Indices end at record closing highs on Modi win hangover; Sensex up 623 pts

All that happened in the markets today

9:00 AM

US-China trade war escalation could jeopardise global growth in 2019: IMF

The escalation of trade tension between the US and China has the potential to disrupt the global supply chains and jeopardise the projected recovery in growth in 2019, the IMF warned Thursday, over 10 days after President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. READ MORE

8:59 AM

New govt should provide fiscal stimulus, with the very first budget

Elections are often checkpoints, in an economy and the market's long-term journey. This 2019 checkpoint is now past, and with no big surprises, should allow the government and the market to quickly focus on the road ahead. One of the bigger positives of this election verdict is that the new government should have a fair idea of the road map, has the policymaking engine running, and can get to work immediately. It also comes after a fairly bumpy economic ride over the last term — where a fair amount of economic reform (GST, IBC) was initiated, and India’s corporate and small business sector has been restructuring, and taking fair pain.  READ MORE

8:57 AM

Jet Airways' future up in the air as Hindujas, Etihad fail to strike a deal

Jet Airways’ future remained uncertain as Hinduja Group and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways failed to make headway in their negotiations for joint ownership of the airline.

 

Simultaneously, it has been learnt that lenders have expressed reservations to consider the unsolicited bids, as they find them lacking financial and managerial depth. READ MORE

8:55 AM

Grasim Ind, Ashok Leyland, RNAM, Cipla, Greaves Cotton top stocks to watch

Here's a look at the top stocks that may remain in focus today -

 

Earnings today: Around 170 companies including Grasim Industries, Ashok Leyland, Bata India, and Indraprastha Gas are slated to release their March quarter results today.

 

Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management: The company's promoter Reliance Capital will do an OFS (offer-for-sale) for 8.66 per cent of its stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (RNAM) at a floor price of Rs 218 per share. READ MORE

8:53 AM

NEWS ALERT | Won't be surprised if RBI moves to 'neutral' stance: Desai to CNBC TV18

- See likelihood of a rate cut

- PSU banks suffer from lack of capital, not deposits

- Bimal Jalan's report on RBI Capital framework to be watched

8:48 AM

L&T acquires 450,000 shares of Mindtree, hikes shareholding to 26.93%

Infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) on Thursday acquired over 4.5 lakh shares of Mindtree from open market, taking its shareholding in the IT services firm to 26.93 per cent, according to a regulatory filing.

 

"Larsen and Toubro Ltd has acquired 4,50,687 equity shares (with a face value of Rs 10 each) of Mindtree Ltd on May 23, 2019," a Mindtree filing said. READ MORE

8:47 AM

NEWS ALERT | Clear signs from markets that it is done with elections: Desai to CNBC TV18

- Nifty's reaction to elections yesterday was puzzling

- Midcaps will continue to outperform

8:45 AM

NEWS ALERT | Oil and Trade biggest concerns in H2: Desai

8:45 AM

NEWS ALERT | India least affected by US-China trade war: Ridham Desai, Morgan Stanley to CNBC TV18

8:37 AM

Domestic pharma companies eye robust growth from US market in FY20

While companies continue to face regulatory pressure leading to higher costs, they see an uptick from the launch of differentiated and high-margin products. “We expect FY20 to be fairly strong with most of our focused markets expected to show reasonable growth in the coming financial year . Our growth will be driven by wider portfolio, limited competition and complex generic launches,” said a Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL) spokesperson. READ MORE

8:33 AM

Jobs to infra: India Inc hopes for economic revival under NDA 2.0

A decisive mandate for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Thursday has raised expectations of a higher pace of economic reforms. Coming a day after the United Nations (UN) lowered its FY20 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for India, corporate leaders said a stable government at the Centre will help boost infrastructure spend, address agricultural distress, and encouraging employment. READ MORE

8:30 AM

Goldman sets Nifty target at 12,500; wants govt to carry out 4 key reforms

Global research and brokerage firm Goldman Sachs has pegged the Nifty50 target at 12,500 over the medium term and sees mid-teens growth in earnings, which it says is likely to drive the index towards the target.

 

The Nifty50 index hit the 12,000-mark for the first time ever on Thursday, after the outcome of Lok Sabha elections 2019 brought the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) back to power for a second consecutive term. READ MORE

8:27 AM

Nippon Life, Reliance Capital sign deal for sale of mutual fund arm

Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Capital (RCap) has signed a definitive agreement with Nippon Life to sell its stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (RNAM). Under the agreement, the Japanese firm will hike its shareholding in RNAM from 42.88 per cent to 75 per cent by buying shares from public shareholders and RCap. READ MORE

8:25 AM

Kotak Securities on VA Tech Wabag

Recommendation: ADD

Traget price: Rs 335

 

VA Tech (VAW) reported weak set of numbers which were lower than our estimates on revenue and profit front. EBITDA margin bore the brunt of lower revenues as some key overseas projects are yet to pick up momentum. On the positive side, order wins have been healthy in FY19, thereby leading to much improved order book.

 

Revenue declined 35% y-o-y in Q4FY19 as recently won major orders in overseas markets are yet to pick up full execution momentum.

Consequently, margins declined sharply on lower revenue booking and resultant negative operating leverage. Forex translation loss of Rs 64 mn (Rs 62 mn in Q4FY19) further weighed on the margins.

8:21 AM

Second Modi govt faces task of perking up economy despite fund crunch

The Narendra Modi dispensation has little time to celebrate the landslide win in the Lok Sabha election as it will have to immediately address challenges facing the economy, which is witnessing a slowdown.

 

While the economy is stuck at 7-7.2 per cent growth for the last two financial years, and is not expected to grow any better this time, the government found hard to meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.4 per cent for FY19. The challenge now is to turn around the economy in these circumstances. READ MORE