The Sensex, Nifty closed over 0.24% lower on Friday. Asian markets were mixed at close on Friday. Tensions between the US and China climbed as Washington said it will add at least 10 Chinese entities to its economic blacklist as early as Friday over alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang. While US unemployment numbers confused investors about the nature of post-pandemic recovery, rise in Chinese banks' lending were encouraging. Meanwhile, countries in the region continue to be cautious about the delta covid strain.
Rupee rises 7 paise to settle at 74.64 (provisional) against US dollar
Market closing
The Sensex closed at 52,386.19, down 182.75 points, or 0.35%, while the Nifty was at 15,689.80, down 38.10 points, or 0.24%. Private banks, financials and auto were top drags. On the 30-share Sensex, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, and seven other stocks closed in green, while Bajaj Auto, TCS, the HDFC twins, and 16 other stocks closed in red on Friday.
India Inc.’s revenue to fall 8-10% QoQ in Apr-Jun: Crisil
India Inc. will report a sequential revenue decline of 8-10% to an estimated ₹7.3 trillion for the first quarter of fiscal 2021-22 (Q1FY22), Crisil said in a report. The quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) fall in revenues will be largely led by consumer discretionary products such as automobiles, which saw volumes hit by lockdown across states to contain the second wave of pandemic. (Read here)
GHCL gains as creditors approve demerger
GHCL's stock was trading at ₹292.15 apiece, up 3.16% at 3:15 pm. The company said its creditors have approved a demerger of its inorganic chemicals and textile businesses. The company will approach the NCLT for their approval.
BSE, NSE issue guidelines for companies undergoing insolvency proceedings
In a bid to address information asymmetry among investors, stock exchanges, BSE and NSE, on Friday came out with a framework for dealing with companies undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process. In the recent past, the exchanges have come across instances where the approved resolution plan provides for delisting of the company or write off/cancellation/extinguishment of existing equity shares without any payout or consideration to the existing shareholders. (Read here)
HDFC Bank, Axis Bank top drags
Bajaj Finserv hits ₹2 tn in m-cap after shares touch record high
Bajaj Finserv Ltd's stock was trading at ₹12,876.90 , up 4.43% at 2:42 pm. The company on Friday hit ₹2 trillion in market capitalization for the first time after its stock touched a record high in today's trade. The stock advanced over 4% to touch an all-time high of ₹12,833.55 on the BSE. The scrip has climbed in the last four out of five sessions and gained nearly 43% this year. (Read here)
India’s biggest job creators are being killed by the pandemic: report
Small businesses may be the bedrock of the Indian economy, helping expand its industrial base and creating jobs by the millions, but the pandemic has shown it’s better to be bigger, according to research by Societe Generale. The so-called micro-, small-, and medium-enterprises haven’t benefited much from the government’s stimulus steps such as liquidity and loan moratorium, forcing them to let go a large swathe of their employees, Kunal Kundu, an economist with Societe Generale GSC Pvt. in Bengaluru, wrote in the report. While the bigger companies sailed through with a minor blip, he said. (Bloomberg)
Ashok Buildcon gains
Ashoka Buildcon Ltd's stock was trading at ₹114.50 apiece, up 3.39% at 2:18 pm. The company has received a letter of award (LOA) from Ircon International Ltd. worth ₹482.34 crore.
Maruti may postpone new launches: report
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd may postpone planned launches to later this year or even 2022, CNBCTV18 reported, citing people familiar with the matter. NEw XL6 model launch has been postponed to next year, while Celerio, earlier slated for a Q1 launch has been pushed to Q2 or Q3, accoridng to the report. Baleno facelift shifted to 2022.
Pvt banks, IT top drags
Economy recovering due to targeted fiscal relief, rapid vaccination: FinMin
The finance ministry on Friday said the economy has started showing signs of revival from the impact of the second wave of the covid-19 pandemic on the back of targeted fiscal relief, monetary policy and a rapid vaccination drive.
“The broad-based economic relief package, extended to mitigate the second wave, amounted to ₹6.29 lakh crore. RBI continues with its efforts to calm the nerves of the market and revive sectors with both backward and forward linkages and multiplier effects on growth," the ministry said in its monthly economic review. (PTI)
Ola raises $500 mn from Temasek and Warburg Pincus ahead of its IPO
Singapore-based Temasek Holdings and Plum Wood Investment Ltd, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus are investing $500 million in Ola Technologies, as part of its pre-IPO round funding, the mobility firm said in a statement on Friday. (Read here)
Volvo Cars India reports sales of 713 cars in January to June period
Volvo cars India, a luxury passenger vehicle manufacturer, on Friday announced that it has registered sales of 713 cars in January to June period of the current year. However, the sales were affected during the April-June period due to an increase in covid -19 cases, which led to lockdowns in several states. (Read here)
Jyoti Roy, DVP- Equity Strategist, Angel Broking on TCS Q1 result
"TCS reported a 2.7% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) growth in revenues to $6.15 billion which was below street estimates. In rupee terms, revenue grew by 3.9% q-o-q to ₹45,411 crore. Gross profit for the quarter was up 1.7% q-o-q to ₹18,331 crore while gross margins contracted by 87 bps q-o-q to 40.4%. Ebit for the quarter registered a de-growth of 1.2% q-o-q to ₹11,588 crore while Ebit margins contracted by 133 bps q-o-q to 25.5%. Adjusted net profit for the quarter was down by 2.6% q-o-q to ₹9,008 crore. Margins for the quarter were impacted due to wage hikes and lower than expected top line growth. The Q1FY22 numbers were operationally below street estimates largely due to weakness in regional markets led by India due to covid. However, US and UK registered strong growth at 4.1% and 3.6% q-o-q and bodes well for the rest of the sector. New deal wins also remained strong at $8 billion. Overall the company posted a mixed set of numbers for the quarter and the markets will now look forward to the Infosys numbers which will be declared on 14 July."
BHEL secures ₹1,405 cr NPCIL order
BHEL’s stock was trading at ₹66.70 apiece, down 0.45% at 12:36 pm. The company secured an order for the supply of 12 steam generators from Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). The order is valued at ₹1,405 crore was secured under NPCIL’s Fleet Mode procurement programme. The steam generators will be manufactured at BHEL’s Tiruchirapalli plant.
M&M, IndusInd Bank in red
WhatsApp tells Delhi HC it will not limit functionality for users not opting for new privacy policy
SoftBank in talks to invest in API Holdings
Masayoshi Son led SoftBank Group is in discussions to invest in API Holdings, which runs digital medical chain Pharmeasy, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. API Holdings recently acquired diagnosctis chain Thyrocare. (Read here)
Tata Power gains
Tata Power has secured a ₹400 crore contract from the Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd (KSEBL) on 2 July to develop 64 MW solar rooftop project for domestic consumers across all districts of Kerala. The company will implement projects of 80MW for individual households and for 20 MW of residential / housing societies, it said in a regulatory filing.
Alembic Pharma trades lower
Alembic Pharmaceuticals's stock was down 0.75% at ₹977.60 apiece. The compnay has received the USFDA's final nod for Erlotinib Tablets. Erlotinib Tablets are indicated for the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
Sunteck outperforms
India's Hetero says COVID-19 drug red
Indian pharmaceutical company Hetero Labs said on Friday a late-stage trial of covid-19 drug molnupiravir showed it helped reduce hospitalisation and resulted in faster recovery among patients with mild cases. Molnupiravir is an antiviral therapy Merck & Co is developing with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics for the treatment of non-hospitalisedcovid-19 patients. The trial was conducted at covid-19 dedicated hospital sites across India. (Reuters)
Ril, HDFC twins top drags
Rupee gains 4 paise to 74.67 against US dollar in early trade
The rupee appreciated 4 paise to 74.67 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday, despite a weak trend in domestic equity markets. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened slightly strong at 74.68 against the dollar and gained some further ground to quote 74.67 in the morning session, registering a rise of 4 paise over its previous close. (PTI)
Deutsche Bank India reports 48% rise in FY21 net profit
Deutsche Bank AG has said that its India branches posted a profit after tax of ₹1,527 crore for the year ended 31 March, a 48% rise from the previous year. The lender’s net revenues in India, at ₹5,537 crore, were up 23% over the previous year. The bank said it a statement that this growth was driven by consistent performance across all our businesses in India, aided in large part by a strong cost and risk discipline. Its profit before tax during the year climbed to ₹2,739 crore, a 38% growth over the last financial year. (Read here)
Sensex heatmap
Prathamesh Mallya, AVP- Research, Non-Agri Commodities and Currencies, Angel Broking on gold
"On Thursday, spot gold ended marginally lower by 0.05% to close at $1,802.6 per ounce. The bullion metal remained afloat on the back of a softer US dollar and retreating benchmark US Treasury Yield boosted appeal for the bullion metal. However, a steady recovery in the US economy weighed on the safe haven asset, gold. Lower bond return kept the yellow metal prices elevated in this week as high interest rates increases the opportunity cost of holding gold.
The minutes of the US Federal Reserve policy meet last month indicated towards a sooner than expected tapering of the asset purchase programme. Despite mounting inflation worries, a relatively higher unemployment figures still remained a major concern for the US Central bank. However, no further hints on a tighter expansionary policy undermined the US Dollar and the treasury yield. Increase in the number of Delta variant COVID-19 cases ignited worries over extension of lockdown in major economies which might further derail the economic recovery."
TCS gains
Tata Consultancy Services’ stock was trading at ₹3,271.05 apiece, up 0.43% at 10:38 am. The IT major reported a 28.5% increase in fiscal first-quarter profit amid strong demand from financial services, retail and healthcare clients in the US and UK. Profit rose to ₹9,008 crore in the three months ended 30 June from ₹7,008 crore a year earlier, the company said. Earnings, however, missed the consensus estimate of ₹9,382.5 crore in a Bloomberg survey.
JSW Steel gains
JSW Steel's stock was trading at ₹676.15 apiece, or 1.16% at 10:36 am. The company said its crude steel production for Q1FY22 grew 16% quarter-on-quarter and 65% year-on-year to 5.07 million tonnes.
Clean Science IPO: GMP indicates strong listing, other details of the issue
Clean Science IPO subscription status after two days of bidding is robust 4.3 times and shares of the company in grey market is available at a premium of ₹480. According to the market observers, Clean Science IPO GMP has been rising ever since it opened for subscription on 7th July and it may play a big role in the last day's bidding i.e. today. They said that a large number of IPO bidders look at the GMP (grey market premium) of the public offer before going into the financial details of the company. For them, GMP of an IPO is the primary short-term indicator of the IPO's performance. (Read here)
GR Infraprojects IPO: What GMP (grey market premium) signaling about the issue
GR Infraprojects IPO: G R Infraprojects IPO (Initial Public Offering) has been open for subscription since 7th July 2021 and today is the last day to bid for the public issue. In the last two days, GR Infra IPO has been subscribed 5.75 times, which reflects the overwhelming mood of the bidders toward the public offer. However, if we look at the grey market, GR Infraprojects GMP today has gone up again at ₹410 and it has been oscillating around ₹400 or above ever since the issue opened for subscription. (Read here)
Sensex, Nifty fall amid weak global cues; covid variants seen as key risks
Indian stock markets fell for the second straight day on Friday, tracking the decline in global peers amid concerns that the spread covid variants could disrupt economic recovery. At 09:30am, the benchmark Sensex was down 0.5% at 52,320 points while Nifty fell 0.53% to 15,663 points. Asian shares followed US equities lower in early deals on Friday on growing anxiety that the spread of covid-19 variants could hamper the global economic recovery. (Read here)
Bharat Dynamics gains
Bharat Dynamics' stocks was trading at ₹384.05 apiece, up 3.05% at 9:47 am. The company on Thursday signed a contract today worth ₹499 crore with ministry of defence for manufacture and supply of Akash Missiles to the Indian Air Force.
Microsoft giving ₹1 lakh cash pandemic bonus to employees
Microsoft is gifting its employees a $1,500 bonus in 'recognition of the unique and challenging fiscal year' that Microsoft just completed more than a year of impact from the coronavirus, the Verge reported. (Read here)
Auto stocks in red
Retail sales of vehicles across categories rose sharply month-on-month in June as dealers reopened their outlets after almost two months. Pent-up demand and the preference for personal mobility also helped push sales. Retail sales had declined substantially in April and May following the surge in covid-19 cases.
Banks, financials drag
Market opening
The Sensex opened at 52,508.24, down 60.4 points, while the Nifty was at 15,688.25, down 39.9 points on Friday. Banks, financials were top drags.
Genesys International to issue convertible debentures worth ₹28 cr
Genesys International Corp. Ltd's board has approved a ₹28 crore issue of unsecured compulsory convertible debentures (CCD) and warrants on preferential basis to Florintree Innovation LLP and Elizabeth Mathew. The firm said it will issue 15 lakh CCD on a preferential basis to Florintree Innovation at face value of ₹122 per CCD. These are convertible into 15 lakh equity shares at the end of 12 months from the date of issue, Genesys said in a regulatory filing.
Petrol, diesel prices remain at record high levels
Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged on Friday after two consecutive days of hike, with fuel prices continued to remain at the all-time high levels across cities. The cost of petrol in Delhi remained at ₹100.56 per litre while diesel is currently at ₹89.62. In Mumbai, petrol is being sold at ₹106.59 per litre, whereas diesel at ₹97.18 per litre. Petrol price in Kolkata stayed unchanged at ₹100.62 for a litre and ₹92.65 per litre for diesel. The price of petrol in Chennai is ₹101.37 per litre, while that of diesel is ₹94.15 per litre. (Read here)
Tokyo prepares for fan-free Olympics as virus surges
The Tokyo Olympics will ban spectators from events held in Japan’s capital, revising an earlier decision to allow some fans, as the resurgence of virus cases pushed the government to declare a state of emergency in the city. The decision, announced by Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa, comes after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a fourth state of emergency for Tokyo, running from 12 July through 22 August.
RBI advises lenders to prepare for Libor shift
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday issued an advisory to banks and other financial institutions, asking them to be prepared for the year-end transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor). (Read here)
Cabinet clears ₹23,123 crore emergency response package to fight Covid
To tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, the Union Cabinet has approved a new emergency response package worth ₹23,123 crore, following the first meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's revamped cabinet on Thursday.
Addressing a press briefing, India's new health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, "To avert the devastation caused by the second Covid wave, the government had announced a ₹23,000-crore relief package." (Read here)
Stocks to Watch
Auto stocks, Bharat Dynamics, TCS, Sanofi, among other stocks may be in the news today. (Read here)
Market outlook
Markets are likely to remain under pressure on Friday following weakness in global peers. Trends in SGX Nifty suggest a negative opening of Indian benchmark indices. On Thursday, the BSE Sensex ended at 52,568.94, down 485.82 points or 0.92%. The Nifty ended at 15,727.90 , down 151.75 points or 0.96%.
Pfizer Outlines Booster Plans While Regulators Signal Caution
Pfizer Inc. plans to request U.S. emergency authorization in August for a third booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine, based on early data showing that it can sharply increase immune protection against the coronavirus. At the same time, however, federal health officials signaled that they would take a cautious approach to potential booster shots, and underlined that the currently available vaccines are effective at keeping people from being sickened by the coronavirus. (Bloomberg)
Asian stocks start lower
Asian shares followed US equities lower Friday on growing anxiety that the spread of covid-19 variants could hamper the global economic recovery. Treasuries trimmed a rally and the dollar edged up. MSCI Inc.’s gauge of Asia-Pacific stocks tumbled to the lowest since mid-May with equities retreating from Japan and China to Australia. A key Hong Kong gauge of Chinese stocks fell into a bear market. U.S. contracts slipped after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 pulled back from records. Economically sensitive sectors such as industrials and materials led Wall Street lower.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.3% as of 10:40 a.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 dropped 0.9%
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.6%
Japan’s Topix index retreated 1.8%
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index lost 1.3%
South Korea’s Kospi index shed 1.6%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.2%
China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.4%
SGX Nifty was down 0.18%
Wall Street indices hit three-week lows
US stocks dropped the most in almost three week amid growing anxiety that the spread of covid-19 variants will upend growth expectations, undoing popular reflation trades. Treasuries gained for an eighth day. The S&P 500 fell 0.9%, with the economically-sensitive industrial and material sectors helping to lead all 11 industry groups lower. The benchmark index had set all-time closing highs in eight of the last nine trading sessions. Banks were the biggest losers with the US 30-year Treasury yields fell briefly below 1.90% for the first time since February. Traders are getting edgy over whether the rapid spread of the delta strain will knock back growth and prospects for central bank normalization.
The S&P 500 fell 0.9% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.6%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%
The MSCI World index fell 1%