MARKET WRAP: Sensex ends at new closing high of 40,469.78; pvt banks rally

All that happened in markets today.

Buying in private banks and IT major Infosys propelled the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex to end at a record closing peak of 40,469.78, up 222 points or 0.55 per cent on Wednesday. During the day, the index hit an all-time peak of 40,606.91 levels. Its NSE counterpart Nifty, too, rallied in the trade and reclaimed the crucial 12,000-mark during the session. The 50-share index, however, ended at 11,961, up 44 points or 0.37 per cent.

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Infosys, Axis Bank, and L&T contributed the most to the Sensex's gain. ICICI Bank (up nearly 3 per cent) emerged as the top gainer on the index while Bharti Airtel (down over 3 per cent) was the biggest loser. During the day, ICICI Bank hit a new lifetime high of Rs 483.90 apiece. Among losers on the index, ONGC, Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries (RIL), and Maruti - all slipped around a per cent each.  

Market breadth was marginally tilted in favour of sellers as out of 2,702 companies traded on the BSE, 1,283 declined and 1,221 advanced while 198 remained unchanged. 

In the broader market, both small and midcap indices underperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE MidCap index ended 0.15 per cent higher at 14,746 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index slipped 0.36 per cent to settle at 13,473.

Among the sectoral indices on the NSE, realty stocks advanced the most with Nifty Realty index surging over 2 per cent to 273.85 levels. Nifty Private Bank (up around 1.50 per cent) came second on the list. Nifty Bank index rallied over 1 per cent to 30,591-mark. On the downside, PSU banks slipped the most, followed by media and auto counters. Nifty PSU Bank index lost around a per cent to end at 2,516.  

BUZZING STOCKS

Infosys ended over 2 per cent higher at Rs 712.30 apiece on the BSE after the non-executive chairman Nandan Nilekani, during the company's concall, told investors that the company would take action if the allegations against it are substantiated. READ MORE

Shares of Titan Company slipped 10 per cent to Rs 1,156 after the company reported a disappointing set of numbers for September quarter (Q2FY2) due to higher gold prices and weakness in the overall consumption. READ MORE 

Shares of Sun Pharma surged as much as 5.37 per cent to Rs 453 during the day after the company announced it has entered into a licensing agreement with AstraZeneca UK Ltd. (AstraZeneca) to introduce certain novel ready-to-use (RTU) infusion oncology products in China. The stock, however, pared all its gains later in the day to end at Rs 427.55 apiece on the BSE, down over half a per cent.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares fell on Wednesday for the first time in four trading sessions as investors awaited new developments that might scale back a bruising trade war between the United States and China. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.12 per cent. Australian shares were down 0.55 per cent, Chinese stocks fell 0.25 per cent, Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 0.21 per cent.

In Europe, the pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were down 0.03 per cent, German DAX futures were down 0.06 per cent, while FTSE futures were down 0.29 per cent.

In the US, stock futures edged up. 

In commodities, oil prices slipped after three-day rally on larger-than-expected US crude build.

(With inputs from Reuters) 

3:44 PM

Indiabulls Real Estate, Sobha, DLF gain ground

3:43 PM

Nifty snapshot

Realty stocks rally in stimulus hope

3:42 PM

Financials lead charge

HDFC twins, ICICI Bank among key Sensex gainers

3:41 PM

Market today

3:40 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex added 222 points or 0.55 per cent higher at 40,469.78 while NSE's Nifty ended at 11,961, up 44 points or 0.37 per cent. 

3:16 PM

Anand Rathi on JK Lakshmi Cement

On the positive growth outlook (because of demand picking up, better realisations and cost optimisation), we expect a strong operating performance. The brownfield expansion of ~2m tpa would be announced in 6-8 months at any of the three plants depending on favourable demand-supply.

The newly commissioned Odisha G.U. is expected to ramp up slowly due to excess supply in the east. With the de-levering before further capacity expansions, we expect profitability and return ratios to expand.  We maintain our Buy rating, with an unchanged target price of Rs 464, on 8x FY21e EV/EBITDA. Risk: Rising prices of pet-coke and diesel.

3:14 PM

IIFL on Varun Beverages

With a capacity utilisation of ~70% in peak months, we believe that the current phase of high growth (driven by distribution expansion in under-penetrated territories) can sustain for the next two years without any major capex, resulting in strong FCF generation. We upgrade our EPS estimates by 12%/4%/1% for CY19/20/21 and maintain our BUY rating with a target price of Rs 750

3:14 PM

IIFL on HDFC

HDFC’s core PPoP increased only 5% YoY, despite a 13.2% YoY growth in gross AUM. This was primarily due to NIM pressure in the quarter, due to a change in loan mix. As a result of moderate revenue growth, the core cost/income ratio also inched up marginally on a QoQ basis, to 16.1%. One-offs from stake sale in GRUH Finance and dividend income boosted reported profits.

Asset quality in the non-retail segment worsened by Rs2.4bn QoQ, to 2.87% in 2QFY20. HDFC’s current performance was reasonably healthy, given the current context. That asset quality did not worsen more was a relief. HDFC remains a defensive bet, where subsidiaries are strong value-drivers as well. Maintain BUY.

3:13 PM

RESULTS IMPACT | Corporation Bank surges 6% after Q2 profit rises 26% YoY

3:13 PM

Edelweiss on Godrej Properties

Management expects sales traction to remain strong driven by healthy launch pipeline. Pending further clarity on certain aspects of the new accounting standard Ind AS 115 adopted w.e.f. April 1, 2018, we continue to follow the old accounting standard. Maintain ‘BUY’ with target price of Rs 1,088.

3:12 PM

ICICI Securities on Bajaj Finserv

Given increasing intensity of competition, the commercial finance business is expected to witness pressure on growth as well as asset quality. We maintain our target price at Rs 8800, based on SOTP valuation, implying a multiple of 24.5x on FY21E consolidated earnings. With the recent movement in stock price, we downgrade the rating from BUY to HOLD.

3:11 PM

Edelweiss on Nagarjuna Construction

Management expects clarity on Andhra orders (36% of order book) to emerge next quarter. Pending clarity on execution timelines for these projects, we are slashing FY20/FY21E EPS by 26%/16%. Maintain ‘BUY’ with a revised SoTP-based target price of Rs 103 (Rs 111 earlier) as we roll forward the valuation to March 2021E.

2:56 PM

Earnings Alert | Lupin Q2

-- Consolidated net loss at Rs 127.1 crore

-- One-time loss at Rs 546.5 crore

-- Profit before one-time loss at Rs 457.3

-- Cons net revenue at Rs 4,359.7 crore

-- Cons EBITDA at Rs 731.1 crore; margin at 16.8%

2:50 PM

BROKERAGE RADAR | HDFC Securities on Tech Mahindra

We upgrade Tech Mahindra to BUY from NEUTRAL based on strong show in 2QFY20. Growth engine has revived with large deal win in Telecom and strong Enterprise TCV. We increase earnings est. for FY21/22E by 3.9/4.3% based on better visibility and margin recovery. We increase our P/E multiple to 15x vs. 12x earlier. Our TP now stands at Rs 850 based on 15x Sep-21E earnings.

2:47 PM

Earnings Alert | Bajaj Electricals Q2

-- Co reports loss of Rs 32.5 cr vs profit of Rs 29.8 cr YoY