Sensex Sheds Over 500 Points; Nifty Holds 17,000

"We expect the market volatility to continue, with the index trading in a broader range. Continuous selling by FIIs and weak results by few heavyweights has further added pressure to the market", Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services wrote in a note.

• "Nifty needs to hold above 17,000 levels for an up move towards 17,200-17,250 zones. Given the on-going result season, we are witnessing strong reaction on stocks on either side based on the result outcome. Hence we suggest investors to remain focused on selective stocks in the market which are resilient on the back of strong quarterly results".

• Power Finance has 1.04 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• Power Finance has another 1.52 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

• AMG Media Networks will be in the business of publishing, advertising, broadcasting, distributing of content over different types of media networks, according to a stock exchange filing.

• AMG Media Networks will commence its business operations in due course, according to the statement.

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of Macrotech Developers rose over 3% in the opening minutes before trimming the gains.

• The company reported over 70% YoY growth in net profit in Q4 while Ebitda rose 7.8%.

• Of the 15 analysts tracking the company, 11 maintain 'buy', two recommend 'hold' and two suggest 'sell'. The overall consensus price of analysts tracked by Bloomberg implies an upside of 36.5%

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

• Varun Beverages has 1.83 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

• Rategain: IIFL initiated coverage of Rategain Travel Technologies with a recommendation of 'buy'; price target set at Rs 450.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

• Cyient cut to 'hold' from 'buy' at ICICI Direct; price target set at Rs 1,000, implied upside of 12%.

• NTPC raised to 'buy' from 'hold' at ICICI Direct; price target set at Rs 190, an implied upside of 22%.

Source: Bloomberg

PM Modi to state chief ministers over rising Covid-19 cases.

• India needs to stay alert as cases are rising since the last 2 weeks.

• Vaccination of children is a priority.

• States should implement test, track, treat strategy.

• States should send positive cases for genome sequencing.

• States should monitor and upgrade hospital infrastructure.

Source: Bloomberg

The broader indices almost mirrored their larger peers. All the 19 sectoral indices compiled by BSE Ltd. declined with S&P BSE Telecom falling 2%.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of bears. About 891 stocks advanced, 2,417 declined and 109 remained unchanged.

Tatva Chintan Pharma cut to 'accumulate' from 'buy'; price target set at Rs 2,791, an implied return of 21%.

Source: Bloomberg

• Vardhman Textiles has 1.41 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

Bharti Airtel has acquired minority stake (7%) in cloud network solutions provider Cnergee Technologies, under the Airtel Startup Accelerator Program.

• The Navi-Mumbai based Cnergee specialises in range of networking solutions including 5G ready softward tools for Network as a Service (NaaS).

• The acquisition is likely to enable Airtel to sharpen in NaaS proposition for small and medium businesses look to shift to cloud-based applications.

• Cnergee had a turnover of Rs 1.97 crore, Rs 1.90 crore and Rs 1.84 crore in FY2021, FY2020 and FY2019, respectively.

Source: Exchange filing

• TVS Motor signs MoU With Rapido to collaborate by leveraging synergies in fast-moving mobility market in India

• MoU comes amid significant boom in hyperlocal mobility segments like bike-taxi, auto-taxi and delivery, representing $15 billion opportunity.

• The partnership will cover both two-wheeler and three-wheeler vehicles and extend across ICE and EV segments.

• Shares of TVS Motor traded nearly 0.5% percent as of 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday

Source: Exchange filing.

Tata Motors has emerged as the lowest bidder in an Indian government tender for 5,450 electric buses, Economic Times reported, citing people it didn’t identify.

• Tata Motors is awaiting a formal communication from Convergence Energy Services Ltd., a unit of state-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd., a company spokesperson told the newspaper

Rainbow Children's Medicare IPO Subscription Status: Day 1 Live Updates

Campus Activewear IPO Subscription Status: Day 2 Live Updates

Maturities across the India sovereign yield curve were little changed in Wednesday morning trading.

• The 3-year yield fell 1.3bps to 6.125%

• The 10-year yield rose 0.9bps to 7.062%

• The 14-year yield rose 1.4bps to 7.281%

• The 3-year-10-year yield spread was 93.7bps, vs previous close 91.5bps

Source: Bloomberg

• Parties file for Competition Commission of India's approval.

• Air India is wholly-owned by Tata Sons

• Tata Sons holds 83.6% in AirAsia India.

Source: CCI Notification

• NHPC has 1.21 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• GAIL India has 1.07 million shares change hands in a large trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not immediately known.

Source: Bloomberg

Lupin has announced partnership with China's leading pharmaceutical firm Yabao Pharma to meet the demand for quality drugs with pediatric formulations in Chinese markets.

• According to latest Chinese pediatric pharmaceutical market report, the market for pediatric drugs in China has been growing rapidly and is expected to 210 billion CNY ($33 billion ).

• Shares of Lupin fell over 2% in intraday trade

Source: Exchange filing, Bloomberg

HDFC Life Plans To Double Its Value Of New Business In Next Four Years

NTPC has signed a MoU with Energy Vault Holdings to collaborate and formalise a strategic partnership to deploy gravity-based energy storage technology and software solutions of Energy Vault.

• The technology helps in coal ash utilisation to manufacture composite blocks for the energy storage system.

• Shares of NTPC rose over 1.6%, the most in nearly a week on Wednesday.

Source: Exchange filing, Bloomberg

The broader indices outperformed their larger peers with both S&P BSE MidCap and S&P BSE SmallCap falling 0.3%. Barring S&P BSE Utilities, all the other 18 sectoral indices compiled by BSE Ltd. declined with S&P BSE Information Technology shedding nearly 1%.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of bears. About 1,008 stocks advanced, 1,504 declined and 91 remained unchanged.

• Adani Power has 1.39 million shares change hands in a pre-market trade.

• Details of buyers, sellers are not known immediately.

Source: Bloomberg

Ashoka Buildcon entered into a share purchase agreement with NIIF and GVR Ashoka Chennai ORR (CORR) to sell 18,90,00,000 shares in CORR to NIIF for Rs 686 crore.

• The completion of the transaction is subject to Ashoka Buildcon acquiring 9,45,00,000 shares, aggregating to 50% of share capital of CORR held by GVR Infra Projects.

• The share sale is expected to be completed on or before September 30, 2022

Source: Exchange filing

Most analysts raised target of AU Small Finance Bank after the lender reported after the company reported net income for the March quarter that beat the average analyst estimate, post market hours on Tuesday.

AU Small Finance Bank Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Net interest up 43% at Rs 936.56 crore Vs Rs 655.83 crore

• Net profit up 105% at Rs 346.07 crore Vs Rs 168.97 crore

• GNPA: 1.98% Vs 2.60% QoQ

• NNPA: 0.50% Vs 1.30% QoQ

• Recommended bonus issue in 1:1 ratio

• Recommended dividend of Rs 1 per share on pre-bonus share capital

• Increased authorized capital to Rs 350 crore to Rs 1,200 crore

Analysts termed the performance in Q4 as 'stellar' and added that robust collection efficiencies led to asset quality improvement as they remain positive on the company's growth prospects.

Of the 27 analysts tracking the company, 17 maintain 'buy', six suggest 'hold' and four recommend 'sell'. The return potential on the stock is -0.4%.

Here's a gist of the brokerages' view on the company Q4 performance.

Motilal Oswal

• Maintains 'buy' and raised target price to Rs 1,625, an implied upside of 15.2%.

• Provision Coverage Ratio takes a giant leap as the lender reports a stellar performance in quarter-ended March.

• 43% YoY NII growth, stable margins and double-digit sequential business growth led to the earnings beat.

• Robust collection efficiencies and healthy reductions aided asset quality improvement.

Nirmal Bang

• Reiterates 'buy' with the target price kept unchanged at Rs 1,625, an implied upside of 15.2%.

• Strong growth in disbursements drove AUM growth and NII growth.

• High opex was offset by income tax refunds, resulting in in-line PAT.

Emkay

• Maintains 'hold' with the target price raised to Rs 1,340 from Rs 1,275, an implied downside of 5.3%

• Better NII growth, higher fees and lower taxes offset higher opex and led to PAT beat.

• Lender has raised its specific PCT to a comfortable level of 75% from 51%.

• All-time high disbursements across loan products led to strong AUM growth.

Source: Bloomberg, Brokerage notes, Exchange filing

CARE Ratings' MD and CEO Ajay Mahajan has resigned citing personal reasons.

• The company has accepted his resignation. Ajay Mahajan will be relieved from the role on May 31, 2022. He will also cease to be a Key Managerial Personnel of the company.

• The company has decided to appoint Mehul Pandya, Executive Director - Business Development as interim CEO of the company from June 1,2022.

Source: Exchange Filing

Indian government bond yields may rise and the rupee could open lower after Russia’s decision to halt natural gas flows to some European nations brings concerns about energy prices to the fore. Traders also await a Rs 33,000 crore ($4.3b) auction of Treasury bills.

• Rupee rose 0.2% to 76.5800 against dollar on Tuesday.

• 10-year yields rose 1bps to 7.05% on Tuesday

• Global funds sold net Rs 1,170 crore of India Stocks Tuesday: NSE

• They sold Rs 190 crore of sovereign bonds under limits available to foreign investors, and withdrew Rs 212 crore of corporate debt

• State-run banks sold Rs 1,530 crore of sovereign bonds on April 26: CCIL data. Foreign banks bought Rs 736 crore of bonds.

Source: Bloomberg

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has approved the initial public offering of Life Insurance Corp. with certain exemptions such as a smaller than mandatory divestiture by the Indian government, the Economic Times newspaper reported, citing people it didn’t identify.

• The regulator allowed the government to sell 3.5% holding in the state-owned insurer, less than the mandatory 5% stake sale for large issues

• Anchor investors have been exempted from tighter lock-in requirement for the shares allotted to them

• The newspaper also reports that the Reserve Bank of India has rejected LIC’s request to allow non-banking finance companies to lend more than 10m rupees to investors in the IPO

• The Indian currency rose by 8 paise to close at 76.56 against the dollar on Tuesday.

• The rise follows a rebound in regional currencies and expectations of foreign fund flows.

• LIC IPO is likely to hit markets early in May.

Source: Bloomberg

• Bajaj Finance: Jefferies reinstated coverage of the stock with a recommendation of 'hold'; price target set at Rs 7,600, an implied upside of 5%.

• HDFC Life raised to 'add' from 'reduce' at Spark Capital Advisors; price target set at Rs 600, an implies upside of 9.1%.

Source: Bloomberg

• L&T Infotech: Jefferies initiated coverage of the stock with a 'buy' recommendation; price target set at Rs 6,100, an implied return of 27%.

• Mindtree: Jefferies reinstated coverage of the stock with a 'hold' recommendation; price target set at Rs 3,650, an implies downside of 1.3%.

Source: Bloomberg

• Shares of Asian companies tied to natural gas may move as Russia plans to halt deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday.

• Move is a major escalation in the standoff between Moscow and Europe over energy supplies and the war in Ukraine.

• In Focus: Oil India, ONGC

Source: Bloomberg

• Apcotex Industries

• Bajaj Auto

• Chennai Petroleum Corporation

• Hatsun Agro Product

• HDFC Asset Management Company

• Hindustan Unilever

• Indian Energy Exchange

• Indian Hotels Company

• K.P.R. Mill

• Mahindra Lifespace Developers

• Persistent Systems

• Supreme Petrochem

• Swaraj Engines

• Syngene International

• Trent

• Reliance: Reliance and TA’ZIZ will enter a joint venture to construct and operate a Chlor-Alkali, Ethylene Dichloride and Polyvinyl Chloride production facility. The total investment for the project is over $2 billion (AED 7.34 billion).

• Wipro: The company has signed definitive agreement to acquire US based Rizing Intermediate Holdings for $540 million for the SAP consulting firm. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close before the end of the quarter ending June 30, 2022.

• Infosys: The company has collaborated with Nu Skin to help scale its business model with social commerce-based capabilities.

• Adani Enterprise: The company alloted of 2,400 Redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures of the face value of Rs. 10 lakh each on private placement basis.

• Omaxe: The company secured Rs 440 crore funding from Värde Partners. It will deploy the funds for expediting construction and delivery of its projects as well as for expansion.

• Zydus Lifesciences: COVID-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D has received emergency use authorisation from the Drug Controller General of India as a two-dose vaccine with a 28-day gap period. Earlier, the vaccine was approved in a three-dose regimen to be administered on day 0, day 28 and day 56.

• PB Fintech: The company appointed Alok Bansal as Executive Vice Chairman and Mandeep Mehta as the chief financial officer effective May 2. It has also received approval from RBI to increase its stake in MyLoanCare Ventures from 24.93% to 70.10% with further investment of Rs 36.6 crore.

Bajaj Finance Q4 FY22 (Consolidated)

• Net Profit: Rs 2,419.51 crore vs Rs 1,346.64 crore (YoY) (Bloomberg Estimate: Rs 2,438 crore)

• Total Income: Rs 8,630.28 crore vs Rs 6,454.94 crore (YoY)

• GNPA: 1.60% vs 1.73% (QoQ)

• NNPA: 0.68% vs 0.78% (QoQ)

• Recommended dividend of Rs 20 per share of face value Rs 2

Macrotech Developers Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 36% at Rs 3,444.56 crore Vs Rs 2,533.56 crore

• EBITDA up 7.8% at Rs 871.25 crore Vs Rs 808.39 crore

• EBITDA Margin: 25.3% Vs 32%

• Net profit up 72.4% at Rs 535.46 crore Vs Rs 310.56 crore

Schaeffler Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 19% at Rs 1,567.51 crore Vs Rs 1,316.82 crore

• EBITDA up 45% at Rs 308.47 crore Vs Rs 212.87 crore

• EBITDA Margin 19.7% Vs 16.2%

• Net profit up 48.43% at Rs 207.12 crore Vs Rs 139.54 crore

AU Small Finance Bank Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Net interest up 43% at Rs 936.56 crore Vs Rs 655.83 crore

• Net profit up 105% at Rs 346.07 crore Vs Rs 168.97 crore

• GNPA: 1.98% Vs 4.25%

• NNPA: 0.50% Vs 2.18%

• Recommended bonus issue in 1:1 ratio

• Recommended dividend of Rs 1 per share on pre-bonus share capital

• Increased authorized capital to Rs 350 crore to Rs 1,200 crore

Nippon Life India Asset Management Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue fell 0.17% at Rs 337.97 crore Vs Rs 338.53 crore

• EBIT fell 2.28% at Rs 201.02 crore Vs Rs 205.71 crore

• EBIT margin 59.48% Vs 60.77%

• Net profit up 0.46% at Rs 174.85 crore Vs Rs 174.05 crore

• Assets under management as on March 31, 2022: Rs 3,45,604 crore

• Recommended dividend of Rs 7.5 per share of face value Rs 10

Mahindra Logistics Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue fell 4% at Rs 1,072.68 crore Vs Rs 1,117.88 crore

• EBITDA up 15.3% at Rs 54.96 crore Vs Rs 47.66 crore

• EBITDA margin 5.12% Vs 4.26%

• Net profit up 107% at Rs 11.68 crore Vs Rs 5.63 crore

• Recommended dividend of Rs 2 per share of face value of Rs 10

Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue fell 3.2% at Rs 323.52 crore Vs Rs 334.29 crore

• EBIT fell 19.2% at Rs 186.95 crore Vs Rs 231.39 crore

• EBIT margin 57.79% Vs 69.22%

• Net profit fell 14.8% at Rs 158.51 crore Vs Rs 186.23 crore

• Recommended dividend of Rs 5.85 per share

Tata Coffee Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue up 4.3% at Rs 227.12 crore Vs Rs 217.65 crore

• EBITDA up 1.5% at Rs 24.43 crore Vs Rs 24.06 crore

• EBITDA Margin 10.76% Vs 11.05%

• Net profit fell 33.2% at Rs 26.83 crore Vs Rs 40.19 crore

• Recommended dividend of Rs 2 per share on face value Rs 1

Nelco Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue fell 0.5% at Rs 71.69 crore Vs Rs 72.06 crore

• EBIT 10.3% at Rs 14.67 crore Vs Rs 16.35 crore

• EBIT Margin 20.46% Vs 22.7%

• Net profit fell 42.4% at Rs 3.03 crore Vs Rs 5.26 crore

• Recommended dividend of Rs 1.8 per share of face value of Rs 10

United Breweries Q4 FY22 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 1.3% at Rs 3,664.71 crore Vs Rs 3,618.09 crore

• EBITDA fell 0.32% at Rs 261.47 crore Vs Rs 262.3 crore

• EBITDA margin 7.13% Vs 7.25%

• Net profit fell 83.2% at Rs 163.4 crore Vs 971.4 crore. It recorded impairment loss of Rs 68.8 crore on Property, Plant and Equipment and Goodwill.

• Recommended dividend of Rs 10.5 per share of Rs 1.

Stocks declined on Wednesday amid mixed corporate earnings, woories that Russia may choke gas flows to Europe, China’s Covid struggles and the prospect of aggressive Federal Reserve monetary tightening.

Equities fell in Japan, Australia and South Korea. U.S. equity futures were volatile after the S&P 500 fell to a six-week low. The Nasdaq 100 plumbed levels last seen in 2021. Gains in Microsoft Corp. in late trading on better-than-expected results alleviated some of the gloom. The euro fell to its weakest level since 2017.

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early barometer of India's benchmark Nifty 50, fell over 1.25% to 16,973.50 points as of 7:00 am.

The energy brinkmanship and disappointment over earnings from the likes of Alphabet Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. sowed further doubts about the outlook for markets.

Elsewhere, oil climbed to $102 a barrel and gold was steady around $1,905 an ounce. Bitcoin nursed losses at around $38,100.