Pre-Session: Market may open lower

24-Jan-18: Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 25.50 points at the opening bell. Investors could book profits today, 24 January 2018, after recent rally.

Overseas, Asian shares were trading lower on profit booking after recent gains. US stocks closed mixed on Tuesday, with market focus shifting from politics to corporate earnings after a government shutdown came to an end on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.7%.

Closer home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1229.35 crore yesterday, 23 January 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 169.03 crore yesterday, 23 January 2018, as per provisional data.

Key benchmark indices extended recent gains to hit fresh record high levels yesterday, 23 January 2018. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 341.97 points or 0.96% to settle at 36,139.98. The Nifty 50 index rose 117.50 points or 1.07% to settle at 11,083.70. Key indices crossed new milestones, with the Sensex mounting 36,000 mark and the Nifty settling above the 11,000-mark for the first time in history. The market gained for the fifth straight day.

~Powered by Capital Market - Live News....

Market Pulse

Buying continued unabated as key benchmark indices extended intraday gains and hit fresh intraday high in early afternoon trade. At 12:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 295.06 points or 0.82% at 36,093.07. The Nifty 50 index was up 103.20 points or 0.94% at 11,069.40.

Shares opened higher as positive leads from Asian markets and overnight gains on the Wall Street boosted investors sentiment. Both, the Sensex and the Nifty hit record high level in early afternoon trade. The Sensex crossed the 36,000 mark and the Nifty crossed the 11,000 mark.

The Sensex rose 309.06 points, or 0.86% at the day's high of 36,107.07 in early afternoon trade, its record high level. The index rose 65.97 points, or 0.18% at the day's low of 35,863.98. The Nifty rose 107 points, or 0.98% at the day's high of 11,073.20 in early afternoon trade, its record high level. The index rose 28.35 points, or 0.26% at the day's low of 10,994.55.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.24%, outperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.63%, underperforming the Sensex. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1,556 shares rose and 1,177 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged. Breadth was quite strong in early trade.

Cement shares declined. Ambuja Cements (down 1.79%), ACC (down 1.25%) and UltraTech Cement (down 0.19%), edged lower.

Grasim Industries was down 0.82%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Telecom shares rose. Reliance Communications (up 5.57%), MTNL (up 2.11%), Idea Cellular (up 1.76%), Bharti Airtel (up 1.07%) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.14%), edged higher.

Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel was down 0.66%.

Rallis India fell 5.22% after consolidated net profit fell 1.6% to Rs 24.94 crore on 18.6% growth in net sales to Rs 390.16 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 January 2018.

V Shankar, Managing Director and CEO, Rallis India said that the company's broad based portfolio of solutions and robust farmer relationship have been instrumental in driving its revenue growth during the quarter. The company's performance in the international business continues to be better than last year due to improving situation in key markets such as Brazil and strong demand for herbicides.

Overseas, Asian shares were trading higher following the stronger lead from Wall Street after US lawmakers reached a deal to end a government shutdown.

Japan's central bank kept monetary settings unchanged on Tuesday and offered a more upbeat view on inflation expectations than three months ago. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) maintained a pledge to guide short-term interest rates at minus 0.1% and 10-year bond yields around zero percent at its two-day rate review that ended on Tuesday. It also kept intact a loose pledge to buy government bonds so its holdings increase roughly at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($722 billion). The nine-member board also kept its price forecasts that project inflation to hit 2% around the fiscal year ending in March 2020.

US stocks ended higher after the Senate reached a short-term compromise to end a government shutdown that began last week. The stopgap bill approved by the Senate on Monday will keep the US government open through 8 February 2018. The House of Representatives subsequently voted and passed the bill to reopen the government, sending it to President Donald Trump for a signature. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%. The S&P 500 rose 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1%.

Today's Calls  (given to my various clients): 

#Positional Buy ABB Ltd in the range of Rs.1570-1590, for  a target of Rs.1730-1770, with a SL below Rs.1515. Book Partial PROFIT at around Rs.1641.

#Intraday Sell Tata Motor DVR around Rs.238.5, SL 241, TGT; Rs. 235-232.

#Sell DHFL at around Rs.623, T: Rs.604, SL: Rs.627. 

#Sell Aluminium at around Rs.142.50, SL above Rs.144, T: Rs.140 on  T+3 basis. Book Partial PROFIT and keep a trailing SL to cost price.

#Short Term buy Chambal Fertilizer at around Rs.157-158, SL below Rs.151; T:Rs.168- 172.

#Buy HDIL at around Rs.60.70, for short term targets of Rs.65-72. The budget is likely to bring some goodies for the Real Estate space. In the last budget, the Affordable Segment was a huge beneficiary, with it being granted Infrastructure status, along with other incentives, such as lower interest rate for loans up to Rs.12 lakh, area being increased and an increased time for construction. Land acquisition is one of the single highest cost contributors to a real estate project. Moreover, since margins in affordable housing are thin, it becomes increasingly difficult for affordable housing developers to buy land at prevailing cost of capital. The Government should make land available at a cheaper cost of capital to promote the affordable housing sector -- one of the expectations of the upcoming budget.

Over and above the high cost of land, GST and other taxes, the end consumer also pays about 5% - 6% Stamp Duty on its purchases in a state like Maharashtra. This varies across different states as a result of which, the consumer pays an additional 18% approximately only in taxes to the government (including GST and Stamp Duty). The government must look at reducing this cost and rationalising and uniforming stamp duty rates across the country. The taxes and stamp duty are a major hindrance to development today.

Now coming to the GST alone, despite input credit being passed on to the customer, with GST @ 12%, there is a marginal increase in the overall cost impact to the consumer. This needs to be revised downwards, to benefit the consumer, leading to a further push in sales volumes. These are some of the measures which is needed to kick start the growth of the now moribund real estate sector.

#The call of NDTV Ltd was given to various clients at around Rs.45-46, banking on the better prospects of the company in the next couple of years. However, I am looking for a short term target of Rs.51-57, for the stock.

#One thing, I would like to mention here is that: wealth will be created in the long term only, provided you follow some basic protocols of equity market, among them is the disciplined use of Stop Losses. I mean if you buy a share based on certain theory and keep on holding with daily or weekly reviews on the same, you will gain more than these daily tit-bits,which most of the stock market participants are interested. Therefore, I always suggest less of daily or short term trading but more of investment based play in the market. 
However, what I find is that most of my clients (and friends) barring say 20% from the group, are more interested in this short term game of buying and selling, which are very risky and in the process they lose wealth at the end of day instead of gaining. 
Yes, short term trading is also necessary and an earning of Rs.1200-1500 on daily basis on a seed capital of Rs.2 lakhs is not bad, however this should not eclipse your main objective of making good profit from your investments through delivery based medium to long term play only. Therefore:
1. Buy a stock based on a story - turnaround stories gives best returns.
2. Check the sector outlook on a regular basis.
3. Keep eye on the changing fundamentals of the sector and of the company (if any).
4. Review your investment decision on this stock, at the end of each day or week. 
5. Exit at the Stop Loss, if the SECTOR OUTLOOK turn SOUR and the stock does not show much improvement in price actions. 
Eg: 
a) The scrip of MCX Ltd at around Rs.844, is likely to face stiff competition from its peers and has more chance of going down or stay range bound, than some giving some meaningful positive returns on the upside. Hence, it is no use of buying the share of Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd  (Rs.844.20) for the long term, unless and until there is marked improved in the future SECTOR outlook.
b) The stock of 3i Infotech Ltd (Rs.7.35) is currently in a sector, whose outlook has turned positive according to some brokerage houses. I mean the sector outlook has changed towards better, which means the shares in this sector would show marked improvement in fundamentals going forward; if we follow the standard protocols of equity investing. 
Moreover, this company which is in the CDR scheme, is also showing positive developments in the fundamentals. Hence, what should you do? You should buy the scrip of 3i Infotech Ltd on everyday declines with a SL at Rs.6.70 and keep holding. I am sure you would thank me after a couple of years.
c) The stock of Federal Bank Ltd (Rs.103), should be accumulated. Why? Because after implementation of the new Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), the outlook of banking sector has turned positive. 
You can see this from the share price of Punjab National Bank Ltd, which is ruling at Rs.186, having made an intraday high of Rs.187.8. Its share price came up from around Rs.162 to the current market price within a few days --- you can check this from the historical prices. Therefore, any concern with asset quality of banks, is likely to come down in future, due to strict implementation of the IBC by the authorities. Hence, you need to accumulate the scrip  of most banks and hold. 
Moreover, if the stock of ICICI Bank Ltd can jump from ~Rs.305 to Rs.364, within a couple of week, the same can happen in this reasonably well managed private sector bank, known as Federal Bank Ltd, which additionally has come out with good set of Q3FY18 numbers. Similar is the case for Central Bank Ltd (Rs.74.5) and Dena Bank Ltd (Rs.26.40).

Market Pulse

Key benchmark indices hovered in positive zone in early afternoon trade on sustained buying demand in index pivotals. At 13.12 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was at 35,643.57 up 131.99 points or 0.37%, while the Nifty was seen at 10,918.10 up 23.40 points or 0.21%. Most capital goods stocks rose. Realty stocks saw mixed trend.

Trading for the week began on a positive note led by gains in Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. A bout of volatility was seen in morning trade as the Sensex and the Nifty trimmed gains after scaling a fresh record highs. Volatility continued in mid-morning trade as stocks regained strength soon after trimming gains from higher levels.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.03%, underperforming the Sensex. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.44%, outperforming the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,458 shares rose and 1,250 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.

Most capital goods stocks rose. GE Power India (up 5.39%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (up 0.62%), BEML (up 0.15%), Bharat Electronics (up 0.87%), Punj Lloyd (up 0.03%) and Siemens (up 0.16%) rose. Thermax (down 1.09%) and ABB India (down 0.47%) fell.

L&T fell 0.09% to Rs 1,370.70. L&T launched the second Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) of a series of seven OPVs for the Indian Coast Guard at the company's greenfield defence shipyard at Kattupalli, near Chennai on Saturday, 20 January 2018. L&T had received the order valued at Rs 1432 crore for design and construction of seven OPVs from the Ministry of Defence in March 2015. The announcement was made during market hours today, 22 January 2018.

The first OPV was launched in October 2017 and is presently undergoing trials. OPVs are long-range surface ships with helicopter operation capabilities, and their roles include coastal and offshore patrolling, policing maritime zones of India, control & surveillance, anti-smuggling & anti-piracy with limited wartime roles.

Realty stocks saw mixed trend. Sobha (up 5.21%), Godrej Properties (up 4.9%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 0.62%), Unitech (up 0.55%) and Oberoi Realty (up 0.7%) rose. DLF (down 0.72%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (down 0.16%), D B Realty (down 2.87%) and Prestige Estates Projects (down 1.9%) fell.

GRUH Finance lost 8.19% to Rs 634.75 on profit booking after a recent rally. Shares of GRUH Finance witnessed a run-up ahead of Q3 results. The stock had surged 38.28% in seven trading sessions to settle at Rs 691.35 on Friday, 19 January 2018, from its close of Rs 499.95 on 10 January 2018. GRUH Finance's net profit rose 28.29% to Rs 82.16 crore on 12.45% rise in total income to Rs 428.47 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced on Saturday, 20 January 2018.

Apollo Micro Systems was trading at Rs 454.10, at a premium of 65.12% over its initial public offer issue price of Rs 275. The stock opened at Rs 478, a premium of 73.82% over issue price. The stock had hit a high of Rs 479.95 and a low of Rs 454.10 so far during the day. The IPO of Apollo Micro Systems was subscribed 248.51 times. The company had fixed the price band of Rs 270-275 per equity share. Apollo Micro Systems is an electronic, electro-mechanical, engineering designs, manufacturing and supplies company.

J Kumar Infraprojects rose 5.9% after the company said it received letter of acceptance (LoA) from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for line 2A architectural station finishing tenders. The first contract is for architectural finishing works of four stations viz. Don Bosco, Shimpoli, Mahavir Nagar and Kamraj Nagar of Line 2A on Dahisar (East) to DN Nagar corridor of Mumbai Metro Rail Project. The contract is worth Rs 28.10 crore. The second order is for architectural finishing works of four stations viz. Charkop, Malad, Kasturi Park and Bangur Nagar of Line 2A on Dahisar (East) to DN Nagar Corridor of Mumbai Metro Rail Project. The contract is worth Rs 28.86 crore. The announcement was made on Saturday, 20 January 2018.

Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading higher as investors kept an eye on political developments in the US after a government shutdown began last week. US stocks on Friday, 19 January 2018 finished higher, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ending at records as optimism over corporate earnings outweighed the US government shutdown.

Republican and Democratic leaders of the US Senate failed to secure a deal on Sunday night seeking to break the impasse that has kept the US government shut down for two days.

Today's Call:

#As expected the shares of 3i Infotech Ltd (Rs.7.35) got the support around Rs.7 and is now about to hit the buyer freeze. Considering the fundamentals of the  company, the investors should accumulate the scrip in every dip from now, for short to medium term targets of Rs.50 and long term target of Rs.100-plus.

#Those who are holding the shares of HDIL (Rs.61) and have averaged yesterday around Rs.60, should now look for targets of Rs.66 -72-84-91.

#Those who are holding the shares of Federal Bank Ltd (Rs.102) can continue to add on every declines. The company came out with good set of numbers for the Q3FY18. SL: Rs.97.

~~with inputs from Capital Market - Live News

Pre-Session:Market may open higher

22-Jan-18: Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 19 points at the opening bell.

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading on a mixed note. US stocks shrugged off the government shutdown drama in Washington and rose to all-time highs on Friday, 19 January 2018 following a report that regulators are close to further easing banking rules.

Back home, trading for the week ended on a buoyant note on Friday, 19 January 2018, with key benchmark indices settling with decent gains and extending their record high hitting streak. The Sensex rose 251.29 points or 0.71% to settle at 35,511.58, its record closing high.

The trading activity on that day showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 988.25 crore on Friday, 19 January 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 209.86 crore on Friday, 19 January 2018, as per provisional data.

Among corporate news,  Asian Paints and Axis Bank will declare their Q3 earnings today, 22 January 2018.

Reliance Industries' (RIL) consolidated net profit rose 25.5% to Rs 9445 crore on 25.7% growth in net sales to Rs 99810 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 19 January 2018.

Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, RIL said that the quarter marks the culmination of its petrochemical expansion projects and the first positive net profit contribution from its newest business line - Digital Services (Jio). Jio's strong financial result reflects the fundamental strength of its business, significant efficiencies and right strategic initiatives, he said. Ambani further added that the company is excited about the prospects of its energy and consumer businesses due to strong growth in Indian markets and constructive macro environment.

Shares of Tata Steel will be focus after the company's board approved to raise Rs 12800 crore through a rights issue of equity shares. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 19 January 2018.

Wipro's consolidated net profit fell 11.85% to Rs 1930.10 crore on 1.82% growth in net sales to Rs 13669 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q2 September 2017. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 19 January 2018.

The company's revenue from IT services in dollar terms in Q3 December 2017 remained flat sequentially and increased by 5.8% YoY. The company expects revenue from IT Services business to be in the range of $2,033 million to $2,073 million for Q4 March 2018.

Abidali Z. Neemuchwala, CEO and member of the board said, the company continued to improve its growth trajectory driven by strong momentum in BFSI and uptick in Healthcare. This is also reflected in its outlook for Q4 March 2018. Wipro's leadership in Digital continues to strengthen with over 25% of its revenues now coming from Digital, Neemuchwala added.

Jatin Dalal, Chief Financial Officer said, the company has made strong progress in its client mining with number of clients contributing revenues over $50 million increasing from 33 to 41 in the last 1 year. In the first 9 months of FY 2018, Wipro generated robust operating cash flows over the same period last year, Dalal added.

ONGC and HPCL will be in spotlight. ONGC on Friday, 19 January 2018, approved acquisition of the entire 51.11% shareholding of Government of India (GoI) in HPCL, at a cash purchase consideration of Rs 473.97 per share with a total acquisition cost of Rs 36915 crore. The parties expect to complete the transaction before end of January 2018. The announcement was made on Saturday, 20 January 2018.

Cipla said it has completed the divestment of entire equity stake held by its wholly owned subsidiary Cipla Holdings B.V., Netherlands in Cipla Croatia d.o.o, Croatia. Consequently, Cipla Croatia d.o.o has ceased to be a subsidiary of Cipla Holding B.V. with effect from 19 January 2018. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 19 January 2018.

~~Powered by Capital Market - Live News

WINNING STROKES

Trading for the week ended on a buoyant note as dream run on the Dalal street continued, with key benchmark indices settling with decent gains and extending their record high hitting streak. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 251.29 points or 0.71% to settle at 35,511.58. The Nifty 50 index advanced 77.70 points or 0.72% to settle at 10,894.70. The Nifty crossed the psychological 10,900-mark for the first time in its history. Both the Sensex, and the Nifty, hit record high levels in intraday as well as on closing basis.

Firmness in global stocks and GST council in its latest meet slashing the tax rate on 54 services and 29 items and also simplifying return filing process for businesses boosted sentiment. The market gained for the third straight day.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.77%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.88%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1,464 shares fell and 1,422 shares rose. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 5494.83 crore, lower than turnover of Rs 6015.23 crore registered during the previous trading session.

Most realty stocks gained. D B Realty (up 4.97%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 4.42%), Unitech (up 2.84%), NBCC (up 0.88%), Godrej Properties (up 3.49%), and Oberoi Realty (up 1.19%) edged higher. DLF (down 0.56%), Sobha (down 2.11%), and Housing Development & Infrastructure (HDIL) (down 1.3%) declined.

Severely impacted by various reforms like RERA, GST and demonetisation, the realty sector is reportedly pinning its hopes on Budget 2018-19 for relief measures like lower taxes and infrastructure status for the sector. Industry players are expecting rationalisation of the GST rates from the current 12% to 6% and bringing stamp duty under the ambit of GST. Single window clearances for all approvals and additional tax incentives for first time home buyers are also expected.

Bank stocks also gained. Among public sector banks, Punjab National Bank (up 3.22%), Union Bank of India (up 2.47%), State Bank of India (up 1.98%), Indian Bank (up 1.44%), IDBI Bank (up 0.5%) and Bank of Baroda (up 1.63%) edged higher. Corporation Bank declined 0.51%.

Meanwhile, the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Chaired the 25th meeting of the GST Council in New Delhi on 18 January 2018. The Council has recommended certain changes in GST/IGST rate and clarifications in respect of GST rate on certain goods as per discussions in the 25th GST Council meeting. It slashed the tax rate on 54 services and 29 items, including old and used motor vehicles bio-diesel, while also simplifying return filing process for businesses. Certain policy changes have also been recommended by the GST Council.

Among the macro data in US, first-time weekly jobless claims fell to a 45-year low, dropping by 41,000 to 220,000. Meanwhile, construction of new houses fell 8.2% in December to a 1.19 million annual rate. Permits for future construction were basically flat at 1.30 million. Still, permits, housing starts and the number of new homes completed all hit the highest levels since 2007. A gauge of Philadelphia-area manufacturing fell to five-month low of 22.2 in January, the Philadelphia Fed said.

#The stock of Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd recommended around Rs.132.50, closed at Rs.135.80. Those who have not booked intraday profits yesterday can continue to hold, with the targets of Rs.137-142. 

#The stock of HDIL after breaking a crucial support closed at Rs.60.90 yesterday.  However, the candle stick chart analysis, accompanied by other other parameters do suggest that probably a bottom has been formed. I am looking for an upward target of Rs.65 in the coming days and upon closing above Rs.67.5, we can look for targets of Rs.84-87 in the coming days. Please keep a SL at Rs.59, if the share fails to perform as expected.

#The scrip of 3i Infotech Ltd yesterday closed at Rs.7.03 in the BSE. However, I feel that the stock will  not break the support zone of Rs.6.75-7. After the price stabilizes, the investors can accumulate. The company has been doing well during the last few quarter and it is a turnaround story, where prudent investors should park their funds. 

#Those who are holding the shares of the PRIVATE BANK, Federal Bank of India Ltd (Rs.103.15), can look for targets of Rs111-115 in the coming days. If the government tweaks with the FDI limit, then it will be one of the beneficiaries among the private banking space. The company came out with excellent set of Q3 number, but somehow the bear operators were able to invade the minds of the investors with asset quality argument, even though the management seems to be confident regarding its bright future. 

#Now, one thing I would like to mention here: the contents of this blog is for information purpose only and is also suitable for person who already have some experience in the market. This blog assumes that you are already a seasoned trader in the market with at least 5-6 years of experience. It is not for novices and fly  by night stock market traders, who think that making money from the market is as easy as buying vegetables from a local shop. Therefore, my suggestion for this band of traders, would be to not to follow this blog blindly in the hope of making big in the short term. We have spent decades here - if you are thinking that you will become Ashish Chugh or Porinju Veliyath, in matter of 2--3 years because you are an MBA Finance or a CA or an ICWAI or have done some courses on the stock market, then there cannot be a greater fool than you and all those who are rallying behind you. 

I have been writing in this blog, since more than a decade, before that I was writing in Yahoo and Google Groups and before that in the form of a Financial Journalists in Bombay and before as an investor in mutual fund and securities; even then I make mistakes. Therefore, the things are not that easy as it looks from a distance. Lot of hard work goes in the choice of stocks and more importantly taking split second decisions regarding them, based on chart patterns and available fundamental information; plus source based inputs. 

The point which I am trying to hammer is that: I give some frameworks here, based on some data which you should use to do your own research to come out successful in the market. Or else you should take the hep of experts to analyse the points mentioned here. Novices, should therefore, not send me personal messages in the Facebook or write silly questions on my timeline like why NDTV Ltd has fallen below the recommended price or why HDIL is not moving up -- without understanding that a stock cannot move up as soon as it is recommended here or it cannot move up daily; because there are so many factors at play which influences the prices of shares in the short to long term..... 

Moreover, if you have an equity capital of around Rs,2 lakhs, then come to me with demat account from any brokerage house, we will make money through daily and short term trading too - on profit sharing basis. This  is the best time, as the market has given some directions now and it is more predictable at present than it was 1 year down the line. 

If you are unable to pay the high yearly subscription charges for Premium Membership, then I feel this is the best alternative to make money, with joint effort. Lot of my clients have been making money, through daily and short term trading since sometime -- you can also join this group. I have eliminated the need to open a demat account with BMA Wealth Creators for this option, after lot of requests came from the blog readers in this front. Having said, this you need to keep a minimum deposit of Rs.25000 (negotiable) with me, to start trading on profit sharing basis. This money would be refunded once, you leave my service. I am forced to take this step, because of some dishonest traders/investors/punters who come make money with my 24x7 help but escape without paying for my hard work. 

~~ with inputs from Capital Market - Live News

Market Pulse

Key indices extended initial gains and hit fresh intraday high in morning trade. At 11.26 am IST, the Sensex was seen trading at 35,392.81 up 132.52 points, while Nifty is seen at 10,841.80 up 24.80 points  or 0.23%. Firmness in most Asian stocks and GST council in its latest meet slashing the tax rate on 54 services and 29 items and also simplifying return filing process for businesses boosted sentiment.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.43%, underperforming the sentiment. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.7% outperforming the sentiment.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,388 shares rose and 976 shares fell. A total of 82 shares were unchanged.

Telecom stocks declined. Reliance Communications (down 2.89%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 3.77%), MTNL (down 0.57%) and Idea Cellular (down 0.79%) declined.

Bharti Airtel fell 0.91% after consolidated net profit fell 16.50% to Rs 560.70 crore on 12.93% decline in net sales to Rs 20318.60 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 18 January 2018.

Bharti Airtel's consolidated earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 11.5% to Rs 7587 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016.

Shares of Bharti Infratel dropped 0.29%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.

Cement stocks were mixed. Shree Cement rose 0.42%. ACC (down 1.14%), Ambuja Cements (down 1.25%), and UltraTech Cement (down 1.62%) declined.

Grasim Industries advanced 0.2%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Healthcare Global Enterprises jumped 6.08% after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) yesterday, 18 January 2018, notified that the foreign investment limit for investment by Foreign Portfolios Investors (FPIs) in the company has increased from 24% to 100% of its paid up capital. HealthCare Global Enterprises has passed necessary resolutions of its board of directors and general body.

Further, owing to the above increase in the investment limit, it is notified that the aggregate shareholding by FPIs in HealthCare Global Enterprises has gone below the prescribed FPIs investment limit for the company. Hence, the restrictions placed on the purchase of shares of the above company by FPIs are withdrawn with immediate effect.

Meanwhile, the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Chaired the 25th meeting of the GST Council in New Delhi yesterday, 18 January 2018. The Council has recommended certain changes in GST/IGST rate and clarifications in respect of GST rate on certain goods as per discussions in the 25thGST Council meeting. It slashed the tax rate on 54 services and 29 items, including old and used motor vehicles bio-diesel, while also simplifying return filing process for businesses. Certain policy changes have also been recommended by the GST Council.

Overseas, most Asian stocks gained although losses on Wall Street slowed the advance. Investors continue to watch the latest US budget battle on Capitol Hill, where uncertainly over a possible partial government shutdown this weekend continues. Legislation to avoid a US government shutdown at midnight on Friday advanced in Congress as the House of Representatives on Thursday night approved an extension of federal funds through 16 February, although the bill faced uncertain prospects in the Senate.

US stock benchmarks finished lower yesterday, 18 January 2018, pressured by worries over the possibility of a partial government shutdown, as investors sorted through a fresh batch of quarterly earnings results.

First-time weekly jobless claims fell to a 45-year low, dropping by 41,000 to 220,000. Meanwhile, construction of new houses fell 8.2% in December to a 1.19 million annual rate. Permits for future construction were basically flat at 1.30 million. Still, permits, housing starts and the number of new homes completed all hit the highest levels since 2007. A gauge of Philadelphia-area manufacturing fell to five-month low of 22.2 in January, the Philadelphia Fed said.

Today's Calls: 

#Intraday Sell Hindalco Industries Ltd at around Rs,255-254, T: Rs.249, SL: Rs.256.6. Alternatively those who have entered the stock around Rs.79-81, on my recommendation couple of years back should book profit and exit the counter. You can again enter around Rs.228-229. The point is though global copper consumption is likely to be higher by about 3% and the capacities have been shut down in China because of environmental reasons while fundamentally demand is picking up; but in India we are also having imports into India from the ASEAN countries with whom India is having an FTA. This is putting a big challenge because of two-three reasons; one is that for the FTA countries, the duty has become zero on copper imports. The second, smelting business is a huge working capital intensive business and for example, the size of its Indian operations need about Rs.10,000 to Rs.15,000 crore of working capital. The cost of working capital in India is relatively higher compared to the developed or the ASEAN countries. For example, in Japan, it is almost zero and that really poses a big challenge for the Indian producers. This is likely to put pressure on Indian copper producers in the short term. Hence, book profits now and enter later when the things look a little from here.

#The shares of 3i Infotech Ltd (Rs.7.05) should get the final support in the range of Rs.6.75-7. In this global IT company who's who of the Indian Corporate world and big shots hold around 52.11% stake. The company came  out with good set of numbers for Q3FY18.
In absence of any negative news it seems those who entered earlier, at around Rs.5 is offloading their holdings, leading to the stock hitting the lower boundaries set by the exchanges. Fundamentals of a company cannot change so fast that it warrants, repeated LCs.  This is an investment grade scrip as it has large institutional investors, whose list is giving below, holding stakes:
Financial Institutions/Banks hold 31.61%,
Insurance Companies hold 1.63%,
Foreign banks hold 14.65%,
Reliance Capital holds 1.85%,
SREI Equipment Finance Ltd holds 1.01%,
Tata Capital Financial Services Ltd holds 1.75%,
MACSF Epargne Retraite hold 3% and
Energy Management hold 3%.
The Company recently announced that it has allotted 26,39,09,361 equity shares of Rs.10 each and 44,49,82,211 0.10% Cumulative Non-Convertible Redeemable Preference Shares of face value Rs.5 each ('Class B Preference Shares') at par on a preferential basis to Srei Multiple Asset Investment Trust, a category II alternative investment fund within the meaning of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Alternative I.nvestment Funds) Regulations, 2012 (on behalf of or for appropriation to its scheme, Vision India Fund) on January 15, 2018. It is a board managed company like ITC Ltd, Subex Ltd, etc and doing fine under the current leadership. The stock would soon start hitting the upper circuits -- accumulate on declines. I am looking for targets of Rs.50-plus in the coming days. Start accumulating when the share price stabilizes, which I strongly feel will be around Rs.7.

#The stock of Federal Bank Ltd (Rs.102.40) is consolidating around the support of Rs.102-103. The company came out with good set of numbers for the Q3FY18, though there were some concerns regarding its asset quality. I am looking for a short term target of Rs.115-117. Federal Bank  Ltd is a private bank like ICICI Bank or HDFC Bank. Therefore, Stay Invested.

#The stock of Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (Rs.60.60) is likely to find support around Rs.59-60 ranges. The company is in final stages of  negatiation with Union Bank of India. We can again look for targets of Rs.65-66, before the January,  '18 expiry. Those who have not exited at the stop  loss or have booked profit earlier, can accumulate around Rs.60.

#Investors can buy the stock of Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd at around Rs.132.5, for a short term targets of Rs.137-141. The Finance Minister is like to give a thrust on the agriculture sector in the upcoming union budget; the said recommendation is based on that premise.

~~ with inputs from Capital Market - Live New

Market Pulse

Firmness persisted on the bourses in mid-morning trade on sustained buying demand in index pivotals. At 12.21 IST, the Sensex is seen at 35,450.27  up 368.45 points or 1.05%, while the NSE was trading at 10,870.70 up 82.15 points or 0.76%.

Gains were triggered on reports indicating that the government is mulling a proposal to hike foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the banking sector. Positive Asian stocks also underpinned sentiment.

Domestic stocks saw gap-up opening following positive Asian cues. Stocks held firm in morning trade after the Sensex and the Nifty hit fresh record high levels in morning trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was off 0.17%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.36%. Both these indices undeperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,382 shares rose and 1,244 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.

Overseas, Asian stocks extended this year's stellar run, following their US counterparts higher amid optimism for global growth. US stocks rose to fresh highs yesterday, 17 January 2018 as companies continued to indicate the tax overhaul will boost earnings this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average staged a late rally to end above 26,000 for the first time ever.

The Fed's Beige Book indicted that the outlook for 2018 remains optimistic for a majority of contacts across the country. As for the much vaunted tax cuts, only businesses in Chicago and Dallas were excited over the Republican tax plan, while districts along the East Coast were worried about higher taxes from the new limits on deductions for mortgage interest and property and state income taxes, reports indicated.

Back home, private bank stocks led gains among banking stocks on reports the government is mulling a proposal to allow 100% (foreign direct investment) FDI in private banks. Increasing the permissible limit for FDI in public sector banks to 49% from the current 20% is also being considered, reports indicated. Raising the permissible limit for FDI in the banking sector could reportedly improve services and help meet minimum capital requirements. At present, FDI of up to 49% is allowed in private banks without the permission of the government, and upto 74% can be invested with the government's approval.

Among private bank stocks, HDFC Bank (up 2.85%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.96%), RBL Bank (up 1.16%), ICICI Bank (up 1.02%) and IndusInd Bank (up 2.92%) gained.

Yes Bank advanced 3.15% ahead of its Q3 December 2017 result today, 18 January 2018.

Axis Bank rose 1.54% after the bank hiked its lending rates based on marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 5 basis points across all tenors with effect from 18 January 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 17 January 2018.

Axis Bank said that the bank's MCLR for overnight loans will be 7.85%, for one month will be 7.85% and for three months will be 8.05%. The MCLR on 6-month loans will be 8.2% and for one-year loans the rate would be 8.3%, the bank said. MCLR for two-year loans would be at 8.35% and loans with three-year maturity would carry an MCLR of 8.4%, the bank said.

Among PSU bank stocks, Dena Bank (up 3.52%), UCO Bank (up 1.75%), Punjab National Bank (up 0.71%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.52%), IDBI Bank (up 1.4%) and Union Bank of India (up 0.14%) rose. Canara Bank (down 0.8%) and Bank of India (down 1.48%) fell.

State Bank of India (SBI) rose 1.22% after the bank said that the executive committee of central board (ECCB) approved the proposal for issuance of long term bonds of Rs 20000 crore for financing of infrastructure and affordable housing in domestic and overseas market in FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 17 January 2018.

Most FMCG stocks rose. Dabur India (up 1.17%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 3.1%), Marico (up 0.71%), Nestle India (up 0.44%), Britannia Industries (up 0.44%), GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.57%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 0.32%) and Jyothy Laboratories (up 3.13%) rose. Tata Global Beverages (down 0.1%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (down 0.31%) and Bajaj Corp (down 0.5%) fell.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) slipped 0.19% to Rs 1,369.20. The stock was volatile. It hit high of Rs 1,405 so far during the day, which is also a record high for the counter. The stock had hit a low of Rs 1,366.60 so far during the day. HUL's net profit rose 27.7% to Rs 1326 crore on 10.8% increase in net sales to Rs 8323 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 17 January 2018.

HUL's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 24% to Rs 1680 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016.

HUL's chairman Harish Manwani said that the company delivered another strong performance in the quarter, with broad based growth across categories and further improvement in margins. HUL remains positive about the mid-term outlook of the industry and will continue to invest strongly in its core brands and developing categories of the future. There are early signs of commodity cost inflation and the company will further sharpen its focus on cost effectiveness programs and manage its business dynamically for competitiveness and sustained profitability.

Varun Beverages rose 1.26% after the company said that its board approved to acquire franchisee rights for PepsiCo India's previously franchised sub-territory in Bihar. Upon completion of this acquisition, Varun Beverages will be a franchisee for PepsiCo products across 20 states and 2 Union Territories of India. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 17 January 2018.

Thirumalai Chemicals rose 6.53% after consolidated net profit rose 241.02% to Rs 51.46 crore on 39.27% increase in net sales to Rs 345.62 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 17 January 2018.

Today's Call: 

#Buy 25th January, Expiry option of Rs.110 of Federal Bank Ltd at Rs.1, for a target of Rs.1.5. As mentioned above, the government is mulling a proposal to allow 100% (foreign direct investment) FDI in private banks. Increasing the permissible limit for FDI in public sector banks to 49% from the current 20% is also being considered, reports indicated. Raising the permissible limit for FDI in the banking sector could reportedly improve services and help meet minimum capital requirements. At present, FDI of up to 49% is allowed in private banks without the permission of the government, and upto 74% can be invested with the government's approval.
Brokerage firm Sharekhan said, "Performance of Federal Bank was a mixed bag with strong net interest income (NII) growth of 20 per cent y-o-y in Q3 FY2018, but high slippages. Federal Bank's results were impacted by weak asset-quality performance which eclipsed an otherwise reasonable operating performance. Going forward, we expect the growth trajectory and higher asset utilisation to aid the bank's return ratios. As overall demand improves in the Indian economy, credit offtake (aided by low interest rates) would be conducive to well-managed players such as Federal Bank. We maintain our Buy rating on the stock with a revised price target of Rs 135." 
Money Control writes: The knee jerk reaction in the stock post results and the near-term weakness is an opportunity to accumulate as the bank seems to be doing a decent job on most other parameters.
If you are buying the shares of Federal Bank, then you can do the same at around Rs.104, for a short term target of Rs.115. SL: Rs.101.

#Accumulate the shares of 3i Infotech Ltd at Rs.7.45 for targets of above Rs.50. The company offlate has been doing excellently well.

#Intraday BUY ZINC at around Rs.217.70, SL below Rs.217.00, T: Rs.219.00. Zinc prices edged up to their highest in more than a decade, supported by potential shortages and low inventories, but some investors voiced concern about the lofty levels. Three-month zinc on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.3% at $3,426 a metric ton in official midday trading on Monday, having earlier touched a peak of $3,440 a ton — its highest since August 2007, Reuters reports.

~~with inputs from Capital Market - Live....

Central Bank of India: Buy

CMP: Rs.74.15

Target: Rs.83-87

Introduction: Established in 1911, Central Bank of India was the first Indian commercial bank which was wholly owned and managed by Indians. The establishment of the Bank was the ultimate realisation of the dream of Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala, founder of the Bank. Sir Pherozesha Mehta was the first Chairman of a truly 'Swadeshi Bank'. In fact, such was the extent of pride felt by Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala that he proclaimed Central Bank of India as the 'property of the nation and the country's asset'. He also added that 'Central Bank of India lives on people's faith and regards itself as the people's own bank'.

During the past 106 years of history the Bank has weathered many storms and faced many challenges. The Bank could successfully transform every threat into business opportunity and excelled over its peers in the Banking industry.

In line with the guidelines from Reserve Bank of India as also the Government of India, Central Bank has been playing an increasingly active role in promoting the key thrust areas of agriculture, small scale industries as also medium and large industries. The Bank also introduced a number of Self Employment Schemes to promote employment among the educated youth.

Among the Public Sector Banks, Central Bank of India can be truly described as an All India Bank, due to distribution of its large network in all 29 States as also in 6 out of 7 Union Territories in India. Central Bank of India holds a very prominent place among the Public Sector Banks on account of its network of 4715 Branches, 1 Extension counters, along with 10 Satellite Offices (as on November 2017) at various centres throughout the length and breadth of the country

Customers' confidence in Central Bank of India's wide ranging services can very well be judged from the list of major corporate clients such as ICICI, IDBI, UTI, LIC, HDFC as also almost all major corporate houses in the country.

Shareholding Pattern: The promoters hold 81.91%, while the general public holds 18.09%. Among the general category, the Financial Institutions/Banks hold 13.38% while the Life Insurance Corporation Of India  holds 13.36% of the shares of the company.

In addition to this the other insurance companies hold 0.33%, while Foreign Portfolio Investors hold 0.32%% of the shares of the company. Apart from this the Corporate Bodies hold 2.17% while India Infoline Ltd holds 1.47% of the shares of the company, leaving very little on the plate of the retail investors. This increases the valuation of the share price of the company for the obvious reasons.

Triggers:
#Themarket cap of the Central Bank of India is only Rs.14,590.86 crore as against H1FY18 revenues of Rs.13767.04 crore, making it one of the best bets among the PSBs. It has a book value of Rs.89.59, as compared to the CMP of Rs.74.15.

#The Central Bank of India holds 2.39% in SIDBI, whose valuation could be around Rs.300 crore considering that Nabard bought 7% stake in Sidbi from IDBI Bank for Rs.900 crore, in last October.

#The company will hold an EGM on 2nd February, '18,  to consider allotment of 3,88,45,460 equity shares of face value of Rs.10 each to the President of India on preferential basis for cash at an issue price of Rs.83.15 per equity shares including premium of Rs.73.15 per equity share, aggregating to upto Rs.323 crores.

#The government last October announced Rs.2.1 lakh crore capital infusion for state-owned banks – Rs 1.35 lakh crore from bonds, Rs.18,000 crore from budgetary support and the remaining Rs.58,000 crore through share sales.
On the face of it, the move will ease PSU banks’ capital deficiency (especially following asset quality pressure and the impending transition to Basel III norms) and marginally encourage lending. However, to start with, it will largely address asset quality stress and act as precursor to consolidation.b

#RBI has stepped has accelerated the NPA resolution issue, by taking errant companies to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). This will make the balance sheets of banks look much healthier in the coming months, albeit with large hair cuts in place.

#Most Indian banks are flush with liquidity, post the demonetization exercise and lack of appetite for credit in the system. This has resulted in banks ending up investing most of this liquidity in government securities, driving the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) bond holdings of banks above the minimum requirement by up to 700 basis points. Now, as the economy picks up steam, the banks are likely to push credit with more ease and systematic manner under the eagle eyes of the RBI.

#Ownership pattern of PSBs banks are likely to change dramatically in the coming days. Approximately 27% of the new equity will be issued to the public, the remaining 73% being brought in by the government (58:153). The government holding of all PSBs will move up and this will technically be the unintended third nationalisation drive. This is likely to increase the confidence of not only the shareholders, but also the customers, who use banks for everyday transactions.

#The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) were at 17.27% of gross loans by September 30, 2017. The gross NPAs were 13.70% of the gross loans at the end of the same quarter a year earlier.
Likewise, net NPAs or bad loans jumped to 9.53% as on September 30, 2017 from 8.17% a year ago, it said in a regulatory filing. However, these things have happened and the stock corrected. Now with the amended IBC in code, in future the share price is likely to get a forward kick.

Conclusion:  The government is likely to incentivise the efficiently managed PSBs and create larger size banking entities to avoid a repeat of the current problems. Hence, we need to be a little choosy, while picking up names from the PSB basket.

Moreover, according to the the latest information available on internet, 37% of the portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway's is made up of banking stocks; many of which are believed to have been selected by CEO Warren Buffett himself.  Buffett initially purchased shares of American Express during a banking panic in the 1960s. Additionally, M&T Bank was purchased in the wake of the Savings and Loan Crisis in 1991.
Following this trend, when the government of India is making all-round efforts to do away with the NPA crisis, I believe, it is the best time to invest in PSB counters especially when they are trading at a fraction of their future valuations, apart from the being reasonably safe bets; albeit with government patronage.

Meanwhile, though the RBI has placed Central Bank of India under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) Framework, the former said that placing banks under this system will not affect their normal operations. The Reserve Bank of India statement comes in the wake of media reports about the closure of some public sector banks, post their being placed under the PCA framework.

Terming the PCA as one among the various “measures/tools to maintain sound financial health of banks,” the RBI said that the framework involves “monitoring of certain performance indicators of banks as an early warning exercise and is initiated once such thresholds as relating to capital, asset quality, etc., are breached.”

The PCA is intended to help banks take timely corrective measures, including those prescribed by the RBI. The PCA framework also keeps the RBI focussed on such banks by engaging with their managements in ‘trouble areas’. It encourages banks to avoid risky activities and focus on conserving capital to strengthen their balance-sheet. So, the worst seems to be over in case of Central Bank of India.

On the daily candlestick chart, after a long fall, a hammer pattern has been formed. The RSI has taken a support around 41 and oscillators are in the oversold region. Therefore, buy the scrip of Central Bank of India Ltd at around Rs.74-74.50, for short term targets of Rs.83-87. SL: Rs.71.

Market Pulse

Key benchmark indices edged higher in early trade despite negative trend in Asian stocks. The BSE  Sensex is now trading at 34,900.88 up 129.83 points or 0.37% while Nifty is seen at  10,731.40 up 30.95 points or 0.29%. IT stocks led gains on the bourses.

Among the secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.19%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 0.39%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1,014 shares declined and 679 shares rose. A total of 54 shares were unchanged.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose 0.9% after the company announced that its wholly-owned subsidiaries have reached an agreement with Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Allergan plc (together known as the companies) to resolve the patent litigation regarding submission of an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for a generic version of Linzess (Linaclotide capsules) in the US. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 16 January 2018.

Pursuant to the terms of the settlement, the companies will grant the wholly owned subsidiaries of Sun Pharma, a license to market a generic version of Linzess in the United States beginning 1 February 2031 (subject to US drug regulator's approval) or earlier under certain circumstances. As a result of the settlement, all Hatch-Waxman litigation between Sun Pharma and the companies, regarding the Linzess patents, will be dismissed. Additional details regarding the settlement were not disclosed. The agreement is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Hindustan Unilever fell 0.09% ahead of its Q3 results today, 17 January 2018.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises dropped 0.5% ahead of its Q3 results today, 17 January 2018.

Overseas, Asian stocks stepped back from a record high as the region's resource shares were dented by falling oil and commodity prices while digital currencies tumbled on worries about tighter regulations.

Japanese orders for machinery surged to their highest level in a decade in November. Cabinet Office data showed core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, grew 5.7% in November from the previous month.

US benchmark indices pulled back from lifetime highs set earlier in the session to end mostly lower yesterday, 16 January 2018, on likely profit booking amid concerns over the possibility of a government shutdown, reports said. On the data front, the Empire State manufacturing survey slipped to 17.7 in January from a revised 19.6 in December, the New York Fed said.

Today's Call:

#Buy Idea Cellular Ltd at around Rs.101-102, SL: Rs.97, for short term Target of Rs.115-117.  Idea Cellular and Vodafone India, which are currently negotiating a merger to create India’s largest telecom operator, are likely to start operating as a single unit from April, Mint reported on 15 January.

#The stock of 3i Infotech Ltd (Rs.7.75) which is currently in the lower circuit broke the immediate support at around Rs.7.90-8. However, it can at best go to Rs.6.75-6.98, from where definitely a bounce would come, if today it does not close above Rs.8. I feel the share of 3i Infotech Ltd may not go two low from here; in view of the buoyancy in the IT stocks following twin reasons of upgradation of ratings for Infosys, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies to OVERWEIGHT by of the sector by global brokerage firm Morgan Stanley and a slight depreciation of the INR Vs USD. Yesterday, the Nifty IT index jumped 3.65% to 12,430.95 with 9 out of 10 constituents ending in the green and 1 in the red. There is no apparent reason for the scrip hitting lower circuits, except some chartical (technical) adjustments. Therefore, the medium to long term investors should accumulate in intraday declines.

#Buy Housing Development & Infrastructure Ltd or HDIL, 25th January, '18, CALL of Rs.70, at Re.0.95. T: Rs.2. Housing Development & Infrastructure's (HDIL) Finance Committee of the Board at its meeting held on January 12, 2018, approved the allotment of two crore warrants at an issue price of Rs.70.5 per warrant to Sarang Wadhwan, promoter of the company.
The promoters had also been allotted two crore warrants on November 14, 2017. The total promoter holding as of Q2FY18 was 36.49% out of which 12.1% is pledged. The total promoter shareholding after the exercise of the warrants would rise to ~42%. This is a positive development for the company. Capital infusion by promoters increases the confidence in future prospects of the company.
HDIL as of Q2FY18 had Land reserves of 199.29 mn sq.ft.
HDIL has operations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) with projects in Residential (65%), Commercial and Retail (6.4%) and SRA (28.6%) as of Q2FY18. It is one of the largest land bank owner in MMR region. Management is now focusing more on affordable housing segment through which it plans to launch apartment in Berkeley square (Ghatkopar) with a price range of Rs.50lacs to Rs.1 crore from Jan 2018.

#Buy Dena Bank Ltd at around Rs.25.35, T: Rs.27-29. SL: Rs.23.7.

#Buy Central Bank Ltd at around Rs.74, T: Rs.83, SL: Rs.72.5...Most of the Bank stocks are moving up today. Both the banking counters are likely to follow this trend.

~~with inputs from Capital Market - Live News....

WINNING STROKES

IT Sector was buoyant today

Key benchmark indices settled with modest losses led by decline in index pivotals Reliance Industries, ITC and HDFC. However, gains in Infosys, TCS and ICICI Bank cushioned steep losses on the bourses. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 72.46 points or 0.21% to settle at 34,771.05. The Nifty 50 index fell 41.10 points or 0.38% to settle at 10,700.45.

Bank stocks edged lower. Metal and mining stocks dropped. Realty stocks declined.

Indices opened with small gains and hovered in the positive terrain near the flat line till morning trade. Stocks slipped into the red in mid-morning trade but soon pared losses. The market once again reclaimed positive terrain in early afternoon trade, however, once again drifted lower in afternoon trade. Indices slipped into the red again after staging recovery in mid-afternoon trade. Indices swung between gains and losses in late trade.

The Sensex lost 72.46 points or 0.21% to settle at 34,771.05, its lowest closing level since 12 January 2018. The Sensex rose 92.52 points or 0.27% at the day's high of 34,936.03 in morning trade. The index fell 107.96 points or 0.31% at the day's low of 34,735.55 in mid-afternoon trade.

The Nifty 50 index lost 41.10 points or 0.38% to settle at 10,700.45, its lowest closing level since 12 January 2018. The Nifty gained 20.80 points or 0.19% at the day's high of 10,762.35 in morning trade. The index declined 53.70 points or 0.5% at the day's low of 10,687.85 in mid-afternoon trade, its lowest level since 12 January 2018.

Among the secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.74%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 2.21%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 7648.82 crore, higher than turnover of Rs 5271.95 crore registered during the previous trading session.

The broad market depicted weakness. There were more than three losers for every gainer on BSE. 2,223 shares declined and 749 shares rose. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries lost 2.54% to Rs 923.50.

Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC dropped 2.06% to Rs 261.75.

Index heavyweight and housing finance major HDFC fell 1.14% to Rs 1,848.70.

Bank stocks edged lower. Among PSU bank stocks, IDBI Bank (down 5.24%), Syndicate Bank (down 4.41%), Central Bank of India (down 1.67%), Andhra Bank (down 3.84%), State Bank of India (SBI) (down 2.02%), Punjab National Bank (down 4.03%), Bank of Baroda (down 4.27%), Canara Bank (down 4.39%), Bank of India (down 3.65%) and Union Bank of India (down 2.19%) fell.

Among private bank stocks, Axis Bank (down 0.35%), RBL Bank (down 1.46%), Yes Bank (down 0.61%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 0.63%) and IndusInd Bank (down 0.69%) fell. ICICI Bank (up 1.43%) and HDFC Bank (up 0.48%) rose.

Federal Bank lost 7.51%. The bank's net profit rose 26.43% to Rs 260.01 crore on 6.76% growth in total income to Rs 2729.83 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 15 January 2018.

The bank's ratio of gross non-performing assets (NPAs) to gross advances stood at 2.52% as on 31 December 2017 as against 2.39% as on 30 September 2017 and 2.77% as on 31 December 2016. The ratio of net NPAs to net advances stood at 1.36% as on 31 December 2017 as against 1.32% as on 30 September 2017 and 1.58% as on 31 December 2016.

The bank's provisions and contingencies rose 2.27% to Rs 162.43 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016.

Metal and mining stocks dropped. Steel Authority of India (down 5.99%), Bhushan Steel (down 5.07%), Vedanta (down 2.7%), Tata Steel (down 2.16%), NMDC (down 3.82%), Hindalco Industries (down 2.4%), JSW Steel (down 1.32%), Hindustan Zinc (down 2.06%) and National Aluminium Company (down 8.37%) edged lower. Jindal Steel & Power gained 1.01%.

In the upcoming budget 2018-19, the metal industry is expecting a push for use of indigenous products, encouraging Make-in-India and increased spending on infra project including housing for all and roads.

Buying activity was witnessed in IT stocks. HCL Technologies (up 4.61%), Infosys (up 3.93%), and Wipro (up 4.88%) edged higher.

TCS gained 3.77% after the company announced the launch of TCS HOBS (Hosted OSS/BSS), a TM Forum certified platform for digital enterprises, on Microsoft Azure. The announcement was made during market hours today, 16 January 2018. The cloud ready TCS HOBS platform will enable customers to get to market quicker and benefit from a pay-as you-use commercial model.

Separately, TCS said that M&G Prudential, the UK and European savings and investments business of Prudential plc, entered into a new agreement with the company to digitally transform their business and deliver enhanced service for its UK savings and retirement customers. The value of the agreement exceeds 500 million pounds or $690 million over 10 years and covers the support of over 4 million customer policies. The announcement was made during market hours today, 16 January 2018.

Tech Mahindra rose 2.56% after the company said that it partnered with ContextSpace Solutions, a privacy research and development firm based in Israel, to develop the world's first global software privacy ecosystem, MyData Shield. Providing a comprehensive approach to data protection thereby delivering privacy by design and by default, the cloud-based software privacy ecosystem enables corporate software developers and start-ups to meet tough, global privacy and data protection regulations.

By 2020, over one-third of all data will live in or pass through the cloud, with data production in 2020 being estimated at 44 times greater than it was in 2009.Tech Mahindra issued the press release on its website yesterday, 15 January 2018.

Realty stocks declined. Indiabulls Real Estate (down 5.95%), Unitech (down 8.06%), Sobha (down 1.63%), Oberoi Realty (down 0.67%), DLF (down 3.67%), HDIL (down 2.67%) and Phoenix Mills (down 3.56%) edged lower.

Severely impacted by various reforms like RERA, GST and demonetisation, the realty sector is reportedly pinning its hopes on Budget 2018-19 for relief measures like lower taxes and infrastructure status. Industry players are expecting rationalisation of the GST rates from the current 12% to 6% and bringing stamp duty under the ambit of GST. Single window clearances for all approvals and additional tax incentives for first time home buyers are also expected.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company rose 3.81% after net profit rose 5.2% to Rs 231.76 crore on 9.60% increase in total income to Rs 2019.77 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced during trading hours today, 16 January 2018.

Delta Corp surged 3.62% after consolidated net profit jumped 344.7% to Rs 44.74 crore on 62.6% growth in total income to Rs 170.10 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 15 January 2018.

Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals lost 10.23% after the company said that it has indefinitely closed its TDI-II plant at Dahej following leakage. The announcement was made during market hours today, 16 January 2018.

GNFC said that in the morning on 15 January 2018, there has been a sudden leakage at TDI-II plant, Dahej, which called for plant shutdown at Dahej. Due to safety measures already put in place by the company over a period of time, neither there is any property damage nor any loss of life, GNFC said.

However, as a matter of abundant precaution, management has decided to close the plant indefinitely till the root cause is thoroughly analysed, reviewed and necessary further safety measures to be taken are fully evaluated in addition to current safety precautions, the company said.

Among macroeconomic data, exports rose 12.36% to $27.03 billion in December 2017 over December 2016. Imports rose 21.12% to $41.91 billion in December 2017 over December 2016. The trade deficit for December 2017 was estimated at $14.88 billion as against the deficit of $10.54 billion during December 2016.

Overseas, most European stocks edged higher as investors awaited the release of corporate earnings. On macro front, the trade surplus in the 19 countries sharing the euro expanded in November to its highest point in eight months. The European statistics office Eurostat said the euro zone's surplus in goods trade rose in unadjusted terms to 26.3 billion euros in November, up from 18.9 billion euros in October. It was also higher than the 23.8 billion surplus recorded a year earlier.

Asian stocks gained, erasing early losses amid announcements of corporate earnings. US stock markets remained shut yesterday, 15 January 2018, for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

#Today, the stocks of 3i Infotech Ltd (CMP: Rs.8.15), inspite of coming out with decent set of numbers since the last few quarters, hit the lower circuit, due to some chartical (technical) adjustments and should not be a cause for worry. 

On the other hand most of the IT heavyweights reaped solid gains during the session after global brokerage firm Morgan Stanley upgraded ratings for Infosys, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies to overweight. The Nifty IT index jumped 3.65% to 12,430.95 with 9 out of 10 constituents ending in the green and 1 in the red. The share of 3i Infotech Ltd is expected to bounce from around Rs.7.9-8 levels and move northwards, for shot term targets of Rs.13-19.

#The shares of HDIL today touched Rs.66 intraday before closing at Rs.63.85. The real estate sector has been battling the triple shocks of demonetization, RERA and GST. The sector is yet to show significant signs of recovery, new figures from the capex-tracking database of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) show.. Project announcements in the December quarter plunged to their lowest since 2005, marking a fall of 91% from the year-ago period, the data shows. The property developers are hoping that in the ensuring budget, there would be  a revision in GST rate. A buyer of an under-constructed property faces an effective GST rate of 12% since it is considered as availing of services from the builder. But a sale of a completed property is not considered as rendering of services. 

Credit Suisse, in a December note, said the price arbitrage between under-construction and fully constructed houses has gone up significantly due to GST tax, slowing down of sales of under-construction houses and squeezing of developers' balancesheets. 

The demand for the sector remained sluggish, with seven top cities sitting on an unsold inventory of 6,85,000 housing units by the end of September quarter. As per Cushman & Wakefield, the housing sector witnessed a 35% fall in new supply across eight major cities to about 74,000 units in 2017. Launches of low-cost homes rose a modest 6% during the year. RERA requirements have pushed back launches by developers who are unable to meet the eligibility criteria, Credit Suisse said. 
Developers are also pushing for abolition of stamp duty, which continues to remain in force, even after implementation of GST. Granting of infrastructure status to the real estate sector for the affordable housing sector was the biggest highlight of the 2017 Budget.

On the positive side: Home loan rates have fallen by more than 250 basis points over the last two years and the race to acquire market share in affordable housing has only heated up more. This is all the more so given the government’s push to affordable housing. To make the housing market more inclusive, the NDA government has offered heavy subsidies on mortgage loans to buy what are now called affordable homes. And this has been the fastest growing slice of the mortgage loan pie since FY16. Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the government offers interest subsidy of 6.5% to economically weaker sections on their home loans. These are individuals with income of up to Rs.3 lakh are the biggest beneficiaries of the interest subsidy.

~~with inputs from Capital Market - Live News...