Positive on TechM, HCL Tech; Dr Lal Pathlabs, says Mehraboon Irani
The IT story is very much intact, said Mehraboon Irani, MD and CEO at Gini Gems Consultants on Wednesday, while adding that the valuations on IT stocks are getting redefined. This sector, along with pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals looks an interesting bet to invest in, Irani further added. “In the frontline stocks, I would go with Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies. Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) remain great bets. For the moment, the upside could be limited.” On diagnostic companies, Iran said, “The story is very good, expensive. If I have to select one with clear disclosure, I would go with Dr Lal Pathlabs.” More here
India’s real GDP growth to be 7.5 to 12.5%: World Bank
India’s economy has bounced back amazingly from the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown over the last year, but it is not out of the woods yet, according to the World Bank. The bank in its latest report has predicted that the country’s real GDP growth for FY 21-22 could range from 7.5 to 12.5 percent. The Washington-based global lender, in its latest South Asia Economic Focus report released ahead of the annual Spring meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that the economy was already slowing when the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. After reaching 8.3 percent in FY17, growth decelerated to 4.0 percent in FY20, it said. The slowdown was caused by a decline in private consumption growth and shocks to the financial sector (the collapse of a large non-bank finance institution), which compounded pre-existing weaknesses in investment, it said. More here
Shapoorji Pallonji Group’s foreign lenders seek personal guarantees from Mistry family
Some foreign lenders of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group have sought personal guarantees from the Mistry Family after the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the group’s pleas and said all questions are to be answered in favour of Tata Sons. The lenders demanded additional shares of the group’s firms as collateral for loans taken by pledging a part of its stake in Tata Sons Ltd, reported Mint, quoting two people familiar with the matter.
On March 26, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Tata Sons and Ratan Tata in the four-and-half-year-old legal battle against Cyrus Mistry, the scion of the Mistry family. While pronouncing the order in the court, the three-judge bench allowed all petitions by Tata Group and dismissed all petitions by the Mistry Group. The bitter legal battle began after the Tata Sons’ board removed Cyrus Mistry from the post of its chairman in October 2016. More here
Manish Hathiramani, Proprietary Index Trader and Technical Analyst, Deen Dayal Investments
“The markets have reacted from yesterday’s high. 14950 is the key level to watch out for as that is the breakout level for the Nifty. If we can get past that, we should anticipate a target of 15200-15300. If we continue drifting downwards and break 14500, there is a chance we go back into bear grip. It is a crucial juncture and measures to manage risk must be prioritized.”
IRB Infrastructure shares jump 8% on bagging 2 highway projects
IRB Infrastructure Developers (IRB) share price rallied over 8 percent in early trade on Wednesday after the company announced the winning of two highway projects in West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh. The two projects take the company’s total project wins in the current fiscal to Rs 5,004 crore. IRB Infra received a Letter of Award from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a BOT (build, operate, transfer) project in West Bengal and a Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) project in Himachal Pradesh. The company said it received the letter of award (LOA) for the BOT Project in West Bengal involving six-laning of Dankuni-Palsit stretch of 63.38 km of NH-19 with the project cost of Rs 2,421 crore. More here
CLSA: Nifty could see more volatility in near term; long-term upside at 16,400
We expect upside in the long-term towards 16,400 on the Nifty, said CLSA’s Laurence Balanco on Wednesday. “We see trading range developing and that should provide the platform for the resumption of the uptrend which would then give an extended upside target for the Nifty close to 16,400 area. So we think more volatility in the short-term but ultimately this trading range gives us a platform for a move up to 16,400,” he told CNBC-TV18.
Balanco further said, “What we have seen for Nifty and majority of regional Asian markets is a consolidation pattern. So there has been top trading range got a number of markets and Nifty is no different in that—its holding 14,300-14,500 support zone and the top end is giving resistance around 15,300-15,500.” Watch the video for more
Morning market quote from Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services
“As FY 21 – a painful disater for humanity but, paradoxically, beneficial for global stock markets – come to a close, there is hope and optimism in the air. Even though Covid cases are rising in many areas, it is clear that in the race between the vaccine & the pandemic, the vaccine would win. Economies would rebound smartly in FY 22. But markets have already discounted this and valuations are high. But this is unlikely to deter the bulls in the short run. Today being the last day of FY 21, DIIs are likely to buy aggressively to push up the NAVs of their mutual fund schemes. Their focus is likely to be IT, private sector financials, cement, pharma and select FMCG stocks which are expected to report good Q4 results.”
Opening Bell: Sensex opens 350 points lower, Nifty below 14,800; banks, metals drag
Indian indices opened lower on Wednesday, snapping 2 sessions of gains, dragged mainly by banking, financial and metal stocks. However, broad-based selling was witnessed across all key sectors. At 9:18 am, the Sensex was down 361 points at 49,775 while the Nifty fell 81 points to 14,763. On the Nifty50 index, Tata Motors, Divi’s Labs, Tata Consumer, NTPC and UltraTech cement were the top gainers while HDFC Bank, ONGC, Infosys, HDFC and ICICI Bank led the losses.
IT sector in FY21: Here’s a rewind of how sector performed in pandemic-hit year
Today is the last trading day of the financial year and as the curtains come down on one of the most unprecedented years which was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic–take a look back on how the year has been and which sectors and themes stood the test of time. IT companies were the big beneficiaries of accelerated digital transformation in all the companies. It saw a v-shaped recovery in earnings, growth bounced back ahead of estimates in Q2, and Q3 saw the best growth in a decade. So consequently growth estimates got rerated higher and now brokerages are expecting the top IT companies to report close to 13-16 percent growth in the coming year versus their earlier estimate of 8-10 percent odd. Watch video for more
China’s strong factory growth in March bolsters economic recovery
China’s manufacturing activity expanded at the quickest pace in three months in March as factories cranked up production after a brief lull during the Lunar New Year holidays, with improving global demand adding further momentum to a solid economic recovery. The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) rose to 51.9 from 50.6 in February, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Wednesday, remaining above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction for the 13th straight month. Analysts had expected it to rise to 51.0. Chinese factory activity normally goes dormant during the Lunar New Year break, but this year millions of workers stayed put due to COVID-19 fears, which led to an earlier-than-usual resumption of business at factories.
TCS: Promoter Tata Sons releases pledge on 6.7 cr shares (1.81% equity) on March 26
Oil rises on expectations OPEC+ will maintain supply discipline
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, paring overnight losses a day ahead of a meeting of OPEC and its allies, with investors betting the producers will largely agree to extend their supply curbs into May. Brent crude futures rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $64.29 a barrel at 0202 GMT, after falling 1.3% on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures jumped 15 cents, or 0.3%, to $60.70 a barrel, after falling 1.6% in the previous session. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together called OPEC+, are set to meet on Thursday, following a month in which oil prices have whipsawed on concerns about extended pandemic lockdowns in Europe, slow vaccine rollouts and rising COVID-19 cases in India and Brazil, pitted against growing optimism on growth in the United States.
Asian stocks poised for first monthly loss since Oct on bond rout
Asian stocks were on track for their first monthly loss since last October though markets were up on Wednesday and the U.S. dollar stood tall as investors focused on growing signs of a sure-footed global economic recovery. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan climbed for a fourth consecutive day to a one-week high of 682.36 points. The index, last up 0.4%, was still a fair distance away from an all-time peak of 745.89 touched just last month. For the month so far, the index is down 1.6% to be on track for its first loss in five months. It is also poised for its smallest quarterly gain since a 21% fall in March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a standstill.
First up, here is quick catchup of what happened in the markets on Tuesday
Indian indices ended over 2 percent higher on Tuesday, rising for the second straight session boosted mainly by IT, metal and financial stocks. Meanwhile, gains in global market shares also lifted the sentiment. The Sensex ended 1,128 points higher at 50,136 while the Nifty rose 338 points to settle at 14,845. Broader markets were also higher for the day with midcap and smallcap indices up 1.8 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. On the Nifty50 index, UPL, JSW Steel, Shree Cement, Tata Steel, and Wipro were the top gainers while Axis Bank, M&M, Hindalco, and Bharti Airtel were the only stocks to end in the red.
Welcome to CNBC-TV18’s Market Live Blog
Good morning, readers! I am Pranati Deva from the market’s desk of CNBC-TV18. Welcome to our market blog, where we provide rolling live news coverage of the latest events in the stock market, business and economy. We will also get you instant reactions and guests from our stellar lineup of TV guests and in-house editors, researchers, and reporters. If you are an investor, here is wishing you a great trading day. Good luck!
