Sensex, Nifty Snap Two-Week Losing Streak

Indian equity benchmarks ended higher in anticipation of another set of measures from the government to support slowing economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to address a press briefing at 4 p.m. today.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.71 percent to close at 37,332.79 and the NSE Nifty 50 gained 0.68 percent to 11,023.25. The broader markets represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index rose 0.80 percent.

"Trade disputes, currency movements and foreign flows could be the prime driver for the markets in the coming weeks," said Sanjeev Zarbade, vice president (PCG Research) at Kotak Securities. "For good returns, investors who can withstand the near term volatility should consider buying small or midcaps with a 2-3 year timeframe."

The market breadth was tilted in favour of buyers. About 1,022 stocks advanced and 737 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

All 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE traded higher, led by the NSE Nifty Pharma Index’s 2.02 percent gain.

Shares of the Tamil-Nadu based bank rose 5.8 percent intraday to Rs 204 apiece.

The stock traded at 18 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year and trades 11 percent below the Bloomberg consensus target price.

Around 15.8 lakh shares changed hands in a block deal on National Stock Exchange, Bloomberg data showed. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

The stock pared losses and traded 0.6 percent lower at Rs 152 each. The stock declined 40 percent in the past 12 months compared to a 4 percent fall on Sensex.

Indian government to announce ‘mega’ plan to merge state-owned banks, reported Bloomberg quoting a government official. Also, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address a press briefing at 4 p.m. today, the report added.

The Nifty PSU Bank Index cut losses and traded 0.31 percent lower at 1:55pm.

Sales of cars and two-wheelers showed no signs of revival in August as heavy rains and liquidity constraint kept buyers away ahead of the festival season, according to a BloombergQuint survey of 10 large dealerships across India.

The automakers are scheduled to announce their August monthly sales data on Sunday.

Will government’s recent measures help automakers to make a comeback? Read more here.

Shares of the state-owned banks declined as Indian government may soon announce a merger plan, according to a Business Standard report quoting unnamed sources.

The finance ministry called a meeting of chief executives of 10 banks on Friday—Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, United Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, United Bank, Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank, Syndicate Bank and Andhra Bank.

Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India and Canara Bank might be banks which will be subsuming other public-sector banks, the report said.

Shares of state-owned power firms were among the top losers on the Nifty Index in afternoon trade.

• NTPC declined 6.1 percent intraday to Rs 115.60 each.
• Power Grid Corp slumped 5.3 percent to Rs 194, its lowest level in over two months.

Also, NTPC incorporated a wholly-owned unit named NTPC Mining, according to an exchange notification.

Shares of the private lender was locked in the lower circuit after it fell as 5 percent to Rs 36.50 each, its lowest level since May 2009.

On Thursday, Parthasarathi Mukherjee resigned as the CEO of the firm citing personal reasons, according to an exchange filing by Lakshmi Vilas Bank. The bank is in the midst of a merger with Indiabulls Housing Finance.

The Lakshmi Vilas Bank stock has declined 62 percent in the past one year compared to a 5 percent fall in the Sensex.

Indian equity indices reversed opening gains dragged down in NTPC and private lenders. Sensex and Nifty were the only major Asian benchmark trading lower.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 0.48 percent 36,890 and the NSE Nifty 50 fell 0.46 percent to 10,898.50 as of 11:20 am. The broader markets represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index fell 0.32 percent.

Nifty Index to be rangebound between 10,850 to 11,050 for the next 3-4 tradings sessions, according to Gaurav Bissa, associate vice president at LKP Securities. ”"One can buy at current levels as we are trading at the lower-end of the range and we have been inching towards 11,000-mark quite firmly,” he said in an interview to BloombergQuint.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of buyers. About 889 stocks declined and 517 shares advanced on National Stock Exchange.

All 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE traded higher, led by the NSE Nifty Pharma Index’s 2.02 percent gain.

Shares of the Adani Group company rose nearly 10.3 percent, the most in a month, to Rs 47.85 each.

The Ahmedabad-based firm signed definitive agreement to acquire 10 renewable power-based companies from Essel Group, according to exchange filing. The assets are valued at enterprise value of Rs 1,300 crore, the filing added.

The trading volume was six times the 20-day average for this time of the day, according to Bloomberg data.

Shares of the infrastructure conglomerate rose as much as 1.1 percent to Rs 1,356.90 each.

The company’s power business won a “Large” order from Mini-Ratna company THDC, according to an exchange filing. Larsen & Toubro defines deals between Rs 2,500-5,000 crore as “Large” orders.

The stock traded 24 percent below the Bloomberg one-year consensus target price.

Shares of the credit-rating firm halted a four-day rally and declined 4.7 percent intraday to Rs 2,655 apiece.

ICRA terminated employment of Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Naresh Takkar with immediate effect, according to an exchange notification. Interim Chief Operating Officer Vipul Agarwal to oversee day-to-day operations until a CEO is appointed, the notification said.

The trading volume was almost 17 times the 20-day average for this time of the day, Bloomberg data showed.

Shares of of Gruh Finance jumped 8.1 percent intraday, the most in 10 months, to Rs 269.70 each.

Around 27 lakh shares changed hands in pre-market trade, according to Bloomberg data. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

HDFC has planned to sell 9.2 percent stake or 6.74 crore shares in company via block deals and likely to offer up to 3 percent discount to Thursday’s closing price, according to a term-sheet reviewed by BloombergQuint.

The stock has declined 22 percent in the past 12 months compared to a 4 percent fall in the Sensex.

Indian equity indices nudged higher in opening trade mirroring their Asian peers.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.30 percent 37,181.42 and the NSE Nifty 50 rose 0.23 percent to 10,971.40 as of 9:18 am. The broader markets represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index rose 0.15 percent.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of buyers. About 889 stocks declined and 517 shares advanced on National Stock Exchange.

Nine of the 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE traded higher, led by the NSE Nifty Metal Index’s 0.85 percent gain. Nifty Pharma Index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.37 percent.

Futures

• Nifty Sept futures closed at 11,002.3, premium of 54 points.
• Nifty futures across series open interest up 11 percent, adds 25 lakh shares in open interest.
• Bank Nifty Sept futures closed at 27,435, premium of 130 points.
• Bank Nifty futures open interest across series up 6 percent, adds 1.2 lakh shares in open interest
• Rollovers: Nifty 69 percent, Nifty Bank 66 percent .

Options

• Nifty PCR unchanged at 1.31 (across all series).

Nifty Weekly Expiry: Sep. 5

• Max open interest on call side at 11,100 (18.3 lakh shares).
• Max open interest on put side at 11,000 (12.5 lakh shares).
• open interest addition seen at 11,100C (+11.1 lakh shares), 11,000C (+10.6 lakh shares).

Nifty Monthly Expiry: Sep. 26

• Max open interest on call side at 11,700 (21.4 lakh shares).
• Max open interest on put side at 11,000 (22 lakh shares).

• Hindalco: European Union Regulators to approve $2.6 billion Novelis Aleris deal. (Reuters)
• GRUH Finance: HDFC to sell 9.2 percent stake or 6.74 crore shares in company via block deals. Likely to offer up to 3 percent discount to Thursdays closing price.
• Adani Green Energy signed definitive agreement to acquire 10 renewable power-based companies which are valued at enterprise value of Rs 1,300 crore from Essel Group.
• ICRA has terminated employment of Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Naresh Takkar with immediate effect. Interim Chief Operating Officer Vipul Agarwal to oversee day-to-day operations until a CEO is appointed.
• PNC Infratech declared lowest bidder for NHAI’s EPC project in Lucknow for a quoted price of Rs 1,062 crore.
• Cox & Kings has obtained approval from ROC for extending the AGM up to Dec. 30.
• MSTC: Bharti Airtel has appointed the company as selling agent for disposables of articles through the company’s auction website.
• United Bank of India stated that repo-linked lending rate will be applicable for new housing and car loan schemes with effect from Sept. 1. Interest on housing loans to start at 8.15 percent and car loans at 8.7 percent.
• HDFC Bank to split its face value and paid value from Rs 2 to Re 1, per share with effect from Sept. 19. To sell entire stake in India GST Network for Rs 1 crore
• Max Financial Services to invest Rs 10 crore in rural housing and mortgage arm.

The Indian rupee opened higher against the U.S. dollar. The home currency appreciated as much as 0.03 percent to Rs 71.77 against the greenback.

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 0.15 percent to 10,991 as of 8:45 a.m.

Stocks in Asia climbed after China indicated it wouldn’t immediately retaliate against the latest American tariff increase. Shares climbed across the region on the final trading day of a tumultuous month dominated by the trade war. U.S. equity futures nudged up.

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