Sensex, Nifty Clock Best Two-Day Rally In Nearly Three Weeks

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains for the second day and clocked their best two-day rally in nearly three weeks.

The S&P BSE Sensex Index closed 0.4 percent higher at 35,898.35 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index ended at 10,789.85, up 0.51 percent.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. About 1,183 stocks advanced and 540 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

Ten out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE advanced, led by the NSE Nifty Pharma Index’s 1.28 percent rally. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty IT Index was the only sectoral loser, down 0.13 percent.

Ashoka Buildcon

• Stock rose as much as 11 percent to Rs 124.25.
• Trading volume was almost triple its 20-day average.

IndoStar Capital Finance

• Stock rose as much as 9.1 percent to Rs 349.70.
• Trading volume was more than quadruple its 20-day average.

Just Dial

• Stock rose as much as 8.1 percent to Rs 513.85.
• Trading volume was nearly double its 20-day average.

Relaxo Footwears

• Stock fell as much as 2.6 percent to Rs 728.10.
• Trading volume was almost 40 times its 20-day average.

European stocks fluctuated between gains and losses as optimism over trade talks was countered by a spat over coal imports between Australia and China.

The NSE Nifty Metal Index extended gains for the third consecutive trading session, led by APL Apollo Tubes Ltd.’s 4.3 percent advance.

• Indian equity benchmarks traded at day’s high.
• Sensex rose as much as 0.5 percent to 35,934.07 and the Nifty traded near 10,800.
• All the 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE advanced, led by NSE Nifty Metal Index’s 1.2 percent rally.

Shares of the automotive components manufacturer fell as much as 4.4 percent to Rs 214 after the company swung to loss in December quarter.

Key Earnings Highlights (Q4 CY18, YoY)

• Revenue up 9.5 percent to Rs 614.9 crore.
• Net loss of Rs 89.5 crore versus net profit of Rs 14.6 crore.
• Ebitda up 17 percent to Rs 69.4 crore.
• Margin at 11.3 percent versus 10.6 percent.
• Exceptional loss of Rs 128.6 crore.

About 25 lakh shares of NALCO changed hands in a block deal, Bloomberg data showed. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

Shares of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group companies advanced after declining in yesterday’s trade.

Reliance Capital invited its partner Nippon Life Insurance to make an offer to acquire the entire 42.88 percent stake held by Reliance Capital in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

Nippon Life Insurance currently holds 42.88 percent stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management.

Reliance Communications-Ericsson Case Update

Shares of the biscuit maker rose as much as 3 percent to Rs 3,010.

Brokerage and research firm Credit Suisse upgraded the company’s stock rating to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Neutral’. It also raised price target to Rs 3,400.

Here’s what Credit Suisse had to say:

• Expect Britannia to gain as the government stimulus for rural consumption starts boosting consumption.
• Distribution expansion focus on Hindi belt, premium biscuits will aid market share gains.
• Britannia well positioned to gain share within biscuits.

Nifty’s 10,800 option contract was among the most active Nifty option contracts on National Stock Exchange.

Premium on the contract dropped 23.15 percent to Rs 7.80. Over 15.59 lakh shares were added to the open interest which stood at over 30 lakh shares.

Shares of Tech Mahindra hit a new all-time high after the company announced share buyback.

“The BPO operator plans to repurchase up to 2.1 percent of the total paid-up equity capital at Rs 950 apiece, aggregating to Rs 1,956 crore,” it said in a statement on the exchanges.

The Relative Strength Index was 72, indicating that the stock may be overbought, Bloomberg data showed.

Ashok Leyland Ltd. expects about 20 percent industry growth in the next financial year on the back of pre-buying ahead of BSVI emission norms, its Chief Financial Officer Gopal Mahadevan told BloombergQuint in an interaction.

Key Highlights From The Conversation:

• December quarter numbers were low not only for us, but also for the industry.
• Base Effect and higher growth in the first half of the current financial year impacted December quarter results.
• Axle Load norms, insurance costs and NBFC Liquidity issues also impacted the truck demand.
• The company would be pursuing both market share and profitability.
• Industry actually grew during previous emission norm changes.
• Light Commercial Vehicle business is highly accretive to Ashok Leyland’s margin.
• Ashok Leyland has turned around Hinduja Foundry business as well.
• LCV is a big opportunity for the export markets for the company.

About 11.5 lakh shares Edelweiss Financial Services changed hands in a block deal on NSE, according to Bloomberg data. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

Shares of the Bengaluru-based autoparts maker jumped 13.1 percent intraday, the most since Nov. 15, 2018, to Rs 1,468.

The company signed an Memorandum of understanding with JSC Russian Helicopters to build fabrication and ancillary parts, according to its statement on the exchanges.

The trading volume was almost 120 times the 20-day average for this time of the day, according to Bloomberg data.

Shares of the asset management extended gains for the second day and rose as much as 8.1 percent to Rs 625.

Trading volume was almost seven times its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed. The stock has declined 48 percent in the past 12 months compared to an 6.1 percent advance in the Sensex.

Shares of the pharmaceutical company fluctuated between gains and losses to trade a little changed at Rs 2,525.10.

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories said it has re-launched the generic version of blockbuster drug Suboxone in the U.S. markets. (more details here)

The stock traded at 19.6 times its estimated forward earnings per share compared to a 21.4 times for the two-year historical average, Bloomberg data showed.

Shares of the PSU banks extended gains for the fourth consecutive trading session.

The government will infuse Rs 48,239 crore in 12 public-sector banks to provide minimum regulatory capital to banks that come under RBI’s prompt corrective action framework, and to prevent weak banks from breaching the framework’s triggers.

Indian equity benchmarks swung between gains and losses in the open. The S&P BSE Sensex Index traded 0.04 percent lower at 35,742 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index traded at 10,725.55, down 0.09 percent.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of buyers. About 779 stocks advanced and 615 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

Seven out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE advanced, led by the NSE Nifty PSU Bank Index’s 0.96 percent advance. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty IT Index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.59 percent.

The Indian rupee opened marginally higher against the U.S. dollar. The home currency appreciated as much as 0.09 percent to 71.05 against the greenback.

In the sovereign bond market, traders will await the minutes of RBI's Feb. 7 meeting that delivered a surprise rate cut. The minutes will help the market understand the stance of the various members and clues to further easing. Also, RBI plans to buyback up to Rs 12,500 crore of bonds under open market operations. Yield on the most-traded 2028 bond is likely to stay in a range of 7.52-7.60 percent in the day.

F&O Cues

• Nifty February futures closed trading at 10752, premium of 16 points.
• Max open interest for Feb. 28 series at 11,000 Call (open interest at 39.9 lakh shares).
• Max open interest for Feb. 28 series at 10,400 Put (open interest at 31.7 lakh shares).

Stocks In F&O Ban

In Ban:

• Adani Enterprises
• IDBI
• Jet Airways
• Reliance Power
• PC Jeweller
• Reliance Infrastructure

New in Ban

• Kaveri Seed
• Reliance Capital

Put-Call Ratio

• Nifty PCR at 1.3 versus 1.12.
• Bank Nifty PCR at 1.26 versus 0.96.

• Music Broadcast record date for share split from Rs 10 to Rs 2 per share.
• Monte Carlo Fashions ex-date for share buyback.

Wonderla Holidays

• Steinberg India Emerging Opportunities Fund acquired 6.27 lakh shares or 1.11 percent equity at Rs 270 each.
• Promoter Sheela Kochouseph sold 7 lakh shares or 1.24 percent equity at Rs 270 each.

Responsive Industries

• Stream Value Fund acquired 42.85 lakh shares or 1.61 percent equity at Rs 90 each.
• Passage to India Master Fund sold 42.85 lakh shares or 1.61 percent equity at Rs 90 each.

Mahindra CIE Automotive (Q4 Calendar Year 2018 Standalone, YoY)

• Revenue up 9.5 percent to Rs 614.9 crore.
• Net loss of Rs 89.5 crore versus net profit of Rs 14.6 crore.
• Ebitda up 17 percent to Rs 69.4 crore.
• Margin at 11.3 percent versus 10.6 percent.
• Exceptional loss of Rs 128.6 crore.

• Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories said it has re-launched the generic version of blockbuster drug Suboxone in the U.S. markets.
• BPCL shareholders gave nod to raising Rs 2,000 crore via NCDs for financial year 2019.
• Moody’s changed its outlook on JSW Steel’s rating to positive from stable and affirmed ‘Ba2’ rating on corporate family rating and senior unsecured notes.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India relaxed norms for the proposed buyback of Coal India. The regulatory board stated that transfer of securities from Promoters to Bharat 22 ETF Scheme is a part of ongoing disinvestment program and the mechanism is in the interest of the investors and securities markets.
• Shakti Pumps said that the after CCEA approved launch of KUSUM scheme and Phase II of grid connected solar rooftop solutions and it will positively impact the company as well as the industry.
• Bank of Baroda fixed the record date of March 11 for the amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with self.
• REC launched consent solicitation exercise on senior notes and it seeks waiver of some rights for holders of four series of note.
• Dynamatic Technologies signed an MoU with JSC Russian Helicopters to build fabrication and ancillary parts.
• Shipping Corporation of India gave physical delivery of one bulk carrier to its buyer.
• Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil exporter, said today it is in talks with Reliance Industries and other Indian companies for investing in petrochemicals and refinery projects in the country, PTI reported.

Fund Infusion

The government will infuse Rs 48,239 crore in 12 public-sector banks to provide minimum regulatory capital to banks that come under RBI’s prompt corrective action framework, and to prevent weak banks from breaching the framework’s triggers.

• Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz speaks on Thursday; ECB President Mario Draghi speaks on Friday, the same day Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe gives parliamentary testimony.
• An Indonesian rate decision is due Thursday.

• Brent crude traded 0.1 percent lower at $67.01 per barrel.
• West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.1 percent to $57.19 a barrel.
• Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,341.05 an ounce.

London Metal Exchange

• Nickel ended higher for the fourth day, ended 1.9 percent higher.
• Aluminium ended 0.65 percent higher.
• Copper ended higher for the sixth day, ended 1.36 percent higher.
• Lead halted a two-day decline, ended 0.99 percent higher.
• Tin ended higher for the second day, up 0.43 percent.
• Zinc ended higher for the second day, up 1.54 percent.

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell fell 0.36 percent to 10,728 as of 8:20 a.m.

Asian stocks traded mixed Thursday and Treasury yields were little changed after Federal Reserve meeting minutes hinted at an enduring bias for rate hikes.

Japanese and Korean shares slipped while their Australian counterparts posted modest gains.

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