20th October 2020 Highlights: Markets end green, Jet Airways’ new owners, HUL Q2 results, lowering new cases in India, & more.
-20th October 2020-
Sensex 40,544.37 ▲ 0.28%
Nifty 11,896.80 ▲ 0.20%
The markets ended the day up by around 0.24%. The markets started up by around 0.2% and ended around the same mark though they did go much higher throughout the day. The global markets were down during the same period - the Indian markets moved against global trends today. IT, pharma, and auto sectors performed well today.
Today, the markets ended with minor gains, buoyed primarily by HDFC Bank (1.7%), HCL Tech (4.2%), TCS (1%) and Infosys (0.8%). The Nifty50’s advance-decline ratio was nearly even, indicating strength in both bulls and bears. Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Realty (3.9%) and Nifty Media (1.9%) gained, while the Nifty PSU Bank (-1.4%) and Nifty FMCG (-0.3%) fell.
Top Gainers (Nifty)
HCL Tech - Rs 880.05 ▲ 4.19%
Tech Mahindra - Rs 849.85 ▲ 3.12%
Asian Paints - Rs 2119.30 ▲ 2.35%
Bharti Airtel - Rs 404.85 ▲ 1.91%
HDFC Bank - Rs 1224.15 ▲ 1.73%
Top Losers (Nifty)
Britannia - Rs 3551.50 ▼ 5.89%
ONGC - Rs 67.40 ▼ 2.67%
Indian Oil- Rs 75.05 ▼ 2.34%
GAIL - Rs 85.70 ▼ 2.00%
UPL - Rs 455.50 ▼ 1.73%
Here are the top stories of the day.
Jet Airways A Step Away From Getting New Owners.
The Kalrock-Jalan consortium won the bid for Jet Airways. The consortium consists of Kalrock Capital and Murari Lal Jalan. Kalrock Capital is a London-based firm operating in financial advisory and alternative asset management. Murari Jalan is a UAE-based tycoon.
The resolution plan submitted by this consortium is pending NCLT’s approval after which the 'new owners' will officially take over. Jet Airways has not operated flights since it was grounded in April 2019.
Q2 Results: HUL Net Profit Up 8.6%
Hindustan Unilever's net profit was reported at Rs 1,974 crores in the July to September quarter. Its net profit in the previous year's quarter was Rs 1,818 crores.
Revenue from sales was up 15.89% at Rs 11,510 crores during the same period. The company's board also declared an interim dividend of Rs 14 per share. The record date for the interim dividend is October 29 and the payment date is November 12.
Shares of the company settled 0.22% lower at Rs 2,173.1 per share. Results were declared half an hour before market closing.
What is an interim dividend?
Interim dividend is the dividend that is declared and distributed to the shareholders before the final profit position for the financial year is determined.
What is the record date?
The record date in the context of dividends is the cut-off date to determine which shareholders will get the dividend. A dividend is given to investors who hold the shares as on the record date.
ACC's Q2 numbers revive optimism in the cement sector.
ACC’s revenues in the July-September quarter are back to previous year’s levels, indicating a strong recovery from a muted June quarter. Its margins expanded to 19.4% (vs. 16.1% in the same period last year) thanks to cost-reduction measures. Net profit rose 20.1% on a year-on-year basis, beating market estimates. ACC’s share price jumped 3.5% intraday and closed with a gain of 0.9%. The management believes that India’s economic recovery is underway. It expects a strong revival in cement demand due to the government's thrust on infrastructure development, measures aimed at reviving the rural economy and focus on affordable housing. The optimism was reflected in the shares of cement makers such as Prism Johnson (+3.4%), JK Cement (+4.6%) and Ambuja Cement (+1.6%).
L&T rides high on bullet train contract hopes
As per reports, L&T could win its largest-ever order after it has emerged the lowest bidder to construct a significant part of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project. It will be the first high-speed train project of India and is being built at a cost of ₹1.08 trillion with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The segment L&T has bid for is a 237km stretch between the Maharashtra-Gujarat border and Vadodara, estimated to be worth nearly ₹25,000 crore. Following the news, shares of L&T rose as high as 3.6% intraday and ended 1.6% higher than the previous close. The rise in price was supported by above-average volumes, indicating high investor interest.
FMCG majors see mixed sentiments post Q2 results.
India’s major FMCG companies—Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Britannia—witnessed mixed reactions after declaring Q2 results. HUL (-0.1%) had a volatile session but ended flat. The company’s health, hygiene and nutrition segment, which comprises 80% of its portfolio, recorded double-digit growth. The company believes that the worst is over (after the pandemic) and that business is gathering momentum. While rural growth remains strong, urban demand is uncertain. Further, amid high inflation rates, the company expects margins to remain under pressure due to higher cost of raw materials. On the other hand, Britannia reported 11% growth in revenues and a 23% rise in net profit. However, the stock declined 5.8%, as revenue growth was slower than market expectations of ~15%.
Cases Below 50,000 For First Time in 84 Days
Over the past 24 hours, India has witnessed around 45,000 new cases - which is much below the peak of around 97,000 touched in mid-September.
Since the last 1 month, new cases have been consistently falling while the number of recoveries has been rising.
There are apprehensions about the upcoming festive season which could see increased interaction among the public.
PM Modi in an address to the nation today asked citizens to not let their guard down as there is no vaccine or cure for the disease yet.
Closing bell
Although rising, the markets seem to be on tenterhooks, due to weakness in the global markets. The gains made in the last three sessions are within the trading range of 15 October—when the Nifty50 dropped by 2.6%—and thus don’t convey much. A decisive move on either side will provide direction to the markets, and the movement could be sharp.
Daily Change: 1-Day Change
🥇 Gold: Rs 50,655 ▼ 0.44% at 6 PM
🥈 Silver: Rs 62,250 ▼ 1.16% at 6 PM
🔀 USD-INR Rate: Rs 73.46/USD ▲ 0.12%
Dow Jones: 28,195.42 ▼ 1.44% - Oct 19
Nasdaq: 11,478.88 ▼ 1.65% - Oct 19
Long Term: 20-Year Returns
Sensex: 12.72% per annum
Nifty: 12.28% per annum
Dow Jones: 5.2% per annum
Nasdaq: 6.14% per annum
HAPPY INVESTING!
SEE YOU TOMORROW
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