Sensex, Nifty Closes At Record High Led By Reliance, TCS

India's equity benchmarks registered their longest stretch of weekly gains since January as new coronavirus cases slow.

The S&P BSE Sensex added 0.3% to 52,474.76, taking the week’s advance to 0.7%. The NSE Nifty 50 Index rose 0.4% to 15,799.35, with both gauges clocking record highs after four weeks of gains. Eleven of the 19 sector sub-indices compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced, led by a measure of metal stocks.

Record-high stocks in the U.S. and falling Treasury yields may be leading investors to look for more risk and potentially better returns in emerging markets.

India equities have drawn the biggest inflows in Asia this month. Global investors have bought Indian shares worth $1.1 billion this month through Tuesday, compared with nearly $749 million for all of last month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The country’s equities have received inflows of more than $7.7 billion this year.

The outlook for economic activity is brightening as pandemic restrictions ease and vaccinations increase. Government and central bank stimulus will continue to help. The central bank now holds more than half of the 10-year bond because of its purchases of government debt.

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. rose 5.3%. Trading in the company's call options was quadruple the average. Trading volume was triple the average for this time of day.

• Trading volume was 6.95 million shares, triple the 20-day average of 2.25 million shares for this time of day.
• Trading in the company's call options totalled 39,400 contracts, compared with the average of 8,825 over the past 20 days. Trading in the company's put options totalled 12,595 contracts, compared with the average of 4,019 over the same period.
• Analysts have 27 buy, four hold, and one sell recommendations on the stock.
• The price target of Rs 1,115.81 represents a 9.9% increase from the last price

General Atlantic-backed hospital chain Krishna Institute of Medical Science Ltd. will sell shares at Rs 815-825 apiece to raise up to Rs 2,144 crore in its initial public offer next week.

The southern healthcare company’s three-day IPO—which opens on June 16— comprises Rs 200 crore of fresh issue and offer for sale by General Atlantic entity, General Atlantic Singapore KH Pte Ltd. to divest 2.35 crore shares, according to its filings. The institute will use Rs 150 crore from the new stock issue to pare debt.

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Shares of the road builder jumped as much as 4.4% after it announced it has emerged as the lowest bidder for the National Highways Authority of India Project.

The project is for the development of Memmadpur (Ambala) - Banur (IT City Chowk) — Kharar (Chandigarh) Corridor under Bharatmala Pariyojana - Package-II - 6 laning of IT City Chowk to Kurali Chandigarh Road (Design length: 31.23 Km) in the state of Punjab on EPC mode.

The company said it has emerged as the Lowest Bidder (L-1) after it quoted a bid price of Rs 726 crore.

• Coal India options volume 3.7x the 20-day average, with 52,056 calls changing hands vs 11,104 puts
  • Stock up 2.9%, volume 2.8x the 20-day average for this time of day
• Tata Consultancy options volume 3x the average, with 77,628 calls vs 21,073 puts
  • Stock up 2.3%, volume 1.1x the average
• Bajaj Finance options volume 2.4x the average, with 151,030 calls vs 56,985 puts
  • Stock up 1.4%, volume 1.3x the average
• Tech Mahindra options volume 1.8x the average, with 19,395 calls vs 4,587 puts
  • Stock up 1.2%, volume 1.2x the average
• Dr Reddy's options volume 1.7x the average, with 41,547 calls vs 8,731 puts
  • Stock up 1.3%, volume 0.6x the average
• Bajaj Finserv options volume 1.7x the average, with 11,152 calls vs 3,606 puts
  • Stock down 0.4%, volume 0.7x the average
• Infosys options volume 1.6x the average, with 48,597 calls vs 18,508 puts
  • Stock up 1.6%, volume 0.8x the average

Sales of passenger vehicles, which include cars and utility vehicles, were 88,045 units in May, compared with 33,546 units a year ago, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

• May passenger car sales at 41,536 units vs 14,460 units YoY
• Two-wheeler sales at 352,717 units vs 279,682 units YoY
• Three-wheeler sales at 1,251 units vs 2,437 units YoY
• Most part of May was under lockdown in many states, impacting overall sales and production, SIAM says

Shares of eClerx Services Ltd. hit an upper circuit as analysts remained bullish on the IT consulting and outsourcing company after its fourth-quarter results, citing improving demand and healthy deal pipeline, among others.

The company saw its revenue rise 19.3% sequentially to Rs 4,728.1 crore in the three months ended March. Its profit increased to Rs 98.83 crore, up nearly 40% over the preceding quarter.

Shares of eClerx rallied 20%, the most in nearly 14 years, to Rs 1613.20 apiece in early trade on Friday. Of the seven analysts tracking the stock, six have a ‘buy’ rating and one recommends a ‘sell’, according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month consensus price targets implies a downside of 6.9%.

To read what analysts made of eClerx’s Q4 performance, click here

A block of 17.4 million shares in Reliance Power Ltd., equivalent to 0.8% of float, traded at a market value of Rs 21.74 crore.

• The price was Rs 12.50 per share, a discount of 1.9% from the open; Reliance Power rose 4.6% today and is up 268% this year
• The block represents 18% of the 20-day average volume
• Total trading reached 61.5 million shares, compared with the 20-day average of 39.4 million for this time of day; Bloomberg model estimates volume will reach 120 million by end of day

Indian equity benchmarks opened at a record high, amid mixed Asia trading, led by Reliance and metal stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.5% to 52,578.07, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index gained 0.5% as well to 0.5% to 15,824, with both gauges set for record highs after four weeks of gains.

Reliance Industries Ltd. gave the biggest boost to both measures, rising nearly 2%. Of the 30 shares in the Sensex, 26 gained and 4 fell. All but one of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. increased, led by a gauge of energy companies.

The outlook for economic activity is brightening as pandemic restrictions ease and vaccinations increase. Government and central bank stimulus will continue to help. Because of central bank purchases of government debt, the RBI now holds more than half of the 10-year bond.

Record-high stocks in the U.S. and falling Treasury yields may be leading investors to look for more risk and potentially better returns in emerging markets.

India equities have drawn the biggest inflows in Asia this month. Global investors have bought Indian shares worth $1.1 billion this month through Tuesday, compared with nearly $749 million for all of last month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The country’s equities have received inflows of more than $7.7 billion this year.

Indian sovereign bonds, which are part of the central bank’s purchase plan due next week, are likely to advance. Traders will await the results of a weekly auction later Friday to see at what cutoffs the RBI offers the benchmark 10-year bond.

• India’s central bank will buy Rs 40,000 crore of bonds under its govt securities acquisition program on June 17, including Rs 10,000 crore of state debt: statement.
  • RBI to buy 6.97% 2026, 6.79% 2027, 7.17% 2028, 7.59% 2029, 5.85% 2030 and 6.64% 2035 bonds under GSAP programme
• USD/INR rose 0.1% to 73.0537 on Thursday
  • Implied opening from forwards suggest spot may start trading around 73.08
• 10-year yields little changed at 6.02%

Asian stocks were steady Friday after U.S. shares and Treasuries rallied as investors judged that a jump in inflation is likely to be transitory, leaving scope for ongoing central-bank support.

Equities edged up in Hong Kong and dipped in Japan and China. India’s SGX Nifty 50 Index futures for June delivery rose 0.1% to 15,794.00, while MSCI Asia Pacific Index +0.1%. The NSE Nifty 50 Index added 0.7% Thursday to 15,737.75.

U.S. equity contracts crept higher following a climb in the S&P 500 to a record overnight and a technology rally that boosted the Nasdaq 100.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield held most of an earlier drop to 1.43%, its lowest point since March. The yield had briefly jumped in U.S. hours on above-forecast gains in consumer prices. The dollar retreated.

The U.S. CPI increase in May was driven largely by categories associated with a broader reopening of the economy, as vaccinations bring the pandemic under control. Despite some signs of wider price pressures, concerns about a spike in longer-term borrowing costs that could destabilize global markets have eased.

Elsewhere, crude oil pared a rally while staying around $70 a barrel. A decision by international banking regulators to classify Bitcoin as the riskiest of assets buffeted the virtual currency, but it remains steady for the week at about $36,250. Later Friday, investors will be keeping an eye on the opening of the Group of Seven leaders’ summit in the U.K.

Back home, SAIL, NHPC, National Fertilizers, eClerx may react as the companies reported quarterly results after the market closed Thursday. BHEL, Sun TV, DLF, Edelweiss are among the companies scheduled to report earnings Friday. Government to release April industrial-production data. Foreign investors bought net Rs 598 crore of stocks on Wednesday, according to NSDL website.