MARKETS ON MONDAY: Nifty ends above 10,700, IT stocks gain, RIL down 3%

Benchmark indices hit a near three-month high on Monday, as technology shares gained.

1:16 PM

Has LTCG tipped the balance in favour of Ulips?

The introduction of long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on equities seems to be harsh for retail investors. But it also seems to have made unit-linked insurance plans a better option than mutual funds. The tax, which will be levied at the rate of 10 per cent if equities are sold after one year, will be imposed without any indexation benefit. The relief: long-term capital gains up to Rs 100,000 will be exempt. Since there is no LTCG tax on Ulips, many mutual fund investors would wonder if the former is a better option after this recent tweak in taxation. Here's a comparison of these two products across various parameters to help investors decide. READ MORE

1:00 PM

Market Mind: Some interesting stories

These are interesting stories one has picked up across travels of the last month.

 

Somany Ceramics’ 2017-18 has been a washout of a year due to GST (goods and services tax). This intrigued; most companies had got over the GST-induced destocking pains by the second quarter. Somany explained how the unorganised trade in Gujarat has figured out a way to beat GST and the differential they enjoy (presently!) over the organised manufacturers (who pay taxes and are therefore priced higher) has increased after GST -- and that GST implementation could still take a year to stabilise. READ MORE

12:48 PM

Disaster recovery sites of exchanges under focus as NCDEX volumes fall

Volumes on the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) fell sharply after the bourse shifted trading to a disaster recovery (DR) site mid-April. A DR site is an alternative scaled-down trading facility that exchanges use when the primary set-up becomes dysfunctional.

 

The decision to migrate had to be taken after some cables were damaged in an accidental fire on April 16, in the building that houses the NCDEX office in Kanjurmarg, Mumbai. Trading operations were normalised a day after the exchange moved site. READ MORE

12:33 PM

Don't let doubts about blockchains close your mind

Many people, when they hear the word “blockchain,” think of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Yet there is another feature of the blockchain afoot, one which promises to bring a new and radical decentralisation to technology, including social media. Or as it was reported on Twitter: “Silicon Valley used to be a counterculture. It’s not anymore. It is the establishment. The crypto community is the new counterculture.”
 

The basic idea of a blockchain, in its purest form, is to set up a record-keeper and adjudicator that does not rely on any specific third party or outside institution. The details are complex, and I will put aside the cryptographic elements of the mechanism, but imagine paying caretakers who update or validate a public ledger for recording who owns what. READ MORE

12:16 PM

DSP Group, BlackRock may part ways in asset management venture

DSP Group and BlackRock, the world’s largest investment management firm, have entered into discussions to end their existing 60:40 joint venture (JV) in asset management company DSP BlackRock Investment Managers, said two people in the know.

DSP BlackRock is among the top 10 fund houses in the country and managed assets worth about Rs 860 billion as of March 2018. The DSP Group, headed by Hemendra Kothari, is one of the oldest financial services firms in India. BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager with over $6 trillion in assets under management (AUM) as of December 2017. READ MORE

12:02 PM

Market Check

 

S&P BSE Sensex	35,197.47		0.65%
Nifty 50	10,751.00		0.55%
S&P BSE 200	4,727.31		0.63%
Nifty 500	9,496.75		0.56%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	17,000.50		0.49%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	18,361.95		0.67%

11:51 AM

DBS Q1 profit jumps 26% to record on strong loans growth

 

DBS Group Holdings, Singapore's biggest lender, beat market estimates with a 26 percent rise in first-quarter net profit to a record high, powered by strong loan growth in a strengthening economy.

 

The robust showing by DBS, which kicked off results for the sector, comes after the bank and its peers OCBC and United Overseas Bank posted record profits last year on broad-based growth in businesses such as wealth management. READ MORE

11:30 AM

RBI removes minimum maturity cap for FPI investment in bond market

 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in an attempt to keep foreign investors invested in the local bond market, late on Friday said they could invest in any maturity they wished for instead of the restrictive clause earlier that the investment must be in paper that had at least three years left to mature.

 

“The minimum residual maturity requirement for central government securities and state development loan categories stands withdrawn, subject to the condition that investment in securities with residual maturity below one year by an FPI under either category shall not exceed, at any point of time, 20 per cent of the total investment of that FPI in that category,” the RBI said in a notification on its website. READ MORE

11:15 AM

Stocks at 52-week high

COMPANY	PRICE()	52 WK HIGH	CHG()	CHG(%)
ASHOKA BUILDCON	285.00	294.95	9.85	3.58
AVENUE SUPER.	1523.90	1534.00	40.15	2.71
BERGER PAINTS	283.15	287.30	3.55	1.27
BOMBAY DYEING	305.25	310.05	15.15	5.22
BRITANNIA INDS.	5495.40	5532.00	38.55	0.71

11:01 AM

RBI's days of heavy currency intervention may have started

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started intervening in the currency market, a move, many players say, would be a one-way street because the rupee is expected to remain volatile and weaken further.

 

The RBI’s official stand is that it doesn’t target a level for the rupee but irons out volatility. The volatility in the currency market increased recently. READ MORE
 

10:43 AM

Aditya Ghosh quits as IndiGo prez; stock rebounds after 6% fall on Friday

Shares of Interglobe Aviation rebounded, gaining 1% on Monday after falling over 6% on Friday after IndiGo announced today that Aditya Ghosh will step down as President and is likely to be replaced by one of its former executives Gregory Taylor. It said Rahul Bhatia, a promoter of the company, has been appointed as the interim CEO. READ MORE

10:26 AM

MUST READ Party in mid-cap IT stocks to continue: MindTree, Zensar gain of over 35%

Mid-cap IT stocks have been in the limelight, gaining 20-40 per cent over the last month with a large chunk of the gains coming over the last couple of weeks driven by improving deal pipeline, growing digital business and rupee depreciation. While MindTree and Zensar Technologies posted gains of over 35 per cent, Mphasis, NIIT Tech and the L&T software twins gained upwards of 19 per cent CLICK HERE FOR MORE

10:20 AM

Anand Rathi on Indoco Remidies

We believe that the recent non-compliance certificate from the UK MHRA would hurt Indoco’s revenue from Europe (EU) for 3-4 months. Also, delay in supply to the US from its Goa plant II would drag down overall revenue and earnings. Considering the sharp fall in the stock price, we retain our Hold on the stock, with a revised target price of Rs 227

10:18 AM

Reliance Industries falls over 2% post Q4 earnings results

Reliance Indutries (RIL) fell over 2% after the company’s consolidated finance cost jump to Rs 25.66 billion as against Rs 5.56 billion in the last quarter of 2016-17, and Rs 21 billion in the December 2017 quarter.

 

The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 94.35 billion for the quarter ending March 31 (Q4) on the back of improved performance of its petrochemical and retail businesses. The profit was largely in line with the estimates and represents a 17.3 per cent increase over Rs 80.46 billion reported in the year ago quarter. READ MORE

10:04 AM

Elara Capital on SAIL

Domestic demand is expected to improve on the back of the government thrust on infrastructure and improvement in economic activities. We believe higher volume and realization, aided by improving macro, will bolster earnings. Since our Q3FY18 quarterly update, we have reduced our volume estimates to 18mn tonnes from 19mn tonnes for FY20 and increase our tax outflow estimates by 120%, given no clarification from the company on deferred tax assets. 

Reiterate Buy with a revised target price of Rs 107 from Rs 114 based on 1.1x (unchanged) FY20E P/B, given expected improvement in operational performance and favorable macros.