Sensex, Nifty End With Losses In A Sideways Session

• Nifty ends 0.8 percent lower at 9,199
• Nifty futures trade at a premium of 11 points
• Sensex ends 0.76 percent lower at 31,443
• Nifty Bank ends 1 percent lower at 19,491
• Nifty Midcap Index ends 0.5 percent lower
• Nifty Smallcap Index ends 0.5 percent higher
• India Volatility Index ends 3.7 percent lower at 39.72
• Nifty FMCG ends as the top sectoral laggard; down 1.4 percent
• Other sectoral indices end flat to negative
• Bharti Infratel ends as the top Nifty gainer; up 7.1 percent
• NTPC ends as the top Nifty laggard; down 4.3 percent
• 812 stocks on the NSE end with gains while 939 end with losses

Indian markets remained stuck in a narrow range to end Thursday's trading session with losses. On the other hand, markets in Europe are trading with gains while futures on the Dow Jones are trading higher by 320 points.

The S&P BSE Sensex traded in a 400 point range throughout the session to end 0.76 percent lower at 31,443. The NSE Nifty 50's range was down to 100 points, ending at 9,199, down by 0.77 percent. 40 out of the 50 Nifty constituents ended with losses.

Both benchmarks have declined for three out of the four trading sessions this week.

Among sectoral indices, most of them ended flat with the Nifty FMCG index and the Nifty Bank index ending with losses of over 1 percent.

812 stocks on the NSE posted gain while 939 ended with losses.

The country's largest lender has reduced the Marginal Cost of fund based Lending Rate (MCLR) by 15 basis points across tenors. The one-year MCLR is now at 7.25 percent from the earlier 7.4 percent

This is the 12th consecutive reduction in the bank's MCLR as per its press release. The change will be effective from May 10, 2020.

The bank has also pruned its interest rate on Retail Term Deposits by 20 basis points for tenor up to three years due to adequate liquidity in the system.

Shares currently trade little changed at Rs 170.9 on the National Stock Exchange.

• Buy Manappuram Finance for target of Rs 138 and stop loss of Rs 113
• Sell L&T for target of Rs 760 and stop loss of Rs 850

• Sell Nifty At 9,200 for target of 9,050 and stop loss of 9,300
• Sell Lupin at Rs 814 for target of Rs 790 and stop loss of Rs 835
• Sell Power Finance Corporation at Rs 87.8 for target of Rs 85 and stop loss of Rs 89.2

• Top performer on the Nifty 500 index
• Gains as much as 16.1 percent to Rs 499.8
• Biggest one-day gain since November 2019
• Snaps five-day losing streak
• Today's volumes are 7.4 times higher than its 30-day average
• Trades at 7.5 times estimated forward Earnings Per Share as compared to its 2-year average of 12.2 times
• Has rebounded 47 percent from its 52-week low of Rs 320 on March 24, 2020
• 3 out of the 12 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation; 5 sell calls
• Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg data is 20.4 percent

The company has signed an agreement to expand its partnership with Dassault Systemes. This will add to the company's digital transformation capabilities in Northern Europe, as per its statement to the exchanges.

The 3DEXPERIENCE platform will enable clients to reduce costs, improve supplier collaboration, drive agility and gather better field insights for future product iterations and customer support, the note added.

Shares gained as much as 5.6 percent to Rs 532.8 and are up for the third straight day.

• Top gainer on the Nifty 50 index
• Gains as much as 7.4 percent to Rs 172.85
• Has gained on alternate days this week
• Ended as the top loser on the Nifty in Wednesday's trading session
• Today's volumes are 2.2 times higher than its 30-day average
• Has rebounded 44 percent from its all-time low of Rs 120 on March 19, 2020
• 11 out of the 25 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation; 6 sell calls
• Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg data is 17.2 percent

• Benchmark indices head towards the day's low
• Nifty trades 0.8 percent lower at 9,201
• Sensex trades 0.85 percent lower at 31,446
• Nifty Bank trades 1 percent lower at 19,497
• Nifty Midcap Index down 0.31 percent
• Nifty Smallcap Index up 0.44 percent
• India Volatility Index down 2.1 percent to 40.35
• Nifty Media (Up 0.6 percent) and Nifty PSU Bank (Up 0.1 percent) is the only sectoral gainer
• Bharti Infratel remains the top Nifty gainer; up 6.4 percent
• BPCL remains the top Nifty laggard; down 4.3 percent
• 807 stocks on the NSE are advancing while 906 trade with losses

The company has informed the exchanges that it has resumed manufacturing operations at plant I, III and IV located in Jamshedpur. Operations at the said plants were suspended post the nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19.

The stock currently trades 1.24 percent higher at Rs 168, snapping a three-day losing streak. The stock has gained only on three instances in the last 13 trading sessions.

15.2 lakh shares of the company exchanged hands in a large trade on the National Stock Exchange, as per Bloomberg data.

Buyers and sellers of the trade were not immediately known.

The stock currently trades 0.43 percent higher at Rs 23.10.

In a letter to its employees, the lender said that employees with a CTC of Rs 25 lakh per annum will face a 10 percent reduction in salaries from the month of May for FY21. Employees earning less than Rs 25 lakh per annum will not be impacted, the note said.

Shares fell as much as 4.95 percent to Rs 1,184 and are among the worst performers on the Nifty 50 index.

Shares of the company gained as much as 11.8 percent to Rs 346 before cooling off. This was the biggest one-day gain seen by the stock in three month.

The company's promoter Sameer Gupta had acquired 1.51 lakh shares of the company or 1.15 percent equity at Rs 315 per share on Wednesday.

Gupta had earlier acquired 0.95 percent stake or 1.25 lakh shares of the company at Rs 309.98 per share on Tuesday.

Shares are up for the third straight day today and currently trade with gains of 2.5 percent. Today's volumes are 6 times higher than its 30-day average.

Markets across Europe have opened with a positive bias as plans to reopen economies in Germany and the United Kingdom is offsetting the poor economic data.

The Stoxx 600 has opened with gains of 0.3 percent with gains led by travel and leisure along with retail stocks. Insurance is the only sector underperforming.

Futures on the Dow Jones are trading higher by 155 points. Brent crude trades below the $30 per barrel mark while gold trades little changed.

Here's a look at how the benchmark indices across Europe have opened:

• Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.3 percent at 2,852
• DAX up 0.4 percent at 10,647
• CAC up 0.5 percent at 4,456
• FTSE 100 up 0.2 percent at 5,867
• IBEX 35 up 0.6 percent at 6,710

The company has informed the exchanges that it ha resumed operation in a partial manner in about two-third of its plants after obtaining permision from relevant authorities.

Shares recovered from the day's low and are now trading with gains of 0.3 percent at Rs 374.30, up for the second straight day.

• Trades at an all-time low
• Falls as much as 7.8 percent to Rs 347.15
• Biggest one-day fall in over a month
• Down for the fourth straight day
• Falls 17.1 percent in the last four sessions
• Today's volumes are triple its 30-day average
• The stock has almost halved from its 52-week high of Rs 624.1 on February 20, 2020
• 6 out of the 8 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation; 1 sell call
• Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg data is 41.1 percent

• Benchmark indices fluctuate from the day's low
• Nifty down 0.6 percent at 9,218
• Nifty futures trade at a discount of 10 points
• Sensex down 0.6 percent at 31,497
• Nifty Bank down 0.9 percent at 19,510
• Nifty Midcap Index gives up gains; trades flat
• Nifty Smallcap Index up 0.8 percent
• India Volatility Index down 2 percent to 40.39
• Most sectoral indices trade flat to negative
• Nifty FMCG Index remains top sectoral laggard; down 1.3 percent
• Bharti Infratel remains the top Nifty gainer; up 5.8 percent
• BPCL remains the top Nifty loser; down 3.7 percent
• 809 stocks on the NSE are advancing while 862 are declining

• Among the top performer on the Nifty 500 index
• Snaps four-day losing streak
• Gains as much as 7.9 percent to Rs 445
• Had fallen 7 percent in the four sessions before today
• Today's volumes are nearly double than its 30-day average
• The stock trades at 11.9 times estimated forward Earnings Per Share as compared to 23.2 times for its peers
• The company is set to report its fourth-quarter earnings tomorrow
• Has gained 64 percent from its 52-week low of Rs 268 on March 20, 2020
• All 10 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation
• Return potential for the stock as per Bloomberg data is 19.5 percent

The central bank has maintained status quo on interest rate, keeping them at 0.1 percent. A Bloomberg poll of economists were expecting the rates to remain unchanged.

The committee has voted 7-2 on keeping the asset purchase program unchanged. The Bank of England expects the economy to shrink 14 percent in 2020.

It expects unemployment rising to 8 percent this year while consumer spending is likely to drop 14 percent.

• Suspends dividend payment until the operating environment normalises
• Withdraws its global steel outlook due to market uncertainties created by Covid-19
• Achievement of $7 billion net debt remains a priority
• Confident of completing $2 billion asset portfolio optimisation program by mid-2021
• To take measures to reduce all costs in-line with lower capacity utilisation levels

• Trades at the lowest level since March 2017
• Second worst performer on the Nifty Smallcap Index
• Down for the fourth straight day
• Longest losing streak in a month
• Down 18 percent in the last four trading sessions
• Today's volumes are 2.6 times higher than its 30-day average
• Stock enters oversold territory with Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 26
• The company will report earnings tomorrow
• Has fallen 70 percent from its 52-week high of Rs 533 on May 23, 2019
• 9 out of the 11 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation; 0 sell calls
• Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg data is 174 percent

• 2,000 Call: Premium falls 31.1 percent to Rs 74.25. The contract has added 5.53 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 1,900 Put: Premium fall 7.4 percent to Rs 50.8. The contract has added 7.2 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 2,100 Call: Premium falls 36.6 percent to Rs 41.95. The contract has added 4.4 lakh shares in Open Interest.

The company through its subsidiary Welspun Infrafacility is set to acquire a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project from an Essel Group company, Mukarba Chowk-Panipat Toll Roads Ltd. under the 'Harmonious Substitution' route.

As of date, almost 30 percent of the Rs 2,122 crore project has been completed. A balance of Rs 1,593 crore is to be incurred to complete the project as per its press release.

The project is expected to be completed by June 2021.

Shares gained as much as 4.74 percent to Rs 51.90.

The pharma company received an approval for the Celecoxib oral solution from the U.S. FDA. The said drug is used in the treatment of migrane. The company is looking to commercialise the product through its partners, according to its press release.

Shares gained as much as 2.2 percent to Rs 3,936 and are up for the second straight day.

• Nifty May futures add 20 percent in Open Interest and 15.75 lakh shares
• Nifty Bank May futures add 11.8 percent in Open Interest and 1.74 lakh shares

Nifty: May 7 Expiry

• 9,300 Call: Premium falls 69 percent to Rs 21.5. The contract has added 17.95 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 9,200 Put: Premium falls 35.3 percent to Rs 37.75. The contract has added 15.51 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 9,100 Put: Premium falls 68.6 percent to Rs 9.9. The contract has added 17.27 lakh shares in Open Interest.

Nifty Bank: May 7 Expiry

• 20,000 Call: Premium falls 75.4 percent to Rs 37.2. The contract has added 8.77 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 19,000 Put: Premium falls 72.1 percent to Rs 22.25. The contract has added 10.45 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 20,500 Call: Premium falls 94 percent to Rs 3.15. The contract has added 8.34 lakh shares in Open Interest.

Shares of the healthcare company gained as much as 10 percent to Rs 104.55 after the company's clinical arm, Aster Clinical Lab LLP started to provide RT-PCR confirmatory test services for Covid-19 in Bengaluru.

The lab is fully equipped with advanced instruments to serve routine & specialized investigation e.g. Biochemistry, Haematology, Microbiology, Molecular Diagnostics, Cytogenetics, Digital Histopathology etc., as per the company's press release.

The stock has snapped a three-day losing streak in today's session.

• Benchmark indices recover from day's low
• Nifty down 0.3 percent at 9,246
• Nifty futures trade at a discount of 11 points
• Sensex down 0.3 percent at 31,588
• Nifty Bank down 0.4 percent to 19,612
• Nifty Midcap Index up 0.7 percent
• Nifty Smallcap Index up 1 percent
• India Volatility Index down 2 percent to 40.43
• Nifty FMCG Index remains the only sectoral laggard; down 1.2 percent
• Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Realty index gain 1 percent each
• Bharti Infratel is the top Nifty gainer; up 2.8 percent
• ONGC is the top Nifty laggard; down 3.5 percent
• 968 stocks on the NSE are advancing while 605 are trading with losses

Shares are locked in an upper circuit of 5 percent at Rs 76.80 after Bloomberg reported that Amazon is considering adding to its investment in the company, citing people familiar with the matter.

Amazon currently holds an indirect stake of 1.3 percent in the debt-ridden Indian retailer. It can increase its holdings to as much as 49 percent.

Under the stock exchange rules, a purchase of more than 25 percent stake can trigger an open offer.

Amazon had earlier purchased 49 percent stake in Future Coupons which holds 2.7 percent stake in future retail.

The stock has snapped a seven-day losing streak during which it was locked in a 5 percent lower circuit during each session.

9 crore shares of the company exchanged hands in six large trades on the National Stock Exchange, as per Bloomberg data. The deal took place between Rs 1,938 and Rs 1,951 per share.

GSK group and Horlicks planned to sell 5.69 percent stake or 13.37 crore shares of the company in block deals, thereby offloading their entire stake.

The total number of shares exchanged amount to 3.8 percent of the company's total equity.

Shares fell as much as 5.4 percent to Rs 1,902 and are the worst performers on the Nifty 50 index.

The information technology company's dollar revenue in the March quarter was flat at $2,543 million compared to the previous quarter.

However, the other numbers were ahead of consensus estimates, with net profit rising 3.9 percent to Rs 3,154 crore while Ebit Margins too expanded to 20.9 percent from 20.2 percent in the previous quarter.

The company however has not given any guidance for FY21, joining the list of companies that have suspended giving future outlook due to the uncertainties arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company has also declared a dividend of Rs 2 per share.

Shares gained as much as 4.5 percent to Rs 542.4 and were the top performers on the Nifty 50 index.

Indian markets opened on a cautious note owing to lack of positive cues from across the globe and a slew of stock specific action in today's trade.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened little changed at 31,677 while the NSE Nifty 50 opened 0.4 percent lower at 9,234. After a cautious start, both indices fell 1 percent in the early minutes of trade. The Sensex and Nifty had snapped a two-day losing streak on Wednesday.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Bank and the Nifty FMCG index opened 0.8 percent lower while other indices were largely flat.

818 stocks on the NSE have opened with gains while 974 have opened with losses.

• Buy Mahindra & Mahindra for target of Rs 418 and stop loss of Rs 372
• Buy RBL Bank for target of Rs 145 and stop loss of Rs 126

• Buy Grasim at Rs 479 for target of Rs 489 and stop loss of Rs 474
• Buy Century Textiles at Rs 265 for target of Rs 271 and stop loss of Rs 262

• Hindustan Unilever: GSK Group to sell 5.69 percent stake in the company for $3.3-3.5 billion. The offer prices for 13.37 crore shares ranges between Rs 1,850 - 1,950 per share. The offer prices is at a 3-8 percent discount to Wednesday's closing price. Offering is done via secondary placement of shares. Expected trade date for the same is May 7. Post this, the GSK group would have completely offload their holding in the company.
• TCS: Continental Bank selects TCS BaNCS Cloud to offer richer, digitalised customer experiences. TCS BaNCS will help Continental Bank unify its offerings, integrate lease applications and offer its small and medium business customers a superior banking experience.
• Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories: Received approval for Celecoxib oral solution from the U.S. FDA. The said drug is used to treat migraine.
• HDFC: To raise Rs 5,000 crore via NCDs.
• Aster DM Healthcare: The company's clinical arm, Aster Clinical Lab LLP has started to provide RT-PCR confirmatory test services for Covid-19 in Bengaluru.
• NHPC: Board approved raising debt of Rs 2,000 crore for the fiscal year 2021.
• Adani Transmission: Board to consider raising funds on May 9.
• ACC: The company will hold a board meeting to consider and approve revoking the recommendation for payment of final dividend for 2019, to cancel the earlier record date fixed for the purpose of the final dividend, to declare payment of interim dividend for 2019 if any and to fix a new record date for payment of interim dividend if declared.
• Hindustan Aeronautics: The Ministry of Finance has appointed IDBI Capital Markets, SBI Capital Markets and Yes Securities as merchant bankers and selling brokers for divestment of 15 percent of the government's stake in the company through an Offer for Sale (OFS). Trilegal has been appointed as the legal advisor for the same.
• Maruti Suzuki: To restart production of vehicles at its Manesar plant from May 12.

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

• Benchmark indices fall for the first time in three days
• The S&P 500 and Dow Jones end 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent lower respectively
• Gains in technology shares ensures Nasdaq ends 0.5 percent higher
• A report ahead of the official payroll numbers showed U.S. companies cut a record 20.2 million jobs in April
• Yield on the 10-year treasury rose to 0.7 percent, the highest in three weeks
• The U.S. Dollar strengthens the most in about three weeks
• West Texas Intermediate crude and gold fell 1 percent each

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 1.15 percent to 9,148 as of 7:45 a.m.

Asian stocks are retreating on Thursday morning as investors assess mixed corporate earnings and worsening economic data.

Markets in Japan are underperforming after they resumed trade post the Golden Week holiday. Markets in South Korea, China and Hong Kong are witnessing modest losses.

Futures on the Dow Jones trade higher by 50 points, while treasuries pared an overnight decline. The U.S. dollar is holding on to gains.

Oil prices are trading near the $24-per-barrel mark.

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