Closing Bell: Sensex, Nifty end flat amid volatility; metals outshine

Indian benchmark indices ended flat in the volatile session on May 21. At close, the Sensex was down 52.63 points or 0.07 percent at 73,953.31, and the Nifty was up 27 points or 0.12 percent at 22,529.

We wrap up today's edition of the Moneycontrol live market blog, and will be back tomorrow morning with all the latest updates and alerts. Please visit https://www.moneycontrol.com/markets/global-indices for all the global market action.

The index remained within the range of 22,400 and 22,600. Strong put writing at 22,400 and 22,500 might provide support to the Nifty. On the higher end, a decisive move above 22,600 might induce a rally towards 22,800 in the near term. Till then the index might continue consolidating as long as it remains within the range of 22,400 to 22,600.

Nifty witnessed a volatile day of trade today. It opened on a negative note however recovered and closed the day in the green up ~27 points. On the daily charts we can observe that the Nifty has been in the recovery process after testing the lower end of the rising channel. It has now reached the 22570 – 22600 zone where resistance in the form of 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level is placed.

The hourly momentum indicator has triggered a negative crossover which indicates that the Nifty is likely to consolidate. Considering that prices have reached a crucial level and there is a loss of momentum on the hourly time frame we can expect the Nifty to consolidate over the next few trading session. We should keep a stoploss of 22400 for the long positions.

The Bank Nifty also consolidated within a narrow range and closed in the negative, down ~150 points. We believe that it is a brief pause in the overall uptrend and this consolidation should be bought into. We expect the Bank Nifty to rally towards 48320 – 48700 from short term perspective. The hourly momentum indicator has a negative crossover which can lead to a sideways price action however no signs of trend reversal as of now. The trailing stoploss for the long positions should be kept at 47400.

The rupee traded positively, gaining 0.06 to close at 83.31. This strength is attributed to predictions of the current government winning the general election, leading to increased stability. Additionally, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) have been actively buying into capital markets. Soft crude prices and a stable dollar index also supported the rupee. The expected range for the rupee in the upcoming sessions is between 83.00 and 83.50.

The BankNifty index failed to surpass the mark of 48,400, where the 20DMA is placed. A break above this level will lead to a fresh move on the upside. The lower-end support is placed at 48,000, where the highest open interest is built up on the put side. The index needs to break these levels decisively on either side to have trending moves in the near term.

Diverging from their strong global counterparts, Indian equities commenced the week on a tepid note but a strong rally in the Energy and Metal counters not only helped the Index to recuperate its losses but compounded its gains as well to end the session at 22,529.05 with gains of 27.05 points.

In addition to Metal and Energy; PSU Banking segment outperformed while FMCG was the major laggard.

A mixed activity was observed in the Broader markets where Midcaps marginally outperformed while Smallcaps ended the day in red.

The Index has formed a bullish engulfing candle on the daily chart which indicates presence of buyers at the lower levels. Once the Index breaches the level of 22,600, we can expect a retest of its previous high of 22,790 while the downside seems to be protected at 22,400.

Indian rupee ended flat at 83.31 per dollar on Tuesday against Friday's close of 83.33.

Indian benchmark indices ended flat in the volatile session on May 21.

At close, the Sensex was down 52.63 points or 0.07 percent at 73,953.31, and the Nifty was up 27.00 points or 0.12 percent at 22,529.

Top Nifty losers were Nestle, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank, TCS and Maruti Suzuki, while gainers included Hindalco Industries, Coal India, JSW Steel, Tata Steel and Adani Ports.

Among sectors, metal index up 4 percent, power index up 2 percent, PSU Bank index up 1.5 percent, while FMCG down 0.5 percent.

The BSE midcap index up 0.3 percent while smallcap index down 0.2 percent.

#1 Company expects flattish realisations, but better EBITDA/t on costs
#2 Management expects EBITDA to expand on lower coking coal prices & efficiencies
#3 Full benefit of higher capacities will play out in FY26

Oil prices extended losses on Tuesday, with investors expecting lingering U.S. inflation to keep interest rates higher for longer, depressing consumer and industrial demand.

Brent crude futures fell 64 cents, or 0.7%, to $83.07 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) slipped by 64 cents, or 0.8%, to $79.16.

#1 Margin should be largely sustainable as cost optimisation is a focus
#2 Higher-margin SVC income & aircraft deliveries should rev growth for 4-6 years
#3 Export visibility is improving, raise FY24-27 EPS estimates by 16-18 percent

Gold prices slipped on Tuesday as U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers stuck to a cautious tone on monetary policy and investors locked in profits after bullion hit an all-time high in the previous session.

Spot gold fell 0.3% at $2,417.95 per ounce, after scaling a record high of $2,449.89 on Monday. U.S. gold futures fell 0.7% at $2,421.70.

#1 Strong growth momentum to continue, price hikes to support margin
#2 Entering a demand upcycle
#3 Global agri prices have started inching up & should drive replacement demand
#4 Global peers also expect a recovery in H2

#1 Net profit down 66% at Rs 16.8 crore versus Rs 49.6 crore, YoY
#2 Revenue up 2% at Rs 335 crore versus Rs 327 crore, YoY

Market at 3 PM | Sensex, Nifty trade flat; metals shine

The Sensex was down 65.08 points or 0.09 percent at 73,940.86, and the Nifty was up 14.40 points or 0.06 percent at 22,516.40. About 1391 shares advanced, 2103 shares declined, and 127 shares unchanged.

#1 Lower coking coal costs should drive margin expansion in Q1
#2 Don’t see any material expansion in FY25
#3 Expect domestic demand to pick up after elections
#4 Imports from China remain a risk

The market capitalisation of companies listed on BSE has crossed a record $5 trillion for the first time - hitting a fresh high on May 21 - data on the BSE website showed, underscoring an ongoing rally in the Indian stock markets.

The total market cap of all BSE-listed companies reached $5 trillion or over Rs 414.46 trillion, rising by over $633 billion since the start of the year. Although the flagship Sensex index still remains 1.66 percent below its all-time high, the BSE Mid and Smallcap indices hit fresh high. Read More

#1 PAT at Rs 9 crore against Rs 8 crore in Q3FY24
#2 Revenue from Operations at Rs 256 crore; grew by 14% YoY

#1 Net profit at Rs 24.3 crore versus Rs 10.9 crore, YoY
#2 Revenue up 4 percent at Rs 1,094 crore versus Rs 1,055 crore, YoY

#1 Cut FY25 EPS, but retain FY26 estimates
#2 Capex is estimates to normalise in FY25, doubling RoCE to 19 percent by FY26
#3 In FY24-27, estimate components sales CAGR at +26 percent to outpace RAC at +11 percent

Domestic rating agency ICRA on Tuesday projected India's GDP growth to moderate to a four quarter low of 6.7 per cent in March quarter of 2023-24 fiscal.

For the full 2023-24 fiscal, ICRA estimates GDP growth to come in at 7.8 per cent.

The Indian economy grew 8.2 per cent in the June quarter, 8.1 per cent in the September quarter and 8.4 per cent in the December quarter of 2023-24. Read More

#1 Q4 profit of Rs 54.6 crore, down 93 percent YoY, was below estimate due to higher write-off
#2 Management expects to recover claim
#3 QoQ fall in slippage is partly seasonal, but still higher
#4 Clarity on succession is awaited

Market at 2.30 PM | Sensex, Nifty trade flat

The Sensex was up 17.18 points or 0.02 percent at 74,023.12, and the Nifty was up 37.50 points or 0.17 percent at 22,539.50. About 1432 shares advanced, 2053 shares declined, and 124 shares unchanged.

Nestle, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, SBI Life Insurance and TCS are among the top losers on the Nifty, while gainers are Hindalco, Coal India, JSW Steel, Tata Steel and Cipla.

Among sectors, metal index up 4 percent, power index up 2 percent and oil & gas up nearly 1 percent, while FMCG down 0.7 percent.

Indian Rupee gained by 0.10% today on soft US Dollar and positive domestic markets. A decline in crude oil prices and fresh foreign inflows also supported the Rupee. US Dollar softened on rate cut expectations by Fed but hawkish comments by Fed officials supported the Dollar at lower levels.

We expect Rupee to trade with a slight negative bias as the US Dollar may recover from lower levels as recent comments from most Fed officials are hawkish. However, positive tone in the domestic markets and fresh inflows from foreign investors may support Rupee at lower levels.

Weakness in crude oil prices may also support the Rupee. Investors may remain cautious ahead of FOMC minutes and PMI data from US this week. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83.10 to Rs 83.50.

#1 Net profit up 47% at Rs 50 crore versus Rs 34 crore, YoY

#2 Revenue up 40% at Rs 256 crore versus Rs 183 crore, YoY

#1 Target raised to Rs 175 per share
#2 Encouraging Q4, company is revisiting costs & subdued margin is transitory
#3 Q4 revenue and EBITDA ahead of estimates
#4 Company added aspirational target of an 18-20 percent EBITDA margin by FY26

#1 Profit up 13.2 percent at Rs 84.4 crore Vs Rs 74.6 crore
#2 Revenue grows 10.9 percent to Rs 1,301.5 crore Vs Rs 1,174.1 crore
#3 Dividend at Rs 2 per share

#1 Net profit down 51 percent at Rs 77 crore vs Rs 156 crore, YoY
#2 Exceptional gain at NIL vs Rs 59 crore, YoY
#3 Revenue down 3 percent at Rs 821 crore versus Rs 845 crore, YoY

#1 Net profit up 39 percent at Rs 28.5 crore vs Rs 20.5 crore, YoY
#2 Revenue up 7% at Rs 295 crore versus Rs 275 crore, YoY

Market at 2 PM | Sensex, Nifty trade marginally higher

The Sensex was up 41.09 points or 0.06 percent at 74,047.03, and the Nifty was up 46.00 points or 0.20 percent at 22,548.00. About 1449 shares advanced, 2008 shares declined, and 143 shares unchanged.

#1 Net loss at Rs1.4 cr vs profit of Rs37.5 cr (YoY)

#2 Revenue down 36% at Rs118 cr vs Rs184 cr (YoY)

#3 EBITDA down 83% at Rs10.4 cr vs Rs60 cr (YoY)

#4 Margin at 8.9% vs 32.5% (YoY)

In June, Indian bonds will get included in JPMorgan’s global index. Even before the inclusion, worries have crept in over volatility in the bond market due to the whimsical nature of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) flows. But, according to a senior finance ministry official, concerns over “hot money” are not immediate given that the amount invested by foreign investors under the fully accessible route so far is not too large.

As per Clearing Corporation of India (CCI) data, investments under the FAR route stood at Rs 1.63 lakh crore as on May 20. FAR or Fully Accessible Route was introduced by the Reserve Bank of India in April 2020, allowing non-residents to invest in specified government bonds without any restrictions. Read more

#1 Profit spikes 78.66 percent to Rs 38.3 crore Vs Rs 21.4 crore

#2 Revenue grows 1.6 percent to Rs 1,271.5 crore Vs Rs 1,250.9 crore

Sensex Today | BSE Telecom index up 0.5%; Railtel Corporation of India, Vodafone Idea up 2-3%

#1 Q4 PPoP largely in-line excluding one-offs
#2 PAT impacted on prudent provisioning and accelerated write-offs
#3 Management hopeful of seeing CGFMU resolution sooner
#4 Company maintains its FY25 credit costs guidance at 1.8-2 percent

#1 Profit drops 88.8 percent to Rs 21.5 crore Vs Rs 193.2 crore

#2 Revenue grows 10 percent to Rs 768.4 crore Vs Rs 698.2 crore

#1Profit surges 50.8 percent to Rs 82.8 crore Vs Rs 54.9 crore

#2 Revenue rises 4.5 percent to Rs 625 crore Vs Rs 597.9 crore

#1 Profit surges 79.3 percent to Rs 12.9 crore Vs Rs 7.2 crore

#2 Revenue climbs 26.8 percent to Rs 135.4 crore Vs Rs 106.8 crore

Sensex Today | Nifty Metal index rises 3.5%; Hindustan Zinc, Vedanta, Coal India up 5-11%

#1Profit jumps 24.7 percent to Rs 79.4 crore Vs Rs 63.7 crore

#2 Revenue grows 3.7 percent to Rs 1,734 crore Vs Rs 1,672.7 crore

#1 EBITDA 13 percent below estimates given lower margin
#2 Have factored delay in dedicated freight corridor commissioning
#3 Medium-term outlook remains robust

Market at 1 PM | Sensex, Nifty at day's high 

The Sensex was up 151.73 points or 0.21 percent at 74,157.67, and the Nifty was up 77.00 points or 0.34 percent at 22,579.00. About 1441 shares advanced, 1998 shares declined, and 133 shares unchanged.

#1 Q4 ahead of estimates as volume growth surprised positively
#2 Management expressed caution against extrapolating Q4 volume run-rate to FY25
#3 ASPs Could increase further as co plans price hike to offset cost pressures

#1 Target at Rs 5,100 per share
#2 Margin surprise stamps business strength
#3 Increase FY25/FY26 margin estimates by 40 bps/77 bps on strong commentary

#1 Company ended FY24 with a decent Q4 performance
#2 Q4 revenue grew 3 percent & EBITDA margin came in at 9.7 percent
#3 Company guided towards YoY margin expansion in FY25
#4 Would watch out for strategic initiatives

The liquor maker sold 6.3 million cases of its flagship brand, Magic Moments Vodka in FY24, amounting to sales worth Rs 1,000 crore. This was significantly higher compared to the previous fiscal year's sales of 5.2 million cases.

The US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has completed an inspection at the company's Visakhapatnam-based multipurpose API manufacturing facility. According to the inspection, the site is in an “Acceptable State of Compliance” with zero Form 483 inspectional observations from the US FDA.

The US health regulator had inspected the said facility during May 14-17 this year.

#1 Reported a steep decline in Q4 earnings, led by higher provisions
#2 No fresh updates on MD & CEO change along with status of CGFMU audit
#3 MD & CEO change along with status of CGFMU audit are the key concerns
#4 Outcome of audit has limited bearing hereon

#1 Upgrade to neutral, target raised to Rs 15 from Rs 6.5 per share
#2 Upgrade on an improving outlook following conclusion of its fund raise
#3 Subscriber loss pace moderates, modest uptick in ARPU

The state-run railway company has received a Letter of Acceptance for a project worth Rs 148.3 crore from SER HQELECTRICAL/South Eastern Railway. It will undertake the design, supply, erection, testing, and commissioning for the upgradation of the electric traction system in the Kharagpur division of South Eastern Railway to meet the 3000 MT loading target.

The food company has issued a clarification note on media reports related to unsafe Patanjali Soan Papdi, saying food business came into the fold of Patanjali Foods in July 2022 only and hence the company has no connection with this matter.

#1 Profit falls 3.3 percent to Rs 114.1 crore Vs Rs 118 crore
#2 Revenue rises 3 percent to Rs 1,318.3 crore Vs Rs 1,280.3 crore
#3 Other income drops to Rs 8.72 crore Vs Rs 43.2 crore
#4 Dividend at Rs 4 per share

Sensex Today | BSE PSU index gains 2%; Rail Vikas Nigam up 12%, HUDCO up 10%

#1 Domestic passenger traffic up 2.4 percent YoY at 13.2 Million
#2 IndiGo market share at 60.6 percent Vs 60.5 percent, MoM
#3 SpiceJet market share at 6.17 percent Vs 5.3 percent, MoM
#4 Air India market share at 14.2 percent Vs 13.1 percent, MoM
#5 Vistara market share at 9.2 percent Vs 9.6 percent, MoM

EaseMyTrip.com announces the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) to join the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). This move positions EaseMyTrip into committing to this transformative initiative by ONDC.

Zuari Industries board approved to purchase the equity shares of Texmaco Rail and Engineering Limited for maximum upto Rs 200 crore in one or more tranches from the Zuari International Limited, a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the company.

#1 Profit drops 15.4 percent to Rs 161 crore Vs Rs 190.3 crore

#2 Revenue declines 15 percent to Rs 1,548.1 crore Vs Rs 1,818.3 crore

Sensex Today | Nifty Media index up 1%; Zee Entertainment, PVR INOX, Jagran Prakashan gain 1-2.5%

BHEL, Metropolis Healthcare, Aether Industries, Eris Lifesciences, GPT Healthcare, Greenply Industries, GSFC, IRCON International, JK Tyre & Industries, Laxmi Organic Industries, PI Industries, Ramco Systems, RateGain Travel Technologies, Religare Enterprises, Va Tech Wabag, and Welspun Enterprises will release March quarter earnings on May 21.

#1 Profit rises 27 percent to Rs 24 crore Vs Rs 19 crore
#2 Revenue increases 14 percent to Rs 1,377 crore Vs Rs 1,210 crore
#3 EBITDA jumps 24 percent to Rs 45 crore Vs Rs 37 crore

The US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has concluded a pre-approval inspection at company's Somerset, New Jersey manufacturing facility. The inspection was conducted during May 7 and May 17, 2024, and closed with an issuance of a Form-483 with six observations.

#1 Profit rises 17 percent to Rs 254.8 crore Vs Rs 218 crore
#2 Revenue increases 6.3 percent to Rs 546.6 crore Vs Rs 514.3 crore
#3 Provisions and Contingencies drops 80 percent to Rs 32 crore Vs Rs 159 crore
#4 Gross NPA improves to 3.99 percent Vs 4.47 percent (QoQ)
#5 Net NPA falls to 1.97 percent Vs 2.19 percent (QoQ)

#1 Profit falls 10.5 percent to Rs 2,333 crore Vs Rs 2,607.7 crore

#2 Revenue slips 4.9 percent to Rs 9,147 crore Vs Rs 9,614.3 crore

#3 Bonus issue at 1:2

Shares of Hindustan Aeronautics seems to be defying gravity as more brokerages join the bandwagon to upgrade the stock after stellar Q4 performance. This is despite the stock gaining more than 22 percent over the past week, and more than 200 percent over the past one year.

For context, shares of Hindustan Aeronautics have already surged 22.5 percent in the past five sessions. Investors flocked to the counter, attracted by the company's strong growth visibility, robust order book and strong earnings performance.

Amidst the growing buzz around the scrip, the state-owned defense PSU posted a 52 percent on year spike in its net profit to Rs 4,309 crore for the March quarter of FY24. Net sales also grew 18 percent to Rs 14,769 crore.Read More

Shares of Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) zoomed 8 percent to hit a fresh record high of Rs 283 apiece on NSE on May 21, a day after the company reported above-estimate earnings for the quarter ended March 2024, driven by better-than-expected EBITDA margin, PAT and strong revenue growth.

Up-fronting of order inflows led to a beat in overall order inflows for the company. The state-owned company reported 30 percent year-on-year rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1,797 crore. Its revenue from operations also jumped 32 percent to Rs 8,564 crore.

Analysts at Motilal Oswal expect BEL to remain a key beneficiary of defense indigenisation potential worth Rs 5 lakh crore over the next five years with its presence across defense platforms and products ranging from radars, simulators, EW systems, electronic fuses, thermal imaging, integrated air command and control system, border surveillance system and counter drone systems etc. Read More

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Nifty Metal surges over 2%, top sectoral gainer

Gains in the sector were led by Vedanta, Coal India and Hindalco. The latter two were also the top gainers on the Nifty 50.

Logistics company Delhivery posted a loss of Rs 68.5 crore in the quarter ended 31 March, 2024, down 57 percent from a loss of Rs 159 crore in the corresponding period last year. In the December quarter, Delhivery clocked a revenue of Rs 2,194 crore and generated a surprise profit of Rs 11.7 crore, its first ever since at least 2021.

However, the company's inability to deliver another quarter of profit weighed on the stock, dragging it down around 15 percent in just two days, with much of the fall coming in today's session.

In Q4FY24, the company’s revenue increased to Rs 2,076 crore, which was 12 percent higher than Rs 1,860 crore recorded in the same quarter last year.

“FY24 has been a crucial year for us where we delivered consistent service levels, significantly improved profitability, completed a large portion of our planned long-term capital investments and achieved material working capital improvement,” said Sahil Barua, MD & Chief Executive Officer.

Power utility equipment manufacturer Valiant Communication's shares are surging higher after the company informed stock exchanges that technology major Cisco has validated one of its protection solutions with their network architecture.

The Sensex was down 137.15 points or 0.19 percent at 73,868.79, and the Nifty was down 14.30 points or 0.06 percent at 22,487.70. About 1440 shares advanced, 1888 shares declined, and 136 shares unchanged.

Nuvama Group has announced the appointment of Bharat Kalsi as its new Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategy.

This strategic move aligns with Nuvama's commitment to fortify its leadership and realize its vision of becoming a dominant customer-centric wealth management
company globally.

JSW Group-owned JSW Cement plans to invest around Rs 3,000 crore to set up a greenfield, integrated cement manufacturing facility in Nagaur district of Rajasthan, the company on May 21.

The investment will be funded through a combination of equity and long-term debt, the company statement said.

The new facility will include a clinkerisation unit of up to 3.30 million tonnes per annum ( MTPA) and a grinding unit of up to 2.50 MTPA, along with an 18 mega watts (MW) waste heat recovery based power plant, the statement said. Read More

#1 Q4 saw healthy recovery in a non-seasonal quarter
#2 Management confident of reaching the 18-20 percent EBITDA margin target by FY26
#3 Company expects sustained growth in subscription revenues and Zee5

#1 Profit grows 3.8 percent to Rs 11,526.5 crore Vs Rs 11,104.5 crore

#2 Revenue up 0.7 percent at Rs 1,66,770.6 crore Vs Rs 1,65,569 crore

#3 Final dividend at Rs 2.50 per share

#1 Net loss narrows to Rs 29.3 crore Vs loss of Rs 217.8 crore

#2 Revenue drops 14.7 percent to Rs 1,245.4 crore Vs Rs 1,460.5 crore

Sensex Today | BSE Capital Goods index up 1%; Bharat Electronics, RVNL, KPIT up 5-7%

#1 Profit drops 2.9 percent to Rs 1,126 crore Vs Rs 1,159.2 crore

#2 Revenue declines 4 percent to Rs 27,958.5 crore Vs Rs 29,130.66 crore

#3 Exceptional loss at Rs 502.34 crore Vs loss at Rs 40.42 crore

Shriram Properties has signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) for development of a prime 4- acre land parcel nestled in the coveted micro market of Yelahanka, Bengaluru.

The proposed project will comprise of 270 apartments with an aggregate saleable area of ~3.8 lakh Sqft. The project has aggregate revenue potential of over Rs 250 crores and is expected to be developed over the next 3 years.

The company is targeting to launch of this project during first half of current financial year (H1-FY25).

Shares of Veritaas Advertising made a lightning start on its debut after listing at Rs 275. That's a massive premium of 141.23 percent over the issue price of Rs 114 on the NSE SME platform.

The gains topped grey market estimates where shares were trading at a premium of 127 percent. The grey market is an unofficial ecosystem where shares start trading much before the offer opens for subscription and continue to trade till the listing day. Read More

#1 Q4 EBITDA 30 percent above expectations as both margin & revenue surprised
#2 Company is market leader in domestic defense electronics
#3 Company benefits from spend across Army, Navy and Air Force
#4 Non-defence progress remains muted in last 12 months
#5 FY24-26 should see double-digit revenue growth based on order book & pipeline
#6 Margin strength gives confidence on profitability sustaining

Shares of ABS Marine Services made a solid start to its stock market debut on May 21 after listing at Rs 294. That's a premium of 100 percent over the issue price of Rs 147 on the NSE SME platform.

The listing gain tops grey market estimates as shares were commanding a premium of 79 percent. The grey market is an unofficial ecosystem where shares start trading much before the offer opens for subscription and continue to trade till the listing day. Read More

Shares of Mandeep Auto Industries made a weak start on its market debut on May 21 after listing at Rs 62.25, a discount of 7.1 percent over the issue price of Rs 67.

The listing missed grey market estimates as shares were trading with marginal gains of 6 percent. The grey market is an unofficial ecosystem where shares start trading much before the offer opens for subscription and continue to trade till the listing day. Read More