Stock Market Latest Updates: Sensex jumps 416 points, Nifty above 9,200-mark; rupee rises 21 paise to 76.24

Rupee rises 21 paise to 76.24

The rupee ended higher by 21 paise at 76.24 per dollar, helped by buying seen in the domestic equity market.

The domestic unit opened higher at 76.17 against the US dollar and it rose to 76.05 at day’s high.

Reliance starts using WhatsApp for grocery deliveries but model to evolve

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’’s Reliance Industries has started limited test use of WhatsApp to connect customers to grocery stores, days after Facebook decided to invest $5.7 billion in digital assets controlled by the company.

JioMart, an e-commerce venture of Reliance Retail, “has already started interacting with customers on WhatsApp for grocery orders” in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan, Credit Suisse said in a report.

“The customer initiates the interaction on WhatsApp, checks out the grocery order on JioMart webpage, gets connected with a retail store on WhatsApp and then customer picks up the order from Kirana and pays in cash,” it said, adding the model is likely on delivery and completion of the transaction on one app.

Lincoln Pharma gets Gujarat regulator nod to manufacture COVID-19 drugs

Lincoln Pharmaceuticals on Monday said it has received approval from the Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration to manufacture hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) among other critical drugs to treat COVID-19, at its Khatraj facility in Ahmedabad.

The company has received approval from the state regulator to manufacture varied dosages of HCQ tablets and HCQ sulfate tablets among others at Khatraj plant, Lincoln Pharma said in a statement.

After necessary approval from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the company will be able to export these products, it added.  

The approval by the state regulator is to manufacture both the drugs in the strengths of 200 mg, 300 mg and 400 mg, the statement said.

About 90% of prospective homebuyers see price correction post-lockdown: Survey

Around 90 percent of prospective homebuyers expect prices to fall due to adverse impact of COVID-19 outbreak, according to a survey by real estate classified platform 99acres.com.

According to the survey, 40 per cent of the total prospective homebuyers, who were searching flats for purchase before lockdown, have postponed their plan while 60 percent are still keen to buy within the next 12 months.

Major reasons for delaying their plan to buy were uncertainty in the market (56 percent) and financial factors (30 percent), the realty portal said in a statement. 

The survey has been conducted with a sample size of around 1,761 prospective homebuyers from major cities including Delhi (NCR), Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow.

Indices down from day’s high as Sensex up 372 points, Nifty holds 9,200-mark

The benchmark indices gave up the early gains and slipped from day’s high in the afternoon trade.

Sensex was trading 371.67 points or 1.19 percent higher at 31,698.89 while the Nifty was up 116.50 points or 1.27 percent at 9,270.90 at around 3.15 pm.

Force Motors deploys 80 mobile dispensaries in Maharashtra cities

Pune-based automaker Force Motors on Monday said it has deployed over 80 mobile dispensaries along with teams of doctors and paramedics as well as medicines across several cities of Maharashtra to conduct medical check-ups, to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The mobile medical care facility, ‘‘Doctor Aplya Daari’’, launched early this month in association with a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which is also fully-equipped to identify coronavirus symptoms, has till Sunday checked over 1.11 lakh persons, the company said in a release.

The medicines are prescribed and given out for free, it said adding that these mobile units can check 2,500 people per day and can examine the symptoms of around 500 patients in a day.

Bandhan Bank stock jumps over 5%

#CNBCTV18Market | Sharp surge in Bandhan Bank pic.twitter.com/dU99iROgsz

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 27, 2020

Fixed line broadband users, data usage surge due to lockdown: Report

The lockdown to control coronavirus infection has come as a ‘godsend’ to the fixed line broadband sector, which was struggling with stagnancy in subscribers for four years, a report said on Monday.

The ongoing lockdown, wherein many people are forced to work from home, has resulted in a surge in subscribers and also data usage, the research wing of domestic rating agency Crisil said in a note.

Fixed broadband refers to taking internet connectivity till homes or businesses using an optical fibre or fixed line.

The Crisil note said due to the aggressive play by the telcos, which started giving the fast 4G connectivity at low rates, the number of subscribers has stagnated at 19 million since 2016.

Sensex up 442 points, Nifty below 9,300 

The benchmark indices gave up early gains as Sensex was trading 441.81 points or 1.41 percent higher at 31,769.03 while the Nifty was up 135.25 points or 1.48 percent at 9,289.65 at around 2.45 pm.

 Britannia jumps nearly 5%

#CNBCTV18Market | Britannia extends gains, up nearly 5% pic.twitter.com/mBTpv2bfdu

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 27, 2020

 Britannia jumps nearly 5%

#CNBCTV18Market | Britannia extends gains, up nearly 5% pic.twitter.com/mBTpv2bfdu

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 27, 2020

Coal India to purchase dumpers from BEML at Rs 400 cr

Coal India Ltd on Monday said it has signed two agreements with heavy engineering major BEML Ltd for purchasing dumpers at Rs 400 crore.

The miner will procure 15 dumpers from the manufacturing PSU, a CIL statement said.

“The contract cost for seven 150-tonne dumpers is around Rs 150 crore and that of eight 190-tonne dumpers is Rs 250 crore. The equipment will be used in opencast coal mines and play a critical role in hauling coal and the top soil,” it said.

The 150-tonne dumpers will be deployed on trial basis in the Gevra opencast project of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd, the Chhattisgarh-based subsidiary of the miner.

Lufthansa, Air France-KLM shares rise on bailout progress

Shares in Air France-KLM and Lufthansa led European stock market gains on Monday on hopes that government bailouts would see them through the coronavirus crisis.

Lufthansa was up 7 percent in Frankfurt after a German minister said it would need to be supported, while Air France-KLM was 3.5 percent higher as investors digested a 7 billion euro ($7.6 billion) French state loan package announced late on Friday.

Lufthansa, which warned last week it had cash to survive just weeks unaided amid a global air travel shutdown, is in talks over a state aid package worth about 10 billion euros, sources have said.

On Monday German transport minister Andreas Scheuer said he backed support for the carrier.

BP revises $5.6-bn Alaska deal after oil price crash

BP said on Monday it had amended some financial terms of the $5.6 billion sale of its Alaska business to privately held Hilcorp following the recent slump in oil prices, which may lead to a lower cash boost than initially planned.

The revised agreement retains the total consideration but adjusts the structure and phasing of the remaining payment, which includes smaller payments in 2020 and a new cash flow sharing arrangement in the near-term, the British oil major said.

The new structure is however expected to maintain “the majority of the value of the transaction,” BP said.

BP shares were up 1 percent.

The original agreement provided for Hilcorp to pay $4.0 billion near-term and $1.6 billion through an earnout thereafter. Hilcorp paid a $500 million deposit on signing of the transaction in 2019, BP said.

Gold futures slip on weak demand

Gold futures prices on Monday fell 0.24 percent to Rs 46,415 per 10 gram as participants offloaded their holdings on weak spot demand.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold prices for June delivery fell by Rs 112, or 0.24 percent, to Rs 46,415 per 10 gram in a business turnover of 15,798 lots.

The yellow metal for August delivery declined by Rs 131, or 0.28 per cent, to Rs 46,566 per 10 gram in 3,907 lots.

Market analysts said the fall in gold futures was mostly in tune with weak spot demand. Globally, gold was trading 0.12 per cent up at $1,737.70 per ounce in New York.

Pfizer announces special dividend

Pfizer declares special dividend of Rs 320/Sh pic.twitter.com/5J9gMj3iTc

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 27, 2020

Honda launches online sales platform

Honda Cars India on Monday said it has launched an online sales platform to help customers manage their purchases without visiting a dealership.

The company’’s ‘‘Honda from Home’’ initiative allows customers to browse through the product options, select their preferred dealership and proceed to book their car online.

The platform, which has been designed to simplify the booking process by offering round-the-clock access from any location, will soon be integrated with company’’s pan-India dealerships, Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) said in a statement.

MSMEs will need helping hand from govt: Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja

Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja said on Monday that small and medium enterprises would need a helping hand from the government as these were among the sectors that had been adversely hit due to the lockdown over the novel coronavirus pandemic.
 

Selja said these industries were the backbone of the economy and generated huge employment.

“These industries have been adversely hit. They don’’t have that kind of buffer that they can go on for long in this situation without government help,” Selja told PTI over phone. “To get back into business, they will surely need a helping hand from the government.”

According to the Congress leader, the government should talk to various stakeholders to chalk out a plan and help the sectors that needed immediate attention in the COVID-19 crisis.

Nivea partners Swiggy, Zomato for delivery of hygiene products

Leading skin care brand Nivea India has partnered with online food aggregators Swiggy and Zomato to deliver its hygiene products at consumer’’s door steps during the lockdown.

The service, which was initially started in Mumbai last week, has now been extended to over 30 cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Jaipur, Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, Kanpur, Nivea India said in a statement.

“The brand aims to scale this up to more than 100 cities in the coming week,” it said.

“As a responsible skincare brand, this initiative reinforces our commitment to ensuring that our consumers have uninterrupted access to their daily hygiene essentials. In times of crisis, we stand together and work together to ensure safety of the consumers by delivering products safely & directly to their doorsteps,” Nivea India sales director Sailesh Viswanathan said.

SC refuses to allow interim protection to small businesses, declines to stay MHA’s order

SC refuses to allow interim protection to small businesses, declines to stay MHA's Mar 29 order directing payment of full salaries. SC agrees to hear plea by MSME Assoc challenging MHA order Notice issued to Centre, seeking reply in 2 weeks pic.twitter.com/tNQz4KoYo1

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 27, 2020

Sensex slips below 32,000-mark, Nifty rises 171 points

The benchmark indices erased gains as Sensex was trading 586.10 points or 1.87 percent higher at 31,913.32 while the Nifty was up 171.50 points or 1.87 percent at 9,325.90 at around 1.45 pm.

Redcliffe Life Sciences offers free online counselling sessions

Redcliffe Life Sciences, Ivertical diagnostics and molecular testing company focussing on reproductive health, cancer and rare diseases, has started free online counseling sessions for pregnant women to answer their queries related to lifestyle changes, timings for specific tests, anxiety during pregnancy, etc.

The sessions will also address issues both parents-to-be and those whose children have pediatric, neurological, cardiological, oncological, and other related rare diseases. The lockdown has made it difficult for patients with various health conditions and expectant mothers to visit the hospital for check-ups.

This initiative is aimed at resolving this gap for them and ensuring they have timely access to consultation.

RBI’s confidence boosting measure to MFs

This is more of a confidence-boosting measure. Most debt MFs invest in AA or higher rated paper and A or below is a very small part of their portfolios, said Ashish Shanker, head of investments, Motilal Oswal Private Wealth Management.

“There is enough liquidity in the market for a good quality paper. However, it was important for RBI to issue this communication and support to calm nerves, he said.

This should help settle some of the panics that was caused over the weekend over the FT news. Even in 2008 when this measure was introduced, none of the MFs actually utilised it. So this is more of a backstop, said Shanker.

One million IT employees will continue to work from home post-lockdown: Kris Gopalakrishnan

More than one million information technology employees are expected to continue to work from home even after the coronavirus-inflicted lockdown situation returns to normalcy, says IT industry veteran Senapathy (Kris) Gopalakrishnan.

The former president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said the IT services industry has actually managed to transition people to work from home during the ‘‘stay-at-home’’ period.

“And that was not a trivial task. A large number of people who have to be supported with technology infrastructure to work from home; business processes will have to be changed, with client permission,” the co-founder of IT services firm Infosys Ltd told PTI.

“Now I am told that 90 to 95 percent of people in many of the larger (IT) organisations are working out of home. And that transition has been smooth and done very, very quickly. They have figured that out and I think this will now become part and parcel of the business continuity processing, planning in the future,” Gopalakrishnan said.

ShareChat acquires meme-sharing app​ Memer

Indigenously developed social media platform ShareChat has acquired Kae Capital backed meme-sharing app Memer and is looking for more buyouts, the company said on Monday. 

The deal size was however not disclosed by the company.

ShareChat claims to have around 6 crore monthly active users and aims to cross the 12-crore mark by the end of 2020.

“We are on an active lookout for startups that complement our product capabilities and share the vision of serving diverse content and social needs of Indian masses. Memer happens to be the first step towards this approach,” Manohar Charan, vice president for corporate development and strategic finance, ShareChat said in a statement.

Franklin Templeton MF committed to return investors money at earliest: Sanjay Sapre

Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, which closed six of its debt funds citing redemption pressures and lack of liquidity in the bond markets, on Monday said it is committed to return investor money at the earliest.

It said that winding up of the schemes does not mean that investor money is lost.

“We are committed to doing all we can to return monies in the schemes that are wound up at the earliest to investors, and to regain your trust in our brand,” Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) president Sanjay Sapre said in a note to investors.

Ind-Ra cuts India’s FY21 GDP growth further to 1.9%, lowest in 29 years

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) on Monday revised its FY21 economic growth forecast for the country further down to 1.9 percent, lowest in the last 29 years, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.

According to Ind-Ra, Indian economy had registered a GDP growth of 1.1 percent in financial year 1991-92.

In a note on Monday, Ind-Ra revised its economic growth estimate for the country from its forecast of 3.6 percent published on 30 March 2020 to to 1.9 percent.

Ind-Ra, noted that its growth projection is based on the assumption that the partial lockdown will continue till mid-May 2020.

Market soars high, gains over 2%

Indian market at half-time is soaring high with gains in excess of 2 percent as bulls have taken control of the proceedings at the start of a fresh trading week, said Aditya Agarwala, senior technical analyst, YES Securities.

Further, it is approaching the crucial resistance cluster of 9,400-9,420, failure to take out this cluster of resistance would again drag the Index lower to levels of 9200-9100, he said.

“On the flip side, a breakout beyond 9,400 would extend this ascend to levels of 9,560-9,580. Intermediate trend though remains sideways unless a decisive breakout is witnessed on the index beyond 9,400 on the upside,” said Agarwala.

Banks, NBFC, IT and metal stocks are leading the gains on Monday, with a tad bit of underperformance by the broader markets, he said.

European markets have opened in the green with gains of around 2 percent for all the three major Indices i.e. FTSE, CAC and DAX. Therefore, traders should watch out for the crucial 9400 mark above which more short covering rallies could be triggered, said Agarwala.

Banks have done nothing to help retailers, says industry body RAI

Banks have done ‘sweet nothing’ to provide financing to retailers to tide over the lockdown crisis, and the government intervention is needed to avoid mass unemployment in the sector, according to RAI.

The retail industry body claimed that despite the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circulars to banks to lend support to businesses, on the ground retailers are finding it difficult to access funds from banks for various reasons.

“The banks are not giving any kind of finance to retailers although RBI has stepped in. It is not happening on the ground. Banks have done sweet nothing in this whole situation to help retailers in this country,” Retailers Association of India (RAI) CEO Kumar Rajagopalan told PTI.

He claimed that the RBI circulars have been ‘set aside for want of various things, including new business plans’ as a result of that retailers are unable to get financing from banks which would have been otherwise used for “paying salaries” and other fixed costs as they have zero income at present.

Rupee falls to day’s low of 76.27 in afternoon trade

#CNBCTV18Market | #Rupee trading at day's low

Note: Refer the chart as per Dollar pic.twitter.com/KUclHzYMOW

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 27, 2020

Sensex soars 701 points, Nifty above 9,350

The benchmark indices extended gains as Sensex surged 701.11 points or 2.24 percent to 32,028.33 while the Nifty was up 201.70 points or 2.2 percent at 9,356.10 at around 1.10 am.

Ducati to resume production at Borgo Panigale factory 

Ducati is set to gradually return to normal, with the steady resumption of production in its Borgo Panigale factory, scheduled to begin on Monday. Operations were suspended in its Bologna plant on 13 February.

This is a first phase of return, which at the moment will only involve a part of the workers destined for the production lines. Workshop staff will begin first, then engine assembly workers and, from 28 April, motorcycle assembly workers.

As for employees, the use of smart working will remain mandatory, only those who are not in a position to carry out their work from home will be allowed to access the factory, according to a company statement. 

“We are ready to go, we have worked hard over the past few weeks to minimize any risk,” said Claudio Domenicali, Ducati CEO.

P Chidambaram welcomes RBI’s special liquidity facility for mutual funds

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday lauded the RBI’’s prompt action in announcing a Rs 50,000 crore special liquidity facility for mutual funds.

The Reserve Bank of India on Monday announced a Rs 50,000 crore special liquidity facility for mutual funds, days after Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund decided to close six debt schemes.

“I welcome the RBI’’s announcement of a Rs 50,000 crore special liquidity facility for Mutual Funds. I am glad that RBI has taken note of the concerns expressed two days ago and requesting prompt action,” the Congress leader said on Twitter.

Team Sirona, makers of PeeBuddy, launches fundraiser campaign

Team Sirona, makers of feminine hygiene products like PeeBuddy, has launched a fundraiser campaign, which aims to donate menstrual sanitary supplies to women who can’t access or afford these otherwise.

To help it further the cause of women’s menstrual hygiene needs, one can make a donation on their campaign or spread a word about it. Even a seemingly meager donation of Rs 150, can ensure two months of sanitary supplies for a woman.

Raising concerns over the current situation in the country, Deep Bajaj, founder and CEO of Sirona said, “The pandemic has uprooted everyone in different ways, but it is the marginalised women, who are the hardest hit. The government, companies, and individuals are helping people from economically weaker sections with food and medical support. Yet, the menstrual hygiene needs of women, which are critical to their health, are largely going unnoticed.”
 

Sirona is distributing its biodegradable pads which it claims is bio-based and free of toxins and chemicals.

European markets open higher

#CNBCTV18Market | Markets across Europe open higher; DAX starts the session with gains of more than 200 points while CAC trades up 2% pic.twitter.com/UTYKVWj5CQ

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 27, 2020

Swelect Energy Systems resumes operations at Bengaluru plant

Rooftop solar installation company Swelect Energy Systems on Monday said it has resumed operations at Solar Photovoltaic Modules Manufacturing Plant located in Bengaluru with effect from 25 April. 

The company had shut down operations at its plants located in Bengaluru and Salem from 24 March due to the lockdown announced to combat COVID-19. 

“In order to execute an energy supply project to Airport Authority of India, we had requested the DIC office for granting us permission to run our facility with a skeletal strength as per MHA (Home Ministry) guidelines,” a regulatory filing said.

Mideast economies take massive hit with oil price crash

Iraq is planning painful cuts in social benefits relied on by millions of government workers. Saudi Arabia will likely have to delay mega-projects.

Egypt and Lebanon face a blow as their workers in the Gulf send back less of the much-needed dollars that help keep their fragile economies afloat.

The historic crash in oil prices in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic is reverberating across the Middle East as crude-dependent countries scramble to offset losses from a key source of state revenue — and all this at a time when several of them already face explosive social unrest.

The economies of all the Arab Gulf oil exporters are expected to contract this year, as much as 5 percent in Iraq, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Govt, industry collaboration critical for global air travel recovery: AAPA

The global air transport industry is actively engaging with governments and regulatory authorities besides public health and medical experts to discuss measures needed to restore public confidence in the safety of air travel and develop comprehensive plans for orderly resumption of services, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said on Monday.

“Work must begin on a multilateral basis to develop the necessary protocols to safeguard public health while restoring international connectivity including air services,” said AAPA director general Subhas Menon.

Aviation drives economic and social development as part of a much wider travel and tourism sector, which in turn supports global trade, development and business activity.

ONGC rises nearly 3%

#CNBCTV18Market | Sharp surge in ONGC pic.twitter.com/sJUiiBlfPA

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 27, 2020