Sensex, Nifty Clock Longest Weekly Gains Since November

Indian equity benchmarks clocked their longest stretch of weekly gains since November.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 1.68 percent higher this week at 36,671.43 and the NSE Nifty 50 ended above 11,000 after gaining 1.58 percent this week.

On Friday, both the 31-share index and the 50-stock index ended lower by 0.15 percent and 0.21 percent respectively, halting a four-day rally.

Seven out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE fell, led by the NSE Nifty Metal Index’s 1.5 percent decline. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty Realty Index was the top sectoral gainer, up 0.19 percent.

Federal-Mogul Goetze India

• Stock rose as much as 13.6 percent to Rs 571.90.
• Trading volume was more than 50 times its 20-day average.

Granules India

• Stock rose as much as 9.8 percent to Rs 114.40.
• Trading volume was more than 14 times its 20-day average.

Dixon Technologies

• Stock rose as much as 6.7 percent to Rs 2,548.
• Trading volume was more than 14 times its 20-day average.

Azim Premji Trust sold 2.67 crore shares in Wipro, according to its stock exchange notification.

Shares of the information technology company as much as 4.8 percent to Rs 256 after a block deal during the opening trade today.

BloombergQuint had earlier reported that Azim Premji Trust, part of the promoter group that owns 74.3 percent in the software services provider, plans to sell a minimum of 0.29 percent, or 1.78 crore shares through block deals, according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity as the information was not public.

European shares fell, following Asia markets lower, on concerns over global growth and signs China wants to slow the country’s equity rally.

Shares of Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management rose as much as 14.7 percent to Rs 222.80.

Trading volume was more than 10 times its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed. The stock declined 20 percent in the past 12 months compared to a 9.8 percent gain in the Sensex.

• BHEL: About 40 lakh shares changed hands in a single block.
• Gujarat Gas: 19 lakh change hands in a block deal.
• Thermax: About 12 lakh shares changed hands in a single block.

Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

Commercial vehicle sales declined in February; sales of cars and two-wheelers also declined.

Shares of the Hyderabad-based construction company rose for the fifth straight session and gained 6.1 percent intraday to Rs 248.95 apiece, its highest since August 2018.

The stock has returned as much as 21 percent in the last five trading sessions. KNR Construction bagged an order worth Rs 135 crore from Karnataka Road Development Corporation, according to its notification to the exchanges.

The firm also bagged a hybrid annuity project with bid project cost of Rs 920 crore. Trading volume on the stock was more than 50 times the 20-day average for this time of the day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Arvind Fashions Ltd., the Lalbhai Group’s fastest-growing arm that was carved out in recent restructuring, hit an upper circuit of 5 percent from the discovery price.

The pre-discovery price of the stock was of Rs 590.95 on NSE and Rs 591.75 on BSE.

The company was hived off from the flagship denim maker Arvind Ltd. Shareholders of Arvind got one share in Arvind Fashions for every five held. The group separated its brands and retail, textiles and engineering businesses to better focus on individual units. The fashion segment is betting on growing consumption and disposal incomes in India.

Shares of eClerx Services rose as much as 7.3 percent, the most since Dec. 04, to Rs 1,110.

Trading volume was more than 80 times its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed. The stock traded at 18 times its estimated forward earnings per share for the coming year.

About 12.1 lakh shares of Edelweiss Financial Services changed hands in a single block, Bloomberg data showed. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

Shares of the carmaker fell as much as 1.7 percent to Rs 186.

JLR’s February retail sales fell 4.1 percent over last year at 38,288 units, according an exchange filing. While Jaguar sales rose 5.8 percent and Land Rover sales declined 8.1 percent. Retail sales jumped 25.4 percent in North America, 11.3 percent in the U.K. and 1.1 percent in Europe. China sales fell 47.6 percent.

The stock declined 46 percent in the past 12 months compared with a 11 percent gain in the BSE Sensex.

Shares of Advanced Enzyme Technologies rose as much as 20 percent, the most since August 2016 to Rs 195.45

About one crore shares of the company changed hands in two block deals on BSE and NSE, Bloomberg data showed. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

Trading volume was more than 250 times its 20-day average, according to Bloomberg data. The Relative Strength Index was above 70, indicating that the stock may be overbought.

Shares of Wipro fell as much as 4.8 percent to Rs 256.

About 2.67 crore shares shares change hands in a single block on BSE, Bloomberg data showed.

While buyers and sellers were not known immediately, BloombergQuint reported that the Azim Premji Trust, part of the promoter group that owns 74.3 percent in the software services provider, plans to sell a minimum of 0.29 percent, or 1.78 crore shares through block deals, according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity as the information is not public yet.

Trading volume was more than 70 times its 20-day average, according to Bloomberg data. The stock traded at 16.5 times its estimated forward earnings per share compared to a 15.2 times for the two-year historical average.

Indian equity benchmarks opened lower, tracking its Asian peers amid signs China is trying to slow down the country’s equity rally and after cuts to economic forecasts at the European Central Bank reignited concern on global growth.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell as much as 0.31 percent to 36,610.47 and the NSE Nifty 50 fell as much as 0.39 percent to 11,015.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. About 810 stocks declined and 620 shares advanced on National Stock Exchange.

Eight out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE declined, led by the NSE Nifty IT Index’s 0.81 percent fall. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty FMCG Index was the top sectoral gainer, up 0.37 percent.

The Indian rupee opened lower against the U.S. dollar. The home currency depreciated as much as 0.26 percent to 70.18 against the greenback.

The local legal tender is on course for its biggest weekly gain in eleven as geopolitical tensions eased and foreign inflows continued. Dealers expect to see the pair in a range of 69.90-70.30 a dollar.

In the bond markets, it looks like a routine session in the absence of any major triggers. Next week though will be data heavy with inflation and factory output numbers. Traders see the yield on the most traded January 2028 bond to stay in a range of 7.55-7.60 percent in the day.

F&O Cues

• Nifty March futures closed trading at 11,098, premium of 40 points.
• Max open interest for March 28 series at 11,500 Call (open interest at 22.5 lakh shares)
• Max open interest for March 28 series at 11,000 Put, (open interest at 33.9 lakh shares)

Stocks In F&O Ban

• IDBI Bank
• Reliance Power
• Wockhardt

Put-Call Ratio

• Nifty PCR at 1.66 versus 1.8.
• Bank Nifty PCR at 1.05 versus 1.53.

Macquarie on Gujarat Gas

• Initiated ‘Outperform’ with a price target of Rs 165.
• See highest structural volume growth potential versus IGL and MGL.
• Base case assumes volumes registering 13 percent CAGR over the next five years.
• Shift in sales and sourcing mix to lower volatility.

UBS on Mindtree

• Initiated ‘Neutral’ with a price target Rs 1,015.
• Strong digital growth balanced by client concentration.
• Healthy digital exposure and room for operating margin reversal are positives.
• Stake sale likely to be a big influence on valuations in 2019.

Nomura on Alkem Labs

• Maintained ‘Neutral’; cut price target to Rs 1,965 from Rs 2,116.
• Cut earnings to factor impact of competition in Mycophenolate Mofetil suspension.
• VistaPharm recently received approval and is likely to launch a product.
• Trading at 13.7 times FY21F EV/EBITDA, higher than trading multiple of most peers.

CLSA on Ambuja Cements

• Maintained ‘Outperform’ with a price target of Rs 250.
• Annual report shows balance sheet parameters worsened.
• Operating cashflow and FCF declined sharply in 2018.
• Market share losses continued but new capacity should help.

Goldman Sachs on HCL Tech

• Downgraded to ‘Sell’ from ‘Neutral’ cut price target to Rs 907 from Rs 958.
• Increasing risk from execution and industry shift to cloud.
• See risk of lower margins in near term and challenges with software products.

CLSA on Hindalco

• Maintained ‘Sell’, cut price target to Rs 180 from Rs 195.
• Easing aluminium cost support and slowing global autos pose headwinds.
• Concerned on the outlook for Novelis given slowing global auto demand.

Goldman Sachs on TCS

• Upgrade to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’, raised price target to Rs 2,359 from Rs 1,856.
• Raising dollar revenue growth forecast in FY18-21 to 10.3 percent versus 8.9 percent previously.
• Expect TCS to outperform Infosys in terms of EPS growth and ROE/ROIC.
• Domain expertise to help clients digitise.

• NIIT: Canara Robeco MF buys 12 lakh shares at Rs 92.80 apiece.
• Vijaya Bank: Morgan Stanley buys 81.3 lakh shares at Rs 45.97 apiece.

• Tata Motors: JLR’s February retail sales were down 4.1 percent over last year at 38,288 units. Jaguar sales were up 5.8 percent and Land Rover sales were down 8.1 percent. Retail sales were up 25.4 percent in North America, up 11.3 percent in the U.K. and 1.1 percent in Europe. China sales were down 47.6 percent.
• Wipro promoter is said to sell up to 2.67 crore shares in company via block deal. Azim Premji Trust will sell 0.29 percent stake in the company with option to sell up to 0.44 percent. The indicative price range is at Rs 255.40-260.78 per share, implying a discount of 3-5 percent to last regular trade. (Sources to BQ)
• Reliance Industries entered into an MoU with NMSEZ to sub lease 4,000 acres of land, and also made an initial payment of Rs 2,180 crore to the latter.
• Three additional Jet Airways aircraft were grounded due to non-payment of amounts outstanding to lessors.
• Infosys said it will deliver engineering and digital services to Rolls-Royce group.
• KNR Constructions: Receipt of order worth Rs 135 crore from Karnataka Road Development Corporation. They bagged a hybrid annuity project with bid project cost of Rs 920 crore.
• Lupin received the FDA approval for Atorvastatin calcium tablets. The product has annual sales of approximately $696 million in the U.S.
• Embassy of Vietnam signed up BLS International to accept visa applications in India.

• The U.S. jobs report Friday may show hiring moderated in February. Nonfarm payrolls may have increased by 180,000 while the jobless rate fell to 3.9 percent, according to estimates.
• The House of Commons votes on U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s revised Brexit deal on Tuesday, 20 days before Britain is scheduled to leave the EU. A similar measure was resoundingly defeated in January.

• Brent crude traded 0.48 percent lower at $65.98 per barrel.
• West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.6 percent to $56.34 a barrel.
• Gold was steady at $1,286.62 an ounce.

London Metal Exchange

• Nickel ended lower for the second day, down 2.6 percent.
• Aluminium ended lower for the fourth day down 0.1 percent.
• Lead halted a four-day decline, ended 0.29 percent higher.
• Tin ended 0.35 percent higher.
• Zinc halted a two-day rally, ended 1.9 percent lower.
• Copper ended lower for the second day, down 0.69 percent.

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 0.15 percent to 11,071 as of 8:35 a.m.

Stocks in Asia tracked declines in the U.S. after a European Central Bank cut to economic forecasts reignited concern on global growth and sent global bond yields lower.

Chinese shares bore the brunt of losses, though stocks in Sydney, Hong Kong and Tokyo all retreated.

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