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Benchmarks end near day's low; pharma shares climb

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Capital Market
Last Updated : May 19 2021 | 4:05 PM IST

The domestic equity barometers ended with steep losses after a volatile session on Wednesday. The Nifty, however, managed to hold the 15,000 mark. Private banks and auto shares corrected while pharma and media stocks were in demand.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 290.69 points or 0.58% to 49,902.64. The Nifty 50 index lost 77.95 points or 0.52% to 15,030.15.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.53% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.35%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1794 shares rose and 1268 shares fell. A total of 170 shares were unchanged.

The undertone of the market was upbeat amid hopes of reopening of economic activity soon as fresh daily COVID-19 cases declined. Encouraging quarterly results also boosted sentiment.

COVID-19 Update:

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Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 16,42,44,659 with 34,04,925 deaths. India reported 32,26,719 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 2,83,248 deaths while 2,19,86,363 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India reported a total of 2,67,334 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. It marks the third consecutive day when cases have come below the 3-lakh mark. The country recorded its highest one-day death toll of 4,529 deaths.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 1.24% to 14,004.20 on value buying. The index declined 2.12% in the past five sessions.

Cipla (up 2.17%), Cadila Healthcare (up 1.90%), Sun Pharma (up 1.77%), Lupin (up 1.69%), Torrent Pharma (up 1.50%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.48%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.76%), Dr. Reddy's Labs (up 0.43%), Biocon (up 0.43%) and Divi's Labs (up 0.39%) advanced.

Earnings Impact:

Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) gained 1.28% to Rs 106.90 after the PSU OMC posted standalone net profit of Rs 8,781.30 crore in Q4 FY21 as compared a net loss of Rs 5,185.32 recorded in Q4 FY20. The company's revenue from operations increased by 17.7% to Rs 1,63,605.67 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

The company said its average gross refining margin (GRM) for the period April-March 2021 zoomed 6950% to $5.64 per barrel against $0.08 per barrel for the same period of the previous year. The core GRM or the current price GRM for the period April- March 2021 after offsetting inventory loss/ gain comes to $2.31 per bbl.

Tata Motors tumbled 5.63% to Rs 313.65. On a consolidated basis, the auto major reported net loss of Rs 7,605.40 crore in Q4 FY21 lower than net loss of Rs 9,894.25 crore in Q4 FY20. Total revenue from operations during the quarter increased 41.8% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 88,627.90 crore in Q4 FY21.

During the period ended March 2020, an exceptional charge of Rs 14,994.30 crore was recognized under the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)'s reimagine strategy. It comprised of asset write downs of Rs 9,606.11 crore in relation to models cancelled and restructuring costs of Rs 5,388.19 crore.

JLR reported pre-tax profits of 534 million pounds in Q4 FY21. Fourth quarter revenue increased 20.5% YoY to 6.5 billion pounds, led by China and the new Defender.

JLR said that coronavirus cases are still high in many markets while supply chain issues, in particular for semi-conductors, have become more difficult to mitigate and are now impacting production plans for Q1. The company is working closely with affected suppliers to resolve the issues and minimise the effect on customers.

Tata Motors standalone (including joint operations) revenue for the quarter increased 104% to Rs 20,046 crore. The company recorded a pre-tax profit before exceptional Rs 145 crore as against pre-tax loss of Rs 2,215 crore in Q4 FY20. The company's India operations continued its strong sequential recovery in the quarter with CV revenues recovering to pre-pandemic levels and PV revenues reaching multi-year highs.

With respect to outlook, the company said that while demand remains strong, the supply situation over the next few months is likely to be adversely impacted by disruptions from COVID-19 lockdowns in India and semi-conductor shortages worldwide. The company expects Q1 FY22 to be relatively weak due to this as well as rising commodity inflation and expect to improve gradually from the second quarter.

PI Industries slumped 6.31% to Rs 2568. On a consolidated basis, the company reported 62.4% jump in net profit to Rs 179.80 crore in Q4 FY21 as against Rs 110.70 crore in Q4 FY20. Net sales during the quarter increased 40% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1197.10 crore. EBITDA margin, however, declined by 290 bps to 19% as on 31 March 2021 from 22% as on 31 March 2020, mainly on account of reduced gross margin despite operating leverage benefit.

Aarti Industries declined 4.52% to Rs 1667.40. The company posted a 23.3% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 136.10 crore on 12.4% rise in net sales to Rs 1209.35 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

The company's board has recommended issuing one bonus equity share for each equity share held (1:1) subject to approval of the shareholders of the company. The company said it will inform the record date in due course.

The board has also approved raising funds by issuing equity shares through qualified institutional placement, private placement/public issue of equity/debt securities, preferential issue or through any other permissible mode for an aggregate amount of up to Rs 1500 crore.

Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals fell 1.46% to Rs 1493.55. The company's consolidated net profit tanked 89.6% to Rs 14.33 crore on 4.9% increase in net sales to Rs 813.75 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.

Brigade Enterprises added 2.89% to Rs 256.50. The realty company reported a sharp surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 39.57 crore in Q4 FY21 from Rs 2.68 crore in Q4 FY20. Net sales grew 24.4% YoY to Rs 791.24 crore during the quarter. The company reported the highest ever pre-sales of 1.66 million square feet valued at Rs 1,018 crore during Q4 FY21.

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones index futures were down 246 points, indicating a weak opening in US stock today. European shares fell across the board while Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday, 19 May 2021. Markets in Hong Kong and South Korea were closed for holidays.

China has banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and warned investors against speculative crypto trading.

U.S. stock indexes wiped out earlier gains and closed at their session lows on Tuesday as Big Tech stocks reversed lower, while data showing housing starts dropped sharply last month also weighed on sentiment.

Housing starts tumbled 9.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.569 million units last month, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.

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First Published: May 19 2021 | 3:34 PM IST

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