Key benchmarks were trading near the day's high in afternoon trade. At 12:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 399.68 points or 1.27% at 31,853.19. The Nifty 50 index was up 102.95 points or 1.12% at 9,308.55.
Positive cues from other Asian markets boosted sentiment. Bargain hunting also emerged after the benchmark Nifty declined 6.64% in the past two consecutive sessions.
In the broader market today, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.58% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.68%. Both these indices trailed the Sensex.
The market breadth was almost even. On the BSE, 980 shares rose and 1051 shares fell. A total of 141 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 39 stocks advanced while 11 stocks declined.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 4.48% to 41.65. The Nifty April 2020 futures were trading at 9,348, a premium of 39.45 points compared with the spot at 9,863.85.
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On the options front, the Nifty option chain for 28 May 2020 expiry showed maximum call open interest (OI) of 14.43 lakh contracts at the 10,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 25.72 lakh contracts was seen at 9,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty FMCG index fell 1.38% to 26,762.85, declining the most among the sectoral indices on the NSE. The index has fallen 6.65% in three sessions.
Godrej Consumer Products (down 1.77%), Bajaj Consumer Care (down 1.71%), Jyothy Laboratories (down 1.17%), Dabur India (down 0.75%) declined.
Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (up 1.26%), Tata Global Beverages (up 1.24%), Britannia Industries (up 1.22%), Marico (up 0.93%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.54%), Nestle India (up 0.42%) and Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 0.33%) advanced.
The recent selling in FMCG was triggered after two major consumer goods companies viz. Hindustan Unilever and Marico reported muted Q4 performance.
Earnings Impact:
Rallis India slipped 1.18% to Rs 221 after consolidated net profit fell 49.63% to Rs 0.68 crore on 1.94% increase in net sales to Rs 346.29 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. Pre-tax loss for Q4 March 2020 stood at Rs 2.66 crore compared with pre-tax profit of Rs 5.59 crore in Q4 March 2019.
Due to the nationwide lockdown in India, the operations were disrupted at certain manufacturing facilities and depots of the company. As a result of which goods worth Rs 16.04 crore could not be dispatched to the domestic market. Further, international shipments were also disrupted due to absence of transportation facilities in the last week of March 2020 resulting in lower shipment of Rs 53.18 crore, Rallis said in an exchange filing.
Persistent Systems jumped 7.83% to Rs 502.75. The company's consolidated net profit fell 4.7% to Rs 83.82 crore on a 0.4% increase in revenue to Rs 926.3 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q3 December 2019. Consolidated EBITDA stood at Rs 127.6 crore in Q4 March 2020, rising by 3.4% quarter on quarter (QoQ). The company said it has 72 active clients as of 31 March, which includes 20 large clients above $3 million. Attrition rate for Q4 March 2020 stood at 14.3% against 16.7% reported last year in the same period.
Astec Lifesciences was locked in an upper circuit of 20% at Rs 519.75 after consolidated net profit jumped 145% to Rs 31.18 crore 35% rise in net sales to Rs 180.57 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. Consolidated profit before tax (PBT) surged 96% to Rs 39.63 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. The board of the company recommended a final dividend of Rs 1.5 per equity share.
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