MARKETS WRAP: Sensex rises 132 pts, Nifty reclaims 10,500; IT, pharma gain

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Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended Monday's session on a positive note led by buying in pharma and IT counters. The S&P BSE Sensex gained 132 points to settle at 34,865 while NSE's Nifty50 index closed at 10,512.50, up 40 points. It was the second consecutive day that the stocks ended in the green. 

However, gains were capped as rising oil prices, weakening rupee and rising inflation dampened investor sentiment amid weak Asian cues.

Asian shares slipped as worries over Sino-US trade disputes, a possible slowdown in the Chinese economy and higher US borrowing costs tempered optimism despite a rebound in global equities late last week.

Back home, the rupee opened weak, at 73.80/$ against its previous close of 73.57. During the trade, it slipped further and once again breached 74 levels. The domestic unit had hit a fresh low of Rs 74.48 per dollar on Friday. Going forward, any negative moves on the back of a strengthening dollar or rising crude is likely to strain the rupee as well.

The WPI Inflation for September rose to a two-month high of 5.13 per cent, mainly due to the hardening of food prices and the rise in the cost of petrol and diesel.

Among individual stocks, HUL fell over 4 per cent after the FMCG major reported a 19.5 per cent year-on-year growth in standalone profit to Rs 15.25 billion. The stock ended Rs 1,526.60 apiece on BSE, down 3 per cent. 

Avenue Supermarts ended 6 per cent lower at Rs 1,333 after the company after margin disappointment in the second quarter of the current financial year 2018-19 (Q2FY19).
 

Among sectoral indices, shares of pharmaceutical companies advanced in an otherwise subdued market with Nifty Pharma index gaining over 2%.

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Lupin, and Biocon from the index were up in the range of 3% to 5%, while, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Cipla, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Cadila Healthcare, Aurobindo Pharma and Divi’s Laboratories up between 1% and 2% on the NSE.

IT stocks too rose in the trade. IT major Infosys ended nearly 4 per cent higher at Rs 703.30 apiece on BSE ahead of its Q2 results, due on Tuesday.  

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares slipped on Monday as worries over Sino-US trade disputes, a possible slowdown in the Chinese economy and higher US borrowing costs tempered optimism despite a rebound in global equities late last week.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3 per cent while Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.9 per cent.

MSCI’s broadest gauge of the world’s stock markets was off 0.1 per cent after a sizable 3.87 per cent decline last week to a one-year nadir, and marking its biggest weekly fall since March.

(With inputs from Reuters)

3:47 PM

Sectoral gainers & losers on NSE

3:46 PM

S&P BSE Sensex: Top gainers & losers

3:00 PM

Market check

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	34,850.82	+117.24	+0.34
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	10,982.09	+41.71	+0.38
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	30,908.58	+74.38	+0.24
S&P BSE 100	10,733.01	+38.59	+0.36
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,335.19	+3.44	+0.10

2:51 PM

Buzzing stocks

Trident zooms 19% after Q2 PAT comes in at Rs 109.1 crore against Rs 50.9 crore (YoY)

2:45 PM

Midcap IT shares surge; LTTS, Aptech, Mphasis, RS Software rally up to 20%

 

Shares of midcap and smallcap companies have rallied by up to 20% on the BSE on back of heavy volumes. L&T Technology Services (LTTS), Aptech, RS Software and HCL Infosystems were up more than 10% each, while Ramco Systems, Mphasis, KPIT Technologies, Sonata Software and NIIT gained in the range of 4% to 7% on the BSE. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading flat at 34,749 points at 01:02 PM. Read More

2:29 PM

Earnings Impact

 

IndusInd Bank posted a 4.6 per cent rise in second-quarter profit on Monday, helped by higher interest income.

 

Net profit was Rs 9.20 billion ($124.36 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with Rs 8.80 billion a year earlier, the private sector lender said in a statement.

2:15 PM

Will oil be lucky for the RBI?

 

The decision by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to not raise rates on October 5 took the market completely off-guard. The market consensus (including mine) was a rate hike by the RBI in consonance with a weakening rupee and the threat of Brent touching the magical three-figure mark. The rupee recovered strongly on Friday, with oil, the US treasury rates all retreating from their highs. READ MORE

2:00 PM

Market Check

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	34,708.33	-25.25	-0.07
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	10,926.71	-13.67	-0.12
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	30,751.00	-83.20	-0.27
S&P BSE 100	10,678.78	-15.64	-0.15
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,316.67	-15.08	-0.45

1:45 PM

When to use Price/Sales to value companies?

 

One of the most popular measures of valuations in the stock markets is the P/E ratio or the Price/Earnings ratio. It essentially measures what the market is willing to pay for every rupee earned by the company. For example, if the P/E of a company is 15 then it means that the market is willing to pay Rs 15 as the market price for every earned by the company in the form of EPS. P/E keeps changing over time. For example, when the growth prospects of a company improve or when its ROE improves, the P/E of the company is automatically upgraded. But what do you do in case of loss-making companies? Read More

1:30 PM

Crude oil the catch for India's bonds after inflation offers relief

 

Is it too early still to call time on the almost year-long slump in India’s bond market? Consumer prices grew slower-than-expected in September, according to data late Friday, supporting a surprise decision by the central bank to hold rates. With the Reserve Bank of India set to spend 360 billion rupees ($4.9 billion) on bond purchases in October, and the rupee pulling back from a record low, bond traders are turning their focus on where crude oil prices are heading. Read More

1:15 PM

EMs in healthy economic shape, bulls start to outweigh the bears: Survey

 

The bulls are finally starting to outweigh the bears in emerging markets. After two quarters of declines, developing-nation assets will find a floor and remain stable in the final three months of the year as central banks from Argentina to Turkey move to defend their currencies, a Bloomberg survey shows. Read More

1:00 PM

Nifty IT index trading nearly 1% higher led by Tech Mahindra

12:45 PM

Don't be shy of shifting lenders if you see a significant benefit

 

In response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Moneylife Foundation, the Supreme Court has directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to respond within six weeks to representations made by the Foundation on unfair practices followed by banks in setting their floating-rate loans. Hopefully, this and similar other efforts will lead to greater transparency in the way interest rates are set on home loans. READ MORE

12:30 PM

Watch the numbers of auto and consumer durable companies carefully

 

The Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC’s) decision to hold policy rates at the last review surprised the markets. There is some underlying justification. There has been a focus on currency and energy markets. But other commodities’ trends have slipped under the radar. Metals are bearish and so are agro commodities and that balances off higher energy costs to an extent. Read More

12:15 PM

Sugar stocks extend rally; Uttam Sugar, Dwarikesh jump over 40% in one week

 

Shares of sugar companies were trading higher for the fifth straight day, surging up 20% on Monday in an otherwise subdued market. Thiru Arooran Sugars, Dwarikesh Sugar Industries, Uttam Sugar Mills, Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries and Ponni Sugars (Erode) were up in the range of 14% to 20%, while Bannari Aman Sugars, Balrampur Chini Mills, EID Parry (India), Andhra Sugars and KCP Sugar gained between 5% and 9% on the BSE. Read More