Sensex up over 280 points, Nifty ends above 10,200; banks recover in last hour

02 Apr 2018

3:30 pm Market at Close: The market has ended first session of the new fiscal on a strong note, with the Sensex gaining over 280 points, while the Nifty has managed to end above 10,200. A gain in pharma, auto, IT and infra names pushed the indices in a strong zone, but a last hour recovery in the Bank Nifty aided sentiment and helped both close around high points of the day. The market breadth favoured the advances.

The Sensex is up 286.68 points or 0.87% at 33255.36, while the Nifty is up 98.10 points or 0.97% at 10211.80.

Adani Ports, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Cipla have gained the most on both indices, while ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and IOC were the top losers.

3:05 pm Market Check: The benchmark indices trading strong as Nifty touched 10,200 level in the afternoon trade. The Sensex up 275.30 points at 33243.98, and the Nifty up 92.10 points at 10205.80.

About 2048 shares have advanced, 527 shares declined, and 151 shares are unchanged.

2:45 pm Arvind plans to produce 40% of garments in-house: Arvind is planning to produce 40 percent of garments in-house, from 10 percent at present, as it looks to notch up the turnover of its textile business to Rs 10,000 crore in the next five years.

2:30 pm Strides Shasun get USFDA nod: Strides Shasun's wholly owned subsidiary Strides Pharma Global Pte has received approval for Ibuprofen Capsules, 200 mg OTC from the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA).

The approval further strengthens Strides global ibuprofen portfolio that now includes multiple products in oral dosage format.

Ibuprofen Capsules is generic version of Advil Liqui-Gels, 200 mg, of Pfizer Inc.

2:20 pm TVS March sales number: TVS Motor Company added 3.6 percent on Monday as company has posted robust growth in March sales number.

The company recorded sales growth of 27 percent increasing at 3,26,659 units in March 2018 from 2,56,341 units in March 2017.

Its two-wheelers segment registered growth of 25.8% at 315,765 units and domestic two-wheelers posted growth of 22.2% to 265,166 units in March 2018.

1:55 pm Buzzing Stock: FIEM Industries rose 2.4 percent Monday as the company entered into JV with Japanese firm Aisan Industry Co.

The company signed a joint venture agreement with Aisan Industry Co., Ltd., Japan for manufacture of fuel injection system and IC connector for two-wheelers and three-wheelers for Indian market.

The initial share capital of joint venture company is proposed Rs 1 billion, wherein shareholding of Fiem will be 26% and of Aisan will be at least 69%.

1:40 pm Market Check: A pullback in financials has pushed the market higher from the morning levels. The Sensex is up almost 200 points, while the Nifty is also hovering well above 10,100, thanks to Nifty Bank turning positive.

The market breadth favours the advances. Among sectors, pharma, auto, IT and infra have led the gains on D-Street, while Nifty PSU bank is the only index in the red zone. The midcap index too is higher by 1 percent.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports, Cipla and Lupin have gained the most, while ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and IOC were the top losers.

1:30 pm Buzzing Stock: Kridhan Infra share price rallied 3.3 percent intraday Monday after it increased shareholding in Vijay Nirman Company, an EPC company.

The engineering firm has acquired an additional 4.61 percent stake in Vijay Nirman Company (VNC). As a part of this transaction, VNC has allotted 14,99,475 fresh equity shares to KIL.

"Post this transaction KIL holding in Vijay Nirman has increased to 41.47 percent," Kridhan Infra said in its filing.

1:10 pm Check on lending practices: Arvind Gupta, the whistleblower in the ICICI Bank-Videocon Group controversy, wants the government and regulators to check on the lending practices of the banking system.

Gupta, who was the first to highlight the issue, with a October 2016 blog titled “Banking Sector NPAs from mighty Corporate Cons”, told Moneycontrol that he has raised more than 12 cases in the past 'which have gone unnoticed by the government'.

Gupta is founder and trustee of Indian Investors Protection Council, and as his blog profile suggests, he has a Ph.D in Public Sector Economics.

12:52 pm Interview: We expect FY19 and FY20 to deliver some of the strongest earnings growth in the past five years, on the back of a signs of an economic turnaround which can can last for multiple years, Chandresh Kumar Nigam, MD and CEO, Axis MF, said in an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol’s Kshitij Anand. Read the whole interview here.

12:35 pm RInfra gains: Share price of Reliance Infrastructure added 3 percent intraday Monday on winning EPC contract from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Project.

The company won an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for Rs 441 crore from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for the rehabilitation and upgrading of National Highway-66 in the Kashedi Ghat section which includes execution of three by three lane twin tunnels of total length 3.44 km, company said in release.

The company had bid for the project in joint venture with CAI, Ukraine.

In addition to the twin tunnels, the contract also includes construction of highway with paved shoulders and viaducts for a length of 7.2 Km.

12:15 pm Market Check: Shares have extended their morning gains, with the Sensex trading around 150 points higher, while the Nifty is also up around half a percent. A gain in auto, pharma and IT names is helping the indices trade strong, even as financials take a beating on the back of weak sentiment.

ICICI Bank continues to trade lower by around 6 percent, while Ashoka Buildcon is up around 4 percent on the back of an order win. IRB Infra is also up 2 percent on the back of an order win for a project in Uttar Pradesh.

12:10 pm ICICI Bank in focus: The Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department have turned their focus on ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case and are in the process of collection relevant files and papers from the Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Once the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) files FIR in the case pertaining to the sanction of loan worth Rs 3,200 crore to Venugopal Dhoot-led Videocon Group, the ED is expected to follow up the matter, a source told Moneycontrol. “As of now, ED is preparing its stand in this case,” the source said.

This is not the first time the Venugopal Dhoot firm is facing the heat from the ED. In 2014, Videocon Group received a show cause notice for violation of forex norms. The case was closed after penalizing the companies.

In 2007-08, the Videocon Group had formed a company in Cayman Islands called Tuskar Overseas. The company raised loans from ICICI Bank Ltd in the UK and Canada based on guarantees given six domestic Videocon entities. In its preliminary investigation, the ED had found that Tuskar Overseas didn’t have a legitimate business.

12:00 pm PM insurance scheme: The government will begin talks with general insurance companies and other relevant stakeholders over the course of the next few weeks on revising the price for Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY). The scheme, which offers Rs 2 lakh personal accident insurance at an annual premium of Rs 12 per annum, has been a loss-making proposition for insurers because of the unsustainable premiums.

Sources told Moneycontrol that insurers are likely to seek a hike in the premiums, to at least Rs 100-200 per annum. The cover period for the policy is June 1 of each year to May 31 of the subsequent year. A regular personal accident policy of a similar sum assured costs between Rs 200 and Rs 250 depending on the insurance company.

The personal accident scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Suraksha Yojana, launched in May 2015, has 134.7 million subscribers as of March 26, 2018. According to data from the Jan Suraksha Yojana website, State Bank of India led the enrolments with 23.3 million subscribers. The insurers had received 20,984 claims during the same period which translates to Rs 419.68 crore worth of claims.

11:45 am Auto sales: Automaker Mahindra & Mahindra reported a 10 percent increase in total sales at 62,077 units in March as against 56,202 units for the same month last year.

In the domestic market, M&M's sales also went up by 10 percent to 58,653 units last month as against 53,493 units a year earlier, the company said in a BSE filing.

Exports were up 26 percent at 3,424 units as compared to 2,709 units in the same period a year ago.

11:30 am Order win: RPP Infra Projects has bagged orders worth Rs 233.9 crore from TNSCB (Tamilnadu Slum Clearance Board) and Maharashtra PWD (Public Works Department of Maharashtra). The stock is up 4 percent.

11:10 am Ashoka Buildcon gains: Shares of Ashoka Buildcon gained 5 percent intraday Monday as as company received letters of award from MoRT&H.

The company received letters of award (LOAs) from Ministry of Road Transport & Highway (MoRT&H) through Public Works Department, National Highway (P.W.D), Maharashtra on EPC mode.

The projects include up-gradation of Jalgaon - Bhadgaon ( section I) of NH 753J to two lane with paved shoulders and up-gradation of Bhadgaon - Chalisgaon (section II) of NH 753J in the state of Maharashtra on EPC mode.

10:47 am Buzzing Stock: Share price of Maruti Suzuki India added 2.4 percent in the early trade on Monday on the back of robust sales number for the month of March 2018.

The company reported 15 percent jump in its total sales volumes for the month of March 2018. The company has sold total 1,60,598 units in March 2018.

The company had sold a total of 1,39,763 units in March 2017.

10:35 am Market View: The Nifty which is still struggling to reclaim its 200-days moving average could see a pullback rally first and then retest 9800 kind of levels led by fall in global markets, Gautam Shah, Associate Director & Technical Analyst at JM Financial said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

The last one and a half month were challenging and it was required after the recent run-up we saw in the year 2017. The problem is that even at levels of 10100 we don’t have evidence on the chart which suggests that the market is bottoming out for good, said Shah.

He further added that considering the fact that the setup for global markets especially the US is still negative, India will still have to feel the heat. Also, the news flow in the past 4-6 weeks supported bearish sentiment.

10:05 am Market Check: The market has begun this new financial year on a positive note, with the Nifty trading above 10,100 in the opening tick, while the Sensex gained around 100 points and is hovering around those levels.

Among stocks, ICICI Bank is down around 4 percent, while Axis Bank is also trading lower by around 1 percent. Canara Bank fell around 2 percent after it cancelled its stake sale in Can Fin Homes. The market also saw two debutants this morning—Sandhar Technologies and Karda Constructions.

10:20 am New Listing: Shares of Sandhar Technologies were listed at a premium of 5 percent on the exchanges here.

The stock listed at Rs 349, a gain of Rs 27 to the issue price of Rs 332 per share.

The initial public offer of auto component maker Sandhar was subscribed 6.19 times during March 19-21, 2018.

9:45 am Navkar Corp gains: Navkar Corporation share price rallied as much as 7.5 percent in morning on Monday after getting approval from NCLT for amalgamation of Navkar Terminals with the company.

The container freight stations & rail terminals operator informed exchanges that the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench (NCLT), on March 28, has sanctioned the Scheme of Amalgamation of Navkar Terminals into Navkar Corporation and their respective shareholders.

Navkar Terminals is a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

9:30 am Buzzing Stock: Shares of Can Fin Homes declined 8 percent in the early trade on Monday as Canara Bank called off the divestment process in the company.

The bank decided to called off the divestment process since the quote received was not in tune with the valuation, as per BSE release.

Canara Bank holds 30 percent stake in Can Fin Homes.

9:15 am Market Opens: Shares have begun the financial year on a positive note, with the Nifty trading above 10,100, while the Sensex is up around 100 points.

The Sensex is up 96.72 points or 0.29% at 33065.40, while the Nifty is up 41.90 points or 0.41% at 10155.60.

ICICI Bank is lower by over 3 percent on the back of negative developments around its CEO Chanda Kochchar, while Axis Bank is also trading lower by over 1 percent. A media reported said that the RBI has asked the lender to review Shikha Sharma’s tenure.

Among other stocks, Canara Bank is also trading lower by around 6 percent after it called off its stake sale in Can Fin Homes. GAIL, Vedanta, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors were trading in the green, while Titan was lower by half a percent.

9:00 am Pre-opening rates: Pre-opening rates for the market in the new financial year have kicked in. The Nifty is trading flat, while the Sensex is seen lower by over 100 points.

ICICI Bank is down around 10 percent, while Axis Bank is down around 4 percent.