Closing bell: Domestic equity benchmark indices edged lower on Friday, dragged by information technology stocks.

The NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.54 per cent to 11,914.40, while the S&P BSE Sensex ended down 0.53 per cent at 40,359.41.

The Nifty IT index led losses as it fell nearly 2 per cent as the rupee firmed against the US dollar. Also, according to traders, fall in IT stocks amid reports of changes in US work visa requirements aimed at protecting American workers fuelled the overall weakness in the market. IT heavyweight Infosys dropped 2.85 per cent, while shares of Tata Consultancy Services shed 2.41 per cent.

The market breadth was negative as 1,321 shares declined against the advance of 1,238 shares, while 192 shares were unchanged.

Bharti Infratel was the top loser in the Nifty pack, dropping 4.07 per cent. Infosys, TCS, Asian Paints and UPL too fell up to 2.85 per cent On the other hand, Tata Steel, Eicher Motors, Zee, NTPC and JSW Steel rose up to 4.22 per cent.

On the sectoral front, except for Nifty metals and media indices, which rose 2 per cent respectively, all others ended either in red or flat.

Nifty sectoral indices at 3 pm

Dr Reddy's launches Doxercalciferol injection in US market

Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Friday announced the launch of Doxercalciferol injection, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the generic therapeutic equivalent of Hectorol (doxercalciferol) injection.

Coal supply to power sector by CIL drops over 8 per cent in April-October

Supply of coal by state-owned Coal India (CIL) to the power sector registered a decline of 8.5 per cent to 253 million tonnes in the April-October period of this fiscal.

Fuel supply by Coal India in the year-ago period was 276.8 million tonnes (MT), according to official data. Read more here

Malaysia's Petronas not to participate in Aramco IPO

Malaysian state energy company Petronas said on Friday it will not participate in Saudi Aramco's initial public offering, expected to be the world's biggest share sale. Read more here

Embassy Office Parks REIT raises Rs 650 cr via private placement of debentures

Embassy Office Parks REIT on Friday announced it has successfully priced and allotted by way of a private placement, Rs 650 crore of rupee-denominated, listed, rated, secured, redeemable and non-convertible debentures. The NCDs will be listed on the Wholesale Debt Market of the BSE Limited.

The NCDs (Series I Tranche II NCDs) carry a face value of Rs 1,000,000 with a yield to maturity of 9.05 per cent and will mature in June 2022.

DHFL: RBI appoints 3-member advisory panel to support administrator

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday appointed a three-member Advisory Committee to Advise the Administrator of the financially troubled Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd . Read more here

Investments via P-notes rise in October after registering fall for 4 months

After declining for four consecutive months, investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market marginally rose to Rs 76,773 crore at the end of October. Read more here

Nifty Call: Sell in rallies with stop-loss at 11,950 levels

The Sensex and the Nifty began the session in negative territory and continued to decline after an initial up-move. Both the indices have fallen about 0.6 per cent each. The global markets are showing mixed cues. The market breadth of the Nifty index is biased towards declines. On the other hand, the India VIX has gained 3.5 per cent to 15.5 levels. Read more here

Lupin launches smart device to support the treatment of respiratory disease

Pharma major Lupin Limited on Friday announced the launch of “ADHERO,” a new connected smart device for metered-dose inhalers. This first-of-its-kind device is designed to help patients with chronic respiratory diseases to track their MDI usage and facilitate improved adherence to therapy.

Inhalers are the preferred treatment option for managing the rising incidence of Chronic respiratory diseases like Asthma and COPD in India. However, it is estimated that nearly 45 per cent of patients do not adhere to therapy which adversely impacts clinical outcomes and patient quality of life.

The new device, ADHERO, is designed to improve patient adherence to therapy. Lupin has collaborated with Aptar Pharma, a provider of drug delivery devices, components and services in bringing this first in the class device to market.

₹2.53-lakh cr loans disbursed by PSBs in October: Finance Ministry

At the end of the second and last phase of the customer outreach initiative, which was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in September, public sector banks (PSBs) had, in aggregate, disbursed loans worth ₹2.53-lakh crore, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday.  Read more here

Centre plans to sell RITES shares via OFS

The Centre proposes to sell 2.50 crore shares of RITES , representing 10 per cent of the total paid-up equity capital of the company, to non-retail investors on Thursday, and on Friday to retail investors, through the offer-for-sale mechanism on the BSE and the NSE.

The issue, with a base size of ₹733.50 crore, has an option to additionally sell up to 1.25 crore shares in case of oversubscription.

The floor price has been fixed at ₹293.50. Marketmen will closely monitor the response to the issue.

Alembic gets USFDA nod for Deferasirox tablets

Alembic Pharmaceuticals on Friday announced it had received approval from US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for its abbreviated new drug (ANDA) Deferasirox tablets. The drug is used for the treatment of chronic iron overload due to blood transfusions.

It has now a total of 107 ANDA approvals (95 final approvals and 12 tentative approvals) from USFDA.

The company's shares are quoting at Rs 551 apiece, up 3.20 per cent at noon trade.

Power sector: Focus on other pain points

On the face of it, media reports painted a scary picture. One report mentioned that as many as 262 thermal power units had shut down operations by early November. Many of them have been shut for weeks. Another report said Coal India’s output fell to its lowest in six years in September on account of heavy rains. Not just that. Its coal shipment that month was a five-year low.

Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data revealed that the plant load factor (PLF) of thermal units in the April-September 2019 period (at 57.67 per cent) was the lowest in a decade. Even worse, by end-September it had dropped further to 51 per cent. Click here to read the insight

Media stocks advance for the third day; Network18 up 11%

The Nifty Media index rose 2.01 per cent led by Network 18 shares, which rose over 11% for a second consecutive day on reports of its deal talks with Japanese media giant Sony Corp. It was trading 2.01 per cent up at 1988.45 at noon trade.

Shares of Zee Media (up 4.85 per cent), TV18 Broadcast (up 4.32 per cent), Saregama (up 3.69 per cent), and Zee Entertainment (up 3.16 per cent) were the top gainers in the media index.

Dish TV (up 2.21 per cent), Music Broadcast (1.70 per cent), Jagran Prakashan (up 0.79 per cent), and DB Corp (0.75 per cent) too were trading higher.

NTPC shares gain 3%

The public sector thermal power producer NTPC Ltd was up 3.08 per cent intraday and topped the gainers' list on the Nifty index on Friday.

The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given in-principal approval for the sale of Government's holding in NEEPCO (100% - GoI holding ) and THDC India Ltd (75% holding) to NTPC.

The share touched its 52-week high of Rs 145.85 and a 52-week low of Rs 106.75 on July 1, 2019 and February 13, 2019, respectively.

IT shares trade lower; Infosys down over 2%

The Nifty IT index led losses as it fell nearly 2% as the rupee firmed 0.05% against the US dollar. It currently trades at 1.90 per cent lower at 15,002.75 at 11.25 am.

IT heavyweight Infosys dropped nearly 3%, while shares of India's second-most valuable company Tata Consultancy Services shed 1.75%.

Tech Mahindra (down 2.38 per cent), HCL Technologies (down 2.05 per cent), Hexaware (down 1.83 per cent), Tata Elxsi (down 1.28 per cent) and Mindtree (down 1.24 per cent) too were trading lower.

The benchmark NSE Nifty50 index was down 48 points at 11,920.40 while the BSE Sensex was down 162.01 points at 40,413.16.

L&T receives self certification go-ahead by Ministry of Defence

L&T Valves, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, has received the ‘Green Channel Status’ from the Indian government. Click here to read more

Broker's call: Ashok Leyland (Buy)

We expect the M&HCV segment to witness strong rebound in 2HFY21E and FY22E, post ongoing down cycle. Healthy agri output due to favourable monsoon, reversal of investment cycle, sizeable incremental capex on account of government’s tax relief for new investment are expected to bring back cheers for the economy in FY21E. Read more here

Laurus Labs in focus as USFDA inspection ends

Laurus Labs on Thursday said the US drug authority USFDA has completed the pre-approval inspection for an API manufactured at its units 1 & 3, at JN Pharma City, Parawada, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, with three observations, which are procedural in nature.

“No data integrity issues were observed in the inspection,” it further said. The inspection was carried out from November 18-21.

The stock may remain in focus, as investors will follow further developments.

Broker's call: Atul Auto (Buy)

Key takeaways:  a) The company has a run rate of 4,000-5,000 units a month at 76 per cent utilisation. It has put up a 60,000-unit plant, which would commence in Mar’20. This new capacity would also cater to demand in the southern and northern regions. We expect the scale-up to take 1.5 years and expect the entire 120,000 capacity to be available by FY22. Read more here

Rising broker defaults: How to claim your money

Defaults by brokers in India’s stock markets is on the rise. In a majority of cases, it has been found that distressed stock brokers who have lost heavily, often in the derivative segments, even offload client collateral to fulfill their obligation to the clearing corporation. The proceeds from the sale of client shares is not returned to the ultimate beneficiary.

The Allied Financial and IL&FS cases are the most recent examples of such practice. As of now, there is no segregation of client and broker collateral placed with the clearing corporation. Read more here

CSB Bank IPO: Should you subscribe?

Amid the ongoing challenges in the banking sector, the initial public offering (IPO) of CSB Bank (formerly known as Catholic Syrian Bank) lends little comfort. Kerala-based CSB Bank is one of the oldest private sector banks, with a focus on SME, gold loans and an NRI client base.

The bank moved into the black in the first half of the current fiscal, and its capital position got a boost in FY19 and this fiscal from the ₹1,200-crore investment by FIH Mauritius Investments (FIHM) — a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairfax India Holdings Corporation— at ₹140 per share. Click here to read our recommendations

Broker's call: HDFC (Buy)

JM Financial

With the subsidiaries coming of age, we believe the solid core HFC story of HDFC has got lost in translation. Currently, the core HFC is trading at its low historical valuation of 1.35x one-yr fwd PBV.

HDFC is a compelling BUY opportunity given

a) superior liability franchise with the largest deposit base within the NBFC space,

b) best placed to benefit from lower rates and normalisation of credit spreads going ahead (c.130bps credit spread on 3-year paper vs 90bps two years ago),

c) poised to maintain retail home loan market share while selectively increase market share in corporate segment especially developer finance as 35% of the overall market (incl. banks) is either defocusing/recalibrating their strategy/reeling under capital constraints,

d) ability to maintain spreads over the years despite an increase in the share of low yielding individual loans by 400bps over the last two years to an all-time high of 76% and

e) best in class asset quality in a challenging environment with the possible monetisation of investments providing an adequate cushion against asset quality shocks (for, e.g. Bandhan Bank stake is valued at Rs 8,400 crore which is 2.2x NS3 assets as of Sep’19).

We expect AUM CAGR of 13% over FY19-21E with earnings CAGR of 17%. HDFC is our top pick in the HFC space and a compelling BUY with a target price of Rs 2,700.

Broker's call: NTPC (Buy)

JM Financial

Cabinet committee of economic affairs (CCEA) has given in-principal approval for the sale of Government's holding in NEEPCO (100% - GoI holding ) and THDC India Ltd (75% holding) to NTPC. 

Impact on NTPC:  Acquisition of these new capacities (including under-construction) adds c.5 GW (10% of NTPC capacity) of mostly hydropower assets to NTPC’s largely coal dominated asset base. THDC is the better assets with superior RoEs while NEEPCO is sub-optimal. Hence, its acquisition value should also reflect the same. Also, a higher debt-funded acquisition would be more value accretive for NTPC, given it has access to low-cost debt. We find both additions to be earnings accretive for NTPC at the fair value and with a) NTPC’s strong balance sheet (FY19 net D/E at 1.3x) and b) annual profits of INR 100- 120bn these are easily funded from 2-3 years of internal accruals.

Daily Rupee call: Initiate long position at 71.9

On Thursday, the rupee (INR) ended the session with a marginal gain. It closed at 71.76 versus its previous close of 71.81 against the dollar (USD). Even though the exchange rate of USDINR remains within a broad range between 71.6 and 72, the currency pair traded in a tighter range between 71.7 and 71.9 in the past two trading sessions, continuing with its sluggish price action. Read more on the technical call here

Will Finolex Cables’ expansion plan help?

Finolex Cables , manufacturer of electrical and communication cables, has introduced a fast-moving range of electrical wire accessories such as door bell, extension box, spike guard, angle holders, batten holders, etc.

The company has been steadily expanding into the electrical segment with products such as electric water heaters, fans, MCBs, switches and lighting products.

The company had posted a profit of ₹123.12 crore and revenues of ₹715.76 crore for the second quarter of FY20.

CSB Bank IPO: OMERS emerges as the single largest anchor investor

OMERS Administration Corporation (OAC Custody Account – SCV6) has emerged as the single-largest anchor investor in CSB Bank's initial public offering (IPO), getting an allocation of 37.97 per cent of the equity shares available for allocation under the Anchor lnvestor Portion.

OMERS is one of Canada's largest defined benefit pension plans, with $97 billion in net assets (as on December 31, 2018).

The bid price at which the Anchor lnvestor Portion of 94,54,080 equity shares got subscribed was Rs 195 per share, according to CSB Bank's regulatory filing.

Opening bell: The Indian equities open flat with negative bias on Friday amid persistent worries over the status of trade negotiations between the US and China.

Worries that a 'phase one' trade deal between the US and China may not happen until next year weighed on Wall Street, pulling the S&P 500 down 0.16 per cent to 3,103.54. The Dow Jones ended 0.2 per cent lower at 27,766.29, and the Nasdaq Composite closed 0.24 per cent lower at 8,506.21.

The Sensex is down 29.43 points at 40,545.74 while Nifty is down 11.95 points at 11,956.45. About 535 shares have advanced, 341 shares declined, and 48 shares are unchanged.

Day Trading Guide for November 22, 2019

Given below are supports and resistances for Nifty 50 futures and seven key stocks that can help in your intra-day trading:

₹1283 • HDFC Bank

₹713 • Infosys

₹245 • ITC

₹131 • ONGC

₹1537 • Reliance Ind.

₹331 • SBI

₹2117 • TCS

11974 • Nifty 50 Futures

S1, S2 : Support 1 & 2; R1, R2: Resistance 1 & 2.

Today's Pick - IRB Infrastructure Developers (₹85.3): Buy

The stock of IRB Infrastructure Developers surged 12.2 per cent accompanied by extraordinary volume, breaking above a key resistance at ₹80 on Thursday. Investors with a short-term perspective can buy the stock at current levels as the outlook is bullish. Click here to read the technicals

Asian shares up from 3-week lows, but trade uncertainty capped the gains

Asian equities rose on Friday, bouncing from a three-week low touched a day earlier, but gains were capped by persistent worries over the status of trade negotiations between China and the United States.

Early in the Asian trading day, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.12%. The index had fallen as much as 1.41% on Thursday, hitting its lowest level since October 30, on concerns that U.S. legislation on Hong Kong threatened to undermine trade talks between the world's two largest economies. Read more here

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