Sensex, Nifty Close Largely Unchanged As Airtel, Metal Stocks Drag

India’s stock benchmarks closed almost unchanged, as gains in energy and power stocks were offset by losses in metals and telecom stocks, amid expiry day volatility. Focus now shifts to Jackson Hole symposium which begins later today to gauge the taper trajectory timeline of the U.S. central bank.

The S&P BSE Sensex pared all the intraday gains to close flat at 55,949.10. The NSE Nifty 50 also closed little changed at at 16,636.90, a record close for the 50-stock index. Reliance Industries Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.3%.

The broader indices outperformed their larger peers with both the S&P BSE MidCap and the S&P BSE SmallCap adding 0.3%. Twelve out of 19 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE Ltd. advanced, with S&P BSE Power & S&P BSE Energy indices rising over 1%. On the flipside, S&P BSE Telecom shed 3.45% while S&P BSE Metal slipped nearly 1.4%.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of bulls. About 1,738 stocks advanced,1,447 declined and 137 remained unchanged.

Shares of Intellect Design Arena Ltd. advanced over 4.5% to Rs 669.60 apiece after the company announced that its transaction banking segment Intellect Global Transaction Banking (iGTB) bagged a multi-million deal with a leading Islamic bank in APAC to digitise and streamline its cash and trade transaction banking technology offerings.

According to an exchange filing by Intellect Design, the deal is powered through iGTB's digital transaction banking platform, which is already benefitting 55 global banking groups and handles 50% of total corporate collections transactions across India, the Middle East & Africa.

Of the 5 analysts tracking the company, 4 maintained 'buy' and 1 maintained 'hold' recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 20.7%

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. fell for the seventh straight day, on track for the longest losing streak since the period ended July 2, 2019.

Glenmark Pharma has lost a total of 9.2% during the streak while the Sensex rose 0.7%. Today, the stock fell 0.5% to Rs 517.25.

The Relative Strength Index on the stock was at 21, indicating that the stock may be oversold.

Privately held downstream oil company Nayara Energy Ltd. signed a pact for the loan of Rs 4,016 crore($541 million) with a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India, Nayara Energy said in an emailed statement.

Nayara will use the funds to build a 450,000 tons/year polypropylene plant at its Vadinar refinery in Gujarat.

The company has all the land needed for the project, Nayara said.

Adani Total Gas Ltd. gained for the 11th straight day, on track for the longest winning streak since Nov. 5, 2018. Shares have risen 47% during the streak while the S&P BSE Sensex increased 2.6%. Today, the stock rose 5% to Rs 1,303.90 apiece.

The Relative strength index on the stock was at 82; suggesting that the stock may be overbought.

Since Nov. 5, 2018, there has only been one other rally that lasted 10 days. It started May 17, 2019, and ended after 10 days. The five-day return after day 10 was -0.7%.

Shares of Marksans Pharma Ltd. rose 4.44% to Rs 72.90 apiece after the company announced that it received the USFDA approval for an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Acetaminophen Extended-Release Tablets USP, 650 mg (OTC).

The tablets are bioequivalent to the reference listed drug, Tylenol Extended-Release Tables, 650 mg, of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. The tablets are use as a pain reliever for arthiris, muscle ache.

Marksans Pharma will manufacture the products at the facility located at Goa, according to an exchange filing by the company.

Shares of Kajaria Ceramics Ltd. rose over 7%, the most in over 10 months to Rs 1,164 apiece.

• Trading volume was 2,98,242 shares, 77% above the 20-day average of 1,68,894 shares for this time of day.

• Relative Strength Index on the stock was above 70, indicating it may be overbought.

• Kajaria Ceramics trades at 48 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year.

• Analysts have 25 'buy', seven 'hold' and one 'sell' recommendations on the stock. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied a downside of 3.4%.

India’s stock benchmarks pared gains to remain largely unchanged in a volatile session ahead of August F&O Series expiry. Gains in power and energy stocks were offset by losses in metal, auto and telecom stocks. Investors shift focus to the Jackson Hole symposium which begins today to gauge the taper trajectory timeline of the U.S. central bank.

The S&P BSE Sensex was little changed at 55,973.38. The NSE Nifty 50 also pared gains and remained largely unchanged at 16,632.30. Reliance Industries Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain and had the largest move, increasing 1.3 percent.

The broader indices outperformed their larger peers with both the S&P BSE MidCap and the S&P BSE SmallCap gaining over 0.25%. Eleven out of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE Ltd. advanced, with S&P BSE Energy adding 1%. On the flipside, S&P BSE Telecom index shed over 2%, dragged by Bharti Airtel.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of bulls. About 1,728 stocks advanced, 1,326 declined and 136 remained unchanged.

Shares of J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd.added over 3.6% to Rs 200.95 apiece, after the company received a Rs 455.34 crore order from Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai.

According to an exchange filing by the company, the project pertained to Mithi Package IV: Diversion of dry wealth flow from Bapat Nalla and Safed Pul Nalla to Dharavi through tunnel.

All the six analysts tracking the company maintained 'buy' recommendation. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 36%.

SpiceJet Ltd. has entered into a settlement with Avolon, a major lessor of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max aircraft, paving the way for the airline’s planes to start to return to service, according to a stock exchange statement.

SpiceJet, the only Indian operator of Boeing Max planes that were grounded in 2019 after crashes, expects to start operations of the aircraft around the end of September, pending regulatory approvals.

Shares of SpiceJet added 3.34% to Rs 74.15 apiece in intraday trade before paring the gains.

On Aug. 12, Bloomberg reported citing a person familiar with the development that India was set to allow 737 Max jets to resume flying

Shares of Affle India added 5%, the most in almost 8 weeks, to Rs 4,155.60 apiece after the company's board approved the stock split.

According to the exchange filing by the company, the board of directors gave their approval for stock split of company one equity share of face value of Rs 10 each into five equity shares of face value of Rs 2 each, subject to shareholders and regulatory approvals. The record data for the share split will be on October 8. The rationale behind the split is to facilitate larger shareholder base and aid liquidity. The stock split is expected to be completed within 1-2 months from the approval of the shareholders.

Of the six analysts tracking the company, 4 maintained 'buy' and 2 maintained 'sell' recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 40.2%

Shares of Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Ltd rose over 2.5% to Rs 13,461.55 apiece after the company reported sequential growth in revenue in the June quarter post market hours Wednesday.

June Quarter Results

• Net income at Rs 48.98 crore vs Rs 98.33 crore QoQ

• Revenue at Rs 786.59 crore vs Rs 759.66 crore QoQ

• Total costs at Rs 725.06 crore vs Rs 645.18 crore QoQ

• Other income at Rs 5.72 crore vs Rs 14.75 crore QoQ

Managing Director of the company, Madhusudan Gopalan said that the company delivered profitable growth for the fourth consecutive quarter and for the full year despite the challenges due to the focus on productivity and resilience. The company's directors have recommended a final dividend of Rs 80 per equity share for the financial year ended June 30, subject the shareholders' approval

• The capital will help expand the bank’s corporate and investment banking and private clients businesses in India.

• As part of its expansion plans, Barclays Bank had launched its international banking unit branch in GIFT City in February.

• With the latest capital infusion, Barclays Bank has invested Rs 8,300 crore worth capital in India.

Source: Barclays Bank statement

Shares of Swan Energy Ltd. rose nearly 18% to Rs 153.70 apiece after the company said that its 5-mtpa floating storage and regasification unit FSRU) in Jafrabad in Gujarat will be commissioned in April.

According to a Reuters report, Swan Energy is setting up a jetty and will build more tanks to eventually double the LNG import capacity. The FSRU was expected to the commissioned in first quarter of FY2020-21, but was delayed due to the pandemic and two cyclones.

The development will aid India in its efforts to boost LNG imports from next year.

Shares of Swan Energy jumped nearly 9% in 2021 so far with the price crossing the 200-day simple moving average, indicating potential upward price momentum.

Ami Organics Ltd. will now sell as much as Rs 200 crore ($26.9 million) worth of new shares in the initial public offering, after a pre-IPO placement of Rs 100 crore, according to its Red Herring Prospectus.

• The Surat, Gujarat-based specialty chemicals maker had initially planned to sell up to Rs 300 crore worth of new shares in the IPO, when it filed a draft prospectus in June.

• The company's shareholders are selling 6.06 million shares in an offer-for-sale as part of the IPO.

• Intensive Fiscal Services Pvt., Ambit Pvt. and Axis Capital are the banks managing the IPO.

Shares of Thermax Ltd. rose 4.52% to Rs 1,419.80 apiece after the company announced that its subsidiary Thermax Babcock and Wilcox Energy Solutions concluded a Rs 293 crore order for a boiler package for a refinery and petrochemical complex in western India.

According to an exchange filing by Thermax, the order includes design, manufacture, installation, erection, commissioning and testing of 3 Oil & Gas fired boilers.

Of the 30 analysts tracking the company, 5 maintained 'buy', 8 maintained 'hold' and 17 maintained 'sell' recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied a downside of 13.3%.

Shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd. declined nearly 3% to Rs 595.35 apiece after the company announced that it will consider various capital raising options on Sunday.

According to an exchange release by Bharti Airtel, the board of directors would consider capital raising options through equity or equity linked debt instruments or any combination thereof including through rights issue, QIP, preferential issue, convertible instruments issued domestically or foreign currency convertible bonds, or warrants on a preferential or marketed basis, or straight long dated debt in rupee or foreign currency, as the board deemed appropriate.

Of the 33 analysts tracking the company, 32 maintained 'buy', 1 maintained 'hold' recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 22.4%

Shares of Wockhardt Ltd. added nearly 6.5% to Rs 465 apiece after the company announce the partnership between its subsidiary Wockhardt Bio AG and Jiangxi Jemincare Group, China for its novel patented antibiotic Nafithromycin in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

• The drug is used to treat bacterial pneumonia and other respiratory tract infections.

• According to exchange filing by Wockhardt, Jemincare will be responsible for development and commercialisation of Nafithromycin in select markets.

• Wockhardt would supply the product to Jemincare and receive royalties on net sales.

• Wockhardt would also transfer the manufacturing technology to Jemincare at mutually agreed time.

Shares of Zydus Wellness Ltd. added nearly 7% to a record Rs 2,375 apiece.

• Trading volume was 10,710 shares, seven-times the 20-day average of 1,613 shares for this time of day.

• Zydus Wellness trades at 43 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year.

• Analysts have 10 'buy', 1 'hold' and no 'sell' recommendations on ths stock. The relative strength index on the stock was above 70, suggesting that it may be overbought.

• The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 14.9%

India’s stock benchmarks opened largely unchanged, as gains in tech stocks were offset by losses in banking stocks, ahead of August F&O series expiry. Investors shift focus to the Jackson Hole symposium which begins today to gauge the taper trajectory timeline of the U.S. central bank.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 0.1% to 55,869.95. The NSE Nifty 50 remained largely unchanged at 16,623.80. Reliance Industries Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.17%. HDFC Life Insurance Co. had the largest increase, rising 1.8%.

The broader indices outperformed their larger peers with the S&P BSE MidCap adding 056% and the S&P BSE SmallCap gaining 0.4%. Fourteen out of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE Ltd. advanced, with S&P BSE Power adding over 1%. On the flip side, S&P BSE Telecom shed over 1%.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of bulls. About 1,364 stocks advanced, 807 declined and 90 remained unchanged.

Indian bond traders will look forward to Rs 25,000 crore ($3.4 billion) of debt purchases by the central bank as part of its government securities acquisition program.  

• RBI plans to buy 7.59% 2026, 8.28% 2027, 7.59% 2029, 7.88% 2030 and 6.64% 2035 bonds.

• 10-year yields fell by 1bp to 6.24% on Wednesday.

• USD/INR little changed at 74.2425 on Wednesday.

• Global Funds Sell Net Rs 1,070 crore of Indian Stocks Wednesday: NSE

• They bought Rs 187 crore of sovereign bonds under limits available to foreign investors, and added Rs 23 crore of corporate debt

• State-run banks sold Rs 8.49 crore of sovereign bonds on Aug. 25: CCIL data. Foreign banks bought Rs 615 crore of bonds.

Vijaya Diagnostic Centre Ltd.’s shareholders plan to sell as many as 35.69 million shares to raise about Rs 1,900 crore in its initial public offering, according to a newspaper advertisement Thursday.

• IPO includes offer-for-sale of up to 5.1 million shares by founder S. Surendranath Reddy, while investors Karakoram Ltd. will offload up to 29.49 million shares and Kedaara Capital will sell up to 1.1 million shares.

• Investors can bid for minimum 28 shares of face value Re 1 each in the sale, which opens Sept. 1 and closes Sept. 3.

• Hyderabad-based diagnostic chain isn’t selling any new shares in the IPO, reserved 150,000 shares for employees.

• ICICI Securities, Edelweiss Financial Services and Kotak Mahindra Capital are managing the IPO, which constitutes 35% of the equity of the company.

HDFC Bank Ltd. has raised $1 Billion by the issue and allotment of direct, subordinated, unsecured 3.70% Based III Compliant AT-1 notes to overseas investors, the lender informed the exchanges.

The notes will be listed on the India International Exchange (IFSC) Ltd. and the NSE IFSC Ltd (NSE International Exchange).

Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday as traders await more clues about the regulatory outlook in China as well as the Federal Reserve’s approach to paring stimulus.

Equities fluctuated in Japan but slipped in Australia. South Korean shares pared gains and the won strengthened after the central bank raised interest rates, making the nation the first major Asian economy to start exiting record-low borrowing costs.

U.S. equity futures slipped after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 edged up to records overnight. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield held an advance ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting, which may offer fresh insight on how the Fed intends to scale back bond purchases. The dollar was little changed.

India’s SGX Nifty 50 Index futures for August delivery, expires today, little changed at 16,618.00, while MSCI Asia Pacific Index shed 0.2%. The NSE Nifty 50 Index gained 0.1% on Wednesday to 16,634.65.

In China, Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on private industries is continuing to color sentiment and complicate the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy. The rebound in Chinese stocks listed in the U.S. fizzled.

Views are split on whether Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech Friday at Jackson Hole will provide a clearer guide on when and how the Fed will scale back its emergency support. While the ongoing economic rebound and elevated inflation add to the case for starting policy normalisation, the fast-spreading delta virus strain threatens a slower pace of recovery than some had expected.

Elsewhere, crude oil dipped below $68 a barrel, paring a rally this week driven by bets that demand will weather the delta virus strain’s impact on the economic recovery. Gold fell below $1,800 and Bitcoin traded around $49,000.

Back home, P&G Hygiene may react as the company reported quarterly results after the market closed on Wednesday. P&G Health is scheduled to report earnings on Thursday. IndusInd Bank, SBI Cards, Aurobindo Pharma are among companies holding their annual shareholders’ meeting. Foreign investors sold net Rs 30.31crore of stocks on Tuesday, according to NSDL website.