Stock Market Today: Nifty, Sensex Fall For A Second Day As Infosys, Asian Paints Drag

The yield on the 10-year bond closed 2 bps lower at 7.06%.

Source: Bloomberg

• The local currency strengthened by 5 paise to close at 82.90 against the U.S. Dollar.

• It closed at 82.95 on Friday.

Source: Bloomberg

India's benchmark stock indices continued their fall for a second session on Monday tracking losses in shares of Infosys Ltd., and Asian Paints Ltd.

Today, the NSE Nifty 50 ended 90.65 points or 0.41% lower at 22,122.05, and the S&P BSE Sensex ended 352.66 points or 0.48% lower at 72,790.13

Intraday, the NSE Nifty 50 slumped 0.62% to 22,075, and the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.65% to 72,666.82.

"Indian equities commenced the week on a tepid note and as the day progressed, the Index compounded its losses. In the mid-session, an attempt of recovery was seen but failed to hold higher levels and finally settled the day at 22,122.05 with a loss of 90.65 points. Among the sectors, Energy was the top performer while IT and Metal corrected the most. By moving in tandem with the Frontline Index, Mid and Smallcaps ended the day in red. With a bearish divergence in RSI, the Index has made a small bearish candle. The Index is oscillating in a range of 22,050-22,250 and breakout on either side will provide a proper direction," said Aditya Gaggar director, Progressive Shares.

Infosys Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., and Airtel Ltd. dragged on the benchmark index.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Power Grid Corp of India Ltd., Adani Enterprises Ltd., Tata Consumer Products Ltd., and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones Ltd limited losses to the benchmark indices.

On NSE, eight sectors out of 12 ended lower, and four ended higher. The Nifty IT index fell the most among sectoral indices, dragged by Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. The Nifty Energy index was the top performer among sectoral indices.

The broader markets rose also fell. The S&P BSE Midcap fell 0.38%, and the S&P BSE Smallcap traded flat.

On BSE, 10 out of 20 sectors rose, while 10 declined. The S&P BSE Power surged the most among sectoral indices. 

The market breadth was skewed in favour of the sellers. About 2,262 stocks declined, 1,717 gained, and 129 remained unchanged on the BSE.

• PNC Infratech Ltd got a Letter of Acceptance from Madhya Pradesh Govt for construction project worth Rs 699 crore.

Source: Exchange filing

• Signs MoUs with Lekha Wireless, Niral Networks & InstaICT to create and manage private 5G ecosystems.

Source: Exchange filing

• Wockhardt set to launch a Qualified Institutional Placement of Rs 400 crore

• The QIP price is likely to based on 10-day average price

• Alert: 10-day average price at Rs 561

• Alert: Shareholders had approved a proposal to raise Rs 1,600 crore via QIP in Aug 2023

Source: People In The Know To NDTV Profit

• Media reports alleging co's involvement in tax evasion are factually incorrect

• Fully co-operated with the I-T dept during survey proceedings in Sept 2023

• Certain queries received from I-T department have been addressed

• Not aware of any information that could have an impact on company's equity shares

Source: Exchange filing

The scrip rose as much as 3.39% to Rs 291.5 apiece, its highest level. It pared gains to trade 2.5% higher at Rs 289.05 apiece, as of 2:12 a.m. This compares to a 0.23% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has risen 73.53% in the last twelve months. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 0.97% times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 66.73.

Out of 21 analysts tracking the company, 11 maintain a 'buy' rating, three recommend a 'hold,' and seven suggest 'sell,' according to Bloomberg data.

Signs tripartite MoU with National Center for Seismology and Centre for Earth Sciences and Himalayan Studies

Source: Exchange Filing

• The deployment will be across its 12 circles within a record time of over 500 days.

• MIMO stands for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output

Source: Exchange Filing

The Indian benchmark equity indices extended loss through midday on Monday, with information technology stocks and Reliance Industries Ltd. dragging the most.

At 11:50 a.m., the NSE Nifty 50 was trading 100.80 points or 0.45% lower at 22,111.90 and the S&P BSE Sensex was 359.70 points or 0.49% down at 72,783.10.

"Our view is that, as long as the index is trading above 22,000/72,500, the bullish trend is likely to continue," Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities Ltd., said. "Above that, the market can go up to 22,400–22,500/73,700–74,000."

"On the other hand, sentiment may change below 22,000/72,500. Below 22,000/72,500, the market may retest 21,875/72,080 levels," Chouhan said.

Shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd., Adani Enterprises Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Power Grid Corp. and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. were positively contributing to changes in the Nifty.

Infosys Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd., were weighing on the index.

On the NSE, all sectoral indices, except Nifty Energy and Nifty Media, were trading in the red. The Nifty IT fell the most by 1.6%.

The broader markets also declined as the BSE MidCap was down 0.6%, while the BSE SmallCap was 0.07% lower.

Fifteen of the 20 sectors compiled by the BSE advanced.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. As many as 2,095 stocks declined, 1,746 advanced and 160 remained unchanged on the BSE.

• Target price lowered from Rs 3,017 to Rs 2,425

• Birla opus promising an incremental 40% addition to industry capacity

• Industry to see significant increase in competition to retain dealers and consumers

• Near term growth & margins not immune to competition pressure

• Assumes APNT sees some slowdown in growth but no significant share loss to Birla Opus

• May maintain long term market position

• ROE to fall to 26.9% in FY26 from 32.7% in FY24

• Yasho Industries at 9.33 times its 30 day average

• Greenply Industries at 8.94 times its 30 day average

• Indo Count Industries at 7.11 times its 30 day average

• Adani Wilmar at 3.83 times its 30 day average

• Suprajit Engineering at 3.47 times its 30 day average

• Approves allotment of up to 88.9 lakh shares worth Rs 200 crore

• Shares to be allotted at Rs 225 apiece on a private placement basis

Source: Exchange filing

In pact with Looks Salon to offer exclusive beauty and grooming services

Source: Exchange Filing

Varenicline is indicated for smoking cessation in adults.

Source: Exchange Filing

To supply 300 MW solar power capacity to J&K Power Corp from company's Bikaner plant.

Source: Exchange filing

• Jan spends up 30% YoY, Feb spends down 2% on e-com sales normalisation

• Expect to see market share shift towards smaller players

• Believes top 5 players more cautious on new card sourcing

• Maintains Neutral rating on SBI Cards

• Key Gainers credit cards spends market share: ICICI Bank, SBI Cards, small players

• Key Losers credit cards spends market share: HDFC Bank, Indusind Bank

• Key Gainers cards outstanding market share: Kotak, Yes Bank, small players

• Key Losers cards outstanding market share: SBI Cards, HDFC Bank

• Gets order in the range of Rs 1,000-2,500 crore for its railway business

• Order to construct phase 2A of Jakarta's Mass Rapid Transport Project

• Contract secured through its Japanese partner, Sojitz Corp

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of Asian Paints Ltd. fell nearly 5% to its lowest level since 28 April 2023.

Meanwhile, Macquarie in a report said that it has maintained 'overperform' on the stock with Rs 4,000 target. The brokerage said that it expects Asian Paints to be less affected by a new entrant like Grasim.

Scrip of Dixon Technologies Ltd rose to the highest level after the company launched a new manufacturing unit in Uttarakhand.

Dixon Technologies Ltd has launched the manufacturing unit with production capacity of 24 lakh washing machines per year at SIDCUL Industrial Area Selaqui in Dehradun on Friday, the exchange filing said.

Shares of Skipper Ltd. rose over 13% to hit an fresh life high after the company received an order worth Rs 737 crore from Power Grid Corp.

The power transmission and distribution company will design, supply and construction of new 765 kV Transmission Line for the central PSU, it said in an exchange filing on Sunday.

Skipper's stock rose as much as 13.37% during the day to hit a record high of Rs 401 apiece on the NSE. It was trading 6.9% higher at Rs 378.1 apiece, compared to a 0.15% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50 as of 9:25 a.m.

It has risen 287.2% in the last 12 months. The total traded volume so far in the day stood at 11 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 74.9.

Shares of One97 Communications Ltd. jumped 5% in the second consecutive session today and was locked in its upper circuit after Morgan Stanley said that the recent Reserve Bank of India's direction to National Payments Corp. is a positive development for the Paytm operator.

Paytm's stock rose as much as 4.99% during the day to hit an upper circuit of Rs 428.1 apiece on the NSE. The shares were locked in the upper circuit when compared to a 0.32% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50 as of 09:55 a.m.

It has fallen 32.59% in the last 12 months. The total traded volume so far in the day stood at 2.1 times its 30-day average.

Six out of the 14 analysts tracking Paytm have a 'buy' rating on the stock, as many as three recommend a 'hold' and five suggest a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analyst price targets implies a potential upside of 61.4%.

Benchmark equity indices opened this week lower after closing flat on Friday. The benchmark 50-stock index hit refreshed its lifetime highs in the last five consecutive sessions.

At pre-open, the NSE Nifty 50 was 43.50 points or 0.2% lower at 22,169.20, and the S&P BSE Sensex was 0.18% or 97.99 points lower at 73,044.81.

"The Indian market looks set to open flat to slightly lower on Monday, with global trends and portfolio churning ahead of the expiry of February's month derivative contracts likely to sway sentiment," said Avdhut Bagkar technical and derivatives analyst at StoxBox in a note.

"To embark on the fresh up move, the index must hold ground over 22150, and traders should exhibit caution until that occurs," Bagkar added. "On the downside, 21975 needs to be watched for a turnaround scenario."

Shares of Asian Paints Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., and Bajaj Finance Ltd. pulled the Nifty 50 lower.

Meanwhile, shares of Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Grasim Industries Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Power Grid Corp. Of India Ltd, and HDFC Bank Ltd. minimised the losses.

Most sectoral indices fell with Nifty IT, Nifty Auto, and Nifty Bank Losing the most. However, Nifty Media and Nifty Realty gained.

The broader markets outperformed as the BSE MidCap gaining 0.14%, while the BSE SmallCap was 0.40% higher. Thirteen out of the 20 sectors compiled by the BSE advanced, while seven declined.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. As many as 1,874 stocks advanced, 1,210 declined and 130 remained unchanged on the BSE.

At pre-open, the NSE Nifty 50 was 43.50 points or 0.2% lower at 22,169.20, and the S&P BSE Sensex was 0.18% or 97.99 points lower at 73,044.81.

• The yield on the 10-year bond opened 3 bps lower at 7.05%.

• It closed at 7.08% on Friday.

Source: Bloomberg

• The local currency strengthened by 6 paise to open at 82.89 against the U.S. Dollar.

• It closed at 82.95 on Friday.

Source: Bloomberg

Gensol Engineering gets orders worth Rs 337.7 crore.

Source: Exchange filing

• Move by RBI is a positive development, closely watch NPCI's response

• Monitor updated commercials as PPBL's business moves to other banks

• Potential impact to Paytm's businesses during Feb-24 amid the turmoil

• Approval from NPCI to ensure quick migration of customers, limited disruption

• Picks SBI and Union Bank as top picks

• Maintain 'Buy' rating on SBI, Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank, Union Bank, Canara Bank

• Neutral on Punjab National Bank

• Stock valuations reasonable given business growth and profitability

• Estimate 21% aggregate earnings CAGR of PSB coverage over FY24-26

• Expect NIMs to be range-bound with slight downward bias

• Expect 1.2% sector RoA by FY26 on opex ratio improvement, scope for credit cost reduction

• NNPA ratio to be similar to private banks by FY24 end

• 3 year net sales target to not raise industry discounting levels as sharply as expected

• Do not expect exisitng players to repilicate Grasim's product strategy without large capex

• Four hour delivery strategy, better throughput to allow dealers to make more money

Macquarie Maintains Asian Paints As Preferred Pick in India Paints & Adhesives

• Maintains 'Overperform' on Asian Paints at Rs 4,000 target

• Expects Asian Paints to be less affected by a new entrant like Grasim

• Sharp demand moderation remains downside risk to near-term sales growth

• Rise in discounting intensity near term given Grasim's entry to have negative impact to EPS estimates

• Zurich Insurance to buy 70% stake in Kotak GI

• Kotak GI is a small premium market share with a 120 crore loss in FY23

• Valuation of the business is unchanged at 7900 crore

• SOTP valuation of 5400 crore, implies 1% upside due to small size

• Recent performance related concerns are transient

• Domestic inflows to start ramping up after elections

• Addressable market in Saudi Arabia continuously growing

• Expect 13.6%/13.7% CAGR in inflows/revenue over next decade

• Expect 18%/23%/26% CAGR in revenue/EBITDA/PAT over FY23-26 for core EPC division

• Expect infrastructure and hydrocarbon segments to remain key growth drivers

Gets assessment order Rs 261.9 crore from Income Tax Dept for 2021-22

Source: Exchange filing

• Price Target of Rs 970

• Believe share price to rise relative to country index over next 60 days (70-80% likelihood)

• Short term valuation much more compelling on stock trading off recently

• Underperformed benchmarks YTD (-10% vs Sensex: +1% and Banex: -2%)

• Loan growth set to pick up; Asset quality to continue to benefit from recoveries

• NIM to benefit from recent credit rating upgrade and capital raise

• Confident about ability to become no.2 player; plan to be pan-India by FY25 end

• First company to launch paints at this scale

• Developed differentiated products vs. competition and have a clear dealer pull plan in place

• Expect aggressive pricing and promotion, likely to become Ebitda profitable in FY28

• Capacity will be higher than the combined capacity of the second, third and fourth players

• Plan to add 500 MLPA in capacity in next phase, lower incremental capex cost

• U.S. Dollar Index at 103.99

• U.S. 10-year bond yield at 4.23%

• Brent crude down 0.43% at $81.27 per barrel

• Nymex crude down 0.46% at $76.14 per barrel

• GIFT Nifty down 0.18% at 22,235.00 as of 8:12 a.m.

• Bitcoin was down 0.53% at $51,493.47

• Nifty February futures down by 0.10% to 22,228.85 at a premium of 16.15 points.

• Nifty February futures open interest down by 8%.

• Nifty Bank February futures down by 0.38% to 46,842.65 at a premium of 30.9 points.

• Nifty Bank February futures open interest down by 3.8%.

• Nifty Options Feb 22 Expiry: Maximum Call open interest at 23,000 and Maximum Put open interest at 21,000.

• Bank Nifty Options Feb. 29 Expiry: Maximum Call Open Interest at 47,000 and Maximum Put open interest at 45,000.

• Securities in ban period: Aditya Birla Fashion, Ashok Leyland, Balrampur Chini Mills, Biocon, Canara Bank, GMR Infra, GNFC, Hindustan Copper, Piramal enterprise, PVR Inox, RBL Bank, SAIL, Zee Entertainment Enterprise.

• Price band revised from 20% to 10%: Tata Investment Corporation.

•  Price band revised from 2% to 5%: Sical Logistics.

• Price band revised from 5% to 10%: Newgen Software Technologies.

• Ex/record Dividend: FCL, Natco Pharma, Suprajit Engineering, Gateway Distriparks.

• Moved into short-term ASM framework: Dynacons Systems and Solutions.

• AMI Organics: Sageone Investment Advisors LLP bought 2.5 lakh shares (0.67%) at Rs 1,075 apiece.

• Olectra Greentech: Ujwal Kumar Pagariya sold 5.5 lakh shares (0.67%) at Rs 2,096 apiece.

• Kolte Patil: Naresh Anirudha Patil sold 15.2 lakh shares (1.99%) at Rs 487.81 apiece, while Whiteoak Capital Mutual Fund bought 4.09 lakh shares (0.53%) at Rs 487.5 apiece.

• Arvind Smart Spaces: Kausalya Real Serve LLP sold 7 lakh shares (1.54%) at Rs 582.02 apiece, while ICICI Prudential Equity Opportunities Fund bought 4.65 lakh shares (1.02%) at Rs 582 apiece.

• Juniper Hotels: The public issue was subscribed to 2.08 times on day 3. The bids were led by institutional investors (2.96 times), retail investors (1.28 times), and non-institutional investors (0.85 times).

• GPT Healthcare: The public issue was subscribed to 0.85 times on day 2. The bids were led by institutional investors (0.19 times), retail investors (1.25 times), and non-institutional investors (0.79 times).

• Kotak Mahindra Bank: Zurich Insurance Co. plans to buy a 70% stake in Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Co. for Rs 5,560 crore via primary and secondary acquisitions in a single tranche.

• Zee Entertainment Enterprises: The company said its board has constituted an independent advisory committee to review the alleged widespread circulation of misinformation, market rumours and speculation about the company.

• Housing and Urban Development: To reach 25% of the minimum public shareholding, the government plans to sell up to 0.17% of the stake over a period of 12 months. It currently holds 75.17% equity in the developer.

• Union Bank of India: The company approved Rs 135.65 per share as the issue price of the share. The QIP is fully subscribed.

• LIC Housing: The board is to meet on March 7 to mull the FY25 borrowing budget.

• JSW Infra: The company has received a letter of award from the V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority for handling dry bulk cargo at V.O. Chidambaranar Port on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis through a PPP basis.

• Swan Energy: The board will consider the issue price for QIP on Feb. 28.

• Sanofi India: The company reported revenue of Rs 694 crore and net profit of Rs 138 crore in the December quarter.

• Bharti Airtel: The company strengthened its retail footprint in Agartala, Hyderabad, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, and Vizag.

• Ashok Leyland: The company acquired a 49.9% stake in TVS Trucks for Rs 24.95 crore to strengthen the company’s automotive business.

• KIOCL: The company’s pellet plant has been suspended due to an ongoing downward trend in pellet market conditions.

• Suven Pharmaceuticals: The US FDA conducted an inspection at the company’s plant from Feb. 12 to Feb. 23, and no Form 483 has been issued because of the inspection.

• Punjab and Sind Bank: The company will raise Rs 2,000 crore in one or more tranches via shares or bonds on Feb. 28.

• Dixon Technologies: The company has launched a manufacturing unit in Uttarakhand to manufacture washing machines. The company’s unit, Padget Electronics, has a pact with Compal for the manufacturing of mobile phones.

• Electronics Mart India: The company commenced commercial operations for a new multi-brand store in New Delhi.

• Narayan Hrudayalaya: The company has been allotted 7.26 acres of land in New Town, Kolkata, for setting up a healthcare facility.

• TIPS Industries: The board will consider a proposal for buyback shares on Feb. 28.

• Alembic Pharma: The company resumed manufacturing operations at the Sikkim plant.

• Sona Comstar:  The company executed definitive documents with Cleanmax Enviro Energy for setting up a captive power-generating facility in the state of Maharashtra with a solar capacity of 4.00 MWp. The SPV has been incorporated for this purpose.

• KPI Green: The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission has adopted a tariff for a 200 MWac grid-connected solar project.

• HUDCO: The company has signed a MoU with NBCC for effective implementation of consultancy services, asset monetization activities, and corporate social responsibility activities.

• New India Assurance: AS Rajeev has resigned from the board of the company with immediate effect.

• Skipper: The company received an order worth Rs 737 crore from Power Grid Corp. for the design, supply, and construction of a 765 kV transmission line project.

  Entero Healthcare: The Assistant Director of Drugs Control, Chennai, temporarily suspended its arm's drug licence for seven days from Feb. 26 to March 3.

• HDFC Bank: The private lender will sell HDFC Credila stakes to entities linked to BPEA EQT and ChrysCapital Group.

• Supreme Industries: The company signed a power delivery agreement, security subscription and shareholder agreement with the SPV formed by O2 Energy SG.

• Transformers and Rectifiers: The company received an order worth Rs 232 crore from Power Grid Corp. for auto transformers.

• Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services: The company signed a customer service agreement with Emcure Pharmaceuticals for the benefits and expense management platform Zaggle Save.

• MAS Financial Services: The company alloted 10.9 crore bonus equity shares to eligible members in the ratio of 2:1. The paid-up equity share capital stands at Rs 164 crore.

• Shakti Pumps: The company received work order worth Rs 84.3 crore from Haryana Renewable Energy Department for supply, installation and commissioning of 2,443 solar water pumping systems.

• Reliance Industries: The company received direction from the Central Pollution Control Board to pay environment compensation of Rs 1 crore for delay in installation of vcapour recovery systems at storage terminal at Rewari.

• Max Healthcare Institute: The company's board gave in-principle approval for acquisition of land parcel in Uttar Pradesh worth Rs 167 crore, admeasuring ~ 21,946 square metre.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region gained during early trade on Monday, taking cues from the rally in U.S. stocks, while investors await a slew of economic data from the region and the U.S.

Japan will release its CPI data on Tuesday, and official PMI data from China is scheduled for release on Friday. The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric, personal consumption expenditure, will be released on Thursday.

Brent crude was trading 0.39% lower at $81.30 a barrel. Gold was down by 0.18% to $2,031.74 an ounce.

The February futures contract of the GIFT Nifty index traded 0.18% lower at 22,235.00 as of 8:12 a.m.

India’s benchmark stock indices erased early gains to end lower on Friday after the Nifty 50 hit a record high for the fifth consecutive session.

On Friday, the Sensex closed down 15.44 points, or 0.02%, at 73,142.8, while the Nifty ended 4.75 points, or 0.02%, lower at 22,212.7. On a weekly basis, the NSE Nifty 50 ended with a record closing level of 22,212.7, or 0.78% higher, while the S&P BSE Sensex closed nearly 1% up.

Overseas investors became net buyers of Indian equities on Friday after a day of selling. Foreign portfolio investors bought stocks worth Rs 1,276.1 crore, while domestic institutional investors stayed net buyers for the second consecutive day and bought equities worth Rs 176.7 crore, the NSE data showed.

The Indian rupee weakened 10 paise to close at Rs 82.95 against the U.S. dollar.