Sensex, Nifty Post Best Monthly Gain Since 2009

Indian equity markets ended the truncated week on a high, ending with gains for the fourth straight day, its longest winning streak since February this year.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained nearly 1,000 points in today's session, ending 3 percent higher at 33,717. For the week, the index was up 7.6 percent. 27 out of the 30 index constituents ended with weekly gains.

The NSE Nifty 50 index ended 3.2 percent higher at 9,859. 44 out of the 50 index constituents ended with gains. The index was up 7.7 percent this week.

Both benchmark indices have posted their best monthly gain since April 2009, registering gains of over 14 percent. This is the fifth straight year where both benchmarks have posted gains for the month of April.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Metal index ended with gains of 7.9 percent while the Nifty Auto index gained 6.4 percent in today's session. Nifty I.T. ended 5 percent higher while the Nifty Bank and the Nifty Realty index gained 2 percent each.

1,096 stocks on the NSE ended the day with gains while 697 ended with losses.

• Gains as much as 11.2 percent to Rs 45.6
• Biggest one-day gain since June 2016
• Up for the second straight day
• Gains 12.5 percent in the last two sessions
• Trades at the highest level in a month
• Today's volumes are 3 times higher than its 30-day average
• 15 out of the 16 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation; 0 sell calls
• Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg data is 64.2 percent

• Buy TVS Motor at Rs 330 for target of Rs 345-350 and stop loss of Rs 318
• Buy HPCL at Rs 217 for target of Rs 227 and stop loss of Rs 210

• Trades at the highest level since October 2010
• Up for the seventh straight day
• Longest winning streak in 3 months
• Up 14 percent in the last 7 sessions
• Today's volumes are 1.1 times higher than its 30-day average
• All 9 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation
• Return potential for the stock as per Bloomberg data is 4.5 percent

At the board meeting held today, the company has taken the following decisions:

• The company's CEO M Vishnuprasad has been elevated as the Managing Director till December 2021.
• The company's CFO Kaleeswaran Arunachalam has resigned and ceases to be a key managerial persion of the company.
• Saurabh Bhudolia will now take over as the new CFO with effect from May 1.

The stock currently trades 4.45 percent higher at Rs 156 and is up for the second day in a row.

• Benchmark indices holding on to gains
• Nifty trades 2.6 percent higher at 9,800
• Sensex up 2.5 percent at 33,530
• Nifty Bank up 2.2 percent at 21,546
• Nifty Midcap Index up 2.1 percent
• Nifty Smallcap Index up 1.1 percent
• India Volatility Index up 0.22 percent to 33.91.
• Nifty Pharma (Down 0.6 percent), Nifty FMCG (Down 0.4 percent) and Nifty Media (Down 0.66 percent) are the only sectoral laggards
• Nifty Metal is now the top sectoral gainer; up 5.8 percent
• Tata Motors remains the top Nifty gainer; up 17 percent
• Sun Pharma remains the top Nifty laggard; down 2.7 percent
• 1,081 stocks on the NSE are advancing while 677 trade with losses

The company has informed the exchanges that Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles has received the required government permissions to restart manufacturing operations in Madhya Pradesh. Operations will resume only with 25-30 percent of the work force.

VECV believes that the start of complete manufacturing operations will still take some more time. Till then it will prioritise dispatching parts to customers and service centres to minimise the impact of running essential service vehicles.

Shares gained as much as 4.1 percent to Rs 14,900 and are up for the third time in four sessions.

The company has updated the exchanges on its debt profile and the outlook on debt reduction.

The company expects its net debt to be around $2.9 billion as of March 31, 2020. This is compared to $3.8 billion as of March 31, 2019 and $4.2 billion as of December 31, 2019, respectively.

The company has also added that it currently has cash and cash equivalents of $875 million as of March 31, 2020.

Shares gained as much as 10 percent to Rs 396.65 and are up for the fourth day in a row. Volumes too have spiked to being 1.6 times higher than its 30-day average.

The rupee gained for the fourth straight day, its longest winning streak in two months, tracking positive cues from Asian and European markets.

The currency ended at 75.10 against the U.S. Dollar as compared to Wednesday's close of 75.67.

For this truncated week, the rupee appreciated 1.8 percent, snapping a four-week losing streak. This was the best weekly performance from the rupee since December 2018.

The rupee today was the third best performing currency among its Emerging Market peers after the Indonesian Rupiah and the Malaysian Ringgit.

Yield on the 10-year government bond ended at 6.109 percent after opening at 6.128 percent.

The company has signed a definitive agreement to sell 2.31 crore shares, representing 49 percent of the total paid-up share capital of Windlas Healthcare to Windlas Biotech, it said in a statement to the exchanges.

Post this divestment, the company will not hold any equity stake in Windlas Healthcare, the statement added.

Shares are recovering from the lowest point of the day and are trading 0.8 percent lower at Rs 324.

• Revenue seen 12 percent lower at Rs 75,992 crore
• Ebitda seen 16.5 percent lower at Rs 10,745 crore
• Ebitda margin seen contracting to 14.1 percent from 14.9 percent
• Net profit seen 24 percent lower at Rs 7,303 crore
• Gross Refining Margins seen 19.6 percent lower at $7.4 per barrel
• All numbers are BloombergQuint estimates, compared on a standalone and sequential basis

Factors At Play For Reliance Industries:

• Net profit may see the steepest drop in 12 years
• Refining under pressure due to lower GRMs and lower volumes
• Retail business may be impacted due to the nationwide lockdown
• Higher contribution from Jio may partly offset weak refining and petchem margins
• Update on capex and debt reduction plan, status on Aramco deal among key things to watch

Reliance Industries: Other Key Numbers

• Retail Ebit seen at Rs 2,310 crore
• Petchem Ebit seen at Rs 5,560 crore
• Refining Ebit seen at Rs 3,770 crore
• Consolidated Revenue seen at Rs 1,40,902 crore
• Consolidated Ebitda seen at Rs 35,232 crore
• Consolidated Net Profit seen at Rs 10,315 crore

Earnings Estimates: Reliance Jio Q4FY20

• Revenue seen 10.2 percent higher at Rs 15,396 crore
• Ebitda seen 15.5 percent higher at Rs 6,448 crore
• Ebitda margin may expand to 41.9 percent from 40 percent
• Net profit seen 40 percent higher at Rs 1,888 crore
• ARPU seen 5.5 percent higher at Rs 135
• All numbers are BloombergQuint estimates, standalone and compared on a sequential basis

Key Factors At Play For Reliance Jio:

• Tariff hike in December 2019 may aid Ebitda
• Subscriber addition seen slightly lower due to the lockdown
• Commentary on tariff changes, update on JioPhone subscribers key things to watch

• Top performer on the Nifty Bank index
• Gains as much as 13.6 percent to Rs 266.45
• Trades at the highest level in a month
• Up for the fourth straight day
• Longets winning streak in two months
• Up 30 percent in the last four sessions
• Today's volumes are 1.8 times higher than its 30-day average
• 14 out of the 20 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation; 2 sell calls

European stocks continue to rise, tracking positive cues from Asia and overnight cues from the U.S. The European Central Bank will announce its policy decision later today.

The Stoxx 600 has opened higher for the fourth straight day, up 0.5 percent in what turns out to be its longest streak in over two weeks.

Travel along with oil & gas are the sectors that are gaining while mining stocks are declining.

Futures on the Dow Jones trade higher by nearly 120 points while Brent Crude is higher by 5 percent.

Here's a look at how benchmarks across Europe have opened:

• Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.55 percent at 3,012
• DAX up 0.6 percent at 11,181
• CAC up 0.53 percent at 4,695
• FTSE 100 up 0.34 percent at 6,136
• IBEX 35 up 0.3 percent at 7,077

Shares of the news organisation fell as much as 5.1 percent to Rs 41.5 on the National Stock Exchange in today's session.

As per the latest pledged share data reported on Wednesday, promotes of the company created a pledge of 18.28 lakh shares on April 21.

Shares are currently trading at their lowest level in a month and today's volumes are 8.1 times higher than its 30-day average and 9 times higher than its 20-day average.

• Top performer on the Nifty Smallcap Index
• Gained as much as 15.5 percent to Rs 414
• Trades at the highest level in over a month
• Biggest single-day gain since August 2018
• Up 15 percent in the last two sessions after snapping a three-day losing streak on Wednesday
• Today's volumes are 29.8 times higher than its 20-day average
• The stock has rebounded 18 percent from its 52-week low of Rs 332 on March 25, 2020
• 17 out of the 29 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation; 1 sell call
• Return potential of the stock as per Bloomberg data is 32 percent

• Net sales seen 1.6 percent higher at Rs 10,103 crore
• Ebitda seen 11.2 percent higher at Rs 2,580 crore
• Ebitda Margins may expand to 25.5 percent from 23.3 percent
• Net profit seen 18.4 percent higher at Rs 1,821 crore
• All numbers are Bloomberg estimates, compared on a standalone and year-on-year basis

Key Factors At Play For HUL:

• Brokerages see volume growth between -4 to 4 percent
• Rural growth expected to be half of the urban growth
• Gross Margins will remain stable on account of benign input costs
• Homecare products likely to see muted growth

The stock currently trades 2.2 percent lower at Rs 2,182 and is the top laggard on the Nifty 50 index.

The company has approved a share buyback at its board meeting held today. It will buyback 31.42 lakh equity shares which represents 4.84 percent of the total paid up equity share capital of the company.

The buyback will be done at a price of Rs 700, which is a 79 percent premium to Wednesday's closing price of Rs 390.

The total buyback size amounts to Rs 220 crore.

Shares gained as much as 7.4 percent to Rs 418.95 and are up for the fourth day in a row.

• Benchmark Indices remain at the day's high
• Nifty up 3.1 percent at 9,849
• Nifty futures trade at a discount of 13 points
• Sensex up 3.2 percent at 33,753
• Nifty Bank up 4 percent at 21,929
• Nifty Midcap Index up 2.7 percent
• Nifty Smallcap Index up 2.1 percent
• India Volatility Index down 1.9 percent to 33.19
• Nifty Auto Index remains top sectoral gainer; up 5.7 percent. Nifty Metal holds on to its 5 percent gain.
• Nifty Pharma index gives up gains to turn negative
• Nifty I.T. and Nifty Realty Index up 4 percent each
• Tata Motors remains top Nifty gainer; up 13 percent
• Sun Pharma remains top Nifty laggard; down 1.4 percent
• 1,254 stocks are advancing on the NSE while 457 are trading with losses

The company's committee of directors has approved the allotment of 10,000 unsecured, rated, listed, redeemable NCDs worth Rs 10 lakh each, aggregating to Rs 1,000 crore on a private placement basis.

The issue of NCDs will consist of two series, as per the company's press statement.

Series A will have 5,000 NCDs worth Rs 500 crore with a 'floating' coupon rate of 7.85 percent per annum while Series B will have 5,000 NCDs worth Rs 500 crore with a 'fixed' coupon rate of 7.95 percent per annum.

The NCDs are proposed to be listed on the Wholesale Debt Market segment of BSE, the company added.

The stock currently trades 5.7 percent higher at Rs 298.80 and is up for the fourth straight day.

• Top gainer on the Nifty Midcap Index
• Gains as much as 15 percent to Rs 324.35
• Up in three out of the four sessions this week
• Up 23 percent this week (Truncated week of four sessions)
• Set for best weekly advance since September 2009
• Today's volumes are 5 times higher than its 30-day average and quadruple the 20-day average
• The stock is trading near its 50-day Moving Average of Rs 340.27
• 14 out of the 34 analysts tracking the stock have a buy recommendation; 10 sell calls
• Return potential for the stock as per Bloomberg data is 18 percent

• Revenue in dollar terms seen 1.3 percent lower at $1,335 million
• Revenue in rupee terms seen 0.7 percent higher at Rs 9,720 crore
• Ebit seen 1.9 percent lower at Rs 1,157 crore
• Ebit margin may marginally contract to 11.9 percent from 12.2 percent
• Net profit seen 12.6 percent lower at Rs 1,002 crore

Factors At Play For Tech Mahindra:

• Large deal ramp-up in recent quarters to aid revenue
• Born, Cerium acquisition to aid inorganic growth
• Covid-19 likely to impact billing
• Weak rupee may counter some margin pressure due to transition
• M&A strategy, capital allocation policy, deal popeline, slowdown in 5G rollout are some of the key things to watch out for

The stock is up for the fourth day today, gaining as much as 4.58 percent to Rs 552.90 ahead of earnings.

The mid-sized technology company gained as much as 7.2 percent to Rs 223 in today's trading session.

Amansa Holdings acquired 21.1 lakh shares of the company, amounting to 1.92 percent stake at Rs 205 per share in a large trade. This after T. Rowe Price sold 30.12 lakh shares of the company, amounting to 2.74 percent stake at Rs 207.02 per share.

The stock had snapped a six-day losing streak on Wednesday and is gaining on volumes that are 7.4 times higher than its 30-day average.

The company is scheduled to report earnings on May 7.

Shares of the mid-sized private lender rose as much as 8 percent to Rs 135.90, its highest level in a month.

BNP Paribas Arbitrage fund acquired 29.79 lakh shares or 0.59 percent stake in the lender on Wednesday at Rs 125.42 per share. The same fund had earlier acquired 60 lakh shares or 1.18 percent stake in the bank on Monday at Rs 112.75 per share.

The stock is gaining on volumes which are 1.8 times higher than its 30-day average. It has gained 24 percent in the last four sessions.

• Nifty May futures have added 20.2 percent in Open Interest and 12.6 lakh shares
• Nifty Bank May futures have added 25.5 percent in Open Interest and 1.85 lakh shares

Nifty Options For Today's Expiry

• 9,700 Put: Premium down 96.1 percent to Rs 6.25. The contract has added 36.6 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 9,800 Call: Premium up 1,301 percent to Rs 53.95. The contract has added 9.35 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 9,900 Call: Premium up 705 percent to Rs 16.1. The contract has added 22.4 lakh shares in Open Interest.

Nifty Bank Options For Today's Expiry

• 22,000 Call: Premium up 475 percent to Rs 111.25. The contract has added 5.87 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 21,500 Put: Premium falls 92 percent to Rs 32.3. The contract has added 9.5 lakh shares in Open Interest.
• 21,000 Put: Premium falls 97 percent to Rs 4.75. The contract has added 11.2 lakh shares in Open Interest.

The power transmission company has informed the exchanges that it has resumed operations and despatches at all of its five factories in India in a phased manner.

This has been done after obtaining all the necessary approvals from relevant government authorities, the statement said.

Domestic project sites of T&D, Railways and Civil businesses have also commenced operations in a phased manner according to the company.

Shares are trading at the day's high, gaining as much as 5.5 percent to Rs 196.9 post the announcement. The stock is up for the fourth straight day.

• Benchmark indices gain for the fourth day; at the day's high
• Nifty up 2.9 percent at 9,830
• Nifty futures trade at a discount of 17 points
• Sensex up 2.9 percent at 33,679
• Nifty Bank up 3.8 percent at 21,902
• Nifty Midcap Index up 2.5 percent
• Nifty Smallcap Index up 2.1 percent
• India Volatility Index down 3.1 percent to 32.78
• All sectoral Indices trade with gains
• Nifty Auto is the top sectoral gainer; up 5.6 percent
• Nifty Metal is the other index gaining more than 5 percent
• Nifty I.T. and Nifty PSU Banking index up over 3 percent
• Tata Motors is the top Nifty gainer; up 12 percent
• Sun Pharma is the only Nifty laggard; down 0.6 percent
• 1,283 stocks on the NSE are advancing while 330 are trading with losses

Shares of the company gained as much as 4.5 percent to Rs 164 on the National Stock Exchange.

Manulife Investment Management (Singapore) acquired 49 percent stake in the company's two wholly-owned arms Mahindra Asset Management and Mahindra Trustee. Manulife has invested Rs 265 crore in the 51:49 Joint Venture.

Shares are up for the fourth straight day today and have gained 15 percent during this period. This is the best winning streak for the stock in two months.

The Mumbai-based pharma company has received an approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) to conduct clinical trials in India on its Favipiravir Antiviral tablets for Covid-19 patients.

The trials can be conducted on mild to moderate patients, as per the company's press statement. 150 subjects with mild to moderate Covid-19 will be randomised in this study.

The stock gained as much as 8.9 percent to Rs 359 and is the top gainer on the Nifty Pharma Index.

Shares of the passenger car maker gained as much as 14.7 percent to Rs 89.70 and is the top gainer on the Nifty 50 index.

Mint reported on Wednesday that Jaguar Land Rover has restored three-fourth of its budgeted production in China. The company spokesperson told the media outlet that with lockdown measures easing in China, all of its retailers are now open and sales are recovering.

23.8 lakh shares of the automobile company exchanged hands in two large trades on the National Stock Exchange, as per Bloomberg data. Buyers and sellers of the trade were not immediately known.

This is the biggest one-day gain for the stock since October 2019. It now trades at the highest level in over a month.

The pharma company's Pithampur Unit-1 has received the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the U.S. FDA, as per its exchange filing.

The inspection was conducted by the regulator between February 3-11, 2020 and concluded with two observations.

The stock gained as much as 3 percent to Rs 880 and is up for the third time in the last four sessions.

Indian equity markets opened higher for the fourth straight day and are set to post their best monthly advance in April since 2009.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened 2 percent higher at 33,381 while the NSE Nifty 50 index opened at 9,735, up 2.1 percent. 46 out of the 50 Nifty constituents opened with gains.

This is the best gaining streak for the benchmarks in two months. As of closing on Wednesday, both Sensex and Nifty were up 11 percent this month.

All sectoral indices opened with gains with the Nifty I.T. index opening 3 percent higher. Nifty Bank, Nifty Metal and Nifty Auto gained over 2 percent each.

1,157 stocks have begun trade with gains on the NSE while 275 are declining.

• Nifty may face resistance between 9,660 - 9,700. Advise no trade after today's gap up opening
• Buy L&T for target of Rs 910-940 and stop loss of Rs 845
• Buy JSPL for target of Rs 95 and stop loss of Rs 85

• M&M Financial Services: Manulife Investment Management (Singapore) acquired 49 percent stake in the company’s two wholly-owned arms Mahindra Asset Management and Mahindra Trustee. Share Agreement was executed on June 21, 2019. Manulife has invested Rs 265 crore in the 51:49 joint venture.
• Tata Motors: Jaguar Land Rover has restored three-fourth of its budgeted production in China, as reported by Bloomberg News
• Bajaj Finance: Allotted NCDs worth Rs 200 crore.
• AU Small Finance Bank: To consider raising funds via share issue on May 2.
• Polycab: To consider proposal for investment / acquisition of shares on May 2. Britannia: Has paid Rs 21.7 lakh to SEBI for settlement of non-disclosure case of Ness Wadia’s arrest.
• Bharti Airtel: Clarified that it has renewed its relationship with Nokia to boost its network capacity and customer experience and the announcement in this regard was made by Nokia only.
• Indian Bank: Has reduced MCLR by 30 basis points across various tenors with effect from May 3. One-Month MCLR now at 7.55 percent while one-year MCLR at 7.8 percent.
• Punjab & Sind Bank: Board to seek shareholders nod raise Rs 500 crore via QIP route on May 5.
• Non-Nifty Earnings Today: Aditya Birla Money, Laurus Labs, Apollo Tricoat Tubes, SIS India, ABB Power Products.

For all that you need to know going into today’s trade, click here.

Good Morning!

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 1.9 percent to 9,738 as of 8:00 a.m.

Asian markets are trading higher on the final day of the month amid optimism from Wall Street and signs of progress on treatment of the coronavirus.

Japanese markets are up over 1.5 percent, while those in Australia are seeing modest gains. Markets in Hong Kong and South Korea are shut on account of a holiday.

The U.S. dollar is recouping some of the week’s losses, while oil continues to rebound as production cuts begin to take shape.

Short on time? Well, then listen to this podcast for a quick summary of All You Need To Know before the opening bell.