7 stocks from BSE Smallcap index rally over 50% in July

STOCK MARKET - Parsvnath Developers, GTL Infrastructure, McNally Bharat, Aksh Optifibre, Gujarat NRE Coke, Himachal Futuristic Communications (HFCL) and GVK Infrastructure & Power are the seven stocks from the S&P BSE Smallcap index that have rallied by more than 50% thus far in July.

At 12:05 pm: the S&P BSE Smallcap index was trading at 16,103, gaining 4.5% during the current month. On comparison, the S&P BSE Midcap index up 4.7%, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex up 4.9%, set to post its record monthly gain since March 2016 (up 10.2%).

As many as 48 stocks from the smallcap index have surged more than 25% thus far in July. The list includes Tinplate Company, Sterlite Technologies, Saregama India, Thirumalai Chemicals, Rico Auto Industries and Jubilant FoodWorks are among those which soared between 40% and 49%.

Foreign portfolio investors (Rs 2,662 crore) and domestic institutional investors (Rs 3,018 crore) have collectively pumped in net amount of Rs 5,680 crore in equity market, the stock exchange data shows.

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SBI gains after cutting savings bank rate to 3.5% for deposits below Rs 1 cr

STOCK MARKET - Shares of public sector undertakings (PSU) banks were trading higher by upto 4%, recovering from their intra-day lows, after the state-owned banking giant State Bank of India (SBI) cut saving bank interest rates.

SBI rallied by 2.7% to Rs 307 on BSE after the bank introduced a two-tier saving bank interest rate from today, due to the decline in the rate of inflation and high real interest rates.

“The Bank is introducing 2 tier saving bank interest rate w.e.f. 31st July, 2017. While balance above Rs 1 crore will continue to earn interest rate at 4% per annum, interest rate at 3.5% per annum shall be offered on balances of Rs 1 crore and below,” SBI said in a press release.

The decline in the rate of inflation and high real interest rates are the primary considerations warranting a revision in the rate of interest on saving bank deposits, it added.

The revision in saving bank rate would enable the bank to maintain the MCLR (marginal cost based lending rates) at existing rates, benefiting a large segment of retail borrowers in SME, agriculture and affordable housing segments, it added.

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Larsen & Toubro nears 52-week high on good Q1 results

STOCK MARKET - Larsen & Toubro (L&T) gained 4% to Rs 1,206 on BSE in early morning trade after the engineering giant reported a 46% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 893 crore for the quarter ended June 2017 (Q1FY18). Consolidated revenues rose 10% to Rs 23,990 crore on Y-o-Y basis.

The stock is trading close to its 52-week high of Rs 1,223, touched on May 30, 2017 in the intra-day trade. It hit a record high of Rs 1,262 on March 4, 2015.

Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin declined to 8.1% from 9.2%, primarily due to job mix and cost overruns on extended stay in a few projects, L&T said in a press release.

Order inflow, however, fell 11% to Rs 26,352 crore over the previous year quarter.

“Order inflow reflects muted capex environment. The trend of higher public sector outlay vis-a-vis reduced private sector capex continues,” it added.

The order pipeline across segments remains strong though. The orders backlog at Rs 262,900 crore logged 2% growth during the quarter.

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Buy Reliance Infra, Mahindra CIE, IRB Infra, says Prabhudas Lilladher

SHARE MARKET - Few trading ideas by Vaishali Parekh, Research Analyst - Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher:

BUY RELIANCE INFRA
CMP: Rs 526
TARGET: Rs 570      
STOP LOSS: Rs 502
The stock has witnessed a steep correction from the peak of Rs 620 to fall to Rs 436 levels and thereafter has recovered significantly and has gained strength to retrace almost 50%. It has produced a healthy positive candle now and the RSI has shown a trend reversal signaling a buy in this stock. We anticipate the stock to move further upward and with decent volume participation witnessed, we recommend a buy in this stock for an upside target of Rs 570 keeping a stop loss of Rs 502.


BUY MAHINDRA CIE AUTOMOTIVE      
CMP: Rs 251.70      
TARGET: Rs 274      
STOP LOSS: Rs  235
The stock has been gradually on the rise gaining potential and strength to signify more upward rally in the coming days and with the RSI also indicating a trend reversal on the positive side, we anticipate the stock to rise further to reach new targets. With good volume participation and also MACD on the rise, we recommend a buy in this stock for an upside target of Rs 274 keeping a stop loss of Rs 235.

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Sebi issues new bond regulations to reduce corporates' funding sources

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STOCK MARKET - The new regulations of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on foreign holdings of rupee-denominated corporate bonds will reduce options for companies to diversify their funding sources, says a report.

Last week, the market regulator had said that foreign purchases of rupee-denominated corporate notes would only be permitted through auction once the foreign holdings reached 95 per cent of the cap.

"New, tighter regulations on foreign holdings of rupee-denominated corporate bonds and offshore issuance will reduce options for companies to diversify their funding sources, at least temporarily," Fitch Ratings said in a report.

The new norms will also prevent the use of certain complex transaction structures, which have recently gained popularity among corporate issuers, it said.

At present, the foreign portfolio investors can invest up to Rs 2,44,300 crore ($ 51 billion) in corporate bonds issued by domestic companies.

Foreign ownership is already above 95 per cent of the cap, which means these restrictions have come into effect, the report said.

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ICICI Bank slips post 8% fall in June-quarter profit

STOCK MARKET - ICICI Bank fell as much as 2.9% in today’s trade after the private lender reported 8% fall in June quarter profit to Rs 2,049 crore (YoY), in line with Street expectations. The drop in profit was impacted by higher provisions and subdued growth in other income & operating income.

Slow growth in net interest income also hit profitability but the asset quality was stable during the quarter with sharp fall in slippages. Slippages for the quarter stood at Rs 4,975 crore, which were much lower than Rs 11,289 crore reported in Q4FY17.

Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, explained that the dip in profit was on account of the fact that exchange rate gain related to overseas operations, which was available in the year-ago quarter, was no longer permitted to be accounted for as income from the reporting quarter and ICICI Prudential Life had moved to dividend payments on half-yearly basis from quarterly basis.

Asset quality of the country's largest private sector lender was stable during the quarter. Gross non-performing assets increased to 7.99% from 7.89% but net NPA declined to 4.86% from 4.89% (QoQ).

Kochar said that the gross additions to NPAs at Rs 4,976 crore in the June quarter were the lowest in the last seven quarters, reiterating the bank's guidance that incremental bad loans in the current financial year to March will be lower than the last financial year.

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Reliance Capital hits 52-week high post Q1 results

STOCK MARKET - Reliance Capital hit 52-week high of Rs 698, up 6% on BSE in early morning trade in an otherwise weak market, after the company reported 15% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 238 crore during the first quarter on back of strong growth in all business segments. The company had posted profit of Rs 207 crore in year ago quarter.

Total income during the quarter under review rose 33% to Rs 4,857 crore from Rs 3,663 crore in the corresponding previous period.

The profit before tax of the mutual fund business grew 23% to Rs 150 crore. Assets under management grew 23% to Rs 3.62 lakh crore at the end of the quarter.

The commercial finance business of the company reported 44% in net profit to Rs 65 crore, while the general insurance arm posted 22% growth in net profit to Rs 44 crore during the quarter.

“Listing of Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management and Reliance General Insurance to be completed in FY18, subject to necessary regulatory approvals,” Reliance Capital said in a press release.

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Idea Cellular erases initial losses to gain even after poor Q1 results

STOCK MARKET - Idea Cellular pared initial losses to gain as much as 2.1% on value buying after the company on Thursday posted a loss of Rs 815.9 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, missing estimates as Reliance Jio triggered a price war in the Indian mobile telephony market.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 217.1 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. This is the company’s its third net loss in succession. Revenue for India’s No. 3 mobile phone operator also fell nearly 14% on year to Rs 8,166.5 crore.

Idea attributed the steep decline in voice and mobile data realisations to the aggressive tariff led by unlimited voice and data bundle plans. “However, the fall in realisation rate was largely compensated by a substantial volume growth,” it said.

The scrip lost as much as 5.4% in the early morning trade but later erased initial losses and was trading 0.7% higher at Rs 90.30 at 12.47 pm (IST). On the other hand, Sensex was down 0.57 per cent at 32,198.

Shares of the company had hit their fresh 52-week high of Rs 123.75 on March 20, 2017 and 52-week low of Rs 66 on November 9, 2016.

Idea ended June with 189 million users, compared with 189.5 million it had at the end of March.

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L&T Finance Holdings hits record high on stellar Q1 results

STOCK MARKET - L&T Finance Holdings (LTFH) hit its record high of Rs 170, up 6%, extending its 4% gains on BSE, after reported 49% year-on-year (YoY) growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 309 crore in June quarter (Q1FY18),led by strong earnings momentum in housing and investment management business. The company had a profit of Rs 207 crore in a year ago quarter.

“Assets quality of the company also improved with gross non-performing assets (GNPA) has reduced by 18% - from Rs 4,519 crore to Rs 3,698 crore. With improved provision coverage, NNPA% has seen a sharp reduction from 5.02% in Q4FY17 to 3.31% in Q1FY18,” LTFH said in a release.

Return on Equity (RoE) improved by 385 bps – 13.63% in Q1FY18 as against 9.78% in Q1FY17.

“With increase in profitability supported by a strong balance sheet, I believe that we are now at a juncture, where the strategic roadmap towards a top quartile RoE can be accelerated by “Growing Fearlessly”,” said Dinanath Dubhashi, Managing Director & CEO, LTFH.

Over past five quarters LTFH has shown commendable progress on its well articulated strategy. Cost control, increased sell down and strengthening the digital/analytics capabilities remain the key focus area even as the company aims to achieve top quartile RoE by 2020 or "earlier", according to analysts at Antique Stock Broking.

So far in 2017, the stock has outperformed the market by surging 95%, as compared to 22% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

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Tata Elxsi hits 52-week high on 1:1 bonus share

SHARE MARKET - Tata Elxsi hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,767, up 5% on BSE in intra-day trade, after the company’s board recommended 1:1 bonus share.

“The board at its meeting held on July 27, 2017 has, subject to the approval of the shareholders, recommended the capitalization of its reserves for issuance of bonus shares to the shareholders in the ratio of 1 (one) bonus equity share of Rs 10 each fully paid-up for every 1(one) existing equity share of Rs 10 each fully paid-up (in the ratio of 1:1) held by the shareholders as on the "Record date" to be fixed for the purpose,” Tata Elxsi said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the company engaged in IT software products reported 19% year on year growth in its net profit at Rs 50 crore in June quarter (Q1FY18). The company had profit of Rs 42 crore in the same quarter year ago.

Revenues from operations during the quarter grew 9% to Rs 323 crore from Rs 296 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

At 3:16 am, the stock was up 3.3% at Rs 1,734 on BSE, as compared to a marginal 0.02% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. The trading volumes on the counter jumped multiple-fold with 2.63 million shares changing hands on BSE and NSE so far.

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YES Bank stock hits record high on 32% increase in Q1 net

STOCK MARKET - YES Bank surged 4.48 per cent to Rs 1,789.35 at 14:10 IST on BSE, with the stock extending Wednesday's rally triggered by a good Q1 result.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 157.78 points or 0.49 per cent at 32,540.24

On the BSE, 6.28 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 2.47 lakh shares in the past quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 1,796.50 in intraday trade so far, which is a record high for the counter. The stock hit a low of Rs 1,741 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 1,091.25 on 26 December 2016.

The large-cap bank has equity capital of Rs 457.64 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

YES Bank's net profit rose 31.93 per cent to Rs 965.52 crore on 21.48 per cent growth in total income to Rs 5,785.96 crore in the first quarter (Q) of the current financial year (FY) over Q1FY17. The result was announced during market hours on Wednesday when the stock gained 6.1 per cent to settle at Rs 1,712.55.

Meanwhile, YES Bank's board at its meeting held on Wednesday approved a 5-for-1 stock split of equity shares.

The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 1,364.38 crore as on June 30, 2017, as against Rs 2,018.56 crore as on March 31, 2017, and Rs 844.56 crore as on June 30, 2016.

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Got an I-T notice on cash deposits? Don't panic and follow this guide

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in tandem with public sector and commercial banks, has undertaken data mining on a massive scale to identify how funds have been moved in the country after November 8. The government has come down hard on individuals and businesses operating doctored accounts, having deregistered and shut more than 100,000 companies and penalised more than 300,000 others. The I-T department has also identified over 37,000 shell or paper companies channelling black money through methods such as hawala. As a part of its Operation Clean Money, the I-T department identifies individuals whose income tax return filings are inconsistent with the amount of cash deposits made in their bank accounts during the demonetisation drive. It then sends a notification through SMS or e-mail, and the individual must provide a response on the department’s website for the same.

If you receive such a notice, do not panic or ignore it. First, verify that the PAN (Permanent Account Number) stated on the notice is yours. Since the I-T department issues notices to a specific PAN and not based on your name, there are chances that an erroneous notice may have been sent to you instead of someone else with the same name or birth date as yours. If you have received such a notice, irrespective of whether you have made the transactions or not, you must log into your account to submit a response. Here's how:

• Visit the income tax department website, https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in, and log into your e-filing account.

• Click on 'Cash Transactions, 2016' under the 'Compliance' tab. The page will then list all cash deposits made by you between November 9 and December 30, 2016. 

• Before you begin the verification process, make sure you have all pertaining documents such as receipts for cash income, past tax returns, etc. 

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SGBs may be sold on tap like MFs; 50-tonne annual demand likely

STOCK MARKET - In its new avatar, as approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, the Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) scheme is expected to be a success. SGBs on-tap (whenever investors want to invest without waiting for a new tranche announcement) availability increases investment options like in the case of mutual funds (MFs).

Investors can buy bonds like systematic investment plans (SIPs), make recurring deposits of bonds through post offices, choose to buy when they have liquidity and prices are lucrative, and gift it on occasions.

BSE MD & CEO Ashish Chauhan said, "It is a welcome move. There was a demand by investors to increase the limit from 500 gram per annum, which has now been made 4 kg. Similarly, the on-tap framework will make it easy for people to subscribe when they want. Market making will provide liquidity to investors. Overall, this will increase the attractiveness of investments in SGB."


On how bonds can be sold on tap, he explained, "On tap is possible like mutual fund selling using exchange infrastructure. At the time the bonds are issued to the investor, the same can be listed as additional bonds. Technology is available with exchanges to provide this platform."

Chauhan is very optimistic about the future of SGBs in their new avatar. He said, "The SGB product has the potential to reduce India's trade deficit by $15 to 20 billion per annum." Market making and improving the liquidity of bonds listed will be the key to success.

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HDFC, YES Bank, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors hit new highs

STOCK MARKET - Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), YES Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki India and Eicher Motors from the Nifty 50 index hit their respective new highs on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday.

YES Bank surged 5% to Rs 1,797, extending its Wednesday’s 6% rally on NSE, after the bank’s gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) has come down by Rs 654 crore in absolute terms and 55 bps QoQ to 0.97% during April-June (Q1FY18) quarter.

“For five consecutive quarters the bank has been delivering loan growth above 30%, with growth in Q1FY18 coming in at 32%. Deposit growth also remained strong at 22.6%. With asset quality concerns easing and core operations remaining strong the earnings visibility of the bank has improved,” Angel Broking said in a note.

Meanwhile, the board of directors of the bank has approved stock split in the ratio of 5 for 1 i.e. sub-division of existing 1 equity share of face value of Rs 10 each fully paid up into 5 equity shares of Rs 2 each fully paid up.

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Sebi to auction 11 Sunshine Infra assets in Sept to recover illegal funds

STOCK MARKET - Markets regulator Sebi will auction as many as 11 properties owned by Sunshine Infrabuild Corporation in September to recover funds that it illegally raised from people.

The properties to go under the hammer include land parcels and shops in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a public notice.

As part of the recovery proceedings, Sebi will auction the properties in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat on September 7, while assets in Chhattisgarh will go under the hammer on September 8.

The regulator has engaged SBI Capital Markets Ltd for assistance in the sale of the 11 properties.

The move comes after Sunshine Infrabuild failed to refund the money that it illegally raised from people.

The regulator has already attached the company's various bank accounts and mutual funds.

Sebi found that Sunshine Infrabuild allotted various types of debentures to over 8,000 investors and raised more than Rs 26 crore during 2010-11 to 2012-13. These funds were garnered in violation of the public issue norms.

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Bharti Airtel slips post 75% drop in Q1 net profit

STOCK MARKET - Bharti Airtel fell as much as 1.3% after the price war with Reliance Jio led to a 75% drop in net profit for the company at Rs 367 crore for the three months ended June. Net profit in the January-March quarter was nearly Rs 373 crore.

Reliance Jio’s attractive offers forced the incumbent operators to match the new entrant's schemes, resulting in 34% lower realisations from the voice segment on a year-on-year basis. Pricing pressure on the data front was even worse. Data realisations were also down by 73% over the corresponding period last year. Click Here for detailed earnings

Profit on a consolidated basis, which includes the company's Africa operations and its Indian satellite TV business among others, also fell to Rs 367 crore ($57.01 million) in the three months to June 30, while revenue fell 14% to Rs 21,958 crore.

ARPU of Bharti Airtel slipped 2% on a quarter-on-quarter basis to Rs 154 per month.

At 10:40 am, the scrip was trading 0.56% lower at Rs 425.2 as against 0.2% rise in BSE Sensex. Shares of the company opened at Rs 428.50 and touched a high and low of Rs 430 and Rs 421.65, respectively, in trade so far.

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Axis Bank, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Federal Bank fall post June quarter results

STOCK MARKET - Shares of Axis Bank, Lakshmi Vilas Bank and Federal Bank were down by up to 6% on BSE in otherwise firm market after the banks reported poor financial results for the quarter ended June 2017 (Q1FY18).

Federal Bank dipped 6% to Rs 112 on BSE in intra-day trade after the bank reported a lower than expected 26% year on year (Y-o-Y) growth in net profit at Rs 210 crore in Q1FY18 against Rs 167 crore in year ago quarter.

Net interest income during the quarter under review grew 16% to Rs 801 crore from Rs 692 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. Net interest margin contracted 15 bps to 3.13% from 3.28% in Q1FY17.

Analysts on an average had expected profit of Rs 255 crore on net income of Rs 927 crore for the quarter.

Lakshmi Villas Bank too lost 6% to Rs 183 after the lender reported 8.9% Y-o-Y rise in its net profit at Rs 66.12 crore in Q1FY18. It had recorded Rs 60.68 crore during corresponding quarter of previous year.

Assets quality deteriorated with gross non-performing assets, as a percentage of net advances by June 30, 2017, rose to 3.78% during the quarter under review, compared to 2.14% in the same period last year. Net NPAs stood at 2.84% as on June 30, 2017 from 1.30% at the end of June 2016.

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YES Bank hits record high as Q1 profit beats forecast

STOCK MARKET - YES Bank moved higher to its record high of Rs 1,717, up 6% on BSE after the bank reported a better than expected year on year (Y-o-Y) jump of 32% in net profit at Rs 966 crore in the June quarter (Q1FY18). The bank had reported Rs 732 crore net profit in the same quarter an year ago.

Net interest income (interest earned minus interest expended) rose 44% Y-o-Y to Rs 1,809 crore from Rs 1,256 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal year.

The higher net interest income driven by growth in advances & CASA, and steady expansion in net interest margin (NIM), which expanded to 3.7% from 3.6%, YES Bank said.

Analysts on an average had expected profit of Rs 916 crore on net interest income of Rs 1,742 crore.

Assets quality improved sequentially with gross non-performing assets, as a percentage of net advances by June 30, 2017, declined to 0.97% during the quarter under review, compared to 1.52% in March 2017 quarter. Net NPAs stood at 0.39% in Q1FY18 from 0.81% in Q4FY17.

“Our investments in Retail franchise are now demonstrating meaningful outcomes with significant momentum through robust CASA growth of 55.2% taking CASA ratio to 36.8% and core retail advances growth of 166%. At the same time the Bank continues to garner market share in its various corporate & MSME businesses while maintaining superior asset quality parameters,” said Rana Kapoor, managing director & CEO, YES Bank.

Meanwhile, the board of directors of the bank has approved stock split in the ratio of 5 for 1 i.e. sub-division of existing 1 equity share of face value of Rs 10 each fully paid up into 5 equity shares of Rs 2 each fully paid up.

At 03:09 pm; the stock was up 6% at Rs 1,709 on BSE, as compared to 0.47% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. The trading volumes on the counter more than doubled with a combined 8.27 million shares changed hands on BSE and NSE so far.

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Jewellery stocks in focus; Thangamayil Jewellery, TBZ hit 52-week high

STOCK MARKET - Shares of gems & jewellery companies  moved higher by up to 20% on BSE after Thangamayil Jewellery posted a strong set of numbers for the quarter ended June, 2017 (Q1FY18).

Besides Thangamayil Jewellery, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ), Gitanjali Gems, Tara Jewels, Rajesh Exports and Renaissance Jewellery were also up between 2% and 7% on BSE. By comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.38% or 123 points higher at 32,351 at 12:27 pm.


Thangamayil Jewellery hit a 52-week high of Rs 347, up 20% on BSE, after the company more than doubled its net profit at Rs 9.62 crore in Q1FY18, on the back of strong volume growth. It had profit of Rs 4.51 crore in the same quarter year ago.

Net sales of the company during quarter under review increased by 50% to Rs 434 crore against Rs 289 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

“Volume in gold ornaments products during the quarter rose 49% to 1,241 kgs as against 832 kgs in previous year quarter. Volumes in silver products increased 34% to 5.9 tonnes from 4.4 tonnes,” Thangamayil Jewellery said in a release.

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UPSC: Engineering Service Exam (ESE) 2017-18 Schedules Released

EDUCATION NEWS - The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as per tentative schedule will be taking the Engineering Service Exam (ESE) 2017-18 at three levels; Prelims, Main and Interview. The ESE is conducted by the Commission to recruit engineering graduates at various public sector departments such as Central Water Engineering, Indian Railways, Telecommunication, Power etc. The recruitment is done for Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering.

General Exam Pattern: The exam patter for Preliminary exam includes Paper I and Paper II for a total of 500 marks whereas that of Main includes Paper I and Paper II for a total of 600 marks.ligibility Parameters:

• The Applicant must be a citizen of Indian origin. However, applicants from Nepal, Bhutan and refugees of Tibet who have migrated to India before 1st January 1962, can also apply for the exam.
• Age: Applicant must not be less than 21 years of age and should not be more than 30 years of age. He or she must be born between January 2 1987 and January 1, 1996. Age relaxation is given to the special category students:
• Applicants are also given age relaxation if they are employed under any government office or state government in the public sector undertakings.
• Education qualification: The Applicant should have a B.E/ B.Tech. Also if he or she has any diploma/degree from any foreign University/ Institution/College recognized by the Government of India, they become eligible.
• The Applicant if has passed as the membership of the following institutions: Electronics and Telecommunication of India, Aeronautical Society of India and Electronics and Radio Engineers.
• Applicants appearing in their final year examination can also apply.

BSE to auction investment limits for Rs 7,400-cr corp bonds tomorrow

STOCK MARKET - Leading stock exchange BSE will auction investment limits on Wednesday, enabling foreign investors to purchase corporate bond securities worth over Rs 7,400 crore.

The auction will be conducted on BSE's ebidxchange platform from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm, after the close of market hours, the exchange said in a circular on Tuesday.

The debt auction quota gives overseas investors the right to invest in the debt up to the limit purchased.

A mock bidding session will be conducted between 11:30 am and 1:00 pm to check the system's performance, BSE said.

"Live bidding session for allocation of debt investment limits (of Rs 7,418 crore) for FII/FPI/sub-accounts shall be conducted on July 26, 2017 on exchange's 'ebidxchange' platform," it said.

The exchange is on Tuesday auctioning investment limits for foreign investors to purchase government debt securities to the tune of Rs 10,922 crore.

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M&M Financial rallies 10% post Q1 results

STOCK MARKET - Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Financial Services surged 10% to Rs 401 on BSE on the back of heavy volumes after the company said it has had higher collection efficiency, lower repossessions and lower growth of non-performing assets (NPAs) in the June quarter (Q1FY18) compared to same period of the previous year, on account of improved sentiments at the rural markets.

The company reported 45.7% year on year (Y-o-Y) drop in its consolidated net profit at Rs 47 crore in Q1FY18, due to higher provisioning for bad loans. It had reported profit of Rs 108 crore in the year ago quarter. Total income from operations during the quarter under review was up by 19.6% to Rs 1,875 crore on Y-o-Y basis.


The company made provisions of Rs 425 crore compared to Rs 361 crore in the previous quarter. The company made an additional provision of Rs 83 crore during the quarter on a prudential basis, it said in a press statement.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) in percentage terms stood at 10.5% versus 10.7% in Q1FY17.  Net NPA stood at 4.4% against 5.4% in previous year quarter. Gross NPA and Net NPA were 9% and 3.6%, respectively, in March 2017 quarter.

At 02:24 pm; the stock was up 9% to Rs 396 on BSE, as compared to 0.09% rise in S&P BSE Sensex. The trading volumes on the counter jumped more than three-fold with a combined 12.98 million shares changed hands on the BSE and NSE so far.

The stock is trading close to its record high of Rs 405 touched on October 4, 2016 during intra-day trade.

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Infographic: Nifty hits 10k peak, journey from 9,000 takes 592 trading days

STOCK MARKET - The Nifty50 index on July 25 hit the 10,000 mark in intra-day deals, for the first time ever. It took 592 trading days for the index to scale 1,000 points from the 9,000 level to hit 10,000. The shortest 1,000-point rally, however, was when the index had hit the 6,000 mark on September 27, 2007, taking just 24 trading days to rise from 5,000 to the 6,000 level. The NSE had launched its flagship 50-share index on April 21, 1996 with a base value of 1000, and 1995 as the base year. Then called the CNX Nifty, the index was renamed in 2015 as Nifty50.

Nifty IN 10K Club ( Intraday)
Date	Nifty	Date	Nifty	Trading Days
11/3/1995	1000.9	1/9/2004	2014.7	2031
1/9/2004	2014.7	1/30/2006	3002.2	517
1/30/2006	3002.2	12/1/2006	4001.3	212
12/1/2006	4001.3	9/27/2007	5016.4	204
9/27/2007	5016.4	11/1/2007	6012.0	24
11/1/2007	6012.0	5/12/2014	7020.1	1617
5/12/2014	7020.1	9/1/2014	8035.0	77
9/1/2014	8035.0	3/3/2015	9008.4	122
3/3/2015	9008.4	7/25/2017	10011.3	592

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Idea Cellular surges 7% after CCI approved merger with Vodafone

STOCK MARKET - Idea Cellular surged 7% to Rs 98.30 on BSE on back of heavy volumes after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday approved the merger with Vodafone India.

“The company is pleased to confirm receipt of the letter from the Competition Commission of India dated 24th July 2017, according approval to the proposed merger of Vodafone India, Vodafone Mobile Services Limited, and Idea Cellular under sub section (1) of section 31 of the Act,” Idea Cellular said in a BSE filing.

The transaction is expected to close during calendar year 2018 subject to customary approvals, it added.

Post the transaction, Vodafone will own 45.1% stake in the merged entity while the Aditya Birla group, Idea's parent, will have 26% shareholding after paying Rs 3,874 crore cash for a 4.9% stake. The remaining 28.9% will be held by other shareholders.

“This landmark combination will enable the Aditya Birla Group to create a high quality digital infrastructure that will transition the India population towards a digital lifestyle and make the Government’s Digital India vision a reality,” said Aditya Birla Group Chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla, while announcement of merger.

Till 12:12 pm; a combined 26.87 million shares changed hands on the counter on BSE and NSE.

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JioPhone is a feature handset with smartphone-like capabilities: Know more

After disrupting the telecom market with ultra-affordable tariff plans, Reliance Jio Infocomm on July 21 unveiled a feature phone with smartphone-like capabilities, effectively priced free. The analysts believe that the JioPhone would bring another wave of disruption but this time it will impact both, telecom incumbents and feature phone manufacturers.

With the launch of first feature phone with 4G long-term evolution (LTE) ready capabilities, Reliance Jio aims to bring 500 million feature phone users of the country to its network, which is driven by data and is the only 4G only network in the country.

While the JioPhone performs all the basic tasks of a feature phone – voice calls and SMS, Reliance Jio has integrated smartphone-like capabilities such as Voice Over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) for voice call, Jio apps for videos and music, and Jio chat for instant messaging etc. that becomes the key differentiating factor of the Jio Phone.


Let's take a look at the smartphone-like features of Jio Phone:

High definition voice calls 

The Jio Phone is a first LTE-ready feature phone that comes with unlimited calling bundled with all the tariff plans. The phone uses VoLTE feature – voice calls using data packets – that allows high definition voice calls. The high definition voice call feature is still not available in all the smartphones and feature phones usually stick to 2G network for voice calls. Therefore, the feature is a first for any feature phone.

Voice commands 

The Jio Phone can be operated using voice commands. The voice command feature is not limited to calling and messages but the Jio apps can also be operated using the app – music playback and video playback.

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Reliance JioPhone will force incumbents to protect subscribers: Jefferies

Reliance Jio's newly launched JioPhone aimed at over 50-crore feature phone users will pose a stiff challenge to incumbents to protect their subscriber market share, investment banking firm Jefferies has said.

"The monthly plan compares favourably against the blended ARPU (average revenue per unit) of top three incumbents, but it does provide a cap. Even though the pricing is not as disruptive as feared, it will still be a stiff challenge to incumbents to protect their subscriber market share," Jefferies said in a report.

Jio launched its much-awaited 4G feature phone, which will be made available from September. The device is priced at Rs 1,500, collected as a fully refundable deposit, refundable at the end of three years.

The company is targeting shipments of 5 million phones a week. The monthly plan for Rs 153 would offer unlimited voice/SMS and 0.5GB of data per day. There are two sachet plans for Rs 24 and Rs 54 with validity of two and seven days respectively.

The phone can be connected to the television through a Jio Phone cable. However, this will require enrollment to the Rs 309 per month plan (1GB per day allowance) which will allow three-four hours of daily video streaming.
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Markets end at fresh closing highs amid earnings optimism; Airtel, RIL gain

STOCK MARKET - The benchmark indices, S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty50 settled the day on record closing highs on Monday as investors remianed optimistic on the June corporate results. Markets also shrugged off the global weakness with Asian markets ending mixed ahead of the joint OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting later in the day.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) retained India's economic growth projections at 7.2% in 2017-18, up slightly from 7.1% in the previous year. However, the growth would accelerate to 7.7% in 2018-19, IMF said.

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PSBs in focus; Nifty PSU Bank index up 2%

Shares of public sector banks (PSBs) were in focus with the Nifty PSU Bank gaining over 2% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Allahabad Bank, Bank of India, Andhra Bank and IDBI Bank were up more than 3%, while State Bank of India (SBI), Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda were up 1%-3% on NSE.


At 02:41 pm; Nifty PSU Bank index, the largest gainer among sectoral indices, was up 1.9% at 3,578 after hitting its high of 3,581 in noon deals. By comparison, Nifty 50, Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Sector Bank indices were up less than 1%.

Amid talks of consolidation gaining currency in the Indian banking space, public sector lender Dena Bank's Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Ashwani Kumar has said the proposed move would bring about several benefits, the Business Standard report suggests.

Consolidation would also benefit banks in their capital requirements and help them better manage non-performing assets (NPAs), he added. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and domestic mutual funds (MFs) have increased their stake in public sector banks (PSBs) in the April - June quarter (Q1FY18), on the expectation that there will be a resolution to the non-performing assets (NPAs) issue.
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STOCK MARKET - Unitech, JP Associates, GVK Power, Shree Renuka Sugars hit 52-week high

STOCK MARKET - Unitech, Jaiprakash Associates, Jaypee Infratech, Shree Renuka Sugars, South Indian Bank and Future Enterprises are among 30 stocks from the S&P BSE Smallcap index hitting their respective 52-week high on BSE on Monday.

At 10:41 am; the S&P BSE Smallcap index was up 0.60% at 16,088, as compared to 0.55% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. The index hit a new high of 16,097 on BSE in intra-day trade today.

Jaypee Infratech, Unitech, GVK Power & Infrastructure, Shree Renuka Sugars and Jaiprakash Associates have rallied more than 50% in the last one month.

GVK Power & Infrastructure has soared 17% to Rs 11.69, extending its Friday’s 20% surge on the BSE. On July 21, 2017 Equity Intelligence India Private Limited [P M S] bought 18.8 million shares representing 1.19% stake in GVK Power & Infrastructure at Rs 9.61 per share on the NSE, the bulk deal data shows. Porinju Veliyath, ace investor, is the Founder & CEO of Equity Intelligence India.

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Gold imports double to $11.25 bn in Q1 due to seasonal, festive demand

The country's gold imports more than doubled to $11.25 billion during the first quarter of this fiscal, driven by seasonal and festival demand.

Gold imports stood at $4.90 billion in April-June 2016-17, according to the data of the commerce ministry.

Increase in the imports influences India's current account deficit (CAD).

In June this year, the imports of the precious metal had risen to $2.45 billion from $1.20 billion in the same month previous year.

Surge in gold imports in June contributed to the widening of trade deficit to $12.96 billion as against $8.11 in June 2016.

Silver imports in June, however, dipped by 28.6 per cent to $178 million.

India is the world's second biggest gold consumer after China. The imports mainly take care of demand by the jewellery industry.

At present, gold import attracts 10 per cent duty. The gems and jewellery industry along with the commerce ministry have time and again urged the finance ministry to consider a cut in the import duty.

During April to December period of last fiscal ended March 31, the current account deficit halved to 0.7 per cent, from 1.4 per cent a year ago.

The surge in gold imports in June is on account of low base effect.

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GVK Power, JP Associates, Welspun Corp, HEG hit 52-week highs

GVK Power & Infrastructure, Jaiprakash Associates, Welspun Corp and HEG hit their respective 52-week highs, trading higher by up to 20% on BSE in otherwise subdued market.

GVK Power & Infrastructure was locked in upper circuit of 20% at Rs 9.99 on back of over five-fold jump in trading volumes.


Till 1:20 pm; a combined 76 million equity shares representing 4.8% of total equity of GVK Power changed hands on the NSE and BSE.

stock of the electric utilities company has surged 37% in past six trading sessions from Rs 7.29 on July 13, after it informed the bourses that it has exited Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) by selling its residual 10% stake in the airport project to the Prem Watsa-led Fairfax India Holdings Corporation (Fairfax India) for Rs 1,290 crore.

Commenting on the exit from Bengalauru airport, GVK Reddy, founder chairman and managing director, GVK Group said,” We will now focus on Mumbai as well as the Navi Mumbai airport, for which we have won the bid and also on selectively evaluating privatisation opportunities. Capacity optimisation and real estate development will now be our priority areas for the existing Mumbai airport."

JP Associates, too, surged 15% to Rs 26.50 on BSE in intra-day trade. In past two months, the stock it has zoomed 132% from Rs 11.44 as against 4% rise in S&P BSE Sensex.

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Sebi asks MCX Biz to return investors' money, imposes 10-year market ban

STOCK MARKET regulator Sebi has asked MCX Biz Solutions and its proprietor Syed Sadaq to return the money collected from investors after finding them guilty of duping investors through false documents.

Besides, they have been barred from the securities markets for 10 years.


Sebi said the company allegedly solicited money from investors promising huge returns while using fake and forged broker registration documents and a name similar to that of an exchange group.

The entity has no relation to the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).

The entities had also made representations and statements on their website about their activities in securities market in an "entirely untruthful manner".

They have allegedly raised more than Rs 35 lakh from investors through various schemes.

"...Noticees (MCX Biz and Sadaq) by their the act and omissions including false statements and representations in deceitful manner, have fraudulently solicited, enticed and induced investors to deal in securities," Sebi Whole Time Member S Raman said in an order dated July 20.

By indulging in such activities, they have violated the provisions of PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practice) Regulations, he added.

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RIL AGM: Mukesh Ambani announces 1 bonus share for every 1 share held

In a gift for its shareholders, the Reliance Industries (RIL) board today recommended bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1. The ratio shows that a shareholder of the company will receive one share for every share held. While addressing the 40th annual general meeting at Birla Matushri Sabhagar in Mumbai, Mukesh Ambani said, "This is the largest bonus issue by any company so far"

Reliance Industries also launched a low-cost phone with 4G-enabled features on Friday in a bid to woo tens of millions of low-income users to its upstart telecoms venture Jio's service.

ALSO READ: Jio disruption: Feature phone to cost Rs 0 with Rs 1,500 refundable deposit

The handset, named JioPhone, will "effectively cost zero" as buyers will be able to get the device for a one-time refundable security deposit of Rs 1,500 ($23.32),  Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani.

The launch was widely anticipated as Ambani, India's richest man, uses the company's annual meeting to make key launch announcements that have in the past disrupted sectors.

Jio disruption: Feature phone to cost Rs 0 with Rs 1,500 refundable deposit

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Friday held its 40th AGM or annual general meeting for shareholders today, at Birla Matushri Sabhagar in Mumbai. During the event, Reliance announced the launch of its 4G feature phone. Along with that the telco has announced its cable TV device.

The JioPhone will be available for free but buyers will have to deposit a fee of Rs 1500 which will be refundable after three years. This means the phone will be available at an effective price of zero.

On Thursday, Reliance Industries reported its highest quarterly consolidated net profit of Rs 9,108 crore in three-months to 30 June on the back of higher petrochemical margins and one-time gain from sale of African asset.


Net profit in the April-June quarter at Rs 9,108 crore (Rs 30.8 per share) was 28 percent higher than Rs 7,113 crore (Rs 24.1 a share) in the same period of the last financial year, RIL said in a statement.

"Strong refining and petrochemicals margin environment contributed to higher operating profits for the quarter," it said.

Here are the highlights

* Mukesh Ambani says a person who invested Rs 1,000 in 1977 has earned Rs 16.5 lakh in 40 years.

* In less than 170 days, Jio hit 100 million, 7 customer per second.

* After the initial launch of Jio data consumption increased to 120 crores GB every month.

* India's data consumption since the launch of Jio is over 125GB per month

* In just 4 decades, Reliance has grown from a small startup to one of the largest companies in the world: Mukesh Ambani at RIL AGM 2017

ONGC deal is not value accretive for HPCL shareholders: analysts

STOCK MARKET - Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) slipped 4.4 per cent to Rs 367 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Thursday, a day after the Union Cabinet approved the sale of its 51 per cent equity in the company to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) post market hours, while ruling out the possibility of an open offer to the minority shareholders of HPCL given no change in effective ownership.

Since July 12, HPCL has outperformed the market by gaining 12 per cent till Wednesday on reports that the merger with ONGC will be completed by the end of this fiscal year. ONGC, which ended 1.8 per cent higher at Rs 166 on Thursday, has gained 1.7 per cent as compared to 0.66 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex since July 12.

Analysts have given a thumbs-down to the deal, which they feel will not be value accretive to HPCL’s shareholders. Going ahead, HPCL will continue to operate as a separate entity, albeit with a possibility of a merger with MRPL – another ONGC subsidiary – in the future. On the other hand, as a majority shareholder in the company, it will be within the means of ONGC to leverage HPCL's balance sheet, they say.

“The apprehension is that a full merger will not be value accretive to the shareholders of HPCL, which has enjoyed a 900 per cent appreciation in price in the last three years. That is because; HPCL and BPCL have been the two biggest beneficiaries of the free pricing of petrol and diesel,” points out a note from Angel Broking.

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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2017 RESULTS - Prez Polls: Let's see if our ideology prevails, says Meira Kumar on result

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2017 - Opposition Presidential nominee Meira Kumar on Thursday reiterated her view, which she has maintained since her nomination, that she believes in the ideology which she has fought for, adding that she would want to see if it prevails.

"I believe in the ideology I've fought for and I believe in the voice of conscience. Let us see how much it prevails," Kumar said.

Responding to a poser on how she views this fight, Kumar said the people in this country have certain values and they have kept those as their base for these elections.

Kumar also expressed her gratefulness to the Opposition parties which unanimously got together and decided her name for the post of President.

Meanwhile, the counting of votes for the presidential polls is underway.

The final result will be declared by 5 pm.

Meira Kumar, the former Speaker of Lok Sabha, was announced as the Indian National Congress (INC)-led Opposition's candidate for the post of President of India, after a meeting held on June 22, 2017.

Both, NDA presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind and Kumar are from the Dalit community and have canvassed hard by visiting states to seek support of legislators.

The Presidential election on July 17 saw 100 per cent polling of 11 states. A total of 771 members of Parliament and 4,109 legislators were eligible to cast votes.

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Aditya Birla Money up 5% for 12 straight day; stock zooms 122% in a month

STOCK MARKET - Aditya Birla Money (ABM) hit its upper circuit of 5% for the twelfth straight session. The stock touched its fresh high of Rs 135 with its market value appreciating by 122% in the past one month from Rs 61 on June 20, 2017.

Till 01:29 pm; a combined 51,825 shares changed hands and there were pending buy orders for 705,640 shares on the BSE and NSE.

ABM, a Kumar Mangalam Birla led Aditya Birla Group company, is in the business of offering investments & trading in stock and securities through its various affiliations with stock exchanges. It offers Portfolio Management Services to high networth individuals (HNI) and corporate investors.

ABM also caters to investments in debt instruments and mutual funds through it digital platform to diversify asset allocation.

As a depository participant, ABM has equity assets under custody worth around Rs 25,000 crore catering to over three lakh investors who can hold stocks & securities, mutual funds and insurance policies in electronic form.

Aditya Birla Financial Services, the promoter,  hold 75% stake in ABM. Aditya Birla Financial Services has business interests including that of non-banking financial institution, housing finance, asset management, brokerage, wealth advisory and health insurance.

In August 2016, the boards of directors of Grasim Industries, Aditya Birla Nuvo and Aditya Birla Financial Services (now known as Aditya Birla Capital) approved the merger of Aditya Birla Nuvo into Grasim, and subsequent demerger and listing of its financial services business.

Listing of financial services business provides flexibility to independently fund its growth through various sources of capital, the company said.

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