Indian Indices Trade On A Volatile Note; HDFC Bank & Reliance Industries Top Losers

Share markets in India are trading on a volatile note, swinging between gains and losses, dragged by financials and energy stocks.

A weak trend in Asian peers also weighed on the sentiment. Asian shares tumbled as reports showed layoffs of American workers are persisting at high levels after the US economy contracted at a nearly 33% annual pace in the spring, the worst quarter on record.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 101 points, at 37,700 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 22 points.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.2%.

The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.4%.

On the sectoral front, finance stocks are witnessing most of the selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at 74.75 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 1.1% at Rs 53,790 per 10 grams.

Also, a few months back, Richa wrote to you about an urgent opportunity in small caps...in 5 small-caps to be precise.

Her efforts have paid off well. Every single smallcap in the list has offered gains, beating the benchmark indices by a handsome margin as can be seen in the chart below.

But even if the gains had not come, Richa's conviction in these 'Essential stocks' would not have been any less. That's because these are coffee can stocks.

In news from the pharma space, Torrent Pharma is among the top buzzing stocks today.

Shares of the company rallied over 10% today after the pharmaceutical company's consolidated profit before tax jumped 44% to Rs 4 billion in the April-June quarter of FY21 (Q1FY21).

The company's PBT in the corresponding quarter last year stood at Rs 2.8 billion.

Moreover, its consolidated net profit leaped 48.6% to Rs 3.2 billion mainly on account of robust sales in the Indian market.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2.2 billion for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

The company's consolidated total income rose marginally by 0.9% to Rs 20.6 billion from Rs 20.4 billion in Q1 of FY20.

In terms of markets, while its India revenues grew marginally by 2% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to Rs 9.3 billion, up from Rs 9.1 billion in Q1 of FY20, its US revenues fell by 1% to Rs 3.7 billion.

During the quarter, the company launched two products in the US market and guided for 9-10 more in FY21. It plans to file 12-14 ANDA in FY21.

According to Samir Mehta, the company's executive chairman, the first quarter of current fiscal witnessed challenges due to Covid-19 hampering industry growth in global markets. However, most of the company's focus markets have seen a steady recovery since June.

Torrent Pharma share price is presently trading up by 11.6%.

Moving on to news from the banking sector, as per an article in the Economic Times, the government should reduce its stake in state-owned banks to 26% and give their leaders longer tenures for professional management, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has told the Prime Minister.

The RBI gave Modi a presentation on Thursday when he met with the heads of financial regulators to discuss measures to revive the economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

It suggested that the managing directors and chief executive officers of state-run banks should have a term of three to years and their salaries should match the private sector.

The government's holding in state-run owned banks exceeds 50%.

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, markets regulator chairman Ajay Tyagi, Irdai chairman S C Khuntia and PFRDA chairman Supratim Bandyopadhyay attended the three-hour-long meeting. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal also attended.

India's economy is expected to contract by 4.5% during the current fiscal, according to the latest projection by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Since February, the RBI has taken various measures, including liquidity infusion and moderation of interest rate to record low in its bid to maintain financial stability and support growth.

Nearly 40% of the government's Rs 20.97 lakh crore economic package comprised of several liquidity measures undertaken by the RBI.

How this all pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space.

Disclosure: Equitymaster Agora Research Private Limited (Research Analyst) bearing Registration No. INH000000537 (hereinafter referred as 'Equitymaster') is an independent equity research ...

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