PremiumIndian indices close at record highs on Friday. Asian stocks were mixed at close after US inflation reassured investors against a drastic market intervention by the Fed.
The Sensex closed at 52,474.76, up 174.29 points, or 0.33%, while the Nifty was at 15,799.35, up 61.60 points, or 0.39%. Auto, IT, metal and pharma stocks led Nifty gains. Among broader indices, BSE midcap and smallcap indices closed 0.14% and 0.40% higher, respectively. The Nifty midcap100 and smallcap100 closed 0.22% and 0.54%, higher, respectively. On the 30-share Sensex, Dr Reddy's, PowerGrid, TCS, and 12 other stocks closed in green, while L&T, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, and 12 other stocks closed in red.
The Karnataka HC dismissed pleas by Amazon.com Inc and Walmart's Flipkart to quash an antitrust investigation, a lawyer told Reuters, more than a year after the probe was put on hold after legal challenges by the companies.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) announced a probe in January 2020 into Amazon and Flipkart following a complaint from a trader group which alleged they were promoting some "preferred sellers" and in turn hurting business for other, smaller sellers.
Federal indirect tax body, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is facing a fresh controversy—demand for proportional representation of states instead of the current system of all states having same voting rights.
The Reserve Bank of India extended the the Risk Based Internal Audit (RBIA) rules to Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) on Friday.
The RBI said that all deposit taking HFCs, irrespective of their size, and non-deposit taking HFCs with asset size of ₹5,000 crore and above would come under the Risk Based Internal Audit (RBIA) rules. (Read here)
Leading web aggregator Policybazaar on Friday said it has got approval from regulator IRDAI to undertake insurance broking, a development that will help the company augment business and expand bouquet of services.
With this development, the company will surrender its web aggregator licence to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and undertake business including insurance aggregation under the broking umbrella. (Read here)
Bharat Gears Ltd reported March-quarter net profit of ₹ 27.7 million compared to a loss of ₹21.8 million a year ago. Revenue from operations in the March quarter were at ₹1.74 billion compared to ₹1.11 billion a year ago.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Friday announced that it has expanded its strategic partnership with Virgin Atlantic, one of the UK's leading airlines, to help the latter embark on a "new phase of recovery and growth".
The enhanced partnership builds on a 17-year relationship between the two organisations and will see TCS take exclusive responsibility for end-to-end operational management and digital transformation, the information technology services major said in a statement.
This includes technology operations, where TCS will enable Virgin Atlantic to leverage the best of Microsoft Azure through a series of technology and business transformation initiatives, it said.
Exponential surge in cases of covid-19 across the country and the consequent lockdown measures by states led to a sharp decline in wholesale dispatches of automobiles across categories, for the second consecutive month in May, on a sequential basis. Sales of passenger vehicles decreased by 66.34% on a month-on-month basis to 88,045 units during the month as result of 70.5% drop in sales of passenger cars to 41,536 units and 58.5% decline for utility vehicles to 4,5158 units, according to sales data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Friday.
Dabur eyes expansion of Ayurveda range under healthcare vertical, CNBC TV18 reported. Healthcare will contribute 40% to company's revenue in 2 years, and 5% in 5 years, Dabur said. The segment contributed 33.9% of the company's revenue in 33.9%.
Biophore India Pharmaceuticals on Friday said it has applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for obtaining emergency-use approval for Aviptadil, used in the treatment of moderate to severe cases of COVID-19.
The Hyderabad-based firm said it has developed the product which is backward integrated with its in-house API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient).
The company plans to commence commercial production of the product immediately after the approval is received, it added.
Aviptadil is a synthetic form of Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) that, when administered, results in rapid clinical recovery in patients with severe SARS-COV-2 infection.
In a note released today, Rajeev Thakkar, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of PPFAS Mutual Fund emphasized that PPFAS Mutual Fund was not in favour of the sector rotation or the reopen trade. According to Thakkar there is ‘unbounded optimism’ in sectors that the AMC was not invested in. These include metals, PSUs, airlines, speciality chemicals, PSU and corporate banks and ‘obscure small and midcap companies.’ To the extent that we are not in the hottest sectors of the moment and that we may see some build up of cash in the portfolio, the fund could see some underperformance in the near term, Thakkar wrote.
The board of Likhitha Infrastructure has recommended a dividend of ₹1.5 per share of face value ₹10 each FY21 subject shareholders' approval at the ensuing Annual General Meeting. The dividend shall be credited 30 days from the conclusion of the AGM. The AGM date and book closure date for the purpose of the payment of dividend will be announced in due course.
Shares of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders gained nearly 4 per cent in early trade on Friday after the company reported a manifold jump in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March 2021. The stock jumped 3.67% to ₹283.75 on the BSE. At the NSE, it gained 3.76% to ₹283.95. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders on Thursday reported a manifold jump in consolidated net profit to ₹230.54 crore for the quarter ended March 2021. The company had reported a profit of ₹41.55 crore in the corresponding period previous fiscal.
In a setback to Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, the US Food and Drug Administration has "recommended" Ocugen Inc, the US partner of the Indian vaccine maker, to go for Biologics Licence Application (BLA) route with additional data, nixinghopes of Emergency Use Authorisation.
Ocugen in a statement on Thursday announced that as recommended by theFDA,it will pursue submission of a biologics licence application (BLA) for Covaxin.
BLA is a "full approval" mechanism by the FDA for drugs and vaccines.
PSU maharatna Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has reported 26.4% hike in its net profit at ₹3,444 crore for the March quarter and significant reduction in net debt during FY21.But earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in Q4 FY21 stood at ₹ 6,473 crore, down 6.4% from ₹6,917 crore in the year-ago period.
Shyam Metalics IPO (initial public offer) will open for subscription on 14th June 2021 and it will remain available for bidding till 16th June 2021. The promoters of India's leading integrated metal producer company have fixed Shyam Metalics IPO price at ₹303 to ₹306. According to stock market experts, timing of the Shyam Metalics public issue is expected to help company listing as the Shyam Metalics IPO GMP (grey market premium) today is ₹130 means market is highly bullish on Shyam Metalics IPO listing. (Read here)
The March quarter earnings performance of public sector power company NHPC Ltd would have been disappointing had it not been for higher other income.
On a standalone basis, the company's hydropower generation declined 25% year-on-year (y-o-y) at 2,946MUs for Q4FY21 due to low water flow at most of its plants. However, higher late payment surcharge of Rs330 crore boosted it's other income component by 13% y-o-y, which translated into a 6% y-o-y increase in Q4 profit after tax at Rs400 crore. It should be noted that the March quarter’s performance took NHPC's FY21 adjusted profit to Rs3200 crore, which according to ICICI Securities Ltd analysts is a significant achievement, considering the company had provided Rs190 crore rebate on fixed costs in Q1FY21. (Read here)
IT major Wipro on Friday said it has appointed Anup Purohit as its chief information officer (CIO). "Anup brings with him over 25 years of experience across banking and financial services, centered around innovation in digital banking, financial management, business solutions and service delivery, portfolio and program management, risk and controls and information security," Wipro said in a regulatory filing. In his new role, as chief information officer, Anup will report to Sanjeev Singh, chief operations officer, the company added. In his most recent role as CIO of Yes Bank, Anup was in charge of spearheading business technology transformation and digital innovation strategy with a relentless focus on bringing future technology into the bank's current technology stack.
"The Nifty is in fine form this morning - it is heading towards 15,900-16,000. A buy on dips is a better strategy to adopt as opposed to buying a,t the c,urrent market level. This is because the risk is to reward ratio is more favorable when traders accumulate positions on dips. The risk is lower and the targets are higher. The index has a good support at the 15,600 level and until we do not disrespect this level on a closing basis, the overall trend remains bullish."
The Sensex was sat 52,473.60, up 0.33% at market pre-opening, while the Nifty was at 15,796.45, up 0.37% at 9:10 am.
Indian companies will probably raise more than ₹3.5 trillion ($48 billion) through infrastructure and real estate investment trusts in the coming year, compared with $29 billion raised to date, Icra estimates.
The lure of the hybrid instruments, which were in the making for a decade, has been boosted by recent rule changes, according to the local unit of Moody’s Investors Service. Icra predicts about ₹1 trillion of commercial real estate assets and ₹2.5 trillion of infrastructure assets including highways, power transmission, gas pipelines, renewable and digital fiber assets can be monetized. (Bloomberg)
Fuel rates are continuing to soar at a record high across the country after another rate revision on Friday. While petrol got costlier by 31 paise per litre in the national capital, diesel rates went up by 28 paise per litre, according to price notification by the oil retailers. After the increase, a litre of petrol in Delhi is retailing at ₹95.85, whereas diesel costs ₹86.75 per litre. In Mumbai, petrol is being sold at ₹102.04 per litre, while diesel has reached ₹94.15 per litre. Petrol is retailing above the ₹100 per litre mark in six states and union territories -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Ladakh. (Read here)
Cryptocurrencies looked to close out the week steady, with bitcoin seemingly well supported about $35,000 despite more talk of global regulatory scrutiny. As per CoinDesk data, Bitcoin plunged around 2% in the last 24 hours to trade at $36,289.61 whereas other digital coins also were trading lower.
Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, declined over 5% at $2,431 while dogecoin at $0.32, down 5%. Other cryptocurrencies like XRP, Cardano also fell more over 4% in the last 24 hours. (Read here)
Republican Senator Steve Daines said India is the "fastest-growing" fintech market in the world and far ahead of the US in terms of financial innovation.
The senator from Montana said the US faces a challenge from China, which has launched a digital Yuan, which they hope will one day displace the dollar as the world's dominant reserve currency.
"Even beyond the digital Yuan, it's no secret that China and many other countries are well ahead of us with regard to financial innovation," he said during a Congressional hearing by the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy on Central Bank Digital Currency.
"India is among the fastest-growing fintech markets in the world. In fact, India processed nearly 10 billion more real-time payments than China in 2020, $25.5 billion, versus $15.7 billion for China," Daines said.
DHFL, Jaypee Infratech, NHPC, JSW Steel, and Wipro, among other stocks could be in the news today. (Read here)
Indian markets may open marginally higher on Friday tracking slight gains in SGX Nifty. On Thursday, the Sensex closed at a fresh closing high of 52,300 points, up 0.69% while Nifty ended a fresh record high of 15,737.75 points, up 0.65%. (Read here)
The initial public offering (IPO) of TPG-backed Dolda Dairy Ltd will open on 16 Jun. Price band for the issue has been fixed at ₹421-428 a share. The issue will close on 18 June.
The IPO consists of a fresh issue of ₹50 crore and an offer for sale of 10.99 million shares by its existing shareholders and promoters. On the upper band of the issue, offer for sale (OFS) amounted to ₹470 crore. (Read here)
Asian stocks were steady Friday after U.S. shares and Treasuries rallied as investors judged that a jump in inflation is likely to be transitory, leaving scope for ongoing central-bank support.
Equities edged up in Hong Kong and dipped in Japan and China. U.S. equity contracts crept higher following a climb in the S&P 500 to a record overnight and a technology rally that boosted the Nasdaq 100. Meme-stocks favored by day traders, such as GameStop Corp., plunged.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 10:39 a.m. in Tokyo. The index rose 0.5%
Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.1%. The gauge rose 1.1%
Japan’s Topix index dipped 0.1%
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2%
South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.5%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 0.6%
China’s Shanghai Composite gauge slid 0.2%
SGX Nifty was up 0.19%
U.S. equities climbed to a record and benchmark Treasury yields extended declines to the lowest since March as investors bet that the Federal Reserve will maintain its ultra-accomodative policies even after data showed consumer prices rose more than forecast last month. The S&P 500 led the major American equity indexes higher, closing at an all-time high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose to its highest level since late April as megacap technology stocks rallied. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to as low as 1.44% after initially surge in the wake of the inflation report. The consumer price index data released Thursday showed that the increase in May was driven largely by categories associated with a broader reopening of the economy as vaccinations bring the pandemic under control. The report comes amid a debate about whether the Fed can stick to the dovish stance that has helped lift markets in the face of a strengthening economy that brings the risk of destabilizing inflation.
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