Sensex, Nifty Clock Best Month Since July

Indian equity benchmarks registered their best monthly run since July. The benchmark indices fell for the two consecutive months earlier.

The S&P BSE Sensex Index gained over 5 percent this month to end at 36,194.30 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index ended at 10,876.75, after rallying 4.7 percent.

Today, the market breadth was tilted in favour of buyers. About 897 stocks declined and 822 shares advanced on NSE.

Seven out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE advanced, led by the NSE Nifty Realty Index's 2.2 percent gain. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty PSU Bank Index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.55 percent.

Security & Intelligence Services

• Stock fell as much as 5.6 percen to Rs 760.
• Trading volume was almost 16 times its 20-day average.

Elgi Equipment

• Stock rose as much as 6.1 percent to Rs 250.50.
• Trading volume was almost 13 times its 20-day average.

Oil India

• Stock fell as much as 8.2 percent to Rs 185.35.
• Trading volume was more than seven times its 20-day average.

Alembic Pharmaceuticals

• Stock rose as much as 7.3 percent to Rs 613.
• Trading volume was almost six times its 20-day average.

Shares of NTPC fell for the third day and declined as much as 3.3 percent to Rs 137.55, its lowest levels since May 2016.

The Relative Strength Index was 23, indicating that the stock may be overbought, Bloomberg data showed.

Shares of oil marketing companies fell as Brent crude rebounded near $60 a barrel.

European shares opened down, and are poised to close another month with losses, while investors assessed resolution to the trade war.

About 20 lakh shares changed hands in a single block, Bloomberg data showed. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

• Indian equity benchmarks erased gains and fluctuated between gains and losses.
• Six out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE fell, led by the NSE Nifty Metal Index's 0.74 percent gain. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty IT Index was the top sectoral gainer, up 1.27 percent.

Nifty’s 11,000 call option contract was among the most active option contracts on National Stock Exchange.

Premium on the contract rose 3.53 percent to Rs 140.65. Over 2.6 lakh shares were added to the open interest which stood at over 26.31 lakh shares.

Shares of the pharmaceutical company rose as much as 1.7 percent to Rs 2,700, the highest since July 2017.

The stock rallied nearly 5 percent in two days. The scrip traded at 27 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year, Bloomberg data showed.

Shares of Reliance Communications rose over 12 percent, the most in nearly a month.

The Supreme Court asked the government to clear Reliance Communications' spectrum sale to Reliance Jio after the bank guarantee is furnished.

The top court also ordered Reliance Communications to give Rs 1,400 crore corporate guarantee in two days.

Shares of Yes Bank snapped a five-day decline, its longest losing streak in nearly three months. The stock rose as much as 6.8 percent to Rs 171.35.

Trading volume was more than double its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed. The stock is the best performer on Sensex and Nifty.

• Indian equity extended rally for the fifth day.
• The S&P BSE Sensex Index rose as much as 0.6 percent to 36,389.22 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index rose as much as 0.59 percent to 10,922.45.
• About 949 stocks advanced and 668 shares declined on NSE.

Shares of SBI is expected to reach Rs 400.

That's the word coming from international brokerage and research firm JPMorgan. The price target is the highest among the analysts tracked by Bloomberg. It implies a potential upside of over 39 percent from the last regular trade.

Here's what the brokerage had to say about SBI

• Maintained ‘Buy’; raised price target to Rs 400 from Rs 360.
• Sweetly positioned for resolution and rate cycle.
• Margins for SBI have multiple levers for an upmove.
• Value unlocking to drive a fairly big re-rating over two-to-three years.

• Vakrangee: About 32 lakh shares changed hands in a block deal.
• Future Retail: About 11.7 lakh shares change dhands in a block deal.
• Vodafone Idea: About 18.1 lakh shares changed hands in a block deal.
• ICICI Bank: About 14.6 shares changed hands in a block deal.

Shares of Asian Oilfield Services extended gains for the fifth day and is set for its longest winning streak in over a month. The stock rose as much as 4.9 percent to Rs 83.70.

The company received a contract worth Rs 27.65 crore from ONGC to provide seismic data acquisition services in northern India.

Trading volume was five times its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed.

Shares of Vodafone Idea fell as much as 5 percent to Rs 35.95. The stock declined for four days in five.

The Rating Agency CRISIL downgraded NCDs worth Rs 6,000 crore to CRISIL A+ from CRISIL AA-. Ratings for commercial papers reaffirmed at CRISIL A1+. The downgrade reflects continued pricing pressure in the mobile telephone industry, leading to weak operating performance.

CRISIL expects the net debt to remain over Rs 85,000 crore by the end of March. The rating agency believed that the credit risk profile of the combined entity will continue to be affected by competition, while the quantum and timeliness of synergy benefits will be key rating sensitivity factors.

Shares of the real estate company extended gains for the fifth day and is set for its longest winning streak in over five months. The stock rose over 21 percent during the period and is currently trading around Rs 218.

Prestige Estate traded at 18 times its estimated forward earnings per share compared to 23.4 times, its two-year historical average, Bloomberg data showed.

Shares of the housing finance companies rallied in today's trade.

The Reserve Bank of India said that the minimum holding period requirement for NBFC originating loans, will now be set at six monthly or two quarterly instalments, the Central Bank said in a notification yesterday.

Earlier, the holding period was 12 months. The revised rules were applicable for loans of original maturity of over five years. This will help housing finance companies, especially those who have longer maturity loans. (Read the full story here)

Shares of the Jaguar Land Rover owner fell as much as 3.9 percent to Rs 170.35, its lowest in over a month.

The company's Jaguar Land Rover temporarily halted operations at its engine factory for a two-week production freeze in English Midlands, according to a Bloomberg report.

The company said that the shutdown concerns EMC’s machine and assembly halls. Affected staff will continue to receive full pay during the freeze and maintenance and salaried staff will continue as usual. The company also stated that infrastructure work related to Solihull’s production of next-generation Range Rover also requires changes to the production schedule, the report said further.

The stock was the worst performer on Sensex and Nifty.

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains for the fifth day and are set for their longest winning streak in over three months.

The S&P BSE Sensex Index rose as much as 0.4 percent to 36,315.42 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index rose as much as 0.36 percent to 10,898.15.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of buyers. Nine out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE advanced, led by the NSE Nifty Media Index's 1.07 percent gain. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty Bank Index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.1 percent.

About 1.43 crore shares of ICICI Lombard changed hands in a block deal in pre-market, Bloomberg data showed. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

Share of the company rose as much as 4.8 percent to Rs 840.

The Indian rupee strengthened for the fourth day against the U.S. dollar. The home currency appreciated as much as 0.25 percent to 69.67 against the greenback.

HSBC on Sun TV

• Maintained ‘Hold’; cut price target to Rs 703 from Rs 855.
• Biggest worry is constant declining viewership share.
• Higher investment required to enter new markets.
• Upcoming national elections likely to create uncertainty over advertising.

JPMorgan on SBI

• Maintained ‘Buy’; raised price target to Rs 400 from Rs 360.
• Sweetly positioned for resolution and rate cycle.
• Margins for SBI have multiple levers for an upmove.
• Value unlocking to drive a fairly big re-rating over two-to-three years.

F&O Cues

• Nifty December futures closed trading at 10890, premium of 31 points.
• Max open interest for December series at 11,000 Call (open interest at 23.7 lakh shares).
• Max open interest for December series at 10,500 Put (open interest at 36.2 lakh shares).

Put-Call Ratio

• Nifty PCR at 1.75 from 1.81.
• Nifty Bank PCR at 1.33 from 1.26.

• NHPC record date for share buyback.
• Dalmia Bharat record date for amalgamation of two entities with self.
• Oil India ex-date for share buyback.
• Hindustan Construction Company, Granules India price band revised to 20 percent.
• Hotel Leela Venture price band revised to 10 percent.

• Multi Commodity Exchange: East Bridge Capital Master Fund acquired 3.99 lakh shares or 0.78 percent equity at Rs 706.41 each.
• Equitas Holdings: Kotak Mahindra MF sold 25.82 lakh shares or 0.76 percent equity at Rs 106.2 each.
• Repco Home Finance: Pabrai Investment Fund sold 9.48 lakh shares or 1.52 percent equity at Rs 336.15 each.
• Alkem Laboratories: Promoter Prasid Uno Family Trust sold 12.9 lakh shares or 1.08 percent equity at Rs 1,828.32 each.

Mahindra Logistics:

• Promoter Partners Enterprise sold 16.22 lakh shares or 2.28 percent equity at Rs 525 each.
• Reliance MF acquired 10.15 lakh shares or 1.42 percent equity at Rs 525 each.

Future Retail

• Bharti Enterprises (Holding) sold 56.93 lakh shares or 1.13 percent equity at Rs 525.9 each.
• Edelweiss Special Opportunities Fund acquired 40.43 lakh shares or 0.80 percent equity at Rs 525.9 each.

• Reliance MF-managed CPSE ETF 3rd FFO to close Nov. 30.
• Indian Food Logistics Chain ColdEX files for initial public offering.

• 4:30 p.m.: India Fiscal Deficit for April-Oct. period
• 5 p.m.: India Eight Infrastructure Industries Index for October (Prior +4.3 percent)
• 5:30 p.m.: India GDP for September quarter. (YoY); Bloomberg estimates at 7.5 percent.
• 5:30 p.m.: India GVA for September quarter.; Bloomberg estimates at 7.3 percent.

• Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover temporarily halted operations at its engine factory for a two-week production freeze in English Midlands. It said that the shutdown concerns EMC’s machine and assembly halls. Affected staff will continue to receive full pay during the freeze and maintenance and salaried staff will continue as normal. The company also stated that infrastructure work related to Solihull’s production of next generation Range Rover also requires changes to production schedule. (Bloomberg News)
• The Reserve Bank of India said that the minimum holding period requirement for NBFC originating loans, will now be set at six monthly or two quarterly instalments. Earlier, the holding period was 12 months. The revised rules were applicable for loans of original maturity of over five years. This will help housing finance companies, especially those who have longer maturity loans.
• GlaxoSmithKline PLC confirmed that consideration was being given to a potential transaction that included a merger of its Indian consumer health care unit. But the company stated that there was no assurance that a transaction will result from review process nor any decision on the matter had been made by the company.
• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries clarified that there was no material impact of news on governance issues.
• Hindustan Unilever clarified that it was bound by confidentiality obligations and was evaluating merger and acquisition proposals from time to time.
• Asian Oilfield Services received a contract worth Rs 27.65 crore from ONGC to provide seismic data acquisition services in northern India.
• CCEA approved procurement quota to ITI by reserving 30 percent of procurement orders placed by BSNL, MTNL and BBNL for the company’s manufactured products and outsourced items. The policy measures shall remain in force till November 2021 and will be reviewed again, considering the financial health of the company after the expiry of the period.
• Inox Leisure board approved issuance of 64 lakh equity shares at Rs 250 each aggregating to Rs 160 crores to its promoter, Gujarat Fluorochemicals.
• Vodafone Idea: CRISIL downgraded NCDs worth Rs 6,000 crore to CRISIL A+ from CRISIL AA-. Ratings for commercial papers reaffirmed at CRISIL A1+. The downgrade reflects continued pricing pressure in the mobile telephone industry, leading to weak operating performance. CRISIL expects the net debt to remain over Rs 85,000 crore by the end of March. The rating agency believed that the credit risk profile of the combined entity will continue to be affected by competition, while the quantum and timeliness of synergy benefits will be key rating sensitivity factors.

• West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.2 percent to $51.34 a barrel.
• Brent crude traded 0.28 percent higher at $59.88 per barrel.
• Gold held at $1,224.60 an ounce.
• The Bloomberg Commodity Index climbed 0.2 percent.

London Metal Exchange

• Aluminium ended higher for the second day, up 0.4 percent.
• Copper ended higher for the second day, up 0.2 percent.
• Zinc ended higher for the second day, up 0.7 percent.
• Nickel ended higher for the second day, up 2.4 percent.
• Lead advanced for the second day, up 0.31 percent.
• Tin ended higher for the second day, up 1.56 percent.

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 0.3 percent to 10,952 as of 8:30 a.m.

Asian stocks looked set to round out the month in mixed fashion as investors await a crucial meeting between the U.S. and Chinese presidents with the course of the trade war at stake. Benchmark Treasury yields held near the lower since September.

Shares edged higher in Tokyo, slipped in Seoul and slumped in Sydney. The S&P 500’s rally faded late in the day on Thursday.

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