Indian markets surged over 1 percent on Thursday with Nifty closing above 11,550 levels on March F&O expiry, bolstered by financial, IT and realty stocks. The expectation of Reserve Bank of India’s in its monetary policy decision scheduled next week, to slash interest rates to boost spending and the hopes of the current government returning to power also kept the sentiments lifted.

The S&P BSE Sensex settled at 38,545, up 412 points, while the broader NSE Nifty50 ended at 11,570, adding 125 points. Meanwhile, broader markets were in-line with frontline indices with the Nifty MidCap rising 1.2 percent and the Nifty Smallcap advancing 1 percent. Indiabulls Housing Finance, Zee, HCL Tech, Adani Ports, and UPL were the top gainers on the Nifty50, gaining up to 8 percent. while ONGC, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Dr Reddy's, and PowerGrid fell the most on the index.

Nifty Bank ended at record high for the second straight session, up 1.3 percent, with Bank of Baroda gaining over 6 percent and State Bank of India rising 3.4 percent. Among IT stocks, HCL Technologies was the top gainer on the index, advancing 4 percent. TCS rose 2 percent while Infosys gained 1.5 percent. The Index was up 1.7 percent.

Axis Bank gained nearly 50 percent in the financial year 2018-19 (FY19) and the trend is likely to continue, suggest market analysts. The bank has been moving up this year as well and hit a record high of Rs 770 on March 27. The stock has rallied over 23 percent so far in 2019. Brokerages are bullish on the bank's profitability and see more upside ahead.

CLSA has a buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 840 per share. According to the brokerage, the management of the bank has reiterated its target of 18 percent return on assets over three years. It also expects earnings recovery in FY20. READ MORE

The company said no further discussions or decision made by board with respect to strategic investor in its clarification to reports of Pirarmal, Baring PE in talks for a majority stake in company.

The Nifty Midcap Index has gained only 0.66 percent in one year, while shares of Adani Power and Bata India have surged about 100 percent during the same period. Adani Power has rallied nearly 100 percent to Rs 47.40 per share while shares of Bata India jumped about 90 percent to Rs 1,387.30 per share. READ MORE

Rohit Shrivastava, Fund Manager PMS at Sharekhan, expects a lot of setbacks in earnings and believes that could pressurise the market, leading to Nifty falling below 11,000. “Likely to see a lot of setbacks as far as earnings are concerned which is why there will be pressure on the market and you need to be open to the idea that you can head back below 11,000, maybe retest 10,800-10,600,” said Shrivastava. Watch full interview here

IT major Infosys on Thursday said it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Stater NV, a unit of Amsterdam-headquartered ABN AMRO, for 127.5 million euros to expand its financial-service solutions business in Europe. Stater offers end-to-end mortgage administration services in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. ABN AMRO will continue to hold the remaining 25 percent of the shareholding. Shares of Infosys gained 1.5 percent, at the BSE, after the announcement. READ MORE

Mehul Choksi, one of the two businessmen allegedly involved in perpetrating India's biggest ever banking fraud, on Wednesday said he was not a partner in any of the firms under scrutiny for the scam, claiming he had quit them in 2000. In a statement issued by his lawyers, the raids against him were on the basis of "an old and dated 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) document" submitted by him to the Punjab National Bank in 1995.

"Mr Choksi had sought to correct the details of this KYC on several occasions. He was not a partner in any of the firms under scrutiny for the purported scam being investigated at that time. In fact, Mr Choksi had quit all these firms way back in 2000," it said. READ MORE

The government has decided to infuse Rs 5,042 crore into state-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) ahead of merger of two other public sector lenders Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with BoB. The merger of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with BoB would be effective from April 1. The finance ministry through its notification on Wednesday conveyed its decision to infuse capital of Rs 5,042 crore in BoB, the bank said in a regulatory filing. READ MORE

Shares of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation surged about 14 percent to Rs 146.95 intraday on the NSE after CNBC-TV18 reported that Piramal Enterprises is in advanced stages of negotiation to acquire a major shareholding in the company.

Piramal Enterprises may consider strategic interest and could pick some equity in DHFL, sources told CNBC-TV18 earlier, adding it can also buy some retail loans of the firm. The deal may require a significant amount which may be brought in by Piramal through sale of investments, said the sources, who did not want to be named. READ MORE

Mahesh Patil, co-chief investment officer at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, spoke to CNBC-TV18 about sectors to invest and shared his views on auto and FMCG space.

Talking about the consumption theme, Patil said, "The demand in the FMCG sector has not been huge, it was only around 1 percent. Small-ticket consumer discretionary is seeing decent growth than high ticket discretionary consumption." READ MORE

Arvind Sanger, managing partner at Geosphere Capital Management and Richard Harris, chief executive of Port Shelter Investment shared their views on India and global markets.

“To me the Goldilocks for India would be no recession in US and Europe, easing of liquidity conditions by central bankers both in Europe and the US and India’s growth, by comparison, looks even better compared to slower growth on the West,” Sanger said on Thursday.

According to Sanger, Indian market can gain 20-25 percent over the next 12 months, if the economy holds up. READ MORE

The Nifty IT index surged more than 1.80 percent to 15,615.35 on Thursday after the rupee opened Rs 23 paise lower at Rs 69.10 against the US dollar due to the excessive buying in American currency by banks and importers. Except for MindTree, all IT companies remained in the green territory. Shares of HCL Technologies rose 3.25 percent intraday on the NSE while Infosys surged 2.05 percent, Tech Mahindra gained 7.96 percent and TCS rose 1.88 percent. READ MORE

Lyft Inc on Wednesday raised the price range for its initial public offering, as investors looked past the ride-hailing startup's mounting losses to the company's growing market share against larger rival Uber Technologies Inc.

Lyft raised its IPO price range to between $70 and $72 per share, meaning the ride-hailing company is now targeting a valuation of up to $24.3 billion. The increased range, from $62-$68 previously, is the result of investors worrying about missing out on the biggest US IPO since Snap Inc in 2017. Lyft's IPO was oversubscribed just two days into its investor roadshow, Reuters reported last week. READ MORE

Benchmark indices opened higher on Thursday with Nifty holding 11,450 led by gains in IT  ans realty stocks ahead of March F&O expiry. Asian peers, however, were trading in red as recession concerns sent bond yields spiraling lower across the globe. 

At 9:20 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 38,251, up 118 points, while the broader NSE Nifty50 was ruling at 11,467, adding 22 points. Meanwhile, broader markets were in-line with frontline indices with the Nifty MidCap rising 0.3 percent and the Nifty Smallcap advancing 0.4 percent.

HCL Tech, Zee, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Vedanta, and Ultratech Cements were the top gainers on the Nifty50, while Tata Motors, JSW Steel, IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy's, and HDFC fell the most on the index.

Among sectors, Nifty IT gained nearly 1 percent led by gains in HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, TCS and Infosys, up in the range of 0.8-2.5 percent. Nifty MEdia, Nifty Realty, and Nifty PSU Banks were other sectoral gainers

Emkay on M&M

- Channel checks indicate XUV3OO is well accepted and boasts a healthy waiting period
- Marazzo MPV’s volumes are also expected to improve slowly
- Dealers expect double-digit growth in FY20 for the automotive division
- Gasoline utility vehicles are likely to limit volume impact due to BS-VI transition
- Reduce FY20 and FY21 earnings per share estimate by 2 percent and 5 percent to Rs 45.60 and Rs 45.30, respectively
- Maintain buy rating, target cut to Rs 800 from Rs 860 per share

HSBC on Lupin

- Maintain reduce, target cut to Rs 690 from Rs 740 per share
- Execution critical to realise benefits of Etanercept in Japan
- Watch for operational stability and execution of critical launches
- FY19-21 earnings per share estimates cut by 2-5 percent

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