Sensex ends 416 pts higher as financials gain on Rs 50k cr lifeline for MFs

All that happened in the markets today

Equity market rallied on Monday, thanks to solid buying in financial stocks after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced it will open a special liquidity window of Rs 50,000 crore to ease pressure on mutual funds, which are facing liquidity strains due to heightened volatility in capital markets in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. READ MORE

Nifty Bank surged 494.50 points or 2.52 per cent to 20,081 levels while Nifty Private Bank index climbed 315 points or 3 per cent to 10,857.55. Among individual names, IndusInd Bank gained 6.56 per cent per cent to Rs 408 apiece on the NSE. The lender is scheduled to announce its March quarter results later in the day. 

Axis Bank surged around 5.5 per cent to Rs 426, while ICICI Bank gained 3.42 per cent. READ MORE 

At the index level, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 416 points or 1.33 per cent to settle at 31,743. During the day, the index hit a high and low of 32,103.70 and 31,651.58, repectively. On the NSE, the frontline Nifty50 index ended at 9,282, up 128 points or 1.40 per cent. India VIX declined 3 per cent to 37.93 levels.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index settled at 11,630, up 1.44 per cent and the S&P BSE SmallCap index climbed 1.37 per cent to 10,780 levels. 

On the sectoral front, all the indices on the NSE ended in the green with Nifty Private Bank advancing the most. 

Buzzing stocks

Shares of Mindtree rallied 13 per cent to Rs 881.40 on the BSE after the company posted 4.3 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) revenue growth at Rs 2,050 crore for the quarter ended March 2020 (Q4FY20). Besides, it posted a net profit of Rs 206.2 crore, a rise of 4.7 per cent sequentially. READ MORE

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (ICICI Pru) ended over 12 per cent to Rs 377.55 apiece on the BSE even as its net profit declined 31 per cent for the March quarter of FY20 (Q4FY20) to Rs 179 crore impacted by weak business trends due to the lockdown in March. the company had net profit of Rs 261 crore in the year-ago period.

Shares of Pfizer zoomed over 11 per cent to Rs 4891.25 on the BSE after its board declared a special dividend of Rs 320 per equity share of Rs 10 each i.e. 3200 per cent for the financial year ended March 31, 2020.

Global Markets

Asian shares bounced on Monday as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced more stimulus steps to help cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus, but the recent weak run in the global oil price showed no signs of ending. 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.8 per cent, taking back a chunk of last week's 2.6 per cent decline. Japan's Nikkei gained 2.6 per cent, and Chinese blue chips 1 per cent.

After a soft start, E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 climbed 0.85 per cent, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures added 2.6 per cent and FTSE futures 1.35 per cent.

In commodities, oil prices fell on concerns about scarce storage capacity and global economic doldrums from the coronavirus pandemic.

US oil futures led losses, falling by more than $2 a barrel on fears that storage at Cushing, Oklahoma, could reach full capacity soon.

US West Texas Intermediate June futures fell $2.42, or 14.3%, to $14.52 a barrel at the time of writing of this report. Brent crude was down 90 cents, or 4.2 per cent, at $20.54 a barrel. The June Brent contract expires on Thursday.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:02 PM

Technical view by Nagaraj Shetti - Technical Analyst, HDFC Securities

After witnessing a sharp weakness on Friday, Nifty bounced up smartly on Monday amidst a range bound action, closed the day higher by 127 points. A small positive candle was formed on Monday with gap up opening and upper shadow. The opening upside gap remains unfilled. This candle pattern signals an upside bounce from a support of 9,150, but struggling to sustain the highs.

 

On the upper side 9,350-9,390 levels continue to act as a key overhead resistance for the short term. A sustainable move above 9,400 levels could be considered as an upside breakout attempt of the present range movement.

 

The rising wedge pattern in Nifty as per daily timeframe is still intact and Nifty is currently facing resistance near the upper area of this wedge at 9,400-9,500.

 

The short term trend of Nifty is positive amidst a range movement.The upper area of 9,400 could offer strong resistance on any upmove from here. Immediate support is placed at 9,150 for the next session.

3:56 PM

Market closing comment :: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Markets closed positive in sync with the global markets. News regarding the RBI liquidity facility for Mutual Funds and stimulus packages from central banks around the world provided some positivity to the markets. Investors are looking towards earnings results coming out later and during the week for more clarity on the specific sectors. Credit risk concerns remain and investors are advised to remain cautious.

3:40 PM

Sectoral trends on NSE at Close | Nifty Bank, Nifty Private Bank indices rally

3:39 PM

Sensex Heatmap at Close | IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank settle as top gainers

3:38 PM

CLOSING BELL

>> Benchmark S&P Sensex settles at 31,743.08 level, up 415.86 points or 1.33 per cent

>> NSE;s Nifty50, meanwhile, gains 128 points to close at 9,282.3 level.

 

3:24 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Emkay Global Fin Services on Bharti Infratel

TP: Rs 145 (12 months) | Rating: SELL

• The 13% EBITDA miss was primarily on account of provision for doubtful debts of Rs1.93bn accounted in other expenses. Energy margin continued to be volatile and stood at 5.9%, (+430bps qoq), while it was in-line with estimates.
• Although gross additions improved, higher exits impacted net tenancy additions, with standalone net tenancies declining by 607. Overall, net tenancies were up 1%, supported by Indus. We are factoring in 5k and 5.5k net tenancy additions for FY21E and FY22E.
• Rising working capital requirements due to increase in receivables days, as well as the lower end of energy margin guidance of 3%, indicates the pressure from operators due to their weak financial health.
• Dividend from Indus and clarity on merger can provide a trading opportunity, in our view. Overhang to remain until clarity emerges on VIL. We maintain Sell with a revised TP of Rs145 (4x FY22 EV/EBITDA) as we cut our target multiple with recent market correction.

3:23 PM

MARKET CHECK :: Indices pare gains; up 400 pts

3:14 PM

Pfizer surges 10% on special dividend of Rs 320 per share

The company has fixed May 8, 2020 as the record date for ascertaining eligible shareholders to get the said special dividend and will be given electronically through bank transfer on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. READ MORE

3:10 PM

Govt needs clear 'entry and exit plan' on fiscal expansion: Shaktikanta Das

The coronavirus pandemic will expand the government’s fiscal deficit beyond 3.5 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), said Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das as he called for a "well calibrated roadmap” to manage finances. “The 3.5 per cent fiscal deficit target for this year will be very challenging to meet,” Das told news agency Cogencis in an interview. READ MORE

2:57 PM

MARKET CHECK | Top 5 gainers on the BSE at this hour

2:47 PM

Franklin Templeton MF committed to return investors money: Sanjay Sapre

"We are committed to doing all we can to return money in the schemes that are wound up at the earliest to investors, and to regain your trust in our brand," Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) President Sanjay Sapre said in a note to investors.

 

The asset manager shut down its six schemes Franklin India Low Duration Fund, Franklin India Dynamic Accrual Fund, Franklin India Credit Risk Fund, Franklin India Short Term Income Plan, Franklin India Ultra Short Bond Fund and Franklin India Income Opportunities Fund on Thursday. The six debt schemes had assets under management of over Rs 25,000 crore. READ MORE

2:39 PM

EXPERT COMMENT | Ashish Shanker, Head of Investments, Motilal Oswal on RBI announcing Rs 50K cr lifeline for MFs

“This is more of a confidence-boosting measure. Most debt MFs invest in AA or higher rated paper and A or below is a very small part of their portfolios. There is enough liquidity in the market for a good quality paper. However, it was important for RBI to issue this communication and support to calm nerves. This should help settle some of the panics that was caused over the weekend over the FT news. Even in 2008 when this measure was introduced, none of the MFs actually utilised it. So this is more of a backstop”.

2:33 PM

Stocks that hit 52-week high on BSE today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK HIGH	CHG(%)
ALEMBIC PHARMA	813.00	839.00	7.07
ALKYL AMINES	1810.00	1879.50	9.36
CIPLA	614.85	632.05	2.54
LAURUS LABS	517.65	524.10	4.70
LUPIN	892.00	906.35	1.68

2:23 PM

Navin Fluorine rallies 12%, hits new high; zooms 71% from March low

Navin Fluorine International had re-commenced its operations of manufacturing operations at the company’s facilities at Bhestan, Gujarat and Dewas, Madhya Pradesh from April 14, 2020 after obtaining requisite permissions, as applicable, from concerned Government authorities. READ MORE

2:16 PM

NEWS ALERT | Have to give importance to economy as well as continue the fight against COVID -19: PM Modi to CMs

>> Impact of Coronavirus will remain visible in the coming months, he says

>> He emphasized on the importance of usage of technology as much as possible and also to utilize time to embrace reform measures

(Via ANI)