Share Market Highlights: Sensex ends 112 points higher, Nifty at 11,896; HCL Tech, Airtel, L&T top gainers

Sensex, Nifty Highlights on October 20: Despite weak global equities, domestic market indices Sensex and Nifty closed bullish on Tuesday, amid heavy buying pressure in index majors. Sensex ended 112 points higher at 40,544 and Nifty gained 23 points to 11,896. Yesterday, Sensex ended 448 points higher at 40,431 and Nifty gained 110 points to 11,873. Meanwhile, September quarterly earnings announcements by HUL, CRISIL, L&T Infotech, Bombay Dyeing, Granules, Hindustan Zinc, Maharashtra Scooters, Indian Energy Exchange among others will also set the tone for the stock market today.

Here's a look at the updates of the market action on BSE and NSE today

3. 53 PM: Closing session

Despite weak global equities, domestic market indices Sensex and Nifty closed bullish on Tuesday, amid heavy buying pressure in index majors. Sensex ended 112 points higher at 40,544 and Nifty gained 23 points to 11,896.

3. 43 PM: Market outlook

On markets closing today, Manish Hathiramani, Proprietary Index Trader and Technical Analyst, Deen Dayal Investments said, "The markets have entered into a rangebound zone - between 11650 and 12050. For an impulsive move to trigger, we would need to get past one of these levels on the back of good volumes. Until then traders are advised to maintain caution."

3. 23PM: Rupee setlles 12 paise lower

On the currency front, Indian rupee depreciated by 12 paise at the forex market and settled at 73.49 per US dollar on Tuesday,over its previous closing price of 73.37.

3. 12 PM: Foreign investors pump over $1 billion into Asian bonds in Sept

Foreign investors poured over $1 billion into Asian government and corporate bonds in September, more than doubling their investment in local currency debt from the previous month, attracted by higher yields and some signs of economic recovery.

Foreign investors pump over $1 billion into Asian bonds in Sept

3.00 PM: Sector update

On the sectoral front, barring FMCG and PSU Banks, all the indices were trading bullish today, with metal and realty registering over 2% gains.

2. 52 PM: Granules India update

Jyoti Roy - DVP- Equity Strategist, Angel Broking said,"Granules India reported a 22.7% YoY growth in consolidated revenues for Q2FY2021 to Rs 858 crore which was marginally above our expectations of Rs 839 crore. Revenue growth was driven by new launches and increase in market share of existing products across all three verticals. EBIDTA for the quarter was up by 78.6% YoY to Rs 256.3 crore while EBIDTA margins expanded by 940bps yoy to 29.9% due to due to decrease in raw material costs which accounted for 42.1% of revenues as compared to 51.4% of revenues in Q2FY2020. Net profit for the quarter came in above our expectations at Rs 163.5 crore up by 70.8% YoY. During the quarter the company received four ANDAs from the US FDA and launched one new product in the US. The company has been able to report significant improvement in margins due to change in product mix and better operational efficiencies. Overall the numbers were ahead of our estimates and we remain positive on the future prospects of the company."

2. 34PM: L&T shares rises over 3%

The shares of infrastructure giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) were trading as the top gainers on both barometres Sensex  and Nifty, rising over 3% on Tuesday.

This was after reports that the Infrastructure company emerged as the lowest financial bidder for the design and construction of civil works for a significant part of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project.

This package is the largest among all for the line's construction, representing 47% of the alignment of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor, between Vapi (Zaroli Village at Maharashtra- Gujarat Border) and Vadodara in Gujarat.

L&T shares rise over 3% on hopes of bullet train contract

2. 27 PM: Top gainers

HCL Tech, followed by L&T, M&M, Tech Mahindra, Maruti, TCS, Asian Paints, Infosys and HDFC Bank were among the top gainers today. On the other hand, ONGC, Nestle India, SBI, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank were among the laggards.

2. 12 PM: Market outlook

According to Arjun Yash Mahajan, Head Institutional Business at Reliance Securities, major financial services and insurance (BFSI) stocks may see some amount of consolidation at these levels before making any further direction.

"US equities witnessed selling pressure as increasing possibility of no agreement on fiscal stimulus program before election and rise in COVID-19 cases weighed on investors' sentiments, he said.

2. 09 PM: Market update

Market indices turned bullish on Tuesday, despite weakness from global equities. Sensex traded 92 points higher at 40,524 and Nifty gained 32 points to 11,905.

1. 46 PM: L&T update

L&T bidding for rail corridor, Keshav Lahoti - Associate Equity Analyst, Angel Broking said,"Larsen & Toubro is set to emerge as the lowest bidder for design and construction of civil works of high speed rail corridor of Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The company has bidded ?24,985 cr for constructing 237.1 km bullet train projects. This project is the largest among all construction lines covering 47% of 508.2 km project. Mumbai and Ahmedabad is the first bullet train project in India, which is supported by Japan. In competitive bidding, three bidders involving seven infrastructure companies participated in it. Other bidders were Afcon Infrastructure-Ircon International- JMC Projects India consortium and Tata Project- NCC- J Kumar Infra Projects-HSR Consortium. We see this as a positive development for the Company, as winning such big orders in a muted ordering activity environment alleviates new order concerns."

1. 30 PM: Rallis India update

Keshav Lahoti - Associate Equity Analyst, Angel Broking said," Rallis India witnessed a quarter-ending with 3% decrease in revenues YoY, despite good domestic performance. Crop Care revenue grew by 8% YOY and Seeds by 29%. However, international revenues were under pressure, recording a decline of 29% due to product specific challenges. Pressure on Metribuzin in the international business continued in the second quarter on both the volume and the price front. EBITDA margins were stable. Profit before tax (before exceptional items) was at ?108 Crs, with a growth of 3% YoY. Company highlighted that despite covid challenges, the capex program and focus on new product introduction remain on course. Collection focused initiatives have helped to continue strong performance on collections resulting in reduced working capital days to 65 from the previous year of 104 days for the Company. Results were below street expectations on all the important fronts of revenue, EBIDTA and PAT."

1. 25PM: Rupee opens flat

The rupee inched 2 paise higher to 73.35 against the US dollar after opening flat on Tuesday, even as the domestic equity market was trading with gains.

The domestic currency was trading in a narrow range at the interbank forex market. After opening at 73.36 per dollar, rupee  gained by 2 paise to touch 73.35 from its previous close of  73.37 per dollar.

The dollar index fell 0.03 per cent to 93.39 against a basket of six currencies.

Rupee opens flat, rises by 2 paise to 73.35 per US dollar

1. 12PM: Oil index

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.84 per cent to USD 42.26 per barrel. Oil price remained steady on concerns over rising corona virus cases globally and Libyan plan to increase output but was supported by hopes for US stimulus.

1.06 PM: Market outlook

Yash Gupta Equity Research Associate, Angel Broking said,"Indian Indices Nifty and Sensex, up by 67 points (0.57%) and 273 points (0.68%) respectively. Indian Indices open higher despite the weak global  market clues. Heavyweights like HDFCBANK (up 1.53%) and INFY (up 1.30%) are major contributors. Today S&P BSE Information Technology (up 1.69%), S&P BSE Telecom (up 3.84%) while S&P BSE OIL & GAS (down 0.78%), S&P BSE Energy (down 0.42%). We expect Indices to be volatile on back of global market clues. Global Market update - DOW Jones down by 410 points (up 1.44%) and NASDAQ down by 192 points (up 1.65%)."

12. 41PM: Zydus Cadila update

Yash Gupta- Equity Research Associate, Angel Broking said," Zydus Cadila has received final approval from the USFDA to market Solifenacin Succinate Tablets, (US RLD Vesicare Tablets) in the strengths of 5 mg and 10 mg. Solifenacin Succinate is a symptomatic treatment of urge incontinence and/or increased urinary frequency and urgency as may occur in patients with overactive bladder syndrome. The drug will be manufactured at the groups formulation manufacturing facility at the SEZ, Ahmedabad. This is positive development for the company."

12. 34 PM: HDFC life Q2 update

Jaikishan Parmar - Sr. Equity Research Analyst, Angel Broking said," For Q2FY21, HDFC life reported a good set of numbers, APE growth of 21% YoY is one of the big positive for HDFC life. Par business was the key for healthy growth, it grew by 254% YoY while Non-Par declined 19% YoY and ULIP fell 6% YoY. VNB margin expanded by 30bps to 25.6% for Q2FY21 owing to better product mix and operating efficiency. Persistency trends in the 13th/25th month improved by 200bp/400bp, led by improvement in the PAR/Protection segment. HDFC life currently; trading at 4.96x of Q2FY21 Embedded value. If we compared with listed life insurance players HDFC life is trading at a premium valuation."

12. 12 PM: Pharma sector update

Centrum Broking said in its note," We maintain our positive stance on the sector and remain optimistic about further earnings upward revision even in the earnings season. We hold on to our top large-cap picks as Aurobindo, Dr Reddys and Sun Pharma. We continue to like Biocon as the only story in the Biosimilars space. MNCs we maintain our bias on Abbott and Pfizer. And in APIs we continue to like Aarti Drugs along with Granules and FDC in the mid-caps levels."

12.02 PM: Equitas Finance IPO outlook

Nirmal Bang in its IPO note said,"We believe Equitas SFB can deliver top quartile ROE of 15%+ in the long term (by FY23E) driven by a decline in cost/Income to below 60% from 66% in FY20 and normalization of credit costs to ~1.5% from 1.9% in FY20. Equitas SFB is available at a 30% discount compared to listed peers. We recommend to Subscribe for the long term'."

11. 42 AM: L&T Technology Services Q2 update

Jyoti Roy - DVP- Equity Strategist, Angel Broking said," L&T Technology Services reported a 4.6% qoq growth in revenues to USD 178mn which was slightly below our expectations of USD 178.9mn. In rupee terms revenues increased by 1.5% qoq to Rs  1313.8 crore while gross profits increased by 14.0% qoq to Rs  395.2 crore. Gross margins expanded by 329bps qoq to 30.1% due to sharp increase in utilization to 75.4% from 70.9% in Q1. EBIDTA for the quarter was up by 13.1% qoq to Rs  232.8 crore while margins expanded by 182bps qoq to 17.7%. Net profit for the quarter was up by 41.1% qoq to Rs 165.5 crore. Management has upgraded their revenue growth guidance for FY2021 and now expects revenue to contract by 7-8% for the full year as compared to earlier expectations of a 9-10% degrowth. Growth was led by plant engineering and medical devices verticals which grew by 8.1% and 7.4% qoq respectively while the Telecom & Hi tech vertical reported marginal degrowth of 0.6% qoq due to client specific issues. Transportation & Industrial products verticals reported growth of 4.1% and 4.6% qoq. Overall the company posted a decent set of numbers for the quarter and highlighted that demand outlook is reasonably strong led by automotive, medical devices, Telecom & Hi tech while aerospace and oil & gas verticals remain weak."

11. 32 AM: Equitas Small Finance Bank IPO opens today

The Rs 517.6 crore initial public offer (IPO) of Equitas Small Finance Bank (ESFB) will open from Tuesday, October 20 till October 22. The IPO consists of a fresh issue of Rs 280 crore (8.5 crore equity shares) and an offer for sale of 7.2 crore equity shares, taking the total issue size to Rs 517.6 crore.

As per the additional information in its DRHP filed with the market regulator, promoter Equitas Holdings held 95.49% stake in Equitas Small Finance Bank. Post the IPO, Equitas Holdings's stale will decline to about 82%.

Merchant bankers have fixed the price band at Rs 32-Rs 33 per equity share and shares will be listed on the benchmark indices on November 2, 2020.

Equitas Small Finance Bank IPO: Should you invest? Here's what experts say

11. 21AM: Gold prices today

Gold price fell on Tuesday after trading flat for two consecutive sessions, following weak global cues. However, the yellow metal continued to trade above Rs 50K mark in India as the safe-haven asset appealed to investors amid rising coronavirus cases.

Gold October Futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange-traded Rs 150 lower at Rs 50,820 after hitting an intraday high and low of Rs 50,626 and Rs 50,513, respectively.

Silver September Futures traded at Rs 61,837 per kg today, falling Rs 258 over the last close of Rs 62,095 per kg.

Gold trades above Rs 50,000; silver at Rs 62,500

11. 11 AM: Coronavirus toll

The number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States and record daily coronavirus infections in Europe ignited concerns about more severe lockdowns, fuelling concerns over a sustained global economic recovery.

Worldwide, there were 406 lakh confirmed cases and 11.2 lakh deaths from COVID-19 outbreak. India's COVID-19 caseload breached the 75-lakh mark and the death toll from COVID-19 infections rose to 1.15 lakh, as of today.

10. 55 AM: Market rises further

Market indices turned bullish after opening on a tepid note on Tuesday, tracking weakness from global equities. Sensex traded 220 points higher at 40,634 and Nifty gained 55 points to 11,927.

10. 49 AM: Global update

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi hoped that by the end of Tuesday there will be "clarity" on whether a coronavirus stimulus bill can be passed before the Nov. 3 elections.

In another update, European Central Bank maintained an accommodative policy in response to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, ECB President Christine Lagarde said.

10. 35 AM: Global markets

Asian markets are trading lower tracking overnight weakness seen in US markets and as China left benchmark lending rates unchanged.

U.S. markets closed lower as lawmakers still struggle to reach a stimulus deal ahead of Tuesday's deadline which would make it happen before elections. Dollar edged lower. European markets closed lower erasing early gains as concerns over rising corona virus cases rose.

10. 21 AM: Market outlook

Manish Hathiramani, Proprietary  Index Trader and Technical Analyst, Deen Dayal Investments said," The index has good support at 11650 and until we do not break that, we are in positive territory. The resistance on the upside is at 12050. If we are unable to move past either level convincingly, we would be range-bound and trading in this zone should be avoided. Stocks that look interesting for an up move include Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Tata Steel."

10. 09 AM: Nifty technicals

As per Geojit Financial Services, Several attempts to discourage up moves were seen yesterday, but the close above 11800 retains the upward bias. Early trades are expected to be volatile, within the 11840-11922 region, but the subsequent moves will aim for run towards 12250, as longs as 11800 holds.

9. 54 AM: Stocks to watch today on October 20

Wipro, Britannia, M&M, HDFC Life, Hero MotoCorp, ACC among others are the top stocks to watch out for in Tuesday's trading session

Stocks in news: Wipro, Britannia, M&M, HDFC Life, Hero MotoCorp, ACC

9. 43 AM: HDFC Bank Q2 update

LKP Securities in its note said," HDFC Bank reported a strong trend on Asset quality and operating performance in 2QFY21. The Bank used analytical model to declare NPA numbers. The reported GNPA ratio stood at 1.08%. However, moratorium (9% declared earlier) lifted and NPA recognition held standstill, the bank witnessed negligible slippages. During the quarter it reported sequentially higher provisioning expenses  At the same time core fee and commission income increased by 77% sequentially led by sharp uptick in retail loan origination along with, lower third-party product distribution income and lower forex income. Thus, the bank has reported sequential increase in PAT by 12.8% and ROA/ROE of 1.92%/16.15% v/s 1.76%/14.97% in the previous quarter. Furthermore, best-in-class franchise, higher liquidity, marginal stress, adequate coverage and strong capital position makes the bank resilient and we recommend BUY."

9. 30 AM: Britannia Q2 update

Keshav Lahoti - Associate Equity Analyst, Angel Broking said," On a Consolidated basis for Q2FY21, Britannia Industries reported 12.1% growth in revenue to Rs 3,419 crore. Due to improvement in gross margin, the Company's operating profit margin increased by 370 basis points to 19.8%. Operating margin expanded due to benign raw material cost and impact of operating leverage due to increase in volume.  For the quarter, operating profit and PAT increased by 37.3% and 22.5% respectively. Jump in PAT was less than operating profit due to an increase in tax rate and finance cost compared to last year. Numbers missed street expectation on all fronts of revenue, operating profit and PAT. While the Government is easing restrictions and the economy is on the path of recovery, we believe it will take some time for business to be back to normal."

9. 20 AM: FII action

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,656.78 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,621.73 crore in the Indian equity market on 19 October, provisional data showed.

9. 10 AM: Market outlook

As per Reliance Securities, NSE-NIFTY remained sideways post a gap-up opening and finished trade on a positive note. Pullback continued as the index ended in profit for straight second trading session in a row after a sharp decline. As mentioned earlier, our bearish stance will remain intact as we believe the index will soon resume its southward journey. Any stable move below its last weeks low of 11,661 level will confirm the short-term bearish reversal for the index. On the higher side, its psychological hurdle point-placed at 12,000 mark- will cap the up-move. In case of bearish confirmation, the index will find next supports at 11,618 level and then at 11,400 mark.

As for the day, support is placed at around 11,830 and then at 11,786 levels, while resistance is observed at 11,907 and then at 11,942 levels.

9.01 AM:Earnings today

Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro Infotech, Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing, CCL Products, CRISIL, Continental Securities, DCM Shriram, Digicontent, Fischer Chemic, Gujarat Ambuja Exports, Granules India, Hindustan Zinc, Indo Cotspin, Indian Energy Exchange, JSW Ispat Special Products, Kajaria Ceramics, Ashika Credit Capital, Mahindra CIE Automotive, Maharashtra Scooters, Oriental Aromatics, Punjab Alkalies & Chemicals, Ramkrishna Forgings, Sayaji Hotels, Shiva Cement, Simplex Mills Company, Simplex Papers, Simplex Realty, Transglobe Foods and Websol Energy System among others will report Q2 results today.

8. 50 AM: Global markets

Global equities were trading bearish today as deadline for US lawmakers to pass an economic stimulus bill approached and record daily coronavirus infections in Europe ignited concerns about more severe lockdowns

8. 40 AM:Rupee closing

On the forex market, the Indian rupee fell 2 paise to 73.37 and settled on a flat note today against the American currency.

On Rupee's outlook, -Angel Broking in its note said," In the week gone by, Indian rupee depreciated by 0.44 percent and currently stands at 73.44 against the US dollar. India's CPI inflation came in at 7.34% for September again breaching RBI's tolerance band for the sixth consecutive month. Retail inflation for August was 6.69 per cent. US FED Vice Chairman Richard Clarida expressed his views on economic data being surprisingly strong since May though it will take another year for the output to reach pre-pandemic levels in the US. Unemployment claims from the US also came in worse than expected at 898K. Meanwhile, the US Senate will vote on a $500 billion stimulus package on 21st October according to Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell."

On the currency's technical outlook, it added," With voting likely to happen on the stimulus package, USDINR (CMP: 73.44) is likely to move in the range from 72.5 mark at the lower end of the spectrum and 74.5 mark at the higher end.

8. 30 AM: Closing

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended on a bullish note on Monday, led by positive cues from global equities amid strong buying sentiment in banking and financial stocks. Extending gains for the second session, Sensex ended 448 points higher at 40,431 and Nifty gained 110 points to 11,873. Last Friday, Sensex ended 254 points higher at 39,982 and Nifty gained 82 points to 11,762.

Sensex ends 448 points higher, Nifty at 11,873; ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Nestle top gainers