Sensex, Nifty End Higher For Second Day; HDFC, Axis Bank Lead Gains

• Benchmark indices gain for the second straight day
• Nifty ends 1.1 percent higher at 9,380
• Nifty futures trade at a premium of 37.1 points
• Sensex ends 1.2 percent higher at 32,114
• Nifty Bank ends 2.9 percent higher at 20,671
• Nifty Midcap Index ends 1.3 percent higher
• Nifty Smallcap Index ends 0.7 percent higher
• India Volatility Index ends 7.6 percent lower at 35.14
• Nifty Pharma Index ends as top sectoral laggard; down 2.25 percent
• IndusInd Bank ends as the top Nifty gainer; up 17 percent
• Sun Pharma ends as the top Nifty laggard; down 3 percent
• 985 stocks end higher on the NSE while 807 end with losses

Indian equity markets gained momentum after a sluggish first half to end higher for the second straight day. European indices too are trading with gains of over 1 percent after a subdued start while futures on the Dow Jones have turned positive and trade higher by 270 points.

The S&P BSE Sensex added to Monday's 1.3 percent gains by ending 1.2 percent higher at 32,114. The NSE Nifty 50 ended below the 9,400 mark, but with gains of 100 points, ending at 9,380. 28 out of the 50 constituents of the index ended with gains.

The outperformer in today's session was the Nifty Bank index, ending with gains of 3 percent at 20,671.

Among other sectoral indices, the Pharma index was the top laggard, shedding over 2 percent in trade while the FMCG index too ended with losses of 1 percent.

IDFC First Bank is considering a share sale worth $200 million to boost its capital, people familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg.

The private-sector lender is waiting for the five-week lockdown to end before zeroing in on the route to raise funds, the sources added.

The bank put out an exchange filing a few minutes ago where it mentioned that it will consider capital raising via preferential allotment at its board meeting on Friday, May 1, 2020.

The stock has recovered from the day's low and looks to snap a three-day losing streak.

• Trades at the lowest level since September 2013
• Down for the sixth day in a row
• Longest losing streak in a month
• Declines 14 percent in the last six trading sessions
• Today's volumes are 2.3 times higher than its 30-day average
• Stock enters oversold territory with Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 23
• 21 out of the 26 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation; 1 sell call
• Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg data is 77 percent

The company at its board meeting held today has approved a buyback of equity shares worth Rs 100 crore. The buyback will be done at a price of Rs 130, a 26 percent premium to Monday's closing price of Rs 102.65.

At the maximum buyback price, the company will buyback 76.92 lakh shares, which amounts to 4.32 percent of the total paid-up equity shares of the company as of March 31, as per the company's exchange filing.

The company's promoter, promoter group and persons controlling the company will not be participating in the buyback, the statement said.

Shares gained as much as 6 percent to Rs 108.90 and are up for the second straight day.

• Sell Nifty Bank futures at 20,630 - 20,650 for target of 20,145 and stop loss of 20,856
• Buy Power Finance Corporation at Rs 92.5 for target of Rs 97.35 and stop loss of Rs 90
• Sell Ambuja Cements futures at Rs 170 for target of Rs 156 and stop loss of Rs 177

• Down for the seventh straight day
• Longest losing streak since January 2018
• Down 18.6 percent in the last 7 sessions
• Wipes out the entire 16.9 percent gain made on April 17, 2020
• Today's volumes are 39 percent higher than the 20-day average
• One-month implied volatility for the stock was 55 percent
• Trades at the lowest level in a month
• 21 out of the 29 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation; 5 sell calls
• Return potential for the stock as per Bloomberg data is 72 percent

• Benchmark indices recover from day's low
• Nifty up 0.8 percent at 9,355
• Nifty futures trade at a premium of 11 points
• Sensex up 0.9 percent at 32,018
• Nifty Bank up 2.6 percent at 20,600
• Nifty Midcap Index up 0.6 percent
• Nifty Smallcap Index up 0.4 percent
• India Volatility Index down 4.8 percent to 36.22
• Nifty Pharma Index extends losses; down 2.5 percent
• IndusInd Bank remains top Nifty gainer; up 11.5 percent
• Sun Pharma remains top Nifty loser; down 3.3 percent
• 936 stocks are trading with gains while 805 are declining

The currency recovered from the lowest point of the day to end with modest gains. The rupee ended at 76.19 against the U.S. Dollar as compared to Monday's close of 76.24.

This was the second successive day of gains for the currency.

Yield on the 10-year government bond ended almost flat at 6.137 percent as compared to Monday's close of 6.147 percent.

• Likely to set aside higher provisions to address weakness in the non-investment grade exposures.
• Higher provisions will impact profitability compared to last year.
• Q4 may only have a marginal impact of Covid-19 related headwinds.
• Retail segment may have aided loan growth in Q4 after a 15.8 percent growth in the third quarter
• Asset quality may require further close monitoring in a slowing economy.
• New bad loan formation remained elevated in the third quarter.

Source: Bloomberg Intelligence

At its board meeting held today, the Board of Directors of the two-wheeler maker approved the issue of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) aggregating up to Rs 500 crore on a private placement basis, the company said in a statement to the exchanges.

Shares fell as much as 2.66 percent but recovered from the day's low post the announcement. They now trade 1.5 percent lower at Rs 294.80.

Markets across Europe have had a subdued start to the trading day, taking ahead the mixed session witnessed by benchmarks across the Asia-Pacific.

Oil prices continued to tumble as West Texas Intermediate extended Monday's 23 percent drop to fall below the $11 per barrel mark.

Here's a look at how benchmarks across Europe have opened:

• Euro Stoxx 50 flat at 2,990
• DAX flat at 10,663
• CAC flat at 4,503
• FTSE 100 down 0.1 percent to 5,840
• IBEX 35 down 0.25 percent to 6,715

• Among the worst performers on the Nifty Smallcap Index
• Fell as much as 6.3 percent to Rs 229.45
• Down for the third straight day
• Down 10 percent in the last three sessions
• The stock has declined in 6 out of the last 7 trading sessions
• Today's volumes are 2.9 times higher than its 30-day average
• The last 7 sessions has seen the stock fall below its 50-day Moving Average of Rs 267.21
• All 7 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation
• Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg data is 43.7 percent

The company will hold a board meeting on May 5, 2020 where it will consider offering rated, listed, unsecured, redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) worth Rs 1,000 crore in three tranches.

The board of directors had passed a resolution for the same at its previous board meeting on March 27.

Shares are trading with gains of 1.4 percent at Rs 76.30 and are up for the second straight day.

• Second best performer on the Nifty Bank index
• Gains as much as 9.6 percent to Rs 127.90
• Adds on to Monday's gains of 8.9 percent
• Up for the fourth straight day
• Longest winning streak since November 2019
• Up 17 percent in the last 4 sessions
• BNP Paribas Arbitrage bought 1.18 percent stake at Rs 112.75 per share
• Today's volumes are 2.5 times higher than its 30-day average
• 19 out of the 29 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation; 7 sell calls
• Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg data is 101 percent

The company has informed the exchanges that it has partially resumed operations at its manufacturing units in Jaipur after approval from relevant authorities.

Production will be scaled to a normalised level in a phased manner based on government directives, it added.

The company's retail business in the U.K. is operating as usual supported by its global supply chain, the statement said.

Shares gained as much as 2.3 percent to Rs 980 and are up for the third straight day.

The company informed the exchanges on Monday that its Modern Trade segment has outperformed for the month of March and April as people stocked up due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

It also attributed its performance to consumer preference for packaged goods due to the safety aspect.

The company also informed of significant growth in its online sales on most of the e-commerce platforms, adding that it is equipped with a robust supply chain and has no shortage with respect to rice and paddy stock.

Shares gained as much as 8.4 percent to Rs 22.60, snapping a two-day losing streak.

Shares of the cement company gave up gains of as much as 4.47 percent and are now trading flat after reporting their first quarter numbers of Calender year 2020.

Revenue for the company fell 3.4 percent while sales volume declined 10 percent compared to the previous year.

Ebitda margin expanded to 21.3 percent from 15.8 percent aided by lower power, fuel and logistics costs.

Today's volumes are 3.2 times higher than its 30-day average. Brokerage firm Morgan Stanley has maintained its overweight rating on the stock with a price target of Rs 186 citing its execution capabilities.

The stock is among the top five performers on the Nifty 50 index, gaining as much as 5.9 percent to Rs 369.95.

The company informed the exchanges that it has completed the acquisition of Yoloo Bio-technology Ltd., which was announced on November 14 last year.

The company has received all customary and regulatory approvals for the same, it said in its exchange filing.

Shares are up for the second straight day today and are gaining on volumes which are 2.2 times higher than its 30-day average.

• IndusInd Bank's 500 Call: Premium falls 45.8 percent to Rs 3.6. The contract has shed 84,000 shares in Open Interest.
• Reliance Industries' 1,400 Put: Premium rises 31.8 percent to Rs 27.35. The contract has added 67,500 shares in Open Interest.
• Axis Bank's 460 Call: Premium rises 38.8 percent to Rs 9.3. The contract has added 2.3 lakh shares in Open Interest.

The Mumbai-based private lender has informed the exchanges that it will acquire 29 percent stake in Max Life Insurance from Max Financial Services.

Cash consideration for the said deal will be based on valuations and the transaction is subject to approval from regulators like the Reserve Bank of India, IRDAI and the CCI, the bank said its exchange filing.

The transaction will take 6-9 months for completion, the bank added. Post the transaction, the Bank will have the right to nominate 3 directors and Max Financial will have the right to nominate 4 directors to the board of Max Life.

Shares of Axis Bank gained as much as 5 percent to Rs 448.70 while those of Max Financial Services are fluctuating between gains and losses.

Axis Bank will be reporting its fourth quarter results later today.

Shares of the power project developer fell as much as 6.8 percent to Rs 28.75, after it reported a net loss in the quarter ending March as compared to a net profit during the same quarter last year.

Net profit in the base quarter was aided by an other income component of Rs 1,356 crore.

The company's Ebitda margin contracted to 3.3 percent from 9 percent year-on-year, largely due to higher other expenses and employee costs.

The stock has declined on heavy volumes today which are 2.4 times higher than its 30-day average.

• Nifty May futures add 7.5 percent in Open Interest and 2.61 lakh shares
• Nifty Bank May futures add 16.6 percent in Open Interest and 57,740 shares

Nifty: April 30 Expiry

• 9,400 Call: Premium falls 20.2 percent to Rs 61.5. The contract has added 9.83 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 9,300 Put: Premium falls 9.3 percent to Rs 113.95. The contract has added 4.27 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 9,500 Call: Premium falls 26.7 percent to Rs 32.25. The contract has added 5.8 lakh shares in Open Interest.

Nifty Bank: April 30 Expiry

• 21,000 Call: Premium falls 12.7 percent to Rs 97.1. The contract has added 1.96 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 19,500 Put: Premium falls 49 percent to Rs 99. The contract has added 1.87 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 20,000 Put: Premium falls 40 percent to Rs 224.9. The contract has added 2.35 lakh shares in Open Interest.

Shares of the local search engine provider gained as much as 10 percent to Rs 383.50 on the National Stock Exchange, after the company announced that it will consider a share buyback at its board meeting on April 30.

This is the biggest single-day gain for the stock in a month. It also trades at the highest level since March 13, 2020.

Shares are up for the second straight day, adding to Monday's gains of 5.7 percent. Today's volumes are 2.8 times its 30-day average.

The stock has rebounded 51 percent from its 52-week low of Rs 250 on March 26, 2020.

• Benchmark indices fluctuate after giving up opening gains
• Nifty down 0.1 percent to 9,273
• Sensex down 0.13 percent to 31,701
• Nifty Bank up 1 percent to 20,286
• Nifty Midcap Index up 0.35 percent
• Nifty Smallcap Index up 0.1 percent
• India Volatility Index down 0.9 percent to 37.7
• Nifty Pharma (Down 1.5 percent) is the top sectoral laggard
• Nifty Auto (Down 0.3 percent), Nifty FMCG (Down 0.9 percent) and Nifty Metal (Down 0.2 percent) also give up gains
• IndusInd Bank is the top Nifty gainer; up 7.5 percent
• Vedanta is the top Nifty laggard, down 2.8 percent
• 835 stocks on the NSE are advancing while 756 are trading with losses

The rupee opened with a negative bias in today's trading session despite weakness in the U.S. Dollar.

The currency opened at 76.27 against the greenback as compared to Monday's close of 76.24. It currently trades at the day's low of 76.35.

Yield on the 10-year bond opened at 6.139 percent compared to Monday's close of 6.147 percent.

Traders look forward to the sale of state government debt worth Rs 5,000 crore today. Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal will sell their debt today.

Shares snapped a four-day gaining streak in today's session, falling as much as 2.64 percent to Rs 1,391. It is also the top laggard on the Nifty 50 index.

The company will hold its board meeting on April 30 where it will consider its quarterly results, as well as issuing equity shares to existing shareholders on a rights basis.

This will be the company's first rights issue in about 30 years as it steps up efforts to pare debt, as per Bloomberg.

The stock had gained 16 percent during its four-day winning streak.

Shares of the private insurance player fluctuated between gains and losses in the early minutes of trade post its fourth quarter earnings.

The company's gross premium rose 3 percent compared to last year while VNB Margins expanded to 25.9 percent from 25 percent for the full year.

Total premium was impacted by Rs 1,100 crore in the last 15 days of March, the company said in its conference call.

The board has also given its in-principle approval to raise Rs 600 crore via NCDs.

Shares fell as much as 2.8 percent to Rs 471.15 after opening higher by almost 2.5 percent.

The company has released its fourth quarter business update reiterating that it is closely monitoring the currenct situation and will update on any material development which impacts the business.

Some of the key highlights of the business update are:

• Liquidity position of Rs 1,600 crore
• Undrawn sanctions of almost Rs 900 crore
• Current levels of liquidity makes it comfortable to serve all outside liabilities for next 6-7 months
• Promoter pledged share now at 11.79 percent from 52.88 percent in December 2018
• Moratorium will be offered to all existing borrowers across India.
• Almost 80 percent of portfolio in rural India where there is no major impact of the pandemic.

Shares gained as much as 4.5 percent to Rs 64, snapping a two-day losing streak.

The private lender gained as much as 10 percent to Rs 448.05 and is also the top gainer on the Nifty 50 index post its fourth quarter earnings.

The bank reported a Net Interest Income growth of 44 percent compared to last year. While profits were impacted due to elevation of provisions, the management said that it has fully provided for its exposure to IL&FS and is increasing its concentration towards retail.

The management has also guided for its Corporate book to grow 6-8 percent during the year. Brokerages have retained their bullish stance on the stock with Morgan Stanley and BOBCAPS maintaining their overweight and buy recommendation respectively.

Shares are up for the second day in a row, adding to Monday's 7 percent gain.

Indian equity markets opened higher for the second day tracking positive overnight cues from Wall Street. Asian markets are mixed while futures on the Dow Jones are currently trading with cuts of 60 points.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened 1.13 percent higher at 32,101, adding to Monday's 1.3 percent gains while the NSE Nifty 50 opened at 9,389, higher by 1.2 percent. 47 out of the 50 Nifty constituents opened with gains.

The Nifty Bank index was the outperformer, opening 1.8 percent higher at 20,436 with gains led by HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank.

Among other sectoral indices, the Nifty Pharma index opened 1 percent higher while the others gained between 0.5-1 percent.

• Buy Titan for target of Rs 965 and stop loss of Rs 905
• Sell Reliance Industries at Rs 1,440 for target of Rs 1,390 and stop loss of Rs 1,465

• Buy Nifty futures above 9,300 for target of 9,700 and stop loss of 9,100
• Buy RIL futures above Rs 1,430 for target of Rs 1,650 and stop loss of Rs 1,350
• Buy TCS futures above Rs 1,830 for target of Rs 2,000 and stop loss of Rs 1,750

• IndusInd Bank: Net Interest Income rises 44.7 percent year-on-year while provisions more than double sequentially. Gross NPA at 2.45 percent Vs 2.18 percent in the last quarter
• HDFC Life: Gross Premium up 3 percent while FY20 VNB Margins expand to 25.9 percent from 25 percent. The board has also given its in-principle approval to raise Rs 600 crore via NCDs.
• Ambuja Cements: Revenue down 3.4 percent while Ebitda Margin expands to 21.3 percent from 15.8 percent aided by low power, fuel and logistics costs.
• Reliance Industries: Board meeting on April 30 to consider a proposal to issue equity shares to existing shareholders on a rights basis.
• UPL: Completes the acquisition of Yoloo Bio-Tech. The acquisition was announced on November 14.
• Indiabulls Real Estate: Senior management has decided to take pay cuts up to an average of 50 percent for FY21. Vice-Chairman Narendra Gehlaut to draw Nil salary.
• Just Dial: To consider share buyback at its board meet on April 30.
• LT Foods: Most of the plants are working with lesser and absolutely essential manpower. Modern trade segment has performed exceedingly well in the month of March and April due to a lot of people stocking up and consumers are also giving preference to packaged goods taking into account the safety aspect.
• RBL Bank: BNP Paribas Arbitrage acquired 60 lakh shares or 1.18 percent stake at Rs 112.75 per share.

For all that you need to know going into today’s trade, click here.

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 0.7 percent to 9,333 as of 7:00 a.m.

Asian markets are mixed at the start of trade on Tuesday. Shares in Japan declined while those in Hong Kong are rising. Markets in South Korea and China are fluctuating.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell below the $12 per barrel mark amid selling by the biggest oil exchange-traded-fund. Treasury yields are steady while the dollar is weak.

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