The key benchmark indices ended lower for the second consecutive session today, 27 July 2021, dragged by the weak global stocks. The Nifty closed just below the 15,750 level. Pharmaceutical, realty and auto stocks dropped while metals and PSU bank stocks rose.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 273.51 points or 0.52% to 52,578.27. The Nifty 50 index lost 78 points or 0.49% to 15,746.45.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 6.28% to 13.2325.

The broader market ended with losses as well. The BSE Mid-Cap index lost 0.67% and the BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.11%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1590 shares rose and 1673 shares fell. A total of 111 shares were unchanged.

Earnings Impact:

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories slumped 10.44% after the drug company's consolidated net profit fell 1.47% to Rs 570.8 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 579.3 crore reported in Q1 FY21. Consolidated revenue from operations increased by 11.3% to Rs 4,919 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 4417.5 crore posted in Q1 FY21. Profit before tax dropped 16% year on year to Rs 742.5 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 878.9 crore registered in Q1 FY21. The drug company's research and development expenses rose by 14% year on year to Rs 4534 crore in Q1 FY22 as compared to Rs 3980 crore in Q1 FY21. EBITDA declined 12.34% to Rs 1018.8 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. EBITDA margin declined to 20.7% in Q1 FY22 from 26.3% in Q1 FY21 and 23.8% in Q4 FY21. Meanwhile, company's gross profit margin stood at 52.2% in Q1 FY21 as compared to 56% in Q1 FY21.

Axis Bank fell 3.23%. The private sector bank reported a 94.2% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 2,160 crore on a 2.4% rise in total income to Rs 19,591 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. The bank's net interest income (NII) grew 11% year on year (YoY) to Rs 7,760 crore from Rs 6,985 crore in Q1FY21. Net interest margin (NIM) for Q1 FY22 stood at 3.46%.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) added 0.65%. The engineering and construction major's consolidated net profit soared 141.2% to Rs 1,556.18 crore on a 38% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 29,334.73 crore in Q1 June 2021 over Q1 June 2020. L&T bagged orders worth Rs 26,557 crore at the Group level during the quarter ended 30 June 2021, registering a growth of 13% over corresponding period of the previous year. The consolidated order book of the group was stood at Rs 3,23,721 crore as on 30 June 2021, with international orders at 20% of the total order book.

DLF gained 0.88%. The realty major posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 337 crore in Q1 FY22 as against a net loss of Rs 70.65 crore registered in Q1 FY21. Net sales jumped 107.7% to Rs 1,139.53 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 548.63 crore registered in Q1 FY21.

Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals fell 3.13%. The pharmaceutical major's consolidated net profit grew 9.2% to Rs 121.08 crore on a 21.8% rise in net sales to Rs 789.99 crore in Q1 June 2021 (Q1 FY22) over Q1 June 2020 (Q1 FY21). Consolidated profit before tax rose 10.6% to Rs 164.90 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 149.14 crore in Q1 FY21.

Vedanta slipped 2.23% to Rs 265.45. The company's consolidated net profit soared 247% to Rs 5,282 crore on a 79.2% jump in net sales to Rs 28,105 crore in Q1 June 2021 over Q1 June 2020. Revenue for Q1 FY2022 was higher by 79.2% Y-o-Y (year-on-year), primarily due to improved commodity prices and higher volumes across businesses. The revenues for Q1 FY2022 was at Rs 28,105 crore, higher by 1% Q-o-Q (quarter-on-quarter), primarily due to improved commodity prices, partially offset by lower sales volume at Zinc India, Iron Ore & Steel and Copper business.

Tata Motors skid 0.61%. The auto major's consolidated net loss contracted to Rs 4,450.92 crore in Q1 June 2021 as compared to a net loss of Rs 8,437.99 crore in Q1 June 2020. Total revenue from operations soared 107.63% to Rs 66,406.45 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 31,983.06 crore in Q1 FY21.

The Ramco Cements tumbled 5.6%. The cement maker's consolidated net profit soared 53.3% to Rs 170.02 crore on a 17.8% jump in net sales to Rs 1,205.08 crore in Q1 June 2021 (Q1 FY22) over Q1 June 2020 (Q1 FY21). Consolidated profit before tax surged 59.7% to Rs 251.53 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 157.50 crore in Q1 FY21. The Q1 earnings was declared during trading hours today, 27 July 2021. Consolidated EBITDA grew 37% to Rs 371.77 crore in Q1 FY22 as compared to Rs 272.18 crore in Q1 FY21. Cement sales jumped 11% to 21.41 lakh tonnes during the quarter as against 19.37 lakh tonnes in Q1 June 2020, despite demand being impacted due to lock down in May and June 2021.

Canara Bank rose 1.47% to Rs 148.80. The public sector bank reported a 189% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 1177.47 crore on a 2.5% rise in total income to Rs 21,210.06 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. The PSU bank's operating profit before provisions and contingencies rose 34.19% to Rs 5750.66 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 4285.45 crore in Q1 FY21. The bank's net interest income (NII) rose marginally by 0.84% year on year (YoY) to Rs 6,147 crore from Rs 6,096 crore in Q1FY21. Provisions and Contingencies spiked nearly 18% to Rs 4574 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 3880 crore in Q1 FY21. Meanwhile, the bank's provision coverage ratio improved to 81.18% as of 30 June 2021 from 78.95% in 30 June 2020.

Global Markets:

European markets declined across the board on Tuesday as investors continued to monitor corporate earnings, along with extreme weather and the spread of COVID-19 across the continent.

Asian stocks ended mostly lower today as several major Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong remained under pressure following a Monday tumble. Investors continued to assess the steep losses incurred in Chinese stocks sparked by Beijing's sweeping regulatory overhaul.

All three major US stock indexes eked out record closing highs for a second straight session on Monday as investors were optimistic heading into a slew of earnings from heavyweight technology and internet names this week, while caution ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting kept the market in check.

Investors will be watching the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, beginning Tuesday. The Federal Open Market Committee and the Board of Governors are expected to issue a statement on the stance of monetary policy Wednesday. On Thursday, the Commerce Department will report second-quarter gross domestic product data.

Meanwhile, on the data front, sales of new U.S. single-family homes dropped unexpectedly in June, falling 6.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6,76,000 units, the Commerce Department said on Monday.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 19,47,23,719 with 41,67,658 deaths. India reported 3,98,100 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,21,382 deaths while 3,06,21,469 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India on Tuesday reported 29,689 new cases, the number falling under 30,000 for the first time since 17 March 2021. The country's active caseload too has dropped, and now stands under 4 lakh. Even as the mass vaccination programme progresses, there are concerns about the private sector not administering enough doses. Despite being allotted 25% vaccines, private firms have vaccinated only 7% people so far.

Economy:

The second wave of COVID-19 may have a more lasting damage on the Indian economy and exports will once again be the foundation for recovery, Moody's Analytics said on Monday.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 is among factors now adversely affecting economies of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, but the economic hit from the current round of movement restrictions in the region will not be as severe as the recessions in the second quarter of last year. In India, where exports make up relatively small shares of the economy, high commodity prices have boosted the value of exports. This is one factor that helped reinvigorate India after its first devastating wave of COVID-19.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.178% as compared with 6.169% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.47, compared with its close of 74.4225 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement rose 0.05% to Rs 47,484.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.07% to 92.718.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2021 settlement rose 30 cents at $74.8 a barrel. The contract rose 40 cents, or 0.54% to settle at $74.50 a barrel in the previous trading session.

The domestic equity barometers ended a volatile session with modest losses on Monday. The Nifty failed to hold the 15,850 mark. While realty and auto stocks tumbled, metals, pharma and IT shares managed to end in the green.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 123.53 points or 0.23% to 52,852.27. The Nifty 50 index lost 31.60 points or 0.20% to 15,824.45.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 5.84% to 12.45.

Reliance Industries (down 1.31%), HDFC (down 0.80%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.58%) were major drags.

The broader market ended higher. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.06% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.34%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1837 shares rose and 1515 shares fell. A total of 157 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 19,41,65,023 with 41,59,142 deaths.

India reported 39,361 new COVID-19 cases, 35,968 recoveries, and 416 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total active cases in the country has now reached 4,11,189, the total recoveries are 3,05,79,106 and the death toll stands at 4,20,967. The total vaccinations stands at 43,51,96,001.

Politics:

B.S. Yediyurappa has reportedly announced his resignation as the Karnataka chief minister after weeks of uncertainty. While resigning, Yediyurappa was seen breaking down on the stage from where he made the announcement. Yediyurappa even issued a word of caution to colleagues and said people have lost their faith in the government, reports added.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.172% as compared with 6.165% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.4225, compared with its close of 74.405 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement rose 0.31% to Rs 47,680.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.22% to 92.70.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2021 settlement fell 33 cents at $73.77 a barrel. The contract rose 31 cents, or 0.42% to settle at $74.10 a barrel in the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

European markets declined across the board on Monday, 26 July 2021 tracking lackluster global sentiment as investors monitored corporate earnings and looked ahead to a key meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Investors continue to monitor a surge in COVID-19 cases across the continent driven by the highly-transmissible delta variant, which has led several countries to re-impose social restrictions.

Most Asian stocks ended lower today as Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong plunged. China's antitrust regulator ordered Tencent to give up its exclusive music licensing rights and slapped a fine on it for anti-competitive behavior, marking yet another development in Beijing's ongoing crackdown on its domestic internet titans.

Investors likely continued to monitor the COVID-19 situation in Asia as it weighs on sentiment. In South Korea, the second highest level of virus restrictions will be reportedly applied to non-capital areas starting Tuesday. Indonesia on Sunday also reportedly extended its COVID-19 restrictions by a week.

U.S. equities rose Friday with the major averages hitting new records as they overcame concerns about economic growth from earlier in the week. The Dow closed above 35,000 for the first time ever. The blue-chip average rose 238.20 points, or 0.68%, to 35,061.55. The S&P 500 gained 1.01% to 4,411.79 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.04% to 14,836.99, both new closing highs for the benchmarks.

Earnings Impact:

SBI Life Insurance Company rose 2.52%. The life insurer reported 43% fall in net profit to Rs 223.16 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 390.89 crore registered in Q1 FY21.

Net premium income increased 9.55% to Rs 8312.55 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. The company's net income from investments stood at Rs 7,409.91 crore in Q1 FY22, falling 13.6% from Rs 8,582.80 posted in Q1 FY21.

Profit before tax slumped nearly 40% to Rs 233.42 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 387.68 crore in Q1 FY21. The company made a provision of Rs 10.26 crore during the quarter for taxes. Profitability was impacted after the company said it created additional reserve of Rs 440 crore towards COVID-19 pandemic as of 30 June 2021.

Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 1%. The private sector bank reported a 32% increase in standalone net profit to Rs 1641.92 crore on a 5% rise in total income to Rs 8,062 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21.

Operating profit before provisions and contingencies jumped nearly 19% to Rs 3,121 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Net Interest Income (NII) for Q1FY22 increased to Rs 3,942 crore, from Rs 3,724 crore in Q1FY21, registering a growth of 6%. Net Interest Margin (NIM) for Q1 FY22 was at 4.60% as compared to 4.4% in Q1 FY21.

On the asset quality front, the bank's gross NPAs stood at 3.56% as on 30 June 2021 as against 3.25% as on 31 March 2021 and 2.7% as on 30 June 2020. The ratio of net NPAs stood at 1.28% as on 30 June 2021 as against 1.21% as on 31 March 2021 and 0.87% as on 30 June 2020.

Provision and Contingencies reduced by 3% to Rs 934 crore in Q1 FY22 over Rs 962 crore in Q1 FY21. COVID related provisions as at 30 June 2021 were maintained at Rs 1,279 crore. In accordance with the Resolution Framework for COVID-19 and MSME announced by RBI, the bank has implemented total restructuring of Rs 552 crore as at 30 June 2021. Capital adequacy ratio of the bank as per Basel III as at 30 June 2021 was 23.1% and Tier I ratio was 22.2%.

Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 1.31%. The conglomerate reported a 7.3% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 12,273 crore on a 58.6% rise in net sales to Rs 139,949 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. On a sequential basis, RIL's net profit declined 8% while net sales fell 6.44% in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21.

The telecom arm of RIL, Reliance Jio, witnessed a 44.9% year-on-year (YoY) growth in the net profit at Rs 3,651 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. The consolidated revenue from operations grew by 9.8% to Rs 22,267 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Jio posted a total average revenue per customer (ARPU) during the quarter of Rs 138.40 per subscriber per month while customer base as on 30 June 2021 stood at 440.6 million with a net addition of 42.3 million customers year on year.

For Reliance Retail, net profit for the quarter was Rs 962 crore higher by 123% year on year. Gross Revenue stood at Rs 38,547 crore, rising by 21.9% year on year. Reliance Retail's store expansion was constrained during the quarter as the business opened 123 stores taking the total count to 12,803.

Oil to chemicals (O2C) segment, segment revenues for Q1 FY22 increased by 75.2% year on year to Rs 103,212 crore ($ 13.9 billion) primarily on account of sharp increase in product prices on the back of higher crude prices. RIL said downstream margins continued to remain strong with product deltas near or above 5-year averages. Favorable light-feed cracking environment and increased domestic gas availability helped O2C optimize its costs. O2C maintained its market share in domestic markets. In addition, O2C continues to strategically place its products in export markets.

In the oil and gas (exploration & production) business, segment revenue for Q1 FY22 increased by 153.2% year on year to Rs 1,281 crore. This was primarily due to smooth ramp up of gas production from R-Cluster and commencement of production from SatCluster field in KG D6 block. Price realization for CBM gas for the Quarter was higher by 16% at $ 6.01/mmbtu (GCV). Realizations in the US Shale business improved to $ 4.95/MCFe on the back of higher gas and condensate prices.

In the media business, revenue from operations rose 50% year on year to Rs 1,214 crore during Q1 FY22. Viewership share of TV entertainment rose further to 11%, up sharply from a low of 9.2% in Q1 FY21. On the back of a full roster of compelling content, the portfolio was able to re-scale adrevenue to the same levels as in 1Q FY20. News advertising remained resilient despite the second wave, led by a rise in news consumption and digital events replacing physical ones.

ITC slipped 0.59% to Rs 211.10. The tobacco major reported 28.6% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 3,013.49 crore on a 37.3% rise in net sales to Rs 12,142.43 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. As compared to Q4 FY21, the company's net profit and net sales are lower by 19.6% and 7.7%, respectively.

Total FMCG segment revenue increased by 22.4% YoY to Rs 8,848 crore during the period under review. In the FMCG segment, cigarettes revenue rose by 32.9% YoY to Rs 5,122 crore while the revenue from other FMCG segment improved by 10.4% YoY to Rs 3,726 crore during the quarter.

Hotel business revenue stood at Rs 127 crore (up 4.6x YoY), agri-business revenue was at Rs 4,091 crore (up 9.2% YoY) and paperboards, paper & packaging revenues were at Rs 1,583 crore (up 54.2% YoY) in the first quarter of FY22.

With regard to the FMCG - Others business, the company said that both urban & rural growth rates in the FMCG Industry moderated in the immediate aftermath of the sharp rise in new cases; however there has been a progressive rebound since June'21 with the easing of restrictions and increase in mobility.

With regard to the FMCG - Cigarettes business, the company said that the strong volume recovery momentum witnessed in the second half of FY21 was impacted by localised lockdowns and restricted hours of convenience store operations in the wake of second wave of the pandemic. Product accessibility was sustained despite market disruptions leveraging the company's multi-channel distribution network. Certain markets in the South, metro cities and towns were relatively more impacted

“Wide availability of smuggled cigarettes continues despite deterrent actions by concerned authorities; this remains a key challenge for the legal cigarette industry which has witnessed significant reduction in volumes in recent years,” ITC added.

The second wave of the pandemic triggered a fresh round of mobility and travel restrictions leading to severe disruptions, impacting the progressive recovery witnessed in H2 of FY21 in the Hotels business. With reduction in new COVID infections and easing of travel restrictions in June'21, domestic leisure segment witnessed an uptick.

In the Agri Business, the company recorded strong growth in Wheat, Rice & Leaf Tobacco exports and Soya in the domestic market.

In the Paperboards and Specialty Papers Business, domestic customer offtake saw positive trends in most key segments such as pharma and consumer goods. However, certain end-user segments such as publications, cupstock, On-the-Go liquid packaging and wedding cards continued to be impacted by the pandemic-related disruptions.

United Spirits fell 3.77%. The liquor major's consolidated net profit stood at Rs 50.30 crore in Q1 June 2021 compared with net loss of Rs 246.60 crore in Q1 June 2020. Revenue from operations soared 66.8% to Rs 1721.70 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21.

Reported net sales increased after the company witnessed a healthy momentum in demand for the first three weeks of April 2021 until the second COVID-19 surge in India hit alarming levels and led to resumption of lockdown in various states. The restrictions on on-premise establishments and consumer behavioural shifts impacted the balance between the on- and off-premise occasion in most markets.

Ambuja Cements added 1.43%. The cement maker posted a 59.5% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 723 crore on a 55.8% increase in net sales to Rs 3,342 crore in Q2 2021 over Q2 2020. The company's premium products volume grew at 69% compared to the same period last year.

Total operating cost per ton saw a marginal decline, despite continuous headwinds faced on account of rising input costs. The operational efficiency programs in the plants along with logistics efficiencies partly mitigated the impact. Total operating cost spiked by 52.4% to Rs 2,411 crore in Q2 June 2021 over Q2 June 2020.

Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) added 3.05%. The exchange's consolidated net profit tanked 29.5% to Rs 39.80 crore on 20% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 87.60 crore in Q1 June 2021 over Q1 June 2020.

ICICI Bank rose 0.01%. The private bank's standalone net profit jumped 77.59% to Rs 4,616.02 crore on 6.47% fall in total income to Rs 24,379.27 crore in Q1 June 2021 over Q1 June 2020. Operating profit dropped 17.46% to Rs 8,894.40 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 10,776.45 crore in Q1 FY21.

On the asset quality front, the ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 5.15% as on 30 June 2021 as against 5.46% as on 30 June 2020. The ratio of net NPAs to net advances stood at 1.16% as on 30 June 2021 as against 1.23% as on 30 June 2020.

Provision and Contingencies tumbled 62.44% to Rs 2,851.69 crore in Q1 June 2021 over Rs 7,593.95 crore in Q1 June 2020. Provision coverage ratio was robust stood at 78.20% at 30 June 2021, higher than 77.70% at 31 March 2021.

At 30 June 2021, the bank held COVID-19 related provisions of Rs 6,425 crore (i.e. $ 864 million). The bank's total capital adequacy at 30 June 2021 was 19.27% and Tier-1 capital adequacy (including profits for Q1 FY2022) stood at 18.24% compared to the minimum regulatory requirements of 11.08% and 9.08% respectively.

The Net Interest Income (NII) surged 17.84% to Rs 10,936 crore as on 30 June 2021 as against Rs 9,280 crore as on 30 June 2020. The Net Interest Margin (NIM) stood at 3.89% as on 30 June 2021 as against 3.69% as on 30 June 2020.

While total deposits rose 16% year-on-year to Rs 9,26,224 crore, total advances increased by 17% year-on-year to Rs 738,598 crore as on 30 June 2021.

SBI Cards and Payment Services (SBI Cards) advanced 6.31%. The company posted a 22.6% fall in standalone net profit to Rs 304.61 crore on 11.6% rise in total income to Rs 2,450.94 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. On a sequential basis, the company's net profit grew by 74% compared with Rs 175 crore posted in Q4 FY21.

Earnings before credit costs increased by 4% to Rs 1,056 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 1,014 crore in Q1 FY21. Meanwhile, the company's finance costs decreased by 16.6% to Rs 229 Cr in Q1 FY22 from Rs 275 crore in Q1 FY21. On the asset quality front, gross NPA were at 3.91% as of Q1 FY22 as compared to 1.35% in Q1 FY21. Net NPA were at 0.88% as of Q1 FY22 versus 0.43% in Q1 FY21.

SBI Card's total balance sheet size as of 30 June 2021 was at Rs 26,608 crore as against Rs 24,260 crore as of 30 June 2020. Total gross advances (Credit card receivables) as of 30 June 2021 were at Rs 24,438 crore, as against Rs 23,330 crore as of 30 June 2020.

Yes Bank rose 1.76% after the bank's net profit soared 355.2% to Rs 206.84 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 45.44 crore posted in Q1 FY21. Total income declined 8.6% year on year (YoY) to Rs 5,581.84 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Standalone operating profit dropped 20% to Rs 920 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 1,147 crore in Q1 FY21.

On the asset quality front, the ratio of gross NPAs stood at 15.6% as on 30 June 2021 as against 15.41% as on 31 March 2021 and 17.30% as on 30 June 2020. The ratio of net NPAs stood at 5.78% as on 30 June 2021 as against 5.88% as on 31 March 2021 and 4.96% as on 30 June 2020.

Provision and Contingencies reduced by 41% to Rs 644 crore in Q1 FY22 over Rs 1,087 crore in Q1 FY21. Fresh slippages lower at Rs 2,233 crore compared to Rs 11,873 crore registered in last quarter, supported by provision write back due to recoveries / resolutions.

JSW Steel slipped 1.81%. The steel major's consolidated net profit stood at Rs 5,900 crore in Q1 June 2021 compared to a net loss of Rs 582 crore in Q1 June 2020. Consolidated net sales soared 148.2% to Rs 28,432 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 11,454 crore in Q1 FY21.

Production of Crude Steel grew 39% to 4.10 million tonnes (MT) in Q1 FY22 as against 2.96 million tonnes (MT) in Q1 FY21. Total sales jumped 29% to 3.61 million tonnes (MT) as compared to 2.80 million tonnes (MT).

Benchmark indices ended a volatile session with decent gains on Friday. The Nifty ended above the 15,850 level after slipping below 15,800 mark in early trade. Positive global cues supported buying in domestic shares.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 138.59 points or 0.26% at 52,975.80. The Nifty 50 index advanced 32 points, or 0.2% at 15,856.05.

ICICI Bank (up 3.18%), ITC (up 2.56%), SBI (up 1.69%) and Axis Bank (up 1.17%) supported the indices.

In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.07% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.11%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1579 shares rose and 1667 shares fell. A total of 123 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 19,25,78,206 with 41,35,859 deaths. India reported 4,05,513 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,19,470 deaths while 3,04,68,079 patient have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee fell to 74.405 compared with its previous closing of 74.46.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement shed 0.34% to Rs 47,472.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.13% to 92.94.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.164% from its previous close of 6.138%.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2021 settlement shed 10 cents or 0.14% to $73.69 a barrel. The contract added 2.16% or $1.56 to settle at $73.79 in the previous trading session.

Global Markets:

European markets were trading higher while Asian stocks were mixed on Friday as investors monitored Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong after regulatory concerns resurfaced. Markets in Japan were closed on Friday for a holiday.

As per reports, Beijing is considering harsh penalties on ride-hailing giant Didi. The penalties being planned range from a fine likely bigger than the record $2.8 billion Alibaba paid earlier this year to even a forced delisting after Didi's IPO last month.

Tech shares led U.S. stocks higher Thursday, despite an unexpected jump in jobless claims that resurfaced some concerns about the economy and sent bond yields lower. Investors jumped back into their favorite tech stocks as optimism about the sector grows ahead of big earnings reports next week for some of the largest names in the space.

Jobless claims in the US unexpectedly rose to 419,000, more than the upwardly revised 368,000 from the previous period.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank on Thursday said interest rates would stay at their current record low levels until it sees inflation durably reaching the bank's new target of 2%. The 25-member governing council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels until it sees inflation reaching 2% well ahead of the end of its projection horizon and durably for the rest of the projection horizon, the bank said in a statement, adding that this may also imply a transitory period in which inflation is moderately above target.

Supreme Court AGR Verdict:

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea of telecom companies for correction of alleged errors in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) calculation. The top court had in September last year granted telecom companies a period of 10 years to clear their pending AGR dues to the central government with 10% payment every year. The deadline given to the company for first instalment was 31 March 2021.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted telecom companies 10 years to clear AGR (adjusted gross revenue) dues of around Rs 1.43 lakh crore to the Centre, providing much needed relief to some of the telcos which could have faced the prospect of winding up their operations for being unable to pay the entire amount at one go.

The matter came back to the court after the telcos didn't submit the amount disputing the calculation done by the department of telecom (DoT) and claiming that they have already submitted more than 10% of the amount.

The total liability on Vodafone-Idea is Rs 58,254 crore, while Bharti Airtel has to pay Rs 43,980 crore and Tata Teleservices owes Rs 16,798 crore to the government.

Bharti Airtel (up 0.38%), Vodafone Idea (down 9.62%) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 4.92%).

Nifty Result Today:

Index major Reliance Industries fell 0.74% to Rs 2105.20. It will announce its quarterly result today.

New Listing:

Shares of Zomato settled at Rs 125.85 on the BSE, a premium of 65.59% as compared with the issue price of Rs 76 per share. The scrip listed at a price of Rs 115 apiece, at a premium of 51.32% to the issue price. The scrip has hit a high of Rs 138 and a low of Rs 114. Over 4.51 crore shares of the company were traded in the counter.

The initial public offer of online food delivery platform Zomato received bids for 2,751.27 crore shares as against 71.92 crore shares on offer. The issue was subscribed 38.25 times. The issue opened for bidding on 14 July 2021 and closed on 16 July 2021.

Earnings Impact:

IndiaMART InterMESH gained 3.21% after the B2B company's consolidated net profit jumped 18.62% to Rs 87.90 crore on a 18.61% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 181.60 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Total revenue grew due to improvement in realization from existing customers and increase in number of paying subscription suppliers. The consolidated deferred revenue increased to Rs 715 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 628 crore in Q1 FY21. Consolidated EBITDA grew 21% to Rs 89 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 73 crore in Q1 FY21. EBITDA margin improved to 49% during the quarter as compared to 48% during Q1 FY21. Profit margin stood at 42% in Q1 FY22 over 40% in Q1 FY21.

Indian Energy Exchange fell 0.62%. The company recorded a 49.3% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 62.82 crore on a 34.1% rise in net sales to Rs 91.03 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. On a sequential basis, net profit increased by 2.11% while net sales declined nearly 3% in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21. On the operational front, electricity volume increased by 42.9% to 21,266 million units (MU) in Q1 FY22 as against 14,878 MU recorded in the same period last year. IEX said the growth in electricity volume was largely driven by competitive power prices on the exchange, growing electricity consumption, and vibrant performance of new market segments.

Mphasis surged 5.39% after the IT firm reported a 7.17% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 339.68 crore in Q1 FY22 over Rs 316.93 crore in Q4 FY21. Consolidated revenue from operations grew 6.59% to Rs 2,690.83 crore in Q1 June 2021 from Rs 2,524.28 crore in Q4 March 2021. In constant currency, growth was 5.9% QoQ and 16.3% YoY. Profit before tax climbed 8.12% to Rs 458.05 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 423.62 crore in Q4 FY21.

Persistent Systems jumped 7.44% after the IT firm reported a 9.79% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 151.24 crore in Q1 June 2021 (Q1 FY22) over Rs 137.75 crore in Q4 March 2021 (Q4 FY21). Consolidated revenue from operations grew 10.47% to Rs 1,229.92 crore in Q1 June 2021 from Rs 1,113.35 crore in Q4 March 2021. Profit before tax climbed 9.83% to Rs 203.05 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 184.87 crore in Q4 FY21. The Q1 result was declared post market hours yesterday, 22 July 2021. Consolidated EBITDA soared 7% Q-o-Q (quarter-on-quarter) and 37.6% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) to Rs 201.52 crore, with margins at 16.4% during the quarter. The order booking for the quarter ended on 30 June 2021 stood at $244.8 million in Total Contract Value (TCV) and at $188.83 million in Annual Contract Value (ACV).

Can Fin Homes fell 1.97%. The housing finance company posted a 16.84% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 108.84 crore on a 13.71% rise in total income from operations to Rs 450.84 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21 Standalone profit before tax climbed 15.83% to Rs 146 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 126.04 crore in Q1 FY21. New Approvals surged 214.01% to Rs 829 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 264 crore in Q1 FY21. Disbursements soared 122.94% to Rs 894 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 401 crore in Q1 FY21. Outstanding loan book rose 6.61% to Rs 22,221 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 20,843 crore in Q1 FY21.

Biocon fell 1.32% after the company's consolidated net profit declined 43.5% to Rs 84.4 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 149 crore in Q1 FY21. Revenue from operations increased by 4% YoY to Rs 1,761 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 1693.8 crore in Q1 FY21. As compared to Q4 FY21, the company's net profit and revenue from operations have declined by 67% and 4%, respectively. On the segmental front, revenue from Generics was Rs 486 crore (down 22% YoY), revenue from Biosimilars was Rs 758 crore (up 10% YoY) and revenue from research services was Rs 595 crore (up 41% YoY) in the first quarter. The Novel Biologics segment recorded revenue of Rs 11 crore during the period under review.

Federal Bank rose 1.36%. The private sector bank reported 23% fall in net profit to Rs 367 crore on a 5% increase in total income 4,006 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Net interest income (NII) remained flat at Rs 1,418 crore in the first quarter as compared with Rs 1,420 crore in the same period last year. Net interest margin (NIM) was at 3.15% as on 30 June 2021 as against 3.23% as on 30 June 2020. Operating profit jumped 28% to Rs 1,135 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 885 crore in Q1 FY21. Total provisions increased by 89% to Rs 768 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 407 crore in Q1 FY21. The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 4,649.33 crore as on 30 June 2021 as against Rs 4,602.39 crore as on 31 March 2021 and Rs 3,655.59 crore as on 30 June 2020.

The equity benchmark indices ended with robust gains on Thursday. The Nifty managed to close above the crucial 15,800 mark. All sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green. IT and metal shares rallied. Bargain hunting emerged after the Sensex and the Nifty corrected over 1.8% in the past three sessions.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, soared 638.70 points or 1.22% at 52,837.21. The Nifty 50 index added 191.95 points or 1.23% at 15,824.05.

Bajaj Finance (up 4.21%), Infosys (up 2.61%), ICICI Bank (up 2.15%) and Reliance Industries (up 1.31%) boosted the indices.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.49% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.52%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,184 shares rose and 1,065 shares fell. A total of 138 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 19,20,08,050 with 41,27,109 deaths. India reported 4,09,394 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,18,987 deaths while 3,04,29,339 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Single day rise of 41,383 COVID-19 infections, 507 fatalities push India's tally of cases to 3,12,57,720, death toll to 4,18,987, says heath ministry.

Economy:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has downgraded India's economic growth forecast for the current financial year to 10% on Tuesday, from 11% projected earlier this year, mainly on account of the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

India's GDP growth recovered to 1.6% in the last quarter of fiscal year ended March 2021, narrowing contraction in the whole fiscal year from 8% estimated in April to a revised 7.3%, the multilateral funding agency said in the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) Supplement.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.138% as compared with 6.119% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.46, compared with its close of 74.6125 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement fell 0.38% to Rs 47,390.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.04% to 92.79.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2021 settlement rose 61 cents at $72.84 a barrel. The contract rose $2.88, or 4.15% to settle at $72.23 a barrel in the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Thursday after solid company earnings boosted Wall Street, easing concerns about peak economic growth and coronavirus flareups. Markets in Japan were closed on Thursday for a holiday.

Investors in Europe are awaiting the latest monetary policy announcement from the European Central Bank on Thursday.

Wall Street stocks posted their second straight daily gain on Wednesday, with robust corporate earnings and renewed optimism about the U.S. economic recovery fueling a risk-on rally.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bharti Airtel climbed 3.93% after the telecom major announced new postpaid plans for corporate and retail customers. The firm announced new corporate postpaid plan, whereby customers can pay Rs 299 for 30 GB, Rs 349 for 40 GB, Rs 399 for 60 GB, Rs 499 for 100 GB and Rs 1,599 for 500 GB with unlimited calling facility.

For its new retail postpaid plans, customers can pay Rs 399 for 40 GB (1 connection), Rs 499 for 75 GB (1 connection), Rs 999 for 210 GB (3 connections), Rs 1,599 for unlimited data + IR pack (2 connections) and Rs 299 for 30 GB (1 connection) with unlimited calling facility.

The company has discontinued its 749 Family Postpaid Plan for new customers and will now offer 999 as the only Family Postpaid Plan with enhanced data benefits. Now, customers can add a connection to any Airtel Postpaid plan at just Rs 299/SIM and get 30 GB additional data (10 GB earlier), unlimited calling and Thanks benefits, the press filing added.

Hindustan Zinc fell 1.80%. The metal miner reported 46% rise in net profit to Rs 1,983 crore on 64% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 6,378 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Increase in net profit was mainly driven by recovery in metal prices and higher volumes. Sequentially, the company's net profit has declined by 20%.

Revenue from operations was led by higher metal & silver volumes, higher zinc, lead & silver prices. Zinc sales volume increased 15% YoY and lead by 9% YoY in line with higher production and robust demand. Sequentially, revenue was down 5%, primarily driven by lower zinc, lead and silver volumes, lower metal premium, partly offset by higher zinc & lead LME prices and rupee depreciation.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) fell 2.27%. The FMCG major reported 10% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 2,061 crore on 13% increase in sales to Rs 11,730 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. HUL recorded a domestic consumer growth of 12% and a underlying volume growth of 9% in June quarter 2021. Performance was broad based with all three divisions growing competitively and in double-digits during the period under review.

Bajaj Auto declined 1.32%. The company's standalone net profit doubled to Rs 1,061 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 528 crore in Q1 FY21. Revenue from operations jumped 139.9% YoY to Rs 7,386 crore during the quarter. As compared to Q4 FY21, the company's net profit and revenue from operations have declined 20.3% and 14.1%, respectively. EBITDA was at Rs 1,153 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 441 crore in Q1 FY21 and Rs 1,558 crore in Q4 FY21. EBITDA margin was at 15.6% as on 30 June 2021 compared with 14.3 as on 30 June 2020. EBITDA margin was at 18.1% as on 31 March 2021. Bajaj Auto said that the decline in EBITDA margin was due lower revenue from operations which resulted in loss on spread of fixed costs by approximately 160 bps and increase in cost of raw-material, net of increase in prices, resulted in lower EBITDA margin by approximately 220 bps. Higher raw material costs were, however, partially off-set from higher US$ realization and improved mix. As on 30th June 2021, surplus cash and cash equivalents stood at Rs 19,097 crore as against Rs 17,689 crore as on 31 March 2021.

Ultratech Cement rose 0.49%. The cement maker reported 114% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,703 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 794 crore in Q1 FY21. Revenues (net of taxes) rose by 54% YoY to Rs 11,698 crore during the quarter. EBITDA increased by 49% to Rs 3,512 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 2,357 crore in Q1 FY21. EBITDA margin was at 30% as on 30 June 2021 as against 31% as on 30 June 2020. Profit before tax in Q1 FY22 stood at Rs 2,526 crore, up by 93% from Rs 1,311 crore in Q1 FY21. Production costs during the quarter increased 11% YoY, mainly on account of higher fuel prices. The company continues to maintain a tight control on costs and cash flow with focus on operational efficiencies. This has enabled UltraTech to achieve an effective capacity utilization of 73% during the quarter as against 46% in Q1 FY21.

Gland Pharma soared 8.98% after the company's net profit jumped 11.81% to Rs 350.65 crore on 30.50% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 1,153.90 crore in Q1 June 2021 (Q1 FY22) over Q1 June 2020 (Q1 FY21). The growth in revenue was contributed from a mix of launch of new products and volume growth in existing products. The key markets, US, Canada, Europe and Australia registered a growth of 16% and accounted for 61% of the revenue during Q1 FY22. This performance is driven by growth of key products like Micafungin, Enoxaparin, Heparin, Dexmedetomidine and new product launches. Profit before tax surged 12.34% to Rs 471.84 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 420 crore in Q1 FY21.

Havells India advanced 4.35% after the company's standalone net profit surged 269.9% to Rs 234.30 crore on 75.7% increase in net sales to Rs 2,598.20 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. As compared to Q4 FY21, the company's net profit and net sales have declined by 22.5% and 22%, respectively. Profit before tax in Q1 FY22 stood at Rs 314.77 crore, up by 266.2% from Rs 85.95 crore in Q1 FY21. EBIDTA improved by 169% to Rs 353 crore in Q1 FY22 compared with Rs 131 crore in Q1 FY21. EBIDTA margin was at 13.6% as on 30 June 2021 as against 8.8% as on 30 June 2020.

CRISIL jumped 4.57%. The credit rating agency recorded 51.9% increase in net profit to Rs 100.8 crore on 12% rise in income from operations to Rs 528.51 crore in Q2 June 2021 over Q2 June 2020. The board of CRISIL has approved the payment of interim dividend of Rs 8 per equity share for the financial year ending 31 December 2021, which will be paid on 18 August 2021.

Domestic equity indices tumbled on Tuesday, tracking weak cues from other Asian stock markets. The Nifty managed to close above the 15,600 mark after hitting the day's low of 15,578.55 in early afternoon trade. Barring the Nifty FMCG index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red. Asian stocks fell across the board amid mounting concerns about the rapidly surging delta variant of the COVID-19 in several countries.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 354.89 points or 0.68% at 52,198.51. The Nifty 50 index slipped 120.30 points or 0.76% at 15,632.10.

ICICI Bank (down 2.14%), HDFC Bank (down 1.9%) and HDFC (down 0.96%) were major drags.

Selling was broad based. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.28% and the BSE Small-Cap index lost 1.44%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1137 shares rose and 2098 shares fell. A total of 108 shares were unchanged.

The domestic equity market will remain shut on Wednesday, 21 July 2021, on account of Bakri Id.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 19,09,23,535 with 40,96,272 deaths. India reported 4,06,130 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,14,482 deaths while 3,03,53,710 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

In the past 24 hours, India recorded 30,093 new cases in the last 24 hours - the lowest in 125 days, as per Health Ministry's recent data.

Numbers to Watch:

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.6125, compared with its close of 74.88 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement fell 0.03% to Rs 48,081.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.01% to 92.90.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2021 settlement rose 15 cents at $68.77 a barrel. The contract fell $4.97, or 6.75% to settle at $68.62 a barrel in the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

Most European shares were trading higher while Asian shares declined on Tuesday, following an overnight tumble for stocks on Wall Street and concerns about the spread of the delta coronavirus variant.

On Tuesday, China kept unchanged its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans - the one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) held steady at 3.85% while the five-year LPR was also left at 4.65%.

Geopolitical jitters also resurfaced on Monday after the U.S., the U.K. and their allies said the Chinese government has been the mastermind behind a series of malicious ransomware, data theft and cyber-espionage attacks against public and private entities - including the sprawling Microsoft Exchange hack earlier this year.

U.S. stocks dropped sharply on Monday on concern a rebound in COVID-19 cases would slow global economic growth. COVID-19 cases have rebounded in the U.S. this month, with the delta variant spreading among the unvaccinated. Cases were already flaring up around the world because of the delta variant.

Buzzing Indian Segment:

The Nifty FMCG index rose 0.14% to 36,230.25. The index fell 0.20% in the previous session.

Hindustan Unilever (up 0.97%), Marico (up 0.94%), Nestle India (up 0.61%), Varun Beverages (up 0.48%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.42%) and Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 0.09%) advanced.

Earnings Impact:

Bajaj Finance fell 1.24%. The NBFC major reported 4% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,002 crore on 1% increase in total income to Rs 6,743 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21.

Net Interest Income (NII) for Q1 FY22 increased by 8% to Rs 4,489 crore as against Rs 4,152 crore in Q1 FY21. Interest income reversal for the quarter was Rs 451 crore as compared to Rs 306 crore in Q1 FY21, up 47.4% YoY.

Total operating expenses to net interest income for Q1 FY22 was 30.6% as against 27.9% in Q1 FY21. During the quarter, the company took several actions to reduce its operating expenses to partially mitigate the financial impact caused by the second wave.

Loan losses and provisions for Q1 FY22 was Rs 1,750 crore as against Rs 1,686 crore in Q1 FY21. During the quarter, the company has done accelerated write offs of Rs 113 crore of principal outstanding on account of COVID-19 related stress. The company holds a management overlay and macro provision of Rs 483 crore as of 30 June 2021.

Assets under management (AUM) grew by 15% to Rs 159,057 crore (including IPO financing receivables of Rs 2,942 crore) as of 30 June 2021 from Rs 138,055 crore as of 30 June 2020. Core AUM growth in Q1 FY22 was approximately Rs 4,100 crore.

Asian Paints surged 6.04% after the company's net profit increased 160.2% to Rs 568.50 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 218.45 crore in Q1 FY21. Revenue from operations during the quarter has increased by 91.1% to Rs 5,585.36 crore compared with Rs 2,922.66 crore recorded in the same period last year. As compared to Q4 FY21, the company's net profit and revenues have declined by 33.3% and 16%, respectively. Profit before depreciation, interest, tax and other income (PBDIT) for the group (before share in profit of associates) increased by 88.7% to Rs 913.56 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 484.25 crore in Q1 FY21.

HCL Technologies skid 2.29%. On a consolidated basis, the IT firm's net profit jumped 8.5% to Rs 3,214 crore on 2.2% increase in revenues to Rs 20,068 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21. On a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis, the company's consolidated net profit surged 9.9% while revenue from operations soared 12.5% in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. EBITDA stood at Rs 4,908 crore in Q1 FY22, falling 3.7% over Q4 FY21 and rising 7.5% over Q1 FY21. During the quarter ended June 2021, EBITDA margin stood at 24.5% while EBIT margin was at 19.6%. In dollar terms, revenue stood at $2,720 million, up 0.9% Q-o-Q and up 15.5% Y-o-Y. Revenue in constant currency terms rose 0.7% Q-o-Q and up 11.7% Y-o-Y. In its guidance, the company said its revenue is expected to grow in double digits in constant currency for FY22. EBIT margin is expected to be between 19.0% and 21.0% for FY22.

Mastek gained 0.27%. The company's consolidated net profit rose 6% to Rs 80.20 crore on 6.9% increase in total revenue from operations to Rs 516.50 crore in Q1 June 2021 (Q1 FY22) over Q4 March 2021 (Q4 FY21). Consolidated total EBITDA grew 7.6% to Rs 117.50 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 109.20 crore in Q4 FY21. EBITDA margin improved to 22.5% during the quarter compared with 22.4% during Q4 March 2021. In constant currency, revenue from operations rose 4.3% Q-o-Q (quarter-on-quarter) and 27.2% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) to $70.2 million in Q1 FY22. Mastek added 40 new clients in Q1 FY22. The total client count as of 30 June 2021 stood at 651 (LTM) as compared to 639 (LTM) in Q4 FY21.

Newgen Software Technologies hit a lower circuit of 5% at Rs 662.60 after the company's' consolidated net profit declined 59% to Rs 216 crore on 20.2% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 1,595 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21. Annuity revenues (ATS/AMC, Support, and SaaS) were at Rs 104.8 crore (up 2.9% QoQ) while subscription revenues (ATS/AMC and SaaS) were at Rs 53.7 crore (up 2.7% QoQ) in Q1 FY21. Revenue from sale of products/license were at Rs 27.9 crore (down 40.6% QoQ) in the first quarter. Implementation & digitization revenues were at Rs 26.8 crore (down 47.7% QoQ) in Q1 FY21. EBITDA declined by 65.7% to Rs 228 crore in Q1 FY22 from Rs 664 crore in Q4 FY21.

Nippon Life India Asset Management rose 2.18% after the company's consolidated net profit increased 16.1% to Rs 181.54 crore on 9.8% rise in total income to Rs 369.18 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Nippon Life India Asset Management is an asset manager of Nippon India Mutual Fund (NIMF). For the quarter ended 30 June 2021, NIMF's overall AUM market share rose to 7.25%, an increase of 13 bps as against the quarter ended 31 March 2021. The company's overall AUM market share was 7.3% in the Q1 quarter last year.

Key equity indices ended with sharp losses on Monday, tracking weak global cues. The Nifty slipped below 15,800 mark but managed to hold above the 15,750 level. Banks and financial shares tumbled. Pharma and realty shares bucked weak market trend.

The S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 586.66 points or 1.10% at 52,553.40. The Nifty 50 index slipped 171 points or 1.07% at 15,752.40.

HDFC Bank (down 3.34%), HDFC (down 2.15%), Axis Bank (down 2.07%) and Infosys (down 0.85%) were major drags.

Selling was broad based. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.58% and the BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.31%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,757 shares rose and 1,571 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 19,04,27,673 with 40,89,053 deaths. India reported 4,21,665 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,14,108 deaths while 3,03,08,456 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India on Monday, 19 July 2021 reported 38,164 new COVID-19 cases and 499 deaths, as per health ministry's updated data. The active cases in the country now stand at 4,21,665.

Economy:

Labour minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday said that India witnessed an unemployment rate of 20.8% in urban India in the April-June quarter 2020, a period which witnessed two months of stringent nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, retail sales in India declined by 50% in June due to the continued restrictions in the wake of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, as compared to the same month in 2019 before the health crisis hit, according to the Retailers Association of India (RAI). The industry body said the highest decline was witnessed in the sports goods category at 66%, while foods and grocery had the least with a dip of just 7% as compared to June 2019.

Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian reportedly said on Friday that the country's economy will start witnessing a growth of 6.5% to 7% from fiscal 2023 onwards, helped by various reforms undertaken by the government so far and also as COVID-19 vaccination drive progresses. Subramanian expects the impact of the second wave not to be very significant.

Monsoon Session of Parliament:

Both the Houses of the Parliament were adjourned on Monday following protests by the Opposition parties. The uproar happened when Prime Minister Modi was introducing the new ministers. Raising an objection to this, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, Congress's behaviour in Lok Sabha is sad, unfortunate and unhealthy.

The monsoon session of the Parliament began today (19 July) and it will conclude on 13 August 2021. The government has listed 17 new bills for introduction in the session. Apart from the new bills, the legislations to be introduced in Lok Sabha include three bills to replace existing ordinances.

The government and the opposition are likely to discuss raging issues of the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers' protest, fuel prices hike and vaccination strategy.

The Parliament session comes a day after a global collaborative investigative project has revealed that Israeli company NSO Group's Pegasus spyware targeted over 300 mobile phone numbers in India including that of two serving Ministers in the Narendra Modi government, three Opposition leaders, one constitutional authority, several journalists and business persons.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.128% as compared with 6.130% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.88, compared with its close of 74.5725 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement fell 0.22% to Rs 47,946.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.33% to 92.99.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2021 settlement fell $2.04 at $71.55 a barrel. The contract rose 12 cents, or 0.16% to settle at $73.59 a barrel in the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

The US Dow Jones futures were down 438 points, indicating a weak opening in the US market today.

Shares in Europe and Asia tumbled on Monday as markets digested the latest OPEC+ announcement regarding oil production, and continued to brood on inflation and rising Covid-19 cases.

OPEC and its allies reached a deal on Sunday to phase out 5.8 million barrels per day of oil production cuts by September 2022. Coordinated increases in oil supply from the group - collectively known as OPEC+ will start in August, OPEC said in a statement. The development came as Brent surged more than 40% so far in 2021, with demand for crude rising as the global economy recovers from the pandemic.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday weighed down by declines in Amazon, Apple and other heavyweight technology stocks, while investors worried about a rise in coronavirus cases tied to the highly contagious Delta variant.

A preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment fell to 80.8 in July from a final reading of 85.5 in June, notching the measure's lowest level since February.

Separately, the US Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales climbed by 0.6% in June after plunging by a revised 1.7% in May. Excluding a steep drop in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales jumped by an even stronger 1.3% in June following a revised 0.9% decrease in May.

New Listings:

Shares of Clean Science and Technology settled at Rs 1585.20, at a premium of 76.13% compared with the issue price of Rs 900 per share. The scrip was listed at a price of Rs 1784.40 per share, at a premium of 98.27% to the initial public offer (IPO) price. On the BSE, 10.87 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter. The IPO of Clean Science and Technology received bids for 114.92 crore shares as against 1.23 crore shares on offer. The issue was subscribed 93.41 times. The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday, 7 July 2021, and closed on Friday, 9 July 2021. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 880-900 per share.

Shares of G R Infraprojects were settled at Rs 1746.80, at a premium of 108.70% compared with the issue price of Rs 837 per share. The scrip was listed at Rs 1700 per share, at a premium of 103.11% to the initial public offer (IPO) price. On the BSE, over 7.68 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter. The IPO of G R Infraprojects received bids for 83.33 crore shares as against 81.23 lakh shares on offer. The issue was subscribed 102.58 times. The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday, 7 July 2021, and closed on Friday, 9 July 2021. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 828-837 per share.

Stocks in Spotlight:

ACC rose 1.87%. On a consolidated basis, the cement major reported 110.17% surge in net profit to Rs 569.45 crore on 49.29% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 3884.94 crore in Q2 June 2021 over Q2 June 2020. Profit before tax jumped 88.11% to Rs 758.29 crore during the period under review.

HDFC Life Insurance Company fell 2.77%. The company reported 33% fall in standalone net profit to Rs 302.35 crore on 0.7% rise in total income to Rs 14,604.30 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Net premium income during the quarter increased by 31.7% YoY to Rs 7,538.48 crore. However, income from investments (net) declined by 20.4% to Rs 6,963.56 crore in the first quarter. Profit before tax in Q1 FY22 stood at Rs 306.73 crore, down 32% over Q1 FY21. The Value of New Business (VNB) increased by 40% to Rs 408 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 291 crore in Q1 FY21.

HDFC Bank slipped 3.34%. The private sector lender reported 16.08% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 7,729.64 crore on 6.73% increase in total income to Rs 36,771.47 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Net interest income for the quarter ended 30 June 2021 grew to Rs 17,009 crore from Rs 15,665.40 crore for the quarter ended 30 June 2020, driven by advances growth of 14.4%, and a core net interest margin of 4.1%.

Pre-provision Operating Profit (PPOP) at Rs 15,137.0 crore grew by 18% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Provisions and contingencies for the quarter ended 30 June 2021 rose by 24.14% to Rs 4,830.8 crore (consisting of specific loan loss provisions of Rs 4,219.7 crore and general and other provisions of Rs 611.1 crore) as against Rs 3,891.5 crore (consisting of specific loan loss provisions of Rs 2,739.8 crore and general and other provisions of Rs 1,151.7 crore) for the quarter ended 30 June 2020. Total provisions for the current quarter included contingent provisions of approximately Rs 600 crore.

Just Dial fell 5.17% to Rs 1017.80 after Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) announced an open offer to acquire 26% stake in the company at Rs 1,022.25 per share.

RRVL announced an open offer for acquisition of up to 2,17,36,894 equity shares of Just Dial (representing 26% stake) for a cash consideration of Rs 2,222.05 crore. The shares in the open offer are being acquired at a price of Rs 1,022.25 apiece, at 4.76% discount to the scrip's closing price of Rs 1073.30 on Friday (16 July 2021).

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) fell 0.62%. L&T Construction, the construction arm of Larsen & Toubro (L&T), has won a slew of significant orders in India and abroad for its various businesses. The power transmission & distribution business has won an order to construct a 220kV transmission line associated with system strengthening in the Ladakh region. The design and execution of this system involves traversing avalanche prone, hilly terrains and ice loading of conductors. Another turnkey order has been received for urban power distribution in Ayodhya city under the Integrated Power Development Scheme.

Suryoday Small Finance Bank gained 2.42% after the small finance bank said its gross advances (provisional) grew 16% year-on-year to Rs 4,082 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 3,534 crore in Q1 FY21. On a sequential basis, the gross advances fell 2% last quarter as against Rs 4,186 crore in Q4 FY21. Total deposits grew 16% year-on-year and 2% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 3,317 crore in Q1 FY22. Disbursements surged 2844% to Rs 361 crore in Q1 FY22 compared with Rs 12 crore in Q1 FY21. It, however, declined 66% last quarter from Rs 1,059 crore in Q4 FY21. Meanwhile, the bank's CASA improved to 16.2% in Q1 FY22 from 15.4% in Q4 FY21 and 11.9% in Q1 FY21.

The key equity benchmarks ended almost flat on Friday, as investors booked profits at record high levels. Selling in IT and banks shares put pressure on indices. Shares of pharma and realty companies advanced in anticipation of strong Q1 earnings.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 18.79 points or 0.04% to 53,140.06. The Nifty 50 index lost 0.80 points or 0.01% to 15,923.40.

The Sensex hit a record high of 53,290.81 and the Nifty hit a record high of 15,962.25 in morning trade today. The Sensex rose 1.5% in the past three consecutive sessions.

The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.45%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.38%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,778 shares rose and 1,421 shares fell. A total of 150 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 18,89,28,123 with 40,66,605 deaths. India reported 4,30,422 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,12,531 deaths while 3,01,83,876 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India reported 38,949 cases, 542 deaths in last 24 hours. The recovery rate has increased to 97.28% while active cases now constitute 1.39% of total cases.

Economy:

India's overall exports in June 2021 are estimated to be $49.85 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 31.87% over the same period last year. Overall imports in June this year are estimated to be $52.18 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 73.65% over the same period last year.

India's overall exports in April to June this year are estimated to be $147.64 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 50.24% over the same period last year. Overall imports in April to June this year are estimated to be $156.58 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 80.75% over the same period last year.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee rose to 74.5725 compared with its previous closing of 74.5425.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement shed 0.29% to Rs 48,259.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.05% to 92.67.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.130% from its previous close of 6.117%.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2021 settlement rose 6 cents to $73.53 a barrel. The contract had lost $1.29 or 1.73% to settle at $73.47 in the previous trading session.

Global Markets:

Most European shares declined while Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday as concerns about the economic growth outlook came to the fore.

The Bank of Japan held steady on monetary policy. Japan's central bank downgraded its real GDP forecast for 2021 to 3.8% growth, as compared with the 4% growth forecast made in April 2021. The Bank of Japan also kept its yield curve control target at -0.1% for short-term interest rates and 0% for 10-year Japanese government bond yields. Yield curve control is a policy to stimulate the country's economy, and entails keeping the 10-year Japanese government bond yield at zero.

US stocks indexes fell on Thursday as energy and technology stocks declined. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday maintained the central bank will continue to evaluate the economic recovery before changing its accommodating monetary policies. The Fed chair spoke before the Senate banking panel in a second day of testimony before Congress.

Meanwhile, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stuck to its forecast for a strong recovery in world oil demand in the rest of 2021 and predicted oil use would rise further in 2022 similar to pre-pandemic rates, led by growth in China and India.

In 2022, healthy expectations for global economic growth in addition to improved containment of COVID-19 through the acceleration of vaccination programmes, effective treatment and natural immunisation, particularly in emerging and developing countries, along with frequent testing procedures, are assumed to spur consumption of oil next year to comparable pre-pandemic levels, OPEC said in the report.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 1.16% to 14,635.05. The index fell 0.27% in the previous session.

Divi's Laboratories (up 3.46%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.76%), Biocon (up 1.43%), Lupin (up 1.39%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.80%), Cadila Healthcare (up 0.66%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.61%), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.21%) and Cipla (up 0.14%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

HDFC Asset Management Company rose 0.07%. The HDFC AMC reported a 9.29% increase in net profit to Rs 345.45 crore on 0.83% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 507.08 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21.

The HDFC group company posted 14.25% increase in net profit while revenue from operations grew 23.2% in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Profit before tax for the quarter rose 23% to Rs 466.1 crore compared with Rs 380.4 crore in the same period last year.

The company's operating profit from core asset management business increased by 21% to Rs 365.20 crore during Q1 FY22 from Rs 300.60 crore in the same period last year.

Wipro gained 0.33%. As per IFRS, the IT major's consolidated net income for Q1 June 2021 was Rs 3232.10 crore, an increase of 8.7% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 35.2% year-on-year (YoY). Gross consolidated revenue was Rs 18252.40 crore in Q1 June 2021, an increase of 12.4% QoQ and 22.4% YoY.

IT services segment revenue was at $2,414.5 million, an increase of 12.2% QoQ and 25.7% YoY. IT services operating margin for the quarter was at 18.8%, a decrease of 29 bps YoY. Non-GAAP constant currency IT services segment revenue increased by 12% QoQ and 21.3% YoY.

Wipro said it expects revenue from its IT services business to be in the range of $2,535 million to $2,583 million. This translates to a sequential growth of 5.0% to 7.0%.

Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI) declined 2.93%. The IT firm reported a 8.96% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 496.80 crore in Q1 June 2021 (Q1 FY22) as against Rs 545.70 crore in Q4 March 2021 (Q4 FY21). Consolidated revenues grew 5.91% to Rs 3,462.50 crore in Q1 June 2021 compared with Rs 3,269.40 crore in Q4 March 2021.

Tata Elxsi slumped 4.12%. The company's net profit soared 64.63% to Rs 113.38 crore on 39.41% surge in revenue from operations to Rs 558.32 crore in Q1 June 2021 over Q1 June 2020. On a sequential basis, net profit fell 1.55% while revenue from operations increased 7.70% in Q1 June 2021 over Q4 March 2021.

The company's growth was driven by both its key businesses, with Embedded Product Design (EPD), the company's largest division growing by 7.5% Q-o-Q (quarter-on-quarter) and 31.4% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) and Industrial Design & Visualization (IDV) posting a smart growth of 13.9% Q-o-Q and 132.1% Y-o-Y.

The growth was led by Americas with 17.5% Q-o-Q and 69.3% Y-o-Y growth. Europe grew by 5.4% Q-o-Q and 30.1% Y-o-Y. India grew by 2.8% Q-o-Q and 47.6% Y-o-Y.

Cyient jumped 12.06%. The IT firm reported a 11.54% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 115 crore in Q1 June 2021 as against Rs 103.10 crore in Q4 March 2021. Revenues declined 3.19% to Rs 1,058.20 crore in Q1 June 2021 compared with Rs 1,093.10 crore in Q4 March 2021. The company's consolidated net profit soared 41.3% while net sales advanced 6.7% in Q1 June 2021 over Q1 June 2020.

Xelpmoc Design and Tech gained 2.63%. The company said that its board has approved raising of funds by issuing up to 7,20,000 equity shares of the company at an issue price of Rs 375 per share aggregating upto Rs 27 crore on a preferential allotment basis. The equity shares are proposed to be allotted to Newport Asia Advisors Fund, Newport Asia Growth & Income Fund, Newport Asia Institutional Fund and Newport Asia Partners Fund.

Angel Broking hit an upper circuit of 20% at Rs 1274.45. The stock broker recorded a 19% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 121.37 crore on 13.23% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 462.67 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21. The stock broker's consolidated net profit increased 156.6% while revenue from operations jumped 94% in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21.

Total income stood at Rs 474.5 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 418.9 crore in Q4 FY21, a growth of 13% QoQ. The company said income growth was aided by strong growth in client base and high client activity.

Sona BLW Precision Forgings added 1.8%. The company said that it has joined hands with Israel's IRP Nexus Group (IRP) to create a revolutionary magnet-less e-motor technology for the global electric vehicles market. Under the agreement, IRP will license its technology to Sona Comstar for manufacturing of the system exclusively in India, expecting to start mass production in 2023.

Bandhan Bank fell 3%. The bank's total deposits have increased by 28% to Rs 60,610 crore, loans & advances have risen by 8% to Rs 74,331 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. Sequentially, the bank's total deposits and advances have, however, declined by 1% and 8%, respectively. The bank's collection efficiency for the month of June 2021 was approximately 80%. Liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) as on June 30, 2021 at approximately 138%.

Tata Steel Long Products shed 0.12%. On a consolidated basis, Tata Steel Long Products posted a 2.4% decline in net profit to Rs 331.6 crore on 9% rise in net sales to Rs 1687.64 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21. The steel maker posted a net loss of Rs 131.3 crore in Q1 FY21. Net sales soared 158% in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21.

JMC Projects (India) climbed 4.26%. The EPC company said it has secured new orders worth Rs 1,624 crore. The company received orders of Rs 496 crore in Q1 FY22 and Rs 1,128 crores in Q2 FY22 till date. The orders consist of road project in Ghana worth Rs 1,128 crore and building project order worth Rs 496 crore in India.

Zomato IPO:

The initial public offer of online food delivery platform Zomato received bids for 2751.16 crore shares as against 71.92 crore shares on offer on Friday (16 July 2021), according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST. The issue was subscribed 38.25 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday (14 July 2021) and it will close on Friday (16 July 2021). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 72-76 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 195 shares and in multiples thereof.

Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem IPO:

The initial public offer of specialty chemicals manufacturing company Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem received bids for 1.45 crore shares as against 32.61 lakh shares on offer on Friday (16 July 2021), according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST. The issue was subscribed 4.46 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Friday (16 July 2021) and it will close on Tuesday (20 July 2021). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 1073-1083 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 13 shares and in multiples thereof.

Ahead of the IPO, Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem on 15 July 2021 allotted 13,85,040 equity shares to 22 anchor investors, at Rs 1,083 per equity share, aggregating to Rs 149.99 crore.

The key equity indices ended with strong gains on Thursday. Positive cues from other Asian stock markets boosted sentiment. The Nifty closed above the 15,900 mark. IT stocks were in demand.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 254.80 points or 0.48% to 53,158.85. The Nifty 50 index added 70.25 points or 0.44% to 15,924.20. Both the indices attained record closing high levels.

The Nifty hit a record high of 15,952.35 and the Sensex hit a record high of 53,266.12 in mid-afternoon trade.

The broader indices lagged the benchmarks. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.31% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.43%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1662 shares rose and 1576 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged.

Zomato IPO:

The initial public offer of online food delivery platform Zomato was subscribed 4.75 times by 16:25 IST. The issue received bids for 341.93 crore shares compared with 71.92 crore shares on offer. The IPO opened for bidding today (14 July) and it will close on Friday (16 July). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 72-76 per share of the face value of Rs 1 each.

The IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 9,000 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) worth Rs 375 crore by existing investor, Info Edge (India).

Ahead of the IPO, the online food delivery and restaurant discovery platform raised Rs 4,197 crore from 186 anchor investors Tuesday (13 July). The company allotted 55.22 crore equity shares to anchor investors for Rs 76 per equity share.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 18,83,65,518 with 40,58,233 deaths. India reported 4,32,041 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,11,989 deaths while 3,01,43,850 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India has reported 41,806 new COVID-19 cases, 39,130 recoveries and 581 deaths in the last 24 hours, the bulletin released by the Union health ministry on Thursday stated. Active caseload stands at 4,32,041 and the virus death toll at 4,11,989 at present.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.117% as compared with 6.109% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.5425, compared with its close of 74.59 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement fell 0.10% to Rs 48,251.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.04% to 92.37.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2021 settlement fell 70 cents at $74.76 a barrel. The contract fell $1.73, or 2.26% to settle at $74.76 a barrel in the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

European shares declined while Asian stocks ended higher on Thursday. China's GDP rose 7.9% year-on-year in the second quarter, official data showed Thursday. Meanwhile, the country's retail sales in June jumped 12.1% from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Chinese industrial output rose 8.3% year-on-year in June.

China's central bank partially rolled over maturing medium-term loans on Thursday, the same day when a cut in the banks' reserve requirements takes effect.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement it was keeping the rate on 100 billion yuan ($15.46 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to some financial institutions steady at 2.95% from previous operations.

US stocks closed flat on Wednesday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell soothed investor angst by saying a recent inflation spike will fade, helping lift the S&P 500 to a fresh intraday record.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will maintain its easy monetary policies. Powell said in his semiannual testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services Wednesday that the central bank can wait before it starts to ease its bond purchases despite surging inflation readings. The Fed chair said he still expects inflation to moderate.

At our June meeting, the Committee discussed the economy's progress toward our goals since we adopted our asset purchase guidance last December. While reaching the standard of 'substantial further progress' is still a ways off, participants expect that progress will continue, Powell said.

Buzzing Indian Segment:

The Nifty IT index rose 1.29% to 29,718.05. The index has added 4.49% in two sessions.

HCL Technologies (up 5.01%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (up 4.28%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.85%), MindTree (up 1.04%), Coforge (up 0.78%) and Mphasis (up 0.53%) advanced.

Oracle Financial Services Software (down 1.51%) and TCS (down 0.18%) declined.

Among the mid-cap IT stocks, Happiest Minds Technologies (up 12.87%), Zensar Technologies (up 4.21%), Firstsource Solutions (up 4.27%), Tata Elxsi (up 2.72%), Persistent Systems (up 2.05%) and NIIT (up 0.58%) edged higher.

Wipro rose 2.52%. As per IFRS, the IT major's consolidated net income for Q1 June 2021 was Rs 3232.10 crore, an increase of 8.7% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 35.2% year-on-year (YoY). Gross consolidated revenue was Rs 18252.40 crore in Q1 June 2021, an increase of 12.4% QoQ and 22.4% YoY.

IT services segment revenue was at $2,414.5 million, an increase of 12.2% QoQ and 25.7% YoY. IT services operating margin for the quarter was at 18.8%, a decrease of 29 bps YoY. Non-GAAP constant currency IT services segment revenue increased by 12% QoQ and 21.3% YoY.

Wipro said it expects revenue from its IT services business to be in the range of $2,535 million to $2,583 million. This translates to a sequential growth of 5.0% to 7.0%.

Infosys rose 0.22%. The IT major's consolidated net profit grew 2.3% to Rs 5,195 crore on 6% increase in revenue to Rs 27,896 crore in Q1 June 2021 over Q4 March 2021. On a year-on-year basis, net profit rose 22.7% and revenue increased 17.9% in Q1 June 2021.

Operating profit stood at Rs 6,603 crore in Q1 June 2021, rising 2.5% quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) and increasing 23.1% year-on-year (Y-o-Y). Operating margin for the quarter was robust at 23.7%, an increase of 1% YoY and decline of 0.8% QoQ. Free Cash Flows (FCF) grew by 15.2% YoY to Rs 6,363 crore in Q1 FY22.

Revenues in constant currency (CC) terms grew by 16.9% YoY and 4.8% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). Large deal flows remained strong with total contract value (TCV) of $2.6 billion in Q1 FY22. The company had 1,659 active clients as of 30 June 2021, compared with 1,626 as on 31 March 2021 and 1,458 as on 30 June 2020.

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) surged 19.08%. The IT firm reported a 11.11% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 217 crore in Q1 June 2021 over Rs 195.30 crore in Q4 March 2021. Consolidated revenue from operations grew 5.40% to Rs 1,518.40 crore in Q1 June 2021 from Rs 1,440.50 crore in Q4 March 2021.

During the quarter, LTTS won six deals with total contract value (TCV) of $10 million plus, which includes two $25 million plus deals. Revenues from digital and leading-edge technologies stood at 54% during the quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the patents portfolio of LTTS stood at 719, out of which 531 are co-authored with its customers and the rest are filed by LTTS. At the end of Q1 FY22, LTTS' employee strength stood at 16,972.

Stocks in Spotlight:

5Paisa Capital hit a lower circuit of 5% to Rs 522.65. The stock broker posted a 156.23% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 7.20 crore on 44% rise in total income to Rs 60.91 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21. The company's net profit grew by 23% and total income rose 22% in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21. The company said it on-boarded more than 2,78,000 new clients during the quarter, taking the total number of registered customers to 16.3 lakhs.

Tinplate Company of India jumped 4.56%. The company posted a net profit of Rs 68.62 crore in Q1 FY22 compared with net loss of Rs 6.90 crore registered in Q1 FY21. Revenue from operations increased 128.42% to Rs 803.90 crore in Q1 FY22 compared with Rs 351.94 crore in Q1 FY21. Net profit surged 22.19% and net sales rose 15.70% in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY22.

Hatsun Agro Product declined 1.16%. The company's standalone net profit rose 3.96% to Rs 58.33 crore on 20.75% increase in net sales to Rs 1,544.71 crore in Q1 June 2021 over Q1 June 2020.

The company's board has approved the proposal for raising of funds, through private placement of equity shares by way of Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), not exceeding Rs 700 crore. It also approved increasing the borrowing limit to Rs 1,800 crore from the existing Rs 1,500 crore, subject to the approval of the members at their ensuing Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Dodla Dairy slipped 2.52%. On a consolidated basis, Dodla Dairy reported net profit of Rs 9.58 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with net loss of Rs 1.94 crore in Q4 FY20. Revenue from operations rose 0.58% to Rs 530.49 crore in Q4 FY21 as against Rs 527.42 crore in Q4 FY20.

SeQuent Scientific spurted 7.54%. The animal-based pharmaceutical major announced the European Union Good Manufacturing Practices (EUGMP) approval of its tablets dosage manufacturing line in Turkey. The approval was further complimented by the successful renewal of EUGMP license for 8 other manufacturing lines for various dosage forms.

Marico gained 0.21%. The company announced a strategic investment in Apcos Naturals with an acquisition of 60% equity stake for an undisclosed consideration. Apcos Naturals is into beauty & personal care segment under the brand name “Just Herbs” and is a full stack Direct to Consumer Ayurvedic beauty brand. The firm recorded a turnover of Rs 17.5 crore in FY2020-21.

Rattanindia Enterprises was locked in an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 50.30 after the company witnessed massive jump in electric bikes sales. The company said that it saw another round of massive electrifying sales with its electric bikes getting sold out within minutes of opening online sales. Previously Revolt had opened sales on 18 June with the company having to close the booking in 2 hours. This time the bookings were closed out within minutes of launching sales on Revolt website.

RBL Bank fell 1.74%. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed restrictions yesterday on Mastercard Asia/Pacific (Mastercard) from on-boarding new domestic customers (debit, credit or prepaid) onto its card network from 22 July 2021.

RBL Bank currently issues credit cards on the Mastercard network only. The debit and prepaid cards issued by the bank are already enabled on other payment networks in addition to the Mastercard network. As of date RBL Bank has approximately 3 million credit card customers and is the fifth largest credit card issuer in the country with approximately 5% market share.

Separately, RBL Bank has entered into an agreement with Visa Worldwide (Visa) yesterday to issue credit cards enabled on the Visa payment network. RBL Bank expects to start issuance of credit cards on the Visa payment network post the technology integration which is expected to take 8 to 10 weeks.

In the interim, RBL said its current run rate of approximately 100,000 new credit card issuances per month could potentially be impacted till such time that there is clarity from the regulator on issuing new credit cards on the Mastercard network or till the technical integration with Visa is complete.

The benchmark indices ended with decent gains on Wednesday, led by strength in IT shares. The Nifty closed above the 15,850 mark. Banks and financials stocks were under pressure.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 134.32 points or 0.25% to 52,904.05. The Nifty 50 index added 41.60 points or 0.26% to 15,853.95.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.21% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.24%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1797 shares rose and 1444 shares fell. A total of 137 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 18,77,98,855 with 40,48,942 deaths. India reported 4,29,946 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,11,408 deaths while 3,01,04,720 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India reports 38,792 COVID-19 cases, deaths up by 624 in last 24 hours, said the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry data on Wednesday. A decrease of 2,832 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

Economy:

India's annual rate of inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) stood at 12.07% in June 2021 (over June 2020) compared with (-)1.81% in June 2020 and 12.94% in May 2021.

The high rate of inflation in June 2021 is primarily due to low base effect and rise in prices of mineral oils viz. petrol, diesel (HSD), naphtha, ATF, furnace oil etc., and manufactured products like basic metal, food products, chemical products etc. compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.

Meanwhile, the S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday, 13 July 2021 affirmed India's sovereign rating at the lowest investment grade of 'BBB-' for the 14th year in a row with a stable outlook, and said that the country's strong external settings will act as a buffer against financial strains despite elevated government funding needs over the next 24 months. The sovereign credit ratings on India reflect the economy's above-average long-term real GDP growth, sound external profile, and evolving monetary settings, S&P Global Ratings stated.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.111% as compared with 6.103% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.59, compared with its close of 74.4950 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement rose 0.32% to Rs 48,040.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.09% to 92.66.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2021 settlement fell 59 cents at $75.90 a barrel. The contract rose $1.33, or 1.77% to settle at $76.49 a barrel in the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia declined across the board on Wednesday following a hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation report for June overnight.

Singapore's economy grew 14.3% year-on-year in the second quarter, official advanced estimates showed Wednesday. Still, the economy contracted by 2% as compared with the previous quarter, Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry said.

US stocks slipped after posting new highs on Tuesday as the biggest hike in U.S. inflation in 13 years rattled investors.

US inflation rose at its fastest pace in nearly 13 years, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The consumer price index increased 5.4% in June from a year ago. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, jumped 4.5%, the sharpest move for that measure since September 1991.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to appear in front of Congress Wednesday and Thursday to provide an update on monetary policy.

Investors are also monitoring the spread of the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19, which is hampering the recovery from the pandemic in some parts of the world. The unfolding earnings season is key too, with global stocks close to record highs on optimism over the bounce back from the health crisis.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index jumped 3.16% to 29,339.85. The index fell 1.08% in the past three sessions.

Mphasis (up 8.17%), Wipro (up 6.99%), Coforge (up 4.85%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (up 4.83%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 3.73%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.56%), HCL Technologies (up 2.06%) advanced.

Infosys rose 2.07%. The IT major's consolidated net profit grew 2.3% to Rs 5,195 crore on 6% increase in revenue to Rs 27,896 crore in Q1 June 2021 over Q4 March 2021. On a year-on-year basis, net profit rose 22.7% and revenue increased 17.9% in Q1 June 2021.

Revenues in constant currency (CC) terms grew by 16.9% YoY and 4.8% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). Large deal flows remained strong with total contract value (TCV) of $2.6 billion in Q1 FY22.

Infosys said its operating margin for the quarter was robust at 23.7%, an increase of 1% YoY and decline of 0.8% QoQ. Free Cash Flows (FCF) grew by 15.2% YoY to Rs 6,363 crore in Q1 FY22.

Mindtree jumped 8.06%. The IT company reported strong Q1 results after market hours Tuesday (13 July). The counter hit a record high of Rs 2,692.80 in intraday today.

The IT company reported an 8.2% increase in net profit to Rs 343.40 crore on an 8.6% rise in revenues to Rs 2,291.70 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21. In dollar terms, the company posted 7.5% rise in consolidated net profit to $46.5 million on 7.7% increase in revenues to $310.5 million in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21.

EBITDA in Q1 FY22 rose 0.4% to Rs 464.50 crore as against Rs 462.60 crore posted in Q4 FY21. EBITDA margin was at 20.3% as on Q1 FY22 compared with 21.9% in Q4 FY21 and 18.2% in Q1 FY21.

In Q1 FY22, Mindtree reported highest ever order book of half-a-billion US dollars, registering a growth of 34.2% QoQ. The total active clients at the end of June 2021 stood at 260, down from 270 clients at the end of March 2021.

TCS rose 0.84%. The IT major on Wednesday announced plans to expand its operations in Arizona, investing more than $300 million by 2026 and hiring more than 220 employees by 2023, to meet the digital transformation needs of its customers. TCS will also continue to expand the reach of its STEM and Computer Science education programs in Arizona by increasing teacher training and online contentfor students over the next two years.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) rose 0.33% while GAIL (India) shed 0.64%. ONGC has signed a five-year gas sale and transportation agreement with Gail India for sale of 90% of its domestic gas produce at domestic price.

NBCC (India) shed 1.01%. The company has secured total business of Rs 206 crore in the month of June 2021.

Tata Metaliks jumped 3.46%. The company's standalone net profit stood at Rs 94.72 crore in Q1 June 2021 (Q1 FY22) compared with net loss of Rs 12.36 crore in Q1 June 2020 (Q1 FY21). Revenue from operations surged 187.21% to Rs 602.97 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 209.94 crore in Q1 FY21.

Hindustan Zinc added 0.03%. The company's mined metal production for Q1 FY22 was 221,000 tonnes, up 9% from 202,000 tonnes in Q1 FY21. The increased production was mainly on account of higher ore production largely at Rampura Agucha mines (RAM) and Zawar mines. This was partially offset by lower overall metal grades.

The mined metal production decreased 23% in Q1 FY22 from 288,000 tonnes in Q4FY21, mainly due to lower ore production at Sindesar Khurd & Rampura Agucha mines due to operators' absenteeism in April & May in light of second wave of COVID-19.

India Grid Trust rose 0.72%. The Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) announced the completion of acquisition of 100% stake in two solar assets with cumulative capacity of 100 MW from Fotowatio Renewable Ventures at an enterprise value of Rs 660 crore.

With this acquisition, the company's asset portfolio will now consist of fourteen diversified power projects consisting of 40 transmission lines,11 substations (13,550 MVA capacity) and 100 MW of solar power plants across 18 states and one Union Territory. IndiGrid's acquisition of its first solar asset is an important milestone in the Indian infrastructure sector as this marks the first renewable energy acquisition by any InvIT in the country.

Zuari Agro Chemicals advanced 2.11%. The company said its single super phosphate (SSP) plant in Mahad (Maharashtra) has resumed operations with supply of raw materials having been tied up with a supplier. Zuari Agro Chemicals has further intimated that the NPK A plant has been shut down due to unavailability of raw materials. The company will inform once the plant resumes operations.

Vedanta gained 0.18%. The company said its total aluminum production grew 17% to 5,49,000 tonnes in Q1 FY22 compared with 4,69,000 tonnes in Q1 FY21. In zinc (India), integrated metal production was 236,000 tonnes for Q1 FY22, up 17% as compared to Q1 FY21 in line with higher availability of mined metal and down 8% as compared to Q4 FY21 on account of lower mined metal production.

In zinc (international), total production for Q1 FY22 was 61,000 tonnes, higher by 62% as compared to Q1 FY21 mainly due to higher Gamsberg production due to ramp up and COVID lockdown restrictions which were in place in Q1 FY21. Q1 FY22 production was higher by 10% as compared to Q4 FY21 due to 11% higher throughput.

In iron ore segment, there was no production at Goa due to suspension of mining pursuant to the Supreme Court judgement dated 7th February 2018 directing mining operations of all companies in Goa to stop with effect from 16th March 2018. At Karnataka, production volume in Q1 FY22 was 1.4 million tonnes, higher by 53% as compared to Q1 FY21 and 24% sequentially. Pig iron production was at 2,02,000 tonnes in Q1 FY22, higher by 85% as compared to Q1 FY21 and 29% sequentially.

In oil & gas segment, average gross operated production during Q1 FY22 across our assets was 164,899 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), up 4% compared to Q1 FY21 and at similar levels as compared to Q4 FY21.

In steel segment, total saleable production for Q1 FY22 was 289,000 tonnes, higher by 8% as compared to Q1 FY21, mainly due to COVID-19 restrictions in Q1 FY21. In comparison to Q4 FY2021, total saleable production was down by 9% mainly due to instabilities and hanging issues at blast furnace.

In power segment, during Q1 FY22, power sales were 2,722 million units higher by 48% as compared to Q1 FY21 and 19% lower as compared to Q4 FY21.

The key equity indices ended with strong gains on Tuesday, tracking positive cues from other Asian stock markets. Banks and financial stocks advanced, followed by metal and pharma shares while media, IT and FMCG stocks declined.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 397.04 points or 0.76% to 52,769.73. The Nifty 50 index added 119.75 points or 0.76% to 15,812.35.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.01% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.46%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1854 shares rose and 1360 shares fell. A total of 141 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 18,72,44,854 with 40,38,964 deaths. India reported 4,32,778 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,10,784 deaths while 3,00,63,720 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India reported 31,443 new COVID-19 cases in last 24 hours. The number new cases is lowest in 118 days. With 2,020 fatalities in last 24 hours, India's death toll reached 4,10,784, said the Union health and family welfare ministry data on Tuesday. This is the 35th consecutive day when India reported less than one lakh new coronavirus cases.

Economy:

The quick estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data for the month of May 2021, revealed that the index for base 2011-12 stands at 116.6. This marked a 29.3% jumped compared with the lockdown infected May 2020.

The Indices of Industrial Production for the Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity sectors for the month of May 2021 stand at 108, 113.5 and 161.9 respectively. These Quick Estimates will undergo revision in subsequent releases as per the revision policy of IIP.

The Consumer Price Index-based inflation (CPI) for the month of June 2021 recorded a rise of 6.26%, moderating a little after a six-month high reading of 6.30% in May 2021. Food prices stayed elevated though as food inflation (CFPI) rose to 5.15% in June 2021, as compared with 5.01% in May 2021. Inflation for the 'fuel and light' sub-group also surged to 12.7% compared to 11.6% in May 2021.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.106% as compared with 6.220% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.4950, compared with its close of 74.5850 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement rose 0.11% to Rs 47,825.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.11% to 92.37.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2021 settlement rose 45 cents at $75.61 a barrel. The contract fell 39 cents, or 0.52% to settle at $75.16 a barrel in the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

Most European shares declined while Asian shares advanced on Tuesday as investors reacted to the release of China's trade data for June.

China's exports in dollar terms rose 32.2% in June from a year earlier, compared with 27.9% growth in May. The data showed imports increased 36.7% year-on-year last month, slowing from a 51.1% gain in May, which was the highest growth rate in a decade.

Wall Street's main indexes rose on Monday, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hitting record highs as investors awaited the start of the second-quarter earnings season and a batch of economic data to gauge the next leg of the equity market.

Investors appeared cautiously optimistic ahead of the start of second-quarter earnings reports. Investors also anticipate important data to be released this week, including key readings on inflation on Tuesday and Wednesday, and June 2021 retail sales on Friday.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is set to testify before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday, and investors will be looking for any signals of fiscal policy updates.

Buzzing Segment:

The Nifty Bank index rose 1.35% to 35,673.40. The index has risen 1.71% in two sessions.

ICICI Bank (up 2.75%), Axis Bank (up 2.31%), HDFC Bank (up 0.90%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.70%), IndusInd Bank (up 0.50%), Bandhan Bank (up 0.33%), State Bank of India (up 0.33%) and Punjab National Bank (up 0.12%) climbed.

Stock in Spotlight:

NMDC rose 3.80%. The state-owned miner on Tuesday said that its board has approved the demerger between NMDC and NMDC Steel. The scheme of demerger need statutory and regulatory approvals.

Mindtree fell 0.14%. On a consolidated basis, Mindtree reported 8.2% increase in net profit to Rs 343.40 crore on 8.6% rise in revenues to Rs 2,291.70 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21.

In dollar terms, the company posted 7.5% rise in consolidated net profit to $46.5 million on 7.7% increase in revenues to $310.5 million in Q1 FY22 over Q4 FY21.

In Q1 FY22, Mindtree reported highest ever order book of half-a-billion US dollars, registering a growth of 34.2% QoQ. The total active clients at the end of June 2021 stood at 260, down from 270 clients at the end of March 2021.

Reliance Industries rose 0.72%. The conglomerate has invested Rs 1 lakh in Reliance New Energy Solar (RNESL), a newly incorporated wholly owned subsidiary. RNESL is incorporated to undertake activities relating to solar energy. RNESL is yet to commence its business operations.

Ashoka Buildcon added 0.04% after the construction firm received a letter of acceptance from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a road project worth Rs 726 crore in Punjab.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday (12 July) announced inclusion of Astral and Strides Pharma Science in the Futures & Options (F&O) segment with effect from 30 July 2021.

Astral (up 0.71%) and Strides Pharma Science (up 2.80%) advanced.

ISGEC Heavy Engineering gained 2.71%. The company has bagged an order for two waste to energy boilers (pressure & non-pressure parts) from Hitachi Zosen Inova, Switzerland for the Slough Multifuel Project in Slough, Berkshire, UK. Each of these boilers will have a capacity of 660 TPD. The company said that this is the second order that it has received from Hitachi Zosen Inova. Waste to Energy is a sustainable technology with huge potential and the EPC company is actively playing a constructive role in not just promoting it but actually executing it on the ground.

Sunteck Realty advanced 2.90% after the company's pre-sales jumped 74% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) while collections grew 165% Y-o-Y in Q1 June 2021. Pre-sales grew 74% to Rs 176 crore in Q1 June 2021 as against Rs 101 crore in Q1 June 2020. Collections soared 165% to Rs 172 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 65 crore in Q1 FY21. Collection efficiency stood at 98% of pre-sales in Q1 FY22 as against 64% in Q1 FY21.

Ramkrishna Forgings rose 0.69%. The firm, on Tuesday announced that it has received PPAP clearance (Parts Production Approval Process) and confirmation to launch order worth EUR 15 million from a European OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). The said order is to be implemented over the period of three years distributed equally.