Closing bell: Sensex rallies 346 pts to end above 33K; Midcap, Nifty gain 1%

Thu Nov 16 2017
Rajesh Sharma (2045 articles)
Closing bell: Sensex rallies 346 pts to end above 33K; Midcap, Nifty gain 1%

3:30 pm Market Closing: Equity benchmarks rebounded sharply after three-day of losses, backed by technology, banks, metals and energy stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 346.38 points or 1.06 percent at 33,106.82 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 96.80 points or 0.96 percent to 10,214.80.

About 1,672 shares advanced against 983 declining shares on the BSE.

3:29 pm Coal Mining: After the end of the monsoon season, iron ore extraction activity has started in Goa but the pace has been slow.

Of the total 89 mines, only ten have started their operations, a senior Goa government official said today.

The current mining season, which started on November 1, has been slow paced due to poor prices for low grade ore in the international market coupled with several local issues, he said.

“Only ten mines out of the 89 which have got consent to operate under the Air and Water Pollution Control Act have started operations. Till date, 0.839 million tonnes of ore has been extracted by them,” the official from the mines and geology department told PTI.

The extraction activity is expected to pick up pace in the days to come, he said.

3:28 pm ADAG stocks back in action: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group stocks rebounded sharply today.

Reliance Communications surged nearly 20 percent amid high volumes while Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Capital, Reliance Home Finance, Reliance Nippon Life and Reliance Power rallied 1-8 percent.

3:24 pm Cabinet has approved removal of all restrictions on export of pulses and also given approval for hiking carpet area cap for housing interest subvention.

It has approved the forming of GST National Anti-profiteering Authority.

3:15 pm Buzzing: Astral Poly Technik, the largest manufacturer and suppliers of pipes and fittings, rallied 2.5 percent intraday to hit a fresh record high of Rs 810 per share.

Global brokerage house CLSA has maintained its buy call on the stock with a target price of Rs 960 per share, implying 21.5 percent potential upside from Wednesday’s closing price.

The company is evolving into a strong building material franchise.

The research house said the government affordable housing thrust is yet to be felt. “We are bullish on the long term-opportunity thrown up by affordable housing.”

3:05 pm Co-location case: The income-tax department has conducted searches on two NSE-linked brokers in connection with its tax evasion probe against entities and individuals said to be involved in the high-profile co-location case.

Officials said the searches are being conducted in Delhi and Mumbai since yesterday and the tax sleuths have recovered a number of documents and computer peripherals till now.

In the NSE’s co-location case, certain brokers, including OPG Securities, operating on its trading platform allegedly got preferential access to servers of the exchange.

A co-location facility provides early login and faster access to data feed of the exchange. Even a split-second faster access can yield huge gains for a trader.

Officials said the action is based on “actionable inputs” suggesting tax evasion by a few entities linked to the NSE and also the co-location issue, where it is alleged that certain brokers operating on the trading platform allegedly made abnormal profits as a result of getting preferential access to the servers of the exchange.

3:03 pm Nifty PSU Bank index was biggest gainer, up 2.5 percent as Indian Bank, Allahabad Bank, PNB, Oriental Bank, Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, Canara Bank, Union Bank, Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and SBI rallied 2-4 percent.

3:00 pm Technology stocks on buyers’ radar: IT stocks gained momentum as the Nifty IT index was second biggest gainer among sectoral indices following PSU Bank, rising 1.7 percent on value buying.

Investors may be buying IT stocks as a part of portfolio reshuffling, especially after second quarter earnings.

The buying may be on the back of undervaluation and on hope that the worst may be over for sector.

Infosys rallied to three-month high, up nearly 4 percent, followed by KPIT Technologies (up 3.5 percent), Mindtree (3.44 percent), TCS (1.48 percent), HCL Technologies (0.7 percent) and Wipro (0.4 percent).

2:51 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks remained healthy in last hour of trade as the Sensex rallied 319.11 points or 0.97 percent to 33,079.55, backed by Infosys and Reliance Industries.

The 50-share NSE Nifty rose 90 points or 0.89 percent to 10,208.00.

About 1,606 shares advanced against 933 declining shares on the BSE.

2:40 pm Gold falls: Gold prices slipped by Rs 100 to Rs 30,525 per 10 grams at the bullion market today, halting its three-session gains, due to weak global cues amid muted demand from local jewellers at prevailing levels.

Silver fell further by Rs 75 to Rs 40,650 per kg due to reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

The yellow metal lost strength as dollar strengthened after upbeat US economic data bolstered the prospects of interest rate increases next month and beyond. This eroded demand for the precious metals as a safe haven.

Besides, fading demand from local jewellers and retailers at existing levels dampened sentiments, marketmen said.

2:30 pm Management Interview: Wonderla Holidays posted weak Q2 earnings.

Net revenues were flattish because of goods and services tax (GST), he said, addng that they hope increase revenues at net level by roughly 20 percent for the year, Arun K Chittilappilly, MD said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

Margins also should improve, he added.

The management is expecting a single-digit footfall decline in its older parks but they are expecting a growth in footfall for Hyderabad because it is a new park.

Speaking about Chennai park, he mentioned that the company has just finished land acquisition and is awaiting approvals to start construction.

2:15 pm HDIL up 2%: Andhra Bank has withdrawn its insolvency application from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against HDIL as the realty firm has decided to settle outstanding dues.

“The company has proceeded for settlement of its balance outstanding dues and has made part payment of its balance dues. The application stands withdrawn from NCLT by Andhra Bank,” HDIL said in a BSE filing.

The Mumbai-based developer did not disclose the amount it has paid and the dues still owed to the bank.

HDIL reported 64 percent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 60.87 crore for the quarter ended September, as against Rs 37.03 crore in the year-ago period.

2:05 pm Hiring Growth: Online hiring activity registered a 9 percent jump in October, indicating signs of recovery in the job market as employers are cautiously optimistic about the recruitment activity, a report says.

The Naukri JobSpeak index for October this year stood at 1,728, up 9 percent from 1,580 in the year-ago period . Key industries like banking/insurance recorded a growth of 28 per cent in hiring in October, while in terms of cities, hiring picked up across all 13 cities tracked, the report noted.

“There seems to be an air of cautious optimism in the job market. The Jobspeak index for October has witnessed a 9 percent year-on-year growth,” Naukri.com Chief Sales Officer V Suresh said adding that though the non IT sector has led this growth, it is good to see a slow recovery in the IT sector.

Among other industries, auto, construction/engineering and insurance saw a growth of 23 percent, 22 percent and 15 percent, respectively in October.
Here are the top headlines at 2 pm from Moneycontrol News’ Anchal Pathak

 

.@CNBCTV18Live @CNBCTV18News#RelianceCommunication debt break up (bank wise) as per report from CARE ratings. Top 4 bankers are #StateBankofIndia #PunjabNationalBank #IDBIBank #BankofBaroda pic.twitter.com/DIl2LCAkrX

— Abhishek Kothari (@kothariabhishek) November 16, 2017

 

1:55 pm Drug Launch: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today said it has launched nicotine replacement therapy product Kwitz that helps smokers quit smoking.

Kwitz nicotine gum will be available in two variants of 2 mg as an OTC product 4mg as prescription product, the company said in a statement.

While Kwitz 2 mg is for those smoking less than 20 cigarettes per day, Kwitz 4 mg is meant for smokers consuming more than 20 cigarettes per day, it added.

1:42 pm Europe Trade: European equities opened higher as investors monitor earnings and key data releases.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.37 percent higher with all sectors trading in positive territory.

In Asia, markets traded higher, shrugging off losses from Wall Street, partially boosted by higher oil prices after the decline seen on Wednesday.

1:35 pm Buzzing: Shares of Mukand and Mold-Tek Technologies 5-7 percent intraday on strong Q2 numbers.

Mold-Tek Technologies has witnessed 200 percent jump in its Q2 consolidated net profit at Rs 2.1 crore versus Rs 70 lakh in a year ago period. Revenue has increased 38.3 percent at Rs 20.4 crore against Rs 14.8 crore.

Mukand has minimised its losses as it has posted Q2 net loss at Rs 18.5 crore against loss of Rs 20.2 crore. Revenue jumped 24.1 percent to Rs 800.1 crore versus Rs 645 crore.

1:20 pm Drug patents: Suven Life Sciences today said it has been granted a patent each from Hong Kong and the US and two from India for treatment of disorders associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

The patents are valid till 2032, 2030 and 2034, respectively, the company said in a BSE filing.

“We are very pleased by the grant of these patents to Suven for our pipeline of molecules in the CNS (central nervous system) arena, which are being developed for cognitive disorders with high unmet medical need with a huge market potential globally,” Suven Life CEO Venkat Jasti said.
The granted claims of the patents are being developed as therapeutic agents and are useful in the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s and

Schizophrenia.

1:05 pm SEBI on UBHL: Markets regulator Sebi has ordered attachment of bank accounts as well as share and mutual fund holdings of defaulter businessman Vijay Mallya-led United Breweries (Holding) Ltd to recover dues totalling Rs 18.5 lakh.
The decision has been taken after UBHL failed to pay the fine imposed on it. In 2015, Sebi had levied a fine of Rs 15 lakh on the company for disclosure lapses regarding creation and invocation of certain pledge transactions in

shares of United Spirits.

The pending dues — totalling Rs 18.5 lakh — include the initial fine of Rs 15 lakh and interest of Rs 3.5 lakh and a recovery cost of Rs 1,000.

12:55 pm Management Interview: Umesh Revankar, MD, Shriram Transport Finance said they saw a pent-up demand for vehicle finance post goods and services tax (GST) because many had postponed their purchasing hoping for reduction in prices. So, post GST after rationalisation in prices, the demand went up. Therefore, higher sales resulted in higher disbursements for them, he added.
However, demand for new vehicles in the third quarter so far has been subdued but that for used commercial vehicles is good,

The disbursements are strong in the rural market, he said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

He said demand for large trucks has increased due to GST and demand for light commercial vehicles is expected to pick up going ahead.

The disbursement in the Q2 for the company went up form Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 12,377 crore, a jump of 15-20 percent. By adding more branches, their ability to lend has also gone up, said Revankar. So it is possible for them to maintain this growth in disbursement, he added.

12:40 PM Market Check: Benchmark indices extended rally in afternoon as index heavyweights Reliance Industries (up 2 percent) and Infosys (3 percent) pushed the Sensex higher by 309.13 points at 33,069.57.

The 50-share NSE Nifty rose 92 points to 10,210. All sectoral indices traded in green as IT index gained 1.7 percent followed by Bank, Auto, FMCG.

About 1,540 shares advanced against 875 declining shares on the BSE.

12:35 pm Union Budget Date: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will likely present Union Budget 2018-19 on February 1, keeping with the practice that began last year.

The budget for the next financial year will be particularly crucial as it will be the last full-year budget of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier this year, the finance ministry had advanced the Union Budget by a month to February 1, ending the British-era practice of announcing key recommendations on the 28th. The shift was made so that departments get more time to spend money allocated to them, from the beginning of the financial year in April.

Last year, the government had also merged railway budget with general budget and ended the distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure.

12:20 pm Stake Buy: Private equity firm SSG Capital Management through its investee company acquired 34.42 percent stake in Cox & Kings subsidiary, Prometheon Holdings (UK) which is the holding company of Holidaybreak.

SSG Capital Management also holds 2.72 percent stake in Cox & Kings.

The Rohatyn Group has now made a complete exit from Prometheon Holdings (UK). Meanwhile the Cox & Kings continues to own 65.6 percent in Holidaybreak.

12:06 pm Management Interview: Automotive Axles posted a strong set of earnings in Q2 as volume growth by commercial vehicle players led to strong revenue growth while margins improved due to higher operating leverage as gross margins were maintained.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, N Muthukumar, President and Whole Time Director of the company said the market is growing and we are growing better than the market on back of the work we did in terms of launching new products and their penetration into the market, he said.

The said, the focus was also on capacity expansion.

“We see 2018-2019 to be a good year with government infrastructure coming up, goods and services tax (GST) is making it more easy for the automobile business to grow. We are confident of having a good growth, if not a double digit growth, for the next year too,” said Muthukumar.
Here are the top headlines at 12 pm from Moneycontrol News’ Anchal Pathak

11:58 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks rallied further in late morning deals, with the Sensex reclaiming 33,000-mark led by FMCG, auto, banks, technology and select energy stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 237.47 points at 32,997.91 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 68.60 points to 10,186.60.

News Live: Prescient messages about Indian cos circulate in WhatsApp groups

The Nifty Midcap added half a percent on positive market breadth. About two shares advanced for every share falling on the NSE.

11:53 am Order Win: Share price of Surya Roshni advanced more than 7 percent intraday on order win for LED street lights.

The company has obtained orders through competitive e-bidding for LED street lights amounted to Rs 89.77 crore.

The order is for design, manufacture, supply and testing under PAN India SLNP (Street light National Program) for Chandrapur, Bikaner (Rajasthan) and Telangana from Energy Efficiency Services (EESL).
The order includes 2.89 lakh LED street light ranging from 18w to 190 watt.

This is a one-time contract and it is likely to get completed in less than 3 months.

11:44 am Buzzing: Share price of Ahluwalia Contracts India gained 2.7 percent intraday as it has bagged orders of Rs 311 crore.

The company has secured new orders aggregating to Rs 310.99 crore for construction of institutional, hospital & commercial including electrical, plumbing & firefighting services.

The said orders include the new order worth of Rs 170.99 crore for construction of 300 beds hospital in existing premises of ESIC Hospital Kolkata and worth Rs 140 crore for other construction work.

The company is currently L1 in project valued approximately Rs. 315 crore & the projects bedded under pipeline are Rs 1600 crore, company said in release.

The total order inflow during the FY 2017-2018 stands at Rs 866.76 crore, it added.

11:35 am Listing: After receiving good subscription to the public issue, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company is set to debut on exchanges on November 17.

The subsidiary of housing finance major HDFC has fixed issue price at higher end of price band of Rs 275-290 per share.

This would be third life insurance company getting listing on exchanges, after ICICI Prudential Life and SBI Life.

The Rs 8,695-crore initial public offer (IPO) was subscribed 4.90 times during November 7-9, 2017.

The category reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 16.60 times, non-institutional investors 2.29 times and retail investors 94 percent.
11:18 am List of richest families in Asia: India’s Mukesh Ambani family is

the richest in Asia as its net worth rose USD 19 billion to USD 44.8 billion, toppling the Lees of the Samsung empire, to claim the numero uno position, Forbes said.

Despite dropping to the second spot, Korea’s Lee family still saw its wealth soar by USD 11.2 billion to USD 40.8 billion this year as shares of Samsung Electronics moved up 75 percent over the past year.
According to Asia’s 50 Richest Families compiled by Forbes, Hong Kong’s Kwok family, Asia’s richest real estate household that controls Sun Hung Kai Properties, ranked third this year with a net wealth of USD 40.4 billion. Thailand’s Chearavanont family of the Charoen Pokphand Group took the

fourth spot on the list, with a net worth of USD 36.6 billion.

11:10 am Buzzing: Share price of Jubilant Foodworks, the master franchise for Domino’s Pizza in India, gained nearly 2 percent intraday to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,750 as analysts remain positive on the stock.

While retaining a buy call on Jubilant Foodworks with a target price of Rs 1,775 per share, Deutsche Bank said market checks indicated Domino’s has implemented price hike of average 6 percent after GST.

Price hike will mitigate potential margin headwind due to impact of stranded taxes, it added.

The research house said Jubilant Foodworks remains its top pick in consumer discretionary. Revenue growth and higher cost savings in second half of FY18 may drive consensus earnings upgrades, it feels.

CLSA also has a buy call on the stock with a target of Rs 2,200 per share after Domino’s has effectively passed on the entire GST impact instantly.

It feels price changes vary across portfolio are implying 11 percent drop in end-prices and should help volume growth.

10:56 am Asia Update: Asian equities shrugged off the softer lead from Wall Street to climb moderately higher today.

News Live: ONGC may shelve shale gas exploration programme on limited success, says report

The Nikkei 225 rose 1.6 percent to snap a six-day losing streak while South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index tacked on 0.5 percent.

The S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.30 percent while the positive sentiment was also mirrored in greater China markets. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.60 percent. On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite reversed early gains to slip 0.16 percent.

10:45 am NCC rallies: Shares of NCC rose nearly 4 percent in morning as global research firm Macquarie has maintained outperform rating with a target Rs 125 per share.

The research house expects strong revenue growth in FY19, which will lead by strong execution.

In the quarter ended September 2017 the company’s net profit declined 60.8 percent at Rs 20 crore against Rs 51 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
Revenue was down 33 percent at Rs 1,300 crore versus Rs 1,947.9 crore.

The operating profit (EBITDA) was down 27 percent at Rs 124 crore, while EBITDA margin was up 80 bps at 9.6 percent.

10:37 am Buzzing: Shares of New India Assurance Company added 3 percent in morning on the back of strong numbers for the quarter ended September 2017 (Q2FY18).

The company has registered 188 percent jump in its Q2FY18 net profit to Rs 748.27 crore against Rs 260.24 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

10:29 am Market Update: Benchmark indices extended gains in morning, with the Sensex inching towards 33,000 level. It was backed by Reliance Industries (up 1.86 percent), ICICI Bank (1 percent), Infosys (1 percent), Tata Motors (1.1 percent) and L&T (0.6 percent).

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 186.17 points at 32,946.61 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 49.30 points to 10,167.30.

The market breadth was strong as about two shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

10:15 am FII View: India is the most overweight markets for most foreign institutional investors (FIIs), Gautam Chhaochharia, Head of India Research at UBS Securities said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

On earnings, he added, “Our top-down forecast for Nifty – fiscal year 2018 is 7 percent, fiscal year 2019 is 13 percent. Markets have ignored negative earnings momentum possibly because of the strong liquidity environment we are in.”

According to him, public sector undertaking (PSU) bank sector is attractively valued but one has to be selective on which stocks to buy there.

10:05 am New Listing: Shares of 5paisa Capital listed at Rs 380, a discount of 5 percent, on the exchanges today.
Here are the top headlines at 10 am from Moneycontrol News’ Anchal Pathak

9:55 am Pre-opening: 5paisa Capital, the subsidiary of IIFL Holdings, has settled at Rs 400 per share in pre-opening trade on NSE.

9:53 am Rupee trade: The rupee came under pressure against the dollar today slipping 11 paise to 65.32 after upbeat economic data bolstered prospects of a US interest rate increase next month and beyond.

A higher interest regime pulls investors looking for more returns away from emerging markets assets that are considered risky.

The American unit strengthened overseas, too.

Forex dealers said increased demand for the US currency from importers and the greenback’s gains against other currencies overseas put pressure on the rupee.

Yesterday, the rupee had rebounded 21 paise to close at 65.21 against the US currency, ending its two-day slide on fresh bouts of dollar selling even as trade deficit widened alarmingly to a three-year high.

9:43 am Buzzing: Reliance Nippon Life fell below its issue price of Rs 252 per share, following correction in other Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group stocks.

At 09:43 hours IST, the stock price was quoting at Rs 240, down Rs 14.20, or 5.59 percent on the BSE.

9:32 am CLSA on J Kumar: CLSA has retained its buy call on J Kumar Infra with target at Rs 355 per share despite company’s flat second quarter earnings.

Margin expansion in Q2 was led by better mix & cost control in materials.

The research house believes clearances for JNPT & Metro execution will lead to 23 percent revenue CAGR over FY17-20 and forecasts 26 percent EPS CAGR over FY17-20.

9:25 am Buzzing: Jubilant Foodworks gained over a percent and hit a fresh 52-week high. While retaining a buy call on Jubilant Foodworks with a target price of Rs 1,775 per share, Deutsche Bank said market checks indicated Dominoes has implemented price hike of average 6 percent.

Price hike will mitigate potential margin headwind due to impact of stranded taxes, it added.

The research house said Jubilant Foodworks remains its top pick in consumer discretionary.

Revenue growth and higher cost savings in second half of FY18 may drive consensus earnings upgrades, it feels.

9:20 am Moody’s on Bharti Airtel: Credit rating agency Moody’s investor service maintained its negative outlook on Bharti Airtel despite sale of its 4.49% stake in Bharti Infatel for Rs 3,325 crore to investors and fund managers. The agency expects Bharti Airtel’s margins to remain under pressure over next one to two years because of increase in tariff competition besides reduction in lower mobile call connection charges to six paise from 14 paise levied earlier.

In longer term, Moody’s expect Bharti to benefit from consolidation and pricing stabilisation in the telecom market. The international credit rating agency said that even if all the proceeds from the deal is put for debt reduction its cash flow to debt ratio will improve only marginally. Bharti Airtel’s net debt was Rs 91,480 crore at the end of September 2017.

9:15 am Market Opening: Equity benchmarks rebounded on Thursday after seeing a fall for previous three consecutive sessions, backed by beaten down stocks. Asian markets barring China also traded higher.

The 30-sahre BSE Sensex was up 96.78 points at 32,857.22 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 29 points at 10,147.

Bharti Infratel rallied 2 percent after 8 percent fall in previous two straight sessions.

Aurobindo Pharma, Tata Motors, Ambuja Cements, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries and SBI were early gainers while Coal India, HUL, HCL Technologies and GAIL were under pressure.

Nifty Midcap was up 0.4 percent.

Jubilant Foodworks was up 1.5 percent as brokerage houses remained positive on the stock.

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group stocks like Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital extended losses, falling 2-4 percent but Reliance Nippon gained 3 percent.

Religare Enterprises added another 10 percent today, on top of 10 percent rally seen in previous session.
Westlife Development, TD Power, New India Assurance, Speciality Restaurants, Jain Irrigation, Manappuram Finance, HDIL, Just Dial, MMTC and Hindustan Copper gained 1-5 percent.

Rajesh Sharma

Rajesh Sharma

Rajesh Sharma is Correspondent for Stock Market of South East Asia based in Mumbai. He has been covering Asian markets for more than 5 years.