The market ended with decent gains on Thursday, extending its winning run for the third straight session. The barometer S&P BSE Sensex rose 114.29 points or 0.37% at 30,932.90. The Nifty 50 index rose 39.70 points or 0.44% at 9,106.25. Trading was volatile due to expiry of weekly index options on NSE. Banks shares reversed gains while auto shares rallied for the third straight day. The Nifty opened higher at 9,079.45 and advanced further in mid-morning trade after the government announced resumption of domestic airline operations from 25 May, almost two month after the operations were suspended on 25 March. The index hit the day's high of 9,178.55 in afternoon session. However, profit booking emerged in in mid-afternoon trade as deteriorating Sino-American ties cast a cloud over the rally in risk assets. The Nifty sharply pared gains to hit the day's low of 9,056.10 in late trade. US President Trump reportedly accused China of having the ability, but declining, to stop the spread of the deadly virus, which has infected about 5 million people around the world. Domestic sentiment were also impacted after ratings agency ICRA said that modest fiscal support, extension of lockdown, looming labour supply mismatches suggest deeper GDP contraction of 5% in FY 2021. The broader market ended firm. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.76% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.72%. The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1329 shares rose and 912 shares fell. A total of 173 shares were unchanged. The Sensex and the Nifty have risen over 3% in three consecutive sessions. COVID-19 update: Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 49,96,634 far with 3,28,120 deaths. India reported 63,624 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 3,435 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Numbers to Watch: The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.033% as compared with 6.041% at close in the previous trading session. In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 75.6150, compared with its close of 75.80 during the previous trading session. In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2020 settlement rose 64 cents at $36.39 a barrel. The contract rose $1.10, or 3.17% to settle at $35.75 a barrel in the previous trading session. Foreign Markets: European markets were trading lower as tensions between US and China spooked investors. Meanwhile, Asian markets ended mixed as investors continue to monitor the reopening of economies amid the coronavirus pandemic. In his late Wednesday tweet, Trump accused China of having the ability, but declining, to stop the spread of the deadly virus, which has infected about 5 million people around the world. He appeared to direct his criticism towards President Xi Xinping, a notable move given that China is heading into two days of annual parliamentary meetings in Beijing. Japan's trade data for April released by the country's Ministry of Finance on Thursday showed exports in April plunging 21.9% as compared to a year earlier. US stock markets nudged higher on Wednesday, following upbeat quarterly results from retailers Target and Lowe's that had investors focused on American businesses reopening and the coronavirus pandemic beginning to recede. Investors focused on the positives and directed their attention to wider reopening plans that are taking place throughout the U.S. Many states have been lifting restrictions on business and personal activity ahead of the Memorial Day holiday next Monday. The Senate approved the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which seeks to force Chinese companies to adhere to U.S. securities law, ultimately by barring many from listing shares on U.S. exchanges, or otherwise raising money from American investors. The bill still would need to pass the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives before reaching the president's desk to be signed into law. Minutes of the Fed's last policy meeting in April published Wednesday showed officials also discussed how to convince markets that interest rates will stay low for a long time. Buzzing Segments: The Bank Nifty index fell 0.59% at 17,735.10. The index jumped as much as 2.02% in morning trade. Bandhan Bank (down 4.94%), IndusInd Bank (down 2.91%), IDFC First Bank (down 2.07%), Axis Bank (down 1.54%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.16%), State Bank of India (down 0.98%), ICICI Bank (down 0.57%) and RBL Bank (down 0.36%) declined. Bank of Baroda (up 2.18%), Punjab National Bank (up 1.31%), Federal Bank (up 0.64%) and HDFC Bank (up 0.21%) advanced. Shares of aviation companies soared after the government announced resumption of flight operations from 25 May 2020. InterGlobe Aviation jumped 7.28% while SpiceJet hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 42.95 after Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation tweeted, “Domestic civil aviation operation will recommence in a calibrated manner from 25 May 2020. All airports & air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from 25 May. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for passenger movement are also being separately issued by Ministry of Civil Aviation.” The Nifty Auto index jumped 2.61% to 5,749.90. The index has climbed 5.89% in three sessions. Ashok Leyland (up 6.34%), Hero MotoCorp (up 3.93%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 3.14%), Eicher Motors (up 2.89%), TVS Motor Company (up 2.3%), Escorts (up 1.43%), Tata Motors (up 0.72%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.54%) advanced. Bajaj Auto rose 2.57%. The auto maker's consolidated reported net profit fell 3.9% to Rs 1,353.99 crore on 8.5% decline in net sales to Rs 6,610.90 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. Profit before tax (PBT) slipped 10.8% to Rs 1,764.93 crore during the period under review. Current tax expenses jumped 14.8% to Rs 411.33 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. The auto maker's total sales volume declined 17% to 9.91 lakh units in Q4 FY20 as against 11.93 lakh units in Q4 FY19. Domestic sales volumes slumped 33% to 4.78 lakh units while exports gained 7% to 5.13 lakh units during the quarter. Earnings Impact: Bajaj Finserv fell 3.64%. The company's consolidated net profit slumped 76.81% to Rs 194.43 crore on 2.30% rise in total income to Rs 13,294.25 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. Profit before tax (PBT) stood at Rs 792.90 crore in Q4 FY20, down by 62.77% from Rs 2,130.07 crore in Q4 FY19. The MTM adjustment and the contingency provision, together considered as COVID-19 impact, after adjusting for tax and the company's interest in those subsidiaries have impacted consolidated profit after tax of BFS for Q4 and FY20 by 807 crore, Bajaj Finserv said in a statement. Colgate-Palmolive (India) fell 1.31%. The company said its net profit rose 3.3% to Rs 204.2 crore on 7.4% decline in net sales to Rs 1,062.4 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. The company said its net sales contracted on account of an 8% volume decline, mainly due to current COVID-19 situation. Profit before tax (PBT) stood at Rs 234.36 crore in Q4 FY20, down by 15.4% from Rs 276.93 crore in Q4 FY19. Jubilant FoodWorks gained 3.31%. On a consolidated basis, the company reported a 58% drop in net profit to Rs 32.53 crore on 4.1% rise in net sales to Rs 908.75 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. Net profit was impacted after the company made an exceptional item for the quarter ending 31 March 2020 of Rs 12.39 crore. The company said exceptional item were related to expenses consequential of Covid-19 pandemic situation. Domino's Same-store-sales growth (SSG) which refers to the year-over-year growth in sales for restaurants opened before previous financial year stood at -3.4% in Q4 March 2020 compared with 6% posted in the same period last year. Like for Like (LFL) sales growth for Domino's Pizza stood at -2.3% in Q4 March 2020 as against 7.4% in Q4 March 2019. Ajanta Pharma jumped 3.30% after consolidated net profit jumped 45.3% to Rs 129.16 crore on 32.4% surge in net sales to Rs 681.96 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. Consolidated EBITDA grew at 19% to Rs 151 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. During the quarter, India sales were up 11% to Rs 177 crore in Q4 March 2020 as compared to Rs 159 crore in Q4 March 2019. As per IQVIA MAT March 2020, the company posted a healthy growth of 11% in Cardiology (segment growth of 11%), 17% in Ophthalmology (segment growth of 11%), 6% in Dermatology (segment growth of 9%) and 16% in Pain Management (segment growth of 12%). Total exports soared 43% to Rs 490 crore in Q4 March 2020 from Rs 343 crore in Q4 March 2019. The company said R&D expenses were at Rs 50 crore in Q4 March 2020, (Q4 FY 2019 Rs 40 crore) which is 7% of operating revenue. Stocks in Spotlight: Shares of IRCTC hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 1,400.70 on BSE. Booking for Indian Railways special trains that commence services from June 1 has begun on the IRCTC website (irctc.co.in) from 10:00 AM today. Indian Railways has already released the full list of IRCTC special trains that will run from 1 June. Kalpataru Power Transmission rose 0.10%. The company said that its board approved a proposal to buyback shares worth up to Rs 200 crore at a price not exceeding Rs 275 per share. At the maximum buyback price and for the maximum buyback size, the indicative maximum number of equity shares to be bought back would be about 72,72,727 equity shares, which is about 4.70% of the total number of paid-up equity shares of the company. Furthermore, the board also approved capital raising through issuance of secured/unsecured non-convertible debentures (NCDs) upto Rs 300 crore in one or more tranches. Cipla shed 0.63%. The drug maker announced the receipt of final approval for its abbreviated new drug application for Dihydroergotamine Mesylate Nasal Spray from the United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) with a competitive generic therapy (CGT) designation. Cipla is the “first approved applicant” for such CGT and, is therefore, eligible for 180 days of CGT exclusivity which will begin to run from the commercial marketing of Cipla's product. The nasal spray is indicated for the treatment of migraine headaches and is a generic therapeutic equivalent version of Bausch Health's 'Migranal' spray. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |