Domestic equity benchmarks ended near the day's high after a robust rally on Thursday. The Nifty managed to close above the 12,100 mark. As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 724.02 points or 1.78% at 41,340.16. The Nifty 50 index jumped 218.80 points or 1.84% at 12,127.30.
Investors monitored the results of the US Presidential election as Joe Biden edged closer to victory. While the outcome of the presidential election was not clear, the odds of Democrats flipping the Senate from Republican control were getting longer. Without both the Senate and the House in Democratic control, it would be unlikely that a president Biden would be able to pass his proposed tax increases on corporations and capital gains.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.74% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.70%.
Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1733 shares rose and 915 shares fell. A total of 180 shares were unchanged.
Reliance Industries rose 2.22% to Rs 1956. RIL said that the SAT, by a 2:1 majority order, has today dismissed the company's appeal against SEBI order dated 24 March 2017, in the matter relating to the sale of RPL shares by the company in November 2007. The company will examine the order passed by the SAT. The company, under proper legal advice, will prefer an appeal to the Supreme Court of India and is confident of vindicating its position.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 4,80,92,115 with 12,25,221 deaths. India reported 5,27,962 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,24,315 deaths while 77,11,809 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
US Election 2020:
According to the latest count, Democratic Party candidate and former vice president Joe Biden has won 264 electoral votes while President Donald Trump has won 214 electoral votes. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the election.
In the Senate, the Republican Party has so far won 48 seats while the Democratic Party has won 46 seats. Either party needs 51 seats for a majority in the Senate.
In the House, the Democratic Party has won 204 seats so far while the Republican Party has won 190 seats. Either party needs 218 seats for a majority in the House.
The US Dow Jones Futures were currently up 249 points and Nasdaq futures were up 232 points.
Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee began meeting on Wednesday, hours after polls closed in the US presidential election which remains undecided. Traders will be watching FOMC's statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference on Thursday to analyse central bank leaders' take on further stimulus measures.
Buzzing Segment:
Shares of the multiplex operators advanced after Maharashtra government allowed the cinema halls, theatres, multiplexes to open with 50% of seating capacity from Thursday, 5 November 2020.
PVR hit an upper circuit of 10% at Rs 1226.25 while Inox Leisure jumped 4.31% at Rs 275.75.
The State Government in an order said multiplexes will be opened only in areas outside containment zone. The development comes after the Central Government issued order on 1 October 2020 permitting to open with upto 50% of their seating capacity, for which, standard operating procedure (SOP) will be issued by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
Earnings Impact:
Lupin shed 0.86% to Rs 936.10. The drug major reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 211 crore in Q2 FY21 compared with net loss of Rs 127.1 crore in Q2 FY20. Net sales during the quarter declined by 1% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 3781.80 crore. On the segmental front, revenue from the formulations business was at Rs 3407.9 crore (up 1.1% YoY) and revenue from the API business was at Rs 373.9 crore (up 22.5% YoY) in Q2 FY21.
In the formulations business, the revenue growth was led by North America (up 5.6% YoY) and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region (up 2% YoY). The biggest revenue contraction was witnessed in the ROW (Rest-of-the-World) market (down 27.4% YoY) followed by Growth Markets (down 3.7% YoY) and India (down 0.7% YoY).
Investment in R&D was Rs 384.3 crore (10.2% of sales) for Q2 FY2021 compared to Rs 357.5 crore (10.3% of sales) for Q1 FY2021.
Pidilite Industries gained 1.75% to Rs 1590 after the company posted a 9.7% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 356.44 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 325 crore in Q2 September 2019. Consolidated net sales for Q2 September 2020 stood at Rs 1,880 crore, rising 4% from Rs 1,806 crore in Q2 September 2019.
Pidilite said the consumer and bazaar segment returned to growth reaching pre-COVID levels in most geographies. Growth was healthy in construction chemicals and DIY products. The Fevicol maker further said that B2B segment continued to face headwinds, however it showed signs of recovery in the latter part of the quarter. International subsidiaries have reported healthy double-digit constant currency growth and domestic subsidiaries continued to witness challenging business conditions. However, performance has continued to improve sequentially during the quarter, the company added.
BASF India soared 9.86% to Rs 1483.90 after the company's consolidated net profit surged to Rs 412.83 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 2.32 crore in Q2 September 2019. Consolidated total income rose to Rs 2462.86 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 2080.59 crore in Q2 September 2019.
HPCL jumped 9.77% to Rs 205. The board of the state-run oil marketing company approved a proposal to buyback shares worth upto Rs 2500 crore at a maximum buyback price of Rs 250 per equity share. At maximum buyback price and maximum buyback offer size, the indicative maximum number of equity shares to be bought back would be 10 crore equity shares, which is 6.55% of the total number of equity shares of the company.
HPCL reported its Q2 September 2020 result on Wednesday. The company's net profit surged 135.4% to Rs 2,247.75 crore on 14.16% decline in total income to Rs 52,590.08 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. Average gross refining margin during the six months ended 30 September 2020 was $2.58 per BBL (barrel of oil) as against $1.87 per BBL during the corresponding period of previous year.
SRF jumped 9.94% to Rs 4881 after the chemical maker reported 4.7% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 315.20 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 301 crore posted in Q2 September 2019. Consolidated net sales in Q2 September 2020 stood at Rs 2,062.98 crore, registering a 21% growth over Rs 1,702 crore in Q2 September 2019.
Bajaj Electricals rose 3.39% to Rs 503.10 after the company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 53.11 crore in Q2 September 2020 as against a net loss of Rs 36.54 crore in Q2 September 2019. Consolidated revenue from operations for Q2 September 2020 stood at Rs 1,217.71 crore, rising 11% from Rs 1095.65 crore in the year ago period.
The company's order book as on 1 October 2020 stands at Rs 1,474 crore, comprising of Rs 482 crore for Transmission Line Towers, Rs 602 crore for Power Distribution and Rs 390 crore for Illumination Projects.
Jubilant Life Sciences slipped 0.81% to Rs 701. The company reported 10% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 224 crore on 5% rise in total revenue from operations to Rs 2,375 crore in Q2 FY21 over Q2 FY20.
On the segmental front, pharmaceuticals revenue was at Rs 1,516 crore (up 4% YoY), life science ingredients revenue was at Rs 784 crore (up 4% YoY) and drug discovery & development solutions revenue was at Rs 75 crore (up 23% YoY) in the second quarter.
With respect to business outlook, the company said that it continues to see improvement in demand in most of its business segments be it Specialty Pharma, CMO, API or Specialty Intermediates. Given the strong demand recovery and new business sign-ups, the company believes that COVID-19 is not likely to have a material impact on our overall performance during FY21, provided the pandemic situation does not materially deteriorate going forward. Overall, it expects strong performance in our Pharma, LSI and DDDS business in the second half of FY21.
Caplin Point Laboratories rose 1.37% to Rs 497.05. The pharmaceutical company reported 9.7% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 62.83 crore on 18% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 268.12 crore in Q2 FY21 over Q2 FY20.
EBITDA rose 14.3% to Rs 89.19 crore in Q2 September 2020 from Rs 78 crore in Q2 September 2019. EBITDA margin was at 33% as 30 September 2020 as against 33.3% as on 30 September 2019.
Global Markets:
Shares in Europe and Asia rose across the board as US elections remained the key focus for international investors on Thursday.
Back in Europe, the UK's central bank on Thursday held interest rates steady as England enters a fresh period of national lockdown measures expected to hit the country's economic recovery. Along with maintaining its main lending rate at 0.1%, the Bank of England's (BOE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also voted to expand its target stock of asset purchases to 895 billion pounds.
The US stock market finished session higher on Wednesday, 4 November 2020, adding to the strong gains posted in the previous session, as investors risk sentiments bolstered on prospects for a big stimulus effort for the economy.
US service sector activity slowed by more than expected in the month of October, according to a report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday. The ISM said its services PMI dipped to 56.6 in October from 57.8 in September, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the service sector.
US trade deficit narrowed to $63.9 billion in September from a revised $67.0 billion in August, a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. The narrower deficit came as the value of exports jumped by 2.6% to $176.4 billion, while the value of imports rose by 0.5% to $240.2 billion.
US private sector employment rose by 365,000 jobs in October after spiking by an upwardly revised 753,000 jobs in September, according to a report released by payroll processor ADP on Wednesday.
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