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Sensex hovers above 32,000 mark; Europe opens higher

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Last Updated : May 28 2020 | 2:04 PM IST

Key equity indices traded with strong gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty held above 9450 level. At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 551.87 points or 1.75% at 32,157.09. The Nifty 50 index rallied 157.30 points or 1.69% at 9,472.25.

The broader market was upbeat. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.34% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.43%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, shares 1447 rose and 722 shares fell. A total of 147 shares were unchanged.

The media reported that India's GST Council is likely to meet in the second week of June to discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy of states, among other things.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 56,97,334 far with 3,55,758 deaths. India reported 86,110 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,531 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

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Gainers & Losers:

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (up 8.48%), Eicher Motors (up 7.57%), Hero MotoCorp (up 5.77%), Larsen & Toubro (up 5.54%) and IndusInd Bank (up 5.05%) were top gainers in Nifty 50 index.

BPCL (down 2.44%), ITC (down 1.46%), Bharti Airtel (down 0.66%), State Bank of India (down 0.54%) and Infosys (down 0.50%) were top losers in Nifty 50 index.

Q4 results Today:

Lupin (down 2.26%), TVS Motor Company (up 1.86%), CEAT (up 1.89%), Federal Bank (up 1.10%), Radico Khaitan (up 0.79%), IIFL Finance (up 0.93%), Heidelberg Cement India (up 1.69%), LT Foods (up 3.59%) and Agro Tech Foods (up 1.73%) are some of the companies that will announce their quarterly earnings today.

Earnings Impact:

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose 1.65%. The drug major reported 37.1% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 399.84 crore on 14.3% rise in total revenue from operations to Rs 8,184.94 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. Profit before tax (PBT) stood at Rs 577.44 crore in Q4 FY20, down by 16.8% from Rs 694.24 crore in Q4 FY19. The company recorded a one-time expenditure of Rs 260.64 crore as an exceptional item in the March 2020 quarter. Of the total amount, the charge of Rs 104.28 crore was due to the Supreme Court of India's judgment in a case pertaining to central excise refund claims and Rs 156.36 crore was on account of a settlement made by Dusa Pharmaceuticals, the company's US-based subsidiary, with the U.S. Department of Justice and an individual to resolve allegations relating to the sales, marketing and promotion of two of its products.

In the fourth quarter, the drug maker's India formulations earnings stood at Rs 2,364.80 (up 114.7% Y-o-Y) while US formulations earnings were at Rs 2,712.88 (down 13.2% YoY). Emerging markets' sales came in at Rs 1,353.97 (up 11% YoY) and formulation sales in Rest of World (ROW) markets were at Rs 1,121.22 crore (up 4% YoY). The term 'YoY' indicates year-on-year comparison. For Q4 FY20, external sales of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) were at Rs 483.43 crore, flat over Q4 last year. Consolidated R&D investment fell 5.6% to Rs 536 crores in Q4 FY20, from Rs. 567.49 crores reported in Q4 last year.

United Spirits fell 1.90% to Rs 566.85 after the company reported 52.5% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 58.40 crore on 14.1% fall in net sales to Rs 1990.50 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. Consolidated profit before tax (PBT) stood at Rs 183.50 crore in Q4 FY20, up by 5.6% from Rs 173.70 crore in Q4 FY19. Revenue declined primarily due to COVID-19 led disruption in India in March, which exacerbated the impact of the ongoing consumption slowdown. Employee expense declined 36.91% to Rs 109.40 crore during the quarter. On the volume front, the alcoholic beverages manufacturer's prestige & above segment witnessed 19.6% fall in volumes as it stood at 8.4 EUm while the popular segment's volumes contracted by 7.5% to 9.9 EUm in Q4 FY20 over Q4 FY19.

Quess Corp fell 1.63% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 629.92 crore in Q4 March 2020 compared with net profit of Rs 75.50 crore in Q4 March 2019. Consolidated net sales jumped 30.5% to Rs 2,994.59 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Rs 2,294.77 crore in Q4 March 2019. Pre-tax loss stood at Rs 594.36 crore in Q4 March 2020 as compared to a pre-tax profit of Rs 87.59 crore in Q4 March 2019. The company incurred one off non-cash charge of Rs 664 crore on account of goodwill impairment and change in tax regime. Consolidated EBITDA grew 28% to Rs 169 crore in Q4 FY20 over Q4 FY19 due to Covid-19 impact. EBITDA margin stood at 5.63% in Q4 FY20 as against 5.74% in Q4 FY19.

Global Markets:

European markets opened higher as European Union (EU) planned to open up tourist destinations for the summer despite fears of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism represents 10% of the European economy and creates 27 million jobs directly and indirectly across the region. Investor sentiment was also improved after the European Commission (EC) unveiled plans for a 750 billion euro ($826.5 billion) recovery fund.

Asian markets were trading lower as US-China tension woes competed with the hopes of an economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.88% after China's National People's Congress on Thursday voted on a decision that paves the way for sweeping anti-sedition laws to be directly enacted in Hong Kong. China's legislature approved a decision to force a controversial national security law on Hong Kong, in an extraordinary and unprecedented move aimed at bringing the semi-autonomous territory further under Beijing's control.

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet approved a new $1.1 trillion stimulus package that includes significant direct spending, to stop the coronavirus pandemic pushing the world's third-largest economy deeper into recession.

The US equity market finished sharply higher on Wednesday, 27 May 2020, extending the market's gains into a third day, on optimism that economic activity is gathering steam and authorities may offer more stimulus to bolster the recovery. Hopes for potential COVID-19 vaccines under development have also helped propel stocks.

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First Published: May 28 2020 | 1:13 PM IST

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