Indices extend pre-Diwali rally to 4th day; Oil & Gas shines; IT drags

Indian indices started the day in green with a gain of around 0.5% but trimmed some gains towards the afternoon to close just around 0.2% higher.

Sensex collected 146 points to close at above 59,000, at 59,107. Nifty too crossed the psychological figure of 17,500 to end at 17,512, a gain of 25 points.

IT, PSU Bank and Metal indices dragged the market, while Finance, Oil & Gas and FMCG climbed in today's sessions.

Among stocks, HDFC, ITC and Nestle India were among the top performers, each climbing by around 2%. JSW Steel and NTPC struggled in today's session.

Asian indices had a mixed day with Japan registering decent gains, while China and Hong Kong declined.

Tokyo closed higher on Wednesday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street following strong US corporate earnings. The Nikkei 225 share average rose 0.37%, staying well above the key psychological level of 27,000 throughout the day.

China stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors were cautious amid uncertainties during the Communist Party Congress. China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index dropped 1.61%, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.19%.

Hong Kong shares also snapped a three-day rally after the city's leader delivered his first policy address as economic stimulus measures failed to boost sentiment. The Hang Seng Index slid 2.38%

European shares edged higher on Wednesday with bolstered hopes for a strong earnings season, though lingering fears about surging inflation and interest rates persist.

With an aim to strengthen transparency and fairness in the capital markets, Sebi is focusing on data tools to detect wrong-doing in the securities market as well as for its policy formulation.

Apart from data, another focus area for the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) would be deployment of technology.

"Data and technology are the two new tools that Sebi is building for itself," the regulator said, adding that the move would enhance transparency and fairness in the securities market.

In its annual report for 2021-22, the regulator said it is increasingly using more and more data to detect wrongdoings in the markets, whether it is in respect of surveillance of trading or investigation into fraud or inspection of market intermediaries. (PTI)

Aditya Birla group firm UltraTech Cement Ltd on Wednesday reported a decline of 42.09 per cent in its consolidated net profit at ₹758.70 crore for the second quarter ended on September 30, 2022.

The company had posted a net profit of ₹1,310.34 crore in the July-September period a year ago, UltraTech Cement said in a BSE filing.

Its revenue from operations rose 15.61 per cent to ₹13,892.69 crore during the quarter under review as against ₹12,016.78 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

According to UltraTech, the second quarter is traditionally a weak one for the cement sector, with lower demand as construction activity slows down during monsoons. (PTI)

China stocks closed lower on Wednesday, as investors were cautious amid uncertainties during the Communist Party Congress, even as a raft of state-backed and large asset managers announced measures to stabilise the market.

Hong Kong shares also snapped a three-day rally after the city's leader delivered his first policy address, as economic stimulus measures failed to boost sentiment.

** China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index dropped 1.61%, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.19%.

** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 2.38%, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index declined 2.75%.

** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan reversed earlier gains to shed 0.5%. (Reuters)

The Indian rupee fell to record low versus the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as surging U.S. Treasury yields prompted a broad rally in the greenback.

The rupee fell to a record low of 82.7750 per dollar, down from 82.36 in the previous session.

"Once the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) moved away from the 82.40 level, which it was protecting, there was absolute panic dollar buying," a trader at a private sector bank said.

"Unless RBI comes in again, no level is sacrosanct." (PTI)

India’s newest carrier Akasa Air took a 0.9% share of the domestic market in September, its first full month operating in a country where almost a dozen airlines vie for passengers.

The low-cost carrier, backed by the billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala who died in August at the age of 62, is trying to muscle into a market that continues to be dominated by IndiGo, which had a nearly 58% share in September, according to data published by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. (Read More)

While announcing its second quarter earnings for the current fiscal year, Sonata Software Ltd said that its board has also declared an interim dividend of ₹7 per share (700% on par value) for FY 2022-23 and has also fixed the record date for the purpose of the dividend.

“We wish to inform you that at the meeting of Board of Directors of the company held on 18th October, 2022, declared an Interim Dividend of Rs. 7.00 per share (700 % on par value of Rs. 1/-) for the financial year 2022-23. The record date for the purpose of payment of the Interim Dividend will be on Tuesday, 1st November, 2022," the Indian IT company informed in an exchange filing on Wednesday. (Read More)

Micro, small and medium enterprises will continue to avail all non-tax benefits in their respective categories post re-classification for three years, the government said on Wednesday.

The Ministry of MSME has notified that in case of re-classification in terms of investment in plant and machinery or equipment or turnover or both, and consequent re-classification, an enterprise shall continue to avail of all non-tax benefits of the category it was in before the re-classification for three years from the date of the such upward change. (PTI)

Brexit resulted in a “substantial negative impact” for trade in both directions between the European Union and the UK, according to Ireland’s Economic and Social Research Institute.

Trade from UK to the EU dropped 16% while there was a 20% decline in trade from the EU to the UK, compared to a no-Brexit scenario, the ESRI said in a working paper published Wednesday. The analysis looked at product-level data on goods trade flows for 2021 -- the first full year of the UK’s withdrawal from the bloc.

“Across EU member states, we find that Brexit has led to a significant decline in trade with the UK in almost all cases although by varying magnitudes,” authors Janez Kren and Martina Lawless wrote. (Bloomberg)

Ashish Kacholia, who is known for his ability to pick quality stocks in the midcaps and smallcaps segment, has increased his stake in his portfolio stock SJS Enetrprises Ltd during the three month period of the second quarter of the current fiscal year.

As per the recent shareholding pattern for the second quarter i.e., July- September 2022 period on the BSE, Ashish Kacholia holds 11,69,839 equity shares or 3.84% stake in the company as of Q2 FY23, which is up from 3.77% stake in the previous quarter of June 2022. (Read More)

As of Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at noon, Suzlon Energy's rights issue has already received bids for 150 crore shares (out of the 240 crore shares offered via the rights issue), as per the BSE data. The rights issue which opened last week on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 will conclude tomorrow, Thursday, October 20, 2022. (Read More)

Indian automobile industry needs to provide flexi-fuel vehicles at various price points quickly to accelerate the adoption of blended fuel technology, Union Minister Hardeep Puri said on Wednesday.

The government will provide comprehensive support from the supply, policy and demand side for the sale of flexi fuel - E10 (a blend of 10 per cent ethanol with petrol) and E20 (20 per cent ethanol with petrol) - vehicles, a viable business proposition for the auto industry, he said here at an event organised by auto industry body SIAM.

"I think, we need more options to be created at various price points, including two-wheelers and three-wheelers and we need them quickly," the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Housing and Urban Development said. (PTI)

The Maggi noodles maker's profit rose 8.3% to 6.68 billion Indian rupees ($81.1 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30.

Budget carrier SpiceJet has announced an increase in the salary of its pilots. The revised salary will amount to ₹7 lakh per month for 80 hours of flying. The hike in salary will be implemented from November 1. Following the latest hike, salary of Captains at SpiceJet will be higher as compared to their pre-Covid salary.

Salaries of Trainers (DE, TRI, LTC) and Senior First Officers has also been increased commensurately. (Read More)

Indian authorities have asked a court to quash Pernod Ricard's bid to halt proceedings related to a $244 million tax demand, accusing the French spirit giant of being a "habitual litigant" and conspiring to "defraud" the government, legal documents show.

The Oct. 3 Mumbai court filing by India's customs authority, which has not been reported previously, underlines the growing dispute between Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and Pernod's local unit over how the company valued some of its imports for over a decade. (Read More)

Air India is looking to expand its fleet size by threefold and increase its domestic and international market share to 30% in five years, chief executive Campwell Wilson said on Tuesday.

The expansion can either be organic, or via organic and inorganic growth opportunities, Wilson added. (Read More)

PSU Bank and IT drag while Financial Services and Oil & Gas Index shine

Netflix, the American streaming giant, added 2.4 million subscribers globally in the July to September quarter, higher than its 1 million forecast but paling in comparison to the 4.4 million paid users it added in the same quarter a year ago.

In the Asia-Pacific Region, where it added 1.43 million new users, revenue grew 19% excluding foreign exchange as average paid memberships rose 23% year-over-year. Average revenue per member (ARM) was down 3% year-on-year, partially due to lower ARM in India, which was somewhat offset by higher ARM in Australia and Korea, the company said in a letter to its shareholders. (Full Story)

LnT Technologies: BUY with TP at 4090

We recommend a BUY rating on the stock and assign a 31x P/E multiple to its FY24E earnings of ₹129.5/share to arrive at a TP of ₹4,090/share, implying an upside potential of 11% from the CMP.

PSP Projects: BUY with TP at 680

We retain our BUY rating on the stock with a target price of ₹680/share, implying an upside of 19% from the CMP.

CanFinHome: BUY with TP at 650

With CANF’s focus on affordable low-ticket size retail housing loans, we believe growth should remain robust along with stable asset quality, thereby offering notable scope for valuation multiple expansion.

Nestle India reported a bigger-than-expected rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, benefiting from price increases and a rebound in demand for its chocolates and packaged foods in rural areas.

The Maggi noodles maker's profit rose 8.3% to 6.68 billion Indian rupees ($81.1 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30.

Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 6.57 billion rupees, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Revenue from operations climbed 18.3% to 45.91 billion rupees as sales of its chocolates, Maggi noodles as well as Sunrise and Nescafe brands of coffee rose, helped by robust advertising spend. (Reuters)

Hedge funds focused on emerging Asia posted their biggest monthly losses in years in September and are set for the worst year since the 2008 financial crisis, data provider HFR said.

The firm's HFRI Asia ex-Japan Index slumped 7.7% in September, the worst single-month performance since March 2020, HFR data showed on Oct. 17. Third-quarter performance was a negative 10.4%, compared with a 4% drop in the second quarter.

The extended losses came as Asian markets faced mounting headwinds from hawkish Federal Reserve rate hikes, uncertainties surrounding the once-in-five-years China's Communist Party Congress, and rising Sino-China tensions over Taiwan and tech. (Reuters)

The Mumbai civic body has issued an advisory urging citizens to adhere to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour during Diwali and other upcoming festivals to prevent a spike in cases. In a statement, the BMC said the festival season is a “critical period" as there may be a tendency to ignore COVID-19 safe behaviour during festivals due to large gatherings, events, fairs and crowds in enclosed and non-ventilated spaces. Read BMC guidelines on Covid-19 protocols in this link.

Realty firm Prestige Estates Projects Ltd's sales bookings rose 66 per cent year-on-year to ₹3,511 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal on higher demand despite a rise in home loan interest rates.

Prestige Group has registered sales of ₹3,511 crore in the July-September period against ₹2,111.9 crore in the year-ago period. The collection from customers increased 68 per cent year-on-year to ₹2,602.9 crore, the company said in its operational update for the Q2 and H1 of this fiscal filed on stock exchanges.

"The sales during this period are attributed to 4.55 million square feet volume with an average realisation of ₹7,711 per square feet," the company said. (PTI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. is evaluating an acquisition of some loan portfolios from Credit Suisse Group AG to expand its business in the US, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Japan’s biggest lender is also vetting bundles of the Swiss bank’s global loans in sectors including aviation and pension funds, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. MUFG has held initial discussions with potential advisers, another person said.

Considerations are at an early stage and a deal may not materialize, the people said.

Credit Suisse is racing to raise funds with just over a week to go until the unveiling of a critical turnaround plan, which could see thousands of job cuts and a significant reshaping of the business. The investment bank is at the center of the plans and could even be broken up. (Bloomberg)

NSE Indices Ltd, a subsidiary of National Stock Exchange, is planning to change the methodology of merger and demerger of index constituents for equity indices to avoid big churnings, which happens in the current system.

This comes ahead of the proposed merger of HDFC with HDFC Bank.

The proposal, if considered, is expected to avoid sharp movement in stock prices of firms that are in the process of merger or demerger.

In its consultation paper, NSE Indices has suggested to make ex-date an important factor for replacing an index constituent.

It has sought comments from market participants on the proposed revision in the treatment of merger and demerger of index constituents for equity indices till November 2. (PTI)

ITC LTd. has increased its stake in baby and mother care brand Mother Sparsh to 22% for an estimated ₹13.50 crore, according to a regulatory filing by the company.

“This has reference to our letters dated 26th November, 2021, 18th December, 2021 and 15th March, 2022 in connection with acquisition of 16% of the share capital of Mother Sparsh (on a fully diluted basis). We write to advise that the company today has entered into an agreement to acquire further 1000 compulsorily convertible preference shares of ₹10 each of Mother Sparsh. The said shares, once acquired, will take the Company’s shareholding in Mother Sparsh to 22% (on a fully diluted basis)," ITC said in its filing late on Tuesday. (Read More)

Ravindra V.Rao, CMT, EPAT, VP-head commodity research, Kotak Securities Ltd: 

Gold: COMEX Gold trades flat near $1656/oz after a near 0.50% fall in yesterday’s session. Gold has been trading flat since the American currency showed signs of exhaustion at the top. However, the hawkish Fed is capping gains in the yellow precious metal. ETF outflows continue; however, the pace has reduced as indicated by holdings in the SPDR gold trust. The holdings fell by 0.29 tonnes to 938.81 tonnes, a fall by 0.03%.ETF holdings are witnessing outflows as investors are worried about bullion performance amid Fed’s aggressive monetary policy stance. Although Gold is holding $1650/oz level a strong bullish momentum may start only if we see a sustained down move in the American currency.

Crude: Crude oil prices traded 1.2% and 0.6% higher near $83.8/bbl and $90.5/bbl respectively following declines in the last three sessions. Crude oil prices have been hit by demand-side concerns with downgrades from OPEC, IEA and EIA. Coupled with this, fears of a sharp increase in inventories is weighing on prices as the US is moving toward a release of another 10 million to 15 million barrels of oil from the nation’s emergency stockpile in a bid to balance markets and keep gasoline prices from climbing further. However, American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a draw this week for crude oil of 1.27 million barrels. Today, prices may waver as markets cautiously eye the EIA inventory report where it’s expected to show a build-up of 2.5 million barrels.

Madhya Bharat Agro products shares are one of the multibagger stocks of Indian stock market. The fertilisers and agrochemical company has announced issuance of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1, which means one bonus shares will be awarded to the shareholders for holding one share of the company on the record date. The record date for issuance of bonus shares is 19th October 2022. (Full Story)

L&T Technology Services on Tuesday reported a net consolidated profit increased by 22.7% to ₹282 crore in Q2 from ₹230 crore in the same quarter the previous year. The company reported a net profit of ₹274.2 crore in Q1 of the current financial year and a 5.6% sequential rise in its EBITDA to ₹362.8 crore in Q2 from ₹343.3 crore in Q1.

The rupee appreciated 6 paise to 82.34 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday as a firm trend in domestic equities strengthened investor sentiment.

However, persistent foreign capital outflows capped the gains of the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened strong at 82.32 against the dollar, then lost some ground to quote at 82.34, a gain of 6 paise over its previous close.

In the previous session on Tuesday, the rupee slipped 10 paise to end at 82.40 against the dollar. (PTI)

Oil climbed from a two-week low on concerns that the European Union’s latest sanctions on Russian fuel could exacerbate the market tightness that the US is trying to alleviate with additional sales.

West Texas Intermediate rose as much as 1.6%, after dropping 7% in the previous three sessions on the US attempts to tamp down prices. The EU’s moves on Russian petroleum could send shockwaves through the global tanker market, and have already caused some Indian refiners to halt spot purchases before the latest sanctions take effect early December.

US officials are planning to release 15 million barrels from the country’s emergency reserves, and may consider significantly more this winter. It’s the final tranche of oil from a program the White House began in the spring to release a total of 180 million barrels of crude. It’ll also seek to replenish its emergency stockpiles by buying when WTI is priced at or below $67 to $72 a barrel. (Bloomberg)

With Piramal Enterprises Ltd (PEL) demerging its pharma business, shares of Piramal Pharma will make their stock market debut by listing on the exchanges on Wednesday, October, 19, 2022. In August this year, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the demerger of Piramal Enterprises’ Pharma business and the simplification of the company’s corporate structure.

Last week, Piramal Pharma Ltd (PPL) said that it has received an approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to list shares on domestic stock exchanges BSE and NSE. (Read More)

Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains buoyed by strong U.S. corporate earnings.

The Nikkei 225 share average opened up 0.25% and extended gains to 0.72%, staying above the key psychological level of 27,000, with no sign of the volatile trading seen in the previous day. It was at 27,353.87 at the break.

The broader Topix index rose 0.42%.

"Japanese stocks have been fairly steady compared to U.S. stocks," said Seiji Arai, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. (Reuters)

Cryptocurrency prices today plunged with the world's largest and most popular digital token Bitcoin trading more than a per cent lower at $19,276. After surging to an all-time high of almost $69,000 in November last year, Bitcoin's price has been trading in a narrow range of around $20,000 since June this year. (Read More)

Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services: "There are two factors supporting the ongoing rally in the market: One, support from the mother market US aided by some excellent quarterly results and two, FII selling getting completely overwhelmed by DII buying. DIIs bought stocks for ₹5290 crores in the cash market during the last 3 trading days against FII selling of ₹1536 crores. This complete dominance of DIIs over FIIs is triggering short covering too. Good Q2 results are imparting resilience in segments like IT and financials. The festive mood is another positive.

However, high global inflation and tightening central banks pose headwinds to the rally."

The board of directors of TD Power Systems Ltd has announced the record date for the stock sub-division on 1st November 2022. The board of directors has already approved a stock split in the ratio of 5:1, which means one equity share with a face value ₹10 each would split into 5 equity shares with a face value of ₹2 each. The stock split has been announced on an ex-date basis which means the small-cap stock will trade ex-split on 31st October 2022. (Full Story)

KPI Green Energy on Tuesday posted a jump of over 72 per cent in its consolidated net profit to ₹21.15 crore in the September quarter mainly on the back of higher revenues.

The consolidated net profit of the company was ₹12.25 crore in the year-ago period, a BSE filing showed.

The total income of the company rose to ₹160.14 crore in the quarter under review from ₹57.69 crore in the previous year.

The board also approved a third interim dividend at 2.5 per cent, that is, 25 paise per equity share having a face value of ₹10 each for the financial year 2022-23.

The record date for payment of this interim dividend is October 31, 2022, as per the earlier intimation dated October 12, 2022, it added. (PTI)

STOCK IN FOCUS

Havells (CMP 1,257)

We have a BUY rating on the stock with a Target Price of Rs1,631.

Intraday Picks

SIEMENS (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 2,824) BUY

For today’s trade, a long position can be initiated in the range of Rs2,795- 2,780 for the target of Rs2,930 with a strict stop loss of Rs2,720.

PIIND (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 3,089) BUY

For today’s trade, a long position can be initiated in the range of Rs3,070- 3,055 for the target of Rs3,190 with a strict stop loss of Rs2,990.

TORNTPHARM (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 1,563) SELL

For today’s trade, a short position can be initiated in the range of Rs1,574- 1,586 for the target of Rs1,535 with a strict stop loss of Rs1,597.

Vodafone Idea (Vi) on Tuesday informed that the company's board will meet this week Friday, 21st October, 2022, to consider fundraising Via issuance of debenture securities convertible into equity shares on a preferential/private placement basis to a vendor.

“we wish to inform you that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on Friday, 21st October, 2022, inter-alia, to consider and evaluate a proposal for issuance of debenture securities convertible into equity shares on a preferential / private placement basis to a vendor, subject to regulatory and other statutory approvals as may be required, including approval of the shareholders of the Company," Vodafone Idea said in an exchange filing. (Full Story)

IndusInd Bank, Havells India, AU Small Finance Bank, HDFC Asset Management, Inox Leisure, Nestle India, and Ultratech Cement will be in focus as they declare their September quarter earnings today. (Read More)

Delta Corp, Indiabulls Housing Finance, and India Cements stocks continue to be a part of the F&O ban list whereas Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) and Zee Entertainment have been added to the list by the stock exchange for today. The NSE updates the list of securities in F&O ban for trade every day. 

The securities have been put on ban under the F&O segment as they have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL), as per the NSE. (Read More)