Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Close At Four-Month Low; Adani Stocks Extend Gains
The S&P BSE Sensex closed down 502 points or 0.84% at 58,909.35 while the NSE Nifty 50 was 129 points or 0.74% lower at 17,321.90.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Yield On The 10-Year Rises
The yield on the 10-year bond closed 3 bps higher at 7.42% on Thursday.It closed at 7.39% on Wednesday.
Source: Bloomberg
Rupee Weakens Against The U.S. Dollar
The local currency weakened by 8 paise to 82.59 against the greenback at close on Thursday. It closed at 82.51 on Wednesday.
Source: Bloomberg
Sensex, Nifty Log Declines, Dragged By I.T., Financial Stocks
Indian equity benchmarks traded lower follwing a weak Asia trade on Thursday and resumed daily losses after a day of advance on Tuesday.
Headline indices closed at its lowest level in over four months, falling the most since mid October last year.
Stock markets worldwide extended losses on Thursday, as the U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds topped 4% for the first time since November in a sign that the Federal Reserve’s warnings of higher-for-longer interest rates are finally sinking in.
U.S. equity futures also fell, with contracts on the rate-sensitive Nasdaq down about 1% after both it and the S&P 500 index ended February with losses. In Asia, Hong Kong stocks slid as much as 1.5%.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed down 502 points or 0.84% at 58,909.35 while the NSE Nifty 50 was 129 points or 0.74% lower at 17,321.90.
Adani Enterprises Ltd., Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd., Coal India Ltd., BPCL Ltd., and Hero MotoCorp Ltd. were the top gainers in the gauge.
Whereas, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., TCS Ltd., Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., and SBI Life Insurance Co. were the top losers amongst the NSE Nifty 50 constituents.
Adani Group Stocks End Higher For Second Since Jan. 24
Furthermore, as Adani concluded it's three-day investor roadshow in Asian financial hubs on Wednesday, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed the market regulator SEBI to investigate the allegations raised in the public interest petitions in the Adani Group-Hindenburg Research matter.
The regulator has been asked to expeditiously conclude the investigation within two months and file a status report.
Shares of Adani Group companies climbed on Thursday as early block trades in some of the conglomerate’s stocks suggested institutional investors were buying after a prolonged rout.
All Adani Group company stocks advanced in for second day in a row since the launch of the U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research's report in late January.
The broader market indices ended lower in trade; S&P BSE MidCap was down 0.13% whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was lower by 0.22%.
Fourteen out of the 20 sectors compiled by BSE declined, while the six advanced in trade.
The market breadth was tilted in the favour of sellers. About 1,580 stocks rose, 1,878 declined, and 142 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Railway Stocks React To The Vandhe Bharat Project Allotment
Shares of railway companies rallied in trade on Thursday after the consortiums led by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd., and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., emerged as key winners for manufacturing and maintenance of 200 Vande Bharat trainset.
According to a flashnote by Macquaire Research, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. led consortium with Russia’s CJSC Transmashholding emerged as the L1 bidder for the 200 Vande Bharat trainset order, at an estimated cost of Rs 12 crore per trainset.
Also, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., in consortium with Titagarh Wagons, has emerged has the L2 bidder for the same 200 Vande Bharat trainset order, with an estimated cost of Rs 14 crore per trainset.
The total order size of the 200 Vande Bharat trainset order is expected to be Rs 5,800 crore with Rs 2,400-2,600 crore being the upfront amount split between the L1 and L2 bidders.
As per the tender documents, the lowest bidder will manufacture 120 trainsets and the second-lowest bidder will manufacture 80 trainsets, only if the second lowest bidder can match the L1 bid's price.
Siemens India Ltd., in consortium with BEML Ltd., Alstom and Medha, were the other bidders in this tender.
Macquaire On Railway Stocks
Assigns an "underperform" for Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. and maintains an "outperform" rating on Siemens India Ltd..
Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd., BEML Ltd. and Titagarh Wagons Ltd. are not rated by the brokerage.
Macquaire Research expects a 4% of additional upside for Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. however it expressed a negative sentiment for Siemens.
Brokerage sees the L2 bid win as a positive news for Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. with an upfront amount of Rs 480 crore that can be recognized over the next 4-5 years. This implies a 3-4% rise in the revenue for FY25E.
Siemens, on the other hand, has missed out on the 200 Vande Bharat trainset order and not participated in the 100 Aluminium body Vande Bharat trainset order.
Over the medium term, the margin profile of these orders will remain key, given aggressive bidding by players and heightened competitive intensity.
Shares of Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd., Titagarh Wagons Ltd., and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. advanced in trade after the project win, whereas, Siemens India Ltd. declined following the missed project.
Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing, Brokerage note
Adani Stocks Stage Rebound Amid Series of Block Trades
Shares of Adani Group companies climbed on Thursday as block trades in some of the conglomerate’s stocks suggested institutional investors were buying after a prolonged rout.
Flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. erased an early loss of 10% as 36.8 million shares, equaling 3.2% of its equity, changed hands in two block trades. A series of block deals also punctuated early trading in other group stocks like Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd., Adani Transmission Ltd. and Adani Green Energy Ltd., according to exchange data.
All 10 Adani Group stocks closed higher on Wednesday, the first such occurrence since the U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research report that release in late January.
Source: Bloomberg
