Sensex ends 416 pts higher as financials gain on Rs 50k cr lifeline for MFs

All that happened in the markets today

12:09 PM

NEWS ALERT | Tata Steel board approves allotment of debentures worth Rs 1,000 cr at 7.7% to identified investor on private placement basis

12:07 PM

MARKET VOICE | Shyam Sekhar on management commentaries amid Covid-19 woes

12:00 PM

NEWS ALERT :: Glad to see prompt action by RBI, says P Chidambaram

11:59 AM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Emkay Global Fin Services on ICICI Pru Life

TP: Rs 374 | Rating: HOLD

Though we remain comfortable on the valuation, we are resuming ICICI Pru Life with a Hold rating and a revised TP of Rs 374 at 1.8x March’22E EV (earlier Rs 540 at 2.4x Sep’21E EV). We believe that a better product mix and diversified distribution channels would be vital in the coming year amid the current lockdowns and social distancing. We expect VNB margins to decline to ~19.1%/20.4% for FY21/22E against ~21.7% currently on the back of the rising share of ULIPs

and consistently elevated dependence on bancassurance channels.

11:57 AM

Heatmap: All Sensex constituents in the green

11:51 AM

EXPERT COMMENT | Dr. Joseph Thomas, HoR - Emkay Wealth on RBI’s announcement of Rs 50K cr special liquidity facility for MFs

“The closure of its six debt schemes by FT has resulted in eroding the confidence of investors to a large extent . This usually results in more redemptions and may lead to liquidity problems for the mutual fund industry, when many of them already have negative cash in debt funds. So, more than a crisis of liquidity,  it is a crisis of confidence. In order to bring back confidence the RBI has announced the liquidity support measures for the mutual funds specifically. This will serve to alleviate the fears in the minds of investors and also dissuade many from getting into the redemption mode. Even then, the after effects of the low-rated credit risk fund portfolios may haunt the mutual funds for some more time to come because of the economic slowdown and the resultant sluggishness in economic activity emanating from the pandemic. A timely and extremely laudable action from the RBI.”

11:44 AM

NEWS ALERT | Dr Reddy's launches Fenofibrate tablets in the US market: BSE filing

11:41 AM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Edelweiss Securities on Mindtree

Mindtree’s Q4FY20 numbers topped expectations—revenue, up 1.2% QoQ USD, outclassed Street’s 0.3% estimate while adjusted EBIT margin, up 150bps QoQ to 13.5%, also beat the forecast. Top-line growth was again driven by the top account while the Hi-tech vertical masked the softness in other verticals. The constant improvement in delivery capabilities is mainly due to almost zero supply-side snags in a quarter marred by operational challenges for the industry at large. Given its strong deal-wins (record USD393mn), Mindtree looks better positioned than mid-cap peers to weather the imminent near-term storm as demand may hit its nadir in H1FY21E. This coupled with an expanding margin trajectory, not to mention a strong USD (weak INR), underpins our unchanged 18x Q2FY22E EPS. The stock is trading at 17.6x FY21E EPS. Retain ‘BUY’ with a TP of Rs 945.

11:38 AM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Anand Rathi Shares on Infrastructure

The recent relaxation of the lockdown augurs well, but the extent of resumption of work would depend on workers available (fear of further migration once the lockdown is lifted), raw material available (disrupted supply-chains need to come back) and local Covid-19 spread.   

 

Top picks: KNR Constructions, PNC Infratech and Ahluwalia Contracts. With their strong balance sheets, they are likely to emerge from this stronger than ever. 

11:36 AM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Motilal Oswal Financial Services on NBFCs

We believe that companies under our coverage would be comfortable over the next 3-6 months in terms of liquidity, assuming no moratorium on bank funding and all fixed expenses being taken care off. However, funding cost is likely to remain high due to risk aversion from the banking system and tight capital markets. With some normalcy returning, we expect securitization/assignment transactions to likely pick up first from a funding perspective. We continue to prefer companies with low leverage, strong product class and parentage. HDFC Ltd remains a preferred pick in NBFC. We believe the business model of vehicle financiers is extremely sound and has limited competition from the banking system; also, current valuations are attractive for long-term investors. However, near-term volatility is likely to continue due to uncertainty in the underlying product segment and significant disruption in cash flow of customers that they cater to. In the descending order, our preference is Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co (CIFC), Shriram Transport Finance (SHTF) and Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (MMFS).

11:36 AM

NEWS ALERT | Lincoln Pharma gets nod to manufacture HCQ and HCQ tablets to fight COVID-19: BSE filing

-- Gets nod from fom Food and Drug Control Administration, Gujarat for HCQ Mfg

11:31 AM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Edelweiss Securities on ICICI Prudential Life

RATING | BUY | Target Price: Rs 500

The stock is trading at 2.0x FY21E P/EV—by far the cheapest among the Big Three private life insurers—in the wake of its recent market share loss. I Pru Life’s balance sheet is protected by its steadfast refusal to join the deferred guarantee non-par savings bonanza last fiscal. While opinions differ on suitability and adequacy of interest rate hedges assumed by its top private competitors, the company’s balance sheet health remains assuredly indifferent to interest rate drops. We maintain ‘BUY/SO’.

11:28 AM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: ICICI Securities on Mindtree

The company has seen strong execution in Q4FY20 while it has seen strong deal wins. MindTree’s long term strategy of annuity type deal wins, long run margins in the range of 17-18% and robust deal wins makes us positive on the stock from a long run perspective. However, the current price factors in most of the positives. Hence, we maintain our HOLD rating on the stock with  a target price of Rs 885/share.

11:20 AM

NEWS ALERT :: India Ratings cuts India's FY21 GDP growth forecast to 1.9% from 3.6%

>> The growth projection is lowest in 29 years

>> India-Ra expects growth to come back to Q4FY20 levels only in Q3FY21

Alert: Assuming partial lockdown to continue till May 2020

         Last lowest GDP of 1.1% was in FY92

11:12 AM

After strong FY20, Alembic Pharma's FY21 outlook, too, remains firm

The domestic market growth revival helped steady the ship for the company, which has continued to see regular traction in the US. The branded India sales (28 per cent of overall) grew 13 per cent year-on-year, ahead of India pharma market growth. The supply chain streamlining is now over and strategic changes made by the company are beginning to show results. The company expects its diverse portfolio with a steady pipeline of speciality medicines to support growth. Analysts thus expect double-digit growth to continue with market share increases. READ MORE