Stocks Radar: Anup Engineering, Bajaj Auto, Escorts, Jet Airways, SBI Life

Indian equity benchmarks opened higher after declining for three consecutive trading sessions.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose as much as 0.76 percent to 36,140.27 and the NSE Nifty 50 rose nearly 0.73 percent to 10,871.60. The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. About 943 stocks advanced and 378 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

All of the 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE advanced, led by the NSE Nifty Metal Index's 0.99 percent gain.

Here Are The Stocks Moving The Market This Morning

Escorts Sales Rise 12%, Shares Gain

Escorts Ltd. sold 7,240 tractors last month, an increase of 12 percent from the year-ago period, according to its exchange filing.

Key Highlights (YoY)

• Domestic sales rose 9.9 percent to 6,918 units.
• Export sales shot up 92.8 percent to 322 units.

Shares of Escorts rose as much as 2.8 percent to Rs 676.20 after the announcement.

SBI Life Falls 12% After 35 Block Deals

Shares of SBI Life Insurance declined 12.1 percent, the worst since its listing on Bombay Stock Exchange, to Rs 510.

About 7.88 crore shares or 7.9 percent equity of the company changed hands in 35 block deals on BSE, Bloomberg data showed. Buyers and sellers weren't known immediately.

Bajaj Auto Rebounds After Reporting February Auto Sales Data

Shares of Bajaj Auto rose as much as 1.5 percent to Rs 2,943 as the company reported its sales data for February.

The company sold 3.93 lakh units last month, an increase of 10 percent from February 2018, the Pune-based automaker said in an exchange filing.

Key Sales Highlights (YoY)

• Domestic motorcycle sales rose 6 percent to 1.86 lakh units.
• Motorcycle exports rose 16 percent to 1.41 lakh units.
• Total motorcycle sales rose 10 percent to 3.27 lakh units.
• Domestic commercial vehicles sales declined 9 percent to 35,183 units.
• Commercial vehicles' exports jumped 37 percent to 29,921 units.
• Total commercial vehicle sales rose 8 percent to 65,104 units.
• Total domestic sales rose 4 percent to 2.21 lakh units.
• Total exports rose 19 percent to 1.71 lakh units.

Bharti Airtel Worst Performer On Sensex, Nifty On Fund Raising Plans

Shares of Bharti Airtel fell as much as 3.9 percent to Rs 305.55. The stock was the worst performer on Sensex and Nifty.

The company's board approved raising Rs 32,000—Rs 25,000 crore via a rights issue and rest through perpetual bonds—with the rights issue price set at Rs 220 apiece, which was at a discount of 31 percent to Thursday's closing price. The rights entitlement ratio was set at 19 shares for every 67 shares held by shareholders.

Here's what analysts had to say about Bharti Airtel:

CLSA

• Maintained ‘Buy' with a price target of Rs 410
• Fund raising will lower loss per share by 44 percent in 2019-20 and boost EPS estimates for 2020-21 by 42 percent.
• Fundraise to offer sufficient headroom to invest in networks/future spectrum auctions.
• Airtel can deleverage balance sheet further by Rs 25,000 crore from stake sale in Africa and Infratel.

UBS

• Maintained ‘Buy' with a price target of Rs 415.
• Capital raise provides adequate financial muscle amid intense competitive environment.
• Expect the rights issue to be completed by the first quarter of the next financial year.
• Stock is attractively valued.

Anup Engineering Starts Trading After Demerger

Anup Engineering started trading at Rs 474.15 per share after demerging from Arvind Ltd.

Jet Airways Surges Over 6%

Shares of Jet Airways rose as much as 6.1 percent to Rs 237.05.

Naresh Goyal agreed to step down as chairman of Jet Airways Ltd. to allow the board to move ahead with a debt recast plan for rescuing the carrier he founded, according to two people with direct knowledge of the development. (Read the full story here).