F&O expiry: Sensex soars 997 pts on Covid-19 drug hopes; auto, IT stks gain

All that happened in the markets today

12:39 PM

MARKET CHECK | HUL slips over 2.5% ahead of March quarter results

12:30 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Emkay Global Fin Services on Auto Ancillaries

• Amid the overall weakness in Autos in FY21, marginal growth is expected in the Lead Acid Battery (LAB) segment, driven by an upsurge in aftermarket demand (14%/6% growth in 2W/other vehicular volumes likely in FY21E) stemming from the replacement of old and discharged batteries post the removal of lockdowns.
• Lead, which is the key input commodity, constitutes ~70% of RM costs, and global lead prices have corrected by ~15% in the past three months. Despite the increase in competition and notable pass-through to customers, we expect an improvement of up to 50bps in FY21E gross margin for EXID and AMRJ.
• EXID is working toward a shift to a two-tier distribution model, as it will provide better reach and reduce costs. During the transition period, there could be a shift of some of EXID’s retailers from exclusive to multi-brand outlets, resulting in some market share losses.
• We expect revenue/EBITDA growth at 8%/10% for AMRJ and 6%/8% for EXID over FY20- 22E. Driven by expectations of a quick recovery, low fixed costs, margin support from benign lead prices and healthy liquidity position, we maintain Buy on AMRJ (TP: Rs624) and EXID (TP: Rs189).

12:18 PM

STOCK ALERT | Just Dial approves buyback worth up to Rs 220 cr at maximum Rs 700/share; stock up 7%

12:13 PM

DELTA CORP | RK Damani sells 4 lakh shares in March quarter; stake now at 1.17% vs 1.32% in December

12:12 PM

Polycab India shares hit 5% upper circuit ahead of board meet tomorrow

Shares of Polycab India were locked in 5 per cent upper circuit at Rs 725 on the BSE on Thursday ahead of tomorrow's board meeting to consider and approve the proposal for investment / acquisition of shares. Till 11:36 am, a combined 134,000 equity shares had changed hands on the counter and there were pending buy orders for around 40,000 shares on the BSE and NSE so far. READ MORE

12:03 PM

BUZZING STOCK | Vedanta surges 7.5%

12:03 PM

NEWS ALERT | SC refuses to interfere with RBI's moratorium circular: CNBC TV18

-- RBI may examine the implementation of the mortaorium circular: SC
 

- Proper guidelines for the enforcement of the circular should be in place: SC

11:55 AM

MSCI India rebalancing to stoke FPI inflows to the tune of Rs 1,900 cr

Domestic equities are expected to see inflows to the tune of $250 million (Rs 1,900 crore) on account of the semi-annual rebalancing of the MSCI India Index, which is tracked by funds worth $14 billion (Rs 1 trillon), according to domestic brokerage Emkay Global. The rebalancing is scheduled to take place on May 12, and the changes will become effective from June 1. READ MORE  

11:45 AM

Why all eyes will be on the expiry of Brent oil futures this week

The expiry of the June contract for Brent oil futures in Europe on Thursday will possibly be the most watched event in oil markets for some time after the US benchmark plummeted below zero for the first time in history last week. The coronavirus pandemic has killed oil demand as over four billion people are in lockdown and last week, ahead of its contract expiry, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures crashed deep into negative territory making it a liability for anyone holding it. READ MORE

11:37 AM

From overweight to underweight, how sentiments have changed for banks

Last week’s move by Christopher Woods, global head, equity strategy, Jefferies, to remove HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank from the brokerage’s Asia ex-Japan thematic equity portfolio, after retaining them for almost a decade, came as a shock. Ridham Desai, managing director, Morgan Stanley, turning neutral on banking stocks on Tuesday was another big blow. READ MORE

11:27 AM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Emkay Global Fin Services on Hexaware Technologies

Despite the slight beat in net profit supported by forex gains, we leave our operating estimates and earnings estimates unchanged. We also introduce CY22E EPS at Rs25.6. We retain Hold, with a revised TP of Rs280 (vs. Rs 260 earlier) as we roll over to Mar’22 (vs. Dec’21 earlier), based on an unchanged target P/E multiple of 11x. The recent run-up in the stock price suggests absolute downsides driving us to reduce our slight OW in the name to EW.

11:23 AM

Tech Mahindra Q4 preview: What analysts expect; key things to watch out for

So far, IT companies have reported mixed sets of numbers for the quarter ended March 2020. Mindtree posted strong numbers — and its highest-ever deal wins, at $393 million — and its management's commentary on deal pipeline and room for margin expansion was more optimistic than those of its bigger peers. READ MORE

11:17 AM

MARKET ALERT :: These 10 stocks have seen their market price gain over 100% in the month of April

>> These include Mcleod Russel, Jain Irrigation, Opto Circuits, Sanwaria Consumer, Sintex Plastics, Kellton Tech, Reliance Infrastructure, Sakuma Exports, Bajaj Hindusthan and Eros International Media

11:07 AM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: HDFC Securities on Max Financial Services

JV with Axis Bank provides long-term distribution capability to the business and ends uncertainty and market anxiety on the future of the current partnership. We expect dependence and hence investments in proprietary channels to reduce, thereby increasing VNB. We rate MAXF a BUY with an increased TP of Rs 560 (Mar-21E EV + 25.0x FY22E VNB).

11:06 AM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Edelweiss Securities on Home decor players

Demand slowdown is likely to be a near-term challenge and has held back our thesis (demand shift from unorganised to organised) from playing out. Operational uncertainty notwithstanding, we believe players with strong balance sheets would be able to navigate this turbulence. Maintain ‘BUY’ on Century Plyboards  (attractive valuation) and ‘HOLD’ on Greenlam Industries.