Sensex, Nifty choppy in early trade ahead of May series expiry

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Indian benchmark equity indices opened on a flat note on Thursday as banks and financials offset the gains in IT stocks. Markets are likely to remain volatile today as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month May series to June series. At 9:53 am, Sensex was at 51,004.04, down 13.48 points or 0.03%, while Nifty was a little changed at 15,302.25.

Tech Mahindra, TCS, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma and Titan were the top gainers on the Sensex rallying up to 1.7%. On the other hand stocks like Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance were the laggards slipping anywhere between 0.50-1.21%.

On the sectoral front, the Nifty IT index rose 0.41% and Nifty Auto and Nifty Realty indices were up 0.19% and 0.10% respectively. Whereas Nifty Bank slipped 0.30%, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Metal indices were marginally down up to 0.14%.

In the broader market, BSE Midcap lost 0.13% and BSE Smallcap was up 0.07%. Bulls & bears are fighting hard as 929 scrips advanced and 818 stocks declined and 504 shares remained unchanged.

Earnings today

Eicher Motors, Sun Pharma, Cadila Healthcare, IRB Infrastructure Developers, 63 Moons Technologies, Ador Fontech, Aegis Logistics, Amrutanjan Health Care, Axtel Industries, Banaras Beads, Bharat Bijlee, Borosil, Dixon Technologies, Elecon Engineering, Everest Industries, Fine Organic Industries, Goodyear India, Gujarat Pipavav Port, GRM Overseas, Greenlam Industries, Garware Hi-Tech Films, Gujarat State Fertilizers, GTL, Hawkins Cookers, HEG, India Grid Trust, Infibeam Avenues, Jindal Saw, Kalyan Jewellers, KIOCL, Kopran, Mangalam Organics, Metropolis Healthcare, Modern Converters, Navneet Education, Nocil, Page Industries, PC Jeweller, The Phoenix Mills, Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers, Redington (India), Solar Industries, Strides Pharma Science, Suryoday Small Finance Bank, Themis Medicare, Thomas Cook, Tower Infrastructure Trust, TTK Healthcare, UCO Bank, Wockhardt and others will release their quarterly earnings today.

Stocks in spotlight

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 10,301.31 crore in Q4 FY21 as against a net loss of Rs 1,847.37 crore in Q4 FY20. Net sales during the quarter increased by 11.13% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 76,679.85 crore.

The board of directors of BPCL recommended a final dividend of Rs 58 per equity share (including a one-time special dividend of Rs 35 per equity share) for the financial year ended 31st March 2021.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced that it has partnered with LACChain, an initiative led by IDB Lab, the innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, to drive the development of a blockchain ecosystem across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Separately, TCS said it is working with VIAVI Solutions, a global provider of network test, measurement and assurance solutions, to launch new test solutions that address the industry’s need for comprehensive testing of next-generation disaggregated 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) products.

Kotak Mahindra Bank said that the meeting of the board of directors of the bank is scheduled on 29 May 2021 to consider the proposal for seeking the consent of the board for issuance of Unsecured, Redeemable, Non-Convertible Debentures/Bonds/other Debt Securities, on private placement basis, in Indian/ foreign currencies, in domestic and/or overseas markets, in one or more tranches.

Adani Enterprises said the company has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary namely, Mahanadi Mines and Minerals (MMMPL) on 25th May 2021 to own. develop and operate mines of various minerals.

Karnataka Bank’s standalone net profit rose 14.83% to Rs 31.36 crore on a 12.48% fall in total income to Rs 1,790.70 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

Cummins India said consolidated net profit fell 0.56% to Rs 169.31 crore on a 16.5% rise in total income to Rs 1,349.57 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

Pricol said consolidated net profit dropped 93.43% to Rs 1.40 crore on a 44.44% rise in total income to Rs 447.26 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

ASM Technologies announced a Managed Service Provider (MSP) agreement with the Netherlands-based EclecticIQ, a world-leading threat intelligence, hunting and response technology company, for EclecticIQ Endpoint Response, an Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) technology.

Global markets

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mostly lower on Thursday as investors reacted to the release of Chinese industrial profits data for April.

Earnings at China’s industrial firms grew at a slower pace in April. Profits at China’s industrial firms rose 57% year-on-year in April to 768.63 billion yuan ($120.22 billion), down from year-on-year growth of 92.3% in March, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday.

U.S. stocks closed out Wednesday’s session with modest gains as recent comments from Federal Reserve officials helped tamp down concerns about runaway inflation. Shares of companies linked to a recovering economy gained.

The optimism on the economy comes as U.S. average daily Covid cases fall below 25,000 and as nearly half the U.S. population has received at least one vaccination dose.