Sensex, Nifty Log Losses Dragged By Auto, Banking Stocks In Volatile Session

India's stock benchmarks reversed morning gains and logged losses, dragged by banking and auto stocks in another volatile session.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.53% to 57,684.82. The 30-stock gauge rose nearly 0.75% to an intraday high of 58,568.59 before reversing the gains.

The NSE Nifty 50 closed the session 0.40% lower at 17,245.65. The Nifty reclaimed 17,400 in intraday trade.

The broader indices outperformed their larger peers with S&P BSE MidCap adding 0.39% and S&P BSE SmallCap remaining little changed. Ten of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by BSE Ltd. declined with S&P BSE Auto, Bankex and Finance shedding over 0.7%. On the flipside, S&P BSE Metal rose over 1.5%.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of bears. About 1,468 stocks advanced, 1,927 declined and 130 remained unchanged.

"Volatility has continued to be the mainstay as the market is aware of some perils that could quickly snowball into a serious crisis going ahead. Despite some greenshoots in the form of FIIs turning net buyers in recent trades, investors remain wary of the Ukraine conflict, rising US yields and fluctuating crude oil prices which can turn the tables. On intraday and daily charts, the Nifty is holding a higher bottom formation but at the same time it is consistently facing resistance near 17,440. For the traders, the Nifty support has shifted to 17,200 from 17,000. We expect the level of 17,350-17,440 if the index succeeds to trade above 17,200. On the flip side, dismissal of 17,180 may intensify further weakness up to 17,100-17,040", Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd. wrote in a note.

"Markets continue to witness developments on the Russia-Ukraine war, which is disrupting shipping and air freight. Markets also monitored a recent wave of COVID-19 infections in China. Both the RBI bulletin and the finance ministry’s monthly economic review talked about potential trouble spots in the economy, going forward. Market may remain volatile due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Trend in global equities, the movement of rupee against the dollar and crude oil prices will dictate trend in the near term", Mitul Shah, Head of Research, Reliance Securities wrote in a note.

HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank have been alloted 10 lakh equity shares of face value Rs 10 each by Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) for a consideration of Rs 100 per share, totalling to Rs 10 crore.

• ONDC is engaged in creating open public digital infrastructure to transform digital e-commerce system.

• Post investment, all the three banks will hold 7.84% of the equity share capital of ONDC

Source: Exchange Filing

• IDFC First Bank has 4.39 million shares change hands in three large trades.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

PKH Ventures Ltd. has sought Indian market regulator Sebi’s approval to sell as many as 28.09 million shares in an initial public offering, including promoter Pravin Kumar Agarwal’s plan to offer for sale as many as 9.8 million shares, according to its draft red herring prospectus. 

• The IPO will also include a fresh issue of 18.26 million shares

• PKH may consider a pre-IPO placement of as many as 1.5 million shares before filing the red herring prospectus

• The fresh issue size will be reduced if the pre-IPO round takes place

• The company offers construction and development, hospitality and management services

• IDBI Capital Markets & Securities Ltd. and BOB Capital Markets Ltd. will manage the issue

Source: Bloomberg

• Shares of Fino Payments Bank rose over 2% after the company approved the increase of authorised share capital of the bank to Rs 110 crore divided by 11 crore shares.

• The authorised share capital of the lender was Rs 85 crore divided by 8.5 crore shares of face value of Rs 10 each, ahead of the approval.

• The bank will be the official digital payments partner of the Rajasthan Royals for season 15 of Indian Premier League cricket tournament.

Source: Exchange Filing, Bloomberg

Shares of IIFL Finance Ltd. fell for the eighth consecutive day, on track for the longest losing streak in 22 months.

• The stock fell over 5% in the last eight days compared to 4% gains for Nifty 50.

• The stock is trading at an unusual premium versus peers compared to an average 23% discount over the past two years on a latest filing price-to-book basis.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of New Delhi Television rose for the sixth day, on track for the longest winning streak in 16 months since Nov. 27, 2020.

• The stock added 54% over the last six days compared to Nifty 50 which rose 2.27%.

• The relative strength index on the stock was at 80, suggesting it may be overbought.

Source: Bloomberg

• HDFC Bank has 9.1 million shares change hands in five large trades.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Paytm reversed morning gains to slump to a new low of Rs 535.4 apiece.

• The company reiterated that its business fundamentals remain robust, in an exchange filing post market hours Tuesday.

• The stock has fallen 75% from its IPO price of Rs 2,150 in November. The relative strength index on the stock is at 20, suggesting it may be oversold.

• Of the nine analysts tracking the company, four maintain 'buy', two recommend 'hold' and three suggest 'sell'. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implies an upside of 123.6%.

Source: Exchange Filing, Bloomberg

Renewable Energy developer Urja Global rose nearly 5%, the most in a week, after the company set up an assembling unit for E-Scooters in Nashik in Maharashtra.

• The unit will be used to supply E-Scooters in the western zone.

• Trading volume was 1.5 times the 30-day average volume at this time of the day.

Source: Exchange Filing, Bloomberg

India's stock benchmarks reversed morning gains in a volatile session, dragged by auto, banking, information technology stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.5% to 57,702.35. The 30-stock gauge nearly 0.75% (equivalent of 427 points) to an intraday high of 58,416.56. The NSE Nifty 50 also declined by similar magnitude to 17,243.10. The Nifty reclaimed 17,400 in intraday trade. Bharti Airtel and Hero MotoCorp had the largest drop, falling over 2%. In midday trading, 26 of 50 shares fell, while 23 rose

The broader indices outperformed their larger peers with S&P BSE MidCap gaining 0.5% and S&P BSE SmallCap rising 0.3%. Ten of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced with S&P BSE Utilities, Power and Healthcare rising over 1%.

The market breadth was neither skewed in the favour of bulls nor bears. About 1,669 stocks advanced, 1,628 declined and 122 remained unchanged.

BLOOMBERG EXCLUSIVE

• This is the highest-level visit from Beijing since the deadly clashes along India-China border in 2020.

• Wang Yi is scheduled to meet NSA Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

• Wang Yi to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine and India-China border conflict with Indian officials

Source: Official familiar with the matter.

• India's Ministry of External Affairs and China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately response to requests for confirmation.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Gland Pharma rose nearly 3.5%, the most in two weeks after Jefferies reiterated 'buy', citing growth visibility and steady margins.

• Jefferies kept the target price unchanged at Rs 4,578, an implied return of 43.07%.

• The brokerage hosted Gland Pharma for a UK/EU roadshow.

• Jefferies expects Fosun's acquisition of Gland Pharma to be beneficial.

• Of the 17 analysts tracking the company, 13 maintain 'buy', one suggests 'hold' and three recommend 'sell'.

• The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implies an upside of 20.9%.

• Trading volume was nearly six times the 30-day average volume for this time of the day.

Source: Jefferies note, Bloomberg

Shares of Bajaj Electricals rose 3.75%, the biggest intraday gain in three sessions after the company entered into a trademark licensing agreement with British firm Morphy Richards.

• Bajaj Electricals has been granted an exclusive licence to use the brand 'Morphy Richards' for certain products in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

• The licence will be valid for 15 years from July 1, 2022, on payment of royalty by Bajaj Electricals.

• Morphy Richards is a British brand dealing in electrical appliances and has presence in India, Australia, Israel and France as well.

• Trading volume on the stock was twice the 30-day average volume for this time of the day.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange Filing

Shares of Reliance Industries extended gains for the second session after Prabhudas Lilladher maintained 'buy' and raised target price to Rs 3,045 from Rs 2,955; an implied return of 23.41%.

• The index heavyweight has added over 3% in two days.

• Higher GRMs, gas prices, low product inventory and rising demand are likely to benefit RIL, according to Prabhudas Lilladher.

• Domestic gas prices are set for sharp increase due to multifold rise in global prices.

• The brokerage expects RIL's telecom and retail business to remain strong and identifies the firm as the preferred pick in the oil & gas sector.

• The company acquired 89% of Purple Panda Fashion for Rs 950 crore and has agreed to buy Sintex Industries on Monday.

• Of the 39 analysts tracking the company, 24 maintain 'buy', 11 suggest 'hold' and four recommend 'sell'. Of the past three sessions, BNP Paribas, Nomura, Macquarie and Bernstein reiterated their ratings and kept target prices unchanged.

Source: Prabhudas Lilladher note, Bloomberg

Income Tax department conducting searches at multiple premises of Hero Motocorp, Pawan Munjal.

• Hero Motocorp promoter Pawan Munjal’s office and residence is being searched.

• Premises linked to the top officials of the company are also being searched.

• Shares of Hero MotoCorp fell 4%, the steepest decline in over two weeks. Trading volume on the stock is twice the 30-day average volume for this time of the day.

Source: CBDT Sources

Shares of Ajanta Pharma Ltd. rose over 2.5%, the most in four sessions.

• Today's rise comes after Motilal Oswal reiterated 'buy' on the stock with the target price slashed to Rs 2,500 from Rs 2,650, still an implied return of 29.04%.

• Motilal Oswal expects the firm to deliver 16% CAGR over FY22-24 and outperform the industry in domestic formulations and branded generics.

• Trading volume on the stock is nearly 2.5 times the 30-day average volume for this time of the day.

Source: Motilal Oswal Note, Bloomberg

Most maturities along the India sovereign yield curve were little changed, while 14-year yields fell in Wednesday morning trading.

• The 4-year yield fell 1.4bps to 6.029%

• The 10-year yield fell 0.8bps to 6.823%

• The 30-year yield was little changed at 7.278%

• The 4-year-10-year yield spread was 79.4bps, vs previous close 78.8bps

Shares of Indian Hotels Co surged over 3% in intraday trade.

• The company approved the QIP issue post market hours Tuesday. The floor price of the issue is Rs 203.48 per equity share. Indian Hotels intends to mobilise Rs 2,000 crore via the QIP.

• Trading volume was nearly 2.5 times the 30-day average volume at this time of the day.

• Of the 14 analysts tracking the company, 11 maintain 'buy', two suggest 'hold' and one recommends 'sell'. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implies an upside of 14.5%.

Source: Bloomberg

• About 1.02 million shares of Ashok Leyland changed hands in a large trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

• About 3.4 million shares of Castrol India changed hands in two large trades.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

• Shares of Steel makers - Steel Authority of India, JSW Steel, Tata Steel and Jindal Steel & Power advanced after Economic Times newspaper reported that the companies raised prices to offset higher coking coal costs.

• The NSE Nifty Metal index rose over 0.5% with nine of the 15 stocks advancing in this session.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of One 97 Communications Ltd. rose over 3% after company clarified to the Bombay Stock Exchange that it does not have any undisclosed information/announcement which may have a bearing on the price/volume behaviour in the stock.

• Paytm also reiterated that its business fundamentals remain robust.

• Trading volume on the stock was twice the 30-day average volume at this time of the day. The relative strength index on the stock was at 22, suggesting it may be oversold.

• Shares of Paytm have shed nearly 75% since its listing on November.

Source: Exchange Filing, Bloomberg

OfBusiness' lending arm Oxyzo has raised $200 million in Series A funding at a valuation of over $1 billion.

• Investors Tiger Global and Alpha Wave participated in the round.

• Parent company OfBusiness was last valued at $5 billion.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Railtel Corp of India rose over 4.3%, the biggest intraday gain in over three months.

• Trading volume was over eight times the 30-day average volume at this time of the day.

• The rise comes after the firm bagged a work order worth Rs 11.57 crore from Rail Vikas Nigam for installation of RailTel's MPLS-VPN Services for five years at various locations.

Source: Exchange Filing, Bloomberg

• IDFC First Bank Ltd. has 1.47 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

• Poly Medicure: ICICI Securities initiated coverage of the company with a recommendation of 'buy'; price target set at Rs 950.

• City Union Bank raised to 'buy' from 'hold' at Antique Stock Broking; price target set at Rs 155.

Source: Bloomberg

• Max Healthcare Institute Ltd. has 1.5 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

• Shares of Max Healthcare rose nearly 3%, the most in two weeks.

Source: Bloomberg

India's stock benchmarks advanced, aided by gains in metal, banking stocks, amid a rise in global equities after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair reiterated that a 50bps rate hike is possible at the central bank's next meeting.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.6% to 57,354.06. The Nifty 50 advanced by similar magnitude to 17,417.40.

The broader indices almost mirrored their larger peers. All the 19 sectoral indices compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced with S&P BSE Bankex, Consumer Durables and Realty adding over 1%.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of bulls. About 1,930 stocks advanced, 523 declined and 90 remained unchanged.

Indian government bonds may join a record selloff in global debt as traders brace for a sharp rise in borrowing costs. An auction of Rs 37,000 crore of Treasury bills is also on the radar. 

• USD/INR rose 0.1% to 76.1862 on Tuesday.

• 10-year yields rose 5bps to 6.83% on Tuesday.

• Global funds bought a net Rs 384 crore of India stocks Tuesday: NSE

• They bought Rs 13 crore of sovereign bonds under limits available to foreign investors, increasing their holdings for the first time in eight days and added Rs 87 crore of corporate debt

• State-run banks sold Rs 448 crore of sovereign bonds on March 21: CCIL data. Foreign banks bought Rs 2,470 crore of bonds

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Indian energy sellers may move after Indian Oil Corp. raised prices for the second day.

• Indian Oil Corp. raised the retail price for diesel and gasoline in Mumbai by 85 paise ($0.01) a liter and in Delhi by 80 paise a liter on Wednesday.

• Indian Oil raised retail fuel prices on Tuesday for the first time since November.

• Stocks to watch: Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, Reliance Industries.

Shares of India’s top steelmakers may move after the Economic Times newspaper reported the companies have raised prices by Rs 1,500-Rs 2,000 per tonne to offset higher coking coal costs.

• JSW Steel increased rebar prices by Rs 1,250 per tonne from Wednesday; state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd. raised cost of hot-rolled coil and cold rolled coil by around Rs 1,500 per tonne, according to the report

• Jindal Steel and Power raised prices by Rs 1,500 per tonne: report

• In Focus: JSW Steel, Steel Authority of India, Jindal Steel and Power, Tata Steel

• Sobha raised to 'add' from 'reduce' at IIFL; price target set at Rs 750.

• Kansai Nerolac: Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of the stock with a recommendation of 'underweight'; price target set at Rs 394.

• Berger Paints: Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of the stock with a recommendation of 'underweight'; price target set at Rs 546.

Source: Bloomberg

• Infosys: The company will acquire Germany-based digital marketing agency Oddity for €50 million. The firm will merge with Infosys’ earlier acquisition Wongdoody.

• Adani Ports and Logistics: The company’s cargo volumes crossed 30 crore metric tonne in FY2022.

• SBI Life Insurance: The company approved dividend of Rs 2 per share with a face value of Rs.10 each.

• SBI: The bank acquired 7.84% stake in Open Network for Digital Commerce for Rs 10 crore.

• SBI Card and Payments: The bank declared interim dividend of Rs 2.5 per share of face value of Rs 10.

• HCL: The company has signed a collaboration agreement with NEORIS for integrated IT services.

• Indian Hotels: The company is offering 10 crore shares in qualified institutional placement with issue price range of Rs 200 to Rs 204 each to raise Rs 2,040 crore. Floor price is set at Rs 203.48.

• Hindustan Petroleum: Appointed Rajneesh Narang as director (finance) on the board of the company with effect from March 22, 2022.

• Adani Power: The company approved scheme of amalgamation of wholly owned subsidiaries - Adani Power Maharashtra, Adani Power (Mundra), Adani Power Rajasthan, Udupi Power Corporation, Raipur Energen and Raigarh Energy Generation with the company.

• REC: The company appointed S K G Rahate as Chairman and Managing Director with effect from February 22. The company also approved incorporation of a project-specific special purpose vehicle, as wholly owned subsidiary of REC Power Development & Consultancy, for development of inter-state transmission project at Karnataka allocated by Ministry of Power.

• Future Enterprise: The company has defaulted on interest of Rs 15.65 crore due on Non-Convertible Debentures.

• Brigade Enterprises: The company has forayed into the plotted development space with a 66-acre residential project in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

• Lemon Tree: Lemon Tree Hotels has withdrawn its earlier decision to split the position of Chairman and Managing Director of the company. Patanjali Govind Keswani will continue to hold the position of Chairman and Managing Director of the company.

• Urja Global: The company has set up an Assembling unit for E-Scooters in Nashik for supply in western zone of India.

• Kirloskar Pneumatic: The company has converted about 5.58 lakh sq. metre government grant land at Eklahare, Nashik to Freehold Land at a cost of approximately Rs 58 crore.

• RailTel: The company has received work order from Rail Vikas Nigam for installation of RailTel's MPLS-VPN services for 5 years at various locations for Rs 11.57 crore.

• Tata Coffee: The company reappointed Chacko Purackal Thomas as Managing Director and CEO of the company for three years from April 1, 2022. It also reappointed K. Venkataramanan as CFO of the company for a term of one year effective from October 25, 2022.

• Axis Bank: Approves 17.5 million shares ESOP to staff at Rs 725.90 per share.

• Barbeque Nation: Says board will meet on March 28 on business matters.

• Indiabulls Housing Finance: To seek shareholders' nod for Rs 50,000 crore bonds issue.

• Ugro Capital: To consider private placement of bonds on March 25.