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Indian stocks closed over 1% higher on Friday, riding on gains in RIL shares after the oil-to-telecom conglomerate said it had become net-debt free.
Sensex closed 523.68 points or 1.53% higher at 34,731.73, while Nifty settled 152.75 points or 1.5% higher at 10,244.40.
Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd closed at a record high of ₹1764 apiece on the BSE, led by which, company’s market-cap crossed ₹11 trillion mark for the first time.
RIL, surging over 6%, was the top Sensex gainer, followed by Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, SBI and ONGC. IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech, HDFC, M&M, ITC and Infosys, were among the laggards on the other hand.
Of 30 Sensex shares, 11 closed in the red.
The shares of HIL Ltd, a CK Birla Group company, on Friday surges 20%, hitting the upper circuit at ₹1260.75 a piece. The company has shut its manufacturing facility at Chennai, Tamil Nadu from today, viz., 19 June till further developments to be announced by the Government, it said in a regulatory filing.
Ramco Cements, the fifth largest cement producer in India, on Friday reported 11.6% fall in its Q4 FY20 net profit at ₹146 crore versus ₹165 crore in Q4 FY19.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, announced the launch of Abiraterone Acetate Tablets USP, 250 mg, a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Zytiga® (abiraterone acetate) approved by the US FDA.
Sate-run MOIL had reported a sharp fall of over 90% in its consolidated net profit at ₹13.47 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, mainly on account of reduced income.
The company had posted a net profit of ₹139.63 crore during the same quarter a year ago.
Motilal Oswal has maintained 'neutral' ratings on Pidilite Industries with a target price of ₹1,345 and 3% downside. "PIDI has an admirable history of wealth generation, spanning not just the past three years, but 30 years. However, due to a highly uncertain near-term outlook and expensive valuations of 56.8x FY22, we maintain a Neutral rating on the stock," the brokerage said.
The rupee settled 6 paise lower at 76.20 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday as strengthening of the US currency and rising coronavirus cases weighed on investor sentiment.
The rupee opened at 76.28 against the US dollar, regained some lost ground and finally settled for the day at 76.20 against the US dollar, down 6 paise over its previous close.
While the slowdown in the economy has been dogging Cummins for some time now, covid-19 threw a spanner in its growth engines, causing it to suffer a ₹190 crore loss in sales in the fourth quarter of last fiscal.
As such, Q4 turned out to be a huge disappointment with revenues dropping about 22%. In addition, the company has been unable to fall back on exports amid the covid-19 pandemic. (Full report)
RIL shares hit a record high of ₹1738.95 on BSE, up nearly 5% from previous close, lead by which company's market cap reached ₹11 trillion for the first time. The surge in stock price follows RIL becoming net debt free.
India’s Hindalco Industries Ltd. plans to sell about two-thirds of its output overseas this year as local demand gets hit by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Bloomberg report.
Exports during the year that started April will increase to as much as 65% of total output compared with 50% last year, Managing Director Satish Pai said, adding the company expects to sell 75% to 80% of its total metal output to overseas customers in the April-June quarter.
Crude oil prices on Friday rose by ₹52 to ₹3,008 per barrel as participants widened their positions on firm spot demand.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for delivery in June traded higher by ₹52, or 1.76 per cent, at ₹3,008 per barrel in 4,298 lots.
Globally, West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.31 per cent to USD 39.35 per barrel, while Brent Crude was trading up 1.23 per cent at USD 42.02 per barrel in New York.
Shares of Reliance Industries continued its bull run on Friday afternoon to hit a record high of ₹1738.95 apiece. Led by this, its market capitalisation also increased to over ₹10.95 lakh crore.
As kirana stores lose market share, a tie up with JioMart may be a potential solution and could be beneficial for the viability of kirana stores. According to a report by ICICI Securities, despite all the noise, kiranas likely lost 4 per cent market share in March quarter.
The kiranas, as they stand today, have a demand-side problem as modern trade, discounters and online are gaining market share and a supply-side problem. (Full report)
Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has lifted the export ban on Hydroxychloroquine API and its formulations with immediate effect. The government on 25 March had banned the export of the drug, which was touted as a promising medicine to treat coronavirus.
Travel services firm Thomas Cook India has reported a consolidated net loss of ₹13.90 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 mainly on account of covid-19 pandemic.
The company posted a profit of ₹13.08 crore in the year-ago period.
>The biggest positive was that the SC took cognizance of VIL’s statement that it did not have the means to make additional bank guarantees and would be compelled to shut shop, witnessing major repercussions, if asked to pay immediately. However, the SC seems unrelenting and determined to not concede without any concrete plan.
>A 20-year grant would result in cash outgo of INR26b/INR52b for BHARTI/VIL; moreover, VIL would need an ~50% ARPU hike, i.e., an INR70 ARPU increase, to service its obligations. However, lower payment tenure may put pressure on VIL’s cash flows. Similar tariff hikes could result in incremental EBITDA of INR165b/INR273b for Bharti/RJio, implying a 35%/61% increase.
>We maintain our bullish stance on BHARTI/RJio, with TP of INR710/INR885 per share. VIL’s leveraged position leaves it in a precarious situation.
"With VIL not having access to incremental debt funding, it would be difficult for VIL to pay more than ₹50 billion of incremental dues. On the other hand, having already paid 48 per cent of dues, incremental upfront payment will not be a problem for Bharti Airtel especially post the recent capital raise and declining leverage on back of improving profitability," Credit Suisse said. (Full report)
Veteran banker and Axis Bank's former retail banking Pralay Mondal has been appointed as President of Retail, SME, Operations and IT at CBS Bank.
Indian stocks traded higher on Friday, riding on gains in Reliance shares after the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate said it had become net-debt free.
At 12:20 pm, Sensex rose 368.84 points or 1.08% to 34,576.89, while Nifty added 109.95 points or 1.09% at 10,201.60.
Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd rose as much as 2% to a record high on the company's announcement of being net debt free after raising over 1.69 trillion rupees ($22.15 billion) over the last few weeks via stake sales in its digital arm Jio Platforms and a rights issue.
BSE Bankex and BSE Realty, surging 2% and 4% respectively, were top sectoral gainers.
Bajaj Finance, surging over 6%, was the top Sensex gainer, follow by Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki and ONGC. Infosys, ITC, HCL Tech and M&M were among the laggards on the other hand.
While the fundraising spree was unprecedented, the fact remains that about three-fourths of the proceeds from the rights issue will be received only in the next financial year. So it may be more appropriate to say that RIL’s reported net debt is on its way to being zero. Perhaps, one could say RIL has become virtually debt-free, although, of course, no such term exists in an accounting sense. (Full report)
ICICI Bank today said it has divested 18,000,000 equity shares of face value of ₹10 each of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, representing 3.96% of its equity share capital at March 31, 2020, on the stock exchange for an approximate total consideration of Rs. 2,250 crore. Following this stake sale, the ICICI Bank's shareholding in ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited stands at approximately 51.9%.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani on Friday said that the group would set even more ambitious growth goals in what he said is a golden decade for the oil-to-telecom giant. The company today announced that it has become net debt-free after having raised Rs1.75 trillion while its debt stood at Rs1.61 trillion. (Full report)
Tokyo and Shanghai advanced while Hong Kong and Seoul retreated.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4% to 2,950.74 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo added 0.6% to 22,485.55. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost under 0.1% to 24,448.16 and Seoul's Kospi shed 0.4% to 2,125.32.
The S&P-ASX 200 in Australia added 0.3% to 5,950.40 and India's Sensex opened up 0.3% to 34,304.21. New Zealand advanced while Singapore and Bangkok declined.
Yes Securities has put 'sell' rating on Cummins India with a target price of ₹332 and 10% downside. "We also expect contraction in margins of Export biz in mid-term, foreseeing incremental competition over time. During FY05-14, KKC traded at average 1-yr forward P/E multiple of 17x & delivered average RoE / Core RoIC of 30%/32% respectively. Over FY14-20, KKC’s valuations re-rated significantly (traded at average 1-yr forward P/E multiple of 32x) in anticipation of strong growth but it disappointed with flat earnings CAGR & average RoE / Core RoIC of 20%/17%.
Retain ‘SELL’ with TP of Rs332 at 17x FY22E EPS. Deteriorating earnings quality (non-core income as % of PBT at 45% in FY22E) & weakening return metrix justify our ratings & target multiple. KKC could be the key beneficiary of CPCB IV+ norms in a long-term, apt & quick adoption of the same remains upside risk to our call," the brokerage said.
The rupee depreciated 15 paise to 76.29 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday tracking its Asian peers, even as the domestic equity market was in the positive territory.
The rupee opened at 76.28 against the US dollar, then fell further to 76.29 against the US dollar, down 15 paise over its previous close.
It had settled at 76.14 against the greenback on Thursday.
The administration of US President Donald Trump is considering a significant expansion of current visa restrictions for foreign workers, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Thursday.
Many of Trump's top advisers and cabinet members had a meeting on Tuesday to discuss a potential executive order to suspend the issuance of visas to several classes of individuals, the newspaper reported, citing four people briefed on the meeting.
Osamu Suzuki, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd’s Japanese parent, has urged parts suppliers to its Indian unit to boost output and build a sizeable inventory to meet demand from the carmaker even if a second wave of coronavirus infections sweeps through the country and disrupts production. This is the first time in more than a decade that the 90-year-old patriarch of Suzuki Motor Corp. has personally reached out to Maruti’s vendors.
Sate-run MOIL on Thursday reported a sharp fall of over 90 per cent in its consolidated net profit at ₹13.47 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, mainly on account of reduced income. The company had posted a net profit of ₹139.63 crore during the same quarter a year ago.
Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd reported a 61% decline in consolidated net profit at ₹23.29 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2020.
The company had posted a net profit of ₹59.82 crore during the January-March quarter of the previous fiscal, Bajaj Consumer Care said in a regulatory filing.
Coal India has identified 15 mining projects that would be operated through mining operators cum developers under its new strategy to expand production, the state-run miner said on Thursday.
The company has achieved the ₹6,610 crore financial closure for its first and India's largest TOT (toll-operate-transfer) project 'Mumbai Pune Expressway'.
Drug firm Roche Pharma India on Thursday said it has expanded its partnership with domestic pharma major Cipla to further improve access to its key oncology medicines in India.
The private sector lender reported a loss of ₹95.25 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2020, due to a spike in bad loan provisioning. City Union Bank had posted a net profit of ₹175.11 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year 2018-19.
Moody's Investors Service has downgraded Tata Motors rating as the company faces tough market conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic. The rating agency said it has downgraded Tata Motors' corporate family rating (CFR) and senior unsecured instruments rating to B1 from Ba3.
Shares of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) jumped nearly 2% in the early deals on Friday hitting a 52-week high of ₹1684 apiece on the BSE, after the company announced that it has become net debt-free.
Reliance Industries Limited has raised over ₹ 168,818 crore in just 58 days, led by which it has become net debt free. “Our net-debt was ₹ 161,035 crore, as on 31st March 2020. With these investments, RIL has become NET DEBT-FREE," the company said in a press release.
The Company is also looking at listing Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail within five years. (Full report)
Indian benchmark equity indices opened higher on Friday. Sensex opened 127 points higher at 34,335.38, while Nifty added 28 points to open at 10,119. Bajaj Finance, ONGC, Axis Bank, surging 2-3% were to Sensex gainers while Infosys, HCL Tech and M&M were among the laggards. Of 30 Sensex shares, 25 were in the green.
Indian stocks traded higher in the pre-opening session on Friday. Sensex jumped 175 points or 0.5% to 34,383 while Nifty advanced about 30 points or 0.3% to 10,122.
RIL, Cipla, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, PNB, Cadila Healthcare are among the top stocks that could be in focus on Friday.
Indian benchmark equity indices closed higher in a volatile trade on Thursday lead by healthy buying in banks, financials post AGR hearing.
In the afternoon trade, Sensex clawed back over 800 points from day’s low to close 2% higher at 34,208. Nifty settled up 209 points or 2.1% at 10,091. BSE Bankex, and BSE Finance, closing 3-4% higher, were the top sectoral gainers followed by BSE Metal, up 3%.
Asian stocks were choppy on Friday after a mixed Wall Street session with investor focus swinging between concerns about a second pandemic wave and more upbeat hopes about an economic recovery.
Japan’s Topix index fell 0.3%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was little changed.
South Korea’s Kospi index slid 0.5%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added over 1%.
Singapore's SGX Nifty dropped 0.4%, indicating a weak opening for Indian stock markets.
All three major US stock indices were range-bound and oscillated through much of the day, but the S&P ended the session in the black along with the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 39.51 points, or 0.15%, to 26,080.1, the S&P 500 gained 1.85 points, or 0.06%, to 3,115.34 and the Nasdaq Composite added 32.52 points, or 0.33%, to 9,943.05.
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