Sensex, Nifty Snap Five-Day Losing Streak Aided By BPCL, RIL, Auto Stocks

India's stock benchmarks snapped five-day losing streak, aided by gains in energy and auto stocks.

This is the best day for the Sensex and Nifty in over two weeks.

The Sensex gained over 1% to 57,037.50. The Nifty also advanced by similar magnitude to close above 17,100.

The move was the biggest since rising 2.2% on April 4 and follows the previous session's decrease of 1.3%. Bharat Petroleum Corp. had the largest increase, rising 3.8%. Today, 37 of 50 shares rose, while 13 fell.

The broader indices underperformed their larger peers with S&P BSE MidCap and S&P BSE SmallCap adding around 0.4%. Thirteen of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced with S&P BSE Auto and Energy indices rising ovver 2%.

The market breadth was skewed slightly in the favour of bulls. About 1,764 stocks advanced, 1,629 declined and 117 remained unchanged.

Shares of Reliance Industrial Infrastructure shed over 4%, the steepest fall in over six weeks after the company reported decline in net profit in the quarter-ended March.

Q4FY2021-22 Results (Consolidated, YoY)

• Net income at Rs 1.06 crore down 65% YoY compared to Rs 3.01 crore

• Revenue from operations at Rs 16.40 crore, up nearly 9% vs Rs 15.08 crore

• Total costs at Rs 17.53 crore vs Rs 16.72 crore

• Other income at Rs 3.26 crore vs Rs 3.80 crore

• The company also recommended a dividend of Rs 3 per equity share of Rs 10 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2022.

Trading volume on the stock is nearly twice the 30-day average volume at this time of the day.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing.

• Tata Teleservices has 2.99 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

• Alkem Laboratories raised to 'buy' from 'hold' at HSBC; price target set at Rs 4,170, an implied upside of 23%.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Adani Wilmar rose over 4.5% to a record Rs 709 apiece.

• The stock is on course to extend winning streak to sixth day and has gained nearly 25% in six days.

• The relative strength index on the stock is at 81, suggesting it may be overbought.

• The advance comes amid rise in agriculture and food-related stocks in Asia after corn futures inched towards a record high and wheat surged as Russia's invasion of Ukraine threatens global supplies.

Source: Bloomberg

• The investment will create 25,000 or more jobs in West Bengal, Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group said at the Bengal Global Business Summit today.

Source: Bloomberg

• L&T Technology Services fell for sixth consecutive day, on track for the longest losing streak in over three years.

• HDFC AMC shares fell for 10th day, on track for longest losing streak in 19 months.

• Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail fell for eighth day, on track for the longest losing streak in over 21 months.

• L&T Finance Holding fell for eighth day, on track for longest losing streak in six and a half years.

• Shares of Persistent Systems fall for the sixth day, on track for the longest losing streak in nearly 14 months.

Source: Bloomberg

• ACC raised to 'buy' from 'add' at YES Research; price target set at Rs 2,400; implied upside of Rs 8.8%.

Source: Bloomberg

• A fine of Rs 500 has been imposed for violating the rule.

• Government has decided to not shut schools and will issue an official order regarding the mandatory use of masks soon.

Source: Press Trust of India

• Shares of Phoenix Mills rose over 6%, most in five months

• Varun Beverages' shares advanced nearly 6%, the most in five months. The relative strength index on the stock is above 70, suggesting it may be overbought.

Source: Bloomberg

Campus Activewear, the maker of Campus sport shoes, will open its IPO from April 26-28.

• The IPO is a pure offer-for-sale.

• The price band has been set at Rs 278-292.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Escorts fell nearly 1.5%.

• The stock is the sole laggard in the NSE Nifty Auto Index.

• Following the announcement of cash tender offer for Escorts by Kubota Corp, Escorts will remain in the FTSE Russell RAFI Global Index with an unchanged shares in issue total of 13,20,61,426 and a decreased investability weighting from 57.244% to 25.27%, according to a FTSE Russell note.

• The decline also comes a day after the company's agri-machinery division announced a price hike on its tractors, effective today. Escorts said that the steady rise in commodity prices necessitated the price hike. The increase in prices would vary across models and variants.

• Of the 28 analysts tracking the company, 11 maintain 'buy', 11 suggest 'hold' and six recommend 'sell'. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implies an upside of 20.7%.

Source: Exchange filing, Bloomberg

Inox Wind approves fund raising, aggregating to Rs 402.5 crore through preferential issue of equity shares and convertible warrants.

• Promoters will infuse Rs 150 crore through preferential issue of equity shares.

• Samena Green will infuse Rs 152.5 crore while Lend Lease Company will invest Rs 100 crore through preferential issue of equity shares and convertible warrants.

• The company has convened an extra-ordinary general meeting of the company on May 13 to seek approval for the preferential issue.

Source: Exchange filing.

India's stock benchmarks rose and are on course to snap five-day losing streak, aided by auto, information technology, energy and oil & gas stocks.

The Sensex rose over 0.9% to 56,987.71. The 30-stock gauge gained over 1% to reclaim 57,000 mark in intraday trade. The Nifty also advanced by similar magnitude to reclaim 17,100.

The broader indices underperformed their larger peers with S&P BSE MidCap and SmallCap rising 0.7%. Barring S&P BSE Capital Goods, all the other 18 sectoral indices compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced with S&P BSE Energy and Auto indexes gaining nearly 2%.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of bulls. About 1,873 stocks advanced, 1,412 declined and 130 remained unchanged.

Shares of Ahmedabad-based construction company PSP Projects rose over 5.3%, the most in six sessions.

• The rise comes after company confirmed securing orders worth Rs 938.76 crore, including fresh work orders worth Rs 511.39 crore and Rs 327.39 crore in FY2021-22 and FY2022-23 respectively.

• The additional scope in existing contracts is worth Rs 99.90 crore in FY2021-22.

• Trading volume is more than thrice the 30-day average at this time of the day. Share price rose above 50-day simple moving average, indicating potential upward price momentum.

• All nine analysts tracking the company maintain 'buy'. The return potential on the stock is 26.6%.

Source: Exchange filing, Bloomberg

• NTPC has another 2 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

• Shares of Sona BLW Precision Forgings added nearly 4% after the company announced strategic partnership with Canadian firm Enedymn to make magnet-less EV motors.

• The two firms will develop next generation switched reluctance motor drive platforms for Indian road and usage conditions targeting 2-,3- and 4-Wheeler EVs.

• Enedym will license its SRM technologies to Sona Comstar for manufacturing for target applications exclusively in India.

• The serial production of these systems is likely to commence in 2023.

• Trading volume on the stock is above the 30-day average at this time of the day.

• Of the 11 analysts tracking the automotive components maker, five maintain 'buy', two suggest 'hold' and four recommend 'sell'. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implies an upside of 6.4%

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of VRL Logistics rose over 9.6%, the most in over 10 weeks.

• The rise comes after the company announced signing an MoU with Ratna Cements on Monday for transfer of wind power undertaking on a slump sale basis for Rs 48 crore.

• The buyer placed a token advance of Rs 2 crore ahead of the MoU and has set a time till July 31, 2022 to complete the transaction.

• Windmill division recorded revenue of Rs 17.57 crore, in the financial year ended March 31, 2021. The net worth of the sale of power segment as on March 31, 2021 was Rs 41.95 crore

• Trading volume is more than eight times the 30-day average at this time of the day. The relative strength index on the stock is at 74, suggesting it may be overbought. Of the 12 analysts tracking the company, 11 maintain 'buy' and one recommends 'sell'. The return potential of the stock is 9.2%.

Source: Exchange filing, Bloomberg

Shares of Reliance Industries rose over 3.4% in intraday trade to Rs 2,731 apiece, within touching distance of the record Rs 2,751.35 levels reached on October 19, 2021.

• The stock has added more than 6% over the last two days. Trading volume on the stock was nearly 2.5 times the 30-day average at this time of the day.

• The company said that JioFiber postpaid users will get OTT subscriptions for Rs 100-200 from 14 OTT platforms. Reliance Brands also signed a deal to take majority stake in 'Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla'.

• Of the 39 analysts tracking the company, 25 maintain 'buy', 10 suggest 'hold' and four recommend 'sell'. The return potential on the stock is at 1.6%.

Source: Exchange filings, Bloomberg

Shares of Gland Pharmaceuticals rose after Motilal Oswal expected the company to be the biggest beneficiary of drugs shortage in the U.S.

• Motilal Oswal has reiterated 'buy' with the target price maintained at Rs 4,040; an implied upside of 26%.

• Motilal Oswal expects Gland Pharma and Aurobindo Pharma to be the biggest gainers from U.S. drugs shortage. Shares of Aurobindo Pharma rose over 2.5%, the most in over two weeks.

Source: Motilal Oswal Note, Bloomberg

Shares of Alembic Pharma rose over 2%, the most in nearly two weeks after the company received tentative approval from U.S. FDA for drug used to reduce risk on heart failure in adult patients.

• The ANDA for Ivabradine tablets is therapeutically equivalent to Corlanor tablets of Amgen.

• Ivabradine tablets are used to treat stable symptomatic heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy in patients aged six months and older.

• The drug has an estimated market size of $102 million for 12 months ended December 2021, according to IQVIA.

• Of the 18 analysts tracking the company, seven maintain 'buy', seven suggest 'hold' and four recommend 'sell'. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implies an upside of 9.4%.

Source: Exchange Filing, Bloomberg

Most yields along the India sovereign yield curve fell, with 14-year bonds moving the most in Wednesday morning trading.

• The 3-year yield was little changed at 6.13%

• The 10-year yield fell 1.5bps to 7.136%

• The 30-year yield fell 2.5bps to 7.443%

Source: Bloomberg

The IPO of Campus Activewear Ltd., the maker of Campus sports shoes is set to open on April 26 and close on April 28.

The offering will be a pure offer-for-sale, with existing promoters selling 4.79 crore shares.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. rose 9.5%. This comes after the stock gained as much as 20% yesterday after nearly 97 lakh shares changed hands in bunched trades.

Trading volume was ten times the average for this time of the day. The stock was the best performed among its peers.

• NTPC has 2.02 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd. fell 5% after analysts flagged concerns over the uninspiring performance in Q4.

• Brokerages expect softening of BFS growth, uncertainty, rising cost and wage inflation to soften growth momentum and believe that the margin pressure will remain elevated.

• Trading volume on the stock is 6.5 times the 30-day average at this time of the day. The relative strength index on the stock is at 28, suggesting it may be oversold.

Source: Brokerage notes, Exchange filing, Bloomberg

Shares of Coal India rose nearly 4% in intraday trade, on course to extend winning streak for fourth day.

• The stock has risen over 8% in the last four days.

• Trading volume was nearly 3.5 times the 30-day average volume at this time of the day.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of drug and medical device makers rose after Johnson & Johnson beat analysts’ quarterly earnings estimates but cut its annual profit forecast on forex headwinds and suspended guidance for Covid-19 vaccine sales.

• Nineteen of the 20 stocks constituting the NSE Nifty Pharma index rose with Covid-vaccine related stocks Dr. Reddy's rising 2.8% and Zydus Lifesciences adding 2%.

Source: Bloomberg

• Rupee rose 0.26% to 76.31 against the U.S. dollar.

• The Indian currency depreciated over the past five sessions.

• Rupee is on course to snap a five-day losing streak, aided by supported by a recovery in stocks and a retreat in dollar in Asia trading.

• 10-Year Yield was little changed near 7.15%. Bonds are largely steady.

Source: Bloomberg

• Petronet LNG has 1.07 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Insecticides India rose over 7.2%, the most in nine months.

• The company was granted the patent for an invention "Novel Granules and its Pesticidal Compositions" by the government for 20 years.

• The patent was filed on July 2019.

• Trading volume is over 13 times the 30-day average volume at this time of the day. The relative strength index on the stocks is at 75, suggesting it may be overbought.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

• HDFC agrees to sell 10% stake in HDFC Capital to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority

• Stake to be sold for a consideration of Rs 184 crore

• HDFC Capital is in active discussions with leading global investors to raise additional funds to be invested in development of affordable & mid-income housing projects in India.

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of Mastek rose over 3% after the company reported sequential growth in net profit and revenue for quarter-ended March, ahead of market opening Wednesday.

Mastek Q4FY22 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue up 5.37% at Rs 581.53 crore vs Rs 551.91 crore

• EBIT margins at 18.66% vs 19.14%

• PAT up 5.73% at Rs 88.23 crore vs Rs 83.45 crore

Trading volume was nearly 3.5 times the 30-day average volume at this time of the day.

Source: Exchange filing, Bloomberg

• Indian Oil has 1.66 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

• Shares of HDFC Bank rose after a nine-day losing streak.

• Shares of HDFC also opened higher, snapping a three-day losing streak and on course to gain for the second day in the last nine sessions since April 4.

• HDFC and HDFC Bank announced a proposed merger plan on April 4.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Tata Steel Long Products fell as much as 5.8%, the steepest loss in nearly eight weeks after the company reported an 88.5% YoY decline in net profit in Q4.

• EBITDA fell 67% YoY while margins contracted to 9.13%.

• Trading volume on the stock is 11 times the 30-day average volume at this time of the day.

Source: Exchange filing, Bloomberg

Shares of cement companies rose after ACC reported 2.5% YoY growth in revenue in the quarter ended March, post market hours Wednesday.

• EBITDA fell 32.1% YoY while margin contracted to 12.26%.

• The company expected demand to improve further, aided by rebound in domestic economic environment and government's infrastructure spending.

Source: Exchange filing, Bloomberg

India's stock benchmarks opened higher, aided by gains in energy, power, oil and gas stocks, amid a fall in crude prices after IMF downgraded global growth estimates for 2022 and 2033 due to Russia-Ukraine conflict and inflation.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.29% to 56,626.77. The NSE Nifty 50 advanced by similar magnitude to 17,029.85.

The broader indices outperformed their larger peers with S&P BSE MidCap gaining 0.4% and S&P BSE SmallCap rising 0.6%. Barring S&P BSE Bankex, all the other 18 sectoral indices compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced with S&P BSE Power rising nearly 2%.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of bulls. About 1,829 stocks advanced, 591 declined and 81 remained unchanged.

• Non-banking finance companies in India will be in focus after the central bank tightened rules related to lending that includes additional disclosures for exposure to sectors such as real estate and loans against securities. 

• In Focus: Bajaj Finance, Cholamandalam Investment, Aditya Birla Capital, Poonawalla Fincorp, Sundaram Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial, L&T Finance.

Source: Bloomberg

• L&T Infotech raised to 'add' from 'reduce' at Equirus Securities; price target set at Rs 5,830, an implied return of 6.5%.

• Page Industries: Centrum Broking initiates coverage of the stock with a recommendation of 'buy'; price target set at Rs 51,458, an implied return of 13%.

Source: Bloomberg

Motilal Oswal

• Reiterates 'buy' with the target price unchanged at Rs 4,040, an implied upside of 26%.

• Expects Gland Pharma to be the biggest beneficiary from drugs under shortages in the U.S. due to its consistent compliance and manufacturing capabilities.

• Values Gland Pharma at 35x12-month P/E to arrive at the target price.

• Remains positive on the company due to its niche product pipeline in injectables, volume gains from existing products, wider market operations in its portfolio, strong cash cushion for inorganic growth and compliance.

• 11 injection products of the company remain in the U.S. FDA shortage list with a combined sales of $400 million over the past 12 months.

• See opportunities for key products like Dexamthasone, Ketorolac, Midzolam and Metronidazole.

• Expects Gland Pharma and Aurobindo Pharma to be the largest beneficiaries from the U.S. drug shortage.

• Over of the 115 drugs under shortage according to U.S. FDA's latest list, Gland has presence in 11, with ANDA filings of its own.

Source: Motilal Oswal note.

• Sona BLW Precision Forgings has formed a strategic partnership with Canadian firm Enedymn to make magnet-less EV motors.

• The two firms will develop next generation switched reluctance motor drive platforms for Indian road and usage conditions targeting 2-,3- and 4-Wheeler EVs.

• Enedym will license its SRM technologies to Sona Comstar for manufacturing for target applications exclusively in India.

• The serial production of these systems is likely to commence in 2023.

Source: Exchange filing

The Indian rupee may move toward a record low amid continued outflows from local equities as investors exit riskier assets. Bond traders will look forward to a Rs 34,000 crore ($4.4b) of Treasury-bill sale.

• Foreigners have pulled out $1.7 billion from Indian equities so far this month

• USD/INR rose 0.3% to 76.5062 on Tuesday

• Rupee fell to a record low of 76.9812 in March

• 10-year yields little changed at 7.15% on Tuesday

• Global funds sold net Rs 5,870 crore of India stocks Tuesday: NSE

  • They sold Rs 388 crore of sovereign bonds under limits available to foreign investors, and withdrew Rs 41 crore of corporate debt

• State-run banks sold Rs 2,420 crore of sovereign bonds on April 19: CCIL data. Foreign banks bought Rs 337 crore of bonds.

Source: Bloomberg

• Future Enterprises Ltd. has said that it is unable to pay Rs 29.33 crore interest on Non-Convertible Debentures.

• The date of default was on Monday.

Source: Exchange filing

Asian energy-related shares are in focus as crude oil sunk after the International Monetary Fund downgraded its global growth forecast, intensifying global concerns of an economic slowdown.

• Brent crude fell to $107 a barrel, while Nymex crude slipped below $103 a barrel.

• In Focus: Reliance Industries, HPCL, BPCL, ONGC and Oil India.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Asian drug and medical device makers are in focus after Johnson & Johnson beat analysts’ quarterly earnings estimates but cut its annual profit forecast on forex headwinds and suspended guidance for Covid-19 vaccine sales. Its shares rose 3.1%

• Shares of Covid-19 vaccine-makers Pfizer and Moderna fell.

• In Focus: Covid vaccine-related stocks like Dr. Reddy's, Zydus Lifesciences and Pfizer.

Source: Bloomberg

• Angel One

• ICICI Securities

• Tata Elxsi

• Glenmark Lifesciences

• JTL Infra

• Reliance Industrial Infrastructure

• Reliance Industries: Says Jiofiber postpaid users to get OTT subscriptions for Rs 100-200 per month; users can get access to 14 OTT apps. Reliance Brands Ltd. has also signed a deal to take majority stake in Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla to accelerate the couture house's growth plans.

• Punjab and Sind Bank: The bank classified Srei Infrastructure Finance and Srei Equipment Finance as fraud accounts with loan exposure worth Rs 510.16 crore and Rs 724.18 crore, respectively. Loans declared as fraud to RBI and have been fully provided for.

• Escorts: The company’s Agri Machinery division will increase prices of its tractors due to a steady rise in commodity prices. The rise is effective April 20 and will vary across models and variants.

• Insecticides (India): The company received patent for invention of entitled 'Novel Granules and its pesticidal compositions', from Patent Office, the Government of India. The patent is valid for 20 years.

• VRL Logistics: The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ratna Cements for transfer of the Wind Power undertaking along with all underlying assets and liabilities as a going concern on a slump sale basis for Rs 48 crore.

• Bajaj Electricals: The company announced partnership with wtec to provide smart engine intelligent building technology for network-powered lighting & sensor infrastructure in India.

• IRCON: Appointed Ragini Advani as Director (Finance) for a period of five years, effective April 19.

• Mahindra Lifespace Developers: Mahindra World City Developers, the company subsidiary, has received an income tax notice with demand of Rs 102 crore. The company said that it will contest the demand at judicial forums.

• VA Tech Wabag: International Water Treatment LLC, Oman, a Special Purpose Vehicle for carrying out Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract for water desalination project in Muscat has been liquidated.

Tata Steel Long Products Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 16.3% at Rs 1,799.4 crore Vs Rs 1,546.7 crore

• EBITDA falls 67% at Rs 164.34 crore Vs Rs 497.82 crore

• EBITDA Margin 9.13% Vs 32.19%

• Net Profit fell 88.5% at Rs 59.62 crore Vs Rs 339.85 crore

• Approved dividend of Rs 12.5 per share of Rs 10.

ACC Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 2.5% at Rs 4,321.86 crore Vs Rs 4,213.28 crore

• EBITDA falls 32.1% at Rs 529.98 crore Vs Rs 781.55 crore

• EBITDA Margin 12.26% Vs 18.55%

• Net profit falls 9.4% at Rs 396.33 crore Vs Rs 437.5 crore

Larsen & Toubro Infotech Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue up 3.7% at Rs 4,301.6 crore Vs Rs 4,137.6 crore

• EBIT up 0.26% at Rs 744.5 crore Vs Rs 742.6 crore

• EBIT Margin 17.31% Vs 17.95%

• Net Profit falls 5.84% at Rs 637 crore Vs Rs 676.5 crore

• Approved dividend of Rs 30 per share of Rs 1.

Mastek Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue up 5.37% at Rs 581.53 crore vs Rs 551.91 crore

• EBIT margins at 18.66% vs 19.14%

• PAT up 5.73% at Rs 88.23 crore vs Rs 83.45 crore