Closing Bell: Nifty around 18,750, Sensex falls 216 points; PSU banks rally, realty drags

Gaurav Bissa, VP, InCred Equities

Nifty opened on a positive note and tried to scale fresh lifetime highs, but it failed to do so which was followed by incremental pressure throughout the trading session. The index was seen making fresh lows in every hourly candle followed by a small pullback towards the end of the trading session.

The index has formed dark cloud cover on the daily charts which is a small reversal pattern in nature suggesting further downside till 18600 can be seen once it breaches today’s low in the next trading session.

The fall today was predominantly led by Bank Nifty which was seen under intense pressure with heavyweights like ICICI Bank and AXIS Bank falling throughout the day. Bank Nifty has again closed below its 21ema on the daily charts and is expected to witness incremental pressure on a fall below 43400 levels.

Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services

Domestic indices hit a 52-week high amid weak global cues. Nifty after opening higher saw profit booking during the day. The index however managed to partially recover some losses and closed in negative territory with a loss of 71 points at 18755 levels. Sectorially it was a mixed bag with PSU Bank, IT, and Financial Services being top gainers. Nifty was just a fingertip away from its all-time high zones as the index failed to sustain higher levels amid volatility.

The focus remains on geopolitics this week, as the U.S. Secretary of State is set to meet the Chinese President today. While India’s PM is set to visit the U.S. later this week, which is likely to bring deal wins in the defense space and strengthen the trade relation. Niche sectors like Insurance, and Pharma could continue to be in focus after recovery was seen in their respective monthly data. NBFC too is in focus after the slowing of inflation and the recent rate pause.

Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking

Markets started the week on a subdued note and settled marginally lower. In continuation to Friday’s move, Nifty opened near the record high but profit taking in banking, energy, auto and FMCG majors gradually pushed the index lower as the day progressed however rebound in select IT and financials majors capped the damage. Finally, it settled at 18,755 levels; down by 0.37%. However, the broader indices continued their outperformance amid choppiness and ended flat to marginally higher.

Markets are shying away from the record high due to intermediate volatility in the banking majors. We recommend maintaining a positive tone and focusing on other key sectors like auto, FMCG, energy, and selectively in midcap & smallcap space for fresh longs.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities

Risk-off sentiment prevailed in local markets, as sell-off in global equity markets triggered profit-taking in banking, auto, telecom & FMCG stocks. Although India's macro economic indicators seem to be on the right path, global headwinds would fuel bouts of selling at regular intervals.

On intraday charts, the Nifty is holding higher high and higher low series formation, which supports further uptrend from the current levels.

For traders 18,680 would act as a sacrosanct support level. Above the same, the index could retest the level of 18,850-18,900. On the other hand, below 18,680 traders may prefer to exit from the trading long positions, as the index could slip till 18,650-18,610.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities

Nifty fell on June 19 after a higher opening, missing by 8 points to record a new lifetime high. At close, Nifty was down 0.37 percentor 70.6 points at 18755.5. Volumes on the NSE were on the higher side. Smallcap index ended marginally in the positive even as the advance-decline ratio fell to 0.85:1.

Global shares drifted lower on Monday, as investors were left disappointed by a lack of policy announcements from China post a State Council meeting Friday aimed at kickstarting the ailing economy. Investors also awaited testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in markets that remain dominated by monetary policy bets.

Nifty formed a bearish Dark Cloud Cover pattern on daily charts on June 19. However, in the recent past, such formations have not seen any follow-through. The Nifty gets pushed back as it tries to register a new life high. Nifty could face resistance from 18,888, while 18,669 could offer support in the near term.

Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities

Today being a US holiday, the forex market's price action remains lacklustre with thin volumes. The short-term trend in the rupee will be directed by global commodity prices, monsoon progress, foreign fund inflows and Chinese currency.

The past week was a big one for developed-market central banks, this week will be significant for emerging markets. Traders are eyeing China’s LPR rate decision and BoE policy decision. Chinese banks will likely lower their quotes on loan prime rates at the June 20 fixing for the first time since August 2022 while the Bank of England is set to deliver another rate hike this week.

The risk-on sentiments and foreign fund inflows drag the spot USDINR lower and right now, it is pierced the 200-day simple moving average. The pair has strong support between 81.90 to 81.60 while resistance is placed at 82.25.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Indian equities shied away from closing at all-time high levels amid profit booking, primarily driven by private banks. Global markets also took a breather after a strong rally last week as investors looked forward to China’s rate decision and the Fed chair's testimony.

The Indian rupee has been exhibiting strength recently, supported by strong FII inflows and favourable domestic macroeconomic data.

Rupee Close:

Indian rupee closed flat at 81.94 per dollar against previous close of 81.93.

Market Close:

Benchmark indices ended lower with Nifty around 18,750 in the volatile session on June 19.

At close, the Sensex was down 216.28 points or 0.34percentat 63,168.30, and the Nifty was down 70.50 points or 0.37percentat 18,755.50. About 1,623 shares advanced, 1,937 shares declined, and 163 shares were unchanged.

Adani Enterprises, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Axis Bank and Adani Ports were among the biggest losers on the Nifty, while gainers included HDFC Life, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra and TCS.

Among sectors, auto, bank, realty, power, realty and FMCG were down 0.5 percent each, while the PSU bank index rose 1 percent and the Information Technology index added 0.4 percent.

The BSE midcap and smallcap indices ended on a flat note.

Citi View On Gateway Distriparks

-Buy rating, target at Rs 90 per share
-Continue to maintain its market share in key markets
-Faridabad terminal will also start double stacking in 4-5 months
-Focus will remain on the western DFC
-Valuation looks attractive

Gateway Distriparks was quoting at Rs 74.30, up Rs 0.86, or 1.17 percent on the BSE.

Jefferies View On Ashok Leyland 

-Buy call, target raised to Rs 195 from Rs 185 per share
-M&HCV medium-term target at 35 percent, 25 percent in 2-3.5 tonnes LCVs
-Medium-term EBITDA margin target is mid-teen
-Other focus areas include expanding export & defence footprint
-Building EV & alternate powertrains will also be focus areas

Macquarie View On FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa)

-Underperform call, target at Rs 115 per share
-Liked the focus on driving market-leading GMV growth
-It was evasive on losses in fashion/ beauty distribution businesses
-There are concerns of capital intensive growth given rising competition

European markets fell at the start of the new trading week as investors remained jittery over the economic outlook.

Market at 3 PM

Benchmark indices were trading lower with Nifty below 18800.

The Sensex was down 147.99 points or 0.23 percentat 63,236.59, and the Nifty was down 49.90 points or 0.27 percent at 18,776.10. About 1,547 shares advanced, 1,806 shares declined, and 143 shares were unchanged.

Asian Energy Services gets LoA worth Rs 78.24 crore from ONGC

Asian Energy Services has received Letter of Award (LOA) from ONGC for 3D Seismic Data Acquisition services in Gujarat. The value of LOA is Rs 78.24 crores. The contract duration is 11 months

Nirmal Bang maintains accumulate rating on KEC International; target Rs 605

KEC International management is confident of achieving 15percentrevenue growth in FY24 on the back of a robust order backlog and a strong tender pipeline of ~Rs1 trillion.

Going ahead, KEC will become very choosy in terms of order selection with a clear focus on orders that will improve the working capital cycle and lead to better FCF generation. The management expects WC days to improve to 110 days in FY24 versus 118 days currently with debt levels maintained at the current level.

KEC expects to complete all legacy projects by 1HFY24 while EBITDA margin is expected to improve to 7percent(6percentin 1HFY24 and 8percentin 2HFY24) for FY24 and targeting Rs 250 billion order intake for FY24.

Outlook for the medium term remains strong, underpinned by the execution of the robust order book.

With exposure to legacy projects largely reduced, Nirmal Bang believes that margin improvement is expected to continue in the near term as KEC commences execution of projects booked at current commodity prices.

The broking house maintained accumulates on KEC International with a revised target price (TP) of Rs 605 (vs Rs 535 earlier), valuing it at 15x FY25E EPS.

Nomura View On Five-Star Business Finance

-Initiate with a buy call, target at Rs 750 per share
-Highly profitable & is amongst fastest growing NBFCs
-Estimate co to deliver 30 percent AUM CAGR during FY23-26

Ashok Leyland hits 52-week high; Jefferies raises price target, sees 19% upside

Adani Group stocks inch lower amid spurt in volumes

Adani Group stocks were trading lower amid higher volumes. Adani Enterprises Ltd fell 4 percent, Adani Ports & SEZ lost 1.6 percent, Adani Transmission 0.5 percent, Adani Total Gas Ltd 1.5 percent, Adani Green Energy 1.2 percent, Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd declined 2 percent each, NDTV lost 3 percent

ICICI Sec downgrades Prince Pipes after 20% rally in 3 months

Banking stocks trade lower

Banking stocks fell on higher volumes. Kotak Mahindra Bank declined 2 percent, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank lost 1.5 percent each, AU Small Finance Bank fell 1.1 percent, IndusInd Bank 0.9 percent, and State Bank of India 0.5 percent.

Indices extend losses with Nifty around 18,700; Sensex down 300 pts

The Sensex was down 292.42 points or 0.46% at 63,092.16, and the Nifty was down 95.10 points or 0.51% at 18,730.90. About 1519 shares advanced, 1795 shares declined, and 154 shares unchanged.

HPCL gets long-term contract from OPaL to supply natural gas

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) has secured a major long term contract from ONGC Petro additions Ltd (OPaL) for supply of Natural Gas to their Mega Petrochemical Complex at Dahej.

OPaL, a joint venture of ONGC, GAIL and GSPC, requires Natural Gas for operating its own Captive Power Plant (CPP) for supporting its power and steam requirements. HPCL has won the contract through competitive bidding against a tender floated by OPaL.

HPCL will be supplying 13.53 Trillion Btu of Natural Gas to OPaL during the period October 23 to May 26 under this contract.

Maruti Suzuki commences bookings for ‘INVICTO’

Maruti Suzuki India commences pre-launch bookings for its latest premium 3-Row UV, INVICTO, in the NEXA channel.

Maruti Suzuki India was quoting at Rs 9,573.70, down Rs 28.90, or 0.30 percent.

Som Distilleries and Breweries commences trial production at Odisha plant

The company has commenced trial production with its enhanced capacity at Odisha plant.

"This marks an exciting milestone for our company as we expand our product offerings and increase our production capabilities. The commercial production is expected by early next month," company said.

Lupin receives EIR from USFDA for its API Manufacturing facility in Vizag

Lupin has received the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for its API manufacturing facility located in Visakhapatnam (Vizag), India.

The EIR was issued post the last inspection of the facility conducted from March 6 to March 10, 2023. The inspection closed with the facility receiving an inspection classification of "No Action Indicated" (NAI).

Lupin was quoting at Rs 827.80, down Rs 3.05, or 0.37 percent on the BSE.

Coal India to sell 92.44 lakh shares to employees via OFS; stock dips

The government will sell 92.44 lakh shares of Coal India, representing 0.15 percent equity stake, to eligible employees through an Offer for Sale (OFS), the state-owned coal behemoth said on June 19, the second such move by the company this month.

“…the Seller is proposing to offer up to 92,44,092 equity shares (representing 0.15 percentof the total paid-up equity share capital of the Company) of the face value of Rs 10 each to the eligible employees of the Company at a price of Rs 226.10 per equity share,” it told exchanges.

The employee OFS shall remain open from June 21 (10 am) to June 23 (5.30 pm). Read More

Market rally could expand, real estate, cement and cap goods good bets: Nepean Capital’s Gautam Trivedi

DSP Mutual Fund picks 1.31% stake in IIFL Finance

DSP Mutual Fund has bought 50 lakh equity shares or 1.31 percentshareholding in IIFL Finance at an average price of Rs 500 per share. However, foreign company FIH Mauritius Investments was the seller in this deal.

IIFL Finance was quoting at Rs 512.70, down Rs 0.90, or 0.18 percent.

Small Cap World Fund Inc offloads 0.9% stake in Aavas Financiers

Foreign portfolio investor Small Cap World Fund Inc has offloaded 7.08 lakh equity shares or 0.9 percent stake in Aavas Financiers via open market transaction, at an average price of Rs 1,350.02 per share, which amounted to Rs 95.71 crore.

Smallcap World Fund held a 7.99percentstake or 63.18 lakh shares in the company.

Titagarh Rail surges 6% to hit 52-week high, Antique initiates coverage with 'buy' call

Shares of Titagarh Rail Systems, formerly Titagarh Wagons, surged 6 percent on June 19 morning to hit a 52-week high at Rs 449.95, with Antique Stock Broking initiating coverage with a “buy” rating.

The brokerage firm has set a target price of Rs 694 based on 20 times its FY25 earnings, implying a 54 percent upside from the day’s high.

While Titagarh Rail Systems, a leader in the wagon manufacturing space, now is also among India's few integrated manufacturers of passenger rail systems, the brokerage firm said.

The company has created a manufacturing setup which is difficult to replicate and has the capacity to grow its turnover to over Rs 9,000-10,000 crore over the next five years, it said.

Elara Capital keeps 'buy' call on FSN E-Commerce Ventures

Nykaa’s core BPC segment is trading at a fair 63x FY25E P/E, just 25percenthigher than traditional BPC peers’ valuations (average target forward P/E for large BPC players is 50x).

Broking house expects steady valuation re-rating in BPC, led by strong earnings CAGR of 38% in FY23-25E. Any improved visibility for EBITDA break-even or profit in the fashion business may aid share price performance.

Elara Capital maintain a buy with a Mar-24E Target Price of Rs 210.

Broking house value the BPC segment on EV/EBITDA of 60x one-year forward and have not assigned any value to the fashion and others business for now.

Axiscades Technologies gets board approval for acquisition of add solution GmbH in a phased manner

Axiscades Technologies' board members approved the 100 percentacquisition, in a phased manner, of add solution GmbH in Germany. add solution GmbH is specialized in automotive solutions to global OEMs. The acquisition will be carried out through subsidiary AXISCADES GmbH. The cost of acquisition is 5.50 million euro.

Axiscades Technologies was quoting at Rs 402.65, up Rs 19.15, or 4.99 percent.

Bank of Baroda turns second PSU lender to cross Rs 1 trillion in valuation

Adani Enterprises subsidiary to acquire Stark Enterprises

Adani Enterprises' subsidiary Adani Digital Labs (ADL) has signed a Share Purchase Agreement for proposed acquisition of 100 percentstake in Stark Enterprises. Stark is also known as Trainman, an online train booking and information platform. The company has not disclosed the cost of acquisition.

Adani Enterprises was quoting at Rs 2,479.00, down Rs 27.65, or 1.10 percent.

Gufic Biosciences receives NMPA China approval for PRILOCAINE API

Gufic Biosciences has received approval from National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), China for its product Prilocaine (API). This approval will help the company commercialise the said product in China and explore Chinese market. Prilocaine has a clinical profile similar to lidocaine and is used for infiltration, peripheral nerve blocks and spinal and epidural anaesthesia.

Gufic Biosciences was quoting at Rs 240.30, up Rs 7.75, or 3.33 percent and touched a 52-week high of Rs 245 on the BSE.