Sensex jumps 294 points; Nifty near 15,250; SBI up 1.6%

After rallying over 3.7% in the last week benchmark Indian equity indices continued their uptrend on Monday as new Covid cases were less than 2,50,000 cases and mixed global cues. In opening trades, Sensex was trading at 50,834 rallying 294 points or 0.58% and the broader market Nifty 50 surged 68 points or 0.45% at 15,244.

SBI, Powergrid, ICICI Bank and HDFC twins were the top gainers jumping in the range of 1-3.10%. Whereas stocks like Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, M&M, HUL and Titan were the laggards losing up to 1%.

Barring Nifty Metal and Nifty FMCG indices all other sectoral indices were trading in the green. Nifty Pharma index soared 0.99%, Nifty Bank rose 0.77%, Nifty Auto and Nifty IT indices rose  0.41% and 0.32% respectively.

The market breadth was positive as 1,258 stocks advanced compared to 529 shares declined and 508 scrips unchanged. The boarded market mirrored the gain of benchmarks as BSE Midcap rose 0.53% and BSE Smallcap index rose 0.70%.

Earnings today

Grasim Industries, The Ramco Cements, Mahanagar Gas, Poly Medicure, Lakshmi Machine Works, Balaji Amines, The India Cements, JSW Holdings, JK Paper, Barbeque-Nation Hospitality, Ramco Industries, Dalmia Bharat Sugar & Industries, IG Petrochemicals, Sundaram Finance Holdings, Shanthi Gears, Taj GVK Hotels & Resorts amongst others will be declaring their quarterly results today.

Stocks in spotlight

Hero MotoCorp announced that it is gearing up towards a gradual resumption of operations by starting production at all its manufacturing plants in India from 24 May 2021. The company had already commenced single shift production at three of its plants in Gurugram and Dharuhera located in Haryana and at Haridwar in the state of Uttarakhand from 17 May.

Tata Steel will replace ONGC in S&P BSE Sensex from June 21.

Shree Cement reported 49% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 798.43 crore on 23.1% rise in net sales to Rs 4204.88 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. The company’s board has recommended final dividend of Rs 60 per equity share for the year ended 31 March 2021.

JSW Steel reported a net profit of Rs 4,191 crore in Q4 FY21, steeply higher than net profit of Rs 188 crore in Q4 FY20. Revenue from operations increased 50.6% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 26,934 crore during the quarter. Operating EBITDA surged to Rs 8,440 crore in Q4 FY21 from Rs 2,975 crore in Q4 FY20. Profit before tax in Q4 FY21 stood at Rs 6,272 crore, steeply higher than Rs 119 crore in Q4 FY20.

Akzo Nobel reported 37% rise in net profit to Rs 74.25 crore on 34% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 781.35 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

Amara Raja Batteries’net profit jumped 38% to Rs 189.38 crore in Q4 FY21 as against Rs 137.30 crore in Q4 FY20. Revenue from operations rose 33% to Rs 2,102.70 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. Profit before tax (PBT) surged 45% to Rs 258.79 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

Godrej Industries reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 92.22 crore in Q4 FY21 as against a net profit of Rs 103.39 crore in Q4 FY20.Net sales during the quarter increased by 16.3% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2610.69 crore. Total expenditure declined by 10% to Rs 2626.66 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

United Spirits reported a standalone net profit of Rs 167.30 crore in Q4 FY21, steeply higher than net profit of Rs 23.90 crore in Q4 FY20. Net sales during the quarter increased 11.6% YoY to Rs 2224.40 crore, driven by continued off-trade momentum and weaker comparatives, offset by contraction of owned business in Andhra Pradesh (AP) and softer footfalls in on-trade channel.

Natco Pharma has received final approval for lenalidomide capsules of 5mg, 10mg, 15mg, and 25mg strengths from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Lenalidomide capsules are used to treat various types of cancers.

Container Corporation of India (CONCOR)’s net profit slumped 94.1% to Rs 18.58 crore on 23.5% increase in net sales to Rs 1,956.69 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020. On a consolidated basis, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals’ net profit surged 144% to Rs 249.08 crore on 48.3% jump in net sales to Rs 1522.05 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.

Dr. Lal PathLabs reported 161% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 85.10 crore in Q4 FY21 as against Rs 32.6 crore in Q4 FY20. Revenue rose 42.9% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 431 crore during the quarter. The company’s non-COVID business grew at a growth rate of 26.8% YoY in Q4 FY21.

Birlasoft’s net profit rose 43.3% to Rs 98.98 crore on 0.5% fall in net sales to Rs 902.86 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.

CCL Products (India)’s net profit rose 16.6% to Rs 49.20 crore on 25.3% rise in net sales to Rs 331.58 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.

Global markets

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mixed on Monday, as investors anxiously awaited a key read on U.S. inflation this week for guidance on monetary policy.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher Friday, while other major benchmarks slipped on concerns about Federal Reserve policy in the face of rising inflation pressures.

Helping sentiment Friday was a gauge for U.S. manufacturing activity that surged to a record high this month. The IHS Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index jumped to an all-time high of 61.5 in May from 60.5 in April.

However, housing data was soft. Existing-home sales fell 2.7% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.85 million annual rates, according to the National Association of Realtors.

On the coronavirus front, BioNTech’s chief executive reportedly said that the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with U.S. pharmaceutical group Pfizer is likely to be effective against the Indian variant of coronavirus.