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Sensex, Nifty Post Worst Ever March Despite Tuesday’s 3% Rise

Catch all live updates on share prices, index moves, corporate announcements and more from the Sensex and Nifty, today.

Financial data graphs are displayed on a trader’s monitor inside the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, operated by Deutsche Boerse AG, on the last day of trading of the year in Frankfurt, Germany. (Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg)
Financial data graphs are displayed on a trader’s monitor inside the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, operated by Deutsche Boerse AG, on the last day of trading of the year in Frankfurt, Germany. (Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg)

Markets At Close

  • Nifty ends 3.8 percent higher at 8,597
  • Nifty futures end at 8,589; a discount of 8 points
  • Sensex ends 3.6 percent higher at 29,468
  • Nifty Bank ends 1.9 percent higher at 19,144
  • Nifty Midcap Index ends with gains of 2.2 percent
  • Nifty Smallcap Index ends with gains of 3 percent
  • India Volatility Index falls 10.3 percent to 64.49; biggest one-day fall since January 9, 2020
  • All sectoral indices end with gains
  • Nifty FMCG, Nifty Metal index gain over 5 percent each
  • Nifty I.T., Nifty Pharma gain 4 percent each
  • BPCL ends as top Nifty gainer, up 13.5 percent - the most since November 2007.
  • IndusInd Bank ends as top Nifty loser, down 15 percent
  • 1,321 stocks ended with gains while 464 ended with losses

Stocks That Aided The Nifty's Gains

Closing Bell: Markets End Off Day's High

Indian benchmarks cooled off from the highest point of the day but ended with healthy gains in today's trading session.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 3.62 percent higher at 29,468. For the month, the index posted losses of 23 percent, its worst ever fall in the month of March.

The NSE Nifty 50 index too cooled off the day's high, ending the day with gains of 3.82 percent at 8,597. For the Nifty too, this was the worst ever decline in March, posting losses of 22 percent. Only four Nifty constituents reported monthly gains.

All sectoral indices ended off their day's high but managed to report gains, led by the FMCG and Metal index.

1,305 number of stocks ended the trading day with gains while 472 ended with losses.

Nifty FMCG: Top Sectoral Gainer

Sensex, Nifty Post Worst Ever March Despite Tuesday’s 3% Rise

Gautam Shah's Take On The Current Market Scenario

Trading Ideas From Rahul Mohindar Of Viratech Software

  • Buy TCS for target of Rs 1,960 and stop loss of Rs 1,750
  • Buy ITC for target of Rs 187 and stop loss of RS 157

Active Stock Options

  • Reliance Industries 1,100 Call: Premium up 53.6 percent to Rs 112. The contract has added 1.27 lakh shares in open interest.
  • IndusInd Bank 300 Put: Premium rises 6.4 percent to Rs 63.60. The contract has added 57,600 shares in open interest.
  • SBI 200 Call: Premium up 11 percent to Rs 19.2. The contract has added 30,000 shares in open interest

Trading Ideas From Sacchitanand Uttekar Of Tradebulls

  • Buy 8,600 Call of the Nifty around Rs 125 for target of Rs 210 and stop loss of Rs 85.
  • Buy Tata Steel around Rs 272 for target of Rs 302 and stop loss of Rs 260
  • Sell Cipla futures around Rs 430 for target of Rs 410 and stop loss of Rs 437

F&O Snapshot: Active Options Contracts

  • Nifty April futures add 13 percent in open interest and 13.4 lakh shares
  • Nifty Bank April futures add 11.4 percent in open interest and 1 lakh shares

Nifty: April 1 Expiry

  • 8,500 Call: Premium up 67.1 percent to Rs 206.8. The contract has added 2 lakh shares in open interest.
  • 9,000 Call: Premium falls 50 percent to Rs 13.7. The contract has added 3.5 lakh shares in open interest.
  • 8,000 Put: Premium falls 89 percent to Rs 15.2. The contract has added 7.5 lakh shares in open interest.

Nifty Bank: April 1 Expiry

  • 20,000 Call: Premium falls 60 percent to Rs 112.25. The contract has added 2.1 lakh shares in open interest.
  • 21,000 Call: Premium falls 84.2 percent to Rs 17.75. The contract has added 2.63 lakh shares in open interest.
  • 18,000 Put: Premium falls 88.2 percent to Rs 59.9. The contract has added 1.85 lakh shares in open interest.

Stock Update: Bharat Forge Near Six-Year Low

  • Down for third day in a row
  • Falls 16 percent in the last three sessions
  • Trades at lowest since May 26, 2014
  • Management warned of missing growth guidance due to Covid-19
  • Morgan Stanley has downgraded the stock to underweight from equalweight and cut its price target to Rs 283 from Rs 401
  • Return potential for the stock as per Bloomberg data is 79 percent. 13 out of the 31 analysts tracking the stock have a 'buy' recommendation.

Stocks Leading The Nifty Higher

Markets At 2 P.M.

  • Nifty up 4 percent at 8,614
  • Nifty futures trade at a premium of 23 points
  • Sensex up 3.8 percent at 29,531
  • Nifty Bank up 2.4 percent at 19,236
  • Nifty Midcap Index up 1.5 percent
  • Nifty Smallcap Index up 2.5 percent
  • India Volatility Index down 9.1 percent at 65.36
  • All Sectoral Indices trade with gains
  • Nifty Metal remains top sectoral gainer, up 5.3 percent
  • Nifty FMCG index at day's high, up 5 percent
  • Nifty Pharma, Nifty I.T. index up 4 percent
  • BPCL remains top Nifty gainer, up 12.5 percent
  • IndusInd Bank remains top Nifty loser, down 14 percent
  • 1,312 stocks are advancing while 423 stocks are trading with losses

European Markets Open Higher

Markets across Europe opened higher for the fourth time in five sessions, tracking gains in U.S. futures. The Stoxx Europe 600 has gained led by a rebound in travel and leisure shares.

Analysts continue to debate whether there is a case for a sustained rally despite cases of Covid-19 continuing to rise globally.

Here is a look at how indices across Europe are faring:

  • Euro Stoxx 50 up 2 percent at 2,820
  • DAX up 2.6 percent at 10,075
  • CAC up 1.6 percent at 4,450
  • FTSE 100 up 2.2 percent at 5,686
  • IBEX 35 up 1.7 percent at 6,771

Howard Marks' Take On The Indian Market

Large Trade Alert: NTPC

Four large trades have been reported in NTPC Ltd. over the last two hours.

22.5 lakh shares changed hands in the first two large trades, as per Bloomberg data.

11.2 lakh shares changed hands in the third large trade at 12:30 P.M., while another 20 lakh shares changed hands in the fourth large trade, reported at 1:05 P.M.

Buyers and sellers in all the four large trades were not immediately known.

The stock trades 2.1 percent higher at Rs 83.50 on the National Stock Exchange.

Stock Update: Satin Creditcare

  • Down for 11th straight day
  • Falls 55 percent in 11 sessions
  • Sixth lower circuit in last 11 sessions
  • Trades at an all-time low
  • Longest losing streak since August 2017
  • Down 84 percent from 52-week high of Rs 398 made on April 4, 2019
  • Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 14, indicating the stock is in oversold territory
  • Debt Maturities Approaching: Rs 300 crore in debt due within the next 12 months - representing 25.9 percent of the total outstanding debt, as per Bloomberg data.

Stock Update: Kansai Nerolac

  • Gains for the sixth day in a row
  • Longest gaining streak since February 2019
  • Up 30 percent in the last six sessions
  • Benefits from correction in crude oil prices
  • Had its biggest one-day fall since April 1992 on March 23
  • Volumes are at 0.8x its 30-day average
  • Remains 32 percent below its 52-week high of Rs 587 made in November 2019
  • 11 out of the 17 analysts tracking the stock as per Bloomberg data have a 'buy' recommendation
  • Return potential for the stock now at 35 percent as per Bloomberg data

Strong Gains In OMCs

  • HPCL snaps four-day losing streak; gains most since September 2019
  • Indian Oil and BPCL snap two-day losing streak
  • BPCL is the top gainer on the Nifty 50 index
Sensex, Nifty Post Worst Ever March Despite Tuesday’s 3% Rise

Can Hero Take Advantage Of The BS-IV Relief?

BSE Oil & Gas Index Up 7%

Sensex, Nifty Post Worst Ever March Despite Tuesday’s 3% Rise

Markets At Noon

  • Benchmark indices extend their gains
  • Nifty up 3.2 percent at 8,546
  • Nifty futures trade at a premium of 27 points
  • Sensex up 3 percent at 29,297
  • Nifty Bank up 1.7 percent at 19,109
  • Nifty Midcap Index up 1.1 percent
  • Nifty Smallcap Index up 2 percent
  • India Volatility Index down 7.3 percent at 66.64
  • All Sectoral Indices trade with gains
  • Nifty FMCG, Nifty I.T., Nifty Metal up 4 percent each
  • BPCL is the top Nifty gainer, up 11.5 percent
  • IndusInd Bank remains top Nifty loser, down 13.5 percent
  • 1,258 stocks are trading with gains while 432 stocks are declining

Stock Update: Sterling And Wilson Solar

  • Snaps nine-day losing streak
  • Locked in upper circuit of 5 percent
  • Was locked in 5 percent lower circuit for last nine sessions
  • Has gained only 5 times in the last 36 trading sessions
  • Since February 6, the stock has not posted gains for two successive days
  • Made a 52-week high of Rs 755.5 on August 20, 2019. Since then, the stock has fallen 90 percent
  • Bloomberg News reported on Monday that the Shapoorji Pallonji Group is in preliminary discussions to borrow as much as $1 billion to repay maturing debt using part of its stake in Tata Sons Ltd. as collateral.
Sensex, Nifty Post Worst Ever March Despite Tuesday’s 3% Rise

Impact Of The 21-Day Lockdown On HDFC Life's Business

The Covid-19 outbreak will enable people to understand the importance of health and life insurance, that's the word coming in from HDFC Life's Managing Director and CEO Vibha Padalkar.

In an interaction with BloombergQuint, Padalkar said that the company is trying to explain to their customers to not stop paying premiums. “The last one week has been soft as people are holding on to cash,” she said. She also added that the company will look to launch innovative products which do not exist as of today.

Shares of HDFC Life Ltd. are trading 2.5 percent higher at Rs 423, snapping a two-day losing streak.

Stock Update: CreditAccess Grameen

  • Down for eighth straight session
  • Longest losing streak since October 2018
  • Has gained only twice in the last 16 sessions
  • Hit an all-time high of Rs 1,000.8 on February 20, 2020
  • In the 26 trading sessions post February 20, the stock has fallen 66 percent
  • Currently trades at the lowest level since November 2018
  • Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 18 indicates stock may be oversold
  • All eight analysts tracked by Bloomberg have a 'buy' recommendation on the stock
  • Return potential on the stock as per Bloomberg is now 150 percent
Sensex, Nifty Post Worst Ever March Despite Tuesday’s 3% Rise

Stock Update: Balrampur Chini

Shares of the sugar company are locked in an upper circuit of five percent. The stock is up for the fifth straight day today.

After three successive upper circuits of 10 percent, the price band on the stock was revised to 5 percent from 10 percent.

The stock is now up 43 percent in the last five sessions, bouncing from its 52-week low of Rs 68.95 on March 24.

How Are Sectoral Indices Faring

F&O Snapshot: Active Options Contracts

  • Nifty April futures add 5.8 percent in Open Interest and 6 lakh shares
  • Nifty Bank April futures add 16.7 percent in Open Interest and 1.5 lakh shares

Nifty: April 1 Expiry

  • 8,500 Call: Premium up 12.3 percent to Rs 139. The contract has added 4.2 lakh shares in Open Interest.
  • 8,000 Put: Premium falls 82 percent to Rs 26.4. The contract has added 5.9 lakh shares in Open Interest.
  • 9,000 Call: Premium falls 52.3 percent to Rs 13.2. The contract has added 4.3 lakh shares in Open Interest.

Nifty Bank: April 1 Expiry

  • 20,000 Call: Premium falls 49.2 percent to Rs 141.35. The contract has added 1.3 lakh shares in Open Interest.
  • 21,000 Call: Premium falls 69.1 percent to Rs 34.7. The contract has added 1.9 lakh shares in Open Interest.
  • 18,000 Put: Premium falls 72.6 percent to Rs 139.4. The contract has added 1.4 lakh shares in Open Interest.

Stock Update: RBL Bank At All-Time Low

  • Down for third straight session
  • Falls 15 percent in the last three sessions
  • Down 82 percent from 52-week high of Rs 716 in May 2019
  • Stock correcting on moderate volumes (At 1.1x its 30-day average)
  • Falls into oversold territory with Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 28
  • 20 out of the 29 analysts tracked by Bloomberg continue to have a 'buy' rating on the stock
  • Return potential on the stock as per Bloomberg is now 136.4 percent.
Sensex, Nifty Post Worst Ever March Despite Tuesday’s 3% Rise

Nifty Metal: Top Sectoral Gainer

Sensex, Nifty Post Worst Ever March Despite Tuesday’s 3% Rise

Market Update At 10 A.M.

  • Nifty up 2 percent at 8,444
  • Nifty April futures trade at a premium of 19.8 points
  • Sensex up 1.9 percent at 28,986
  • Nifty Bank up 1.2 percent at 19,022
  • Nifty Midcap Index up 1 percent
  • Nifty Smallcap Index up 2 percent
  • India Volatility Index down 4.7 percent to 68.51
  • All Sectoral Indices trade with gains
  • Nifty Metal is the top sectoral gainer, up 5.3 percent
  • Nifty FMCG, I.T., gain over 2 percent
  • Nifty Auto (Up 0.5 percent), Nifty Pharma (Up 1.3 percent) and Nifty Realty (Up 1.7 percent) are off their day's high
  • Vedanta is the top Nifty gainer, up 8.2 percent
  • Four out of the top five Nifty gainers are metal stocks
  • IndusInd Bank is the top Nifty loser, down 12 percent
  • 1,193 stocks are advancing while 363 stocks trade with losses

Stock Reaction: Heidelberg Cement

Shares of the Gurgaon-based Portland Slag Cement manufacturer rose as much as 3.4 percent to Rs 145.

In a notice to the exchanges on Monday, the company informed that the de-bottlenecking projects that it had undertaken at its plants at Imlai and Jhansi have been completed.

As a result, the grinding capacity of the plants stands enhanced to 2.5 million tonnes and 3.25 million tonnes respectively.

Shares currently trade 2.3 percent higher at Rs 143.50.

15 out of the 18 analysts tracked by Bloomberg, have a ‘buy’ recommendation on the stock. Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg now stands at 62 percent.

Stock Reaction: Rajapalayam Mills

Shares of the cotton yarn manufacturer and exporter surged as much as 20 percent to Rs 569.75. This is the biggest one-day move seen in the counter since May 31, 2011.

Morgan Stanley Asia acquired 87,000 shares of the company, amounting to 1.18 percent stake in a bulk deal on Monday. The deal was done at Rs 458 per share.

Shares currently trade 15.3 percent higher at Rs 547.85.

No Respite For Future Retail

Future retail remains locked in a lower circuit of 5 percent, despite te Bombay High Court restraining IDBI Trusteeship Services from selling shares of the company, that were pledged against the debentures that it had issued.

The debenture trustee had issued a mandatory redemption event notice seeking to sell shares to recover dues in excess of Rs 600 crore.

Shares are down 5 percent to an all-time low of Rs 78.30. The stock is down for the 18th day in a row, its longest ever losing streak.

Stocks Contributing To Nifty's Gains

Stock Reaction: IndusInd Bank

Shares of the Mumbai-based private lender fell 10 percent to Rs 372.10, on the National Stock Exchange.

The lender in a conference call on Monday said that it has seen withdrawals worth 10-11 percent of its deposits, led mainly by a state government. The bank had earlier pegged withdrawals to be worth 2 percent of its deposits.

The stock has fallen over 60 percent this month and also fell to its lowest since June 2012 on March 25.

Opening Bell: Markets Open With Gains

Indian equity markets recovered most of Monday's losses, opening with strong gains. Markets are tracking positive cues from the U.S. and most of the Asia Pacific.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened 3 percent higher at 29,294. The index snapped a two-day losing streak.

The NSE Nifty 50 index too opened with gains of 3 percent at 8,529. The 50-stock index is now up for five out of the last six trading sessions. All but one stock on the index opened with gains.

All sectoral indices have opened with gains. Auto, Metal, Pharma and Realty indices are up over 2 percent each.

1,113 stocks have opened with gains while 295 stocks have opened with declines.

Trading Ideas From Gaurav Bissa Of LKP Securities

  • Buy Nifty for target of 8,450 and stop loss of 8,175
  • Buy Titan for target of Rs 960 and stop loss of Rs 920
  • Buy NMDC for target of Rs 79 and stop loss of Rs 75

Money Market Update

The Indian currency opened flat at 75.48 as against Monday's weak closing of 75.42 against the U.S. dollar.

The rupee snapped a three-day winning streak on Monday, which was its longest in a month. Global funds have withdrawn a record net $15 billion in March from Indian stocks and bonds.

Sensex, Nifty Post Worst Ever March Despite Tuesday’s 3% Rise

Trading Ideas From Amit Harchekar Of Index Genius Investment Advisors

  • Buy Nifty futures above 8,350 for target of 9,500 and stop loss of 8,000
  • Buy Reliance Industries Futures above Rs 1,039 for target of Rs 1,200 and stop loss of Rs 979
  • Buy Dr Reddy's Futures above Rs 3,013 for target of Rs 3,350 and stop loss of Rs 2,860

Latest Update On The Coronavirus

  • Global cases top 7.84 lakh and death toll rises to 37,600
  • Deaths in New York jump 16 percent in six hours to 916
  • Italy saw the slowest rate of new cases in almost two weeks
  • China reported 48 new Coronavirus cases, all from abroad
  • India reports largest one-day spike in new cases; total rises to 1,251

Key Stocks In Focus

  • IndusInd Bank: Saw withdrawals of 10-11 percent of its deposits, led by a stage government, the lender said in a concall on Monday.
  • Adani Transmission and Tata Power: The Maharashtra government announced an 8 percent average electricity tariff reduction for the next five years to help businesses and people tide over the Coronavirus.
  • SBI: To consider extending loan repayment moratorium to all term loans extended by the bank. That's a BloombergQuint Exclusive.
  • Jubilant Lifesciences: Bloomberg News reports that some employees at its Mysore unit have tested positive for Covid-19. The plant has been shut for sanitisation and workers have been self-quarantined.
  • Bharti Airtel: Extends pre-paid pack validity for 80 million customers till April 17. To also credit addition talktime of Rs 10 to these customers.
  • Reliance Industries: To consider fund raising via NCDs on April 2.
  • HPCL: Bloomberg News reports that the company has issued force majeure on Iraq’s oil marketing company.

Your Trade Setup For The Day

A Check On Indian ADRs

Sensex, Nifty Post Worst Ever March Despite Tuesday’s 3% Rise

U.S. Markets On Monday

  • Benchmarks staged a rebound on Monday with healthcare leading the stocks.
  • The S&P 500 index climbed for the fourth time in fifth session and has risen 17 percent over the last one week.
  • U.S. President Donald Trump said that social distancing guidelines will remain till April 30.
  • Yield on the 10-year treasury rose one basis point to 0.69 percent.
  • WTI Crude fel 5.4 percent to $20.36 per barrel.

Indian Markets May Open With Gains

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 1.68 percent to 8,483 as of 7:45 a.m.

S&P 500 futures are edging higher after the index rose for the fourth time in five sessions. Equity markets in Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia are trading with gains while Japanese indices are declining.

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