RPP Infra Projects wins two orders worth Rs 62.83 crore

RPP Infra Projects won two new work orders worth amount of Rs 62.83 crore from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HCPL) for Construction of PEB Structural Sheds Along with Associated Civil Works for POL Terminal at Dharmapuri, VDPL Project and The Executive Engineer (OS) Division, ALHW for Development of Sea Port Terminal at Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Islands) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The company has to execute these orders within a period of 10 and 20 months respectively.

RPP Infra’s order book at the end of FY20 stood at Rs 1,788.2 crore.

Buzzing | Shares of Sagar Cement rallied ovevr 13 percent after the company reported 22 percent rise in Q1FY21 net profit at Rs 36 crore as against Rs 29.5 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 23.3 percent to Rs 264.1 crore from Rs 344.2 crore, YoY.

TCS extends partnership with Vaillant Group

IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has expanded its partnership with Vaillant Group, a global leader in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technology, to streamline the latter’s business processes and implement those on a single, digital enterprise process platform to support its business model transformation and future growth.

PM Modi interacts with top bank officials, says govt ready to take any steps to support banking system

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a meeting with top bankers and said his government is firmly behind the banking system and is ready to take any steps necessary to support and promote its growth. In the virtual meeting, attended by CEOs of banks and NBFCs, the Prime Minister emphasizing crucial role played by the financial and banking system in supporting growth, noted that the small entrepreneurs, SHGs, farmers should be motivated to use institutional credit to meet their credit needs and grow. More here

Bharti Airtel shares gain after better than expected Q1 earnings

Shares of telecom operator Bharti Airtel gained over 2 percent after the company reported better than expected earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2021. The stock gained as much as 2.2 percent to intraday high of Rs 579 apiece on the BSE. Though the company’s net loss during the quarter widened to Rs 15,933.1 crore from Rs 5,237 crore in the previous quarter, the company’s operating performance was better with a rise in average revenue per user (ARPU).

Income Tax dept extends deadline for filing ITR for FY19 to September 30

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the last date for filing belated and revised Income Tax Return (ITR) for FY2018-19 (AY2019-20) to September 30, 2020. “This is done in view of the constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to further ease compliances for taxpayers,” CBDT said in a tweet. Earlier, the government had extended the deadline to file belated income tax return (ITR) for FY 2018-19 at two occasions. First, from the original deadline of March 31, 2020 to June 30, 2020, and then to July 31, 2020.

COVID-19 treatment: As more companies launch Favipiravir, price war may intensify

Even as doctors are divided over the benefits of Favipiravir for mild to moderate COVID-19 patients, a slew of generic launches is expected to intensify a price war that has already begun. Glenmark Pharma which was the first to receive regulatory approval for Favipravir last month,  has cut the price per tablet to Rs 75 per from Rs 103 earlier, anticipating market competition. At least 8 other favipiravir brands are expected to enter the market in the next few days. Hetero Pharma, became the third company to launch its generic version of Favipiravir, called Favivir at a price of Rs 59 per tablet. Earlier this week Mumbai-based Jenburkt Pharma launched the cheapest brand so far, Favivent, at Rs 39 per tablet. The company has started supplies in Mumbai and plans to first expand in parts of Maharashtra before rolling out countrywide. More here

Buzzing | Dr Reddy’s Laboratories share price rallied over 4 percent to hit 52-week high of Rs 4,486.45 after company’s Q1FY21 earnings beat analysts’ estimates. The company reported a net profit of Rs 579 crore in the quarter ended June 2020, as against CNBC-TV18 analysts’ estimates of Rs 513 crore. Revenue from operations in Q1FY21 rose 15 percent to Rs 4,418 crore from Rs 3,843 crore, compared year on year. Revenue was also higher than the expectations of Rs 4,179 crore.

Technical View | The Nifty has reclaimed the 11,250 levels on opening. What needs to be seen is if it can go past 11,300 and close; if that happens we should be able to achieve the 11,500 level during the course of August. 11,050 – 11,100 continues to be the support, said Manish Hathiramani, Index Trader and Technical Analyst, Deen Dayal Investments.

Rupee Opens | Indian rupee opened marginally lower at 74.84 per dollar on Thursday against the previous close of 74.79.

Market Watch: Ashish Chaturmohta, Head-Technical & Derivatives at Sanctum Wealth Management

“Yesterday we have seen a massive rally in the pharma basket and if you look at Nifty Pharma, it has given a good breakout. So, within this basket I think Cipla is looking very promising. Here one can initiate a long keeping Rs 672 as a trading stop loss and on upside I am expecting stock to hit its recent swing high which is close to around Rs 715 zone. So, Rs 715 is a short term target in Cipla.”

“A buy call on Manappuram. Gold is continuously seeing a good up trend and it is going to benefit gold finance companies and Manappuram has underperformed Muthoot for a very long time. We are seeing a good traction coming to this stock, so here one can initiate a long keeping Rs 178 as a stop loss. On upside I am expecting stock to hit Rs 192 as a short term target.”

Girish Pai, Head of Research at Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities on Maruti

“Maruti numbers disappointed; in fact it came in fairly below our estimates for the quarter. So, we have downgraded from buy to accumulate. We think that there are certain issues that Maruti will have to face in the coming days, at least in the near term. Also, most consumers are trying to buy used cars rather than new cars. So, that is a phenomenon we gathered when we spoke to dealers in the market. So, I think these are things that Maruti will have to grapple with in the next I would say 6-12 months. But from a very long term perspective, we think that the underpenetration of cars in the Indian market, the fact that Maruti has done a fair job in terms of building a wide basket of products stretching from entry level vehicles to slightly premium vehicles, would mean that it should be part of your portfolio. But in the near term we think that some other stocks in the auto sector potentially could do well.”

Opening Bell: Sensex, Nifty open higher led by banks, IT stocks

Indian shares opened higher on Thursday, tracking gains in Asian peers after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates at ultra-low levels, while the dollar fell to a two-year low. Gains in the domestic indices were led by index heavyweights Bharti Airtel, HDFC twins, Infosys and TCS. At 9:18 am, the Sensex was trading 212 points higher at 38,283 while the Nifty rose 71 points to 11,274. Broader markets were also in-line with the benchmarks with Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices up around half a percent. Among sectors, Nifty It surged the most, up 1.2 percent while Nifty Bank and Nifty Fin Services rose around 0.8 percent each. Nifty Auto nd Nifty Metal were also up around 0.5 percent.

India extends bid submission deadline for stake in Bharat Petroleum to September 30

India’s finance ministry said Wednesday it had extended the deadline for submission of bids for the sale of its stake in oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd to Sept. 30, allowing more time for interested parties. It was extended “in view of further requests from the interested bidders and the prevailing situation arising out of COVID-19,” the ministry said in a statement, marking the second such extension since May. The government’s move to sell its 52.98 percent stake in Bharat Petroleum, the country’s second-biggest oil refiner, could help it bridge its widening fiscal gap.

InterGlobe Aviation posts Rs 2,844 cr Q1 loss

InterGlobe Aviation on Wednesday reported a net loss of Rs 2,844.3 crore for the three months ended June due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and the airline has pitched for removal of cap on fares. The parent of the country’s largest airline IndiGo had a net profit of Rs 1,203.1 crore in the year-ago period. In the first quarter of the current financial year, the airline’s total income declined 88 percent to Rs 1,143.8 crore. In the year-ago period, the same stood at Rs 9,786.9 crore, IndiGo said in a release. Revenue from operations declined 91.9 percent to Rs 766.7 crore in the quarter under review compared to the same period a year ago.

US Fed sees dim economic outlook as virus squeezes economy

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Wednesday that the viral epidemic is endangering the modest economic recovery that followed a collapse in hiring and spending this spring. As a result, he said, the Fed plans to keep interest rates pinned near zero well into the future. That faltering economy, pressured by a resurgence of the virus, has heightened the need for Congress to continue providing significant financial aid, Powell said. Members of the House and Senate are negotiating a new package but are nowhere near agreement. Senate Republicans and the White House are proposing a plan that would provide less help for unemployed Americans than they are now receiving. More here

EARNINGS: Bharti Airtel Q1 loss widens to Rs 15,933 crore

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Wednesday reported substantial widening of losses to Rs 15,933 crore for June quarter, mainly on account of provisioning for statutory dues. The loss for the corresponding period last year stood at Rs 2,866 crore. The revenue for Q1 FY21 came in at Rs 23,939 crore, up 15.4 per cent from year-ago period. The consolidated net loss before exceptional items for the quarter stood at Rs 436 crore, an Airtel statement said, adding that consolidated net loss after exceptional items stands at Rs 15,933 crore. More here

First up, here is quick catchup of what happened in the markets on Wednesday

Indian shares ended lower on Wednesday as investors booked profits in index heavyweight Reliance Industries after an eight-day rally, while the IT sector added to the losses. The Sensex ended 422 points lower at 38,071 while the Nifty lost 98 points to settle at 11,203. Reliance dragged the Nifty energy index down nearly 1.6 percent, with refiner HPCL and BPCL also falling 2 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. M&M, HCL Tech and Hero Moto were the other top losers on the Nifty50 index, down over 2 percent each.

Welcome to CNBC-TV18’s Market Live Blog

Good morning, readers! I am Pranati Deva the market’s desk of CNBC-TV18. Welcome to our market blog, where we provide rolling live news coverage of the latest events in the stock market, business and economy. We will also get you instant reactions and guests from our stellar lineup of TV guests and in-house editors, researchers, and reporters. If you are an investor, here is wishing you a great trading day. Good luck!