Stock Market Latest Updates: Sensex zooms 606 points, Nifty holds 9,500-mark; Hexaware Q1 net profit up 26.3% at Rs 175 cr

S&P affirms BBB+ rating for Reliance Industries

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings has affirmed BBB-plus long-term corporate credit rating on Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) with a stable outlook.

The rating company has also affirmed BBB-plus long-term issuer credit rating on the company’s outstanding debt.

“The stable outlook reflects our expectation that RIL’s strengthening cash flows amid disciplined spending will improve its debt-to-EBITDA ratio toward 2.0x over the next 12 to 24 months,” said S&P.

Hexaware Q1 net profit up 26.3% at Rs 175 cr

IT firm Hexaware Technologies on Wednesday posted a 26.3 percent rise in net profit at Rs 175 crore in the March 2020 quarter, and said it was suspending its guidance for FY20 amid uncertainty due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 138.4 crore in the January-March 2019 period, Hexaware Technologies said in a regulatory filing.

Its revenue increased 22 percent to Rs 1,541.7 crore in the quarter under review as compared with Rs 1,264 crore in the year-ago period.

The company follows January-December as its fiscal year.

Delhi HC stays interim relief to Indiabulls Housing Finance

#JustIn | Delhi High Court stays interim relief given to Indiabulls Housing Finance pic.twitter.com/FhVooIl6MN

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 29, 2020

Sensex surges 769 points, Nifty close to 9,600-mark

Sensex soared 769.09 points or 2.39 percent to 32,883.61 while the Nifty was up 214.35 points or 2.28 percent at 9,595.25 at around 3.10 pm.

Time for action to make India a global manufacturing hub: Experts

India can be the destination of choice for global manufacturing in the post-COVID 19 world if it gets its acts together with the right policies as a lot of things are going for the country, say industry experts.

Areas like drones and robotics would see major investment and research going forward in India, which would move faster into the digital age, they said, discussing opportunities for the country once the coronavirus-inflicted situation returns to normalcy.

Remote working will become a norm rather than something done once in a while, a former president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) told PTI.

“There will be many work-from-home opportunities. We will see far greater participation from women, who chose to stay at home, and it will add to the productive workforce . A corporate leader said he is seeing the beginning of a fourth industrial revolution and added that India should strive to get a proper shareof the pie,” the former CII president said.

Global stocks gain on plans to ease anti-coronavirus controls

Global stocks gained Wednesday after France and Spain joined governments that plan to ease anti-virus controls and allow businesses to reopen.

London and Frankfurt opened higher, while Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

Wall Street retreated overnight, hurt by declines in health care and tech stocks that have been among the winners during the coronavirus pandemic.

The French and Spanish governments announced plans Tuesday to allow restaurants and other businesses to reopen gradually. They followed Italy, which announced similar plans on Sunday.

ADB gives $346 mn loan for power sector in rural Maharashtra

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday said it has approved a $346 million (around Rs 2,616 crore) loan to Indian government to provide reliable power connection in rural areas of Maharashtra.

Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India, and about half of the state’s labour force is engaged in agriculture and related activities in the rural areas, ADB said in a release.

Agriculture output, however, has been impacted by lack of irrigation, less-than-efficient use of electricity and water, as well as inadequate storage and connectivity to markets.

Relief for Vodafone Idea as SC allows tax refund of Rs 733 cr

SC allows tax refund of Rs 733 cr to Vodafone Idea. Co walks away with tax refund of Rs 750 cr from SC, after seeking Rs 4,700 cr from the Taxman, @AshmitTejKumar reports

Do note, co had alleged that the taxman had not processed I-T returns for AY 2014-15 to AY 2017-18 pic.twitter.com/7mttYIniX9

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 29, 2020

Bajaj Healthcare to buy stressed assets from Saraswat Cooperative Bank

Bajaj Healthcare on Wednesday said it will acquire several stressed assets, including land and factory building, in Maharashtra and Gujarat from Saraswat Cooperative Bank for Rs 61 crore.

The company has agreed to acquire stressed assets from Saraswat Cooperative Bank by way of cash consideration of Rs 61 crore subject to closing adjustments, Bajaj Healthcare said in a regulatory filing.

The targeted assets have installed capacity of 111 metric tonnes per month and are capable of manufacturing bulk drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) like mefenamic acid, artemether, lumefranrine, aceclofenac albendazole and nimesulide.

Crude oil futures rise on positive overseas cues

Crude oil prices on Wednesday rose Rs 97 to Rs 1,102 per barrel as participants widened their positions in line with a positive trend overseas.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for delivery in May traded higher by Rs 97, or 9.65 percent, to Rs 1,102 per barrel in 13,882 lots.

Crude oil for June delivery was up by Rs 36, or 2.52 percent, to Rs 1,464 per barrel with an open interest of 501 lots.

Analysts said raising of bets by participants kept crude prices higher in futures trade here.

Gold futures slump on weak global cues

Gold prices on Wednesday plunged Rs 104 to Rs 45,962 per 10 gram in futures trade as participants were engaged in profit-booking at prevailing levels in tandem with the yellow metal slipping overseas.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold prices for June delivery fell by Rs 104, or 0.23 percent, to Rs 45,962 per 10 gram in a business turnover of 14,875 lots.

The yellow metal for August delivery declined by Rs 152, or 0.33 percent, to Rs 46,085 per 10 gram in 4,821 lots.

Globally, gold was trading 0.19 percent lower at $1,718.90 per ounce in New York.

Sensex soars 564 points, Nifty above 9,500-mark

Benchmark indices continued the rally as Sensex zoomed 564.47 points or 1.76 percent to 32,678.99 while the Nifty was up 165.05 points or 1.76 percent at 9,545.95 at around 2.30 pm.

All sectoral indices barring the FMCG index are trading in the green.

Rupee closes at 1-month high

#Rupee ends at a 1-month high, closes at 75.67 against the #dollar#currency #rupeedollar #greenback #FX #forex pic.twitter.com/dvKRbH9Zu0

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 29, 2020

Govt extends ‘work from home’ connectivity norms for IT, BPO firms till 31 July

The government has extended the relaxed connectivity norms for ‘work from home’, applicable on IT and BPO companies, till 31 July, amid the coronavirus pandemic. The deadline for the easier norms was to end on 30 April.

Industry body NASSCOM said the decision to extend the timelines on relaxed norms for other service providers (OSPs) to facilitate ‘work from home’ will help IT and BPO firms plan their strategy of bringing back workforce to offices, in a gradual and phased manner.

SAIL gears up to boost output in post-lockdown period

PSU Maharatna Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is making plans to boost production at all its plants once the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted and the economy springs back to near-normal levels, chairman Anil Kumar Chaudhary said on Wednesday.

“I strongly believe that the demand for steel will take off as the lockdown is lifted. Activities in manufacturing, construction and infrastructure sectors are bound to pick up substantially,” Chaudhary told ANI.

“Since the government is concerned over a slowdown in economic growth, activities in steel-consuming industries are bound to pick up which augurs well for the steel sector,” said Chaudhary.

During the lockdown which began on 25 March, SAIL plants have been operating at half the normal levels. In the first stage, the company plans to enhance this to 75 percent capacity and later synchronise the production with demand.

Fintech startup NIRA raises $2.1 mn in Pre-Series A funding

Bengaluru-based NIRA, a fintech startup offering small ticket loans to blue and grey collared workers, on Wednesday announced that it has closed a $2.1 million in Pre-Series A funding from existing and new angel investors in the UK, Europe, and India.

The funding will be used to add high quality talent to its team, further develop its product and technology, and scale up its lending volumes, it said in a statement.

Co-founded by finance professionals Rohit Sen and Nupur Gupta, NIRA offers loans to working class Indians of up to Rs 1 lakh for up to one year, via its app-based credit line.

Britannia launches WhatsApp-based store locator

Britannia Industries Ltd has launched a Store Locator service to enable consumers to find their favourite Britannia products in stores nearby.

Given the context of the ongoing lockdown, the GPS-based Chatbot publishes a list of stores near the consumer’’s current location, which have been recently serviced by the company, it said in a statement.

The technology solution has been built to swiftly respond to the surge in consumer demand and the consumers’’ increasing need to find the range of Britannia products at close proximity to where they reside, the statement said.

Govt 10-year benchmark bond yield ends at 6.12%

Govt 10-year benchmark bond yield ends at 6.12% Vs previous close of 6.14%#bonds #gilts #yields pic.twitter.com/udd8wtVTBW

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 29, 2020

Mysun raises Rs 32 cr from existing investors to fund expansion

Delhi-based rooftop solar energy platform Mysun on Wednesday said it has raised Rs 32 crore from existing investors in a structured equity deal as part of its pre-Series A round of funding.

The company is looking to raise Rs 250 crore over the next few quarters, it said in a statement.

The company plans to use the capital to further improve its technology infrastructure, scale up the service offerings, and expand to newer geographies, both in India and globally, including parts of Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa, it said.

Sensex above 32,500, Nifty jumps 131 points

Benchmark indices extended gains as Sensex soared 455.23 points or 1.42 percent to 32,569.75 while the Nifty was up 131.50 points or 1.4 percent at 9,512.40 at around 1.40 pm.

Coronavirus Outbreak: Airbus says aviation crisis still at ’early stage’

Airbus reported 481 million euros in losses in the first quarter, put thousands of workers on furlough and sought billions in loans to survive the coronavirus crisis – and its CEO said Wednesday the aviation industry’s unprecedented troubles are still at an “early stage.”

Even after virus-related travel restrictions eventually ease, chief executive Guillaume Faury acknowledged it will take a long time to persuade customers to get back on planes. Just how long, he can’t predict.

Airbus executives expressed hope Wednesday that jet deliveries stalled by the virus could start picking up in the second half of the year. But they refused to issue long-term guidance given that the virus is still spreading, thousands of jets are grounded worldwide and governments are reluctant to relax travel restrictions.

Bharat Financial Inclusion gives Rs 1 cr to PM CARES Fund

Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFIL), a 100 percent subsidiary of IndusInd Bank, has contributed Rs 1 crore to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund).

In addition to this contribution, BFIL has been working to help state governments in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka to get access to essential medical equipment like testing kits, PPEs, and other sanitation requirements and also train frontline health workers to protect themselves against the virus, the company said in a statement.

MR Rao, MD & CEO, BFIL said, “We are witnessing an unprecedented crisis and the entire BFIL family stands in solidarity with the nation. With this contribution to PM CARES Fund and many other initiatives at the grassroots level, we are providing all possible relief to needy people in villages and small towns across India.”

Flower farmers in Meerut say business badly hit during lockdown

Meerut: Flower farmers say that their business has slumped amid #COVID19 lockdown."I'm forced to destroy plants & prepare field for new crop. Around 30 families were dependent on it, but we've suffered losses amounting to Rs 10-12 lakhs", one of farmers, Mahipal Singh said. pic.twitter.com/HMMhidey6t

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 29, 2020

Markets soar at half-time

The stock markets at half-time are soaring ahead as bulls have finally managed to take the index beyond the 9,400-mark comfortably, said Aditya Agarwala, senior technical analyst, YES Securities.

Further, following this 120 point rally on the index, it has reached overbought territory on shorter time frame chart, indicating minor profit booking may be seen in the second half of the trading session also considering Thursday is an expiry session, he said.

“A trade below 9,470 can lead to profit booking to levels of 9,435-9,400. Moreover, it will be important to see if the bulls manage to keep the Index above the 9400 mark in the event of profit booking, failure to do so can lead to profit booking to levels of 9,350-9,300,” said Agarwala.

European markets have opened in the green with marginal gains of around 0.10 percent-0.50 percent for all the three major Indices i.e. FTSE, CAC and DAX, he added.

Fortis rolls out online consultations across 23 hospitals

Fortis Healthcare on Wednesday said it has rolled out online consultations for patients in 23 hospitals across its country-wide network amid the lockdown to contain coronavirus infections.

As the country continues with its lockdown, the step was conceived to continue patient care services without risking the health of patients or doctors, the healthcare major said in a statement.

Both tele-consults as well as video consult services have been running successfully with encouraging response from patients, it added.

“E-consultations are being organised to ensure the continuity of care for post-surgical upcountry patients," Fortis Healthcare managing director and CEO Ashutosh Raghuvanshi said.

Reliance arm hikes stake in US-based SkyTran to 26.3%

Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Ltd (RSBVL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, has increased its stake in US-based SkyTran Inc, a venture-funded technology company developing modern transport modes including personal rapid transit system.

RSBVL had acquired convertible notes in two tranches, the first one on 29 November last year and the second one on 23 March this year which got converted into shares of SkyTran Inc on 27 April upon certain conditions being satisfied.

“Consequent upon this, the shareholding of RSBVL in SkyTran Inc stood increased to 26.31 percent on a fully diluted basis,” Reliance Industries said in regulatory filings at stock exchanges.

Nifty reclaims 9,500 for first time since 16 March

#CNBCTV18Market | Nifty above 9,500 for the 1st time since March 16 pic.twitter.com/qGpiJOYLG3

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 29, 2020

PNB Housing Finance CEO resigns, search for successor in full swing

PNB Housing Finance’s managing director and CEO Sanjaya Gupta has resigned from his post, less than a week before his term was scheduled to end on 4 May.

The board of directors has initiated a process to find his replacement.

“During the search period, the board has appointed Neeraj Vyas, who until now was an Independent Director of PNB Housing Finance, to assume the role of interim managing director and CEO until a successor is appointed,” the company said in a statement.

Vyas is a senior banking professional with over 36 years of experience in banking across a range of diverse functions in both India and overseas.

SHAREit donates Rs 1 cr to feed 5 lakh people

SHAREit-the cross-platform app, has partnered with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to donate Rs1 crore as a part of the initiative which would help feed 500,000 people in need.
 

“Providing meals and groceries to the COVID-19 affected is our way of showing that we are all in this together”, said SHAREit spokesperson Hitesh Dhingra.

Shridhar Venkat, CEO – Akshaya Patra, said, “SHAREit’s contribution will enable us to serve freshly cooked meals and distribute essential groceries kits to thousands of people from vulnerable communities, affected by the nation-wide lockdown.”

Fine dining experiences will never be same again, feel restaurateurs

Fine dining experiences will never be the same again, feel restaurateurs who believe people will be more interested in takeaway and online ordering after the lockdown is lifted.

Restaurants in the city are looking to slash in-house dining capacities by 40 per cent to ensure social distancing norms are followed and also ramp up their tech infrastructure to handle more orders online.

Nitin Kothari, the owner of iconic Peter Cat and Mocambo in Kolkata’s Park Street area, told PTI that seating capacities will be reduced by 40 per cent in his restaurants to ensure enough space between patrons.

All standard safety measures — from keeping sanitisers to making masks mandatory both for customers and staff — will be followed while opening the outlets.

Sensex soars 435 points, Nifty above 9,500  
 

Sensex surged 434.71 points or 1.35 percent to 32,549.23 while the Nifty was up 127.55 points or 1.36 percent at 9,508.45 at around 12.45 pm.
 

Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp and HDFC Bank were the major gainers in the Sensex pack.

Singapore’s first quarter jobless rate highest in a decade

Singapore’s unemployment rate edged up in the first quarter to its highest in more than a decade, as the government warned that labour market conditions were likely to further worsen due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The overall unemployment rate rose to 2.4 percent from 2.3 percent in the previous quarter, data from the manpower ministry showed on Wednesday, the highest rate since the 2009 global financial crisis.

Total employment, excluding foreign domestic workers, fell 19,900 – its sharpest quarterly contraction since 2003 when the country was battling the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak.

Hindalco jumps over 7%

#CNBCTV18Market | Hindalco extends gains, up over 7% pic.twitter.com/oLhWRsPUxY

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 29, 2020

Bharti General Insurance ties up with PolicyBazaar

Bharti AXA General Insurance, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, one of India’s leading business groups, and AXA, the insurance company, today announced its partnership with leading web aggregator PolicyBazaar.com to sell ‘Usage-based Motor Insurance’ policies for private car owners under the regulatory Sandbox project.

The usage-based motor insurance, popularly known as ‘Pay As You Drive’, allows customers to pay the premium depending on how many kilometers the car has travelled.

Under this product, a customer pre-declares vehicle usage for a period of one year.

Accordingly, the insurance premium will be calculated dynamically as per the pre-declared distance in km. The customer can choose from three slabs – 2,500 km, 5,000 km and 7,500 km – as per his/her usage need.

AirAsia not to take jet deliveries this year

Malaysia’s AirAsia Group Bhd said on Wednesday it did not intend to take any new aircraft deliveries this year because of the sharp fall in demand from the coronavirus crisis, and was revisiting its order book with Airbus SE.

Reuters last week reported Airbus had put six jets up for sale after giving up on AirAsia taking delivery of them, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The Asian budget carrier is one of the European manufacturer’s largest customers, with 349 A321neos and 13 A320neos on order that have yet to be delivered, according to the Airbus order book.

AirAsia expects to end 2020 with 242 aircraft in its fleet, down one from last year, executive chairman Kamarudin Meranun said in a statement.

Sensex surges 374 points, Nifty holds 9,450
 

Sensex zoomed 374.19 points or 1.17 percent to 32,488.71 while the Nifty was up 107.50 points or 1.15 percent at 9,488.40 at around 12.15 pm.

Pilots not to get salaries for April, May: SpiceJet

SpiceJet on Wednesday told its pilots that they will not be paid salaries for April and May, and said those who have been operating cargo flights will get paid for “block hours flown”.
 

SpiceJet’s flight operations chief Gurcharan Arora told pilots through an email that ‘as of today, 16 percent of our aircraft and 20 percent of our pilots are flying’.

“We are doing this by flying our five cargo aircraft and also flying more ‘cargo on seat’ on our passenger aircraft,” he said.

The budget carrier has a total of 116 passenger planes and five freight aircraft in its fleet.

Rupee surges to 3-week high of 75.64

#CNBCTV18Market | #Rupee surges to a 3-week high against the US dollar pic.twitter.com/oz3q3LElsl

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 29, 2020

SpiceJet flight carries eight tonnes of medical supplies to Malaysia

Amid the coronavirus lockdown, SpiceJet said on Wednesday that it operated its maiden freighter flight to Kuala Lumpur carrying around eight tonnes of critical medical supplies.

The flight departed from Hyderabad to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia at 11 pm on Tuesday, the budget carrier stated in a press release.

Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet, said, “With the addition of Kuala Lumpur to our international cargo network, SpiceJet is now operating regularly to over fifteen international destinations carrying essential and medical supplies."

India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. All commercial passenger flights have been suspended for this period.