MARKET WRAP: Sensex slips 1,189 pts from day's high; financials, autos fall

All that happened in the markets today

11:18 AM

Cash levels jump to highest since 9/11 terrorist attacks: BoFA survey

Stocks may be recovering from their March lows, but investor pessimism over the pandemic’s economic damage is at “extreme” levels with cash positions the highest since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to a Bank of America survey.

 

Fund managers have shunned risk, with equity allocations the lowest since the 2009 financial crisis, the poll conducted between April 1 and April 7 shows. Cash levels surged to 5.9 per cent from 5.1 per cent in March, signalling peak pessimism to BofA strategists. READ MORE

11:00 AM

L&T gains for sixth straight day, up 12% in 2 days on multiple order wins

Shares of Larsen & Toubro rose as much as 5.27 per cent to Rs 911.35 on the BSE on Wednesday after the company's Heavy Civil Infrastructure business secured two contracts from the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) in Uttar Pradesh to build Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Infrastructure. READ MORE

10:48 AM

Motherson Sumi up 15% on in-principle nod for fund raising; biz update

"The company is well-positioned on liquidity, with an 11-quarter low debt and adequate liquidity as well as a focus on generating further cash. It expects the current crisis to introduce M&A opportunities, and key customers are already pointing it in the direction of certain troubled companies," it said in a business update on Covid-19 impact. READ MORE

10:36 AM

Gold outlook by Hareesh V, Head Commodity reseach at Geojit Financial Services

Gold’s bullish outlook is likely to continue due to fears of a possible global recession and large scale quantitative easing programs taken by various central banks. Investors will continue to seek shelter in safe assets like gold to protect from the negative economic impact of coronavirus pandemic. Conversely, limited physical market activities and a strong dollar may put downside pressure on prices.

 

Technical Outlook (London spot): Bullish sentiments will continue as long as prices stay above $1702. Immediate resistance is seen at $1746, and a direct break above the same would take prices higher to $1758 followed by $1800 levels. Immediate downside turnaround point is seen at $1672

10:31 AM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Prabhudas Lilladher on Aviation industry

We are cutting FY21 and FY22 EBITDAR estimates of our coverage universe by 14.2% to 65.8% as travel curbs imposed globally on account of Covid-19 pandemic are likely to have far reaching impact on air travel. We expect demand for air travel to remain suppressed in FY21 due to 1) staggered removal of restrictions and 2) low consumer confidence. With air traffic demand unlikely to match pre-Covid levels in the near term, in quest for survival we expect airlines to rationalize their fleet size /costs by 1) seeking early return of aircrafts 2) deferring deliveries of new aircrafts 3) renegotiation lease rentals on existing aircrafts and 4) workforce rationalization. Globally some Governments have announced measures aimed specifically at the aviation sector in the form of 1) grants to support employee expenses 2) loans and loan guarantees and 3) infusion of equity. However, given the limited resources at the disposal of the Indian Government it is likely that the relief package shall consist of 1) waivers/deferment of airport related charges 2) extended credit period for dues to OMCs and 3) moratorium on liabilities.

10:26 AM

Construction sector outlook by Edelweiss Securities

The COVID-19 crisis has hit EPC stocks badly, which have plunged 30-50% over the past two months. We believe near-term outlook for the sector is cloudy and hence tone down assumptions for order intake, revenues, margins and traffic growth. We also assume working capital cycle build-up, cut earnings multiples and use higher discount rates; our FY21E earnings have been revised down 35-70%. We prefer KNR Constructions (BUY) and Ahluwalia Contracts (BUY) which have smaller scale of operations and healthy balance sheets. We upgrade NBCC to ‘HOLD’ from ‘REDUCE’ and downgrade Texmaco Rail to ‘HOLD’ from ‘BUY’, largely due to valuation being attractive and expensive, respectively.

10:20 AM

BROKERAGE RADAR | Edelweiss Securities on Engineering & Capital Goods

The COVID-19 has dislocated humans and industry alike. The consequent lockdown has stalled execution. Since Q4 is an execution-heavy quarter, the lockdown has affected execution and deliveries for most companies under our coverage. All in all, we expect top-line growth to be merely 1% YoY (ex-Bharat Electronics 1% YoY decline) in Q4FY20—the slowest growth in five years. Indeed, companies stand to gain from lower commodity prices, but negative operating leverage is bound to kick in and dwarf such gains. Hence, we expect EBITDA margin to dip 50bps YoY. While diversified companies, particularly L&T, have managed to bag orders, most other companies are likely to suffer double-digit contraction in new orders. Vendor/sub-contractor support and weak infra payment cycles would hurt working capital and, hence, cash flows in the near term. We prefer companies that have continually tweaked business models and ensured sustainability and long-term scalability in spite of disruption. L&T, Siemens, BEL, and BHFC remain our top picks.

10:13 AM

India VIX continues to drop, falls below 50-mark

10:07 AM

SHARP SURGE:: IndusInd Bank up 7%

10:06 AM

RUPEE OPENING | Rupee opens at 75.96 vs US dollar against Monday's close of 76.27

10:03 AM

REVISED GUIDELINES ON COVID-19 LOCKDOWN MEASURES

-- Permitted activities from April 20 aimed at ensuring agri activities are functional.

-- Rural economy functions with maximum efficiency.

-- Employment opportunities are created for daily wage earners

-- Select industrial activities are allowed to resume their operations

-- Select industrial activities can resume operations with adequate safeguards

9:59 AM

NEWS ALERT | Govt issues revised guidelines on what will remain shut & what will restart from April 20

9:54 AM

MARKET UPDATE:: Sensex regains momentum

9:50 AM

Metropolis Healthcare share price falls 14% after block deals

Shares of Metropolis Healthcare slumped 14 per cent to Rs 1,152 on the BSE on Wednesday after more than 13 per cent of the company's equity changed hands via block deals in early morning trade. At 09:15 am, around 6.76 million shares, representing 13.5 per cent of the healthcare services company's total equity, changed hands on the BSE, the exchange data shows. The names of the buyers were not ascertained immediately. READ MORE

9:46 AM

Low consumption deepens SBI Cards' woes as Covid-19 lockdown gets extended

Termed as the mother of all IPOs, expectations were high from SBI Cards. Being the first IPO of a credit card company in India, investors were willing to overlook concerns, including its pricey valuation of 46x its FY20 estimated earnings. However, between the time of floating the issue and listing, market conditions started worsening, thus leading to the stock closing at Rs 683 on the BSE, below its IPO price of Rs 755, on listing day. The situation has worsened since then. READ MORE 

SBI cards