Sensex, Nifty Close Higher Led By IT Stocks; RIL Slips 2.4%

The S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.7% higher at 52,699, after it touched an intraday record high of 53,5307 on Tuesday. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also gained nearly 0.7% to 15,790.45, near an all-time high reached last week.

The broader market underperformed their larger peers. The S&P BSE MidCap lost 0.51% and S&P BSE SmallCap fell 0.22% Eleven of the 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. climbed, led by a gauge of information technology companies.

The S&P BSE Energy was the worst performing sectoral benchmark, down 2.15%.

The market breadth was slightly skewed in favour of the bears. About 1,459 stocks gained, 1,743 declined and 148 remained unchanged.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries Ltd. unveiled the much-awaited JioPhone Next co-developed with Alphabet Inc.’s Google, a handset priced and designed to target India’s hundreds of millions of first-time smartphone users.

“An ultra-affordable 4G smartphone is essential,” Ambani told shareholders at Reliance’s annual general meeting on Thursday, detailing the capabilities of the device that will run on Google’s re-engineered Android operating system. The phone will officially debut in the market on Sept. 10, ahead of the country’s peak shopping and gifting season, he said at the virtual gathering.

Retail investors lapped up shares of India Pesticides Ltd. on the second day of its initial public offering as well, while institutional investors continued to stay away.

The Lucknow-based fungicides and herbicide maker was subscribed 2.10 times as of 1 p.m. on June 24, according to exchange data.

• Institutional subscription: 0.00 times.

• Non-institutional investor subscription: 0.38 times.

• Retail subscription: 4.03 times.

• Employees: 0.00 times.

India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. will appoint the chairman of Saudi Aramco to its board in what may be the precursor to a revived investment deal between the two energy giants.

Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, Aramco chairman and governor of the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, will join the Indian conglomerate as an independent director, Chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the Reliance annual general meeting.

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The Indian rupee rises for a second day, while most other emerging Asian currencies decline, as accelerating vaccinations brighten the prospect of a faster economic recovery. A billionaire investor, locally known as India’s Warren Buffet says Indian stocks’ bull phase will last very long.

• USD/INR falls 0.1% to 74.23 on Thursday

• USD/INR is moving in a range of 74.00 to 74.50 with flows on upside bringing it down, says Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors

  • Buyers like oil companies taking it up and not allowing a fall below 74

  • “The strength in the dollar after a hawkish Fed is imminent despite the damage control by Powell in his testimony”

Shyam Metalics Ltd. listed at Rs 367 apiece, 20% higher than its issue price of Rs 306 on June 24, according to exchange data. The stock rose as much as 30% thereafter.

Sona BLW Forgings Ltd. (Sona Comstar) listed at Rs 302.40 apiece, 3.3% higher than its issue price of Rs 291 on June 24, according to exchange data. The stock rose as much as 24% thereafter.

Godrej Agrovet Ltd. rose 3.2%. Trading volume was eight times the average for this time of day.

• The stock was the best performer among its peers.

• Trading volume was 314,093 shares, eight times the 20-day average of 37,855 shares for this time of day.

• The relative strength index on the stock was above 70, indicating it may be overbought.

• Godrej Agrovet trades at 31 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year. It trades at 40 times trailing EPS.

• Analysts have nine buy, two hold, and one sell recommendations on the stock.

• The price target of Rs 579.89 represents a 11% decrease from the last price

• Godrej Industries, which holds ~60.2% stake in the company, acquired additional 976,047 shares, or 0.5% stake Tuesday, according to data on bulk deals released by BSE

• Balram Singh Yadav, an individual investor, holding about 2.2% stake in the company as of March 31, sold 1m shares yesterday, the data showed

Shares of the drugmaker dropped as much as 10%, extending its losing streak to day four.

Dhanuka Laboratories Ltd.’s plan to sell up to 8% stake in the Indian drugmaker will open June 24 for non-retail investors and June 25 for retail investors, according to a filing on exchanges.

• Minimum price for the share sale has been set at Rs 375 apiece

• Dhanuka has named JM Financial Institutional Securities and Edelweiss

• Securities brokers to the sale

Indian key stock gauges advanced to hold near recent record highs helped by gains in information technology companies, while the country’s faster vaccination campaign continued to boost investors’ sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.5% to 52,569.01, after it touched an intraday record high of 53,5307 on Tuesday. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also gained 0.4% to 15,742, near an all-time high reached last week. Thirteen of the 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. climbed, led by a gauge of information technology companies.

The gains are helped by surging pace of vaccination in the country, boosting investors’ expectations of quicker recovery in economic activities.

“Markets are looking comfortable as of now,” said Sandeep Jain, a strategist with Tradeswift Broking. Rising crude prices and inflation are major overhangs for Indian equities, he said, adding investors will however continue to focus on the ramp-up of vaccination and dropping virus cases in the country.

• Shyam Metalics & Energy Ltd.’s shares to start trading after IPO gets 121.4 times demand for shares offered

• Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd.’s shares to start trading after IPO gets 2.3 times demand for shares offered

• India Pesticides IPO fully subscribed, gets 129% demand on first day of sale, offer closes June 25

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries dropped 0.3% ahead of its annual shareholders’ meeting later on Thursday.

Financial markets will be looking for cues on the fate of Reliance Industries Ltd.’s planned $15 billion deal with Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Aramco, when Chairman Mukesh Ambani takes the stage to address shareholders Thursday.

India’s most valuable company may also apprise investors of developments including its 5G rollout plan, possible listing of its digital unit and a cheaper smartphone being developed with Google. There’s also interest among investors to know about his succession road map, including the role his three children will play at the helm of the conglomerate in the future.

Asian stocks were broadly steady Thursday after U.S. shares moved in narrow ranges as traders digested commentary from Federal Reserve officials on the outlook for stimulus.

Stocks were little changed in Japan, climbed in Hong Kong and edged lower in China, where the central bank increased its injection of short-term cash into the financial system.

India’s SGX Nifty 50 Index futures for June delivery, expiring today, rose 0.2% to 15,723.00, while MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.1%. The NSE Nifty 50 Index fell 0.5% Wednesday to 15,686.95.

U.S. futures advanced, following a modest drop in the S&P 500 despite gains among firms that benefit from economic reopening. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield remained below 1.50%.

Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, who’s penciled in a rate hike next year, said the economy will likely meet the Fed’s threshold for tapering asset purchases sooner than people think. His Atlanta counterpart Raphael Bostic said the central bank could decide to slow such purchases in the next few months. Neither are currently voting members of the Fed’s rate setting committee.

The dollar was little changed, while the yen held a slump, in part as the rebound from the pandemic dents the allure of haven currencies. Traders were monitoring for any impact from news that the U.S. is poised to bar some solar products made in the Xinjiang region over alleged human rights abuses.

Data Wednesday showed U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in June at the fastest pace in records dating back to 2007. Factories are grappling with supplier delays, record growth in input costs and hiring difficulties.

Elsewhere, crude oil held above $73 a barrel. Bitcoin traded at around $33,700, steadying after a slide earlier in the week.

Back home, Apollo Hospitals may react as the company reported quarterly results after the market closed Wednesday. ONGC, Ashok Leyland are among the companies scheduled to report earnings Thursday. Reliance Industries, Bank of Maharashtra, Linde India, Rallis India among companies holding their annual shareholders’ meeting. Foreign investors sold net Rs 680 crore of stocks on Tuesday, according to NSDL website.