Sensex Rises Over 1,350 Points In Five Sessions; Nifty Ends Above 11,050

Indian equity benchmarks ended higher for the fifth day in a row. The S&P BSE Sensex Index ended 0.98 percent higher at 36,975.23 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index ended at 11,062.45, up 1.17 percent. The broader market index, the NSE Nifty 500 ended 0.94 percent higher.

The 31-share index gained over 1,350 points in five trading sessions and the 50-stock index ended above 11,000 for the first time since Oct. 1, 2018.

The market breadth, however, was tilted in favour of sellers. About 977 stocks declined and 737 shares advanced on National Stock Exchange. All the sectoral gauges compiled by NSE advanced led by the NSE Nifty Media Index’s 4.1 percent rally.

Shares of JSW Steel rose as much as 3.4 percent, the most in over two months to Rs 282.90 after its quarterly results announcement for October-December period.

Key earnings highlights (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 11 percent to Rs 20,318 crore.
• Net profit down 7 percent to Rs 1,624 crore.
• Ebitda up 17 percent to Rs 4,501 crore.
• Margin at 22.1 percent versus 21.1 percent.

Reliance Infrastructure

• Stock fell as much as 37.78 percent to Rs 141.40.
• Trading volume was almost 18 times its 20-day average.

Prism Johnson

• Stock rose as much as 13.5 percent to Rs 75.80.
• Trading volume was almost 10-times its 20-day average.

Reliance Nippon Asset Management

• Stock rose as much as 19.6 percent to Rs 163.70.
• Trading volume was more than 12 times its 20-day average.

SRF

• Stock rose as much as 9.9 percnet to Rs 2,225.
• Trading volume was almost five times its 20-day average.

Shares of the pharmaceutical company rose as much as 3.3 percent to Rs 524.80 after the company announced its December quarter results.

Key earnings highlights (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 2 percent to Rs 4,008 crore.
• Net profit down 17 percent to Rs 332 crore.
• Ebitda down 13 percent to Rs 708 crore.
• Margin at 17.6 percent versus 20.9 percent.

Lupin Ltd. reported a surprise loss in the December quarter due to an exceptional loss of Rs 342 crore during the period.

Shares of the pharmaceutical company fluctuated between gains and losses to trade a little changed at Rs 830.

Key Earnings Highlights (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 13 percent to Rs 4,505 crore
• Net loss of Rs 151 crore versus Rs 222 crore profit
• Ebitda up 9 percent to Rs 753 crore.
• Margin at 16.7 percent versus 17.3 percent.

Shares of Adani Ports fell as much as 6.2 percent to Rs 318.85 after the company announced its December quarter results.

Key earnings highlights (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 5.02 percent to Rs 2,824 crore.
• Net profit up 41.7 percent to Rs 1,409 crore.
• Ebitda up 3.32 percent to Rs 1,843 crore.
• Margin at 65.28 percent versus 66.36 percent.

European equities declined, as investors continued watching the company results as a barometer of economic growth.

Graphite India (Q3, YoY)

• Stock rose as much as 6.5 percent to Rs 551.95
• Revenue up 81 percent at Rs 1,855 crore.
• Net profit up 112.8 percent at Rs 764 crore.
• Ebitda up 99.4 percent at Rs 1,083 crore.
• Margin at 58.4 percent versus 53 percent

Adani Power (Q3, YoY)

• Stock fell as much as 8.3 percent to Rs 34.60.
• Revenue up 31.7 percent at Rs 6,380.3 crore.
• Net loss at Rs 1,180.8 crore versus net loss at Rs 1,303.5 crore.
• Ebitda up 54 percent at Rs 1,085.7 crore.
• Margin at 17 percent versus 14.6 percent.

Siemens (Q1, YoY)

• Stock rose as much as 2.8 percent to Rs 1,022.55.
• Revenue up 16 percent to Rs 2,807 crore.
• Net profit up 20 percent to Rs 228 crore.
• Ebitda up 13 percent to Rs 306 crore.
• Margin at 10.9 percent versus 11.1 percent.

Shares of Reliance Communication extended decline for the fourth day and fell as much as 12.6 percent to Rs 4.85.

The stock has been declining ever since the company said that it will approach the National Company Law Tribunal to seek debt resolution under the insolvency law after the Anil Ambani-controlled company failed to make progress on its own.

Shares of Godrej Agrovet fell for the fourth day. The stock declined as much as 1.1 percent to trade at its lowest level since listing.

The stock traded at 306 times estimated forward earnings per share compared to a 34.9 times for the two-year historical average.

Shares of Muthoot Finance fluctuated between gains and losses to trade a little changed at Rs 503.10.

The company's quarterly profit during the three months ended December rose 1.4 percent on a yearly basis to Rs 485.2 crore, according to its stock exchange filing.

Its net interest income came in flat at Rs 1,093.8 crore.

Nifty’s 11,200 call option contract was among the most active Nifty option contracts on National Stock Exchange.

Premium on the contract jumped 58.94 percent to Rs 77.80. About 26,400 shares were removed from the open interest which stood at over 24.16 lakh shares.

Shares of Strides Pharma fluctuated between gains and losses to trade 4.2 percent lower at Rs 405.50.

The company received an Establishment Inspection Report from the U.S. drug regular for its Bengaluru facility, according to its stock exchange filing.

The stock has been declining for 11 trading sessions, its worst losing streak in over a decade.

Shares of Venky’s India fell as much as 6.3 percent to Rs 2,250 after the company announced their December quarter results.

Key Earnings Highlights (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 16.7 percent at Rs 812 crore.
• Net profit down 2.4 percent at Rs 67.7 crore.
• Ebitda down 9.6 percent at Rs 111.5 crore.
• Margin at 13.7 percent versus 17.7 percent.

Shares of the steelmaker rose as much as 1.2 percent to Rs 276.80 per share as the company is scheduled to announce its earnings for the December-ended quarter today.

Here’s what analysts tracked by Bloomberg expects the company to report in their December quarter results:

• Revenue seen 18.4 percent higher at Rs 20,919 crore.
• Net profit is expected to decline 1.5 percent to Rs 1,727 crore.
• Ebitda is expected to rise 14.3 percent to Rs 4,402 crore.
• Margin seen at 21 percent versus 22 percent.

India’s equity benchmark, NSE Nifty 50 Index, is expected to touch 11,150-11,200 in a week or two, according to Angel Broking’s Techincal Analyst Ruchit Jain.

“The rally would be supported by the large-cap stocks which are now showing strength,” Jain told BloombergQuint over the phone, adding that 10,800-level has become a support base for the index.

• Dish TV: About 12 lakh shares changed hands in a block deal on NSE.
• Power Finance: About 34.6 lakh shares changed hands in a block deal on NSE.
• Reliance Power: About 14.7 lakh shares changed hands in a block deal on NSE.
• Zee Entertainment: About 11.3 lakh shares changed hands in a single block.

Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of the multiplex chain operator fluctuated between gains and losses to trade 0.36 percent lower at Rs 1,591.15.

The multiplex chain operator terminated its memorandum of understanding with Al-Futtaim for exploring opportunities to jointly develop cinema business in Middle East and North Africa region, according to its stock exchange filing. The management stated that it has decided against deploying any capital for the afore-mentioned region.

The stock traded at 43 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year, Bloomberg data showed.

Shares of the Bengaluru-based software developer halted a two-day fall. The stock rose as much as 1.4 percent to hit a new all-time high at Rs 765.65.

The stock has returned 33 percent in the past 12 months. The Relative Strength Index was above 70, indicating that the stock may be overbought.

Shares of Tata Chemicals declined for the fifth day and is set of its longest losing streak since October. The stock fell as much as 7.4 percent to Rs 598, its lowest levels since September 2017, after its announced its December quarter results.

Key Earnings Highlights (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 10 percent at Rs 2,831.9 crore.
• Net profit down 71.1 percent at Rs 219.5 crore.
• Ebitda up 3.3 percent at Rs 966 crore.
• Margin at 34.1 percent versus 38.8 percent.
• Deferred tax reversal of Rs 250.4 crore in base quarter.
• Exceptional gains of Rs 59.6 crore in base quarter.
• Other income worth Rs 96.1 crore.

Shares of the information technology company rose as much as 5.8 percent to hit a new all-time high at Rs 794.60. The stock was the top performer on Nifty.

The company’s quarterly profit rose in the three months ended December, led by its communications and enterprise businesses.

Key Earnings Highlights (Q3, QoQ)

• Revenue up 3.6 percent to Rs 8,943 crore.
• Net profit up 14.3 percent to 1,207 crore.
• EBIT up 8.6 percent to 1,439 crore.
• EBIT Margin at 16.1 percent versus 15.4 percent.

Here’s what analysts had to say about Tech Mahindra after it announced its Q3 results:

CLSA

• Maintained ‘Outperform’; hiked price target to Rs 810 from Rs 720.
• Revenue beat led by enterprise and telecom along with strong deal wins.
• Sharp margin surprise and recovery likely complete.
• Hike revenue estimates by 1-3 percent and margin estimates by 75-130 basis points.

Investec

• Maintained ‘Buy’; hiked price target to Rs 870 from Rs 850.
• Solid deal wins ensure continued growth traction.
• Streak of margin improvement could be over for now but don’t expect deterioration.
• Structural growth to drive returns.

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains for the fifth day and are poised for their longest gaining streak in over two weeks.

The S&P BSE Sensex Index rose as much as 0.72 percent to 36,881 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index rose as much as 0.75 percent to reclaim 11,000 for the first time since October.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of buyers. About 816 shares advanced and 659 stocks declined on National Stock Exchange. All the 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE advanced, led by the NSE Nifty Media Index’s 2.4 percent rally.

The Indian rupee opened marginally higher against the U.S. dollar. The home currency appreciated as much as 0.04 percent to 71.54 against the greenback. The investors will be weighing in Trump's State of the Union Address today.

The yield on the most-traded 2028 sovereign debt fell 6 basis points to 7.61 percent yesterday.

The investors are likely to do so before RBI's rate decision due tomorrow as they expect RBI to change its stance from calibrated tightening to neutral, and keep rates unchanged. Traders will also be factoring in Rs 25,000 crore borrowing by states yesterday and keep an eye on Rs 10,000 crore treasury bill sales by the government today.

F&O Cues

• Nifty February futures closed trading at 10,952, premium of 18 points.
• Max open interest for Feb series at 11,000 Call, (open interest at 33.5 lakh shares).
• Max open interest for Feb series at 10,700 Put, (open interest at 32.3 lakh shares).

Stocks In F&O Ban

In Ban

• IDBI
• DHFL

New In Ban

• Jet Airways
• Reliance Capital

Put-Call Ratio

• Nifty PCR at 1.68 versus 1.67.
• Nifty Bank PCR unchanged at 1.04.

CLSA on BHEL

• Maintained ‘Sell’; cut price target to Rs 56 from Rs 86.
• Net profit growth driven by one-off interest as margin missed.
• Believe weak order inflow and falling backlog will not inspire market confidence.
• Cut new orders estimates by 10 percent due to delay of thermal project awards by utilities.

CLSA on Jubilant Food

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 1,600.
• Royalty to parent made no real sense.
• Reversal came as a relief; promoter ‘intent’ was bigger concern than quantum.
• Believe an increased dividend payout to be a better way.

CLSA on ACC

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 1,800.
• Adjusted Ebitda and realisations in-line, but cost ahead.
• Cement volumes were a bit higher; cost higher due to higher cost of manufacture.
• ACC will likely lag the industry in its volume growth in the near term.

CLSA on GAIL

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 420.
• Net profit comes ahead driven by strong gas trading.
• Mgmt. commentary indicates confidence on maintaining gas trading profits.
• This year may be a testing time for U.S. LNG contracts.

CLSA on HPCL

• Maintained ‘Sell’; hiked price target to Rs 210 from Rs 150.
• Refining drives a beat in December quarter.
• Raise EPS estimates as we no longer build in lower marketing margin.
• Weak benchmark GRMs and upcoming elections are headwinds.

Sytematix on Balkrishna Industries

• Initiated ‘Sell’ with a price target of Rs 685.
• See weak demand visibility, peak margin and single-digit earnings growth over FY19-21.
• Expect company to sacrifice margins if volume growth decelerates sharply.
• Increasing competitive intensity is a risk to high Ebtida Margin.

Motilal Oswal on Hindalco

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 338.
• Novelis: Robust quarter despite some headwinds.
• FCF generation robust despite growth capex.
• Outlook remains robust for Novelis.

On Tech Mahindra

CLSA

• Maintained ‘Outperform’; hiked price target to Rs 810 from Rs 720.
• Revenue beat led by enterprise and telecom along with strong deal wins.
• Sharp margin surprise and recovery likely complete.
• Hike revenue estimates by 1-3 percent and margin estimates by 75-130 basis points.

Investec

• Maintained ‘Buy’; hiked price target to Rs 870 from Rs 850.
• Solid deal wins ensure continued growth traction.
• Streak of margin improvement could be over for now but don’t expect deterioration.
• Structural growth to drive returns.

• Leel Electricals price band revised to 5 percent
• Religare Enterprises, Vipul to move into short term ASM Framework

• NOCIL: RBA Finance and Investment Company acquired 9.57 lakh shares or 0.58 percent equity at Rs 124.94 each.

Nifty Earnings To Watch

• Adani Ports & SEZ
• Cipla
• JSW Steel

Other Earnings To Watch

• Adani Power
• Lupin
• Graphite India
• Vodafone Idea
• Ador Fontech
• Alicon Castalloy
• Allahabad Bank
• Arihant Superstructures
• AstraZeneca Pharma
• Bodal Chemicals
• CG Power and Industrial Solutions
• Cummins
• Entertainment Network
• Fortis Malar Hospitals
• Future Consumer
• Gandhi Special Tubes
• Gateway Distriparks
• Himatsingka Seide
• Honda Siel Power Products
• IL&FS Investment Managers
• Indian Hume Pipe
• Indraprastha Gas
• Jindal Stainless
• Kaya
• LKP Finance
• Manappuram Finance
• Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers
• Minda Industries
• Muthoot Finance
• Nitin Castings
• Pennar Engineered Building Systems
• Precision Wires
• Prism Johnson
• PTC
• SH Kelkar and Company
• Sanghi Industries,
• Seamec
• Sharp India
• Shivam Autotech
• Siemens
• Subros
• Tasty Bite Eatables
• The New India Assurance Company
• Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri
• UFO Moviez
• Vardhman Textiles
• Venky's
• Vimta Labs
• Walchandnagar Industries
• Wheels India
• Zydus Wellness
• Centum Electronics
• Bannari Amman Sugars

Earnings Reaction To Watch

HPCL (Q3, QoQ)

• Revenue up 6.8 percent at Rs 72,111.8 crore.
• Net profit down 77.3 percent at Rs 247.6 crore.
• Ebitda down 54.6 percent at Rs 963.2 crore.
• Margin at 1.3 percent versus 3.1 percent.
• Declares interim dividend of Rs 6.5 per share.
• GRMs at $3.72/bbl versus $4.81/bbl.

Aditya Birla Capital (Q3, YoY)

• Net Interest Income up 25.4 percent at Rs 2,684.8 crore.
• Net profit up 40.3 percent at Rs 203.3 crore.
• Other expenses up 45 percent at Rs 606 crore.
• Lending book up 29 percent at Rs 60,129 crore.
• Gross premium of life insurance and health insurance up 39 percent at Rs 1,998 crore.

Tata Chemicals (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 10 percent at Rs 2,831.9 crore.
• Net profit down 71.1 percent at Rs 219.5 crore.
• Ebitda up 3.3 percent at Rs 966 crore.
• Margin at 34.1 percent versus 38.8 percent.
• Deferred tax reversal of Rs 250.4 crore in base quarter.
• Exceptional gains of Rs 59.6 crore in base quarter.
• Other income worth Rs 96.1 crore.

IDFC First Bank (Q3, YoY)

• Net interest income up 131.4 percent at Rs 1,145.2 crore.
• Net loss at Rs 1,538 crore versus net profit at Rs 146.1 crore.
• Provisions at Rs 212.5 crore versus Rs 108.6 crore.
• GNPA at 1.97 percent versus 1.63 percent (QoQ)
• NNPA at 0.95 percent versus 0.59 percent (QoQ)
• Exceptional loss of Rs 2,599.3 crore.

Dish TV (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue down 6 percent at Rs 1,517.5 crore.
• Net profit at Rs 161.7 crore versus net loss at Rs 163.7 crore.
• Ebitda up 4 percent at Rs 517.6 crore.
• Margin at 34.1 percent versus 30.8 percent.
• Deferred tax credit reversal of Rs 128.1 crore.
• Other income at Rs 12.1 crore versus Rs 24.2 crore.
• Approves Investment of Rs 3,000 crore in company’s wholly owned arm ‘Dish Infra Services’ via rights issue.

Sobha (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 13.9 percent at Rs 787.9 crore.
• Net profit up 30.7 percent at Rs 69.8 crore.
• Ebitda up 15.6 percent at Rs 159 crore.
• Margin at 20.2 percent versus 19.9 percent.
• Other income of Rs 9.9 crore.

DLF (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 31 percent at Rs 2,219.3 crore.
• Net profit down 91.8 percent at Rs 335.2 crore.
• Ebitda down 8.7 percent at Rs 640 crore.
• Margin at 28.8 percent versus 41.4 percent.
• Exceptional gain of Rs 8,569.3 crore in base quarter.

Suven Lifesciences (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue down 21.2 percent at Rs 129 crore.
• Net profit down 27.2 percent at Rs 25.2 crore.
• Ebitda down 31.1 percent at Rs 35.5 crore.
• Margin at 27.5 percent versus 31.5 percent

V-Mart Retail (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 26.6 percent at Rs 465.8 crore.
• Net profit up 13.6 percent at Rs 41.7 crore.
• Ebitda up 14.5 percent at Rs 73.4 crore.
• Margin at 15.8 percent versus 17.4 percent.

Prataap Snacks (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 18.7 percent at Rs 308.2 crore.
• Net profit down 28.9 percent at Rs 8.1 crore.
• Ebitda up 7.5 percent at Rs 77.7 crore.
• Margin at 25.2 percent versus 27.8 percent.

Torrent Power (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 18.4 percent at Rs 3,253.5 crore.
• Net profit up 15.6 percent at Rs 237 crore.
• Ebitda down 7.2 percent at Rs 736.4 crore.
• Margin at 22.6 percent versus 28.9 percent.
• Board approved issuing NCDs worth Rs 1,000 crore to raise capital.

Novelis (Hindalco’s subsidiary) (Q3, YoY)

• Sales down 3.2 percent at $3 million.
• Adjusted Ebitda up 5.6 percent at $322 million.
• Net profit down 35.5 percent at $78 million.
• Adjusted Ebitda increased primarily driven by higher shipments, favorable product portfolio mix, favorable metal costs and other cost efficiencies.
• Aleris acquisition continues to progress and is expected to close in the third quarter of calendar year 2019.

Reliance Infrastructure (Q3, YoY)

• Revenue up 0.6 percent at Rs 4,116 crore.
• Ebitda down 19 percent to Rs 691 crore.
• Margin at 16.8 percent versus 20.9 percent.
• Net profit up 8 percent at Rs 325 crore.

• Bharti Airtel clarified that overall debt situation is already comfortable and the planned initiatives will further benefit the debt picture. The board formed a fund-raising committee who will undertake a meeting on Feb. 28.
• Jubilant Lifesciences, Jubilant Industries, Jubilant FoodWorks : Promoter Jubialnt Enpro backtracked its decision to charge corporate brand royalty to companies. The promoter had asked companies to pay 0.25 percent of its consolidated revenue effective from the next financial year as royalty.
• Adani Green Energy’s renewable energy arm commissioned 12 Mwac wind power project in Gujarat. The company’s solar arm also received 390 Mwac of capacity in tenders floated by SECI.
• The Reserve Bank of India imposed a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on Axis Bank for contravention of regulations related to detection of counterfeit notes. The central bank also imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Syndicate Bank for non-compliance with regulations related to fraud classification, risk management.
• HCL Technologies said it will partner with Harris Geospatial Solutions to provide digital solutions to the utility industry.
• Majesco launched billing and payments solutions for the insurance industry.
• Precision Wires stated that out of its expansion project for 8,000 mts/year, 4,000 mts/year worth of capacity has been commissioned and the production has started. The balance project will be completed in the next five months.
• Future Enterprises deferred fund-raising plans.
• Syntex Plastics Technology said that the company was taking positive steps for deleveraging the balance sheet and is also exploring alliance with strategic partner. The company stated that it may monetise certain non-core assets.
• The National Stock Exchange said that Reliance Communicationshas been excluded from equity derivatives segment. The exchange stated that no fresh contracts shall be introduced after the February expiry.
• PVR terminated its memorandum of understanding with Al-Futtaim for exploring opportunities to jointly develop cinema business in Middle East and North Africa region. The management stated that it has decided against deploying any capital for the afore-mentioned region.
• Bank of Baroda raised its MCLR across various tenors by 10-20 basis points. One month MCLR at 8.4 percent and one year MCLR is now at 8.75 percent.
• Century Plyboards board approved setting up of particle board and MDF unit in Uttar Pradesh.
• NBCC said that it secured total business worth Rs 355.9 crore for January.
• Sagar Cements’ consolidated January Cement sales were up 34.94 percent at 3.2 lakh MT versus 2.37 lakh MT.

• Markets are closed in China, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and also in New Zealand.
• Trump delivers a delayed State of the Union address Tuesday evening.
• Central banks in India and the U.K. set rates this week.

• Brent crude halted a two-day rally, traded 0.15 percent higher at $62.07 per barrel.
• West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.2 percent to $53.79 a barrel.
• Gold was at $1,315.13 an ounce.

London Metal Exchange

• Aluminium ended higher for the second day, up 0.16 percent.
• Nickel halted a five-day rally, ended 1.66 percent lower.
• Tin resumed rally after a one-day blip, ended 0.24 percent.
• Zinc halted a four-day rally, ended 2.14 percent lower.
• Lead halted a four-day rally, ended 1.22 percent lower.
• Copper ended higher for the second day, up 1.05 percent.

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 0.4 percent to 11,007.50 as of 8:50 a.m.

Asian stocks saw another muted session Wednesday, with trading becalmed by Lunar New Year holidays.

The Australian moves were a rare bit of action in the region, and futures indicated little excitement at the start of European and U.S. trading sessions. Japanese shares climbed with those in Sydney.

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