MARKET: Sensex slips 544 pts from day's high, ends 167 pts up; PSBs decline

All that happened in the markets today

The 50-share index Nifty of NSE ended at 8,879, up 56 points or 0.63 per cent.

The domestic equity market ended on a positive note on Tuesday, after three straight sessions of losses but failed to hold on to day's high levels as selling in banking stocks continued. Telecom major Bharti Airtel was the stock of the day as it hit a new lifetime high of Rs 603 during the day after the company reported a healthy 15.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in consolidated revenue at Rs 23,723 crore for the quarter ended March 2020 (Q4FY20). The stock ended at Rs 599, up over 11 per cent on the BSE.

ONGC was another stock that remained in focus and ended around 6 per cent higher at Rs 77 apiece on the BSE amid rise in oil prices. READ MORE

The S&P BSE Sensex today ended at 30,196, up 167 points or 0.56 per cent. 22 of 30 constituents ended in the green and rest 8 in the red. IndusInd Bank (down over 2 per cent) was the biggest loser on the index while Bharti Airtel ended as the top gainer.

The 50-share index Nifty of NSE ended at 8,879, up 56 points or 0.63 per cent. Volatility index, India VIX, slipped 4.42 per cent to 39.10 levels.

On the sectoral front, shares of public sector banks were under pressure, with the Nifty PSU Bank index hitting an over 15-year low. At the close, Nifty PSU Bank index stood at 1,087 levels, down 29 points or 2.6 per cent. It was the top loser among sectoral indices. READ MORE

Nifty Bank slipped 0.5 per cent to 17,486.25 levels.

On the other hand, metal and auto stocks were among the top gainers. NIfty Metal index gained over 1 per cent and Nifty Auto was up 1 per cent at 5,486 levels.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index edged higher by 0.52 per cent and the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended flat, down just 0.2 per cent.

Global markets

Asian shares extended gains on Tuesday as more countries emerged from their economic lockdowns and a successful early-stage trial of a coronavirus vaccine cheered sentiment, although oil shed some of its early moves higher. The rally followed a firmer Wall Street lead after data from Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine, the first to be tested in the United States, showed it produced protective antibodies in a small group of healthy volunteers.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.8 per cent to two-week highs. Australia’s benchmark index and Hong Kong’s Hang Sang were the lead gainers, up 2 per cent each, South Korea added 2.3 per cent while China’s blue-chip index climbed 0.8 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei added nearly 2 per cent to the highest since early March.

European shares, however, pulled back after a rally in the previous session.

In commodities, oil prices rose slightly. Benchmark Brent crude climbed 7 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $34.88 a barrel at the time of writing of this report, after earlier touching its highest since April 9. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 70 cents, or 2.2 per cent, at $32.52 a barrel.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:06 PM

MARKET COMMENT | Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Markets around the world rallied on the back of a positive vaccine trial in the US, because of which Indian markets also witnessed a positive opening. It later pared gains to end up by just around 0.6%. Although trial of the vaccine seemed to give positive results, the development of this is still in the very initial stage and is some time away from approvals and production. Meanwhile in India, confirmed infections crossed the One lakh mark, with no signs of slowing down. Additionally, with the stimulus measures seen to be inadequate to boost demand in the short term, investors need to be cautious in this market, as the uncertainties still persist

3:47 PM

SECTOR WATCH | Here's how sectoral indices on the NSE performed today

3:45 PM

MARKET AT CLOSE | Gainers and losers on the S&P BSE Sensex

3:36 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 30,196, up 167 points or 0.56 per cent while Nifty ended at 8,879, up 56 points or 0.63 per cent.

3:26 PM

MARKET CHECK

3:15 PM

MARKET UPDATE | RIL declines around 2.5%

3:07 PM

MARKET CHECK | Top 5 losers on the BSE at this hour

3:06 PM

PSBs sanctioned loans worth Rs 6.45 trn in lockdown between Mar 1-May 15

"Loans worth over Rs 6.45 trillion were sanctioned by PSBs during March 1 May 15 for 54.96 lakh accounts from MSME, Retail, Agriculture & Corporate sectors; A notable increase compared to the Rs 5.95 trillion sanctioned as of May 8," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a tweet. READ MORE

2:58 PM

MARKET UPDATE :: Adani Group stocks rally

>> Shares of Adani Power, Adani Ports, Adani Gas and Adani Enterprises were up between 5 per cent and 15 per cent on the BSE

2:52 PM

MARKET UPDATE:: Vodafone Idea up 15% at Rs 5.37 on the back of heavy volumes

2:49 PM

European indices slip

2:44 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW | Emkay Global Financial Services on L&T Finance Holdings

TP: Rs 48 (12 months) | Rating: SELL | Upside: 8.4%

We have been Negative on LTFH even before the Covid-19 crisis, citing sluggish growth trend, cyclicality in the business model and uncertainties over asset quality. Moreover, elevated exposure to developer finance (~15% of AUM) and delinquencies from non- focused book (~5% of AUM) were other concerns. Q4 performance reflects the same.
LTFH has reported a dip in AUM by ~1% yoy to Rs983bn (-1% qoq), while disbursements continued downward momentum at Rs82.1bn (down by ~36% yoy, ~14% qoq). Reported PAT declined by ~30.3% yoy (-8.7% qoq) amid a fall in margins, low fee income and elevated operating expenses and provisioning charges.
The company provided Rs2.1bn as Covid-19-related provisions (~0.25% of AUM), with total provisions on book (excluding GS3 provisions) at Rs10.6bn (~1.19% of book). However, considering the existing book under moratorium (~37% as on March’20 and increasing Q1FY21) as well as riskier asset exposure, the same is far lower.
We remain appreciative of liability franchise, however we expect AUM decline to continue. We have cut our estimates by 7%/1.9% for FY21/22E and have introduced FY23E. We reiterate Sell, with a revised TP of Rs48 (Rs55 previously), corresponding to 0.6x P/FY22E book. We maintain UW stance in our NBFC EAP.

2:34 PM

Govt's recent reforms won't help ailing power sector: CARE Ratings

A study by CARE Ratings notes that the ailing power sector does not stand to gain from the reforms in the short term, with accumulated coal inventory climbing to 51 million tonnes (as on May 13). The nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the Covid-19 pandemic has sapped power demand. Power demand has tumbled significantly during the lockdown period primarily due to falling demand from commercial and industrial consumers. READ MORE