Silver may test all-time high of Rs 75,000 a kg this year, say experts. Silver is taking centre stage after a huge rise in its prices over the past few days.
Syngene International rallies 13% in two days; stock nears record high. Shares of Syngene International moved higher by 8 per cent to Rs 472.50 on the BSE on Friday, thus rallying 13 per cent in the past two trading days after the company reported a better-than-expected operational performance in April-June quarter (Q1FY21).
The stock of the pharmaceutical company was trading close to its all-time high level of Rs 474.75, touched on July 7, 2020. In Q1FY21, the company’s revenue was flat at Rs 437 crore compared to the same quarter last year, in line with guidance, due to the temporary suspension of operations during the nationwide lockdown. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) was down 1 per cent at Rs 142 crore over the previous year quarter. EBITDA margin was maintained at 32 per cent , driven by savings in raw material costs and certain operational efficiencies, partially offset by an increase in staff costs. Mphasis rallies 9% on in-line June quarter earnings, new deal win. Shares of Mphasis rallied 9 per cent to Rs 1,072 on the BSE on Friday after the company’s April-June quarter (Q1FY21) earnings came in-line with Street estimate.
Besides, signing of new deal worth $216 million deal in July 2020, in addition to the Q1 TCV declared wins worth $259 million, boosted sentiment. In constant currency terms, the company’s revenues fell 4.6 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) to $305 million. The earnings before interest tax (EBIT) margin, meanwhile, contracted 60 basis points (bps) QoQ was largely due to a drop in the gross margin (200bp QoQ).
Profit after tax fell 22.1 per cent QoQ to Rs 275 crore. “The company has won new TCV (total contract value) of $259 million (includes one large deal of over $100 million) in Q1FY21, which will drive revenues and margins in coming quarters. However, the recent run-up in the stock price coupled with poor DXC revenues in Q1FY21 makes us cautious on the stock, it said. Moody's downgrades Hero FinCorp ratings; outlook revised to negative. Global rating agency Moody's has downgraded Hero FinCorp Ltd's foreign and local currency issuer ratings from “Baa3” to “Ba1” due to severe impact of economic shock triggered by Covid-19 pandemic.
The outlook has been revised to negative from ratings under review. Indian non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) are expected to be affected by the shock given the extensive disruptions to India's economic activity. Today's rating action concludes the review for downgrade initiated on 13 April 2020, Moody’s said in statement. Rating action reflects the impact on Hero FinCorp of the breadth and severity of the shock, and the deterioration in credit quality it has triggered. Economic recovery in India hinges on moratorium duration: Chris Wood. The decision on whether to extend the moratorium on loans till December 2020-end will be a crucial factor in determining the pace of recovery for the economy, banks and the real estate market in India, wrote Christopher Wood, global head (equity strategy) at Jefferies, in GREED & fear — his weekly note to investors.
“A critical question for the banks, the property market and indeed the economy is now whether the moratorium is extended yet again. Still until proven otherwise, investors should probably assume that the moratorium will be extended for another four months to the end of the calendar year,” Wood said. Still a negative from the government’s standpoint, Wood believes, is that such a restructuring would be outside the recently established bankruptcy process, though presumably the special circumstances of Covid-19 could be used to justify the move. Real estate market. IPL to begin from Sept 19 in UAE, final on Nov 8: chairman Brijesh Patel. The eagerly-awaited Indian Premier League will start on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the final slated on November 8, IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel told PTI on Friday.
While the event's Governing Council will meet next week to chalk out the final details and approve the schedule, it is understood that the BCCI has informally intimated the franchises about the plan. "The GC will meet shortly but we have finalised the schedule. ASTHROS Mission: NASA to use football stadium-sized balloon to study Cosmos.
NASA has started work on a new mission to send a telescope, on a football stadium-sized balloon, high into the stratosphere to observe wavelengths of light invisible from the Earth.
The mission will try to find answers about formation of giant stars in the galaxy. The telescope mission called Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution Observations at Submillimeter-wavelengths (ASTHROS) is likely to be launched in December 2023 from Antarctica. It will spend about three weeks drifting on air currents above the icy southern continent, said the American space agency on Wednesday.
Managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ASTHROS will observe far-infrared light, or light with wavelengths much longer than what is visible to the human eye at an altitude of about 130,000 feet (40 km) roughly four times higher than commercial airliners fly. The balloon included a telescope, science instruments, and subsystems such as the cooling and electronic systems. PNC Infratech jumps 9% after bagging two EPC projects worth Rs 1,548 crore. Shares of PNC Infratech surged nearly 9 per cent on the BSE on Friday after the company announced it has bagged two highway construction contracts worth over Rs 1,500 crore, after the Union government cancelled the lowest bid submitted by the Chinese company, Jiangxi Construction.
At 09:25 am, the stock was trading 6.57 per cent higher at Rs 149 on the BSE. It hit a high of Rs 152.35 in the opening deals against Thursday's close of Rs 139.95. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was trading around 0.6 per cent lower at 37,925 levels. In an announcement to the stock exchanges, PNC Infratech said that the company received LOA (letter of award) from NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) for two EPC projects of Delhi - Vadodara alignment of the 8-lane access controlled greenfield expressway for an aggregate contract value of Rs 1,547.80 crore. The bids for these contracts were submitted in January this year and opened in March. INEOS Styrolution tanks 20% as promoter rejects delisting discovery price.
Shares of specialty chemicals company INEOS Styrolution India were locked in 20 per cent lower circuit at Rs 700 on the BSE on Friday after the company's promoter rejected the discovered price of Rs 1,100 for the proposed voluntarily delisting of shares.
The promoter also decided not to make any counter offer, accordingly, the delisting offer is deemed to have failed in terms of the delisting regulations, the company said. “The promoter, namely INEOS Styrolution APAC Pte. Ltd., has decided to reject the discovered price of Rs 1,100 per equity share, determined pursuant to the book building process, and has also decided not to make any counter offer in terms of Regulation 16(1A) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Delisting of Equity Shares) Regulations, 2009, as amended (“Delisting Regulations”),” ICICI Securities said on behalf of INEOS Styrolution India.
China retaliates, tells US to close consulate in Chengdu in growing spat. MARKET LIVE: Indices extend fall, Sensex slumps 300 pts; financials dip. Govt imposes restrictions on public procurement from China, neighbours. The Centre, late on Thursday, amended its General Financial Rules to restrict public procurement from countries which share a land border with India on grounds of national security, a move squarely aimed at China.
Coronavirus LIVE: India cases near 1.3 mn; Maharashtra tally at 347,502. Economic recovery in India hinges on moratorium duration: Chris Wood. Layoffs during pandemic shows India Inc's lack of empathy: Ratan Tata. Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata on Thursday said layoffs by Indian companies amid the Covid-19 pandemic was a knee-jerk reaction and show lack of empathy among the top leadership. “These are the people that have worked for you. These are the people who have served you all their careers. You send them out to live in the rain. No free lunches: Rajan says monetisation by RBI has a cost, not everlasting. Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Thursday said the central bank has been expanding its balance sheet and buying government debt on the back of excess liquidity amid the economic slowdown but cautioned that this comes at a cost and cannot be a lasting solution.
He said central banks in many emerging markets are resorting to such strategies and disagreed with votaries of the "modern monetary theory" who support this, making it clear that there are no free lunches. "The RBI has been expanding its balance sheet and it has been buying government debt. But effectively, in that process, what it is doing is borrowing from the banks at the reverse repo rate and lending on to the government," Rajan said speaking at a conference organised by Singaporean lender DBS Bank. It can be noted that at present there is excess liquidity in the system as people get more risk averse and save more and the demand for credit is sluggish. "When does this process end? Make in India: Govt to offer production linked incentives in more sectors. The government is working on offering production linked incentives for up to five sectors to boost domestic manufacturing, a top finance ministry official said on Thursday, bolstering efforts to attract new investments in the coronavirus-stricken economy.
Asia’s third-largest economy is expected to contract by as much as 10% in the current fiscal year beginning April, some private economists’ estimate, after the outbreak crippled business and consumer activity since late March, compared to government’s earlier target of about 6% growth. The government has announced a raft of measures including direct food subsidy to nearly 810 million people and credit guarantees of Rs 3 trillion ($40.17 billion) on loans to small businesses. Tarun Bajaj, economic affairs secretary at the Ministry of Finance, told a virtual conference that incentives would be offered to sectors to push manufacturing and help struggling industries.
Bajaj didn’t specify the sectors that may be eligible for incentives. No employee will lose job, says Air India, but cuts allowances by up to 50% Unlike other airlines that have laid off a large number of workers, no employee of Air India will lose his job, the national carrier said on Thursday. The largest airline of the country, IndiGo, announced on Monday that it would lay off 10 per cent of its workforce due to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
"Recent decisions of the Air India board regarding rationalization of staff cost were reviewed in a meeting at the Ministry of Civil Aviation this evening. The meeting reiterated that unlike other carriers which have laid off a large number of their employees, no employee of AirIndia will be laid off," the national carrier said on Twitter. Recent decisions of AirIndia Board regarding rationalization of staff cost were reviewed in a meeting at @MoCA_goi this evening.The meeting reiterated that unlike other carriers which have laid off large number of their employees,no employee of AirIndia will be laid off. (1/3) — Air India (@airindiain) July 23, 2020. Amazon in talks to pick up 9.9% stake in Reliance retail arm: Report. Amazon.com Inc is in talks to buy a 9.9 per cent stake in the retail arm of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, ET Now reported on Thursday, citing sources. Amazon wants a preferred, strategic stake in Reliance Retail for JioMart, according to tweets by the television channel.
JioMart, the e-commerce venture of Reliance's retail arm, was launched in May and poses a formidable challenge to Amazon.com's local unit and Walmart Inc's Flipkart. Earlier this year, Amazon India launched a program to add small local shops on its platform after India went into a lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. An Amazon spokeswoman through email said the company does not comment on speculation, while Reliance did not immediately respond to a request for comment. New York Times names COO Meredith Kopit Levien as its new chief executive.
Indian Army: Govt sanctions grant of permanent commission to women officers. The Central government has issued the formal sanction letter for grant of permanent commission to women officers in the Indian Army, paving the way for empowering them to shoulder larger roles in the organisation, Indian Army Spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand said. "The order specifies grant of permanent commission to Short Service Commissioned (SSC) women officers in all ten streams of the Indian Army namely Army Air Defence (AAD), Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), Army Service Corps (ASC), Army Ordnance Corps (AOC), and Intelligence Corps in addition to the existing streams of Judge and Advocate General (JAG) and Army Educational Corps (AEC)," Anand said.
LIVE updates: Over 2.6 mn affected due to floods in 25 districts of Assam. Rajasthan HC can pass order on Pilot, MLAs plea against Speaker's move: SC. The Supreme Court Thursday allowed the Rajasthan High Court to pronounce order on plea of 19 dissident Congress MLAs, including sacked deputy CM Sachin Pilot, against the Assembly Speaker's notice for initiating disqualification proceedings against them, but said that it would be subject to the outcome of the petition before the top court.
ITC Q1 preview: FMCG segment to cushion overall nos; PAT may dip 30% YoY. A steep decline in its cigarette and hotel businesses due to the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to dent the June 2020 quarter (Q1FY21) earnings of the diversified conglomerate ITC, which is slated to announce its numbers on July 24, Friday. The company's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and personal care verticals, analysts say, may perform better as the lockdown kept people indoors, thereby, boosting the demand for ready-to-eat/cook food items, and personal hygiene products such as soaps and sanitisers.
Impact of the lockdown of manufacturing facilities, cigarette inventory levels, the performance of new products / launches, guidance on price and volume, and alternate distribution channels during the lockdown are some of the key monitorables. Air India panel to pick employees to be sent on leave without pay: Report. DATA STORY: India reports its worst single-day death toll of 1,129, nearly half of them in TN. Here are the key takeaways from the coronavirus data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Thursday (July 23, 2020): Sensex ends 269 pts up, Nifty tops 11,200; RIL m-cap crosses Rs 13.5 trn. Delhi HC grants bail to ex-Fortis promoter Shivinder Singh in fraud case.
Make in India: Govt to offer production linked incentives in more sectors. Flipkart acquires Walmart India's wholesale biz to help transform kiranas. E-commerce company Flipkart has acquired 100 per cent stake in Walmart India Private Limited, which operates the Best Price cash-and-carry business. Government likely to extend deadline for BPCL bidding for third time. The government is likely to extend the deadline for bidding for the privatisation of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) for the third time in a row, from the current date of July 31. According to sources, the extension of the timelines for expression of interest (EoI) may well be until international airline services are back in place, as a lot of prospective bidders have expressed concerns regarding the current situation. SpiceJet designated 'Indian scheduled carrier' to operate flights to the US.
No plan to monetise debt for now, GDP may not shrink too severely: DEA Secy. Covid-19 impact: India's GDP to contract 6.1% in FY21, says Nomura. Oil marketing companies invite start-ups to deliver diesel at doorstep. China cannot threaten countries and bully them in the Himalayas: Pompeo. WADA extends suspension of India's dope testing laboratory for 6 months. CARE puts rating for Rana Kapoor family owned firm in default grade. Latest news: US orders China to close consulate in Houston, says Beijing. Markets nudge higher but fund managers have task cut out in assessing firms. Make gradual entry in mkts, understand risks: Sebi chief to small investors. Coronavirus LIVE: India now ranks 7th in death toll; cases at 1,194,888. US business groups file lawsuit, seek to overturn Trump's work visa order.
Khaitans likely to join hands with Burmans to run Eveready Industries. MARKET LIVE: Sensex slips 150 pts, Nifty holds 11,100; Infosys drops 2% Bajaj Auto Q1 profit tanks 53% YoY to Rs 528 cr, EBITDA margin dips to 14% US lawmakers urge China to de-escalate situation with India. SBI Cards rallies 6% to hit record high on healthy June quarter results. Vodafone Idea tanks 9% as SC reserves order on AGR dues' payment timeline. MP Governor Lalji Tandon passes away at 85 from prolonged illness. Rajasthan crisis LIVE: HC to deliver verdict on Pilot camp's plea on Friday. Arvind Lifestyle Brands receives Rs 260 cr from Flipkart for minority stake. Update your Google Chrome browser now to avoid hackers, says CERT-In. Why don't PSBs invoke personal guarantees of promoters: SC on bad loans. EU nations clinch $2.1 trillion budget, $858 bn recovery fund after 4 days. LIVE: Over 23% Delhi residents have Covid-19 antibodies, says sero-survey. N-95 masks with valved respirators ineffective against Covid-19, says govt.
MARKET LIVE: Indices volatile; Sensex up over 400 pts, mid-caps in the red. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's portfolio outperforms; net worth over Rs 10,000 crore. Covid-19 vaccine: Oxford candidate safe, shows immune response in trial. Hero MotoCorp hits 10-month high; stock zooms 93% from March low. Rallis India surges 5% after Rakesh Jhunjhunwala ups stake in June quarter. IL&FS Board looks to resolve 57% of total debt of Rs 99,000 cr. Indian MSMEs on Amazon global selling programme cross $2 billion in exports. Info Edge advances 4%, hits record high on report Policybazaar mulls IPO.
Rajasthan crisis LIVE: Singhvi opposes maintainability of Pilot's plea. Dhanuka Agritech gains 4%, hits 52-week high on share buyback proposal. India's debt to hit 87.6% of GDP in FY21; FRBM target only by FY30: Report. M&M Financial gains 12% on 1:1 rights issues at Rs 50 per share. Glenmark under fire for over pricing, 'misguided' claims of Covid-19 drug. UAE's Hope Probe on course to Mars after successful launch from Japan. Revamp of New Delhi, Mumbai stations on track, outlay pegged at Rs 6,600 cr.
Vodafone Idea pays another Rs 1,000 crore to govt towards AGR dues. New Form 26AS is faceless hand-holding of taxpayers to e-file returns: CBDT. Mumbai's Covid-19 recovery rate better than national average: Data. Tata Sons plans to infuse more funds into Covid-hit group entities. Despite slowdown due to Covid-19, India's food exports up 27% since March. RIL deploys Rs 35,000 crore from Jio stake sales into debt funds. Twitter hacking episode: FBI launches probe amid rising security concerns. TDSAT stays Trai's directions to Voda Idea, Airtel to stop priority service. June FMCG sales back to pre-Covid-19 levels, thanks to rural India: Nielsen. 1.98 mn people flew domestically in June; airline load factor was low: DGCA. Bharat Biotech starts human trials of Covid-19 vaccine in PGI Rohtak.
India lifted 271 mn people out of poverty between FY06-16, says UN report. Not an inch of our land can be taken by any power, says Rajnath in Ladakh. Not an inch of our land can be taken by any power, says Rajnath in Ladakh. Coronavirus LIVE updates: India cases rise to 1,005,760; Delhi 118,645. HCL Tech Q1 profit up 31.7% at Rs 2,925 crore; Shiv Nadar retires. India lifted 271 mn people out of poverty between FY06-16, says UN report. Equity schemes with sizeable cash holdings likely to see limited gains. Pakistan back in China's Belt and Road game with projects worth $11 bn. Solar Orbiter sends closest images of Sun, reveals mysterious 'campfires' Ladakh: Govt says 'intricate' discussions on disengagement continue. Reliance Jio's 2G-free India drive likely to hit Vodafone Idea hard. Residential unit sales at 10-yr low in H1; office vacancy rate at 4-yr high. 174 Indians in US file lawsuit against Trump's proclamation on H-1B visa.
Ladakh: Govt says 'intricate' discussions on disengagement continue. Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine raises hopes with strong trial results. Reliance emerging as bigger threat for US giants like Amazon, Walmart, Zoom. US to restrict visas for Huawei, says it has 'business with rights abusers'