Sensex, Nifty End Little Changed Dragged By RIL, HDFC & ICICI Bank

Indian equity markets gave up nearly all of their gains to end little changed. The S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty50 Index traded volatile for most parts of the day and ended with marginal gains.

Both the benchmark indices ended with gains of 0.16 percent. The Sensex ended at 38,470 while the Nifty closed at 11,269.

Among sectoral indices, Media, Metal and Real Estate sectors were the key laggards. The FMCG along with the PSU Banking index ended with gains, though substantially off the highest point.

Market breadth was nearly 1:1 with 785 stocks ending with gains while 759 stocks closed with losses.

Today’s Market Turnover

• BSE Cash: Rs 2,391 Crore
• NSE Cash: Rs 44,514 Crore
• NSE F&O: Rs 37,09,872 Crore
• Total: Rs 37,56,777 Crore

• Pidilite Industries: Trading at a life-time high
• Future Consumer: Longest winning streak in seven months
• Cadila Healthcare: Gets DGCI approval for hepatitis drug
• Jubilant Foodworks: Fresh longs seen with high open interest and heavy volumes

Shares of Parag Milk Foods Ltd. fell to an all-time low of Rs 71 in today's trading session. The stock has traded lower for 16 out of the last 18 trading sessions and has lost Rs 278 crore in market capitalisation during that period.

The dairy company has fallen 74 percent from its 52-week high of Rs 276.05 which it achieved on July 05, 2019.

10 out of the 14 analysts tracked by Bloomberg continue to maintain a 'buy' rating on the stock while the other four have a 'hold' rating. It has traded below its Bloomberg consensus price target since May 2018.

From Yes Securities' Aditya Agarwala

• Buy Torrent Power for target of Rs 335; Stop Loss of Rs 308
• Buy Eicher Motors for target of Rs 19,000; Stop Loss of Rs 17,000

From Viratech Software's Rahul Mohindar

• Buy Biocon for target of Rs 330 and Stop Loss of Rs 303
• Sell Axis Bank for target of Rs 660 and Stop Loss of Rs 691

The private lender has clarified to the exchanges that it has not received any communication from the government, RBI or any regulatory authority about SBI being asked to form a consortium to buy stake in the bank.

Bloomberg had reported this morning that the government has given a nod to a plan, asking SBI to lead a consortium of banks to purchase stake in the capital-starved lender.

• 11,400 call adds 36.5 lakh shares
• 11,350 call adds 22.7 lakh shares
• 11,300 put adds 24.3 lakh shares

• Praj Industries to pay dividend of Rs 2.7 per share
• Ratnamani Metals and Tubes to pay dividend of Rs 12 per share
• Insecticides India to pay interim dividend of Rs 4 per share

FDC

• Stock rose as much as 6.9 percent to Rs 242.80.
• Trading volume was more than 10 times its 20-day average.

SKF

• Stock fell as much as 1.4 percent to Rs 1,806.80.
• Trading volume was more than 10 times its 20-day average.

3M India

• Stock rose as much as 9 percent to Rs 24,349.90.
• Trading volume was nine times its 20-day average.

10 Lakh Shares of the Pharmaceutical research and development company changed hands in a large trade on the NSE, as per Bloomberg data. Buyers and Sellers were not known immediately. The stock trades at Rs 232.9 per share, up by 2.64 percent as of 1 PM.

13.2 lakh shares of the automobile major changed hands in a large trade, as per Bloomberg data. Buyers and sellers were not immediately known. The stock trades at Rs 126.90, up 0.55 percent as of 12:40 PM.

Asian stocks extended a global equity rally after an emergency U.S. spending bill to combat the impact of the coronavirus added to signs of support from policy makers around the world.

• Japan’s Topix index rose 0.9 percent at the 3 p.m. close in Tokyo.
• South Korea’s Kospi index climbed 1.3 percent.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2 percent.
• The Shanghai Composite Index added 1.7 percent.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.1 percent.
• Futures on the S&P 500 Index dipped 0.4 percent.
• The underlying gauge advanced 4.2 percent on Wednesday.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures added 1.1 percent.
• MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose 1.2 percent.

Get your daily fix of global markets here.
Source: Bloomberg

Metals and mining major Vedanta Ltd.'s dollar bonds due in 2024 fell to an all-time low of 79.1 cents after Moody's Investors Services cut its rating to B1, citing volatile commodity prices hampering the company's earnings prospects.

Shares of Indian hotels extended declines for the fifth consecutive trading session. The stock fell as much as 7.2 percent to 115, the lowest since October 2018.

The company lost Rs 2,872 crore in market capitalisation in five trading sessions. The Relative Strength Index was 24, indicating that the stock may be oversold, according to Bloomberg data.

Trading volume was double its 20-day average, according to Bloomberg data. Thirteen out of 14 analysts tracked by Bloomberg have a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock. The scrip is trading below the Bloomberg consensus price target since June 2016.

Eight out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE traded higher, led by the NSE Nifty FMCG Index’s 1.8 percent gain. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty Realty Index was the top sectoral loser, down 1.6 percent.

Sudip Bandhopadhyay, Inditrade JRG Group

• Very positive news for entire banking entire industry
• Yes Bank saga does not showcase banking industry in positive light
• Large provisions in their results would have eroded capital adequacy to much below desired levels.
• Not sure whether SBI will be merged or will buy some stake.
• SBI coming in brings credibility. Consortium will settle the bank.

Abizer Diwanji, EY

• If this is an investment, then it is a stop-gap arrangement
• There was not adequate capital to make the provisions
• Capital structure of the bank is a problem
• SBI provides the breather in the form of capital
• RBI will not allow any bank to fail
• If it is a merger, then we are washing away the problem
• There are enough banks who don't have the capital cushion to take the hit

India's government has approved a plan for State Bank of India to lead a consortium that will buy stake in Yes Bank, people in the know have told Bloomberg. SBI has also been authorised to pick other members of the consortium.

The SBI Chairman in response to a query from BloombergQuint has termed the news as a ‘speculation.’

Shares of Yes Bank Ltd. jumped as much as 17.24 percent, the most since October 2019 to Rs 34.35 on the National Stock Exchange. On the other hand, Shares of SBI fell as much as 5.36 percent to Rs 270.

Read the complete story HERE.

Nifty’s 11,400 call option contract was among the most active Nifty option contracts on National Stock Exchange.

Premium on the contract, which is set to expire today, dropped 85.8 percent to Rs 2.15. About 24.35 lakh shares were added to the open interest which stood at over 45.85 lakh shares.

44.9 lakh shares for the aviation company changed hands in three large trades on the NSE, as per Bloomberg data. Buyers and sellers were not immediately known. The stock currently trades at Rs 70.55 per share, down 0.5 percent.

18.5 lakh shares exchanged hands in a single large trade on the NSE, as per Bloomberg data. Buyers and sellers were not immediately known. The stock trades little changed as of 10:25 AM at Rs 447.85.

Markets are likely to bounce back after the Coronavirus issue is settled, according to Mahesh Patil of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC. Here Are some of the key highlights from the interaction he had on BloombergQuint:

• Expect good inflows from foreign investors into India
• Growth stocks will continue to do well
• Like small ticket Consumer Discretionary Space
• Corporate Private Banks to gain share from PSU Banks
• Like Cement and Telecom sector at current levels

The full service logistics company is up for the fourth straight day. The stock gained as much as 3.71 percent to Rs 114.75 after it got the approval from market regulator SEBI for its open offer to acquire 26 percent stake in Gati.

The company said in a media statement that it has already deposited Rs 238 crore in an escrow account as per SEBI norms and the open offer expected to be launched in the month of March and closed by April.

Indian equities opened higher, led by the gains in Reliance Industries Ltd. and HDFC Bank Ltd.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.6 percent to 38,635 and the NSE Nifty 50 rose 0.64 percent to 11,327.

Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU Bank are the top sectoral gainers.

The market breadth is in favour of advances with 1,088 stocks advancing as compared to 457 stocks that are trading with losses.

The Indian rupee opened lower against the U.S. dollar. The home currency depreciated as much as 0.28 percent to 73.43 against the greenback.

Indian equities are set for a positive start.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.5 percent to 38,592 during the pre-market trade and the NSE Nifty 50 rose 0.66 percent to 11,324.

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From Religare’s Manoj Vayalar

For Nifty:
Short 11,300 call of today's expiry at Rs 45
Short 11,300 put of today's expiry at Rs 85
Net Premium of Rs 130 for target of Rs 40

For Nifty Bank:
Short 29,300 call of today's expiry at Rs 50-60
Target of Rs 10
Stop loss at 29,300 spot level

• Fall in crude oil prices may help bonds extend their gains
• RBI is planning a second round of long-term repo operations, reports Reuters
• The currency is likely to start trade around 73.48 versus the U.S. Dollar

• Allcargo Logistics: Gets SEBI approval for its open offer to acquire 26 percent stake in Gati
• GAIL, Oil India: Government detaches PSUs from the Supreme Court order seeking Rs 1.47 lakh crore
• HDFC: Reduces retail prime lending rate on housing loans by five basis points, effective March 9
• HDFC Bank: Renu Sud Karnad is part of the re-constituted search committee to identify the next Managing Director
• IndusInd Bank: To consider raising funds via debt on March 9
• Deepak Nitrite: To invest Rs 56.4 crore to acquire 20 percent stake in Oman arm which will manufacture chlor-alkali and downstream products
• Andhra Bank: Government of India increases holding to 88.25 percent
• Max Financial: Board approves Mitsui Sumitomo to acquire 21.87 percent stake through a share swap, in order to simplify the shareholding structure of the group
• Maruti Suzuki: Partners with HDB Financial Services to provide car loans

Know more market cues in detail here.

Here are five key highlights from Wednesday's trading action on Wall Street:

• The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended with gains between 3.8 to 4.5 percent
• Benchmark indices saw the most number of 4 percent or more moves in five sessions since August 2011
• U.S. Markets took heart from the 'emergency rate cut' from the U.S. Federal Reserve and Democratic candidate Joe Biden's campaign momentum
• The Nasdaq composite has turned positive on a year-to-date basis after Wednesday's surge. S&P 500 and Dow Jones remain in the negative
• The CBOE Volatility Index fell 13 percent to 33.53, but remained above its historical average of 19

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 0.2 percent to 11,224 as of 7:35 a.m.

Asian Markets are surging higher in hopes stimulus from central banks. Markets have opened higher in Japan, China and Australia.

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