PremiumInvestors have decided to look past the Fed's interest rate hike and focus on better-than-expected earnings reports and have kept the markets strong. However, any indication from the Fed of additional rate hikes may negatively impact the already-fragile economy and potentially lead to a recession.
Indian shares reversed opening jitters to remain strong throughout the session and closed almost a per cent higher on Thursday. The rally was aided by metal stocks and a positive reaction to strong earnings, as investors looked past the US Fed rate hike.
The Nifty 50 rose 165 points to close at 18,255, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 555 points to end at 61,749. Fourteen of the 15 major Nifty sectoral indexes advanced.
Metal remained strong throughout the session and closed with a gain of 1.5% along with PSU Bank and Finance indices. Most indices ended in the green except FMCG which shed marginally in today's trading.
Among stocks, Adani Enterprises jumped 4.6% and Bajaj Finance 3.2%. HDFC Twins and SBI Life gained more than 2% each. IndusInd Bank and UPL dropped more than a per cent and remained the biggest laggard followed by Nestle India and Powergrid.
South Korean shares closed steady recovering from early losses and finishing the holiday-shortened week flat, as investors found comfort in the outcome of the Fed's policy meeting. The benchmark KOSPI held its ground and closed flat for the week. Tokyo stock market remained closed today.
Shanghai and Hong Kong stocks rose on Thursday, led by gains in financials and state-owned enterprises after the May Day holiday, while shares traded in Shenzhen were down.
China's blue-chip CSI300 Index was little changed, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8%. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 1.3%, while the China Enterprises Index added 2.0%.
Europe's stocks opened lower Thursday before an expected rate hike from the European Central Bank, after the US Federal Reserve lifted borrowing costs and indicated it would not cut anytime soon.
London's FTSE 100 fell on Thursday, with losses from miners dragging the commodity-heavy index down, while broader market sentiment was also downbeat after U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said inflation was still a concern.
The new financial year 2023-24 kicked off on a relatively weaker note for retail vehicle sales in India as data showed they declined in the month of April.
April saw a four per cent decline in total retail vehicle sales.
Category-wise, two-wheelers and personal vehicle sales declined 7.30 per cent and 1.35 per cent to 1,229,911 units and 282,674 units, respectively, data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations showed.
On the other hand, sales in the three-wheelers and tractors segment rose 57.22 per cent and 1.48 per cent to 70,928 units and 55,835 units, respectively. (ANI)
Indian airline Go First has announced that it has cancelled all flights until May 9, 2023, citing operational reasons.
“We regret to inform that due to operational reasons, Go First flights scheduled till 9th May 2023 have been cancelled," read the official statement.
The statement further noted that a full refund will be issued to the original mode of payment shortly. (Read More)
Tata Steel expects its European operations to improve from the next quarter on the back of falling energy costs, its chief executive and managing director said on Thursday.
"Europe is still struggling but things are getting better because energy prices have come down," T.V. Narendran told Reuters in an interview.
"So costs are coming down, not yet realised in our bottomline because we have some hedges on gas prices, which will play out over the next quarter or two."
Falling demand in Europe and weaker steel prices hurt the company's revenue in the March quarter.
European operations, which account for roughly 35% of total revenue, fell about 17% to 220.36 billion rupees ($2.70 billion) during January-March.
The company, backed by India's Tata Group, expects the ongoing quarter to be challenging for European operations. However, the Indian market is expected to be stable, boosted by infrastructure spending. (Reuters)
IDFC Ltd has reported its impressive Q4 performance today. The company's loss from continuing operations stood at ₹98.1 Cr vs profit of ₹261.1 Cr whereas it said its total revenue from operations stood at ₹52.6 cr during Q4FY23 as against ₹2.27 cr in Q4FY22, up by 2,186.95% YoY, whereas in FY23 its revenue reached ₹153.83 Cr as against ₹87.77 Cr in FY22.
IDFC said its net income reached ₹52.67 Cr during Q4FY23, up by 977.09% YoY from ₹4.89 Cr recorded during the year-ago quarter. Whereas in FY23, its net income stood at ₹154.24 Cr as against ₹90.88 Cr during FY22. (Read More)
The White House will host CEOs of top artificial intelligence companies, including Alphabet Inc's Google and Microsoft, on Thursday to discuss risks and safeguards as the technology catches the attention of governments and lawmakers globally.
Generative artificial intelligence has become a buzzword this year, with apps such as ChatGPT capturing the public's fancy, sparking a rush among companies to launch similar products they believe will change the nature of work.
Millions of users have begun testing such tools, which supporters say can make medical diagnoses, write screenplays, create legal briefs and debug software, leading to growing concern about how the technology could lead to privacy violations, skew employment decisions, and power scams and misinformation campaigns.
"We aim to have a frank discussion about the risks we see in current and near-term AI development," said a senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. "Our North Star here is this idea that if we're going to seize these benefits, we have to start by managing the risks." (Reuters)
Deutsche airline carrier Lufthansa AG on Thursday informed that they had grounded a third of its Airbus SE A220 fleet in Zurich owing to problems with Pratt and Whitney engines. This comes as a crucial reminder for airlines ahead of the summer travel season.
Lufthansa Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr said that the idling of the narrow-body aircraft is on top of three other “brand new" aircraft with Pratt engines that are also down.
“Way down in their supply chains there are elements missing and companies need to rebuild their production facilities," Spohr said. (Read More)
Mayank Mehraa, Smallcase manager and principal partner at financial consultancy Craving Alpha on Fed commentry: Expected FED announcement, but the dovish commentary will become the foundation for a bull market. Interestingly the US 10-year TBond is down to 3.35 though the US repo rate is up 25bps to 5.25. Companies have been reporting better than expected numbers and the markets had probably over-corrected over the last year
Vikas Ecotech has announced that the company has ventured into the arena of Green-Enviro-friendly Infrastructure Development Projects in collaboration with Nice Apartment Constructions which is engaged in the real estate development of commercial and residential Projects in Delhi-NCR.
Vikas Ecotech has informed exchanges that it has entered a collaboration arrangement wherein the company will be inducing 70 per cent of the total project cost as the collaborator. The estimated project cost of targeted projects is about ₹1150 million, including the cost of lands as well as the costs to be incurred for the construction and development of commercial buildings at 3 locations in Gurugram. (Read More)
BluSmart Mobility, an Indian ride-hailing startup that uses only electric vehicles, has raised $42 million as it intensifies its battle against the two dominant operators, Uber Technologies Inc. and Ola Cabs.
Investors include BP Ventures, the investment arm of energy giant BP Plc that holds 20% equity. BluSmart is currently valued at $250 million, its co-founder Anmol Jaggi told Bloomberg News, and the founders too participated in the current round. (Read More)
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), a flagship Adani group company, has concluded the Myanmar Port sale for a total consideration of $ 30 million. The Adani group announced about the Myanmar port sales in one of its latest exchange communications on Thursday. After this stock market news, Adani Ports share price regained from its early morning losses and turned green, adding 1.50 per cent from its intraday low. (Read More)
Former Costa Coffee India chief executive Tarun Jain has replaced Navin Gurnaney as the new CEO of coffee chain Tim Horton’s in India.
Jain took to job networking platform LinkedIn to announce the move. “Happy to announce that I have joined Tim Hortons India as C.E.O," Jain said in a post. Jain joins the local arm of the Canadian coffee chain from food services company Devyani International Limited where he served as CEO, Costa Coffee (India), since August 2022. (Read More)
Cash-strapped budget airline Go First has sought an interim moratorium as the Delhi chapter of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) began hearing its voluntary insolvency plea on Thursday. However, NCLT informed the Wadia group-owned airline that there is no scope for an interim moratorium.
The airline's plea for initiation of insolvency proceedings was mentioned before NCLT's Delhi bench-headed by President Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar on Wednesday and the bench agreed to an urgent hearing on Thursday.
The budget carrier, on Tuesday, cited the grounding of more than half of the fleet due to non-supply of engines by Pratt & Whitney as the reason for its financial crunch. (Read More)
South Korean shares closed steady on Thursday, recovering from early losses and finishing the holiday-shortened week flat, as investors found comfort in the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting.
** The early losses were widely attributed to concerns over a potential contagion in the U.S. banking sector.
** The benchmark KOSPI held its ground at 2,500.94. The index closed flat for the week, during which there were only three trading sessions due to holidays.
** Technology giant Samsung Electronics fell 0.46% and peer SK Hynix lost 1.22%, while battery maker LG Energy Solution declined 0.53%.
** Of the total 931 issues traded, 431 shares gained. (Reuters)
Challenges for Havells India Ltd continued into the March quarter (Q4FY23), with sluggish B2C demand accounting for 70% of the sales mix in Q4. Although infrastructure and construction activities drove steady B2B demand, softer demand trends are expected to persist into Q1 due to rising interest rates and elevated inflation levels weighing on consumer spending.
Moreover, the performance of the summer season, particularly May and June, remains uncertain as Q4 sales fell short of expectations due to unseasonal rains. This had an impact on air-conditioner sales and led to a higher channel inventory in Lloyd at the end of March. (Read More)
Market borrowings by India's state governments are likely to be lower than the amounts indicated in their budgets, as off-balance sheet liabilities will continue to be adjusted in this fiscal year, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Since last fiscal year the federal government has been adjusting for liabilities that are not directly on the balance sheets of states but would eventually have to be serviced by the states.
The off-balance sheet borrowings incurred after fiscal year 2021 will continue to be adjusted over the next three financial years, said one of the sources. However, from here on, any new off-balance sheet borrowings will be adjusted in the same year or the year after they have been incurred, the source added.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity since they are not allowed to speak to the media. (Reuters)
The long-awaited five-day work week for government bank employees may soon be implemented and Finance Ministry is also likely to give approval on the same, CNBC Awaaz has reported citing sources.
The Indian Banks Association (IBA) had given a proposal to the government on this demand, and a notification with a wage board revision can be issued soon, sources told the daily. Currently, banks are open on the first and third Saturdays of each month, whereas the second and fourth Saturdays are bank holidays.
Meanwhile, the demand for a 5-day working week was raised at the onset of the pandemic. The IBA had rejected the unions’ proposal for a five-day working week but had offered a 19 percent pay hike to employees. (Read More)
Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities: Gold prices in last FY 23 have jumped a massive 8000 rs in Domestic markets from 52000 to 60000 which is 15% returns beating all other asset classes. Nifty has given flat to negative returns in this FY23, as the geopolitical tension in Russia & Ukraine escalation brought the Gold has been proven a perfect hedge in the Portfolio giving out strong returns. Going ahead Gold still looks lucrative in terms of ROI from a safety perspective where the Inflation still remains high globally and interest cycle which is yet to ease, will also provide the push needed for Gold to run and give 10-15% return in coming FY24. The prices can easily touch 66000-68000 on base case performance before we reach the FY24 end next year. On the back of weak and uncertain performance in risky assets it is strongly advised to remain invested in Gold for further 10-15% returns on base case and 15-20% on bull case scenario.
Faults with engines supplied by Pratt & Whitney to Go Airlines India Ltd. forced the budget carrier to keep its brand-new Airbus SE jets on the ground for 17,244 days since in the past three years, according to a legal filing in a Delaware court.
“There have been numerous, persistent, and continuing technical issues with the defective GTF Engines supplied by Pratt," the carrier, which sought insolvency protection this week, said in a filing dated April 28. Pratt has failed to comply with an arbitration order in Singapore that mandated it to supply spare engines and parts to the airline, leading to “a significant risk that Go First will go out of business and be forced to declare bankruptcy," according to the filing. (Read More)
The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has released Vehicle Retail Data for April 2023. As per the data, the financial year 2023-24 kicked off with a modest vehicle retail performance in April, seeing a decline of 4% in total vehicle retails.
Sales of two-wheeler and passenger vehicles declined by 7% and 1% last month compared to April 2022, respectively. However, sales of the three-wheelers witnessed a healthy year-on-year growth of 57% with Tractor and CV experiencing marginal growth of 1% and 2%, respectively. (Read More)
Amit Anwani – Research Analyst, Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt Ltd on ABB India (ABB) Q1CY23 Results First Cut – Robust performance; beat on all front
Result summary:
✳️Sales grew 22.2% YoY to Rs24.1bn (PL estimate of ~Rs22.3bn and consensus estimate of ~Rs23.2bn), led by strong opening orders book, higher volumes and increasing penetration in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
✳️Motion segment revenue grew 35.8% YoY to Rs9.7bn; Electrification grew 16.1% YoY to Rs10bn; Process Automation grew 22.8% YoY to Rs4.2bn; and Robotics grew 4.4% YoY to Rs675mn.
✳️ Gross margins expanded 24bps QoQ and 235bps YoY to 36.3%, due to better business mix.
✳️EBITDA grew 51.9% YoY to Rs2.9bn (PL estimate of Rs2.2bn and consensus estimate of ~Rs2.5bn), with EBITDA margins expanding by 229bps YoY to 11.8%, led by better product mix, and higher service content.
✳️Adj. PAT grew 64.4% YoY to Rs2.5bn (PL estimate of Rs1.9bn and consensus estimate of ~Rs2.3bn), partially aided by higher other income (up 94% YoY to Rs723mn).
✳️Order inflows grew 36.4% YoY to Rs31.3bn, from sectors such as metals, data centers, railways, cement, food & beverages city gas distribution, paints etc.
✳️Order book stands at Rs71.7bn as on Q1CY23 (0.8x TTM revenue).
✳️At the CMP, the stock is currently trading at 83.1x/68.7x CY23/24E. We have an Accumulate rating on the stock with a TP of Rs3,371. We may revisit our rating post the Concall.
Gold rate today opened higher and tested ₹61,000 per 10 gm levels in early morning deals on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX). The gold price has been rising after the US Fed's rate hike announcement by 25 bps on Wednesday. After this outcome of US Fed meeting on the expected lines of the market observers, gold price climbed to a new peak of $2081.80 per ounce in international spot market on Wednesday whereas MCX gold price is quite close to its life-time high of ₹61,371 per 10 gm as it has made an intraday high of ₹61,319 per 10 gm within few minutes of commodity market's opening bell today.
Speaking on reason for rise in gold price today, Anuj Gupta, Vice President — Research at IIFL Securities said, “Gold prices are rising due to weakness in the US dollar after US Fed rate hike. Even though US Fed's rate hike of 25 bps is on the expected lines of the market observers, but the inflation is much above the comfort zone of the US Central Bank. This has put US dollar under pressure and the Dollar Index has hit one month low after this US Fed news." (Read More)
Colin Shah, MD, Kama Jewelry views on the rally in gold/silver prices: Gold prices have rallied nearly ₹700/10gm in the past week, and nearly ₹1,000/10gm in the past month. Silver prices have rallied ₹1000 in the past week, and ₹3000 in the past month. Largely, the developments in the US-Fed meeting, the debt ceiling, and concerns around the slowing economic growth are affecting the USD and thereby the gold/silver prices.
The US Fed is likely to hike rates later today, the government and the Treasury Department have raised their concerns about the deadlock and delay on the debt ceiling issue and the slowing economic growth is providing support to the gold prices.
The current setup is likely to create uncertainties thereby increasing the appeal of safe haven investments like gold and silver. International gold prices are likely to hit $2070-2080/oz and ₹21,500-22,000/10gm and silver ₹77,600 and $27/oz in the short to medium term.
Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services: From the market perspective, more important than the expected dovish rate hike of 25 bp by the Fed is the Fed chief’s comment that “ the case of avoiding a recession is more likely than having a recession." Market is likely to remain resilient with limited volatility.
Possibility of a soft landing for the US economy is positive for the IT segment which has been on the back foot on concerns of poor orders from the US.
The strength of the rupee and the continued buying by FIIs will impart strength to the market.
High-frequency indicators in India reflect a resilient economy with improving earnings prospects. The sharp decline in crude is an extra bonus to the macro economy and benign for segments like paints, adhesives and tyres.
After the outcome of the US Fed meeting on expected lines, the Indian stock market is expected to remain jittery as no commitment from the US Central Bank has come on the inflation, which is still much higher than the comfort of US Federal Reserve. Market experts maintained that after the US Fed rate hike, the Indian stock market may continue to remain in the base-building zone and bounce back strongly from its current support levels as FIIs are expected to become aggressive after weakness in the US dollar. They said that US bond movement will be key to watching post-US Fed rate hike. (Read More)
Oil prices recovered slightly on Thursday but were unable to claw back the more than 9% decline in the previous three days as demand concerns in major consumers overrode signals that the U.S. may pause its interest rates increases.
Brent futures rose 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $72.50 a barrel by 0257 GMT. Since Friday, however, Brent has dropped more than 9% and earlier on Thursday fell to as low as $71.28.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 2 cents, to $68.62 a barrel. WTI dropped almost 11% from Friday to Wednesday's close and earlier on Thursday fell to as low as $63.64.
Prices have plunged this week amid signs of weak manufacturing growth in China, the world's largest oil importer, and after the U.S., the world's biggest oil user, raised interest rates to their highest since 2007 on Wednesday, which threatens future economic growth there. (Reuters)
Zydus Group is exploring the sale of its clinical research business, Cliantha Research Ltd, in a deal that could potentially fetch more than $200 million, three people familiar with the development said.
The Zydus family is seeking a price of between $200 million and $250 million for Cliantha Research, the people cited above said, requesting anonymity. Investment bank Moelis & Co. has been hired by the Zydus promoters to manage the sale process, and several private equity investors have been approached for a potential deal, the people said. (Read More)
IT giant, Cognizant reported a 3% YoY rise in its net profit to $580 million dollar in the March quarter of FY23. However, the company reported a 0.3% YoY of decline in its revenue which stood at $4.8 billion in the quarter under review.
The company reported record 12-month bookings of $25.6 billion. In the first quarter of the FY23, it witnessed a bookings growth of 28% year-over-year. Company's operating cash flow stood at $729 million and free cash flow stood at $631 million.
The company expects of returning around $1.4 billion to shareholder through share repurchases and dividends in 2023. (Read More)
Vaishali Parekh has recommended three day trading stocks for today, here we list out full details in regard to those three intraday stocks:
1] Kesoram Industries: Buy at ₹66, target ₹76, stop loss ₹62;
2] La Opala: Buy at ₹377, target ₹440, stop loss ₹350; and
3] GPIL: Buy at ₹366, target ₹400, stop loss ₹350. (Read More)
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a central public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Railways, has been granted Navratna Status, the Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday.
RVNL was incorporated in 2003 with the objective of implementing rail infrastructure projects on a fast-track basis and raising extra budgetary resources for SPV projects. The company began operations in 2005 after the appointment of its board of directors. It was granted Mini-Ratna status in 2013.
With the grant of Navratna status, RVNL will enjoy enhanced delegation of powers, more operational freedom and financial autonomy, which will give a huge impetus to the company’s progress, particularly as it expands its footprint beyond the railway sector and into international projects. (Read More)
HDFC Ltd, Adani Enterprises, Dabur India, Hero MotoCorp, IDFC, Blue Star, and TVS Motor will be among the stocks in focus as they will be declaring their March quarter earnings today. (Read More)
TVS Supply Chain Solutions, part of TVS Mobility Group, has re-filed draft IPO papers with capital markets regulator Sebi and cut the fresh issuance size to ₹750 crore from ₹2,000 crore planned earlier.
The company, which got approval from Sebi in May 2022 to float the initial public offering (IPO), did not launch the issue amid weak market conditions. It had earlier filed its draft papers in February 2022.
As per the rules, a firm gets one year to hit the primary market after receiving approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). In case a firm fails to launch an IPO during this period, it has to refile the prospectus with the regulator to seek fresh clearance. (PTI)
Hero MotoCorp has announced to scale up the presence of its electric scooter range under the VIDA brand to 100 Indian cities this year. The company said it will utilise its existing dealer network to rapidly scale up electric vehicle operations across the country.
The automaker has also announced a cut of around ₹20,000 in the prices of VIDA V1 Plus and VIDA V1 Pro scooters. After the price cut, VIDA V1 Plus and VIDA V1 Pro will now cost ₹1,19,900 and ₹1,39,900 respectively (ex-showroom price pan-India, including portable charger and FAME II subsidy). (Read More)
A small Ahmedabad-based chartered accountancy firm, whose appointment was questioned by a US short seller in its scathing report against the conglomerate run by billionaire Gautam Adani, has resigned due to "pre-occupation", Adani Total Gas Ltd said.
Hindenburg Research in its January 24 report that levelled allegations of fraud, stock manipulation and money laundering against the Adani group, had also raised the issue of the size and capability of the firms auditing the conglomerate.
Adani group has repeatedly denied all allegations. (Read More)
Indian-origin Ajay Banga has been confirmed as the next President of the World Bank. The World Bank's 25-member executive board on Wednesday elected former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to a five-year term as president, effective 2 June.
The World Bank said in a statement: “The Board looks forward to working with Mr Banga on the World Bank Group Evolution process."
Ajay Banga, 63, was nominated for the post by US President Joe Biden in late February. In a statement, Joe Biden said, “I want to congratulate Ajay Banga -- my nominee for the next President of the World Bank -- on his resounding approval by the Bank's Board of Governors. (Read More)
Titan Company on Wednesday reported a rise of 50 per cent in standalone net profit to ₹734 crore for the quarter ended March 2023. This is against a net profit of ₹491 crore in the year ago period.
The revenue from operations rose by 25 per cent to ₹8,753 crore in the quarter under review from ₹6,977 crore in the year ago period.
The company's board has recommended a dividend of ₹10 per equity share of ₹1 each which shall be paid on or after the seventh day from the conclusion of the 39th Annual General Meeting subject to the approval of the shareholders of the company. (Read More)
India’s services sector recorded its strongest output growth in nearly 13 years in April, driven by the finance and insurance sectors, a private survey showed, even as price pressures intensified and job creation stagnated.
The S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 62 in April from 57.8 in March, signalling the fastest expansion in output since mid-2010. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity.
India’s economy has shown promising signs of growth, with record-high goods and services tax collections and other impressive metrics despite the ongoing global economic uncertainties. However, challenges remain, with the unemployment rate climbing to a four-month high and global crude oil prices remaining volatile. (Read More)
U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday, reversing gains after comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell left investors wondering what the U.S. central bank's next move would be with interest rate hikes. Indexes initially held onto gains following the Fed's statement. It increased interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected, and signaled it could pause further hikes.
The unanimous decision lifted the U.S. central bank's benchmark overnight interest rate to the 5.00%-5.25% range, the 10th consecutive increase since March 2022.
Stocks started to swoon after the press conference following the statement. Powell said the Fed still views inflation as too high, and said it was too soon to say the rate hike cycle is over.
"The Fed continues to walk the tightrope, and that is they're trying to strike a balance between their inflation-fighting credibility while trying to engineer a soft landing," said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors in Boston.
All of the major S&P 500 sectors ended lower, with energy and financials down the most. The KBW regional banking index was down 0.9%, extending this week's sharp losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 270.29 points, or 0.8%, to 33,414.24, the S&P 500 lost 28.83 points, or 0.70%, to 4,090.75 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 55.18 points, or 0.46%, to 12,025.33.
Heading into the session, investors had been anxious for any signals from the U.S. central bank on whether Wednesday's increase would be the last hike for now. (Reuters)
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