Stock Market Latest Updates: Sensex, Nifty end marginally lower in volatile session; Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma among top losers

Sensex, Nifty end marginally lower in volatile session

Benchmark indices gave up the morning gains and ended marginally lower in a volatile session. 

The Sensex fell 63.29 points or 0.21 percent to 30,609.30 while the Nifty was down 10.20 points or 0.11 percent at 9029.05 at close. 

Bharti Airtel was the top loser in the Sensex pack slipping over 5 percent. Other losers included TCS, Bajaj Finance, SunPharma, Tech Mahindra and Infosys.

Titan, Ultra Cement, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India and ITC were among the major gainers.

On the Nifty, Eicher Motors, JSW Steel, Titan Company, UltraTech Cement and Shree Cements were among top gainers while losers included Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, TCS and Sun Pharma.

Among sectors, IT and pharma witnessed selling pressure, while metal index rose over 2.5 percent followed by auto, bank and FMCG. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended with a gain of 0.6-1.2 percent.

Praj India Q4 profit falls 25.5%

Rajasthan restores 8-hour working in factories

The Rajasthan government has restored the working hours for factory workers to eight hours per day, according to an official statement.

On 24 April, the government had increased the working hours to 12 from 8 hours per day to reduce the requirement of workers in all the registered factories, in view of the coronavirus spread.

Almost all the factories are currently being operated during the coronavirus epidemic. The movement of workers has also started and no pass is required. Public transport has also started in many areas like Green, Orange Zone, etc,” state labour minister Tikaram Jully said in the statement.

Ather Energy partners with P2P scooter sharing platform

Hero MotoCorp-backed Ather Energy has partnered with dockless mobility solution provider Bounce for a scooter sharing initiative ''Peer to Peer'' (P2P) with the pilot programme taking off from Bengaluru on Monday,  a release said on Tuesday.

Under the partnership,  the Ather 450 e-scoote purchased via Bounce''s website can be booked for Rs 499 and will be delivered on priority basis post the lockdown once deliveries resume, the release said.

Bengaluru-based start up Bounce already has ''ScooterHero'' a P2P initiative, under which individuals can rent out their vehicles directly during the lockdown and the partnership with Ather enables new Ather 450 owners to monetise the idle time of the vehicle by listing their vehicle on the Bounce App, it said.

Hamdard Labs to conduct clinical trials of immunity booster drugs against COVID-19

Health and wellness firm Hamdard Laboratories on Tuesday said it is planning to conduct clinical trial of its immunity booster medicines to assess their effectiveness against COVID-19.

The company has submitted the proposal for required permission from the concerned authorities and the clinical trial will be conducted at Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, New Delhi, Hamdard Laboratories said in a statement.

The Ministry of AYUSH has invited inputs from Ayush practitioners and institutions including colleges, universities, hospitals, research institutes, manufacturers, association''s etc to prevent infection from COVID-19, it added.

Package of Rs 90,000 cr to provide only temporary relief to discoms: IndRa

The Rs 90,000 crore package would provide only a temporary relief to power distribution companies but not long-term stability, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said on Tuesday.

Finance Nirmala Sitharaman earlier this month announced Rs 90,000 crore liquidity infusion for discoms, saying that they owe Rs 94,000 crore to power generation companies.

"India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) believes that the bailout package of Rs 900 billion would only provide a temporary relief to power distribution companies (discoms)," Ind-Ra said in a statement.

Tourism ministry extends validity of approval, classification of hotels till 30 June 

The tourism ministry on Tuesday said it was extending the validity period of approvals and classification of hotels and other accommodation units till 30 June.

The ministry classifies hotels under the star rating system to conform to the expected standards for different classes of tourists. The certification is valid for a period of five years.

"Considering the current situation when the hospitality industry is going through a very difficult time in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown that has severely impacted the accommodation sector, it has been decided that validity of approval or certifications of hotels and other accommodation units whose project approvals and classification have expired are deemed to be extended till 30 June,” the ministry said in a statement.

CarDekho lays off 200 staff, cuts salary up to 22%

European markets rise over 1%

Sensex down 41 points, Nifty at 9,038

Indices remained in the red as Sensex was trading 41.07 points or 0.13 percent lower at 30,631.52 while the Nifty was down 1.50 points or 0.02 percent at 9,037.75 at around 2.45 pm.
 

Bharti Airtel, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Teach Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Hero MotoCorp and Infosys were among the major losers in the Sensex pack.

The gainers included Titan, Ultra Cement, ITC, IndusInd Bank and Tata Steel.

Reliance Power wins lawsuit

Reliance Power Netherlands BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Power, has won a lawsuit in the Central Jakarta district court in Indonesia, challenging the validity of Singapore arbitration award favouring Reliance Power.

Kokos Jiang and Prestige Capital Holdings, who were respondents in the arbitration, had filed a lawsuit in Jakarta court requesting nullification of the entire arbitration award.

As per the Singapore arbitration award, arbitrators had ordered Kokos Jiang (earlier known as Kokos Leo Lim) and Prestige Capital Holdings in Seychelles to pay Reliance Power Netherlands BV a sum of 43.2 million dollars along with default interest.

Newgen Software FY20 revenue at Rs 661 cr, cloud sales up 60%

Newgen Software said on Tuesday that its consolidated revenue from operations moved up 6.5 percent year-on-year at Rs 661 crore as compared to Rs 621 crore in FY19.

The business has heavy dependence on the fourth quarter, which impacted the overall performance.

The company said it witnessed growth across the board in its key geographies.

India, however, continued to face challenges on account of economic sluggishness in non-banking finance companies and banks as well as banking consolidation.

Cloud/SaaS deployments are rapidly increasing in all geographies -- the US, Asia Pacific, India as well as in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

Cloud revenues were Rs 38 crore and witnessed a growth of 60 percent year-on-year. Revenue from sale of products and license were at Rs 118 crore while implementation and digitisation revenues were at Rs 175 crore.

Tech firm Vakrangee inks pact with LIC

Sensex falls 130 points, Nifty below 9,050

Indices slipped into the red as Sensex was trading 130.14 points or 0.42 percent lower at 30,542.45 while the Nifty was down 31.45 points or 0.35 percent at 9,007.80 at around 2.15 pm.

Bharti Airtel was the top loser in the Sensex pack dropping over 5 percent. Other losers included TCS, Bajaj Finance, Teach Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Hero MotoCorp and Infosys.

The major gainers were Ultra Cement, Titan, Nestle India, NTPC, Tata Steel and IndusInd Bank.

Rupee rises 29 paise to Rs 75.66 at close

Euler Motors raises Rs 20 cr in fresh funding round

Automotive technology start-up Euler Motors on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 20 crore as part of its ongoing series A funding, led by Inventus Capital.

The other investors in the fresh round of funding include Blume Ventures, Singapore-based Jetty Ventures India Investments and Udaan's co-founder Sujeet Kumar.

Earlier, as part of its pre-series A round, the company had raised Rs 15 crore from Blume Venture, US-based Emergent Ventures and Andrew Lee.

"The series A funds will be primarily used for hiring talents, research and development (R&D), and launching our vehicles across the Indian key cities with a focus on localisation of the supply chain," Euler Motors Founder and CEO Saurav Kumar said.

States' deficit, market borrowings to increase to 4.5% of GDP: Ind-Ra

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) expects the aggregate fiscal deficit of states to now rise to 4.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in FY21 as against the agency's earlier forecast of 3 percent.

Like many countries across the globe, India has been hit by COVID-19 pandemic. It has come at a time when the country was already facing a broad-based economic slowdown with revenues of both the central and state governments under pressure.

Ind-Ra said it evaluated the revised estimates for FY20 and FY21 budget estimates of 20 states.

Since these states presented their budgets before the COVID-19 induced nation-wide lockdown, the nominal gross state domestic product (GSDP) growth projected for FY20 by respective state governments is mostly upwards of 10 percent, which in Ind-Ra's opinion is aggressive and unlikely to be realised.

Indices give up early gains, slip into red zone

Gold futures drop marginally on weak global cues

Gold futures on Tuesday fell 0.36 percent to Rs 46,806 per 10 gram as participants offloaded their holdings following weak trend overseas.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold prices for June delivery fell by Rs 167, or 0.36 percent, to Rs 46,806 per 10 gram in a business turnover of 7,605 lots.

The yellow metal for August delivery declined by Rs 137, or 0.29 percent, to Rs 46,934 per 10 gram in 11,887 lots.

Puneet Nanda appointed as MD & CEO of ICICI Venture Funds Management

Indices remain volatile, Sensex up 50 points, Nifty at 9,059

Indices erased gains in a highly volatile session as Sensex was trading 50.40 points or 0.16 percent higher at 30,722.99 while the Nifty was up 19.55 points or 0.22 percent at 9,058.80 at around 1.45 pm.

Ultra Cement was the top loser in the Sensex pack jumping over 4 percent. Other gainers included Titan, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, NTPC, Nestle India and L&T.

The losers included Bharti Airtel, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and HDFC.

Markets holding on to  gains during half-time

The Indian markets at half time are holding on to gains of 0.50 percent; however, it is underperforming its global peers who are trading with handsome gains in excess of 1 percent, said Aditya Agarwala, Senior Technical Analyst, YES Securities.

Nifty continues to face resistance around the 9,150 as selling pressure drags the Index lower every time it makes an attempt to cross this resistance territory of 9,160-9,170, he said.

On the downside immediate supports are at 9,060-9,040, breakdown from these cluster of supports could trigger more selling towards the latter half of the trading session dragging it lower to levels of 8,975, said Agarwala.

"On the flip side if bulls manage to take the Index beyond 9,160-9,170 then an extended relief rally could take the Index towards the upper end of the range i.e. 9,250. Metals, Bank, Auto and FMCG stocks are taking the Index higher while IT and Reliance are dragging it lower. European markets have opened in the green as well with decent gains of 1 percent,” he said.

REC ties up with TajSATS to provide meals to frontline healthcare workers

State-owned shadow banking firm REC on Tuesday said that it has tied up with TajSATS to provide food to frontline health workers fighting the COVID-19 battle.

REC (formerly known as Rural Electrification Corporation) is spearheading the mission to feed the medical staff in key government hospitals as well as poor daily wage labourers across the nation, through collaborative efforts, the company said in a statement.

REC Foundation, the CSR arm of REC, has partnered with TajSATS (a joint venture of Indian Hotels Company Ltd and SATS Ltd) to distribute specially-made nutritious meal packets for medical staff in Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi.

After Jharkhand, Zomato to start home delivery of alcohol in Odisha

After Jharkhand, Odisha has become the second state where online restaurant guide and food ordering platform Zomato will be home delivering alcohol starting with the state capital Bhubaneswar.

Starting with Bhubaneswar, Zomato will soon expand to other cities in Odisha like Rourkela, Balasore, Balangir, Sambalpur, Berhampur and Cuttack, Zomato said in a statement.

"We're happy to be of service to our users in Odisha who can now use Zomato to get alcohol delivered in addition to grocery and food delivery," Zomato Vice President Rakesh Ranjan said.

Godrej Industries surges over 11%

Sensex up 114 points, Nifty above 9,050

Indices erased gains as Sensex was trading 113.58 points or 0.37 percent higher at 30,786.17 while the Nifty was up 31.45 points or 0.35 percent at 9,070.70 at around 1.15 pm.

Ultra Cement, Titan, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, L&T, Nestle India, NTPC and Axis Bank were the top gainers.

Bharti Airtel, TCS, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Tech Mahindra and Hero MotoCorp were the losers.

JK Tyre crosses 2 crore units' production milestone of trucks, bus radial tyres

JK Tyre on Tuesday said it has crossed 2 crore units production milestone of trucks and bus radial (TBR) tyres.

The company had achieved the distinction of crossing the 1 crore production mark of TBRs in August 2016, JK Tyre said in a statement.

Commenting on the feat, JK Tyre Chairman and Managing Director Raghupati Singhania said, “As a pioneer and market leader, we remain committed to driving innovation and bringing products for our fleet customers that are high on efficiency, safety and cost effectiveness”.

The company will continue to work towards strengthening its position through technology and revolutionary sustainable mobility solutions, he added.

TVS Motor cuts staff salaries by up to 20% for 6 months

TVS Motor Company has cut staff salaries by up to 20 percent for a period of six months, beginning May, amid coronavirus pandemic.

The two-wheeler major has decided to reduce salaries at executive level, barring entry level workmen, from May till October this year.

"In the wake of the unprecedent crisis, the company has rolled out a temporary salary reduction across different levels for a period of six months (May to Oct, 2020)," a TVS Motor Company spokesperson told PTI.

The spokesperson added that there will be no salary reduction at the workmen level.

ITC shares jump nearly 5% on Sunrise Foods deal

Shares of ITC on Tuesday gained nearly 5 percent after the company said it will fully acquire spices manufacturer Sunrise Foods Private Ltd (SFPL).

The scrip rose by 4.61 percent to Rs 194.95 on BSE, and 4.61 percent to Rs 194.95 on NSE.

While the company did not disclose the value of the deal, sources said it is valued around Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 2,000 crore.

The company on Sunday said it has signed a share purchase agreement with SFPL which will augment its product portfolio and is also aligned to its aspiration to significantly scale up its spices business and expand its footprint across the country.

FMCG companies to push value packs in rural markets

Sensex above 30,500, Nifty at 9,093

Indices continued to remain in the green as Sensex was 172.38 points or 0.56 percent higher at 30,844.97 while the Nifty was up 54.05 points or 0.6 percent at 9,093.30 at around 12.40 pm.

Ultra Cement was the major gainer in the Sensex pack zooming over 5 percent. Other gainers included Titan (4.32 percent), IndusInd Bank (3.64 percent), HDFC Bank (3.15 percent), Tata Steel (3.08 percent), L&T (2.87 percent) and Nestle India (2.84 percent).

Bharti Airtel, TCS, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp, HCL Tech and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the losers.

HDFC shares fall around 2% after Q4 earnings

Shares of housing finance firm HDFC Ltd on Tuesday fell by nearly 2 percent after the company reported a 10 percent decline in consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter ended 31 March.

On BSE, the stocks declined 1.55 percent to Rs 1,493. They fell 1.55 percent to Rs 1,492.60 on NSE.

The housing finance firm on Monday reported a 10 percent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,341.58 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March.

The company's net profit (before adjustment of minority interest) was Rs 4,811.26 crore in January-March quarter of 2018-19.

Maruti introduces comprehensive safety norms at True Value outlets

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Tuesday said it has introduced comprehensive safety norms at its pre-owned True Value outlets across the country to operate during the coronavirus pandemic.

The company's True Value network comprises 570 outlets in 280 towns and cities in India.

The guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) ensure maximum hygiene, sanitisation and safety for customers, MSI said in a statement.

The SOPs have been implemented in line with government advisories on COVID-19, it added.

JSPL shares zoom 10% after strong Q4 results

Shares of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) on Tuesday rallied 10 percent after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 305.62 crore during the quarter ended 31 March 2020.

The stock advanced 9.95 percent to Rs 106 on BSE. On NSE, it jumped 9.93 percent to Rs 106.20.

JSPL on Monday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 305.62 crore during the quarter ended 31 March 2020.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 2,713.34 crore in the year-ago quarter, JSPL said in a BSE filing.

PayNearby partners with IndusInd Bank for contactless payments 

PayNearby, a fintech startup has now expanded its hyper local discovery and purchase application ‘BuyNearby’ for pan-India operations with IndusInd Bank as digital payment partner. 

Besides local kiranas, the platform hosts a wide range of retailers including – grocery stores, pharmacies, sweet stores, supermarkets, milk & dairy products, branded specialty stores, gift shops, and meat shops, among others thus catering to a wide range of customer needs.

This app, in addition to helping order from nearby retail stores, will also enable the citizens to make UPI, BHIM Aadhaar and other Digital payments on the platform built by PayNearby in partnership with IndusInd Bank.  

Customers can now identify their nearest local kirana store and conveniently order anything while choosing from a wide range of products.

Besides easy access to daily essentials, the interactive app allows customers to pre-order and pre-schedule deliveries, with the option to pay digitally, thus helping observe social distancing and also championing honorable prime minister’s vision for going local. 

GAIL up over 1% 

Rural insurtech platform GramCover raises Pre-Series A funding

GramCover, rural insurtech platform, announced today that it has raised pre- Series A funding from EMVC, Flourish, and Omidyar Network India. Existing investor Omnivore also participated in this round.

GramCover is de-risking rural India by leveraging technology and its point of sale (POS) network to make insurance accessible for all. The company is creating a seamless ecosystem for delivery of insurance products including crop, livestock, health, motor, life, and asset insurance that address the needs of rural India.

Based in Noida, GramCover was founded by Jatin Singh, who earlier launched Skymet, the private weather company.

Commenting on the pre-Series A funding, Jatin Singh, Co-Founder of GramCover, noted, “With GramCover already having achieved breakeven on the bottom line, we are well-poised to make further investments to grow our reach and develop new lines of business.  Our vision is to cater to 5 million rural consumers in next two years.”

Sensex rises 168 points, Nifty above 9,000-mark 

Indices remained volatile as Sensex was trading 167.95 points or 0.55 percent higher at 30,840.54 while the Nifty was up 56.25 points or 0.62 percent at 9,095.50 at around 12.15 pm.

Ultra Cement, Titan, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, L&T, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Nestle India, ONGC and NTPC were the top gainers.
 

Bharti Airtel, TCS, HDFC, Bajaj Finance, Hero MotoCorp and HCL Tech were among the losers.

Chhattisgarh to give agriculture status to lac cultivation

The Chhattisgarh government has decided to consider lac cultivation as an agriculture activity in the state and promote its farming as a livelihood option for farmers, particularly those living in remote and forest areas, officials said on Tuesday.

Lac is a scarlet-coloured resin secreted by an insect called ''laccifer'' or ''kerria lacca'' that makes its home on trees. The resin is scraped off from trees, dried and processed to form lac which is used in jewellery and leather industries, they said.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel gave his consent on Monday to accord the status of agriculture to lac cultivation in the state, a public relations official said.

A proposal on this was earlier submitted to the chief minister by the states forest department in a bid to make lac farming a profitable endeavour for cultivators, he said.

Max Financial stock rises over 1%

Indices erase gains, Sensex up 149 points, Nifty holds 9,000-mark 

Indices gave up most of the early gains as Sensex was trading 149.41 points or 0.49 percent higher at 30,822 while the Nifty was up 48.95 points or 0.54 percent at 9,088.20 at around 11.50 am.

Ultra Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack rising over 4 percent. Other gainers included Titan, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, L&T, Nestle India, Axis Bank and ONGC.

The losers included Bharti Airtel, TCS, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp and HCL Tech.

Sugar mill in Muzaffarnagar closes crushing work, two more to follow suit

Out of the eight sugar mills in the district which have been allowed to function during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, one has stopped procurement of sugarcane for this season, an official said on Tuesday.

The Bhaisana sugar mill of Bajaj group closed its crushing work for the season on Monday, district cane officer R D Dwivedi said.

Two more mills -- Khaikheri and Tikola -- will close on Wednesday, the officer said, adding that both the mills have already shut their purchasing centres.

The remaining mills in Khatoli, Mansurpur, Titawi, Tohana, Morna will continue to crush sugar cane, he added.

Menstrual hygiene management initiative

Essar Foundation has launch a massive initiative of reaching out to adolescent girls, underprivileged women in slums, anganwadi workers  to equip them with the right information, encourage them and create awareness on menstrual hygiene and provided them easy access to products as it 28 May is celebrated as international Menstrual Hygiene Day,

This month itself, it distributed over 400,000 sanitary napkins in Mumbai. They also launched a 360 degree App 'Sahej' specially designed to help this section of the society towards living a healthier life. 

The aim is to reach every corner of India. Amidst covid times, it is even more important to focus on menstrual health as much as staying healthy to protect oneself from the virus.

Eicher Motors jumps more than 4%

Telecom network working at 85% capacity in Amphan-hit areas of West Bengal

Telecom service-providers were able to restore connectivity to only 80-85 percent capacity level in areas of West Bengal hit by super cyclone Amphan due to erratic power supply, continued fibre cuts and obstruction by people protesting against disruption in electricity and water supply, industry body COAI said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the Department of Telecom had asked the companies to bring the connectivity level to 95 per cent by Monday evening.

"The overall telecom network has been restored to about 85 per cent level. The main reasons are erratic power supply, fibre cuts and problems in reaching places because roads are blocked by fallen trees and also obstruction by agitated people," COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews told PTI.

Rupee surges 30 paise to Rs 75.65 in early trade 

The rupee appreciated 30 paise to Rs 75.65 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday tracking positive opening of domestic equities and weakness in the American currency.

Forex traders said a positive start of domestic stocks supported the local unit, while sustained foreign fund outflows and concerns over coronavirus outbreak weighed on the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at Rs 75.69, then gained ground to touch Rs 75.65, registering a rise of 30 paise over its previous close.

JSPL reports Q4 consolidated profit of Rs 306 cr

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) has reported a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 306 crore during the January to March quarter and reduced its net debt by Rs 4,379 crore in FY20 on constant currency basis.

The gross revenue totalled Rs 9,674 crore in Q4 FY20 while the net revenue was Rs 8,836 crore, the company said in a statement.

The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were Rs 2,220 crore and EBITDA margin stood at 25 percent.

Bharti Airtel drops 4% 

Bharti Airtel stock fell 4.01 percent to Rs 569.25 on the BSE on Tuesday after its promoter, Bharti Telecom, reportedly planned to raise $1 billion through equity sale to become debt free.

The company's promoters may sell nearly 15 crore shares as part of the block deal.

JP Morgan is the banker to the deal.

The deal is likely to be at a 6 percent discount to the closing price.

Rupee opens higher at Rs 75.68

Glenmark to study potential COVID-19 drug combination

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd said on Tuesday it will begin a new clinical trial in India to test a combination of two anti-viral drugs - favipiravir and umifenovir - as a potential COVID-19 treatment.

The study will look to enroll 158 hospitalized patients of moderate COVID-19 in India, the company added.

Last month, Glenmark said it would conduct clinical trials in India of just favipiravir as a potential treatment for COVID-19.

Car Dekho announces lay-off, pay cut

Indices trim gains; Sensex up 221 points, Nifty above 9,100 

Indices trimmed the early gains as Sensex was trading 221.24 points or 0.72 percent higher at 30,893.83 while the Nifty was up 70 points or 0.77 percent at 9,109.25 at around 10.45 am.

Titan, Tata Steel, Ultra Cement, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, L&T, ITC, NTPC, Nestle India and ONGC were the top gainers in the Sensex pack.

Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp, TCS, HDFC and Bajaj Finance were among the losers

Singapore cuts 2020 GDP outlook again as virus batters economy

Singapore downgraded its 2020 gross domestic product forecast for the third time on Tuesday, the trade ministry said, as the bellwether economy braces for its deepest ever recession.

The city-state lowered its GDP forecast to a contraction range of -7 percent to -4 percent from the prior range of -1 percent to -4 percent.

Singapore’s economy shrank 0.7 percent year-on-year in the first quarter and 4.7 percent on a quarter-on-quarter, a less severe decline than advance estimates, although officials and analysts warned of more pain ahead.

“There continues to be a significant degree of uncertainty over the length and severity of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as the trajectory of the economic recovery,” said Gabriel Lim, permanent secretary at the ministry of trade and industry.

Air New Zealand sees annual underlying loss due to coronavirus

Air New Zealand Ltd said on Tuesday it would report an underlying loss in the financial year ending 30 June due to the coronavirus outbreak, but had slashed costs to the extent it had not yet needed to draw down a government loan.

The airline has cut 30 percent of its staff, or 4,000 employees, and will ground its fleet of 16 Boeing Co 777 widebody planes until at least the end of December. It will also take a NZ$350 million ($214 million) to NZ$450 million impairment on the planes.

“We are preparing for a scenario in which the airline is still 30% smaller than pre-COVID levels in two years’ time,” Chief Financial Officer Jeff McDowall said in a statement.

It will reduce its monthly cash outflow for the financial year ending 30 June 2021, by NZ$50 million to NZ$60 million from NZ$150 million to NZ$200 million, General Manager Corporate Finance Leila Peters told analysts.

Cathay Pacific's brand merger hits roadblock from China's aviation regulator

China’s aviation regulator may make it difficult for Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd to merge regional arm Cathay Dragon into its main brand because of infractions during last year’s pro-democracy protests, two sources said.

The airline is looking to cut costs, streamline marketing and consolidate pilot contracts around Cathay Pacific and low-cost arm HK Express, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

Rival Singapore Airlines Ltd is doing the same with regional arm SilkAir and budget arm Scoot.

But the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) would view such a move as an expansion and could block Cathay from keeping access to 20 mainland routes flown only by Dragon.

The Cathay Pacific brand flies only to Beijing and Shanghai, while Dragon destinations include smaller cities like Fuzhou and Nanjing.

Oil climbs as suppliers stick to output cuts, coronavirus lockdowns ease

Oil prices rose on Tuesday on clear signs that producers are sticking to commitments to cut crude supply as more cars get back on the road with coronavirus lockdowns easing around the world.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 2.3 percent, or 75 cents, to $34.00. There was no WTI settlement on Monday because of the US Memorial Day holiday.

Brent crude futures inched up 0.7 percent, or 23 cents to $35.76, adding to a 1.1 percent gain on Monday in thin holiday trading.

The market was buoyed by comments from Russia reporting its oil output had nearly dropped to its target of 8.5 million barrels per day (bpd) for May and June under its supply cut deal with the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other leading producers, a grouping known as OPEC+.

Gold ticks up on Sino-US tensions over Hong Kong

Gold ticked higher on Tuesday as brewing Sino-US tensions over Hong Kong lifted demand for the safe-haven metal, though easing coronavirus-induced lockdown restrictions supported equities and capped bullion’s gains.

Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,732.38 per ounce. US gold futures were down 0.1 percent to $1,733.50.

“The key supportive factor for the (gold) market is rising tensions between China and the US; and if we see a further escalation, we would see another move higher in gold,” said ING analyst Warren Patterson.

China’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong and the city’s security chief defended proposed security laws by describing some acts in mass pro-democracy protests last year as terrorism.

Sensex up 313 points, Nifty above 9,000-mark
 

Sensex jumped 313.39 points or 1.02 percent to 30,985.98 while the Nifty was up 67 points or 0.74 percent at 9,039.25 at around 10 am.

Titan was the top gainer in the Sensex pack surging over 4 percent. Other gainers included ITC, IndusInd Bank, Ultra Cement, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel and ONGC.

The losers included Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finance and TCS.

Bharti Airtel promoter firm to raise $1 bn through equity: Report

Japan shares hit 10-week peak, S&P 500 tests 3,000

Asian shares forged ahead on Tuesday while US stock futures challenged a major chart barrier as investors looked past Sino-US trade tensions to more stimulus in China and a re-opening world economy.

Japan's Nikkei led the way with a rise of 2 percent to its highest since early March when the economic impact of the coronavirus was just becoming clear.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 1.4 percent, while South Korea rose 1.1 percent.

While Wall Street had been shut on Monday, E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 climbed 1.3 percent to test the 3,000 level. EUROSTOXX 50 futures added 0.6 percent and FTSE futures 1.8 percent.

Chinese blue chips firmed 0.8 percent after the country's central bank said it would strengthen economic policy and continue to push to lower interest rates on loans.

Adani Group shares rise

Indian stocks' performance this year to be worst since 2011: Report

Indian stocks will not recoup this year’s losses anytime soon and 2020 will mark the worst annual performance in nine years on fears of a deep downturn in the economy and business activity, a Reuters poll of market strategists found.

Over 55 percent of 34 strategists who answered a separate question said the benchmark BSE Sensex Index .BSESN would revisit this year's low of 25,638.90 hit on 24 March. All but one said it would happen by the end of September.

While the index has recovered nearly 20 percent since hitting a record low - a day before the nationwide lockdown started on 25 March - it is still down around 26 percent so far this year.

That is despite $266 billion of economic stimulus announced by the government and the aggressive liquidity measures and interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of India.

The BSE index was forecast to gain 4.2 percent to 31,960 by the end of 2020 from Friday’s close above 30,672, according to the median forecast from the latest poll. It was taken before the RBI’s latest unscheduled meeting on Friday, where it cut the repo rate by another 40 basis points to a record low of 4 percent.

India looks to store cheap oil in the US: Dharmendra Pradhan

India is looking at storing some low priced US oil in facilities there as its local storage is full, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told CNBC TV18 news channel.

India’s plan could be similar to a move by Australia, which last month said it would build up an emergency oil stockpile initially by buying crude to store in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to take advantage of low oil prices.

“We are exploring some possibility if we can store some of our investment in a different country ... we are exploring the possibility in the USA if we can store some of the low priced oil,” Pradhan said.

Oil prices have dropped more than 40 percent so far in 2020 but have picked up in the past few weeks partly due to efforts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies to reduce supply.

IDFC First Bank jumps 6% 

Weak rupee leads Indian trade body to lift cotton export estimate

India’s cotton exports could rise to 4.7 million bales in 2019/20, up 12 percent from the previous estimate, as a fall in the value of the rupee to a record low made shipments competitive, a trade body forecast.

Higher exports by the world’s biggest cotton producer could put pressure on global prices, which are trading near their highest level in more than two months.

Indian exports could also limit shipments from rivals such as the United States, Brazil and Australia to key Asian buyers such as China, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

The rupee’s fall has made Indian cotton the cheapest in the world and attractive for Asian buyers, Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India (CAI) said.

India first quarter GDP growth likely to be weakest since 2012: Report

India’s economy is likely to have expanded at its slowest pace in at least eight years in the January-March quarter, partly as a result of the coronavirus clampdown, a Reuters poll predicted.

Asia’s third-largest economy began slowing last year, but a countrywide lockdown implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 25 halted economic activity completely.

“Activity in January and February was strong, but the slowdown in March is likely to have largely offset those gains,” Aayushi Chaudhary, an economist at HSBC in Mumbai, said.

The poll of 52 economists, taken May 20-25, indicated India’s economy grew at 2.1 percent in the March quarter from a year ago, its weakest since comparable records began in early 2012, and sharply slower than 4.7 percent in the prior three months.

Indices open on positive note

Indian indices opened on positive note on May 26 with Nifty above 9150-level.

At 09:16 IST, the Sensex was up 389.33 points or 1.27% at 31061.92, and the Nifty was up 115.25 points or 1.27% at 9154.50. About 601 shares have advanced, 176 shares declined, and 56 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel promoter could have sold stake: Report

SpiceJet begins cargo operations to Africa

SpiceJet has added Sudan and South Korea to its international cargo network. The airline operated its maiden freighter flights to both these destinations carrying pharma and cargo supplies.
 
 

SpiceJet deployed its Boeing 737 freighter aircraft to carry 16 tons of cargo supplies to Khartoum in Sudan via Ras Al-Khaimah and another 16 tons of cargo from Delhi to Incheon in South Korea via Kolkata.  
 

Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “Our maiden cargo flight to Sudan marks a major milestone for SpiceJet. We will be actively using Ras Al-Khaimah airport as a hub for our cargo operations to Africa and CIS countries in the times to come. With our first cargo flight to Incheon in South Korea we have made a significant addition to our cargo network in East Asia.” 
 
 

SpiceJet has transported 10,600 tons of cargo on 1620 flights since the nation-wide lockdown began. 

COVID-19: 72 Networks enable rural SME’s/MSME’s to restart operations

72 Networks-a pan-India distribution house that specialises in last-mile delivery, especially in rural areas, is delivering COVID-19 protection products & kits to SME’s/MSME’s across 8 states, covering 207 districts and servicing about 12000 pin codes.  They have tied up with a leading apparel company that provides SITRA and DRDE certified PPE Kits and other respective manufacturers of the Government to get ISO approved 3 PLY Face Masks, n95 Masks , Sanitizers, Disinfectants and Gloves and ensure that highest standard products are delivered to the remotest part of the country.

72 Networks have deployed their entire workforce to meet the health, logistics and sales requirements in these rural areas. They have also created an incentive scheme for their employees who are going out of their comfort zones of being an expert in logistics to becoming an expert in sales. They are delivering items like PPE Coverall, PPE – Gloves, Googles & Masks, PPE Kit, IR Thermometer, Sanitizer Spray, Anti-fog Face Shield, Biofresh Hand Sanitizer (Bulk 5 Ltr & Retail – 500 ML and 200 ML ) and Microtouch Nitrile Gloves. They already have received orders of 25,000 PPE Kits, 100,000 Bottles of Sanitizers, 800,000 Masks,  10,000 face shields and 200,000 pairs of gloves and are servicing them across states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal,  Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.

A medical division as part of their aspiration to fulfil rural requirements and also as an adaptation model to business continuity. Their plan is to now introduce more high-quality products at lower costs to meet the requirements of the local customers.  They also see the company’s focus shifting from a B2B2C model to a B2C model with a large captive customer base.

JSW, ITC among top gainers

Markets open high

Uber India cuts 600 jobs

Stocks to watch out for

Markets expected to trade in green

Aditya Agarwala, Senior Technical Analyst, YES Securities, said, "The Indian markets are expected to kick start trade in the green following a trading holiday yesterday on account of Eid, as indicated by the SGX Nifty which is currently trading higher by over 100 points over Friday’s session close. The entire Asian pack is also trading in the green with handsome gains. NIKKEI is leading the charge with gains of 2.20% followed by the rest of the markets which are trading higher between 1%-1.5%. Dow Jones Futures currently are also trading in the green with substantial gains of 1.5% which could the Indian markets buoyant as well.   

"The Nifty ended trade the previous trading week in the red down by 1%. Further, Index continues to oscillate in a trading band between 9240 acting as a stiff resistance on the upside and 8800 as a support on the downside. Following a 100 points GAP up opening in today’s session it will be essential for the Bulls to push Index above the intermediate resistance zone of 9150-9170 for it to test levels of 9240 which happens to be the upper end of the range and also 20-DMA. However, failure to keep the Nifty beyond the 9150-9170 resistance territory could lead to resumption of the selling pressure as bears will hammer the Index lower to levels of 9040-8970," Agarwala said.

Asian markets trade high

Markets could open high in line with Asian markets

Deepak Jasani, Head Retail Research, HDFC securities, said, "The markets could open higher in line with most other Asian markets on hopes of early breakthrough in coronavirus vaccine. Indian markets could open higher in line with positive Asian markets on Monday and today and despite flat US markets on Friday.

"US stock benchmarks ended little changed Friday as investors looked ahead to a three-day weekend amidst optimism about businesses reopening in many states. For the week though, equity indexes ended with strong gains as the markets largely shrugged off rising U.S.-China tensions and remained optimistic that the impact of coronavirus on corporate earnings will be relatively short-lived.

"European equities rallied Monday as countries gradually continue to reopen their economies and lift coronavirus lockdown restrictions. Stocks gained modestly on Monday with many countries on holiday as German business morale rebounded strongly in May, offering a glimpse of optimism to battered investors of what lay beyond weeks of economic lockdowns.

"Asian markets rose on Monday ahead of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's announcement that the state of emergency that still was in effect for Tokyo and several other areas was ending as outbreaks appeared to be subsiding. Latin American stocks hit a 10-week high, while currencies rallied on Monday as investors bet on economic recovery from the coronavirus with more countries emerging from virus-induced lockdowns. In line with broader emerging market peers, regional stocks rallied. Sao Paulo's Bovespa index jumped nearly 4% to a near 11-week high. The MSCI's index of Latin American equities rose 3.5%.

"Stocks in Asia Pacific traded higher Tuesday morning after American biotech firm Novavax said Monday it started the first human study of its experimental coronavirus vaccine.

"The Indian equity markets snapped a three-day gaining streak to end lower on Friday, due to weak cues from other global markets. Nifty finished with a loss of 67 points, or 0.74 percent, at 9,039.25.Technically, while the Nifty has corrected, the healthy bounce back from the lows indicates that the bulls are not willing to give up easily. The Nifty has also formed a hammer pattern on the weekly charts, which indicates that the bulls could gain control next week. Crucial supports to watch next week are the lows of 8806. On the upside, the bulls could gain momentum if the recent highs of 9179 are convincingly cleared," Jasani said.