround in India business is positive.
• Meaningful stock rally hinges on positive surprises at JLR.

Ventura on Eris Lifesciences

• Initiated ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 1,060.
• Eris Lifesciences has a strong competitive position.
• New launches and acquisitions to boost revenue and earnings in the current and the next financial year.
• Eris has the highest EBITDA margins among peers.
• Margins to improve with more focus on chronic segment.
• Shifting manufacturing to Guwahati to give cost advantage.
• Expect revenue, operating income and net profit to compound at 22 percent, 34 percent and 31 percent respectively over the financial year 2018-2020.
• Expect return ratios to be over 40 percent.

IIFL on Varun Beverages

• Maintained ‘Buy’; raised price target to Rs 750 from Rs 710.
• New products and geographies to boost growth in coming years.
• Expect revenue and earnings per share to compound at 16 percent and 31 percent respectively over 2017-19.
• 2018 to witness better growth as demand seems to have recovered.
• Expect return on invested capital to improve by 320 basis points in next two years.

UBS on Indian Hotels

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 170
• Expect operating income to compound at 17 percent through the financial years till March 2020.
• Strong narrative from top management.
• Management expect to improve margins to 25 percent and RoE by upwards of 10 percent in 3-4 years.
• Like Indian Hotels due to its favourable locations and lower competition segments.
• Future points towards a leaner, more efficient and technology-driven strategy.
• Market not pricing in a prolonged upcycle scenario.

Kotak on Banks

• Private banks’ gain continues; nationalised banks continue to lose market share.
• Current accounts: private banks lead the industry for the first time in history.
• Focus shifts to north and east India; central India continues to impress.
• Nationalised banks drive productivity improvement in rural areas.
• Nationalised banks’ performance in urban areas remain muted.

Deutsche Bank on Indian Telecom

• Consolidation over: Prepare for inevitable revenue recovery.
• Expect industry revenue to decline 9 percent in the current financial year.
• Expect compounded growth rate of 6.8 percent in mobile revenue through the financial years till 2023.
• Expect revenue market share: Idea-Vodafone (37 percent), Bharti (36 percent) and Jio (25 percent).
• Stock prices have closely tracked trends in tariffs.
• Bharti Airtel: Maintained ‘Buy’; cut price target to Rs 475 from Rs 595.
• Beneficiary of India consolidation; Expect Africa turnaround.
• Idea Cellular: Maintained ‘Buy’; cut price target to Rs 130 from Rs 105.
• Market underestimating merged company’s market position.
• Expect revenue and operating income to compound at 10 percent and 15 percent respectively over the financial years till March 2020.

• Infosys
• Rane Brake
• Bhansali Engineering Polymers

Earnings Reaction To Watch

Reliance Industrial Infrastructure

• Q4 revenue down 1 percent at Rs 23.6 crore versus Rs 23.8 crore (YoY)
• Net profit down 66 percent at Rs 2.5 crore versus Rs 7.3 crore (YoY)
• EBITDA down 16 percent at Rs 3.6 crore versus Rs 4.3 crore (YoY)
• Margin at 15.3 percent versus 18.1 percent (YoY)

• Nifty April Futures closed trading at 10,465 with a premium of 6.4 points versus premium of 8 points.
• April series-Nifty open interest (OI) up 5 percent, Bank Nifty OI up 5 percent.
• India VIX ended at 14.5, down 1 percent.
• Max OI for April series call shifts to 10,600 strike price call option from 10,500, OI at 39 lakh shares, up 1.5 percent.
• Max OI for April series put shifts to 10,300 strike price put option from 10,000, OI at 55.4 lakh shares, OI up 27 percent.

Agro Tech Foods

• EQ India Fund bought 1.50 lakh shares or 0.6 percent equity at Rs 650 each.

Kwality

• Letko Brosseau Emerging Markets Equity Fund bought 36.50 lakh shares or 1.5 percent equity at Rs 59 each.
• Sidhaant & Sons HUF sold 15 lakh shares or 0.6 percent equity at Rs 59.04 each.

MMP Industries

• Old Bridge Capital Management bought 2.14 lakh shares at Rs 192.44 each.

Balrampur Chini Mills

• State Street Emerging Markets Active Securities Lending QIB Common Trust Fund sold 15.13 lakh shares or 0.6 percent equity at Rs 74.2 each.

Dish TV

• Promoter World Crest Advisors LLP bought 9.15 crore shares or 8.6 percent equity at Rs 73.1 each.
• Catalyst Trusteeship Ltd sold 9.15 crore shares or 8.6 percent equity at Rs 73.1 each.

Trading Tweaks

• Amrutanjan Health Care ex-date for 1:1 stock split.
• Karda Constructions last trading day under T group.

• Fortis Healthcare says received unsolicited binding offer from Hero Enterprises and Burman family to invest Rs 1,250 crore via preferential allotment
• Thyssenkrupp says due diligence for Tata Steel joint venture almost complete. Expect decision on JV in first half (Bloomberg News)
• Vedanta chairman commits to ramp up Zambia operations (Bloomberg News)
• Boeing signs partnership with M&M, HAL for fighter jets
• Dabur says dissolution of subsidiary to be completed by March 2019
• Texmaco Rail opens subsidiary in South Africa to grow exports and EPC business in the African region
• HCL Technologies, Sumeru Equity Partner to acquire Actian Corp in an all-cash deal worth $330 million

• India’s retail inflation continues to ease as food prices fall
• India’s industrial output slows to 7.1% in February
• Sanjiv Mehta named as HUL chairman with Harish Manwani set to retire
• India names Bhanu Pratap Sharma as banks board bureau chairman
• Ace investor Dolly Khanna raises a toast to this liquor company
• Implementation of GST not ‘unfixable’ problem, Raghuram Rajan says
• Thyssenkrupp expects decision on Tata Steel venture by end-june
• Stock picker who built $2 billion empire unfazed by election
• Government, RBI lock horns over new stressed asset rules
• Swedish fighter jet maker Saab hopes to make India its next home
• Judges’ spat gives executive the advantage, says Ram Jethmalani
• Uber’s 2016 breach affected more than 20 million U.S. users
• Daring gamble to sell Air India hits turbulence in test for Modi

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India rose 0.36 percent to 10,505 as of 6:30 a.m.

Asian stocks climbed after signs that trade tensions are easing boosted U.S. equities, while the dollar steadied and Treasury yields pared gains. Singapore’s dollar rose following a tightening in monetary policy.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased about five basis points to 2.84 percent.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4 percent to $67.07 a barrel.
• Gold was at $1,335.48 an ounce after sinking 1.4 percent.