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Indian equities continued their rally for a second day, ending higher, driven by bank and auto stocks. Key indices had opened firm tracking global markets where investors shrugged off worries over fresh US-China trade tensions and were hopeful of recovery as the world's major economies reopened.
While the Sensex surpassed the 32,000 mark today, finishing up 595.37 points, or 1.9%, at 32,200.59, Nifty surged 175.15 points, or 1.9%, to end the session at 9,490.10.
Among stocks, Zee Entertainment was the best Nifty performer today, pulling the media index up 3.6%. Private bank stocks such as heavyweights HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank rocketed. However, public-sector lenders were under pressure, with State Bank of India leading the losses.
Zee Entertainment soared nearly 11% on Nifty 50, followed by Eicher Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Hero MotoCorp and IndusInd Bank, while Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Wipro, Cipla, ITC, and JSW Steel witnessed the highest sell-off today.
The private lender reported a 21% year-on-year (YoY) fall in its March quarter (Q4FY20) net profit to ₹301.2 crore, against ₹381.5 crore in the same period last years. Net Interest Income (NII) rose 10.9% to ₹1,216 crore from ₹1,096.5 crore a year ago. The stock was up 4.5% at ₹42.80 on the BSE.
A national security law approved by Chinese lawmakers threatens Hong Kong's position as one of the world's best places to do business. Investors in Asia will take cues from details of the law, which is likely to curb essential democratic freedom in Hong Kong. Today, Japan Nikkei's 225 jumped over 2%, while Hang Seng in Hong Kong declined 0.7% at close. Shanghai Composite in China gained 0.3%, while South Korea's Kospi was flat.
Chinese lawmakers approved a proposal for sweeping new national security legislation in Hong Kong, defying a threat by US President Donald Trump to respond strongly to a measure that democracy advocates say will curb essential freedoms in the city.
The National People’s Congress, China’s rubber-stamp legislature, approved the draft decision by a vote of 2,878-1 today at its annual session in Beijing, with six abstentions. Chinese officials could now take months to sort of the details of laws banning subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign interference before they’re given to Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed administration to promulgate.
The Indian rupee erased early losses, ending marginally lower at 75.75 against the US dollar, compared to Wednesday's close of 75.72. The domestic currency had opened weak at 75.90.
The pharmaceutical company said it has received establishment inspection report (EIR) from the US Food and Drug Administration for the audit of its Integrated Product Development Organization (IPDO) at Medchal-Malkajgiri in Telangana. The EIR indicates closure of the audit and the inspection classification of this facility is determined as no action indicated (NAI). The stock was up a marginal 0.2% at ₹3,891.35 on the BSE.
Indian banks will face an asset quality deterioration of 200-600 basis points (bps) for at least the next two years owing to the increased pressure to lend and revive flow of credit in the economy, said Fitch Ratings in a report. The latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) measures including an extension of the 90-day moratorium on recognition of impaired loans and allowing banks to fund interest on working-capital loans will put a heavy onus particularly on state-owned banks to bail out the affected sectors.
ITC said it has partnered with direct selling company, Amway, to distribute a new range of fruit beverages under ITC’s existing B Natural brand. The beverage, B Natural +, available in two flavours, is priced at Rs130 (for 1 litre) and has been developed by ITC’s Life Sciences & Technology Centre (LSTC). The range will be retailed through Amway’s network of direct sellers or entrepreneurs that also sell the American company’s range of Nutrilite health supplements in India.
The telecom major has tied up with Nodwin Gaming, South Asia’s leading esports company, to expand the market in India. The partnership has started with the launch of Airtel India Esports Tour, which is the first and largest property of its kind in this segment.
India's largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, has partnered with HDFC Bank to offer several finance schemes to new car buyers who face monetary challenges due to the coronavirus-led disruptions. Shares of Maruti Suzuki edged up 3.8% to ₹5441.20 on the BSE, while that of HDFC Bank jumped 3.9% to ₹938.60.
European shares rose for the fourth straight session as optimism over businesses returning to work and a massive stimulus plan for the European Union outweighed concerns over rising US-China tensions. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.6% by 0718 GMT, with travel & leisure, telecoms and automakers leading the gains.
The benchmark index has climbed more than 30% from March lows as investors pinned hopes on a gradual recovery with policymakers injecting trillions of dollars in the global economy and drugmakers racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine.
Shares of Dabur India fell nearly 2% as its consolidated net profit dropped 24.2% to ₹281.60 crore for the quarter ended March, against ₹371.49 crore in the same period last year. The company said its factories were shut in the last week of March due to the lockdown. Factory operations resumed partially from the second week of April at a capacity of 60-70%.
“Today, MCX gold prices are trading on a flat note. However, yesterday prices had increased by 0.45% and closed at ₹46531 levels. In the international market, gold is trading around $1715 per ounces. Tension between the US and China and weakness in dollar are the supporting factor for gold. Dollar Index is depreciating against major currencies and it is trading around 98.96 levels, which is the lowest level in the last five weeks. For intraday perspective we expect a positive trend in gold prices," said Anuj Gupta, DVP Commodities and Currencies Research, Angel Broking.
Just Dial March quarter results show steady traction in its listings business before the covid-19 disruption. Revenue grew 1.2% from the year ago quarter. Thanks to lower costs, operating earnings grew at a faster pace of 26.4%. Total listings on the company’s platforms grew 14.1%. Other metrics such as paid campaigns and total app downloads also grew at a decent pace.
But the momentum lost steam as lockdowns halted business activity. Total traffic on the company’s platforms halved in April, the management told analysts. Traffic recovered in May. But only to 65% of the pre covid-19 lockdown levels.
IndusInd Bank surged 8% on Nifty 50, followed by Eicher Motors, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Axis Bank and Hindalco, while Infosys, Wipro, Grasim Industries, Tata Consultancy Services and ITC were the biggest laggards on the index.
Shares of Ujjivan Financial Services surged 10.7% to ₹173.20 on the BSE due to robust financial performance in the March quarter. The company's net interest income (NII) rose 40.7% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹496.2 crore during the January-March. Its consolidated net profit increased a sharp 48.5% YoY to ₹64 crore. The non-bank financier made a provision of ₹70 crore to mitigate the impact of coronavirus-related losses.
"The Nifty 50 opened above the crucial 9,350 level and we need to hope it stays above those levels for a couple of trading sessions. If we are successful in doing that, the Nifty 50 should attempt 9,700 levels in the June series itself. The support range of the market has now been upgraded to 9,000-9,050 levels," according to Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments.
The Indian rupee opened lower at 75.90 against the US dollar, compared to the previous close of 75.72.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman today will chair a meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) amid the ongoing debilitating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and financial sector. The meeting will have the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) , Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) , Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India(IBBI) , Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA, among others, and secretaries and senior finance ministry officials, in attendance.
The stock declined over 2% to ₹565.95 on the BSE as the liquor maker's standalone net profit declined a sharp 81.1% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹23.9 crore during the March quarter. Revenue from operations was down 11.4% YoY at ₹1,993.8 crore.
Shares of Bharat Forge jumped 2.5% to ₹295.20 on the BSE as the technology and engineering firm said its operations in Germany resumed from the beginning of May, while plants in North American and Sweden continued to operate to address customer demand, albeit at sub-optimal utilisation.
Gold prices rose as tensions between the US and China over a Hong Kong security law escalated, while fresh stimulus measures by several economies to mitigate the coronavirus fallout also lent support. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,711.35 per ounce, as of 1250 GMT, after touching a two-week low on Wednesday. US gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,723.60.
Oil extended its drop to trade below $32 a barrel after a US industry report signalled crude inventories swelled for the first time in three weeks, raising fresh concerns about excess supply.Futures fell 3.8% in New York, putting the market on track for its first back-to-back daily decline in three weeks. The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that stockpiles expanded by 8.73 million barrels last week. Oil’s rally started to falter Wednesday after Moscow indicated that it wanted to scale back supply cuts pledged under the OPEC+ agreement from July, but Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman later reiterated their cooperation to the deal ahead of a 9-10 June meeting.
Indian equity market extended gains from Wednesday's close and opened higher, tracking global stocks that edged up as investors pinned hopes to recovery of major economies amid fresh US-China trade tensions. Back home, bank stocks continued to add majorly to the upward movement of key indices. While Sensex rose 173.88 points, or 0.6%, to 31,779.10, the Nifty 50 index advanced 46.00 points, or 0.5%, to 9,360.95.
Optimism over the reopening of major economies across the world continued to push Asian equities higher on Thursday as investors looked past building China-US tensions for now. Even Hong Kong managed to limit losses despite a US decision to revoke its special status that could see it lose key privileges, bringing into doubt its future as a global financial hub. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose more than 1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 1.4% and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.5%. Shanghai Composite was flat.
Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki, Adani Power, Federal Bank, Lupin, Bharat Forge, Future Consumer, TVS Motor, United Spirits and Ujjivan Financial Services.
Rating agency, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) said India's economy will contract 5% in fiscal 2021 assuming that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will peak by September quarter. S&P’s Indian arm, Crisil on Monday made similar forecasts. “The covid-19 outbreak in India and two months of lockdown--longer in some areas--has led to a sudden stop in the economy. That means growth will contract sharply this fiscal year. Economic activity will face ongoing disruption over the next year as the country transitions to a post-COVID-19 world," the rating agency said.
The S&P 500 index rose 44.36 points to 3,036.13. The index had been down 0.7% before bouncing back towards the end of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 25,000 mark, gaining 553.16 points, or 2.2%, to end at 25,548.27 and the Nasdaq Composite added 72.14 points, or 0.8%, to 9,412.36.
Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Wednesday, extending the market's gains into a third day on hopes for a coming economic revival as larger swaths of the country relax stay-at-home mandates imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic and clear the way for more businesses to reopen. Despite a choppy day of trading, the S&P 500 gained 1.5% and finished above the 3,000-point mark for the first time since early March.Financial, industrial and health care stocks accounted for a big slice of the gains. Department store chains, which took some of the market's worst losses earlier this year when worries about the recession were peaking, surged amid optimism that life can inch back toward normal.
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