Sensex, Nifty Hold Gains In Lacklustre Trading Session

• Benchmark indices snap two-day losing streak
• Nifty ends 0.76 percent higher at 8,992
• Nifty futures end at a premium of 67 points
• Sensex ends 0.73 percent higher at 30,602
• Nifty Bank ends 1.8 percent higher at 19,400
• Nifty Midcap Index ends 1.8 percent higher
• Nifty Smallcap Index ends 2.8 percent higher
• India Volatility Index ends 7.6 percent lower at 45.92
• Nifty I.T. (Down 1.88 percent) and Nifty FMCG (Down 0.6 percent) were the only sectoral laggards
• Nifty Media Index ends as top sectoral gainer; up 2.6 percent
• Nifty Metal (Up 1.5 percent), Nifty Pharma (Up 1.8 percent) and Nifty PSU Bank (Up 1.5 percent) end with gains
• NTPC ends as the top Nifty gainer; up 6.9 percent
• HCL Tech ends as the top Nifty laggard; down 4 percent
• 1,331 stocks end the day with gains while 462 report losses

Indian markets snapped a two-day losing streak, ending with modest gains in what turned out to be a lacklustre trading session. Benchmark indices managed to eke out gains after trading in a narrow band through the day.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.7 percent higher at 30,602 while the Nifty failed to hold the 9,000 mark to end at 8,992, up by 0.76 percent.

Private Banks like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank which led the sell-off during the last hour of Wednesday's trading session were the primary contributors to the gains.

The India Volatility Index is now well below the mark of 50, ending 8 percent lower at 45.8.

Among sectoral indices, the Media index was the top performer, ending with gains of 3 percent while the Nifty Bank, Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSU Bank gained close to 2 percent. Nifty FMCG and Nifty I.T. were the only sectoral laggards.

1,331 stocks ended the session with gains while 462 reported losses at close.

I.T. bellweather Infosys as informed the exchanges that it will be declaring its January-March quarter result on Monday, April 20, 2020.

The company's top leadership will preside over a common press conference at 4:45 p.m. after the results are announced at around 3:45 p.m., according to the company's statement.

• Top gainer on the Nifty 50 index
• Gains as much as 7.1 percent to Rs 96.3
• Biggest single-day gain since May 19, 2014
• Up for the sixth straight day
• Longest gaining streak since July 2019
• Up 20 percent in the last six trading sessions
• Best six-day rally since May 2014
• Volumes are 0.7 times higher than its 30-day average
• 26 out of the 27 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation; no sell calls
• Return potential for the stock as per Bloomberg data is 50.2 percent

• Buy Nifty around 9,000-9,010 for target of 9,250 and stop loss of 8,900
• Buy ICICI Bank at Rs 346 for target of Rs 358 - 360 and stop loss of Rs 338
• Buy GAIL for target of Rs 92 and stop loss of Rs 87.50

• Sell Nifty on rallies towards 9,100 for target of 8,900 and stop loss of 9,250
• Buy Nestle India for target of Rs 19,500 and stop loss of Rs 16,395
• Buy Aurobindo Pharma for target of Rs 600 and stop loss of Rs 495

• TCS’ 1,700 Put: Premium falls 9 percent to Rs 69. The contract has added 3.6 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• Reliance Industries’ 1,200 Call: Premium rises 31.6 percent to Rs 56.35. The contract has added 85,500 shares in Open Interest.
• State Bank of India’s 200 Call: Premium up 18 percent to Rs 7.25. The contract has added 39,000 shares in Open Interest.

• Nifty April futures add 12.8 percent in Open Interest and 11.7 lakh shares
• Nifty Bank April futures add 30.2 percent in Open Interest and 3.8 lakh shares

Nifty: April 23 Expiry

• 9,000 Call: Premium up 12.8 percent to Rs 231.35. The contract has added 2.1 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 9,100 Call: Premium up 12.8 percent to Rs 181.95. The contract has added 82,050 shares in Open Interest.
• 8,900 Put: Premium falls 37 percent to Rs 151. The contract has added 1.54 lakh shares in Open Interest.

Nifty Bank: April 23 Expiry

• 19,500 Call: Premium up 10 percent to Rs 542.45. The contract has added 33,140 shares in Open Interest.
• 21,000 Call: Premium falls 11.5 percent to Rs 117.55. The contract has added 38,640 shares in Open Interest.
• 19,000 Put: Premium falls 32.3 percent to Rs 507.25. The contract has added 55,480 shares in Open Interest.

• Up for the ninth straight session
• Longest winning streak since listing in July 2007
• Up 57 percent in the last nine sessions
• Had fallen to an eight-year low of Rs 81 on March 25, 2020; up 71 percent since then
• Trades at the highest level since March 6, 2020

Weakness continued in the Indian currency, ending weaker for the third successive session tracking strength in the U.S. Dollar and weakness in other EM currencies.

The rupee ended at 76.79 against the greenback, a record closing low. It made an intra-day record low of 76.86.

The rupee was among the worst performing EM currencies after the South Korean Won, Malaysian Ringgit, Czech Koruna and the Mexican Peso.

Yield on the 10-year bond ended at 6.44 percent.

• Gains as much as 13.6 percent to Rs 74.90
• Second biggest gainer on the Nifty Smallcap Index
• Biggest single-day gain since October 10, 2017
• Snaps three-day losing streak
• Surges on heavy volumes which are 4.1 times higher than its 30-day average
• Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg data is 71.2 percent

Key Estimates (QoQ)

• A BloombergQuint poll sees the company's Dollar revenue declining 0.5 percent to $5,560 million from $5,586 million
• Rupee revenue seen 1.3 percent higher at Rs 40,739 crore
• EBIT seen 0.7 percent higher at Rs 10,044 crore
• EBIT Margins likely to remain flat at 24.9 percent versus 25 percent
• Net profit seen 1.2 percent higher at Rs 8,219 crore

Key Factors To Watch

• Outlook under Covid-19 environment
• Company had indicated an 8 percent growth for FY20
• Margins unlikely to move above targeted range of 26-28 percent
• Demand from impacted BFS and retail verticals
• Client budget and spending trends
• Pace of project execution under new settings
• Outlook on employee costs and on-boarding

European markets along with the U.S. futures have reversed losses and are trading higher. This despite markets in Japan and Hong Kong ending with losses and disappointing macro economic data.

Volumes across the Asia-Pacific remained well below their daily average. Here is a look at how benchmark indices across Europe have opened:

• Euro Stoxx 50 up 1.1 percent to 2,838
• DAX up 1 percent to 10,376
• CAC up 0.9 percent to 4,391
• FTSE 100 up 0.7 percent to 5,637
• IBEX 35 up 1 percent to 6,910

• Fourth highest gainer on the Nifty Next 50 Index
• Locked in a 5 percent upper circuit
• Up for the fourth straight day
• Three upper circuits of 5 percent in the last four sessions
• Has gained for 12 out of the last 13 trading sessions
• Up 52 percent in the last 13 sessions
• Trades at the highest level in a month
• Up 60 percent from 52-week low of Rs 81.5 on March 23, 2020

• Top gainer on BSE Midcap Index
• Locked in a 10 percent upper circuit
• Up for the second day in a row
• Up 33 percent from 52-week low of Rs 128.45 on April 7, 2020
• Volumes are 0.9 times higher than its 30-day average
• Trades at 6.4 times estimated forward EPS as compared to two-year historical average of 13 times
• 28 out of the 38 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation with 3 sell calls
• Return potential for the stock as per Bloomberg data is 83.1 percent

• Benchmark indices fluctuate between gains and losses
• Nifty up 0.5 percent at 8,976
• Nifty futures trade at a premium of 33 points
• Sensex up 0.5 percent at 30,533
• Nifty Bank up 0.8 percent at 19,197
• Nifty Midcap Index up 0.8 percent
• Nifty Smallcap Index up 1.5 percent
• India Volatility Index down 4.7 percent to 47.4
• Nifty Auto and Nifty I.T. are the only sectoral laggards and both are off their day's low
• Nifty Metal, Pharma, Media and Realty index gain over 1 percent
• Vedanta remains the top Nifty gainer; up 6.1 percent
• Tech Mahindra is the top Nifty laggard; down 4 percent
• 1,141 stocks trade with gains while 544 are trading with losses

• Falls as much as 6.8 percent to Rs 270
• Snaps five-day gaining streak
• Had gained 31 percent during the five sessions before today
• Worst performer on the Nifty 500 index
• Volumes are 1.3 times higher than its 30-day average
• Has bounced 35 percent from 52-week low of Rs 202 on March 23, 2020
• 14 out of the 27 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation with 2 sell calls
• Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg data is 20.1 percent

• Locked in a 10 percent upper circuit
• Among top 3 gainers on the Nifty 500 index
• Biggest single-day move since January 5, 2018
• Up for the second straight day
• Today's volumes are 3.7 times higher than its 30-day average
• Up for 7 out of the last 8 trading sessions
• Up 25 percent in the last 8 trading sessions
• Up 41 percent from 52-week low of Rs 690 made on March 16, 2020
• 4 out of the 8 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation
• Return potential for the stock as per Bloomberg data is 41.7 percent

• Gains as much as 7.25 percent to Rs 84.30
• Up for the seventh straight day
• Longest gaining streak since September 2017
• Up 32 percent in the last seven sessions
• Trades at the highest level in a month
• Volumes in today's session are 1.9 times higher than its 30-day average
• 11 out of the 21 analysts tracking the stock have a buy rating with 2 sell calls
• Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg data is 66.5 percent

• TCS’ 1,700 Put: Premium up 20 percent to Rs 90.95. The contract has added 1.05 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• Reliance Industries’ 1,200 Call: Premium up 27.3 percent to Rs 54.5. The contract has added 14,000 shares in Open Interest.
• Infosys’ 600 Put: Premium up 34 percent to Rs 23.8. The contract has added 2.28 lakh shares in Open Interest.

• Nifty April futures add 6.3 percent in Open Interest and 5.77 lakh shares.
• Nifty Bank April futures add 18.2 percent in Open Interest and 2.3 lakh shares.

Nifty: April 16 Expiry

• 9,000 Call: Premium falls 58 percent to Rs 28.3. The contract has added 8.7 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 8,800 Put: Premium falls 62 percent to Rs 24. The contract has added 14.91 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 9,100 Call: Premium falls 73 percent to Rs 9.5. The contract has added 10.8 lakh shares in Open Interest.

Nifty Bank: April 16 Expiry

• 19,500 Call: Premium falls 72.6 percent to Rs 36. The contract has added 5.4 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 18,500 Put: Premium falls 55.5 percent to Rs 66.1. The contract has added 4.3 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 19,000 Call: Premium falls 42.5 percent to Rs 186.7. The contract has added 3.32 lakh shares in Open Interest.

The company's Heavy Engineering arm has won orders for key Gasification equipment from Wuhan Engineering Ltd. for Talcher Fertiliser, the first of its kind gasification project in India.

The project will produce 1.27 MMTPA of Urea through the gasification of the mixed feedstock of Indian coal with high ash content and pet coke.

The order falls under the 'significant' category as per the company's press release, implying the contract value to be between Rs 1,000 crore - Rs 2,500 crore.

Shares gained as much as 4.1 percent to Rs 916 and are up for the seventh straight day. This is the longest winning streak for the stock since December 2017.

• Benchmark indices fluctuate between gains and losses
• Nifty down 0.3 percent at 8,898
• Nifty futures trade at a premium of 19 points
• Sensex down 0.4 percent at 30,263
• Nifty Bank down 0.6 percent at 18,935
• Nifty Midcap Index up 0.5 percent
• Nifty Smallcap Index up 1 percent
• India Volatility Index down 3.5 percent to 48
• Nifty I.T. index top sectoral laggard; down 3.2 percent
• Nifty Metal index bucking the trend; up 1 percent
• Vedanta is the top Nifty gainer; up 5.1 percent
• Infosys is the top Nifty laggard; down 4.4 percent
• 1,055 stocks are advancing while 550 stocks decline

The Indian currency opened at a record low, tracking weakness in the U.S. dollar and weak macro data domestically.

The rupee opened at 76.74, compared to Wednesday's close of 76.44 against the greenback. India's trade deficit narrowed to $9.76 billion in March compared to a Bloomberg estimate of $7 billion.

Yield on the 10-year bond opened at 6.423 compared to Wednesday's close of 6.425. Bond traders look forward to the Reserve Bank of India's fourth long-term repo operation worth Rs 25,000 crore on Friday.

Shares of the private lender gained as much as 4.22 percent to Rs 442 on the National Stock Exchange. It is among the few gainers on the Nifty 50 index.

Brokerage firm Goldman Sachs acquired 41 lakh shares or 0.65 percent equity of the Bank in Wednesday's trading session at Rs 430.3 per share.

However, another firm Macquarie cut IndusInd Bank's price target by as high as 70 percent on Wednesday to Rs 470 from the earlier Rs 1,558.

Shares are up for the third straight day.

The company had informed the stock exchanges on Wednesday that their third party job work manufacturing units in Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Haryana have resumed operations.

The units are being operated in-line with the terms and conditions of the orders of the local administration, as per the company's exchange filing.

Shares snapped a four-day losing streak, gaining as much as 12.26 percent to Rs 499 before cooling off.

The Board of Directors of the company have approved the issuance of listed, secured, redeemable NCDs worth Rs 500 crore on a private placement basis.

The NCDs will be issued in one or more tranches to certain eligible investors permitted to invest in them, as per the company's exchange filing.

Shares gained as much as 6.8 percent to Rs 76. Sameet Chavan of Angel Broking had a buy recommendation on the stock on BloombergQuint this morning with a price target of Rs 80 and stop loss of Rs 66.7.

Shares of the I.T. major have recovered from the day's low, falling as much as 6 percent to Rs 175.30 on the National Stock Exchange after its fourth quarter earnings.

The company's dollar revenue fell 1.1 percent on a sequential basis while margins too saw a 100 basis point contraction to 16.1 percent. The company has temporarily suspended the practice of providing quarterly guidance.

Shares currently trade 1.4 percent lower at Rs 180.

Indian equity markets opened lower for the third day in a row, following weak cues from Wall Street and the Asia Pacific markets.

The S&P BSE sensex opened 0.94 percent lower at 30,095, adding to Wednesday's 1 percent fall while the NSE Nifty 50 index opened 0.83 percent lower at 8,851.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty I.T. index was the top laggard, opening with declines of 2 percent while other indices opened with losses between 0.5 to 1 percent.

Market breadth remains in favour of the advances with 1,205 stocks opening with gains while 640 have opened with losses.

• Buy Tata Elxsi for target of Rs 784 and stop loss of Rs 708
• Buy Motherson Sumi for target of Rs 79 and stop loss of Rs 66.70

• Sell Nifty below 8,875 for target of 8,750 and stop loss of 8,950
• Sell Kotak Mahindra Bank futures for target of Rs 1,050 and stop loss of Rs 1,235
• Buy Hindustan Unilever for target of Rs 2,630 and stop loss of Rs 2,430

• Tata Steel: Moody's reviews Ba2 Corporate Family Rating for downgrade. Outlook revised to ratings under review from stable.
• India Cements: CARE ratings downgrades long-term banking facilities and NCDs to CARE A- from CARE A plus. Outlook is unchanged at stable.
• Grasim: The company in a conference call has stated that strong cyclical headwinds across all key businesses can put significant pressure on earnings.
• IndusInd Bank: Goldman Sachs bought 41 lakh shares or 0.65 percent stake at Rs 430.3 per share
• Metropolis Healthcare: Smallcap World Fund acquired 10 lakh shares or 1.99 percent stake at Rs 1,152.5 per share
• BPCL: Bloomberg News reports that the company is looking to cut oil imports from Saudi Arabia by 50 percent in May as the tankers are full.
• Shriram Transport Finance: To consider raising funds on April 20.

• Benchmark indices tumble following slew of weak economic data
• S&P 500 retreated from its one-month high, ending 2.2 percent lower
• Retail sales were the worst on record since 1992 while manufacturing was lowest since 1946
• Earnings of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup impacted due to large provisions
• The Bloomberg Dollar spot index gained 1 percent
• Yield on the 10-year treasury fell 12 basis points to 0.63 percent
• West Texas Intermediate Crude fell to a two-decade low of $19.87 per barrel. The commodity trades with modest gains today

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 0.77 percent to 8,861 as of 7:45 a.m.

Asian markets are declining along with futures in Europe and the U.S. after a slew of weak economic data from the world's largest economy.

Markets in Japan, South Korea and Australia are declining while the U.S. dollar is extending gains.

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