How exit polls landed on a Modi return

Every pollster has predicted an NDA win. Is exit poll a fraud science or can one attach some credibility to it?

Investors may need a reality check if reforms are hard to come by

• While some infrastructure firms may gain, valuing all of them at higher multiples is naive
• The solution to some of the country’s problems would need some tough reforms

At 67.11%, 2019 turnout highest ever for Lok Sabha polls

• The Election Commission figures are provisional and are subject to change
• The overall turnout was recorded at 67.11%, as per data available on Monday morning

Wall St lower as tech stocks sell-off on Huawei fallout worries; Apple slumps 3%

• Apple Inc slumped 3.3%, weighing the most on the three main indexes and driving down the S&P 500 technology sector 1.27%
• The iPhone maker was also pressured by a warning from HSBC that higher prices for the company's products could have "dire consequences" on demand

Are Shree Cement’s premium valuation multiples justified?

• The company stated that there could be some volume loss in the pursuit of value, indicating higher price realizations
• The Shree Cement stock hit a 52-week high of ₹20,656.95 on the National Stock Exchange on Monday, though it closed lower at ₹20,346.25

Exit poll effect: Rupee surges 48 paise against $, logs biggest gain in 2 months

• Forex traders said investors welcomed exit poll results that predicted a thumping majority for the current BJP-led government
• The domestic unit opened at 70.36 and advanced to a high of 69.44 during the day

45 IL&FS firms, said to be round-tripping funds & loans, closed

• The debt-laden company has almost halved its workforce to 8,000 permanent and contract employees
• The IL&FS group had a debt of more than ₹99,358 crore as of September 2018

BPCL Q4 net profit rises 16% to ₹3,125 cr; revenue up 10% at ₹83,942 cr

• Company board recommends dividend of ₹8 per share
• BPCL transfers its gas business into a separate wholly owned subsidiary named Bharat Gas Resources Ltd

Ashok Leyland ready to ride on Elon Musk's India dream

• Ashok Leyland is open to Elon Musk for a partnership to finally let Indians experience his path-breaking autonomous Tesla electric cars
• Tesla was expected to enter India with the Model 3 that sells for nearly $35,000

NBFCs shares gain on report RBI may offer credit line

• Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd., Dewan Housing Finance Corp. and Reliance Home Finance Ltd. traded more than 10% higher
• There are rumors in the market that RBI will open a special credit line for NBFCs

L&T buys 73,953 shares of Mindtree, hikes shareholding to 26.53%

• L&T buys 73,953 shares of Mindtree, hikes shareholding to 26.53%
• Earlier this month, L&T purchased around 20% stake of V. G. Siddhartha and Cafe Coffee Day in Mindtree through a block deal for about ₹3,210 crore

Tata Motors springs a decent March quarter, but domestic revival crucial

• A key concern for the market, that competitive pressures might push back on vehicle pricing, has been allayed
• Cost-control measures and improvement in volumes sequentially have aided Ebitda margin in Q4

Investor wealth soars ₹5.33 lakh crore on exit polls prediction

• At the end of Monday's trading session, the m-cap of BSE-listed companies stood at ₹1,51,86,312.05 crore
• The m-cap of BSE-listed firms jumped by ₹7.48 lakh crore in three consecutive gains

Personal loan: SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, PNB, Kotak Bank rates compared

• There are various versions of personal loans available now, some of which are called instant loans
• Personal loans come with high interest rates, so continuous default will put you on a downward spiral

Warburg Pincus forms JV with Runwal Group to build malls in India

• Both will commit $200 mn each in the form of equity and raise another $600 mn in debt to create a corpus of $1 bn
• The platform will look to build large, destination malls, as well as smaller hypermarket and cinema-anchored community malls

Tata Motors' Q4 profit slumps, JLR turnaround helps

• Tata Motors had posted a loss for the third-quarter, hurt by an impairment charge for its luxury car unit Jaguar Land Rover
• Shares of Tata Motors closed up 7.5% at ₹190.15 ahead of the earnings release

Lost Android license: What now for Huawei?

• Losing the Android license means future Huawei phones will not have Google Play Store, Google Maps and YouTube and will not receive Security Updates
• Following Google’s decision, chipmakers like Intel, Qualcomm, Xilinx and Broadcom are also reportedly stopping all business with Huawei

Irdai proposes to increase third-party insurance premium for cars, two-wheelers

• Irdai has proposed to increase the Motor TP premium rates for cars below 1000 cc to ₹2,120 from the existing ₹1,850
• Irdai has proposed a discount of 15%, on Motor TP premium rates for electric private cars and electric two-wheelers

We have already done a course correction in Aditya Birla Frontline Equity

• A Balasubramanian speaks about the performance of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC’s flagship schemes, the situation in debt funds, and more
• NBFC exposure was more than the competition. We have moved from wholesale NBFCs to wholesale banks, Balasubramanian said

Adani stocks cheer incumbency wave in India, Australia

• Adani Enterprises rose as much as 29% in afternoon trade, its sharpest intraday gain in over two years
• Shares of Adani Enterprises have risen by about 170% since Modi assumed power

Exit poll projections put JD(S)-Congress coalition government in a spot

• Congress, which has seen most of the trouble emanate from its ranks, is keen to keep its flock together
• The coalition govt now pins its hope on a victory in Chincholi and Kundgol bypolls to remain in power and quell some of the dissent

Naidu meets Didi to discuss formation of a non-BJP govt in case of hung verdict

• Naidu had a 45-minute meeting with Banerjee on the future strategies of the 'Mahagathbandhan'
• Naidu has been moving around across the country and has held several rounds of discussions with top opposition leaders

Exit poll projections endorse Modi, question Congress’ revival strategy

• Except for the Neta-NewsX poll, which gave the NDA 242 seats and the ABP-Nielsen, which gave it 277 seats, all other surveys projected at least 287 seats for the NDA
• A setback this time for Congress would mean the rejection of the alleged corruption campaign against the Rafael fighter jet deal led by Gandhi

Flash Electronics files patent case against Royal Enfield in US court

• Auto parts maker to also move courts in 8 other countries over patent infringement of regulator rectifier
• Flash Electronics received patent for regulator rectifier in the US on 20 February 2018

Declaration of results on May 23 may get delayed by 5-6 hours, says Delhi CEO

• Delhi has 70 assembly constituencies and in all 350 VVPATs will be counted
• Delhi has seven parliamentary constituencies and there is one counting centre in each of them

Booking.com leverages AI, ML to personalize, build connected tours

• The firm uses tech to build connected trips that include tourist attractions, food, shopping
• Its support chatbot, Booking Assistant, can identify most asked questions from customers

UPL: Arysta LifeScience acquisition done, focus now shifts to synergies

• The acquisition is estimated to bring revenue benefits of $100 million in FY20, with synergies rising to $350 million in its third year
• The current stock price pegs UPL’s valuation at around 14 times its FY20 earnings estimates, richer than some of its global agrochemical peers

Ones that flew over the market’s best

• Some of the blue-chip stocks that hit all-time highs were Bajaj Finance (up 3.2%), DCB Bank, Federal Bank and HDFC Bank (both 3%), ICICI Bank (4.5%)
• Among large-cap stocks, Adani Enterprises jumped by 27%.

Sushma Swaraj may run into Mehmood Qureshi at SCO foreign ministers’ summit

• Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj to attend 10-member meet in Bishkek on 21-22 May, may meet Pakistani counterpart
• SCO meet is likely to provide opportunity for India and Pakistan to explore possibility of talks

Rupee, bonds rally as exit polls predict NDA return

• Rupee posts biggest single-day gain since 19 March, bond yields hit seven-week low
• The rupee jumped 0.7%, its biggest single-day gain since 19 March to close near a 2-week high

KCR’s plan for federal front may fall flat if exit poll forecasts come true

• KCR might agree to provide outside or issue-based support, if the BJP-led NDA falls just short of the required seats to form a govt
• Going by the exit poll results, Jagan Reddy who had publicly backed KCR’s idea, could be cast out of central politics

Exit polls offer comfort to anti-BJP parties in the south

• Despite BJP pulling out all stops in the southern states, the exit polls have come as a damper, barring Karnataka
• BJP went alone in Telangana and AP, just like its rival Congress. And, both national parties are likely to be crushed in the pitched fight with regional satraps in the two states representing 42 seats

BJP, riding high, puts Kamal Nath on notice in Madhya Pradesh

• BJP says it will ask governor Anandiben Patel to convene a special session of the legislative assembly to test the Congress’ strength
• MP was among the largest states to come under Congress rule last year, when it ousted a 15-year-old BJP govt

Stock markets surge to a record high on exit poll results

• Sensex surges 3.75%, or 1,421.90 points, to close at a lifetime high
• MidcapS, Smallcaps rise more than 3%; ₹5.24 trillion added in market value

Slowing direct tax collections may push govt to reset its budget math for FY20

• The shortfall in direct tax receipts in the previous fiscal makes projections for the current year ambitious
• The challenge of meeting the tax collection target comes in the wake of various agencies revising down economic growth rate projections for the current fiscal

HPCL Q4 profit surges 70% at ₹2,969.92 crore

• Total income rises to ₹73,672.50 crore in the March quarter of FY19 from ₹66,983.38 crore a year ago
• HPCL board recommends an interim dividend of ₹6.50 per equity share and a final dividend of ₹9.40 per equity share

Ikea's partner Ingka buys minority stake in home design startup Livspace

• Sources say Livspace has raised up to $15 million from the stake sale
• The round was led by TPG Growth and Goldman Sachs. Existing investors too participated in it.

Ford Motor cutting 7,000 global jobs as sweeping disruption hits automakers

• Eliminating the positions will save Ford about $600 million a year
• The majority of the cuts will be completed by 24 May in North America, and by the end of August in regions including Europe, China and South America

BJP poll campaign was a perfect ambush: Yogendra Yadav

Following Pulwama, what Narendra Modi’s team designed was a classic dodge, distract, derail scheme, says Yogendra Yadav

Three common money disorders: Do you suffer from any of them?

Choose a financial confidant, who is trustworthy, non-judgmental, compassionate and has the ability to listen without offering advice. You can also get professional help from your money coach, or counsellor and find happiness in your relationship with money

Latest WhatsApp beta update adds Night Mode to more sections

• WhatsApp beta's new version (v2.19.145) has introduced the Night Mode to more sections of the app
• The Night Mode works for Contact Profiles and Group Settings

Opinion | Google uninstalls Huawei

As Huawei loses access to updates on the Android operating system, anyone using a Huawei smartphone is sure to be miffed

You may pay tax on FD interest income at accrual stage or when bank pays up

• Dividend income from mutual funds in India is exempt from income-tax in India.
• Interest income from FDs in bank accounts in India is taxable in India

On Google, Narendra Modi’s stock continues to rise

• Across the board, Modi has generated the most interest online, far exceeding the searches for leaders of regional parties—even on their own turfs
• Amongst searches for Modi, Rahul and regional leaders, in 49 out of 55 cities, searches for Modi accounted for more than 50% of all searches

Inventory gain, super-normal marketing margin may lift BPCL and HPCL numbers

• Analysts expect HPCL, BPCL to report higher Ebitda
• Jefferies India expects BPCL to report net income of Rs38.9 billion and HPCL to report net income at ₹30.3 billion

TCS eyes double-digit growth in FY20, says COO Subramaniam

• IT firm targets strong revenue growth in this fiscal without sacrificing its industry-leading profitability
• TCS started FY20 with a 3.6% growth rate in constant currency terms, against 2.8% in April last year

After US ban, Google restricts Huawei from using Android apps and updates

• New Huawei smartphones will also lose access to popular Google apps
• The move comes after the Trump administration blacklisted Huawei

Best gift on a graduation day: Billionaire plans to pay off $40 million debt

• Smith received a thunderous round of applause from the 400 graduates and from their parents
• 'My family is going to create a grant to eliminate your student loans,' Smith told the assemblage

What stocks analysts are betting on, as exit polls predict Modi 2.0

• Exit polls predicted a comfortable win for NDA government in Lok Sabha elections
• Consumption demand may recover in case of formation of a stable government: Analysts

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories serves a bitter medicine in March quarter

• Exclude ₹180.7 cr firm got by selling the US rights for 3 derma brands, and the revenue growth drops to an unexciting 8.5%
• US revenue grew a mere 1% sequentially, despite some big product launches

How to reform India’s financial sector

Implementation of the Indian Financial code will provide the momentum that the country’s ailing financial system requires

State Bank of India shares hit one-and-half year high

• Stock's five-day average volume is about 31% higher than the 30-day average volume
• Stock up 21.4% in the last three months as of Friday's close, outperforming broader NSE index's 6.4% gains

Bajaj Auto’s market share gains aren’t resulting in profit growth

• Bajaj Auto beat competitors hands down in fiscal year 2019 with volume growth of 28.7%
• Meanwhile, valuations are rich at 19 times trailing earnings, despite dull earnings growth

Amara Raja’s margins rise but not enough to power the stock

• A year ago, the one-year forward P-E multiple was about 25 times, it has now shrunk to about 17 times forward earnings
• Analysts attribute the margin enhancement to lower lead prices

Market Update: Top losers and gainers of the broader indices

• Of the 2,286 scrips traded, 1,718 advanced, 440 declined and 129 remained unchanged
• As many as 115 securities had hit the upper circuit limit on Monday while 119 stocks touched lower circuit, as per BSE

Dr. Reddy’s shares shed almost 7% during early morning trade post Q4 results

• On NSE, Dr. Reddy’s was down 7.15% at ₹2,548.75, while on BSE it fell 7.21%
• Though the company posted a profit during the fourth quarter, most of the brokerages changed their view post the results