Closing bell: Sensex ends up 112 pts, Nifty ends above 10,450 for first time

Moneycontrol News

3:30 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks ended at fresh record closing high on Friday, driven by banks after PNB earnings.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 112.34 points at 33,685.56 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 28.70 points to 10,452.50.

About 1,429 shares advanced against 1,316 declining shares on the BSE.

3:28 pm Management Interview: As the cash-heavy microfinance industry still reels from the impact of demonetisation on its collections and disbursements, the new Ujjivan Small Finance Bank is aiming to diversify its loan products, improve collections and turn around its losses by the end of the year.

“We are looking at personal loan products which we want to launch soon. We will also add 88 more branches from the 100 so far… next two quarters will definitely be about closing the tale,” Samit Ghosh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, told Moneycontrol.

Ujjivan Financial Services, the holding company and promoter of 100 percent subsidiary Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, narrowed its losses to Rs 11.95 crore for the second quarter of 2017-18 from that of Rs 73.01 crore in the same quarter of previous fiscal.

The microlender-turned-small finance bank’s loan book grew marginally by 6 percent over a year ago and 4.1 percent from the previous quarter at Rs 6,364 crore.

3:24 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks extended gains amid consolidation in late trade, hitting a life-time high.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 114.84 points at 33,688.06 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 30.60 points to 10,454.40.

3:20 pm Earnings: Realty firm Godrej Properties today reported a 91 percent jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 44 crore for the quarter to September.

Net profit stood at Rs 23 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a filing to the BSE.

Total income increased to Rs 536.08 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal, from Rs 359.04 crore in the same period of the previous year.

Godrej Properties is the real estate arm of the Godrej Group. The Mumbai-based firm is developing 147 million sq ft in 12 cities.

3:15 pm CS downgrades LIC Housing: Credit Suisse has downgraded LIC Housing Finance to neutral, from outperform rating and also slashed target price to Rs 600 from Rs 800 per share as it feels best days may be behind.

LIC Housing had been benefitted from favourable rates in past which may change post PSU bank recapitalisation and competition could increase, according to the research house.

The housing finance firm may also face margin pressures going forward, Credit Suisse feels.

Earnings are highly sensitive to margins, it said while cutting EPS estimates by 14-26 percent over FY18-20.

3:06 pm Buzzing: AU Small Finance Bank share price gained a little over 2 percent after global brokerage firm Morgan Stanley has initiated coverage with overweight rating on the stock.

The research house has set a target of Rs 725 per share for the stock, implying 19.3 percent potential upside over Thursday's closing price.

Morgan Stanley expects the non-banking finance company to report strong growth and high profitability going ahead.

2:58 pm IPO subscription: New India Assurance’s initial public offering (IPO) has been subscribed 1.14 times so far on the last day of issue on Friday.

The issue received bids for 13.68 crore shares against IPO size of 12 crore shares. The insurer plans to raise Rs 9,600 through the primary market.

2:44 pm Coal dispatch: The dispatch of coal by state-owned Coal India to its consumers in various sectors including power, through road in April-October went up by 12 million tonne.

In a bid to provide more coal to the power producers, Coal India (CIL) had offered to supply the fuel to plants located at shorter distance by road from the available pit head stock.

"The road dispatch during the current fiscal till October 2017 went up by 12 MT (million tonne) compared to same period last fiscal," CIL said in a statement.

2:32 pm USFDA Nod: Natco Pharma today said its marketing partner Alvogen has received final approval to market oseltamivir phosphate powder used for the treatment of influenza in the US.

"Alvogen has received final approval and is the first to market generic equivalent to oseltamivir phosphate, 6 mg/ml powder for oral suspension in the United States," Natco Pharma said in a regulatory filing.

In December last year, Alvogen launched the first generic equivalent to oseltamivir phosphate capsules in the United States.

2:25 pm Buzzing: Traders as well as investors queued up to buy shares of Amtek Auto in open market after multinational company Bharat Forge is going to join race to acquire the debt-laden company. The stock was locked at 20 percent upper circuit at Rs 29.70 per share.

Amtek Group companies Castex Technologies and Metalyst Forgings were also locked at 10 percent and 20 percent upper circuit, respectively.

In a clarification note Bharat Forge said it has also participated in the process of acquiring Amtek Auto, along with other potential bidders.

As regards Amtek Auto, there is currently a process being run under the National Company Law Tribunal for selling the company due to heavy debt burden. Amtek is among 12 companies identified by the Reserve Bank of India for resolution under the Insolvency Bankruptcy Code in June.

2:18 pm Listing: Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (RNAM), which successfully concluded its initial public offer last week, will make its stock market debut on Monday.

The company's IPO was oversubscribed 81.54 times during October 25-27, data available with the NSE showed.

The Rs 1,540-crore offering saw healthy demand in all three investor categories.

2:11 pm Trading to suspend in 8 cos: Leading stock exchange BSE will suspend trading in the securities of eight firms from November 24 as they have failed to comply with listing norms for two consecutive quarters.

In case they comply with the norms by November 20, they would not face trading suspension, BSE said in a circular.

The firms that face suspensions are Asahi Infrastructure & Projects, Delma Infrastructure, Dune Mercantile, Filtron Engineers, Gupta Synthetics, Neo Corp International, Noble Explochem and Relson India.

With regard to Filtron Engineers, the exchange said it has submitted the financial results as on date. However, it has not paid the applicable fines.

The exchange has also ordered freezing of the entire promoter shareholding of these eight companies "till further notice".

2:05 pm Govt bonds auction: Leading bourse NSE today said it will auction investment limits for foreign investors to purchase government bonds worth over Rs 2,100 crore on Monday.

The auction will be conducted on NSE's ebid platform from 1530 hrs to 1730 hrs after market hours, the exchange said in a circular.

The debt auction quota gives Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) the right to invest in the debt up to the limit purchased.

Till yesterday, investment in government debt has reached Rs 1,87,531 crore, which is 98.86 per cent of total permitted limit of Rs 1,89,700 crore.

Consequently, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) would conduct an auction for the allocation of unutilised debt limits to the tune of Rs 2,169 crore on November 6.

1:58 pm Earnings: Aluminium major Hindalco Industries' second quarter profit missed analyst expectations on Friday, falling 10.7 percent year-on-year due to one-time loss but operational numbers beat estimates led by Novelis earnings.

Standalone net profit for the quarter declined to Rs 393 crore, from Rs 439.7 crore in same quarter last fiscal.

Revenue from operations in Q2 increased 14.4 percent to Rs 10,308 crore, compared with Rs 9,012 crore in corresponding period.

Hindalco has reported one-time loss of Rs 105.5 crore for the quarter, against gain of Rs 85 crore in quarter ended September 2016.

1:48 pm Results: Power distributor, Tata Power, on Friday reported a fall of 43.6 percent in its September quarter net profit to Rs 268.5 crore. The bottomline was dragged largely because of a one-time loss of Rs 148 crore.

The company’s revenues grew by 6 percent at Rs 7,657 crore against Rs 7,213 crore year on year.

The company posted good operational performance as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 27.3 percent at Rs 1,850 crore against Rs 1,453 crore year on year. Meanwhile, the operating profit was reported at 24.2 percent against 20.1 percent.

1:35 pm Market Check: Frontline indices continued to trade steady, with the Nifty holding on to 10,400-mark.

The Sensex was up 78.33 points at 33651.55, while the Nifty was up 25.20 points at 10449.00. The market breadth was narrow as 1423 shares advanced against a decline of 1111 shares, while 104 shares were unchanged.

BHEL, Axis Bank and Tata Power gained the most on both indices, while Sun Pharma, BPCL and Coal India were the top losers.

1:05 pm Buzzing Stock: Shares of Royal Orchid Hotels touched 52-week high of Rs 152.30, rising 7.5 percent intraday Friday as it has announced partnership with UK-based Bespoke Hotels.

With this strategic partnership, Bespoke and Royal Orchid shall work together to enhance each other’s revenues and brand presence in their respective markets, as per company release.

Bespoke Hotels has grown to represent and manage over 200 properties worldwide, with over 50 represented hotels in India, and stands as the UK’s Largest Independent Hotel Group.

12:46 pm Hindalco in focus: Novelis, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hindalco Industries, has reported a net income of USD 307 million for the second quarter ended September 30, 2017.

"Novelis Inc..reported a net income of USD 307 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2018, compared to a net loss of USD 89 million in the prior-year period," Hindalco said in a BSE filing.

Excluding tax-affected special items in both years, the company reported a net income of USD 78 million in the second quarter, up from USD 60 million reported in the same period last year.

"The increase in net income, excluding special items, is mainly due to a 12 per cent increase in adjusted EBITDA to a record high USD 302 million for the September quarter," the company said.

12:38 pm Earnings: Public sector lender Punjab National Bank has reported better-than-expected growth of 2 percent for the quarter ended September 2017 and even its asset quality improved over previous quarter.

Profit for the quarter increased to Rs 560.6 crore, against Rs 549 crore in same quarter last fiscal.

Gross non-performing assets (NPA) as a percentage of gross advances were lower at 13.31 percent compared with 13.66 percent in previous quarter and net NPA also declined to 8.4 percent, from 8.67 percent on sequential basis.

12:29 pm Buzzing: Public sector lender Punjab National Bank shares price rallied 3.6 percent intraday ahead of September quarter earnings due later today, and post board approval for stake sale in PNB Housing Finance.

According to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, profit of the bank is likely to decline 33.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 366 crore for the quarter ended September 2017.

Net interest income is seen growing by 0.9 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,913.2 crore.

Meanwhile, the board of directors on Thursday has authorised the management of the bank to partially sell its stake in PNB Housing Finance.

12:20 pm Results: Edelweiss Financial said its consolidated profit in Q2 grew by 59.7 percent to Rs 216.8 crore from Rs 135.8 crore on year-on-year basis.

Revenue increased 26.6 percent to Rs 2,015 crore from Rs 1,592 crore YoY.

12:08 pm Earnings Estimates: Public sector lender Punjab National Bank's profit is likely to decline 33.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 366 crore for quarter ended September 2017.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, grew by 0.9 percent to Rs 3,913.2 crore compared with Rs 3,880 crore in same quarter last fiscal, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Analysts feel if slippages come below Rs 6,000 crore, loan growth in double digits, and net interest margin & gross non-performing assets improve, then that will be taken positively by the Street.

Management commentary on capital raising from government will be seen closely.

11:58 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks continued to trade mildly higher in late morning deals, but underperformed Nifty Bank index that gained 0.32 percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 35.87 points at 33,609.09 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 11 points to 10,434.80.

The market has consistently been hitting record highs everyday, though it continued to consolidate as investors await more corporate earnings.

The market breadth remained positive as about 1,415 shares advanced against 992 declining shares on the BSE.

11:48 am Market Outlook: "As things normalise, growth rates are likely to recover over the next few quarters. Monthly data for July, August and September for several parameters already point in that direction," Vinay R. Kulkarni - Senior Fund Manager - Equities at HDFC Asset Management Co told Moneycontrol.

The medium term outlook for the economy is even more encouraging. This view is driven by a likely acceleration in infra capex, affordable housing and a revival in private capex. As per recent news flow, there are reasons to be optimistic about revival of private capex in the not too distant future primarily led by metals sector.

Earnings outlook is improving and an earnings recovery is imminent on account of improvement in operating margins, lower interest rates, peaking NPA’s and higher metal prices. We believe this market continues to remain an attractive investment opportunity for long term investors.

11:38 am Stake Buy: Abu Dhabi's National Marine Dredging Corporation (NMDC) is planning to pick-up stake in the government-owned Dredging Corporation, according a media report.

On Wednesday, the Cabinet approved sale of the government’s entire 73.47 percent stake in Dredging Corporation of India (DCI), according to official sources.

National Marine and Infrastructure India Pvt Ltd is the Indian unit of the Abu Dhabi stock exchange-listed company in which the Abu Dhabi government has a 32 percent stake.

11:28 am HCC under pressure: HCC fell 4 percent after profit of the company for the quarter ended September 2017 fell sharply by 50 percent year-on-year to Rs 11.6 crore, dented by weak operational performance.

Revenue during the quarter grew by 6.5 percent to Rs 970 crore compared with year ago, the infrastructure company said.

Operating profit dropped 23.7 percent to Rs 149 crore and margin contracted by 600 basis points to 15 percent on year-on-year basis, following rise in operating expenses though finance cost was lower (by 14 percent YoY).

"With most lenders now have sanctioned support, we expect a pickup in project execution of significant order backlog, faster receipt of arbitration award receivables and material reductions in finance cost in coming quarters," Praveen Sood, Group CFO said.

The order book as of November 2, 2017 stood at Rs 21,523 crore. "The company secured two new orders worth Rs 1,574 crore in Q2 and was the lowest bidder in a project worth Rs 254 crore, which got converted into letter of intent (Pune Metro Rail project) on Thursday," HCC said.

11:16 am Capex: Tata Communications is set to invest about USD 100 million in the the Internet of Things (IoT), a digital space the company is betting big on in the next few years.

IoT is a serious business and will become a significant revenue line for the firm going forward, Tata Communications Senior Vice President and Head, Internet of Things, VS Shridhar said.

He, however, did not disclose projected revenue numbers.

"There will be a lot of action over the next two to three years in IoT. We have tall ambitions. Overall investment over the next two to three years will be USD 100 million," Shridhar told PTI.

11:12 am Asia Update: Asian shares were mixed as investors gave a guarded greeting to Republican plans for massive US tax cuts, while welcoming the appointment of a sober centrist at the helm of the world's most powerful central bank.

Australia's main index firmed 0.5 percent, while China's blue chips were 0.8 percent lower.

News that Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell would be the new head of the US central bank was well flagged, but still something of a relief.

11:06 am Interview Management: Berger Paints India's Q2 earnings have come in largely in-line with street estimates.

"Q2 volume growth was high-single digits at 9 percent. We saw a blip in July due to internal software issues," Abhijit Roy, MD & CEO said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

He expects volumes to do better going forward.

"We didn’t take a price hike in Q2 and will not take in Q3 as well. However, we will watch crude price movement closely going ahead," he said.

Talking about business, he said we saw pick up in two-wheeler and commercial vehicle (CV) industry paint demand in October.

10:56 am Fundraising: Natco Pharma said its board has given green signal to raise Rs 1,500 crore through sale of shares to investors in coming months.

"Raising funds through further issue of shares or convertible securities of any nature through one or more modes, including but not limited to a further public and private offerings, rights issue, qualified institutional placement, issue of american depository receipts or global depository receipts etc, subject to such approvals as may be required up to an amount not exceeding Rs 1,500 crore," the company said in a filing to stock exchanges.

The company said it is holding extraordinary general meeting of its shareholders on November 29 to ratify the fund raising proposal.

10:50 am New Fed Chair: US President Donald Trump nominated Jerome Powell to run the Federal Reserve once current Chair Janet Yellen's term expires, in a move widely expected and one unlikely to disturb the roaring stock market.

The move follows an extended period of speculation over who would be named to head the central bank, whose aggressive policies have been considered central to a climate of low interest rates and booming asset prices.

"Today is an important milestone on the path to restoring economic opportunity to the American people," Trump said with Powell standing to his right. The president said the Fed requires "strong, sound and steady leadership" and Powell "will provide exactly that type of leadership."

"He's strong, he's committed and he's smart, and if he is confirmed by the Senate, Jay will put his considerable talents and experience to work leading our nation's independent central bank," Trump added.

10:45 am Market Check: Benchmark indices were mildly higher amid consolidation in morning, as investors await more corporate earnings. Tata Motors, SBI and other PSU companies are yet to announce its second quarter earnings.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 58.46 points at 33,631.68 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 16 points to 10,439.80.

The Nifty Midcap index gained 0.2 percent and Smallcap was up 0.5 percent. About three shares advanced for every two shares falling on the NSE.

10:40 am Services PMI: India's dominant services industry activity expanded at its fastest pace in four months in October as demand continued to strengthen despite accelerating price pressures, a business survey showed today.

The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 51.7 last month - its highest since June -  from 50.7 in September.

In July and August, the index was below the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction.

During those months, confusion over product pricing following the implementation of the new Goods and Services Tax pushed manufacturing and services sectors into contraction.

10:20 am Buzzing: Bharat Forge share price touched a fresh record high of Rs 722, rising 3.75 percent intraday Friday, following sharp improvement in North America class 8 truck orders.

The improvement in truck orders has been continued for the fifth consecutive month in September.

At 10:20 hours IST, the stock price was quoting at Rs 710.90, up Rs 15.05, or 2.16 percent on the BSE.

FTR in its release said preliminary North American Class 8 net orders for October stood at 35,700 units, continuing month-on-month increase of 62 percent versus September and 167 percent above a year ago.

FTR further said orders are set to rise due to strong freight demand & jump in US economy. Digitsation in the transportation sector in US is aiding Class 8 trucks, it added.

10:10 am Order Win: HCC, as a lead partner in the joint venture with AL FARA'A, has received Res 497.09 crore contract from the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation for Pune Metro Rail Project.

HCC's share in the joint venture is 51 percent (Rs 253.5 crore).

The project is to be completed in 110 weeks.

"The contract is for construction of nine elevated metro stations. The work involves general and structural civil works of the station buildings and architectural and site development," the Mumbai-based infrastructure company said.

All elevated stations on the Line 1 are being constructed by the HCC-AL FARA'A joint venture.

9:59 am Rupee trade: The rupee was up 3 paise at 64.57
against the dollar in morning trade today, helped by stronger

domestic equities.

Apart from selling of the American currency by exporters, forex dealers said, foreign capital inflows and the dollar losing muscle against other currencies overseas kept the rupee in good stead.

The domestic stock market jumped to fresh highs in the beginning.

Investors are relieved that US President Donald Trump has picked Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell to lead the US central bank.

Yesterday, the rupee had surrendered early gains and ended marginally lower by 2 paise at 64.61 against the American currency in a quiet session.

9:50 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks erased early gains amid consolidation as the Sensex and Nifty were trading off record highs.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 31.62 points at 33,541.60 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 15.80 points to 10,408.

About 1,127 shares advanced against 752 declining shares on the BSE.

9:46 am Buzzing: Hathway Cable was locked at 20 percent upper circuit after the company has turned profitable in the quarter ended September 2017 as it has reported net profit at Rs 14 crore in the Q2FY18 against loss of Rs 40.4 crore in a year ago period.

Meanwhile, revenue declined 59 percent at Rs 131.1 crore versus Rs 320 crore.

9:37 am Earnings: Excel Crop Care has registered a whopping 68 percent growth year-on-year in profit at Rs 45.1 crore and 43 percent jump in revenue at Rs 384.7 crore for the quarter ended September 2017.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) grew by 72 percent year-on-year to Rs 72.2 crore and margin expanded by 320 bps to 18.8 percent in Q2.

9:30 am Brigade Enterprises in focus: "The Income Tax authorities are conducting a routine verification of books of accounts of the company and its subsidiaries from November 2, 2017," Brigade said.

"We are extending full co-operation and assistance for this verification,” it added.

9:25 am IPO subscription: India's Mahindra Logistics's initial public offering of shares to raise Rs 830 crore was oversubscribed nearly eight times on the last day of the sale on Thursday, stock exchange data showed.

Investors bid for 10.64 crore shares, or 7.84 times the 1.357 crore on offer, according to stock exchange data.

The company's shareholders Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, Normandy Holdings and Kedaara Capital Alternative Investment Fund were selling a total 19.3 million shares, or a 27.5 percent stake, in the IPO.

9:20 am Buzzing: Shares of Lupin gained 1 percent in morning on the back of launch of Doxycycline tablets in the US market.

The company has launched Doxycycline Hyclate tablets USP, 75 mg and 150 mg in the US market after receiving approval from United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

Lupin’s Doxycycline Hyclate Tablets USP, 75 mg and 150 mg are the AB rated generic equivalent of Aqua Pharmaceuticals, LLC’s Acticlate Tablets, 75 mg and 150 mg.

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks opened at fresh record high on last day of the week, backed by banks, metals and telecom stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 88.97 points at 33,662.19 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 26.20 points to 10,450.

About 915 shares advanced against 290 declining shares on the BSE. Nifty Bank was up 115 points.

Hindalco rallied 2 percent after strong Novelis numbers. Vedanta gained a percent post earnings.

Axis Bank, Yes Bank, SBI, Aurobindo Pharma and Lupin were early gainers.

PNB, Tata Power, PFC and Titan Company were up around a percent ahead of earnings later today.

Glenmark Pharma, Power Grid, Andhra Bank, HCC, Berger Paints, Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Akzo Nobel were under pressure post earnings.

Ujjivan Financial, GE T&D, HEG, KSB Pumps, Deepak Fertilizers and Excel Crop Care rallied 4-20 percent post earnings.

Graphite India was up 5 percent, Hathway Cable surges 20 percent and Lakshmi Vilas Bank was up 5 percent. Torrent Pharma and Unichem Labs were up 1-4 percent.