F&O expiry: Sensex slips 38 pts at 35,867, Nifty at 10,792; IT stocks drag

All that happened in the markets today

12:08 PM

Reliance Securities on ACC

We continue to maintain our positive view on ACC owing to its deep penetration in the rural markets (~80% trade segment volume) and consistent focus on premium products. Looking ahead, we expect its operating performance to improve led by recent up-tick in realisation in select markets. As the current valuations at 11.2x and 9.8x EBITDA of CY19E and CY20E appear to be attractive, we maintain our BUY recommendation on the stock with an unrevised Target Price of Rs 1,700 (12x CY20 EBITDA).

12:04 PM

NEWS ALERT | Bank's gross bad loan reduced by Rs 31,000 crore, says Finance Ministry

12:01 PM

Market check

11:47 AM

Southern cement players in a sweet spot on higher prices across regions

Recent channel checks by brokerages showed an improvement in cement prices across India, for February. The same was being led by South India, where a 16.9 per cent month-on-month (MoM) rise in the price of a 50 kg bag has resulted in a 5.8 per cent improvement in the average all-India cement price MoM, indicates JM Financial’s data. READ MORE

11:35 AM

Most active stocks by volume

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	CHG(rs)	CHG(%)	VOLUME
SUZLON ENERGY	5.71	0.19	3.44	4371931
REL. COMM.	6.38	-0.12	-1.85	2495827
RELIANCE POWER	10.90	0.35	3.32	2220859
ADANI POWER	47.05	-0.75	-1.57	1373273
RELIANCE INFRA.	124.20	-3.80	-2.97	1334497

11:28 AM

ONGC trades ex-interim dividend; stock gains 2%

Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) trading 2 per cent higher at Rs 146 apiece on the BSE which was also the top gainer among the benchmark indices S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 at 10:20 am. The stock of state-owned oil exploration & production (E&P) company adjusted for an interim dividend of Rs 5.25 per share. ONGC has fixed Friday, March 1, 2019, as the record date for determining the eligibility of shareholders for payment of interim dividend. READ MORE

11:15 AM

Weak demand, intense competition may dent Hero MotoCorp's margins

A muted wedding season, coupled with increasing competitive intensity and market share loss, is expected to weigh on Hero MotoCorp’s sales and margins. India’s largest two-wheeler maker is expected to report a 13 per cent year-on-year fall in volumes this month, the highest decline as compared to peers. READ MORE

11:01 AM

Top gainers in BSE 500

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	CHG(rs)	CHG(%)	VOLUME
LINDE INDIA	505.15	39.40	8.46	54104
LAK. VILAS BANK	66.10	3.95	6.36	61570
SECURITY & INTEL	804.05	47.45	6.27	947
SHEELA FOAM	1385.00	75.40	5.76	135
BHARAT DYNAMICS	307.00	16.00	5.50	65519

10:51 AM

CURRENCY WATCH

The USDINR pair closed the February series at 71.08, almost on a flat note as compared to the previous expiry where the pair closed at 71.10 mark.

The cost of carry for the March series was 0.24 paisa, higher than the previous expiry.

The rollover has been around 59.31 per cent as against 62.09 per cent in the previous expiry.

On the options front, Call writing has been seen in the 72.00 strike along with a build-up in open interest, whereas, Put writing and build-up in open interest is witnessed at 71.00 strike.

The support for USDINR March futures is seen at 70.90/70.50 levels, whereas resistance is seen around 72.20 mark.

(Source: Religare Broking)

Photo: Shutterstock

10:41 AM

Bharat Dynamics extends rally; stock soars 26% in two trading days

The stock of the state-owned defence company soared 40 per cent from the level of Rs 226 on February 14, after the company reported a robust net profit of Rs 188 crore in December 2018 quarter (Q3FY19). It had a profit of Rs 6.18 crore in the year-ago quarter. READ MORE

10:31 AM

Sebi declares Phillip Commodities India 'not fit and proper' in NSEL case

Phillip Commodities India is the fifth broker that Sebi has declared “not fit and proper”. On Monday, Sebi had taken a similar action on commodity firms Anand Rathi Commodities and Geofin Comtrade (formerly Geojit Comtrade), after declaring commodity arms of Motilal Oswal and India Infoline as "not fit and proper" last week. READ MORE

10:21 AM

Stock of the day: Jet Airways stock slips 6% after it grounds seven more aircraft

"An additional seven aircraft have been grounded due to non-payment of amounts outstanding to lessors under their respective lease agreements. As mentioned earlier, the company is actively engaged with all its aircraft lessors and regularly provides them with updates on the efforts undertaken by the company to improve its liquidity", the company said in a press release. READ MORE

10:11 AM

Quick Heal Technologies gains 7% as board considers share buyback

Shares of Quick Heal Technologies gained 7 per cent to Rs 216 on the BSE in intraday trade on Thursday, after the company announced that its board will consider share buyback proposal on March 5, 2019. The company on Wednesday, after market hours, said that a meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled to be held on March 5, 2019, to inter alia consider and approve the proposal for buyback of equity shares of the company. READ MORE

10:10 AM

Nomura on Infosys

Infosys is further guiding for possibility of lower margins in 4Q vs 3Q, given back ended nature of investments, large deal transition costs and likely one-off resets to counter high attrition (~20% quarterly annualised attrition as of 3QFY19). Further, from 1QFY20 onwards wage increments and localisation investments in AUS/EUR could come in. This raises risks of a possible cut in FY20F EBIT margin guidance to 21-23% levels (22-24% in FY19F), in our view.

 

10:04 AM

Top gainers on BSE500

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	CHG(rs)	CHG(%)	VOLUME
BHARAT DYNAMICS	312.25	21.25	7.30	42750
LINDE INDIA	498.40	32.65	7.01	34169
LAK. VILAS BANK	65.55	3.40	5.47	47206
SUZLON ENERGY	5.72	0.20	3.62	1340783
SECURITY & INTEL	783.95	27.35	3.61	71