Closing Bell: Market ends higher led by metals; Bharti Airtel top gainer post SC verdict

Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended with gains on Tuesday after the Supreme Court granted 10-year time to telecom firms for paying the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR)-related dues to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

At close, the Sensex ended 272 points higher to 38,900 while the Nifty50 ended at 11,470, up 83 points. Broader markets remained in-line with the benchmarks, Nifty Midcap100 and Nifty Smallcap100 indexes ended 0.98 percent and 0.39 percent higher respectively.

Nifty Metal remained the best-performing index of the day, closing 3.41 percent higher while Nifty IT was the only index to end in the red, down 0.44 percent.

Bharti Airtel remained the top gainer of the Nifty50 index, ending over 7 percent post verdict. JSW Steel, Hindalco, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance also remained the Nifty50 top gainers of the day while Bharti Infratel, ONGC, Axis Bank, Adani Ports and Infosys were the index top losers.

Sept 1, 2020 3:38 PM

Morgan Stanley estimates RIL may invest $60 billion in the next decade; raises share price target to Rs 2,247 apiece

Reliance Industries stock has zoomed over 60 percent in the last six months compared to just a 5 percent rise in the benchmark BSE Sensex. Investors are also bullish on the RIL stock in the aftermath of the slew of deals the Mukesh Ambani-led oil-to-retail-to-telecom conglomerate announced when the rest of the country grappled with the economic impact of the COVID-19 induced lockdown.

In a recent report, global brokerage house Morgan Stanley estimates RIL to make an investment of up to $60 billion in the next decade.

"We estimate this vision will need $50-60 billion in growth capex if executed on a standalone basis—i.e., similar to the size of investments has made in the last decade," the brokerage report added.

However, with much higher cash flows and strategic partners, Morgan Stanley sees the next investment cycle as less challenging both to earnings and the balance sheet of the company. Read more

Sept 1, 2020 3:17 PM

More steam left: 180% up from March lows, Nomura expects this pharma stock to rally more

Despite a 180 percent rise in this pharma stock from its March lows, global brokerage firm Nomura expects another 46 percent upside in 12 months. Glenmark Pharma has surged as much as 179.9 percent to Rs 469 currently from its 52-week low of Rs 168, hit on March 13, 2020.

According to Nomura, the company's domestic formulation business has outperformed the broader market in the past and it expects this trend to continue.

The company stands out among peers with successful new product launches and the recent launches of Favipiravir and Remogliflozin will help deliver above-average growth in the near-medium term, noted the brokerage. Glenmark is the third-largest company after Lupin and Sun Pharma in terms of contribution from new product launches. Read more

Sept 1, 2020 2:59 PM

Steel Strips: Total August sales stand at 11.25 lakh units.

Sept 1, 2020 2:54 PM

Navneet Damani, VP – Commodities Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd

Gold recovered from its intraday lows and closed almost flat in yesterday’s session primarily as the dollar fell against its major crosses. Last week, the Federal Reserve said it would adopt an average inflation target, meaning rates are likely to stay low even if inflation rises a bit in the future, which is supportive for gold. This week, will be relatively important for gold as a number of economic data are expected to be released from the US and other major economies starting with manufacturing PMI number that is scheduled on the calendar today. During the week, focus will also be on the employment number that will be important to gauge a view for the dollar that has been under pressure in the past few sessions. Expectation is that as the economies start to re-open employment numbers could start to surprise on the upside. Broader trend on COMEX could be in the range of $1940- 2030 and on domestic front prices could hover in the range of Rs 51,230-52,200.

Sept 1, 2020 2:40 PM

Rupee at 6-month highs; bond yields decline after RBI stability measures

Indian bond yields declined to over two-week low levels and the rupee rose to six-month highs on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced special open market operations (OMO) and measures to foster orderly market conditions. The Indian currency ended at a 6-month high today. It ended at 72.87 against the US dollar as compared to Monday's close of 73.62. In fact, it is the biggest single-day gain for rupee in over five months. The benchmark 10-year bond yield fell 20 bps in opening trade and was down 18 bps at 5.94%. The RBI on Monday announced several measures including two more tranches of special open market operations (OMO) in bonds and raising the held-to-maturity limit under the statutory liquidity ratio for banks. Read more here.

Sept 1, 2020 2:33 PM

Jyoti Roy, DVP- Equity Strategist, Angel Broking Ltd

The Maharashtra Government has now allowed hotels to operate at 100% capacity in Maharashtra from September 2 as compared to 33% earlier. However, Hotels will have to follow standard operating procedures which will be issued by the Government in a few days. However, bars will continue to remain shut. We believe that this is a positive move for the Hotel industry especially for players like Indian Hotels and Chalet Hotels which have a significant presence in Mumbai. Chalet Hotels is our top picks in the Hotel sector given that more than 65% of their properties are in Mumbai and Pune. We have a Buy rating on Chalet Hotel with a target price of Rs 200.

Sept 1, 2020 2:23 PM

Rupee Update: The Indian currency ended at a 6-month high today. It ended at 72.87 against the US dollar as compared to Monday's close of 73.62. In fact, it is the biggest single-day gain for rupee in over five months.

Sept 1, 2020 2:15 PM

Total Royal Enfield sales at 50,144 units Vs Nomura expectations of 53,000 units.

Sept 1, 2020 2:11 PM

SC AGR verdict will lead to 'collapse of Vodafone Idea', pave way for duopoly: Analyst

The Supreme Court today asked telecom companies to pay their AGR dues over a period of 10 years, starting with a 10 percent payment next year, in a timeline that was stricter than what telecom firms had hoped for.

The SC's verdict could gradually lead to a "collapse of Vodafone Idea" and hasten the telecom market's move towards a "duopololy", Nitin Soni of Fitch Ratings said.

"For 10 years, they will have to make a payment of USD 700-800 million a year. Their EBITDA is insufficient to pay [even] for interest expenses," he said.

Going forward, Vodafone Idea needs to invest in its infrastructure and renew its expiring spectrum in the upcoming auction, Soni said, adding, "It can forget about 5G."

"They will have to forego some of the weaker circles and consolidate their position in some of the stronger circles," he added.