Auto, banks fuel rally in indices; Sensex soars 613 points; Nifty ends at 15,108

Markets end with 1.2% gains

Indian benchmark indices ended higher for the second day in a row on Tuesday tracking global markets and amid a steady drop in covid-19 cases in the country. Sensex ended zoomed around 613 points to end at 50,193, while Nifty settled at 15,108, up 185 points. Bank Nifty rose 1.25% and Nifty Auto 3.2%.

Midcap and smallcap stocks outperformed today.

Bharti Airtel was the biggest laggard on the indices today.

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JBM Auto Q4 net profit rises over two-folds at ₹32.72 cr

Auto components major JBM Auto Ltd on Tuesday reported over two-fold jump in consolidated profit after tax at ₹32.72 crore in the quarter ended March on the back of robust sales.

Consolidated revenue from operations stood at ₹744.88 crore as against ₹475.21 crore in the same period of the previous year.

Mphasis sets up tech centres in Mexico, Costa Rica and Taiwan

Information technology solutions provider Mphasis announced on Tuesday the setting up of new centres in Mexico, Costa Rica and Taiwan, where it would create about 800 jobs in six months.

The services offered out of these centres would be large-scale operations in the areas of application development, support, testing, operations, and financial analysis, it said.

Bharti Airtel business market share rose to 31% in December

Welspun India to buy back up to 16.7 million shares at ₹120 per share

HDFC Bank, Reliance, ICICI Bank contribute most to Sensex rally

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Solara Active Pharma up 2.8%; promoter group released pledge of over 50%

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Shares gain globally

Global shares advanced Tuesday on bargain buying after the recent sell-offs.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 2.1%, while South Korea’s Kospi closed 1.2% higher. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 settled with 0.6% gains. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.4%, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.3%.

In Europe, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.4%, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.5%. Britain’s FTSE 200 added 0.5%.

Vedanta Resources’ strong operating performance to help debt servicing : S&P

S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday said Vedanta Resources’ ability to meet debt maturities till June next year is backed by strong operating performance of its subsidiary Vedanta Ltd. “We forecast Vedanta will generate solid consolidated free operating cash flow of about US$2.5 billion in fiscal 2022 (year ending March 2022), based on the company’s operational and capital expenditure guidance. Strong commodity prices should support Vedanta Ltd.’s robust performance, enhancing its ability to pay dividends to Vedanta Resources and help the parent’s refinancing” said S&P.

Oil hits $70/bbl

Oil rose on Tuesday to hit $70 a barrel for the first time since March, as expectations of demand recovery following reopenings of the European and U.S. economies offset concern over spreading coronavirus cases in Asia.

Brent crude was up 47 cents, or 0.7%, at $69.93 by 0825 GMT, and earlier topped $70 for the first time since March 15. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 45 cents, or 0.7%, at $66.72.

Canara Bank’s profit of ₹1,011 crore against ₹3,259 crore loss in the same quarter last year

Other income rose to ₹5,207 crore versus ₹2,175 crore a year ago.

Nifty Auto up 2.8%

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Among Nifty sectors, FMCG, Pharma in the red

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PM Modi stresses on local containment zones, aggressive testing in war against COVID-19

Calling field officials from states and districts “field commanders” in the fight against the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday stressed on local containment zones and aggressive testing as India battles the second wave of COVID-19.

Speaking during the interaction with field officials from states and districts to converse about their experience in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister emphasised “testing, tracking, treatment and Covid appropriate behavior” are necessary to defeat the virus.

Larsen & Toubro Infotech bags digital banking contract from Hoist Finance

Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd has entered into a strategic engagement with Hoist Finance AB, a pan European financial services company, to provide banking-as-a-service for performing loans segment through its digital banking platform.

Financial details of the contract were not disclosed.

Voltas’ Q4 earnings are cool, but valuations leave no room for big upsides

Voltas Ltd’s stock performance shows no signs of covid-19 disruptions. After all, the shares have appreciated by nearly 35% from its pre-covid highs seen in February 2020 on the NSE. Based on Bloomberg data, the stock currently trades at 47 times estimated earnings for financial year 2022, which isn’t particularly cheap. Lockdowns across various regions owing to the pandemic are expected to weigh on the demand for air conditioners (ACs). This would adversely impact Voltas’ June quarter performance. In this backdrop, it’s not surprising that many analysts have pared the company’s earnings estimates for FY22 and FY23.

Federal Bank approves investment of ₹1.48 bn in arm Fedbank Financial Services through rights issue

Vodafone misses market expectations with 1.2% drop in full-year earnings

Mobile operator Vodafone reported a 1.2% drop in full-year adjusted earnings, coming in at the bottom of its guidance and missing market expectations, but forecast growth this year.

The company posted adjusted EBITDA (earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortization) of 14.4 billion euros on revenue of 43.8 billion euros, down 2.6%, for the year.

Strides Pharma Science up 1.5%

The company’s promoter group has released substantial pledge of over 38%. Currently, the overall promoter group pledge stands at 25.98% of the promoter holding and 7.71% of the paid up capital of the company as compared to 41.96% of the promoter holding and 12.45% of the paid up capital as on 7 May, resulting in reduction of pledge by 38%.

Cyclone sinks barge hired by ONGC at offshore oil site

A cyclone barreling through India’s west coast sank a barge hired by state-run explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp. prompting a massive operation to rescue 91 people missing from the vessel.

“Long-range maritime surveillance aircraft were assisting the rescue effort but bad weather was hampering operations,” Indian Navy Spokesman Vivek Madhwal said, adding that about 146 people, who were on the barge, were rescued in a night-long operation.

RBI turns into a sobering realist as second wave stretches into May

In just a month, the second wave of the pandemic has made India’s central bank go from being Panglosian to a sobering realist. To its credit, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken whatever measures it deems fit to give the economy some relief. But the fact remains that the central bank has had to change its tone and that may have implications on future measures.

In the May bulletin, the RBI has said that the second wave of the pandemic has hit demand harder and the disruptions on supply side have been limited in comparison to last year. (Full report)

Sensex at day’s high: Up 670 points

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Reliance Industries up 1.4%

The company’s arm Jio is deploying two undersea cable systems with global partners and supplier SubCom to support data demand in India. India-Asia-Xpress (IAX) System, which will connect India with Singapore, will be ready for service by mid-2023, and India-Europe-Xpress (IEX) system, which will connect India to the Middle East and Europe, is expected to be ready in early 2024.

‘Severe’ cyclonic storm Tauktae to weaken in next three hours: IMD

Tata Motors up 3% ahead of earnings

Tata Motors Ltd – the vehicle manufacturing arm of conglomerate Tata Sons – is expected to post double digit growth in consolidated revenues and net profit for the March quarter on the back of improvement in sales of Jaguar Land Rover vehicles in major markets like China. (Full report)

Consumers trim wish list, biz wary

Consumer goods companies are flagging a slowdown in discretionary purchases such as large appliances, apparel and beauty products in the June quarter as India faces a brutal second wave of the pandemic.

Companies such as Metro Cash and Carry, Amul, Marico Ltd and Usha International said consumers are sticking to buying only essentials this quarter even as they boost spending on healthcare.

Gland Pharma up 7% after strong Q4

Gland Pharma Ltd, the specialized injectables manufacturer remains in limelight with covid vaccine Sputnik approval. It also posted a strong Q4 performance. The company’s revenue from operations during the quarter ended March 31, 2021, grew by 40% year-on-year. Sales from core markets grew a healthy 29% year-on-year in Q4.

BSE MidCap up 1.5%; MRPL, Adani Transmission top gainers

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Orient Cement stock hits new high post strong Q4 earnings, debt cut

The Orient Cement Ltd stock hit a new 52-week high of Rs132 on the NSE in early morning trade on Tuesday. The Street is impressed by the company’s strong operational performance in the March quarter.

It’s Ebitda at Rs200 crore was highest-ever in a quarter and ahead of analysts’ estimates of Rs140 crore-Rs155 crore. Ebitda is short for earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization. Tight cost control and volumes growth of 18% on a year-on-year basis, led to Ebitda out-performance. Ebitda/tonne improved from Rs792 to Rs1095 compared to the same quarter last year.

Ebitda margin rose by 530 basis points (bps) in Q4FY21 to 24.4% compared to the year ago period; sequentially, operating margin increased by around 175bps. One basis point is one hundereth of a percentage point.

HCL Technologies up 1.3% as co expanding in the UK

The IT services firm is expanding in the UK with the hiring of 1,000 technology professionals to support its clients in the UK and around the world. The company plans to hire these professionals in the fields of digital transformation, cloud, artificial intelligence and cyber security for its London, Greater London, and Manchester offices.

Bharti Airtel down 1.6% as Q4 numbers fail to cheer Street

Bharti Airtel Ltd on Monday reported a March quarter profit of ₹759 crore from a loss of ₹5,237 crore a year ago, as it clocked higher revenues and one-time gains.

Consolidated revenue rose 17.6% from a year ago to ₹25,747 crore, while India business revenue rose 17.5% to ₹18,338 crore. Both consolidated revenue and profit trailed Bloomberg analysts’ poll estimates of ₹26,164.80 crore and ₹958.80 crore, respectively.

The company’s average revenue per user (Arpu) fell to ₹145 in the March quarter from ₹166 in October-December as the interconnect usage charge regime, which contributes 7-8% to telecom industry revenues, ended on 1 January.

Indian rupee opens flat at 73.20 per US dollar

Nifty Bank gains 1.5%; Federal Bank surges 5%

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Covid update: India reports highest ever deaths and recoveries in a day

India reported 4,329 Covid-related new deaths and 4,22,436 fresh recoveries during the 24-hour period. The country’s daily spike of coronavirus cases remained below the 3 lakh mark for the second time after nearly 26 days as only 2,63,533 fresh infections were recorded in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry’s data on Tuesday.

The cumulative caseload stands at 2,52,28,996, including 2,15,96,512 recoveries, 33,53,765 active cases and 2,78,719 deaths.

Midcaps, smallcaps strong; VIX down 4%

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Markets up 1.3%

Indian markets were 1.3% higher due to steady drop in covid cases and tracking Asian markets. “The market would continue to track domestic covid cases trend along with earnings season which has been healthy so far, for further cues. Even the news flows around vaccination front would drive the market. With more Pharma companies tying up for vaccine manufacturing, sentiments have got uplifted” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

“Thus, the rate of decline in COVID cases and the pace of vaccination would decide the trajectory of market going forward. However, growing inflationary pressure globally along with rise in covid cases in some Asian countries poses a risk,” Khemka added.

Nifty crosses 15,100 led by banks

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Sensex zooms 607 points to 50,188; Bharti Airtel only laggard on index

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Sensex tops 50K at open, Nifty above 15,000

Sensex, Nifty in the green at pre-open

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Stocks to Watch: Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, Reliance, Union Bank

Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, Reliance, Union Bank are some of the stocks that will be in focus today. Key companies that will announce March quarter results today are Tata Motors, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, GSK Pharma, Canara Bank, IIFL Wealth Management and Route Mobile.

Markets to stay firm

Markets are likely to stay higher on Tuesday while trends in SGX Nifty suggest a strong opening of Indian benchmark indices. On Monday, the BSE Sensex ended at 49,580.73, up 848.18 points or 1.74%. The Nifty closed at 14,923.15, up 245.35 points or 1.67%.

Oil extends gains

Oil prices climbed on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous day, as optimism over the reopenings of the U.S. and European economies outweighed fears of slower fuel demand in Asia due to surging COVID-19 cases and a new wave of restrictions.

Brent crude oil futures were up 20 cents, or 0.3%, at $69.66 a barrel by 0231 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 19 cents, or 0.3%, at $66.46 a barrel.

Gold at 3-month high on virus worry, inflation

Gold rose to the highest in more than three months as concerns over the pace of a global recovery crept back in following a flare-up in coronavirus cases in parts of Asia.

Spot gold rose as much as 0.2% to $1,870.73 an ounce, the highest since 1 February, and was at $1,868.10 in Singapore. Silver, palladium and platinum all gained. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.

Asian equities firm

Asian stocks rose Tuesday as investors weighed the pace of growth as nations vaccinate and economies reopen.

Japan’s Nikkei index rose 2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6%

Kospi index climbed 1.1%, while Hang Seng Index rose 1%. Shanghai Composite Index was largely unchanged.

US stocks end lower on Monday

Wall Street stocks ended lower on Monday, weighed down by tech shares as signs of growing inflation worried investors about the potential for tighter monetary policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 56.12 points, or 0.16%, the S&P 500 lost 10.42 points, or 0.25%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 50.93 points, or 0.38%.