Closing Bell: Nifty at 22,200, Sensex rises 305 pts; IT gains, oil & gas drag

Indian benchmark indices ended higher in the volatile session on February 27. At close, the Sensex was up 305.09 points or 0.42 percent at 73,095.22, and the Nifty was up 76.30 points or 0.34 percent at 22,198.30.

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.

Markets traded volatile for yet another session and managed to end marginally higher amid mixed cues. After the flat start, the Nifty oscillated in a range till the end and finally settled around the 22,198.35 level. Meanwhile, a mixed trend on the sectoral front kept the traders occupied wherein realty, IT and auto edged higher while financials and energy traded under pressure. The muted performance continued on the broader front as both ended almost on a flat note.

The recent price action shows that bulls are consolidating their positions at record-high levels and waiting for some fresh triggers. Needless to say, the buoyancy in the global market, especially the US market, is encouraging but we need alignment in heavyweights, especially the banking majors to trigger fresh momentum. Meanwhile, traders should continue with a “buy on dips’ approach, with a focus on stock selection.

The Bank Nifty has undergone a correction from its recent peak, reaching the 21-day Exponential Moving Average (21EMA) on the daily timeframe, where it has encountered immediate support. The battle between the bulls and bears may persist for a few more days or until a decisive breakout from the range of 46,500-47,000 on a closing basis.

A significant decline below 46,500 could lead the index towards 45,500 in the short term. Conversely, a sustained trade above 47,000 might propel the index towards 47,700.

The domestic market rebounded from yesterday’s loss amidst volatility, despite weak global cues. The hopes for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and the drop in crude oil prices supported the sentiment. However, the mid & small caps underperformed. The market is looking ahead to key economic data, both domestic and global, with US inflation grabbing the most attention, as that will provide fresh signals on interest rate cuts.

Markets rebounded from 2-session losses as selective buying in frontline stocks aided recovery from early weakness. There is no major trigger and investors are taking cues from global markets. Buying in IT, auto and realty shares boosted gains of key indices, while sharp fall in oil & gas and financial stocks kept gains under check.

The rupee traded slightly weaker by 0.02, closing at 82.90. It was a quiet day with minimal movement, as the rupee oscillated between highs of 82.84 and lows of 82.90. The dollar index remained flat around 103.65. Market participants are awaiting the release of Core durable orders and CB Consumer confidence data later in the evening, which could potentially impact the dollar index and influence further movement in the rupee.

The Nifty opened on a weak note however it recovered and closed the day in the green. On the daily charts we can observe that the Nifty held on to the support zone of 22100 – 22070 where the 40-hour average was placed. Overall, the Nifty has been consolidating in the broad range (21900 – 22300) since the past few trading sessions.

The Bollinger bands are contracting indicating rangebound price action. The hourly momentum indicator has triggered a positive crossover which is a buy signal and thus intraday dips are likely to be bought into. On the downside, 21900 shall act as a crucial support while 22300 is the immediate hurdle.

As far as the Bank Nifty is concerned, it has been rangebound between 46300 – 47400. In today’s trading session it held on to the 40-day average (46300) and bounced back. We expect the positive momentum to continue over the next few trading sessions. On the upside immediate hurdle is placed at 47000 and above that 47200.

The Nifty has formed a bullish engulfing pattern after two days of weakness. Additionally, the trend remains positive as the index has consistently stayed above the near-term moving average. Overall, the bulls may continue to exert control as the index has closed above the previous consolidation high. A decisive move above 22,200 might propel the index for a decent rally towards 22,400 in the near term. Support on the lower end is situated at 22,000.

Indian rupee ended flat at 82.90 per dollar versus previous close of 82.89.

: Indian benchmark indices ended higher in the volatile session on February 27.

At close, the Sensex was up 305.09 points or 0.42 percent at 73,095.22, and the Nifty was up 76.30 points or 0.34 percent at 22,198.30. About 1340 shares advanced, 1968 shares declined, and 72 shares unchanged.

Top gainers on the Nifty included Tata Motors, TCS, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid Corp and Sun Pharma, while losers were Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finance, SBI, Divis Labs and UPL.

Among sectors, Auto, Capital Goods, Information Technology, Pharma, Realty up 0.5-1 percent each, while Oil & Gas index down 1 percent each.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended marginally lower.

-Buy call, target raised to Rs 320 per share from Rs 265 per share
-Raise target EV/EBITDA, multiple a notch from 6x to 7x on improving visibility of FCF generation
-Raise target EV/EBITDA on improving visibility of dividend reinstatement
-Improving visibility even pending completion of Vodafone Idea’s fund raise
-Assume company will be able to recover nearly half of its outstanding dues from Vi over next 2 years
-Believe company deserves to trade at a premium to this given its better tenancy ratio

The dollar struggled for direction on Tuesday ahead of key data that could provide further clues on the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy path, while the yen rose after figures confirmed inflation was above the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) target.

Japan's core consumer inflation exceeded forecasts, keeping alive some expectations that the BOJ might end negative interest rates by April.

-Buy call, target Rs 230 per share
-Diversification to help achieve growth targets
-Company focusing on digital initiatives
-Company aims to expand beyond lubricants
-Management recognises threat of EVs and taking steps in that direction
-Stock trades at 21.7x CY24 EPS of Rs 9.2 & 14.9x CY24 EV/EBITDA

Adani Green Energy is looking to raise $409 million via U.S. dollar-denominated bonds with a door-to-door tenor of 18 years, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Reuters had earlier reported that Adani Green Energy was looking to raise around $500 million by issuing dollar bonds in March, making it the first Adani group company to return to the overseas bond market in a year.

The issue would be subject to market conditions and the weighted average life of the bonds could be around 12.7 years, the company said.

The proceeds from the issue will be used to refinance the $500 million worth 6.25% senior secured notes due in 2024 which were issued on June. 10, 2019, the release added.

-Buy call, target Rs 5,050 per share
-Superior execution, growth plans to continue
-Upgraded EBITDA estimate by 6 percent/7 percent for FY25/26 post Q3
-Superior execution and marketing strategies lead to higher volume growth
-Profitability improvement led by better regional mix and cost efficiencies

The Rs 429-crore IPO of Exicom Tele-Systems was fully subscribed within hours of opening on February 27, with retail investors and HNIs lapping up their quota of shares.

The public offer was subscribed 5.8 times. The portion set aside for retail investors was booked 18 times, while high net-worth individuals (HNIs) picked 10.4 times their allotted quota of shares.

About 75 percent of the initial public offering of the Gurugram-based EV charger manufacturer is reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 15 percent for non-institutional investors and the remaining rest 10 percent for retail investors.

The offer comprises a fresh issue of Rs 329 crore worth of shares and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 70.42 lakh shares worth Rs 100 crore at the upper price band. Promoter NextWave Communication is selling shares in the OFS.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Jefferies View On Real Estate

-Residential sales in top-7 cities have continued to climb in double digits
-Residential sales in double digits during seasonally strongest Q4
-Pricing jumps across cities have varied sharply
-Mumbai pricing gains at <10 percent in 2023 in sharp contrast to 20 percent+ for NCR and bangalore
-See supply as key to pre-sales
-A stock price driver too, as inventory levels are at 12+ year lows
-With realty index up 145 percent from Mar’23 bottom & +17 percent YTD, room for error remains low
 

India's market regulator has asked the country's asset managers to give investors more information about the risks associated with their small and mid-cap funds, according to a fund manager and two people with knowledge of the matter.

Small and mid-sized funds have seen high inflows, causing concern among authorities about how they would hold up in the event of a sharp market selloff. The Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has also been reviewing stress tests conducted by such funds, sources have previously said.

The funds are being asked to disclose how long it might take to accommodate large redemptions, what impact large outflows could have on the value of the portfolio and how much cash and liquid assets the fund holds to meet outflows, the people said.

Indian Rupee traded on a flat note. Weak US Dollar and positive domestic markets supported Rupee. However, surge in crude oil prices and FII outflows capped sharp gains. US Dollar declined on strong Euro and Pound amid upbeat economic data and hawkish comments ECB President Christine Lagarde.

We expect Rupee to trade with a slight positive bias on weak Dollar and positive global equities. However, elevated crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East may cap sharp gains. We may see month-end Dollar demand from OMCs and importers. Investors may remain cautious ahead of GDP and inflation data from US this week. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 82.60 to Rs 83.10.

RK Swamy, an integrated marketing services provider in India, will be opening its initial public offering (IPO) for subscription on March 4. The public issue will close on March 6, while the anchor book of the IPO will be opened for a day on March 1.

The IPO is a mix of fresh issuance of equity shares worth Rs 173 crore, and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 87 lakh equity shares by promoters and investors, as per DRHP.

Promoters Srinivasan K Swamy, and Narasimhan Krishnaswamy will be selling 17,88,093 equity shares each in the OFS, while investors Evanston Pioneer Fund LP will be offloading 44,45,714 equity shares and Prem Marketing Ventures LLP 6,78,100 equity shares via OFS.

Exicom Tele-Systems IPO has been subscribed 5.7 times so far on the first day of bidding, February 27. Retail investors remained at the forefront, subscribing 17.7 times while high-networth individuals picked 10.24 times of the allotted quota.

The Gurugram-headquartered EV charger manufacturer intends to raise Rs 429 crore through its maiden public issue. The IPO comprises a fresh issue of Rs 329 crore worth of shares by the company and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 70.42 lakh shares worth Rs 100 crore at the upper price band. Promoter NextWave Communication will be selling shares in the OFS.

NextWave Communications, Satellite Finance and Vinsan Brothers hold a 76.55 percent, 4.64 percent and 4.35 percent stake in the company, respectively. HFCL has a 7.74 percent stake. The rest of the shares are held by public shareholders including Rare Enterprise.

Adani Green Energy said in a notice to exchanges that it plans to raise around $409 million via senior secured notes that will have 18 years of door to door tenor. These funds will be used to redeem $500 notes due in 2024.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with digital product engineering company R Systems International to set up a Center of Excellence (CoE) on Applied AI for Sustainable Systems at IIT Delhi, which will include a research lab, the creation of an endowed faculty chair position, and the initiation of merit-based student scholarships.

Ducon Infratechnologies and Germany's deltaVision signed Memorandum of Understanding to provide innovative fluid control solutions pertaining to rocket fuel propulsion systems and Hydrogen fuel delivery systems for the Indian market. The collaboration will comprise co-developments and domestic industrialization and manufacturing of embedded products to feed the emerging Indian markets in the hydrogen & aerospace value chain.

Fitch Ratings has assigned Adani Green Energy Limited Restricted Group 1's (AGEL RG1) proposed 18-year fully amortising senior secured notes due 2042 an expected rating of 'BBB-(EXP)'. The Outlook is Stable. AGEL RG1 plans to use the proposed US dollar notes to refinance its five-year bullet USD500 million senior secured notes due 2024. The proposed notes will have security and protective structural features similar to the existing bullet notes.

Sensex Today | Market at 2 PM

The Sensex was up 135.99 points or 0.19 percent at 72,926.12, and the Nifty was up 14.00 points or 0.06 percent at 22,136.00. About 1351 shares advanced, 1923 shares declined, and 74 shares unchanged.

The key strengths of Can Fin Homes are its ability to keep asset quality under control and its strong balance sheet. Disbursal is expected to pick up due to the addition of customers from new sources, such as developer tie-up channels. Management expects demand to start picking up by year-end.

Margins are expected to be sustained within the range of 3.6% - 3.7%. Maintain Accumulate rating with an upward target price of Rs. 900 based on 2x FY26E BVPS.

Sensex Today | BSE Capital Goods index up 0.6 percent led by Sona BLW Precision Forgings, CG Power and Industrial Solutions, ABB India

Oil prices on Tuesday built on gains made a day earlier amid attacks on shipping in the Red Sea that have exacerbated supply worries.

Brent crude futures rose 36 cents, or 0.44%, to $82.89 a barrel by 0745 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) were up 31 cents, or 0.40%, to $77.89 a barrel.

-Buy call, target Rs 190 per share
-CEO succession – final list of candidates by end Mar’24
-Bank is still working with a search firm to narrow down list of potential candidates
-Media reports on KVS manian already being a part of final list, are speculative
-Tight liquidity & scramble for deposits, company is relatively better placed
-No significant portfolio pressures on unsecured retail segment, committed to scale up further
-Business banking & MARG (micro fin, agri, rural, gold loans) incremental growth drivers

Housing & Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) said the board has approved an appointment of Madhu Nagrani as Chief Risk Officer of the company for two years with effect from March 1, in place of NS Ganesh consequent upon his superannuation. Currently Madhu Nagrani is the General Manager (Finance) of the company.

The board of directors of DCM Shriram, at its meeting held on February 27, 2024 have declared interim dividend for the financial year 2023-24 on the paid-up equity share capital of the company, at 200% (Rs 4 per equity share of face value of Rs 2 each).

In the said meeting, the board of directors had also accorded in-principle approval for entry into the business of “Advanced Materials”, by investing into Epoxy resins and downstream products.

Upgrade to buy from neutral, target raised to Rs 4,700 per share from Rs 4,000 per share
Company likely to lead its peers in revenue growth by 100-150 bps
Company likely to lead its peers with improvement in margins in FY25
Believe market is not pricing company’s lead to its peers in, given a divided consensus
Stock remaining at lower end of its long-term trading premium vs peers
Growth drivers include ramp-up of large deals such as BSNL, NEST, Aviva etc
Growth drivers include revival in the BFSI segment
Growth drivers include revival in cloud migration projects
Growth drivers include continued managed services demand strength at ind level

The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 66 lakh on City Union Bank for deficiencies in regulatory compliance. The RBI said there was significant divergence between the non-performing assets (NPAs) and City Union Bank did not put in place a system of periodic review of risk categorisation of accounts of its customers.

Indostar Capital Finance board approved to issue 13,949,323 warrants of the company, each convertible into, or exchangeable for, 1 fully paidup equity share of the company of face value of Rs 10 each, to BCP V Multiple Holdings Pte Ltd, the promoter of the company, and/ or BCP V Multiple FVCI Holdings Pte. Ltd., an affiliate of the promoter of the company.

Also, 10,869,565 warrants of the company, each convertible into, or exchangeable for, 1 fully paid-up equity share of the company of face value of Rs 10 each, to Florintree Tecserve LLP, a limited liability partnership incorporated and existing under the laws of India, belonging to non-promoter category, by way of a preferential issue on a private placement basis.

The dollar traded on the back foot on Tuesday, as markets looked ahead to a week of U.S. economic data that will provide fresh signals on how soon the Federal Reserve may begin cutting interest rates.

Leading cryptocurrency bitcoin soared to a more than two-year high above $57,000, helped by enterprise software firm MicroStrategy Inc's announcement that it had bought about 3,000 more of the tokens.

The yen was firmer after consumer inflation data topped estimates, reinforcing expectations that the Bank of Japan is still on track to exit negative rates as soon as next month.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of peers including the yen, euro and sterling, traded flat at 103.77 in Asian time, following a 0.17% slide on Monday.

-Underperform call, target Rs 275 per share
-Vijay Shekhar Sharma (VSS) resigns from Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) board, will RBI reconsider its stance?
-PPBL reconstituted board, appointment of two retired IAS officers and appoints ex-chairman of a PSU Bank as independent director
-Currently, 51 percent of PPBL is owned by VSS
-Don’t expect RBI to authorise any related-party transactions betweeen Paytm & PPBL hereon
-VSS sending a message to regulator that he is willing to give up control of PPBL
-If PPBL is allowed to carry out operations, will provide addition to profitability for Paytm
-FY23 annual report shows Rs 2.44 crore of PPBL’s profit in consolidated numbers

Promoter Sagar Cements will be selling 46,08,607 equity shares or 5% equity stake in Andhra Cement through offer-for-sale (OFS) on February 27-28. The floor price has been fixed at Rs 90 per share. The OFS will open for institutional investors on February 27 and retail investors on February 28.

Paisalo Digital has received sanction and disbursement of Rs 2,00,00,00,000 from Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited for onward lending to E-Mobility Sector.

Wipro announced a joint private wireless solution with Nokia to help enterprises scale their digital transformation. This joint solution will provide enterprises with a more secure 5G private wireless network solution integrated with their operation infrastructure.

Canara Bank has received approval from the Board of Directors for split of every one equity share (face value of Rs 10 each), into 5 equity shares (face value of Rs 2 each), subject to approval of the Reserve Bank of India. Meanwhile, the RBI has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 32.30 lakh on the bank for non-compliance with certain directions.

The Rs 235.32-crore Platinum Industries IPO was subscribed 1.26 times on the morning of February 27, the first day of bidding. The retail portion was booked 1.8 times and high net-worth individuals picked 1.67 times their allotted quota of shares.

The price band for the offer, purely a fresh issue of 1.37 crore shares, has been fixed at Rs 162-171 a share.

About 50 percent of the offer, the second to open for subscription along with that of Exicom Tele-Systems, is reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 15 percent for non-institutional investors and the remaining 35 percent for retail investors. Read More

Sensex Today | Market at 12 PM

The Sensex was up 82.90 points or 0.11 percent at 72,873.03, and the Nifty was up 14.40 points or 0.07 percent at 22,136.40. About 1516 shares advanced, 1701 shares declined, and 77 shares unchanged.

Kilitch Drug (India) said its subsidiary, Kilitch Estro Biotech PLC, has secured a significant tender issued by the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Service of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The contract for the supply of pharmaceuticals is worth $9.13 million. The contract is executable within a timeline of six months from the receipt of the order.

Mahanagar Gas has entered into shareholders’ agreement with 3EV Industries Private Limited, Founders, Promoters and other shareholders of 3ev, to acquire 30.97% shareholding in 3ev.

Sensex Today | BSE Oil & Gas index down 0.7 percent dragged by Adani Total Gas, IOC, HPCL

Happiest Minds Technologies today announced its new vertical organization structure comprising six new Industry Groups (IG) – Industrial, Manufacturing and Energy & Utilities, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Retail, CPG and Logistics, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), Hi-Tech and Media & Entertainment, and EdTech.

TVS Motor Company's subsidiary TVS Motor (Singapore) Pte Ltd has agreed to acquire a further 8,000 equity shares in Killwatt GmbH for 4 million euro. With this, the shareholding of TVS Motor (Singapore) Pte Ltd in Killwatt GmbH will be increased from 39.28% to 49%.

Gold prices edged up on Tuesday due to a softer dollar, as investors awaited a key U.S. inflation report in a week filled with data releases and speeches from several Federal Reserve officials for fresh cues into the central bank's potential rate cut timings.

Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,034.08 per ounce, as of 0436 GMT. U.S. gold futures also rose 0.2% to $2,043.60 per ounce.

Citi Research raised its target price for the shares of Indus Towers Ltd to Rs 320 from Rs 265 on the back of the company's improving free cash flow generation, and pending completion of Vodafone Idea Ltd's fund raise due on February 27. The fund raise can drive further upside for Indus Towers and will be a key factor to monitor, said Citi Research. READ MORE

The Rs 429-crore IPO of Exicom Tele-Systems was fully subscribed within hours of opening on February 27, with retail investors and HNIs lapping up their quota of shares. The portion set aside for retail investors was booked three times, while high-networth individuals picked 1.17 times their allotted quota of shares. READ MORE

Sigachi Industries' subsidiary Sigachi MENA FZCO, incorporated in Dubai, and iConsult Trading Consultancy LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of iMass Investments, UAE, has formed the joint venture Sigachi Global, to enter the growing UAE food and pharma market. Sigachi MENA FZCO will hold 75% stake in the JV and iConsult will hold 25%.

Power Mech Projects has received order worth Rs 396.25 crore from South East Central Railway, for construction of electrified 4th railway BG line in Chhattisgarh, on EPC basis.

Sensex Today | BSE Realty index rose 0.5 percent led by Swan Energy, Sobha, Mahindra Life

We expect Nifty to stabilize around current levels, with 22300 likely to pose as a key resistance point. Notably, the 22300 Call strike in the Nifty holds significant Open Interest (OI) of approximately 68 lakh shares, while the 22000 Put strike retains substantial OI of around 66 lakh shares.

Although the Bank Nifty initially showed strength at the start of the session, it struggled to maintain momentum at higher levels. Option data indicates that the 47000 Call strike witnessed considerable OI buildup, suggesting it could serve as an immediate resistance level. Conversely, the 46000 level is anticipated to provide support on the downside.

Investors are closely eyeing crucial US economic indicators that could significantly impact interest rate trends in the world's largest economy.

Sensex Today | Nifty Bank index down 0.4 percent dragged by Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank