Sensex, Nifty Stretch Gains To Second Week After Record Close
Catch all live updates on share prices, index moves, corporate announcements and more from Indian stock markets today.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Closing Bell
India’s stock benchmarks rose for the second consecutive week and closed at record, aided by gains in technology and telecom stocks, as positivity on the macroeconomic front and hopes of relaxation of covid curbs spilled over to the markets.
The S&P BSE Sensex gained 1.08% to 55,437.29. This is the first time the Sensex has crossed the 55,000 mark. The 30-stock index had hit a record 55.487.79 in intraday trade. The NSE Nifty 50 advanced by a similar magnitude to 16,529.10. The 50-stock index crossed both 16,400 and 16,500 level for the first time ever and hit a record 16,543.60 in intraday trade.
The broader indices underperformed the larger peers with both the S&P BSE MidCap and and S&P BSE SmallCap almost unchanged. Barring S&P BSE Healthcare, S&P BSE Utilities and S&P BSE Realty, all the other 16 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE Ltd. advanced, led by S&P BSE Telecom, S&P BSE Information Technology and S&P BSE Capital Goods, up above 1.5%.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bears. About 1,562 stocks advanced, 1,653 declined and 125 remained unchanged.
On Thursday, a government report showed that India’s retail prices increased at the slowest pace in three months in July, while Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reaffirmed support for the central banks’ policy of prioritizing growth.
Indian companies’ earnings for the latest quarter have been mixed so far, with 18 of the 47 Nifty companies that have posted results beating analysts’ estimates, while 27 trailed the consensus.
Adi Godrej To Step Down As Chairman Of Godrej Industries
Godrej Industries Ltd. announced that Adi Godrej will step down as Chairman and from the Board of Directors of the company, effective October 1, 2021. He will continue to serve as Chairman of the Godrej Group and Chairman Emeritus of Godrej Industries.
Nadir Godrej, who is currently the Managing Director, will take over as Chairman and Managing Director of Godrej Industries.
Source: Exchange Filing
Westlife Development Slips Post Q1 Miss
Shares of Westlife Development Ltd. shed 3.20% to Rs 506 apiece after the company reported net loss for the first quarter wider than the average analyst estimate
June Quarter Earnings
Net loss at Rs 33.39 crore vs estimate net loss of Rs 20.96 crore (Bloomberg Consensus)
Revenue at Rs 259.16 crore vs estimate of Rs 252 crore
Operating Ebitda at Rs 5.1 crore vs Rs 49 crore QoQ
Of the 16 analysts tracking the company, 12 maintained ‘buy’, 3 maintained ‘hold’ and 1 analysts maintained ‘sell’ recommendation. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 0.2%
Bajaj Healthcare Gains After Stock Split Approval
Shares of Bajaj Healthcare Ltd. gained 4.56% to Rs 964 apiece after the company approved the split of 1 equity share of face value of Rs 10/- each into 2 equity shares of Rs 5/- each.
In an exchange filing, Bajaj Healthcare cited the need to enhance the liquidity in the capital market, to widen shareholder base and to make shares affordable to small investors as the key reasons behind the stock split decision.
Grasim Gains Post June Quarter Beat
Shares of Grasim Industries Ltd. gained 2.69% to Rs 1,532.45 apiece after the company reported net income for the first quarter that beat the average analyst estimate.
June Quarter Results (Standalone)
Net income at Rs 481.59 crore vs estimate of Rs 326 crore (Bloomberg Consensus)
Revenue at Rs 3,762.68 crore vs estimate of Rs 3,750 crore
Total costs at Rs 3,282.34 crore vs Rs 3,851.51 crore QoQ
Other income at Rs 64.92 crore vs Rs 69.15 crore QoQ
Of the 10- analysts tracking the company, 6 maintained ‘buy’ and 4 maintained ‘hold’ recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 5.3%
Tube Investments Climbs Post Q1 Numbers
Shares of Tube Investments of India Ltd. gained 5.05% to Rs 1,244.90 after the company reported its first quarter numbers.
June Quarter Numbers (Consolidated)
Net income at Rs 120 crore vs Rs 143.84 crore QoQ
Revenue at Rs 2,437.48 crore vs Rs 2,732.92 crore QoQ
Total costs at Rs 2,278.10 crore vs Rs 2,577.64 crore QoQ
Other income at Rs 25.41 crore vs Rs 81.39 crore QoQ
Star Cement Climbs Post Q1, Record Date For Buyback Fixed
Shares of Star Cement Ltd. advanced nearly 9% to Rs 118.40% after the company reported its quarterly numbers.
June Quarter (Consolidated)
Net income at Rs 67.99 crore vs Rs 81.34 crore QoQ
Revenue at Rs 511.12 crore vs Rs 602.62 crore QoQ
Total costs at Rs 445.77 crore vs Rs 527.60 crore QoQ
Other income at Rs 8.45 crore vs Rs 8.32 crore QoQ
The company informed the exchanges that it appointed its Non-Executive Director Prem Kumar Bhajanka as Managing Director, effective from today till 31 March, 2024.
The Board of Directors has unanimously approved a proposal to Buy-Back up to 82,48,580 fully paid-up equity shares of Re. 1 each of the company from all the equity shareholders.
The board has fixed August 25 as the ‘Record Date’ for determining the members of the company who are eligible to participate in the Buy-Back offer of the company
Of the 14 analysts tracking the company, 10 maintained 'buy', 3 maintained 'hold' and 1 analyst maintained 'sell' recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 2%.
Tracxn Technologies Seeks SEBI Approval For India IPO
Tracxn Technologies Ltd.’s initial public offering will see sale of as many as 38.67 million shares by its holders including Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal, according to its draft prospectus.
The founders of the provider of private company data, Abhishek Goyal and Neha Singh, are selling as many as 7.66 million shares each in the IPO.
Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal are seeking to sell 1.26 million shares each.
IIFL Securities is managing the IPO
India Said To Probe L&T's Employee Welfare Co For Alleged Fraud: Bloomberg Exclusive
The Registrar of Companies is said to have issued a notice to two companies, LandT Welfare Co Ltd. and L&T Employees Welfare Foundation, and inspecting their accounts for allegations of cheating and misappropriation of funds, said people with knowledge of the matter.
AIA Engineering Gains On Q1 Beat
Shares of AIA Engineering Ltd. gained over 2% to Rs 1,990.85 apiece after the company reported net income for the first quarter that beat the average analyst estimate.
June Quarter Results
Net income at Rs 149.09 crore vs estimate of Rs 126 crore (Bloomberg Consensus)
Revenue at Rs 739.94 crore vs estimate of Rs 725 crore
Total costs at Rs 592.94 crore vs Rs 713.66 crore QoQ
Other income at Rs 39.52 crore vs Rs 23.24 crore QoQ
Of the 16 analysts tracking the company, 10 maintained ‘buy’, 5 maintained ‘hold’ and 1 analyst maintained ‘sell’ recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 5.7%
Mid-Market Update
India’s stock benchmarks rose to record high, aided by gains in technology and telecom stocks amid positivity on the macroeconomic front; as they look poised to close a second consecutive week higher.
The S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.87% to 55,320.31. This is the first time that the 30-stock index crossed 55,000. The NSE Nifty 50 advanced by a similar magnitude to 16,500.65. The 50-stock index had crossed both the 16,400 and 16,500 levels in intra-day trade for the first time. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain and also had the largest increase, up 3.5%.
The broader indices underperformed their larger peers with S&P BSE MidCap adding 0.19% and S&P BSE SmallCap gaining 0.4%. Fifteen out of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE Ltd. advanced with S&P BSE Information Technology, S&P BSE Telecom and S&P BSE TECK gaining over 1.5%.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bulls. About 1,742 stocks advanced, 1,357 declined and 120 remained unchanged.
TCS Up Most In Seven Weeks, Outperforms Peers
Shares of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. gained 2.90%, the steepest intraday rise since June 24, to Rs 3,449 apiece. TCS was the best performer in the NSE Nifty IT index.
Trading volume was 1.74 million shares, 51% above the 20-day average of 1.15 million shares for this time of the day. The relative strength index on the stock was 77, indicating it may be overbought. Shares of TCS have gained for the seventh consecutive session.
Of the 49 analysts tracking the company, 31 maintained 'buy', 11 maintained 'hold' and 7 maintained 'sell' recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 2.4%.
Bharti Airtel Gains After Closing Airwave Sale To Reliance Jio
Shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd. gained 2.51% to Rs 638.80 apiece after the company concluded a deal with Reliance Jio Infocomm to transfer the ‘Right to Use’ of Airtel’s 800 MHz spectrum in three circles to Jio.
Airtel received Rs 1,004 crore from Jio for the proposed transfer.
Reliance Jio will also assume future liabilities of Rs 469.3 crore related to the spectrum, according to exchange filing.
Page Industries Declines 4% Post Q1 Miss
Shares of Page Industries shed nearly 4% to Rs 31,100 apiece after the company reported net income for the first quarter that missed the average analyst estimate.
June Quarter Results
Net income at Rs 10.95 crore vs estimate of Rs 14.53 crore (Bloomberg consensus)
Revenue at Rs 501.54 crore vs estimate of Rs 558 crore
Total costs at Rs 490.58 crore vs Rs 733.69 crore QoQ
Other income at Rs 3.56 crore vs Rs 5.56 crore QoQ
Goldman Sachs
Maintains ‘sell’, raises target price to Rs 17,401
Q1 revenue was adversely impacted as operations were hurt due to lockdowns in May and June.
Expect pent up demand to have a positive impact on volume growth over the next two quarters.
Estimate July-December 2021 volume growth to be 7% higher than July-December 2019 numbers.
Concerned on the growth outlook for the company’s largest segment, men’s innerwear.
Cautious on the demand outlook given the competitive intensity from both domestic and international brands.
L&T Hits Record As Heavy Engineering Arm Wins Order
Shares of Larsen & Toubro Ltd. gained 2.23% to a record Rs 1,659.70 apiece after the company’s heavy engineering arm bagged an order for oxidation reactor from Technip Energies India for the technologically critical Titanium Clad Reactor.
In an exchange filing, the company said the order was an important step in indigenization of high technology equipment and marked the opening of multiple avenues for the heavy engineering segment in both domestic and global markets.
Of the 43 analysts tracking the company, 41 maintained ‘buy’, 1 maintained ‘hold’ and 1 analyst maintained ‘sell’ recommendation. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 11.6%.
Tata Steel Swings Between Gains & Losses Post Q1
Shares of Tata Steel Ltd. swung between gains and losses after the steel maker reported net profit and revenue that met average analyst estimate in June quarter, post market hours on Thursday. The stock had risen as much as 1.5% and fallen as much as 3.1% in morning trade. Most analysts maintained their ‘buy’ recommendations on the steelmaker.
Zensar Tech Jumps On Contract With City Of San Diego
Shares of Zensar Technologies Ltd. rose 5.33% to a record Rs 439.95 apiece after the company signed a 4-year multi-million-dollar contract with the City of San Diego.
Zensar has been selected as the provider of enterprise compute services and workplace services by the City of San Diego, exchange filing by the company showed. Zensar Technologies delivers end-to-end, integrated solutions for I.T. infrastructure services.
Shares of Zensar Technologies added nearly 83% in 2021 so far compared to 34% gains for NSE Nifty IT index. Of the 12 analysts tracking the company, 8 maintained ‘buy’, 3 maintained ‘hold’ and 1 analyst maintained ‘sell’ recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied a downside of 5%
Wockhardt Gains On Deal To Manufacture Of Sputnik V/Sputnik V Light Vacccine
Shares of Wockhardt Ltd. gained over 8%, the steepest advance in over two months, to Rs 528.70 apiece after the company signed an agreement with Dubai-incorporated Enso Healthcare DMCC and Human Vaccine LLC to manufacture and supply the Russian covid vaccine Sputnik V and its single-dose Light version.
Exchange filing by the company showed that Wockhardt will manufacture and supply up to 62 crore doses of Sputnik vacccines to Enso after successful technology transfer from the Russian sovereign wealth fund unit.
Suprajit Engineering Extends Post-Earnings Rally
Shares of Suprajit Engineering Ltd. advanced for the second consecutive day, adding nearly 10% to Rs 346 apiece. The company reported on Wednesday that it swung to profit in the June quarter.
June Quarter Numbers (Consolidated)
Net profit at Rs 43.16 crore vs Rs 57.51 crore QoQ (loss of Rs 14.51 crore YoY)
Revenue at Rs 361.62 crore vs Rs 512.97 crore QoQ
Total costs at Rs 331.47 crore vs Rs 448.34 crore QoQ
Other income at Rs 6.61 crore vs Rs 12.19 crore QoQ
All the 7 analysts tracking the company maintained a ‘buy’ recommendation. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied a downside of 8.1%.
Eicher Motors Slips Post Q1
Shares of Eicher Motors Ltd. shed nearly 3.5% to Rs 2,526 apiece after the company reported net income for the first quarter that beat the average analyst estimate post market hours on Thursday.
June Quarter Results (Consolidated)
Net profit at Rs 237 crore vs estimate of Rs 233 crore (Bloomberg Consensus)
Revenue at Rs 1,974 crore vs estimate of Rs 1,833.6 crore
Ebitda at Rs 363 crore vs estimate of Rs 358 crore
Margin at 18.4% vs estimate of 19.5%
Commentary and Context
Vinod K Dasari has stepped down as the chief executive officer of Royal Enfield.
B Govindarajan, chief operating officer at Royal Enfield since 2013, will take on the responsibility of leading the two-wheeler brand effective August 18.
Chip shortage may hamper production for ongoing quarter and possible through the rest of the year as well.
Royal Enfield total exports stood at 17,493 units.
Announced local motorcycle assembly unit in Colombia.
Here's what brokerages have said about Eicher Motors Q1 numbers.
Axis Capital
Maintains ‘sell’ rating at an unchanged target price of Rs 2,050, implying a potential downside of 22%
Volumes declined by almost 68% sequentially as Covid-led lockdowns impacted commercial vehicle industry volumes.
Vinod Dasari’s resignation comes as a negative surprise considering he had become the face of Royal Enfield business over the last 2 years spearheading various initiatives.
B Govindarajan, the new director of RE business, is a veteran with rich experience in production and supply chain management but has had limited exposure on the demand side – sales & marketing, distribution, etc. We will keenly watch out for his execution on this front.
Jefferies
Maintains ‘buy’ rating, cuts target price to Rs 3,200 from Rs 3,250, implying a potential upside of 22.35%
Eicher's Q1 Ebitda fell 43% sequentially amid Covid, although RE gross-profit-per-vehicle was all-time-high despite rising metal costs.
Royal Enfield's near-term outlook is clouded by chip shortages hurting production, lack of clarity on product launch timeline, and untimely CEO exit.
Continue to like Eicher given RE's strong franchise, limited competition, low risk of EVs and potential for volume ramp-up as chip issues ease.
Believe that RE is well-placed to benefit from the potential demand recovery and premiumization in Indian two-wheelers; however, an uptick in volumes and product launches would be key to stock performance.
UBS
Maintains ‘neutral’ rating, raises target price to Rs 2,800 from the earlier Rs 2,700, implying a potential upside of over 7%
Expect medium term growth for Royal Enfield in the domestic market to be inline with overall market growth.
Production expected to hit ideal levels only by FY22-end as supply chain disruptions ease gradually.
Royal Enfield's first two-wheeler EV is still far away from launch.
Of the 43 analysts tracking the company, 19 maintained 'buy', 10 maintained 'hold' and 14 analysts maintained 'sell' recommendations. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 7.4%. Shares of Eicher Motors added 0.66% in 2021 so far compared to 10.87% gain for NSE Nifty Auto Index.
Aurobindo Pharma Declines Post June Quarter Miss
Shares of Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. slipped over 8% to Rs 759.12 apiece after the company reported net income for the first quarter that missed the average analyst estimate post market hours on Thursday.
June Quarter Results (Consolidated)
Net profit at Rs 769.97 crore vs estimate of Rs 825.29 crore(Bloomberg Consensus)
Revenue at Rs 5,701.98 crore vs estimate of Rs 6,158.83 crore
Ebitda at Rs 1,209.38 crore vs estimate of Rs 1,313.75 crore
Margins at 21.2% vs estimate of 21.3%
Commentary and Context
Aurobindo Pharma declared an interim dividend of Rs 1.50 per share.
The company approved scheme of amalgamation between Auronext Pharma, Mviyes Pharma Venture and Aurobindo Pharma.
The company will subscribe to Rs 420 crore of fresh shares in Cronus Pharma. Aurobindo will own 51% of Cronus after the investment.
Of the 33 analysts tracking the company, 29 maintained ‘buy’, 3 maintained ‘hold’ and 1 analysts maintained ‘sell’ recommendation. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implied an upside of 41.4%
Opening Bell
India’s stock benchmarks advanced to record highs and are poised for a second consecutive week of gains, amid positivity on the macroeconomic front as retail inflation eased to a three-month low in July within the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee’s target range after two months.
The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.38% to 55,052.52. This is the first time the Sensex has crossed the 55,000 mark. The NSE Nifty 50 advanced by a similar magnitude to 16,426.75.
The broader indices almost mirrored their larger peers with S&P BSE MidCap adding 0.2% and S&P BSE SmallCap gaining over 0.4%. Barring S&P BSE Healthcare and S&P BSE Realty, all the other 17 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE Ltd. advanced, led by S&P BSE Capital Goods and S&P BSE FMCG, up nearly 1%.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bulls. About 1,699 stocks advanced, 830 declined and 97 remained unchanged.
Ixigo Owner Le Travenues Seeks Sebi Approval for $215M India IPO
Le Travenues Technology Ltd., which operates online travel planner Ixigo, filed documents with India’s markets regulator Sebi seeking approval for a Rs 1,600 crore ($215 million) initial share sale, according to the prospectus on the website of banker ICICI Securities.
The IPO consists of a fresh issue for Rs 750 crore and selling shareholders will offer for sale Rs 850 crore of shares
Axis Capital, Kotak Mahindra Capital and Nomura Financial India are the other book running lead managers
Rupee Bonds May Gain as Inflation Slows in July
Indian bonds may extend gain after data showed retail prices increased at the slowest pace in three months in July, allowing the central bank to continue with its accommodative stance to support the economy. Demand for debt at a Rs 31,000 crore bond sale later on Friday is also in focus.
Consumer prices rose 5.59% last month from a year earlier compared to 6.26% in June, the Statistics Ministry said in a statement Thursday. That compares with the median forecast for a 5.72% gain in a Bloomberg survey of 39 economists.
Growth will have its priority, and will be pushed both by the Reserve Bank and the Indian govt, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
SGX Nifty Hints At A Flat Start; Tata Steel, Eicher Motors, Hero Moto In Focus
Asian shares slipped on Friday as the spread of the delta Covid-19 variant and China’s regulatory curbs restrained sentiment despite another record high close on Wall Street.
The technology sector led losses partly on a retreat in chipmakers that hurt South Korean equities. Stocks fluctuated in Japan and fell in China and Hong Kong. U.S. contracts were steady after the S&P 500 hit a fresh peak and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose. Airbnb Inc. slid in extended trading on a tough outlook due to the virus. A surge in streaming demand boosted Walt Disney Co.
U.S. Treasury 10-year yields were near a one-month high following a tepid 30-year auction and data highlighting price pressures and a recovery in the labor market. A gauge of the dollar held an advance.
India’s SGX Nifty 50 Index futures for August delivery remained little changed at 16,377.00, while MSCI Asia Pacific Index shed 0.2%.
The focus in China remains on Beijing’s push to exert more control over a range of industries. In real estate, the nation is suspending private equity funds from raising money to invest in residential property development. Separately, a partial shutdown of a major Chinese port due to a virus outbreak stoked concerns about a repeat of last year’s pandemic shipping woes.
Oil dipped as traders grappled with the impact of the delta variant on demand. In agricultural commodities, a prospective squeeze on global grain supplies is reigniting a rally in crop prices. Bitcoin was around $44,800.
Back home, Tata Steel, Hero, Eicher Motors, Ashok Leyland, Aurobindo Pharma, Dish TV, Redington, Gujarat Pipavav may react as the companies reported quarterly results after the market closed on Thursday. ONGC, Grasim, Petronet LNG, IGL, Apollo Hospitals, Glenmark Pharma are among the companies scheduled to report earnings on Friday. Bharat Forge, DCB Bank, Gujarat Pipavav, Tube Investments are holding their annual shareholders’ meeting. Foreign investors bought net Rs 297 crore of stocks on Wednesday, according to NSDL website.