Indices end flat on F&O expiry; Sensex down 25 pts, Nifty below 10,400

All that happened in the markets today.

11:12 AM

Must Read: Nifty 10,075 last reliable support for market, long-term trend yet bullish

The trading pattern remains volatile. But, nervousness may be easing off as the market adjusts to the Punjab National Bank scam. The global trading pattern has been less volatile this week.

 

However, India had its worst settlement in a while with the Nifty losing over 6.2 per cent going into settlement day. It's still too early to judge if this is a big trend reversal, or an intermediate correction. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

11:03 AM

Gitanjali tanks 61% in seven days, PC Jeweller plunges 42% in one month

Shares of gems and jewellery companies continued under pressure falling by up to 61% in past one month on concerns of tighter regulations after the fraud at the state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB).
 

Gitanjali Gems is locked in lower circuit for the sixth straight trading sessions, down 5% at Rs 26.10, also its fresh low on the BSE. READ MORE

10:49 AM

JM Financial to sell 32% stake in Sona BLW to private equity investors

JM Financial is cashing out of automobile components giant Sona BLW Precision Forgings, by selling its 32 per cent stake to private equity (PE) investors at a profit. The deal is expected to be closed very soon. Sona BLW is the world’s largest manufacturer of differential gears, with a 11 per cent global share. READ MORE

10:39 AM

Market Check

S&P BSE Sensex	33,740.76		-0.31%
Nifty 50	10,358.10		-0.38%
S&P BSE 200	4,530.84		-0.31%
Nifty 500	9,137.65		-0.33%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	16,379.45		-0.20%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	17,778.06		-0.12%

10:38 AM

PNB and Rotomac scams to offset gains from bank recapitalisation

Exposure to recent instances of fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Rotomac may offset gains from the government’s capital infusion programme for Union Bank of India and Allahabad Bank. The two public sector banks (PSBs) are reeling from high non-performing assets (NPAs). READ MORE

10:25 AM

INTERVIEW OF THE DAY Sensex can dip to 30k; PNB scam dents investors' confidence: Marc Faber

After a strong start to 2018, markets have been on a roller-coaster ride over the past few weeks. MARC FABER, Editor and Publisher of ‘The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report’ in conversation with Puneet Wadhwa says that he is not in a rush to invest right now as he expects the markets to drift lower going ahead. He, however, remains bullish on Indian equities from a long-term perspective. CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW

10:14 AM

PFC, REC shares hit 52-week lows

Shares of state-owned power finance companies, Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) have hit their respective fresh 52-week lows on the BSE in early morning trade on Thursday.
 

REC hit low of Rs 136 and PFC touched low of Rs 103, down nearly 1% each on the BSE in intra-day trade so far. READ MORE

10:02 AM

Most of top equity schemes underperform in latest market correction

Most top equity schemes-with assets in excess of Rs 100 billion-have underperformed their respective benchmarks in the past month.
 

At a time when the benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices have fallen by 5 per cent, the average return for 14 such large schemes has been a negative 6 per cent. READ MORE

9:55 AM

Deal wins, demand growth to sustain L&T IT twins' outperformance

Two information technology (IT) services stocks from the L&T stable - L&T Infotech and L&T Technology Services - are riding high, even as the sector is coming to grips with a gradual rebound in demand from global clients and the Street remains cautiously optimistic.

 

Given the strong outlook of the two companies, both stocks have nearly doubled over the previous six months and outperformed their peers as well as the IT sector by a mile. READ MORE

9:53 AM

Edelweiss on DLF

The company plans to focus on liquidating inventory in the high-end Gurgaon residential market apart from scaling up its fairly well balanced commercial/retail portfolio. Sales pick up in Devco along with ramp up in leasing portfolio will boost cash flow generation, in our view. Pending clarity on proposed deconsolidation of

DCCDL, we maintain our estimates and ‘BUY’ recommendation with a target price of Rs 273.

9:52 AM

Edelweiss on JK Cement

JKCE is on solid turf given: i) its grey segment will benefit from rising industry clinker utilisation; ii) recently announced capex offers visibility on future growth; and iii) steady growth in robust white cement business entails potential to mitigate risks in grey cement business. Factoring superior RoE over peers, we continue to value JKCE at 11x FY20E EV/EBIDTA and maintain ‘BUY/SO’ with target price of Rs 1,371. Disappointment in price/volume trend or huge jump in energy cost are key risks.

9:51 AM

Bond rout may not be enough for India to let more foreigners in

As India’s sovereign bonds suffer their worst selloff in almost two decades, the one group who actually wants to buy them looks likely to remain shut out of most of the market. The Reserve Bank of India is expected to review the cap on foreign investment in rupee notes, currently set at around 5%, in March or April. It will be the first reassessment since 2015, and comes as 10-year yields have risen to a two-year high, the budget deficit widens and India’s state-run banks have been dumping the debt. READ MORE

9:51 AM

Edelweiss on Hindustan Zinc

We believe that production ramp up with supportive zinc (Zn) macros will result in EPS CAGR of 15% through to FY20E. We raise FY19/20 MM production estimates by 3% each resulting in 4% higher EPS as compared to earlier estimates. Our revised target price stands at Rs 395 (Rs 385 earlier; 13.3x FY20E EPS). Maintain BUY. 

9:49 AM

Equinomics Research on M&M

Recovery in rural markets and the recent expansion and investments done by the company improves visibility of recovery in volumes in both core businesses and its subsidiaries. At the current market price the stock trades at 19.6x its FY2018E EPS of Rs.36.1 and at 16.9x its FY2019E EPS of Rs.41.8. We recommend a BUY on the stock with a target price of Rs.815, which is 19.4x its FY2019E EPS

9:45 AM

BSE smallcap: Gitanjali Gems, RattanIndia Infrastructure among top losers