Sensex Ends 481 Points Higher; Nifty Clocks Best Two-Day Rally In Nearly Five Months

Indian equity benchmarks ended higher for the second consecutive day, following the rally in Asian peers.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 1.3 percent or 481 points higher at 37,535.66 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index ended above 11,300, up 1.19 percent. Both the indices ended at a fresh six-month high.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. About 1,082 stocks advanced and 661 shares declined on Nationals Stock Exchange.

Nine out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE ended higher, led by the NSE Nifty Realty Index’s 2.6 percent rally. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty PSU Bank was the top sectoral loser, down 0.19 percent.

The NSE Nifty Bank Index extended gains for the second consecutive trading session to hit a new all-time high.

European shares jumped at the open, following a strong session in Asian markets. U.K. shares fell as Brexit again takes central stage for investors.

Shares of KEI Industries rose as much as 11.7 percent, the most in over four months, to Rs 444, its highest level since Aug. 08, 2018.

The stock gained 14 percent in the past five days and advanced 24 percent in the past 30 days.

Shares of the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate extended gains or the second consecutive trading day and rose as much a 2 percent to hit a new all-time high.

The Relative Strength Index was above 70 indicating that the stock may be overbought, according to Bloomberg data.

Mahindra CIE Automotive Ltd.’s board today approved the acquisition of 100 percent of the issued and outstanding share capital of Aurangabad Electricals Limited and authorised the signing of a share purchase agreement, it said in a statement on the exchanges.

The company expects to complete the acquisition by April 10, the statement added.

Shares of the auto components maker pared losses and rose as much as 2.9 percent to Rs 247.

Shares of ICICI Bank extended gains for the second consecutive trading session to hit a new all-time high.

About 20 lakh shares of the lender changed hands in a block deal, Bloomberg data showed. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

The Relative Strength Index was at 72, indicating that the stock may be overbought, according to Bloomberg data.

Nifty’s 11,300 call option contract was among the most active Nifty option contracts on National Stock Exchange.

Premium on the contract surged 430.37 percent to Rs 35.80. Over 7.59 lakh shares were added to the open interest which stood at over 15.73 lakh shares.

About 24.8 lakh shares of South Indian Bank changed hands in two blocks, Bloomberg data showed. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

Indian rupee makes a comeback helped by rising foreign fund inflows.

Shares of Prism Johnson rose as much as 8.4 percent to Rs 104.

The stock traded at 21.1 times estimated forward earnings per share, Bloomberg data showed. Trading volume was 73.3 times its 30-day average. The Relative Strength Index was at 81, indicating that the stock may be overbought.

Shares of Titan extended gains for the third consecutive trading session. The stock rose as much as 2.5 percent to hit a new all-time high at Rs 1,095.95.

The company signed pact with the watchmaker—FTS for making watches in the U.S., according to Bloomberg report.

The stock returned 17.2 percent so far this year and advanced 32.2 percent in the past 12 months.

Shares of Welspun Corp rose extended gains for the second consecutive trading session and rose as much as 6.7 percent to Rs 127.95.

The company received an additional pipe order of 212 KMT. Out of these, 151 KMT will be serviced from India. Its order book stood at 1,667 KMTs valued at Rs 14,500 crore.

Trading volume was more than 13 times its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed. The stock declined 20 percent in the past 12 months compared to a 10 percent gain in the Sensex.

Shares of HDFC Life insurance Company declined for the second consecutive trading session and fell as much as 5.9 percent, the most in nearly six months, to Rs 367.55.

Standard Life (Mauritius Holdings) said sell up to seven crore shares or 3.47 percent equity via offer for sale, with an option to sell an additional 2.95 crore shares aggregating to a sale stake of 4.93 percent stake in the Insurance company.

The floor price of the offer is set at Rs 357.5 per share, which will aggregate up to Rs 3,557 crore in sales if the offer is fully subscribed along with the over-subscription. As per the recent exchange filings Standard Life has 29.23 percent stake in the company. Sale on March 12 is for non-retail investors and for retail investors it is March 13.

Here's what JPMorgan had to say about HDFC Life:

• Maintained ‘Neutral’ with a price target of Rs 440.
• Stock looks pricey and product development becoming less capital-light.
• Not supportive of company’s unique product mix.
• Concerned about potentially faster capital consumption outlook.

Shares of Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation extended gains for the third day and rose as much as 9.9 percent to Rs 94.50.

Brokerage and research firm Edelweiss initiated coverage on the stock with a ‘Buy’ rating and a price target of Rs 105.

Here’s what Edelweiss had to say about GMDC:

• See imminent volume uptick post production ramp up at new mines.
• Stock trading at lowest end of its 8-year EV/EBITDA band.
• Business significantly undervalued; cash per share 43 percent of market cap.

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains for the second day, following gains in Asian peers.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose as much as 0.8 percent to 37,349.92 and the NSE Nifty 50 rose as much as 0.79 percent to 11,256.35.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of buyers. About 1,171 stocks advanced and 310 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

All the 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE, advanced, led by the NSE Nifty Metal Index’s 0.93 percent gains.

The Indian rupee strengthened in open against the U.S. dollar. The home currency appreciated as much as 0.29 percent to 69.68 against the greenback.

F&O Cues

• Nifty March futures closed trading at 11,202, premium of 32 points.
• Max open interest for March 28 series at 11,500 Call, open interest at 22.4 lakh shares.
• Max open interest for March 28 series at 11,000 Put, open interest at 37.9 lakh shares.

Stocks In F&O Ban

In Ban

• IDBI Bank
• Jet Airways
• Reliance Power

New in Ban

• Reliance Infrastructure

Put-Call Ratio

• Nifty PCR at 1.73 versus 1.6.
• Bank Nifty PCR at 1.29 versus 1.23 .

Goldman Sachs on Motherson Sumi

• Downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’; maintained price target at Rs 159.
• Post rally see limited upside; long term thesis still intact.
• Investors appear to have turned incrementally positive.
• Catalyst: ramp-up of new plants, fall in commodity prices and improvement in profitability of acquisition.

HSBC on Escorts

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 980.
• Downcycle is imminent, but it may not be as acute as street fears.
• Demand cycle and operating leverage analysis shows risk-reward is favourable.
• Operating parameters continue to improve.

JPMorgan on HDFC Life

• Maintained ‘Neutral’ with a price target of Rs 440.
• Stock looks pricey and product development becoming less capital-light.
• Not supportive of company’s unique product mix.
• Concerned about potentially faster capital consumption outlook.

Morgan Stanley on InterGlobe Aviation

• Maintained ‘Overweight’ with a price target of Rs 1,311.
• See downside risk to industry capacity addition.
• Lower capacity addition could lead to stronger yields.
• Indigo is best placed to benefit.

Edelweiss on GMDC

• Initiated ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 105.
• See imminent volume uptick post production ramp up at new mines.
• Stock trading at lowest end of its 8-year EV/EBITDA band.
• Business significantly undervalued; cash per share 43 percent of market cap.

• NALCO, REC record date for interim dividend payment at Rs 4.5 per share and Rs 11 per share, respectively.
• Advanced Enzyme Technologies, Khadim, Oricon Enterprises to move into short term ASM Framework.
• Thirumalai Chemicals price band revised to 5 percent.

• Reliance Communications: IndusInd Bank sold 1.7 crore shares or 0.62 percent equity at Rs 5.54 each.
• Tourism Finance Corporation: Motilal Oswal Focused Emergence Fund acquired 5.55 lakh shares or 0.69 percent equity at Rs 120.12 each.

Matrimony.com

• Nalanda India Equity Fund acquired 21.11 lakh shares or 9.29 percent equity at Rs 509.87 each.
• HDFC Mutual Fund sold 20.13 lakh shares or 8.83 percent equity at Rs 510.07 each.

Lemon Tree Hotels

• Zaaba Pan Asia Master Fund acquired 52.16 lakh shares or 0.66 percent equity at Rs 84.84 each.
• Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) sold 52.84 lakh shares or 0.67 percent equity at Rs 84.15 each.

Xelpmoc Design

• Trust Investment Advisors acquired 2.26 lakh shares or 1.65 percent equity at Rs 67.5 each.
• Washington University sold 3.07 lakh shares or 2.24 percent equity at Rs 67.59 each.

Pledge Share Details

• Apollo Tyres: Promoter group Apollo International created a pledge of 9.84 lakh shares or 0.17 percent equity on March 7.
• Satin Creditcare Network: Promoters revoked pledge of 3.21 lakh shares or 6.15 percent equity on March 5.

(As reported on March 11)

• HDFC Standard Life Insurance: Standard Life (Mauritius Holdings) said it will sell via offer for sale mechanism up to seven crore shares, or 3.47 percent of the equity shares with an option to sell an additional 2.95 crore shares aggregating to a sale stake of 4.93 percent stake in the Insurance company. The floor price of the offer is set at Rs 357.5 per share, which will aggregate up to Rs 3,557 crore in sales if the offer is fully subscribed along with the over-subscription. As per the recent exchange filings Standard Life has 29.23 percent stake in the company. Sale on March 12 is for non-retail investors and for retail investors it is March 13.
• Jet Airways denied that it received Rs 2,050 crore as a loan from Punjab National Bank. The aviation company clarified that it has existing credit facilities of $300 million from the bank and no fresh credit facilities have been provided.
• Jet Airways said it is not flying any Boeing 737 Max Plane and the company says it in contact with manufacturers and regulators to ensure all directives are implemented. The company has 225 Max Jets on order and currently five of them are in its fleet. The company delayed part repayment of external commercial borrowings due on March 11 to temporary liquidity constraints.(Bloomberg News)
• NHPC planned a capex of Rs 3,800 crore for financial year 2020 and to bid for JAL Power in NCLT. Chairman Balraj Joshi also stated the company has plans to have 10 GW generation capacity by financial year 2022. (Bloomberg News)
• Piramal Enterprises arm launched pain management drug ‘Mitigo’ in the U.S.
• Sundaram Clayton re-appointed Venu Srinivasan as MD for a five-year term. However, the company stated that Sudarshan Venu will relinquish his position as joint-MD with effect from March 11, but he will continue to be the non-executive and non-independent director of the company. It also declared an interim dividend of Rs 16 per share.
• Welspun Corp received additional pipe order of 212 KMT. Out of these, 151KMT will be serviced from India. The company stated that its order book stood at 1667 KMTs valued at Rs 14,500 crore.
• TRF Concall Updates: Company said it was looking to issue Rs 250 crore worth of preference shares to Tata Steel in order to restructure the balance sheet and repay debts. The Tata group arm is looking to enter into related party transaction with Tata Steel towards sales, services and purchases for Rs 540 crore during financial year 2020.
• Corporation Bank: The Reserve Bank of India imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore due to deficiency in regulatory compliance.
• Kei Industries said the second phase of capex for medium voltage cables in Rajasthan was operational.
• Selan Exploration received letter of approval from Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for grant of extension of 10 years with effect from March 2020 for Lohar Field. For the same field company extension of product sharing contracts has been approved by the authorities.
• Tata Motors won an order of 2,500 units. (Bloomberg News)
• PSP Projects received work orders worth Rs 601.21 crore from various clients. The total work orders for financial year 2019 (till date) stand at Rs 1,442.47 crore.
• Kalpataru Power Transmission increased its stake in Shree Shubham Logistics from 71.52 percent to 80.06 percent. The company also acquired 15 percent stake in the afore-mentioned arm, to increase its preference stake to 100 percent.
• DHFL: Independent director VK Chopra resigned.
• Dr. Reddy’s wants Indivior to pay $70 million for Suboxone delay.

NSE FPI Investment Limit Order (Dissemination date: March 8)

Red Flag List

Overall Limit

• HDFC Bank
• IndusInd Bank

Aggregate FPI Investment Limit

• Ashapura Minechem
• Bliss GVS Pharma
• Cyient, Delta Corp
• SH Helkar
• Trent

Aggregate NRI Investment Limit (Key Stocks)

• Astra Microwave Products
• CCL Products
• Aarvee Denims
• Autoline Industries
• Cyient
• Deccan Cements
• EIH Associated Hotels
• Garden Silk Mills
• EIH Associated Hotels

(Note: A red flag shall be activated in respect of listed Indian companies whenever the foreign investment is within 3 percent or less than 3 percent of the aggregate NRI/FPI limits or the sectoral cap.)

Breach List

Overall Limit

• Abbot India (Breached on May 31, 2018)

Aggregate FPI Investment Limit

• JVL Agro Industries (Breached on June 8, 2018)

Aggregate NRI Investment Limit (Key Stocks)

• Page Industries (Breached on May 31, 2018)
• Sobha (Breached on May 31, 2018)

(Note: List of Companies where foreign investment has reached its permissible limit.)

(As reported on March 11)

• Chinese retail sales and industrial production data are scheduled for release this week. The National People’s Congress is set to wrap up with a speech on Friday from Premier Li Keqiang.
• U.K. House of Commons votes Tuesday on May’s revised Brexit deal, 20 days before Britain is scheduled to leave the EU.
• Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will speak on Friday, after he and his board meet to decide on monetary policy.

• Brent crude traded 0.24 percent higher at $66.74 per barrel.
• WTI crude oil rose 0.3 percent Tuesday to $56.96 a barrel.
• Gold was flat at $1,293.20 an ounce.

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 0.45 percent to 11,263 as of 8:40 a.m.

Stocks in Asia climbed after U.S. shares gained overnight amid easing fears about growth, while the pound jumped after the U.K. and European Commission modified their Brexit deal ahead of a key vote in Britain’s parliament.

Japanese stocks advanced more than 1 percent, leading gains across the region.

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