Sensex gains 84 pts as metal, IT stocks shine; broader markets outperform

The Nifty PSU Bank and Bank indices shed 0.8 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively today while the Nifty Private Bank and Financial Services indices slipped 0.6 per cent and 0.3 per cent

2:27 PM

Analysts see rupee at 76.5; Four factors that may guide the trajectory

Amid the domestic headwinds and global tailwinds, analysts expect the rupee to drift lower towards the level of 76.30 to 76.50 over the next two to three months. Technically, USD-INR Spot holds resistance near 74.80-75.30 levels where support is at 74.20-74.00 levels over the short-term.

 

“Over the medium-to-long term, the dollar may return to 68.7 levels once the US Bond yield cools off and once crude oil prices come down,” said Kshitij Purohit, lead analyst - Currency & Commodities at CapitalVia Global Research. READ MORE

2:18 PM

COVID-19 UPDATE :: 60-hour weekend lockdown in all Madhya Pradesh cities, says CM Chouhan

A lockdown will be enforced in all cities of Madhya Pradesh from 6 pm on Friday to 6 am on Monday to check the spread of the coronavirus infection, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Thursday.

 

Talking to reporters here after chairing a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in MP, Chouhan said his government aims to increase the number of beds for COVID-19 patients in the state to one lakh. READ MORE

2:07 PM

European markets check

(Source: Reuters)

1:50 PM

Small-Cap index hits new high; analysts see more upside

Shares of smallcap companies have been on a roll with the S&P BSE Small-Cap index hitting a new high in intra-day deals on Thursday. The rally has been fueled by an up move in stocks of chemicals, cement, graphite electrode makers, pharmaceuticals and information technology (IT) shares. In the past two weeks, since March 25, the index has outperformed the market by gaining 7.3 per cent. In comparison, the S&P BSE Midcap index was up 6.1 per cent, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 3.6 per cent during the same period. READ MORE

1:36 PM

After Airtel, Vi Business unveils integrated IoT solutions for enterprises

Vi Business, the enterprise arm of Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL), has launched 'Integrated IoT Solutions' for enterprises. "With this industry first initiative, VIL has become the only telecom company in India to offer a secure end-to-end IoT solution offering that comprises connectivity, hardware, network, application, analytics, security and support," the company said in a regulatory filing. READ MORE

1:33 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: Nifty Metal index surges 5%

1:18 PM

NEWS ALERT | Sterling & Wilson Solar's term debt of the company reduces to Rs 94 cr from Rs 332 cr

1:18 PM

Mid-market view | Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at CapitalVia Global Research

The market opened with positive momentum and breached a significant level of 14900 and has been trading above the same level. US markets remained near the previous closing levels making no significant movement. Asian markets were majorly trading in the green after the expectations of the boost in the economic recovery. We expect the market to gain further momentum, till the level of 15180-15200, if the market closes above the level of 14900.

 

1:10 PM

Tata Steel hits all-time high; stk soars 25% in a month on ratings upgrade

Shares of Tata Steel hit an all-time high of Rs 924.25 as they rallied 6 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade on Thursday. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 924 touched on October 29, 2007. In the past one month, the Tata group company has rallied 25 per cent after the global rating agencies upgraded the outlook on Tata Steel to stable, citing a recovery in Q3 of the financial year 2020-21 (Q3FY21). READ MORE

1:03 PM

Top gainers on the BSE at this hour

Company	PRICE(rs)	CHG(%)
Deepak Fertiliz.	264.25	10.33
R C F	82.40	8.92
HEG	2334.15	8.39
Just Dial	955.10	7.84
JSW Steel	605.25	7.64

12:49 PM

Nomura sees Nifty at 15,340 by March'22; sees risks to FII flows in FY22

A sharp spike in Covid cases over the past few weeks, movement curbs imposed to in select cities to ‘break the chain’, elevated commodity prices that may stoke inflation coupled with the rich valuation of Indian markets has led Nomura to cut its Nifty50 target to 15,340 for March 2022 (earlier target: 14,680 by December 2021) – a modest rise of 2.7 per cent from the current levels. READ MORE

12:33 PM

Tech view: Near-term outlook on chemical stocks remains highly bullish

Chemical stocks continued to shine at the bourses on Thursday with Camlin Fine, Himadri Special, Laxmi Organics, and Tata Chemcials surging between 1 per cent and 8 per cent on the BSE. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.5 per cent at 49,918 at 11:45 am. So far in the month of April, stocks of most of the chemical firms have outperformed the benchmark index by soaring up to 42 per cent riding on the back of a firm pricing environment due to strong demand. READ MORE

12:20 PM

PV retail sales up 28%, two-wheeler registrations drop 35% in March: FADA

Automobile dealers' body FADA on Thursday said passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales in March witnessed a year-on-year growth of 28.39 per cent to 2,79,745 units, as compared to the year-ago period which saw disruptions in the market due to COVID-19 led lockdown. According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), which collected vehicle registration data from 1,277 out of the 1,482 regional transport offices (RTOs), PV sales stood at 2,17,879 units in March 2020.

(Text Source: PTI)

12:13 PM

Vedanta open offer subscribed just 58% after failed delisting bid

Over 377 million shares were tendered in the voluntary open offer launched in Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta. After a failed delisting bid, promoter Vedanta Resources offered to buy up to 651 million shares (17.5 per cent equity) at Rs 235 apiece from the public shareholders of the company. However, it could mop up only 58 per cent of the maximum shares it intended to buy through the open offer. READ MORE

12:06 PM

Kalyan Jewellers posts revenue growth of 60% in Q4 FY21 for India operations

> We witnessed a robust increase in consumer demand in Q4 FY 2021, resulting in a revenue growth of approximately 60% for our India operations, as compared to the same quarter in the prior year. 

 

> Revenue growth for the first two months of the quarter (January & February) was approximately 35%, while growth in March was significantly higher, skewed by the loss of sales we experienced in the base due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on our retail operations in March 2020. 

 

> The vast majority of our growth in the recent quarter was same store sales driven, as only two stores were opened during the past one year period. 

 

> For Q4 FY 2021, our Middle East business witnessed a decline in revenues of approximately 20% over Q4 FY 2020, partially attributable to our decision to close 7 of our stores in the region (out of a 37 total base at the time) during FY 2021. 

(Source: BSE Filing)