D-St cheers drop in Covid cases; Sensex up 296 pts; pharma, metal stks gain

India VIX eased nearly 3 per cent to 20.23 levels

1:12 PM

US backs TRIPS waiver: More to the story than just vaccine patents

The US has announced its limited support for the “TRIPS waiver”, a proposal to suspend intellectual property protections for products and technologies needed for the fight against COVID-19, including vaccines, for the duration of the pandemic.

 

This would involve a temporary suspension of certain rules set out in the TRIPS Agreement, the intellectual property treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO). READ MORE

1:11 PM

Insurance, MF players cut equity investments in Q4; LIC booked profits

Insurance behemoth LIC opted for profit-booking by selling its equity stakes in companies during the March quarter, a report said on Monday. The IPO-bound company's stakes in 296 companies where it holds over 1 per cent stake slipped to an all-time low of 3.66 per cent at the end of March as against 3.70 per cent in December, the report by Prime Database said. READ MORE

1:01 PM

MFs continue buying spree, infuse Rs 5,526 cr in equities in April

Investment by mutual funds (MFs) in equities will continue in coming months seeing the increase in user growths as multiple fintech players are entering into this space, Kaushlendra Singh Sengar, founder and CEO at INVEST19, said.

 

Alok Aggarwala, Chief Research Officer, Bajaj Capital, is also of the view that this bullish stance to continue as valuations moderate somewhat post FY21 earnings and the consolidation provides investors with an opportunity to accumulate equities. READ MORE

12:51 PM

Stocks that hit 52-week high on BSE today

Company	PRICE(rs)	52 WK HIGH	CHG(%)
Adani Transmissi	1162.00	1203.60	-1.23
Aurobindo Pharma	1053.00	1061.00	3.97
B H E L	62.95	63.40	8.82
Bajaj Finserv	11412.75	11547.90	0.86
Balkrishna Inds	1865.05	1898.00	1.76

12:41 PM

Rupee gains under siege as coronavirus health crisis fuels lockdown fears

The Indian rupee’s recent gains could be short-lived as pressure grows on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration to announce a nationwide lockdown to curb a deadly wave of coronavirus infections. The prospect of stricter curbs is reviving memories of last year when similar measures dragged India’s economy into its worst contraction in four decades. It’s also threatening to weaken the rupee, which is among Asia’s top three performers this month, thanks to heavy foreign inflows for initial public offerings, a dovish Federal Reserve and a glut of dollars at state-run banks. READ MORE

12:28 PM

Nifty Pharma index hits all-time high; Sun Pharma scales 4-year high

Shares of pharmaceutical companies were on a roll at the bourses on Monday, with the Nifty Pharma index hitting an all-time high of 14,172, after rising 3 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on the back of strong rally in stocks like Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Torrent Pharma, Alkem Laboratories, Divis Laboratories, Lupin and Dr Reddys Laboratories. The pharma index surpassed its previous high of 14,020.70, touched in intra-day trade on April 7, 2015. READ MORE

12:16 PM

Rs 1-trillion m-cap club now has 42 members with 13 new entrants

Thirteen companies have joined the Rs 1-trillion-plus market capitalisation club this year, so far. This even as the benchmark Sensex has gained less than 3 per cent on a year-to-date basis, underscoring the bullish undercurrent in the broader market. The trend shows a harsh second wave of Covid-19, subsequent lockdowns, and hit to the economic activity has made little dent into India Inc or shareholders’ wealth. At the start of the year, there were 29 companies with a market value of more than Rs 1 trillion. READ MORE

 

12:04 PM

Relief to postpone financial stress from India's Covid surge: Fitch

Reserve Bank of India's Covid-19 relief package will provide some relief to financial institutions (FIs) in the next 12-24 months. However, it will largely be at the expense of postponing the recognition and resolution of underlying asset-quality problems, according to the rating agency Fitch. There are growing indications that India’s latest wave of Covid-19 infections will add to risks among financial institutions (FIs) by sapping near-term momentum from the economic recovery, Fitch Ratings said in a statement. READ MORE

11:51 AM

Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors: Auto stocks face major hurdles amid Covid surge

Centrum Broking said that April was anticipated to be a good month for two-wheelers on the back of mini-festivals at the regional level and marriage season demand in the rural areas, the OEM's had prepared their channels with stock. However, with the rising Covid cases, states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Delhi started imposing lockdowns as a result of which, the wholesales of domestic two-wheelers got impacted especially. READ MORE

11:37 AM

CSB Bank soars 10%, hits 52-week high on impressive Q4 numbers

Shares of CSB Bank hit a 52-week high as they soared 10 per cent to Rs 284.95 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Monday after the lender reported an impressive March quarter result (Q4FY21) with a net profit of Rs 42.89 crore as against a loss of Rs 59.7 crore in Q4FY20. READ MORE

 

11:36 AM

Q&A | There's a weak link between economy and market, says Jitendra Gohil

The next trigger for a sell-off can be if we go into a nationwide lockdown to curb the virus, but the probability of such a measure is still low. Lawmakers most probably will take a middle path. The markets will not wait for India to bring Covid fully under control but will pre-empt the recovery. Our strategy is to buy the dips. READ FULL INTERVIEW HERE

11:26 AM

MARKET CHECK :: Sensex hovers near day's high

11:17 AM

ANALYSIS :: Should you buy, sell or hold Avenue Supermarts post Q4 numbers?

Muted sales expectations for FY22, fewer store openings, and a higher proportion of low-margin grocery (food) sales have led to sharp earnings downgrades for Avenue Supermarts or DMart for the current financial year. While the margin profile was improving as reflected in the March quarter performance and management commentary, given the lockdown in multiple states, the trend is expected to reverse. READ MORE

 

11:06 AM

Fuel prices at record highs; petrol crosses Rs 100-mark in Maharashtra

Petrol and diesel prices on Monday hit record highs across the country after rates were increased for the fifth time in a week, following which Maharashtra joined Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in the league of states where petrol rates breached the Rs 100-a-litre mark.

 

Petrol price was hiked by 26 paise a litre and diesel by 33 paise per litre, according to a price notification by state-owned fuel retailers. READ MORE

10:52 AM

Hindustan Copper scales over 8-year high, surges 25% in 3 days

Shares of Hindustan Copper (HCL) hit an over eight-year high and were locked in the upper circuit of 10 per cent at Rs 189.20 on the BSE in Monday's session on expectations of improved demand outlook. The stock of the state-owned copper company has rallied 25 per cent in the past three trading days. It was quoting at its highest level since November 2012. READ MORE