Sensex, Nifty End Lower After One-Day Rally

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower after rallying yesterday.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 100 points or 0.26 percent lower at 38,132.88 and the NSE Nifty 50 ended below 11,450, down 0.33 percent. The broader market index represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index ended 0.11 percent lower.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. About 958 stocks fell and 801 shares advanced on National Stock Exchange.

Six out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE fell, led by the NSE Nifty Pharma Index’s 1.04 percent fall. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty PSU Bank Index was the top sectoral gainer, up 1.59 percent.

Supreme Industries:

• Shares rose as much as 4.5 percent to Rs 1,118 apiece.
• Trading volume was more than nine times the 20-day average.

Indoco Remedies:

• Shares fell nearly 2.6 percent to Rs 181.50.
• Trading volume was more than eight times the 20-day average.

Galaxy Surfactants:

• Shares declined 3.6 percent intraday to Rs 1,041.35.
• Trading volume was nearly four times the 20-day average.

BSE Ltd:

• Shares gained 3.8 percent intraday to Rs 613.50.
• Trading volume was more than three times the 20-day average.

JSW Energy:

• Shares gained as much as 6.2 percent to Rs 69.25.
• Trading volume was more than four times the 20-day average.

About 24.3 lakh shares of Mother Sumi changed hands in a block deal, according to aBloomberg report. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

Shares of Inox Leisure rose as much as 15.4 percent, the most since Aug. 3, 2018, to hit an all-time high.

Trading volume was triple its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed. The Relative Strength Index was above 70, indicating that the stock may be overbought.

Defence companies rallied in today’s trade after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India had joined the U.S., Russia and China in an elite group of nations that have the capability to target satellites.

Shares of the state-owned bank rose for the second straight session after it advanced as much as 2.8 percent to Rs 95.05 per share.

Reserve Bank of India imposed a Rs 2 crore penalty on Punjab National Bank during assessment of implementation of SWIFT-related operational controls, according to its notification to the bourses.

The relative strength index on the stock was above 70, indicating the stock may be overbought.

Indian equity benchmarks recover from day’s low.

Indian equity benchmarks traded off day’s high. Sensex traded 100 points higher at 38,359 after rallying over 200 points and the NSE Nifty 50 traded traded near 11,500 after touching near 11,550.

• Alembic Pharma: Shares of the drugmaker rose as much as 1.7 percent to Rs 539. The pharmaceutical company received U.S. drug regulator’s approval for Tadalafil Tablets, it said in an exchange filing.
• Ganesha Ecosphere: Shares of yarns manufacturer rose as much as 1.6 percent to Rs 264. Brokerage and research firm Antique initiated coverage with a ‘Buy’ rating and a price target of Rs 440, implying a potential upside of 69.4 percent from the last regular trade.
• Strides Pharma: Shares of the pharmaceutical company rose as much as 4.9 percent to Rs 468. Brokerage and research firm Macquarie upgraded to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Neutral’ and hiked price target to Rs 532 from Rs 486, implying a potential upside of 13.7 percent from the last regular trade.

Nifty’s 11,500 put option contract was among the most active Nifty option contracts on National Stock Exchange.

Premium on the contract fell 53.25 percent to Rs 63.60. Over 14.51 lakh shares were added to the open interest which stood at over 35.86 lakh shares.

Shares of the Bengaluru-based IT services provider snapped its two-day gaining run and fell 2.1 percent intraday to Rs 931 apiece.

Mindtree said it had decided to not proceed with the share buyback, according to its stock exchange filing. The company will also constitute a pane to provide recommendations in respect to L&T’s unsolicited offer. Apurva Purohit will lead this panel of independent directors, the filing said.

The stock advanced 23 percent in the past 12 months compared to a 16 percent gain in the Sensex.

Shares of the private bank rose for the third consecutive trading session and rose as much as 2.1 percent to an all-time high of Rs 667.80.

Private Equity firm BlackRock is said to have picked up stake in RBL, Economic Times reported citing unnamed sources. The stake was purchased from Gaja Capital through block deals executed this month, the report said.

About 12 out of the 21 analysts tracked by Bloomberg have a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock, while four recommend ‘Hold’ and five had a ‘Sell’ rating.

Shares of United Breweries rose as much as 8.7 percent, the most since Feb. 05, 2018, to Rs 1,464.65.

About 74 lakh shares of the company changed hands in a block deal, Bloomberg data showed. Buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

Trading volume was more than eight times its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed. The stock traded at 61 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year.

Shares of the Ghaziabad-based foammaker fell as much as 7.5 percent to Rs 1,206, the lowest since July 2017.

The promoters said they will sell 42.3 lakh shares or 8.68 percent of equity capital of the company with an over-subscription option of another 2 percent stake, according to its exchange notification. The floor price has been set at Rs 1,100 per share which is at a discount of 15.6 percent to the current market price.

The stock traded at 40 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year, according to Bloomberg data.

Shares of GMR Infrastructure rose as much as 9.8 percent to Rs 21.35, its highest level since Sept. 03, 2018.

The company announced that a consortium of a Tata Group company, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and SSG Capital Management have agreed to invest around Rs 8,000 crore in its airports business. (Read the full story here)

Trading volume was almost 80 times its 20-day average, Bloomberg data showed. The stock advanced 14 percent in the past 12 months compared to a 16 percent gain in the Sensex.

Indian equity benchmarks opened higher, extending gains for the second consecutive trading session.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose as much as 0.54 percent to 207.58 points to 38,440.99 and the NSE Nifty 50 rose as much as 0.48 percent to 11,537.50. The broader market index represented by the NSE NIIfty 500 Index rose as much as 0.48 percent.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. About 990 shares advanced and 466 stocks declined on National Stock Exchange. All the sectoral gauges compiled by NSE advanced, led by the NSE Nifty Media Index’s 0.76 percent gain.

The Indian rupee opened lower against the U.S. dollar. The home currency depreciated as much as 0.23 percent to 69.01 against the greenback.

F&O Cues

• Nifty March futures closed trading at 11510, premium of 28 points.
• Max OI for March series at 11,500 Call, OI at 29.9 lakh shares.
• Max OI for March series at 11,000 Put, OI at 32.2 lakh shares.

Stocks In F&O Ban

• In Ban: Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, IDBI, Jet Airways, Reliance Power
• New in Ban: Jet Airways
• Out of Ban: PNB

Put-Call Ratio

• Nifty PCR at 1.64 versus 1.46

Macquarie on Strides Pharma

• Upgraded to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Neutral’; hiked price target to Rs 532 from Rs 486.
• Expect U.S. to be key margin driver aided by market share gains and strong launch pipeline.
• Expect strong visibility in regulated markets and improved margins in branded Africa.
• Expect lower debt and improved Ebitda to net profit translation from April.

Morgan Stanley on Mindtree

• Maintained ‘Underweight’ with a price target of Rs 761.
• Lack of alignment between founders and L&T group has created uncertainty on deal outcome.
• Important to monitor: Mindtree's independent committee’s recommendation on May 10.
• Best-case could be an alignment between the founders of Mindtree and L&T.

ICICI Direct on L&T Infotech

• Initiated ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 1,950.
• Digital transformation and superior execution key growth driver.
• Expect superior margins vs midcap peers.
• Expect healthy double-digit revenue growth of 16.7 percent CAGR in FY18-21 in dollar terms.

JPMorgan on Infosys

• Maintained ‘Overweight’ with a price target of Rs 750.
• Guidance should reduce stock price volatility; but perception among investors that guidance makes the Infosys stock more volatile is gaining ground.
• Impact on intrinsic shareholder returns is immaterial irrespective of guidance.
• Expect Infosys to guide for 8-10 percent CC growth and EBIT margin of 21-23 percent for 2019-20.

BofAML on Pidilite

• Downgraded to ‘Underperform’ from ‘Neutral’; hiked price target to Rs 1,080 from Rs 920.
• Stock baking in aggressive growth; minimal room for error.
• Strong volume growth to sustain and 2019-20 EPS growth to be optically strong due to low base.
• Cut EPS estimates by 12-17 percent to factor in weaker margins and roll forward the target.

BofAML on Power Grid Corp

• Downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’; maintained price target at Rs 225.
• Slowing EPS growth and high valuation offers limited upside.
• See risk of litigations from IPPs to pay relinquishments.
• Any dispute could put 60 percent of Power Grid’s EPS under risk.

Goldman Sachs on Cement

• Shifting preference to price beneficiary post recent rally.
• Remain confident on demand strength.
• Prefer ACC over UltraTech due to attractive valuations.
• ACC: Upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’; hiked price target to Rs 1,770 from Rs 1,470.
• UltraTech: Downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’; hiked price target to Rs 4,200 from Rs 4,100.
• Shree Cement: Maintained ‘Sell’; hiked price target to Rs 17,750 from Rs 16,000.

Deutsche Bank on Jain Irrigation

• Maintained ‘Sell’; cut price target to Rs 56 from Rs 65.
• Caught in debt trap as working capital and interest payments are eating into cash flows.
• Net debt rising due to aggressive growth pursuit; Leverage rise to 4.1 times.
• Core retail micro irrigation business remains challenged.

HSBC on GAIL

• Maintained ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 487.
• Concerns on GAIL’s LNG portfolio are overdone.
• Key catalyst of tariff hike appears overlooked.
• Earnings outlook remains robust; Valuations attractive.

HSBC on Tech Mahindra

• Maintained ‘Hold’; hiked price target to Rs 840 from Rs 780.
• 5G opportunity is distant, while pressure on legacy business could impact growth.
• Margins are up 600 bps in 2 years; near peak levels with limited upside.
• Stock reasonably priced, with limited upside triggers.

HSBC on DLF

• Maintained ‘Hold’; hiked price target to Rs 216 from Rs 185.
• QIP at discount removes significant overhang; governance concerns gradually going away.
• Underlying market is showing signs of improvement.
• Maintain Hold as wait for DLF to regain sales momentum.

Antique on Ganesha Ecosphere

• Initiated ‘Buy’ with a price target of Rs 440.
• Business model well-poised for the next leg of growth.
• Robust channel network in place for procurement of raw material.
• Expansion in Bilaspur RPSF facility to provide earnings visibility in the current and the next financial year.
• Expect revenue and net profit to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 18 percent and 32 percent respectively over FY18-21.

• Kalpataru Power Transmission promoter groups released pledge of 10 lakh Shares on March 22.
• Laurus Labs promoter Dr Raju Kalidnidi revoked pledge of 6 lakh shares on March 25.

(As reported on March 26)

• PVR: Morgan Stanley France SAS acquired 3.16 lakh shares or 0.68 percent equity at Rs 1,572.9 each.

• GMR Infrastructure via a press release said that Tata Group, GIC and SSG Capital Management have invested Rs 8,000 crore in its airport vertical. Rs 1,000 crore will be equity infusion in GMR Airports Limited(GAL) while Rs 7,000 crore will be towards purchase of GAL’s equity shares from the listed entity as well as its subsidiary. GMR said the proposed investment is subject to definitive documentation, customary regulatory approvals, lender consents and other approvals.
• Sheela Foam OFS promoters said they will sell 42.3 lakh shares or 8.68 percent of equity capital of the company with an over-subscription option of another 2 percent stake. The floor price has been set at Rs 1100 per share which is at a discount of 15.6 percent to the current market price, where to company can raise a maximum of Rs 573 crores.
• Ireland’s HMPRA and the U.K.’s MHRA carried out joint inspection of Wockhardt’s Aurangabad facility. The company said that HPRA has granted GMP certificate for the afore-mentioned facility for a period of three years till January 2022. The company incorporates a wholly owned arm for pharma business and research and development laboratories.
• Mindtree said it had decided to not proceed with share buy-back. The company will also constitute a panel on L&T's unsolicited offer. Apurva Purohit will lead this panel of independent directors.
• Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories: Allant Grant Oberman appointed as Independent (Additional) Director for five years with effect from March 26. He has served as the CEO and president for Various Teva Group companies and was also the CEO for Concordia International Corporation.
• RBI imposed a Rs 2 crore penalty on Punjab National Bank during assessment of implementation of SWIFT-related operational controls.
• Unitech: Supreme Court granted approval for sale of company’s entire stake in its Power Transmission Arm to Sterling and Wilson Private Limited.
• Allahabad Bank’s board approved raising equity up to Rs 4,000 crores provided the stake of the government of India remained not less than 52 percent of the total equity paid up capital of the bank.
• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance OFS received a demand of 6.29 times from its base issue at an indicative price of Rs 316.11 per share, as per the exchanges. The insurance house has also cut its stake in Jyothy Labs from 5.03 percent to 3.01 percent.
• Dish TV appointed company’s CEO Anil Kumar Dua as Executive Director with effect from March 26.
• Persistent Systems: Mark Simpson will head the Alliance Unit with effect from April 1. The existing head of the afore-said Jitendra Gokhale will take over as head of Accelerite Unit from Nara Rajagopalan.
• Meghmani Organics said that an accidental fire broke out in its Gujarat Plant on March 26. The plant has three manufacturing sections out of which only one is affected due to fire, which manufactures Cypermthrin. The company says it is ascertaining the loss of fire and is fully covered for insurance claim.
• Apollo Tyres approved the appointment of its APMEA region president Satish Sharma as a whole time director for a period of five years with effect from April 1.
• Narayana Hrudayalaya said it will incorporate wholly owned subsidiary in the U.S.. The company said it proposes to set up a business process and technology consultancy business in the U.S.
• KIOCL postponed plan to de-list shares from Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India.

Media Reports

• Wockhardt in talks with PE firms to raise $300 million (Economic Times)

Offerings

• State-run RVNL sets IPO price band at Rs 17-19 per share. Offer opens on March 29.

• U.S.-China trade talks resume, with a cabinet-level American delegation due in China.
• U.K. Parliament is set to stage several key votes on Brexit on Wednesday.
• Fed Governor Randal Quarles will speak Friday to the Shadow Open Market Committee on “Strategic Approaches to the Fed’s Balance Sheet and Communications.”

• Brent crude traded 0.16 percent lower at $67.86 per barrel.
• West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.2 percent to $59.85 a barrel.
• Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,316.91 an ounce.

London Metal Exchange

• Aluminium ended 0.27 percent higher.
• Nickel halted a three-day fall, ended 0.88 percent higher.
• Lead declined for the fourth consecutive trading session, ended 0.9 percent lower.
• Tin ended lower for the second day, down 0.23 percent.
• Copper ended 0.16 percent lower.
• Zinc ended higher for the second day, up 1.45 percent.

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 0.20 percent to 11,500.50 as of 8 a.m.

Asian stocks were mixed Wednesday, with markets falling into a choppy pattern as investors weigh disappointing economic signs against a decisive turn towards accommodation by major central banks.

Japan’s Topix index was weighed down by more than two thirds of companies trading without the right to current dividends. Declines for equities in Seoul and Sydney were more modest, while shares in Hong Kong and China opened flat to higher.

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