Sensex opens flat; ICICI Bank jumps 8 after reporting highest-ever net profit

Asian share markets are trading on a mixed note today as traders weighed inflation risks,. Photo: Reuters 
Asian share markets are trading on a mixed note today as traders weighed inflation risks,. Photo: Reuters 

Summary

  • Indian share markets open flat. The BSE Sensex opened down by 47 points, while the Nifty is trading lower by 25 points.

Asian share markets are trading on a mixed note today as traders weighed inflation risks, a Covid-19 outbreak in China and earnings prospects for major technology firms.

The Hang Seng is trading on a flat note, while the Shanghai Composite is up 0.4%. The Nikkei is trading lower by 0.8%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices ended mixed on Friday as losses for several large technology companies weighed on the market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher by 0.2% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8%.

Despite the downbeat finish to the week, all three major indexes posted their third weekly gain in a row.

Back home, Indian share markets have opened on a flat note.

Market participants will track shares of HDFC AMC, SRF and Tech Mahindra as these companies are scheduled to announce their quarterly results later today.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 47 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 25 points.

ICICI Bank and Axis Bank are among the top gainers today. Asian Paints, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index have opened lower by 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the banking sector and finance sector witnessing buying interest.

Realty stocks and auto stocks, on the other hand, are trading in red.

Shares of ICICI Bank and IRB Infra hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 74.90 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.2% at 47,892 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading up by 0.5% at 65,960 per kg.

Crude oil prices rose today with US crude hitting a seven-year high as global supply remained tight amid strong demand worldwide as economies recover from coronavirus pandemic-induced slumps.

In news from the electric vehicles (EV) space, Tata Motors will invest as much as US$2 bn ( 150 bn) over the next four years to launch 10 new EVs just as its broader passenger vehicles division hopes to turn around and generate free cash flow by 2022-23.

This segment of Tata Motors was in losses till a few years ago.

The above announcement by the Tata group company comes within days of private equity firm TPG Rise Climate announcing plans to pump in US$1 bn into Tata Motors’s passenger EV division at a valuation of US$9.1 bn.

Shailesh Chandra, president of Tata Motors’s passenger vehicles business unit, said the company has a strong product launch plan for electrics, with expectations of 20% sales coming from green powertrains over four to five years.

He added, “With just two green products right now (Nexon and Tigor EVs), we are getting bookings of 3,000-3,500 units per month. However, we are able to supply only around 1,000 units."

Last month, the company had said that cumulative sales of EVs had crossed 10,000 units, with main contribution coming from Nexon.

The company recently launched an upgraded Tigor electric sedan and is hoping that demand for EVs will remain strong as central and state governments offer benefits to promote green technologies and vehicle charging network gets dense.

Chandra also said that a large share of SUVs into the company’s portfolio, which could go up to 60% in the coming years, will aid profitability.

Tata Motors share price has opened the day down by 2%.

To know more, check out Tata Motors’ 2020-21 annual report analysis.

Speaking of EVs, have a look at the chart below which shows the massive opportunity in the two-wheeler EVs.

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Here’s what lead Smallcap Analyst at Equitymaster, Richa Agarwal wrote about this in a recent edition of Profit Hunter:

"In the last five years, two-wheeler sales in India were around 2 crore units per year. Now the sector is cyclical and has been in the downturn for some time. So let's consider a moderate 5% growth for the next 10 years.

By 2030, we are looking at 2-wheeler sales of 3 crore units. Even if one third of this is EV sales, that's 1 crore electric 2-wheelers per year.

In the last 2 years, average electric 2-wheeler sales were 1.5 lakh units. From 1.5 lakh to 1 crore, that's a 66x opportunity in 2-wheeler EVs.

This is an annual growth rate of 52% over next 10 years. It's an almost vertical growth opportunity."

As per Richa, this is like a gold rush. But like in any gold rush, the winners will just be a few.

Moving on to news from the pharma sector, shares of Biocon will be in focus today.

Biocon is planning to enter the US insulin market, which is expected to grow to US$ 29.9 bn by 2025.

Biocon will enter the market with its interchangeable biosimilar product Semglee that has received approvals and via Aspart, that the company is hoping will be approved by the first quarter of 2022.

With the approval of Aspart, Biocon said it will become the first company to receive approvals for two interchangeable insulin drugs in the US, helping it make a strong entry into that market.

The company’s executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said,

Biocon has demonstrated the ability to take very complex biosimilars to the US market, first with trastuzumab, pegfilgrastim and Semglee, and soon I hope bevacizumab and aspart. To take five products to the US and succeed is not a joke.

Biocon’s success in getting US regulators to approve its insulin drugs is an example of the company's growing clout in the biosimilars market, which Mazumdar-Shaw said is a "future-proof" business with more opportunities for growth emerging from it.

With this, Biocon has a first-mover advantage as right now it’s the only company from India that has built credibility and has the science plus vertical integration required to get in to the US market.

Biocon share price has opened the day up by 0.6%.

This article is syndicated from Equitymaster.com

 

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