PremiumWith bond markets calming down, and positive developments with respect to the US stimulus. Asian markets saw a strong start. Indian benchmark indices bounced back from the volatility of last week, as the Sensex and Nifty rose around 1.5% on Monday.
The rebound in global bond markets and developments related to the US stimulus package buoyed markets in Asia and India.
The Sensex climbed 749.85 points, or 1.53%, to close at 49,849.84. Meanwhile, the Nifty closed at 14,761.55, up 232.40 points, or 1.60%.
Rites has secured two orders worth approximately ₹93 crore. These include a turnkey order of signalling works from ministry of railways amounting to ₹67.18 crore. Another order comprises extension of general consultancy work for Nagpur Metro rail project and GEC positions from Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation amounting to ₹26 crore.
Crude oil prices rose by ₹1 to ₹4,605 per barrel on Monday as participants widened their positions on firm spot demand.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for March delivery traded higher by ₹1, or 0.02%, at ₹4,605 per barrel in 4,813 lots.
Analysts said raising of bets by participants kept crude oil prices higher in futures trade.
Globally, West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 1.82% to $62.62 per barrel, while Brent crude traded 1.85% higher at $65.61 per barrel in New York.
Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd (KIMS) on Monday has filed a draft red herring prospectus with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to raise funds through initial public offering (IPO).
The offer comprises a fresh issue of up to Rs200 crore and an offer for sale of up to 21.34 million shares by its promoters and investors. General Atlantic Singapore KH PTE Ltd will sell 13.98 million shares; 0.77 million shares are being sold by promoter Bhaskara Rao Bollineni, and 1.16 million shares by promoter Rajyasri Bollineni.
Debt-ridden Sterling Biotech Ltd's liquidation process has started under the insolvency and Benkruptcy Code, it said in a regulatory filing. Earlier, the Supreme Court had rejected the company's offer to repay creditors in a one-time settlement. Sterling Biotech is also facing a money laundering probe, the Indian Express reported.
Telecom equipment manufacturer Sterlite Technologies Ltd (STL) has won new orders worth $100 million in the Middle East and Africa to set up network and infrastructure for 5G wireless service in the two regions, the company said in a statement on Monday.
Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd's (BPSL) lenders may recover a significant portion of their lending to the account in the current quarter, subject to relisation of plans, CNBC-TV18 reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The creditors' committee may vote on JSW Steel’s latest proposal, offering to proposing to deposit the entire ₹19,350 crore in dues, provided the deal is closed before March-end, the people said.
Bharti Airtel was trading 5.14% lower at ₹528.45 a piece at 2:21 pm owing to Integrated Core Strategies (Asia) Pte Ltd's sale of 3,70,59,893 equity shares in the company at ₹556.46 per share, earlier in the day, according to moneycontrol.com.
India's coal import registered a drop of 11.59 per cent to 180.84 million tonnes (MT) in the first 10 months of the ongoing fiscal. The company had imported 204.55 MT of coal in April-January period of the previous fiscal year, according to provisional data compiled by mjunction services, a joint venture of Tata Steel and SAIL. However, India's coal imports in January increased to 20.05 MT as against 18.67 MT in year-ago period, it said. (PTI)
The volatility index (VIX) was down 7.69% from around -5% earlier in the day. The markets were steady after global bond rebound and encouraging developments around US stimulus spurred markets across the world. The VIX had been in the vicinity of 25% during trade on Friday, amid global selloffs prompted by inflation fears and rising US treasury bond yields.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Monday reported a 36% increase in domestic sales at 14,075 units in February. The company had clocked domestic sales of 10,352 units in February last year. "We started the year on a positive note and the trend continues as we close the second month of the year, clocking a growth of 36%. "Wholesales have been very encouraging and we are witnessing a high influx of customer orders month on month, thereby both significantly contributing to the growth story," TKM senior vice president Naveen Soni said in a statement.
State Bank of India (SBI) has reduced the interest rate on home loans. The Bank now offers interest concession of up to 70 basis points (bps )with interest rates starting from 6.70% onwards. This is a limited period offer ending on 31 March. The lender is also giving a 100% waiver on processing fees. The interest concession is based on the loan amount and CIBIL score of the borrower. SBI believes that it is important to extend better rates to customers who maintain good repayment history.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) on Monday reported a 26.4 per cent increase in total sales at 61,800 units in February.
The company had sold 48,910 units in the same month last year, HMIL said in a statement.
Domestic sales were up 29% to 51,600 units as against 40,010 units in February 2020, the company added.
Exports increased by 14.6% to 10, 200 units in February as compared with 8,900 units in the same month of 2020. (PTI)
Strong growth across geographies and margin improvement have been the reasons for firm investor sentiment for Cipla Ltd. The stock not only has more than doubled since its March lows, but is trading near its 52-week highs seen in February. (See report)
Mahindra and Mahindra's overall auto sales for the month of February 2021 stood at 28,777 vehicles, compared to 32,476 in February 2020, a rise of 41% year-on-year.
The Indian rupee slumped 29 paise to 73.76 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday, weighed down by significant foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at ₹73.76 against the US dollar, dropping 29 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had settled at 73.47 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.03% to 90.84.
"Weakness of the US Dollar could limit depreciation bias, however, FPI outflows due to strong yields could weigh on sentiments," Reliance Securities said in a research note.
Most of the Asian currencies have started stronger this Monday morning and could lift sentiments, the note added. (PTI)
Ashok Leyland reported a 50% rise in sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles to 7,336 from 4,894 a year ago.
Meanwhile, sales of light commercial vehicles rose 44% to 5,901 from 4,107 a year ago.
India’s manufacturing activity eased marginally in February but stayed above the long-run average as firms raised input inventories at a record pace, with strong growth in sales and production, a private survey said.
Data released by analytics firm IHS Markit on Monday showed that the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for India's manufacturing sector fell to 57.5 in February from 57.7 a month ago. A figure above 50 indicates expansion, while sub-50 reading signals contraction. The headline figure was above the long-run average of 53.6.
Aided by a sustained recovery in demand for entry-level cars, hatchbacks and utility vehicles, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Monday reported a 9.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in domestic wholesale to 147,483 units in February. The automaker also replenished inventory at dealerships after improved sales during the October to December period.
The company is considering multiple options to raise funds, including issuance of various debt securities though private placement or commercial papers. The board will meet to decide on the issuance to bee made in March.The mode of debt issuance, to e made in March, will be decided by the lender's board.
Bajaj Auto reported a 6% year-on-year (y-o-y) rise in automobile sales. Combined vehicle sales rose to 375,017 in February from 354,913 during the same period a year ago. Two wheeler sales rose 7% y-o-y to 332,563 units, while commercial vehicle sales slipped 5% y-o-y to 42,454.
AstraZeneca Plc has sold its 7.7% stake in Moderna Inc for more than $1 billion after the US biotechnology company's shares soared on the back of its coronavirus vaccine breakthrough, The Times reported.
The report added that it was not clear over what period British-based AstraZeneca sold its holding in Moderna.
AstraZeneca and Moderna did not immediately respond to requests for comment. AstraZeneca is retaining partnership with Moderna on other disease treatments and could sell its AstraZeneca/Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine on a commercial basis in future if the virus becomes endemic, the report added.
Moderna, whose vaccine is cleared for emergency use against Covid-19 in the US, said last week it was expecting sales of $18.4 billion from its coronavirus vaccine this year. (Reuters)
The Reserve Bank of India bought a net $3.99 billion from the spot foreign exchange market in December compared to a net purchase of $10.26 billion in December, its monthly bulletin released on Monday showed.
The Reserve Bank of India bought $10.01 billion while it sold $6.02 billion in December, data showed. The rupee had moved in a range of 73 to 73.96 per dollar in December. The net outstanding forward purchase stood at $39.79 billion as of end-December, compared with a net purchase of $28.34 billion at the end of November. The RBI also bought dollars in the currency futures market, with the outstanding net currency futures position rising to $1.96 billion at the end of December, compared to $780 million at the end of the previous month.
Biocon Biologics Ltd, a subsidiary of Biocon Ltd announced on Monday the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended approval of its biosimilar Bevacizumab, co-developed with Viatris, to be marketed as Abevmy (injection bevacizumab 100mg and 400mg). Abevmy is abiosimilar to Roche's Avastin, prescribed for all indications including metastatic colorectal carcinoma, metastatic breast cancer, non-small-cell lung carcinoma, glioblastoma, ovarian, cervical and renal cancer as part of a specific regimen, it said. Biocon's stock was trading at ₹392.20 a piece, up 0.56%, at 10 am. (PTI)
Gold prices rose 1% on Monday, recovering from a more than eight-month low touched in the previous session, as the dollar weakened and the US passed a massive $1.9 trillion stimulus package. Spot gold was up 0.9% at $1,749.77 per ounce by 03:17 GMT, after hitting its lowest since June at $1,716.85 on Friday. US gold futures rose 1% to $1,746.70. Gold prices tumbled 3% on Friday, posting their biggest monthly drop since November 2016 in February, due to a spike in US bond yields.
Rebound in bond yields and progress on the US stimulus package lifted markets in Asia on Monday, a change from last week's inflation-worry-fuelled volatility. In India, the Sensex climbed 647.72 points, or 1.32% to 49,747,71. Meanwhile, the Nifty opened at 14,702, up 173.35 points or 1.19%. ONGC, HDFC Bank and Tech Mahindra were in the lead as gainers, as 28 of the 30 shares on the Sensex opened in green. Bajaj Auto and Bharti Airtel opened in red.
Indian indices traded higher on Monday in the pre-opening session. The Sensex was up 1.27%, or 622.56 points to 49,722.55. The Nifty was up 1.30%, or 188.90 points to 14,718.05 at pre-open.
On Friday, key Indian benchmark indices witnessed a bloodbath as the Sensex and Nifty tanked nearly 4% owing to global selloffs stemming from fears around rise in inflation and US Treasury yields nearing record highs. All stocks in the 30-share Sensex ended in red with banks and financials bleeding in particular. The Sensex plummeted 1,939 points or 3.80% % to close at 49,099.99. The Nifty fell 568.20 points or 3.76% to close at 14,529.15.
Oil rebounded strongly from the biggest slump since November ahead of a keenly anticipated OPEC+ production-setting meeting this week that will help to determine whether a scorching rally endures.
Futures in New York rose toward $63 a barrel after losing 3.2% on Friday. The alliance will meet on Thursday and is expected to return some barrels to a market off to its quickest ever start to a year. But it’s unclear how vigorously the group will act, with the Saudi Arabian energy minister calling for producers to remain “extremely cautious." A weaker dollar also supported prices.
(Bloomberg)
Asian shares firmed on Monday as some semblance of calm returned to bond markets after last week's wild ride, while progress in the huge US stimulus package underpinned optimism about the global economy. China's official manufacturing PMI out over the weekend missed forecasts, but investors are counting on better news from a raft of US data due this week including the February payrolls report. Also helping sentiment was news deliveries of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine should start on Tuesday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1%, after shedding 3.7% last Friday.
The SGX Nifty was up 120.70 points or 0.83% to 14,750.20.
Japan’s Nikkei rallied 2.0%, while NASDAQ futures bounced 0.8% and S&P 500 futures 0.7%.
The Hang Seng Index rose 1.20% or 346.40 points to 29,326.61.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 0.32%, or 11.14 points, to reach 3,520.22.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was steady at 1.41%.
Sovereign bonds extended a rebound, US equity futures rose and the dollar dipped Monday, signaling the return of some calm in markets after the turmoil sparked by last week’s slide in government debt.
Treasury yields edged lower at the open after Australian and New Zealand debt surged. The Reserve Bank of Australia said it will buy A$4 billion of longer-dated bonds, double the usual size.
U.S. equity futures advanced and stocks in both Japan and Australia jumped. On Friday, a rally in Treasuries drove the 10-year yield back to 1.40%, while the S&P 500 slipped and technology stocks staged a modest rebound.
NASDAQ futures bounced 0.8% and S&P 500 futures 0.7%.
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