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PremiumSensex Today | Market Close Highlights : European shares moved slightly up on Tuesday, led by gains in basic resources shares and upbeat earnings, while investors and central bankers await inflation data this week that could alter the course for interest rates.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.1% by 8:21 GMT.
Asian shares slipped on Tuesday, with slightly warmer-than-expected Japanese inflation putting investors on guard ahead of price data due in Europe and the U.S. this week, though bitcoin extended gains on signs that institutional buyers are circling.
The yen steadied at 150.50 to the dollar and inched off a three-month low on the euro as Japanese inflation stayed at the central bank's 2% year-on-year target, keeping alive expectations it would exit negative rates by April.
Tokyo's Nikkei eked a fresh record high, but closed just 0.01% firmer. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2%, keeping below last week's seven-month peak.
Later in the day, U.S. numbers for durable goods sales, consumer confidence and home prices will be on investors' radar.
Brent crude futures hovered around $82.63 a barrel after Reuters reported Hamas received a draft Gaza truce proposal including a 40-day pause in fighting.
S&P 500 nudged 0.1% lower while Nasdaq futures, FTSE futures and European futures each fell about 0.2%.
Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields were last 1.4 basis points lower at 4.29%. Two-year yields fell 3 bps to 4.71%.
Having opened lower on Tuesday, Indian benchmark indices closed up on Tuesday, even as global peers were mixed in anticipation of inflation data set to be released in Europe and US this week.
Sensex that had opened at 72,723.53, remained in the range of 72,660.13 and 73,161.30 during the day. At close, it was up 305.09 points, or 0.42%, at 73,095.22.
And Nifty that had opened at 22,090.20, and touched a low of 22,085.65, climbed to a high of 22,218.25 during the day. At close, it was up 76.90 points, or 0.34%, at 22,198.35.
Elsewhere, the broader market erased some of its gains, with the Midcap index closing 0.12% down, and the Smallcap index, having eked out a gain, closing up 0.25%.
Across sectors, the PSU Bank index closed down 0.56%, the Oil & Gas index was down 0.73%, while the Financial Services index was down 0.32%.
Among the gainers, the Realty index closed up 1.07%, while Consumer Durables, Healthcare, Metal, Pharma, IT and Auto, all ended the day in green.
Sensex Today Live : Small-cap stock Centum Electronics' share price has posted multibagger returns in the long term - last 1,3 and 5 years.
The stock has soared 254 percent in the last 1 year from ₹567.95. Meanwhile, it has rallied 364 percent in the last 3 years and 416 percent in the last 5 years.
An investment of ₹1 lakh in this stock a year ago would have turned into ₹3.54 lakh today. Furthermore, the same investment 3 and 5 years ago would have resulted in ₹4.64 lakh and ₹5.16 lakh, respectively.
Centum was founded in 1994 in Bangalore, India. Since then, Centum has rapidly grown into a diversified electronics company with operations in North America, EMEA and Asia. The company offers a broad range of products and services across different industry segments. It has continuously invested in strengthening its design & product development capabilities while developing deep domain knowledge in the segments it operates in.
Sensex Today Live : Across sectors, Realty, Consumer Durables, Healthcare, Pharma, IT and Auto, were in the lead.
Sensex Today Live : In the broader market, the Midcap index was down marginally.
Sensex Today Live : TCS, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Power Grid Corp., and IndusInd Bank, were the biggest gainers on the Nifty 50, while Bajaj Finance, Hero MotoCorp, SBI, Divi's Lab and UPL were the biggest losers.
Sensex Today Live : Tata Motors and TCS were up more than 2%, while Sun Pharma, Airtel, and Power Grid Corp., were also in the lead on Sensex, Meanwhile, Bajaj Finance, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, and NTPC were the biggest losers.
Sensex Today Live : Having opened lower on Tuesday, Indian benchmark indices were up late in the afternoon, even as global peers were mixed in anticipation of inflation data set to be released in Europe and US this week.
At 3 pm, Sensex was up 304.95 points, or 0.42%, at 73,095.08, and Nifty was up 66.90 points, or 0.3%, at 22,188.95.
Elsewhere, the broader market erased some of its gains, with the Midcap index turning red, while the Smallcap index eked out a gain.
Across sectors, PSU Bank and Oil & Gas indices were down, while Realty, Consumer Durables and IT were up.
Sensex Today Live : Brokerage house Motilal Oswal Financial Services has initiated covering Cello Word stock, indicating an upside of 31% from the company's current market price. The brokerage has a buy rating for the stock with a target price of ₹1,100. The Cello World share price today surged by more than 5%. On the BSE, the Cello World share price opened at an intraday low of ₹858.80.
According to the brokerage's analysis, Cello has a strong brand reputation and a wide distribution network, making it a prominent participant in all of its product categories.
Sensex Today Live : Monthly bounce data suggests no material signs of risk build-up; bounce rates are now better than pre-covid levels
Over the last two quarters, there have been intense discussions on the quality and quantity of growth in the unsecured personal loan space.
We launch a new monthly series analysing the bounce data, as a lead indicator for any signs of retail risk build-up.
Bounce data (both volume-wise and value-wise) for Jan’24 suggests no material signs of risk build-up with unsuccessful rates now being better than pre-covid levels.
Bounce rate data suggests no rise in stress; unsuccessful rates are trending lower and are better than pre-covid period.
Bounce data for the month of Jan’24 suggests continued strong asset quality behaviour.
Unsuccessful auto-debit requests (bounce rate) were recorded at comfortable level of 20.6%, which is better than MoM (21.2%) and closer to the lowest levels in the last 4-5 years.
Unsuccessful bounce rate (volume-wise) also broadly continued its improving trajectory with Jan’24 print at 26.6% vs 28.9% YoY, though marginally up vs 26.2% MoM.
Historically, volume-wise bounce rate is higher vs value-wise, suggesting relatively higher stress in low ticket transactions / products.
Importantly, bounce rate (volume wise), after being flat for several months, has also started to settle at lower levels, suggesting improved behaviour in low-ticket size product as well.
Sensex Today Live : CMP: INR 9,042
Target Price: INR 9,170 (INR 8,000)
Price cuts dampen India prospects; demerger on track
The company is set to launch diabetes brands, namely Soliqua (Q1CY24), Insutage and Cetapin S in CY24 and Allegra M (consumer brand) in CY25.
It is also planning to source Insutage and Cetapin S locally to boost margins.
Demerger of the consumer business (28% of India sales) is on track to happen in Q2CY24 and it has on-boarded a management team and independent directors for this business.
We cut our CY24E EPS by 2% to factor in weak results. Maintain HOLD, but raise target price to INR 9,170, valuing consumer/residual business at 32x/28x CY25E earnings.
Sensex Today Live : He posted,
"How times change:
Previously we had BAAP- buy at any price.
Now it is
PAAP: Psu at any price
And
SAAP: Smallcap at any price"
Sensex Today Live : Having opened lower on Tuesday, Indian benchmark indices were up in the afternoon, even as Asian shares slipped in anticipation of inflation data set to be released in Europe and US this week.
At 2 pm, Sensex was up 146.42 points, or 0.20%, at 72,936.55, and Nifty was up 18.20 points, or 0.08%, at 22,140.25.
Elsewhere, the broader market erased some of its gains, while across sectors, PSU Bank and Oil & Gas indices had fallen more than 1%.
Sensex Today Live : Kajaria Ceramics, Amber Enterprises, Supreme Industries, are among the top picks of Jefferies India in the Small and Mid-cap space.
Analysts at Jefferies said that they remain bullish on capex and housing theme as well as Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS). Likewise, their top Picks are Supreme Industries, Kajaria Ceramics and Amber Electronics. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Following the government's capex-push led surge in infrastructure shares such as L&T, the stock market is likely to shift its focus to the consumption story, particularly in rural India. This shift aligns with the release of the National Sample Survey Office's (NSSO) delayed monthly household expenditure survey for 2022-23.
The latest results reveal that average Indian household spending has more than doubled in the last ten years, with a greater portion of expenditure going towards discretionary items such as clothes, television sets, and entertainment, while spending on food items has decreased. The share of spending on food dropped below 50% for the first time in rural India. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : The IT sector has outperformed the Nifty 50 in 2024 year-to-date (YTD), surpassing the benchmark again after doing so in 2023. So far in 2024, the Nifty IT index has jumped around 6% compared to a 1.65% gain in the benchmark index.
The IT index has risen over 3% in February so far, extending gains for the fourth straight month. The index had hit its 52-week high of 38,559.85 earlier this month on February 19, 2024, following the overall positive sentiment in the Indian market.
In a recent note, brokerage house Ambit Capital noted that the March quarter (Q4) outlook doesn’t suggest immediate recovery. The brokerage suggests that the current environment, with growth and margins likely to remain below pre-Covid levels, may not support the structural increase in valuations based on growth alone.
Sensex Today Live : Nova Agritech share price witnessed strong buying interest in morning deals today. Its price today opened upside at ₹60.30 apiece on NSE and went on to touch an intraday high of ₹68.95 per share level, logging an intraday gain of over 14 percent. While climbing to this intraday peak, Nova Agritech shares logged around 70 percent rise against its upper price band of ₹41 per share. If an allottee had remained invested in this stock despite strong listing, the absolute value of one's investment in the scrip would have surged around 70 percent within a month of Nova Agritech share listing.
Having opened lower on Tuesday, Indian benchmark indices were climbing up in the afternoon, even as Asian shares slipped in anticipation of inflation data to be released in Europe and US this week.
At 1 pm, Sensex was up 336.17 points, or 0.46%, at 73,126.30, and Nifty was up 83.10 points, or 0.38%, at 22,205.15.
Elsewhere, the broader market had pulled ahead, while indices across sectors were largely in the green with Bank and Financial services stocks having erased their losses.
Sensex Today Live : India's top banks including State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank have walked back on capital commitments made to private equity and venture capital funds to avoid falling foul of a recent central bank circular on alternative investment funds (AIFs), three people familiar with the matter said. The development has rattled around 100 funds, the people said, putting a question mark over AIFs operating in a range of sectors including startup funding and buyout finance.
In December, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked banks and non-bank lenders to sell investments in AIFs linked to their debtor companies. PE and VC funds raise significant amounts from domestic banks through AIFs, which they invest in companies across sectors. Once a fund manager finalizes an investment, a capital call is made - a request to draw down the promised money.
In a recent case, SBI declined a capital call from the sovereign-backed National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), two of the three people cited above said on condition of anonymity. The bank has also declined capital calls from its own funds, a third person said, referring to several funds owned by India's largest bank by assets. SBI, NIIF, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank did not respond to requests for comment. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Top automakers are divided on the Indian government's tax policy on hybrid cars. While Maruti Suzuki and Toyota advocate for lower taxes for hybrids to encourage their adoption, Tata Motors, Mahindra, and Hyundai argue against any preferential tax treatment for these vehicles.
These companies account for over 85% of the Indian car market, effectively making this an industry-wide discord. Both the camps have lobbied with various government departments and ministries, including the Prime Minister’s Office.
Proponents of hybrids argue that tax reductions would narrow the price gap with conventional cars, thereby increasing consumer adoption. They believe this shift would assist the government in achieving lower emission goals and decrease the country’s oil import bill. Mint explains what the issue is all about. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Across sectors, Oil & Gas, Bank and Financial Services stocks were under pressure, while Realty, Consumer Durables, and IT stocks were in the lead.
Sensex Today Live : The broader market was in the green at noon on Tuesday.
Sensex Today Live : Hero MotoCorp, UPL, Adani Ports & SEZ, ONGC, and Adani Enterprises were the top laggards on the Nifty 50.
Sensex Today Live : TCS, HCL Tech, Power Grid Corp., Titan, and Tata Motors, were the top gainers on the Sensex.
Sensex Today Live : Having opened lower on Tuesday, Indian benchmark indices were up at noon, but looking for direction to firm up among weak signals from global peers.
At 12 pm, Sensex was up 77.35 points, or 0.11%, at 72,867.48, and Nifty was up 18 points, or 0.08%, at 22,140.05.
Meanwhile, the broader market had pulled ahead. Across sectors, Oil & Gas, Bank, Financial Services, and FMCG indices were under pressure.
Sensex Today Live : The initial public offering (IPO) of Exicom Tele-Systems Limited has hit the Indian primary market today, and will remain open till Thursday, 29th February 2024. The EV charging solution company has fixed the IPO price band at ₹135 to ₹142 per equity share. The company aims to raise ₹429 crore from this public offer out of which ₹329 crore is aimed through the issuance of fresh shares.
Before the issue opening, Exicom Tele-Systems IPO raised ₹178.05 crore from anchor investors. As per the Exicom Tele Systems IPO subscription status, the public issue has been fully subscribed within an hour of issue opening.
Meanwhile, the grey market has already gone bullish on the book build issue before the IPO subscription opening. According to the stock market observers, shares of the EV charging solution company are available at a premium of ₹129 in the grey market today. A close review of the balance sheet of Exicom Tele-Systems Limited showed that in FY23, the company's revenue decreased by around 14.80 percent YoY despite the rise in PAT (Profit After Tax) by over 24 percent.
Sensex Today Live : Platinum Industries IPO subscription status: Platinum Industries IPO was fully booked within the first hour of its opening owing to strong response from retail investors and non institutional investors (NIIs). Platinum IPO subscription status was 1.55 times, at 11:12 IST, as per BSE data.
Platinum IPO's retail portion was subscribed 2.25 times, the NII portion was booked 1.99 times, and Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) portion is yet to be booked. Platinum Industries IPO has opened for bidding today (Tuesday, February 27), and will close on Thursday, February 29. Platinum IPO raised ₹70.59 crore from anchor investors on Monday, February 26.
Platinum Industries IPO price band has been fixed in the range of ₹162 to ₹171 per equity share of face value of ₹10. Platinum Industries IPO lot size is 87 equity shares and in multiples of 87 equity shares thereafter.
Sensex Today Live : The aggregate holdings of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in the Indian stock market decreased to a decadal low. FPIs now hold around ₹62 lakh crore worth of Indian stocks as of end January 2024, against the aggregate market capitalisation of ₹380 lakh crore.
This implies that FPI holdings in Indian equities fell further to 16.3% at the end of January 2024, which is a decadal low, from 16.6% as of November 2023, according to ICICI Securities.
The lowest holding of FPIs in recent times is driven by incremental selling in 2024 so far, which is around $3.5 billion, and significant outperformance of small caps, where FPIs have lower allocation along with their overall portfolio orientation, the brokerage said in a report.
In the calendar year 2023, FPI buying in midcaps and smallcaps was much higher than in largecaps, thereby resulting in their holdings of mid and smallcaps rising to 17% and 9%.
As of December 2022, FPIs held 78% of their portfolio within large caps while their holdings in mid and small-caps were at 14%/8%, based on shareholding data of top-1,000 stocks by marketcap.
Sensex Today Live : Aircraft rentals have leapt in the last year as airlines scramble to service soaring demand, with every available plane witnessing demand from four to five carriers.
In the popular narrow-body, single-aisle category, the increase has been steeper for older aircraft, portending higher fares as they come with higher operating costs. The rise in lease rates comes at a time the airline industry is struggling with a shortage of aircraft worldwide.
The average market lease rate for a 10-year-old Airbus A320 surged 14% to $177,000 per month in January from $155,000 per month a year earlier, showed data from UK-based aviation research firm Ishka. For a used Boeing B737-800, it was around $194,000 per month, 13% up from last year's $171,000. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices opened in the lower on Tuesday, but were looking for cues to firm up.
At 11 am, Sensex was up 110.66 points, or 0.15%, at 72,900.79, and Nifty was down 28.35 points, or 0.13%, at 22,150.40.
Sensex Today Live : Suresh Poddar works in a financial services firm in Kuwait City. A non-resident Indian, he keeps scouting for new investment opportunities in Indian real estate. During the pandemic, in 2021, Poddar decided to invest in commercial real estate. He also decided to try out a new but promising concept—fractional ownership.
Few individuals can invest in a commercial property—let’s say an office floor in a central business district—on their own. The commercial real estate asset class has been the playground of large institutional investors for years.
What if many retail investors pooled in their money? (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Barcelona: Bharti Enterprises is looking to exit its non-core businesses such as insurance, food, and skilling which have failed to scale-up. It will instead focus on Airtel's transformation into a digital entity, bolster its burgeoning Africa operations, the payments bank, and satellite broadband ventures.
In an exclusive interview with Mint, Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of the conglomerate, said the enterprise segment of Airtel could potentially value at $10 billion and disclosed plans to align Bharti's stake in Airtel with that of SingTel in the future. (Read edited excerpts here.)
Sensex Today Live : Deem Roll Tech Ltd share price made a stellar debut on NSE SME today. On NSE SME, Deem Roll share price opened at ₹200, which is 55% higher than the issue price of ₹129. However, Deem Roll share price slipped into red following a positive opening.
Deem Roll Tech IPO opened for subscription on Tuesday, February 20, and closed on Thursday, February 22.
Deem Roll Tech IPO price band was set at ₹129 apiece. Deem Roll Tech IPO lot size consisted of 1,000 shares. Investors could bid for a minimum of 1,000 shares and in multiples thereof.
Sensex Today Live : The BSE has sought clarification from Reliance Industries with reference to media reports stating that Disney and Reliance are said to have entered into a binding merger pact.
The BSE is awaiting a response from the company, according to the BSE website.
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices opened in the lower on Tuesday, but were looking for cues to firm up.
At 10 am, Sensex was up 61.46 points, or 0.09%, at 72,851.59, and Nifty was down 19.55 points, or 0.09%, at 22,141.60.
Sensex Today Live : The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on February 26 issued a warning alerting investors about deceptive trading platforms falsely claiming to provide stock market access to Indians through the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) route.
The markets regulator noted that fraudsters are luring victims through online trading courses, seminars, and mentorship programs related to the stock market. They leverage social media platforms such as WhatsApp or Telegram, and live broadcasts, to entice individuals. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Paytm share price rallied 5% in early trade on Tuesday after its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma resigned from the board of its associate Paytm Payments Bank. Paytm shares opened more than 3% lower, but rebounded sharply within minutes of opening and gained as much as 4.99% to ₹449.30 apiece on the BSE.
One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm said it has withdrawn its nominee from the Paytm Payments Bank Board and Vijay Shekhar Sharma has stepped down as Part-Time non-executive Chairman and Board member to enable the reconstitution of the board.
Sensex Today Live : Whirlpool Corporation CEO Marc Bitzer has said that the company is “positive on India", adding that the 24 percent stake sale this month was a way to make the most of high valuations. “We’ve taken down our stake to 51%. We’re positive on India long term but when our share is trading at 50 times multiple & we expect it to be much lower, then it’s an asset arbitrage," Bitzer told CNBC.
Sensex Today Live : Across sectors, Oil & Gas, Bank, and Financial Services indices were marginally down in early trades.
Sensex Today Live : Contrary to the benchmark indices, the broader market was showing signs of strenght on early trades.
Sensex Today Live : UltraTech Cement, HCL Tech, Grasim Industries, TCS, and Eicher Motors, were the top gainers on the Nifty 50.
Sensex Today Live : Axis Bank, Power Grid Corp., Airtel, NTPC and Reliance were the top drags on the Sensex.
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices opened in the red on Tuesday, taking cues from Asian markets that were sending mixed signals.
At opening bell, Sensex was down 66.60 points, or 0.09%, at 72,723.53, and Nifty was down 14.15 points, or 0.06%, at 22,107.90.
Indian benchmark indices were down marginally at pre-open on Tuesday, following mixed signals from Asian peers that were anticipating inflation data across major economies.
Sensex was down 22.75 points, or 0.03%, at 72,767.38, and Nifty was down 31.85 points, or 0.14%, at 22,090.20 during pre-open.
Sensex Today Live : Vaishali Parekh, Vice President — Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher believes that overall Indian stock market sentiment is positive and recent sell-off should be seen as a profit-booking. The Prabhudas Lilladher expert maintained that crucial support for the 50-stock index is placed at 22,000 level. On stocks to buy today, Vaishali Parekh recommended three buy or sell stocks for today — Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India Ltd or MHRIL, Poonawalla Fincorp, and Tata Communications. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Shares of NMDC Ltd, South Indian Bank Ltd, and DRC Systems India Ltd will be in focus when the stock market opens on February 27 (Tuesday).
The Board of Directors of these companies have declared interim dividend, rights issue of equity shares, and bonus issue for their eligible shareholders.
The record date by the 3 companies to ascertain the eligibility of shareholders for their respective issues have been fixed on February 27. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : On account of weak global market sentiments, the Indian stock market ended lower on Monday. The Nifty 50 index lost 90 points and closed at the 22,122 level, the BSE Sensex dipped 352 points and ended at the 72,790 mark whereas the Bank Nifty index corrected 235 points and closed at the 46,576 level. In the broad market, the small-cap index fell less than the Nifty 50 index even as the advance-decline ratio fell to 0.64:1.
According to Indian stock market experts, the Nifty 50 index is in the 22,050 to 22,250 range and breakout on either side will provide a proper direction. On stocks to buy today, experts listed out eight buy or sell stocks — TVS Motor, HFCL, L&TFH, CUB, HUDCO, CDSL, Gujarat Fluorochemicals, and SONACOMS. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : The Union government is on track to achieve its capital expenditure target for the ongoing financial year, a senior government official said, riding accelerated spending on key infrastructure projects essential to spur economic growth.
Till early February, the government had spent about 80% of its total capital expenditure target for FY24, according to a briefing by the finance ministry on Monday.
In the first nine months of the financial year, the government had spent only about 68% of its capex target, as per the Centre’s response to questions at the Rajya Sabha earlier this month.
Sensex Today Live : India's gross domestic product (GDP) for the October-December quarter of fiscal 2023-24 (Q3FY24) will be released on Thursday, February 29, amidst an actively disinflationary monetary policy stance by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) - aimed at supporting economic growth.
The central bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) kept the benchmark repo rate steady at 6.5 per cent for the sixth consecutive meeting on February 8, 2024, and also decided to remain focused on the withdrawal of accommodation.
Meanwhile, several brokerage reports and analysts are predicting that India's GDP growth in Q3FY24 likely moderated from the 7.6 per cent growth logged in Q2FY24. Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, Head-Research & Outreach at credit rating agency ICRA in an interview to Mint's Nikita Prasad, said that India's GDP growth will moderate to six per cent in Q3FY24 dragged by lower output of kharif crops and slowdown in the industrial sector. (Read the edited excerpts from the interview here.)
Sensex Today Live : Several factors including a weakening in the government’s capital expenditure impetus, muted industrial output growth, and an uneven monsoon may have slowed down India’s economic growth in the third quarter (October-December) of FY24.
Median estimates of 17 economists polled by Mint showed that GDP growth is likely to be 6.6% in Q3, lower than the 7.6% reported in the previous quarter by the statistics ministry.
The official GDP data for Q3 is scheduled to be released on Thursday. Should GDP growth come in as projected by Mint, it would be roughly in line with the 6.5% predicted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in December. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Bitcoin reached its highest point in over two years, reaching $56,000 on February 27. The rise is being driven by increasing optimism about sustained investor demand through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Bloomberg reported.
Spencer Hallarn, the global head of over-the-counter trading at crypto investment firm GSR, told the publication that the cryptocurrencies' ascent, is "supported by strong ETF inflows".
Earlier, the world's largest cryptocurrency saw a rise of up to 3.5 percent, reaching $53,600, Bloomberg reported. The last time Bitcoin traded at this level was in December 2021 when it achieved an all-time high of almost $69,000 the preceding month.
