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PremiumStock Market Updates: Domestic equity benchmarks, the Sensex and the Nifty closed marginally in the red on Friday. Private banks, Financial and Auto sectors were the major contributors to the drag, while Metal, Realty and Media climbed.
Earnings reports have been the biggest driver of the market over the past few days along with global cues which have oscillated from optimism to pessimism this week.
Asian shares were mixed on Friday after the Bank of Japan adjusted its bond purchase policy but kept its negative benchmark interest rate unchanged.
Tokyo and Sydney slipped while Hong Kong and Shanghai advanced. US futures were lower and oil prices fell.
Japan's central bank opted to keep its benchmark interest rate at minus 0.1 per cent but fine-tuned its bond purchases to allow greater flexibility.
Indian shares fell on Friday dragged by losses in financials and information technology (IT) stocks after strong economic data from the U.S. reignited rate concerns, while Asian peers were subdued after Japan's central bank left rates unchanged.
The Nifty 50 index was down 15 points and closed at 19,646. The S&P BSE Sensex fell 105 points to end the week at 66,160. Both benchmarks witnessed a weekly loss of around 0.37% and 0.63%, respectively, after rising for four straight weeks.
Five of the 15 major Nifty sectoral indices logged losses, with high-weightage financials and IT falling the most. Realty, Media and Metal registered decent gains in today's session.
NTPC jumped 4% and Power Grid almost 3% and led the stock charts along with Apollo Hospitals and Adani stocks. Bajaj Finserv and HDFC Bank shed more than 1.5% and were the biggest laggards. BPCL, TCS and HCL Tech also shed more than a per cent each.
Tokyo stocks closed lower on Friday as a higher yen weighed on exporters, while investors digested the Bank of Japan's decision to ease its grip on its super-loose monetary policy. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index 0.4%, while the broader Topix index ended down 0.2%.
During the Tokyo market's lunch break, the Bank of Japan announced it would keep its ultra-loose monetary policy but allow "greater flexibility" for one of its policy tools, seen as a small step towards normalisation.
China stocks jumped and logged their best week since November after the country's top leaders pledged in the Politburo meeting held earlier this week to roll out further policy support to aid economic recovery.
China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index surged 2.3% and the Shanghai Composite Index added 1.8% at close. The Hang Seng Index gained 1.4% and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbed 2.1%. For the week, the CSI 300 Index rose 4.5%, while the Hang Seng Index was up 4.4%.
European shares retreated on Friday from multi-month highs scaled in the previous session as investors digested a mixed batch of earnings and bond yields climbed after the Bank of Japan tweaked its monetary policy.
British equities edged higher on Friday on strong gains in the pharmaceutical sector driven by upbeat quarterly results from AstraZeneca, although surprise Bank of Japan's yield control policy tweak spurred worries of higher interest rates.
As per the Regulation filings, the promoters of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, namely Motilal Oswal and Raamdeo Agarawal, along with their Family Members, have expressed their commitment to donate 5% of the company's equity shares each, which adds up to a total of 10% of the total paid-up share capital. This donation is intended for charitable purposes and is expected to be utilized within the next 10 years, or preferably earlier.
The Motilal Oswal Financial Services shares previously closed at ₹816.55 per share. The shares of Motilal Oswal Financial Services rose by nearly 3 per cent and are trading at a price of ₹838.85 at 2:40 pm on the BSE. The shares of Motilal Oswal Financial Services also made a new 52-week high of ₹888.70 today in today's trading session.
Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal said that the company is in discussions with three firms to have separate tie ups for foundry, chips and packaging and testing, for its semiconductor unit in India.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the state-run oil refiner, reported a standalone net profit of ₹13,750.44 crore in the quarter ended June 2023, rising 36.7% from ₹10,058.69 crore in the previous quarter.
The company had posted a net loss of ₹1,992 crore in the same quarter last year.
IOC’s revenue from operations in Q1FY24 fell 2.36% to ₹2.21 lakh crore from ₹2.26 lakh crore, QoQ. The revenue stood at ₹2.51 lakh crore in the last year period. (Read More)
Toshiba Corporation announced on Friday that a tender offer for the company, led by Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), is expected to be launched “sometime in August 2023", which is a delay from the initially planned late July date. Toshiba stated that the completion of procedures under foreign competition laws and regulations in certain jurisdictions, which is expected to be finalised after 1st August.
The Toshiba board has given its approval to the buyout offer, which values the company at 2 trillion yen ($14.35 billion) and aims to bring the electronics-to-power stations maker under domestic ownership after facing challenges from overseas activist shareholders. Around 20 Japanese companies, including Orix and Rohm Co, are participating in the deal led by private equity firm JIP. Toshiba stated that the buyout group will make an announcement as soon as the conditions for the tender offer are met or if there are any changes to the expected schedule. (Read More)
On Friday, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) made a significant decision by setting aside the penalty imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in April 2021. The SEBI had levied a penalty of ₹25 crore on Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Reliance Industries Holdings, and eight other entities. The penalty was imposed on the grounds of alleged violation of takeover regulations.
Following the SAT's ruling, a detailed order is yet to be issued, providing more information and clarity on the matter.
A bench led by Justice Tarun Agarwala said, “We find that appellants have not violated Regulation 11 (1) of SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011. The imposition of penalty upon the appellants is without any authority of law. Consequently, in view of this, the Sebi order cannot be sustained and therefore quashed and the appeal is allowed." (Read More)
In the quarter ended June 2023, Exide Industries, a prominent storage battery manufacturer, reported a net profit of ₹224.1 crore, showing a growth of 10.7% compared to the profit of ₹202 crore achieved in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The company's revenue in Q1FY24 experienced a 5.6% increase, reaching ₹4,245.5 crore, as opposed to ₹4,021.7 crore in the same period last year.
Despite facing firm raw material costs, Exide Industries demonstrated an improved operational performance during the quarter. (Read More)
BPEA Private Equity Fund VIII (BPEA EQT) has acquired a controlling stake in Indira IVF from TA Associates and the company’s founders, Ajay Murdia, Kshitiz Murdia, Nitiz Murdia, the private equity firm said in a statement on Friday.
The Murdias will retain a significant minority stake and continue to lead the company, it said.
“We see strong potential in further expanding India IVF’s presence across India and entering adjacent markets, while continuing to invest in its R&D capabilities and technology, drawing on EQT’s in-house expertise within healthcare and digitalization," Ashish Agrawal, partner, BPEA EQT said, adding that fertility services is a fast growing space in India. (Read More)
The IPO of SBFC Finance Ltd is set to open for subscription on Thursday, August 3, and will be open until Monday, August 7. Prior to the IPO opening, the allocation to anchor investors is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, August 2. However, as of now, the company has not disclosed the price band for the IPO.
The SBFC Finance IPO consists of a fresh issuance of equity shares amounting to ₹600 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of ₹425 crore, as stated in the Red Herring Prospectus (RHP). This brings the total offer size of the SBFC Finance IPO to ₹1,025 crore. (Read More)
Praful BOHRA and Kashish THAKUR from InCred Equity upgrade Ajanta Pharma to ADD with INR1,553 tp:INR1,729: Higher confidence on margin recovery
■1QFY24 results validate its management’s confidence of achieving 25%+ margins; a strong rebound from the lows of 4QFY23 (+970bp QoQ).
â– Mid-teen growth guidance reiterated for Africa and Asia branded markets; US business run-rate to sustain. India growth set to outperform industry growth.
â– Upgrade FY24/25 EPS by 7% & 9%, respectively, given 1Q beat and much better visibility on margins. Upgrade rating to ADD with a higher TP of Rs1,729.
After the boom period of venture capital firms came to an end, American firm Sequoia Capital is following its peers in terms of its restructuring plans. Recently, Sequoia Capital cut seven people in its talent operations division, a sign of continued retrenchment in the world of Silicon Valley startups. The company's talent division is involved in recruiting for startups.
Other than layoffs, the company is changing fund allocation and opting for other measures to survive the current period of economic uncertainty. The venture capital firm is working on its extensive two-year "restructuring" initiative within the company. (Read More)
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept its short-term interest rate target unchanged at -0.1% on Friday but also took steps to make its yield curve control policy more flexible.
The central bank maintained guidance allowing the 10-year yield to move 0.5% around the 0% target, but said those would now be "references" rather than "rigid limits", Reuters reported.
The BOJ raised the upper limit for the fixed rate operations and said it will offer to buy 10-year Japanese government bonds (JGB) at 1.0% in fixed-rate operations, instead of the previous rate of 0.5%. (Read More)
Shree Cement Ltd has been in focus lately, but not for the right reasons. The ongoing inspection from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has been a sentiment dampener. Against this backdrop, the company’s June quarter (Q1Fy24) earnings do little to lift the mood.
Sales volume, including clinker rose 19% year-on-year to 8.92 million tonne and was largely in line with analysts’ expectations. Volumes got a push from capacity addition. Further, akin to close competitor Ulltratech Cement Ltd, the company is also going full throttle on capacity additions, amid robust demand outlook.
In an earnings call, the management said, cement demand is expected to remain strong given the government’s thrust on infrastructure development in a run-up to the general elections. Adequate rainfall is expected to boost rural demand and it expects volume growth to be in double digits in FY24. (Read More)
An Indian cold medication that was sold in Iraq is tainted with toxic chemicals, according to a test commissioned by Bloomberg News. With this, it becomes the latest in a series of alarming revelations about syrup medicines used by children around the world.
According to Valisure LLC, an independent US laboratory, a bottle of Cold Out purchased at a pharmacy in Baghdad in March contains 2.1% ethylene glycol, about 21 times the widely accepted limit.
The compound is lethal to humans in small amounts and played a role in mass child deaths caused by Indian-made cough syrups in Gambia and Uzbekistan last year, the report said. (Read More)
On Friday's trading session, Intellect Design Arena's share price surged by over 15% and was trading close to its 52-week high level. The significant increase came after the software company reported strong financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 (Q1FY24) on Thursday. The share price of Intellect Design Arena opened at ₹601.55 apiece on the BSE.
As per the company's exchange statement, the total revenue for Q1FY24 witnessed a robust growth of 19% compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. The revenue increased from ₹540 crore to ₹644 crore.
Moreover, the company's Profit after Tax (PAT) also demonstrated substantial growth, rising by 36% year over year. In Q1FY24, the PAT reached ₹93 crore, while it was ₹69 crore in Q1FY23. (Read More)
The company’s consolidated revenue in Q1FY24 increased 16.4% to ₹5,201.11 crore from ₹4,468.39 crore, YoY. Volume rose by 23.2% to 9.4 MT from 7.60 MT, YoY, supported by an increase in blended cement and an improvement in efficiency parameters.
Analysts maintained their bullish view on ACC with most brokerages raising their targets on the stock.
Citi has a ‘Buy’ rating on ACC and raised the target price to ₹2,350 per share from ₹2,150 earlier as ACC Q1 results beat Citi’s estimates.
UBS has a ‘Buy’ call on ACC and it raised the target price to ₹2,400 per share saying that the Q1 results were a stellar beat. (Read More)
Adani New Industries, an arm of Adani Enterprises, on Thursday raised USD 394 million ( ₹3,231 crore) from Barclays PLC and Deutsche Bank AG.
The proceeds will be used to secure working capital requirements of its integrated solar module manufacturing facility, Adani Enterprises Ltd said in a regulatory statement on Thursday.
"Adani New Industries Limited (ANIL) ecosystem today (Thursday) raised a trade finance facility of USD 394 million from Barclays PLC and Deutsche Bank AG," it said. (PTI)
On Friday (July 28), shares of Ajanta Pharma experienced a significant surge, rising by almost 9% to reach a new 52-week high of ₹1,682.05 during morning trade on the BSE. This sharp increase came on the back of the company's release of its financial performance for the June quarter.
The stock began trading at ₹1,625.10, surpassing the previous day's closing price of ₹1,546.20, and quickly rose by 8.8% to reach new high of ₹1,682.05.
Over the past year, Ajanta Pharma's shares have shown impressive growth, gaining about 31%. In comparison, the BSE Healthcare index recorded a gain of 22%, and the equity benchmark Sensex rose by 16% during the same period. (Read More)
Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao have filed a motion to dismiss a complaint against the cryptocurrency exchange by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the company said in a court filing on Thursday.
The CFTC sued Binance, Zhao and former Chief Compliance Officer Samuel Lim in March, alleging they violated the Commodity Exchange Act and certain related federal regulations, and for operating what the regulator said was an "illegal" exchange and a "sham" compliance program.
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said the CFTC's case should be dismissed because it sought to regulate foreign individuals and corporations that reside and operate outside the United States.
It also quoted a 2007 ruling that stated: "United States law governs domestically but does not rule the world." (Reuters)
On Friday, the share price of Laurus Labs experienced a 3% decline in trading following the release of weak Q1 financial results. The company's performance was negatively impacted by lower sales, operational deleverage, and increased expenses. As a result, Laurus Labs shares dropped by as much as 2.99% to ₹333.50 per share on the BSE.
During the first quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), Laurus Labs reported a significant 88.8% decrease in net profit on a consolidated basis, which amounted to ₹28.40 crore. In the same period last year, the company had achieved a net profit of ₹252.5 crore.
Additionally, the company's revenue for the first quarter of FY24 saw a decline of 23.2%, reaching ₹1,181.8 crore. This was in contrast to ₹1,539 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. (Read More)
On Friday, the Indian rupee started trading 34 paise lower against the US dollar, mainly due to the overall strength of the greenback. The US dollar gained momentum after the release of better-than-expected US gross domestic product (GDP) data. The Indian rupee opened at 82.27 against the dollar, compared to the previous day's closing rate of 81.93.
Across Asia, other currencies also traded lower as the dollar index experienced its most significant surge since mid-March, rising by 0.6% on Thursday. The euro's decline following the outcome of the European Central Bank (ECB) contributed to the dollar's strength.
As part of its own monetary policy, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised its interest rates by 25 basis points, reaching 3.75%. This rate hike brought it to its highest level since 2001.
As a part of its restructuring plan, Amazon has laid of its employees working in its Fresh Grocery stores in the US. The company is eliminating the “zone lead" roles for its workforce, confirmed Amazon on Thursday.
"Zone lead" is a lower-level management position in its grocery stores that, among other this, manage associates and deals with customer issues. Till now there has been no clear announcement about the number of people losing their jobs because of the decision. According to a Washington ost report, as many as 100 fresh employees would be let go under this round of lay offs.
RailTel Corporation of India announced its Consolidated Operating Income of ₹468 Crore in Q1 of FY 23-24 with YOY growth of 24 per cent in its 141st Board Meeting held on Thursday.
As per the official statement, the Company has posted a YOY growth of 25 per cent in total consolidated revenue with ₹483 crore in Q1 of FY 24 as against ₹385 Cr in Q1 of FY 23.
The statement further stated that Profit Before Tax (PBT) in Q1 of FY24 is ₹51 crore as against ₹35 crore in Q1 of FY23., registering a YOY growth of 46 per cent.
Total Profit After Tax for Q1 of FY24 stands at ₹38 crore as against ₹26 crore PAT of Q1 of FY23. (ANI)
On July 27, Indus Towers released its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 (Q1FY24). The company reported a remarkable surge of 182 per cent in consolidated net profit, amounting to ₹1,348 crore. In comparison, during the corresponding period last year, the net profit was ₹477 crore. This significant growth was primarily attributed to higher tenancies and a record number of tower additions achieved during the quarter.
Moreover, Indus Towers' revenue from operations for the first quarter of the current fiscal stood at ₹7,075 crore, showing a substantial increase of nearly three per cent when compared to ₹6,897 crore in the year-ago period. (Read More)
Top stocks in focus today:
- ITC: Retains 40% stake in demerged ITC Hotels with 'royalty-like' arrangement.
- ACC: Q1 net profit more than doubles, consolidated revenue increases 16.4%.
- Cipla: Promoters in talks to sell stake, company denies any event requiring disclosure.
- Indian Bank: Q1 net profit up 41% YoY, net interest income increases 26% YoY.
- LIC: Registers highest-ever gains in Q1, sells shares worth ₹25,900 crore.
- JK Lakshmi Cement: Q1 net profit declines 30%, revenue grows 5%.
- Birlasoft: Q1 net profit increases 14%, revenue up 9%.
- Indus Towers: Q1 net profit surges 182%, revenue up almost 3%.
- Westlife Foodworld: Q1 net profit rises to ₹288.3 crore, revenue grows 14%.
- Bharat Electronics: Q1 net profit rises 23%, total revenue up 12.8%. (Read More)
Dunzo, a company facing ongoing legal and financial challenges, has made a commitment to its employees by assuring them a 12% yearly interest on the portion of their salary that has been held back. In an effort to address its financial difficulties, the cash-strapped startup has set a target to clear all pending dues by September 4.
The financial situation of the company has worsened, leading to the receipt of seven legal notices from different companies for unpaid debts.
As part of its cost-cutting measures, Dunzo has been unable to meet its payroll obligations. On July 3, the company informed approximately 500 employees that their salaries would be deferred, and it also imposed a salary cap of ₹75,000 starting from June. The decision to cap salaries was irrespective of the individual employee's pay scale. (Read More)
In March, Alexandre Ponsin set out on a family road trip from Colorado to California in his newly purchased Tesla, a used 2021 Model 3. He expected to get something close to the electric sport sedan’s advertised driving range: 353 miles on a fully charged battery.
He soon realized he was sometimes getting less than half that much range, particularly in cold weather – such severe underperformance that he was convinced the car had a serious defect.
“We’re looking at the range, and you literally see the number decrease in front of your eyes," he said of his dashboard range meter. Ponsin contacted Tesla and booked a service appointment in California. (Read More)
Birlasoft, a Pune-based global IT services provider, announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. The company reported a net profit of ₹137.5 crore, representing a year-on-year increase of 14 per cent. In the corresponding period last year, Birlasoft had recorded a net profit of ₹120 crore, as mentioned in the regulatory filing.
Furthermore, the company's revenue from operations for the first quarter of the current fiscal year stood at ₹1,263 crore, indicating a growth of 9 per cent compared to ₹1,154 crore in Q1FY23, as reported in the filing. (Read More)
According to reports, the promoters of Cipla, a pharmaceutical major, are currently engaged in discussions to sell a portion of their overall stake in the company. However, Cipla has issued a clarification stating that they are not aware of any specific event that necessitates disclosure under the listing regulations.
“Pursuant to Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirement) Regulations 2015 (Listing Regulations), we hereby clarify that the Company is not aware of any event that requires disclosure under Listing Regulations. The Company will make appropriate disclosure in compliance with the Listing Regulations as and when any such requirement arises," the company said in a regulatory filing. (Read More)
On July 27, JK Lakshmi Cement released its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 (Q1FY24). The company reported a consolidated net profit of ₹79.7 crore, which indicated a decline of 30 per cent compared to ₹115 crore in the same period last year.
Despite the decrease in net profit, JK Lakshmi Cement experienced positive growth in its revenue from operations during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The revenue amounted to ₹1,730.25 crore, marking a growth of approximately five per cent in comparison to ₹1,654.14 crore earned in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Furthermore, the company's consolidated net sales for the June quarter reached ₹1,730.25 crore, higher than the ₹1,654.14 crore achieved in the year-ago period. Notably, the sales volumes also exhibited an upward trend, with 32.05 lakh tonnes sold in the first quarter, compared to 30.32 lakh tonnes in the same period last year. (Read More)
Vaishali Parekh, Vice President — Research at Prabhudas Lilladher has recommended three intraday stocks for today, here we list out full details in regard to those day trading stocks:
1] Bharat Forge: Buy at ₹897, target ₹980, stop loss ₹870;
2] Havells India: Buy at ₹1314, target ₹1380 to ₹1400, stop loss ₹1280; and
3] Wockhardt: Buy at ₹244, target ₹280, stop loss ₹230. (Read More)
On July 27, 2023, ITC Ltd, a prominent company involved in both the cigarette and hotel businesses, conducted its investor conference call. During the call, Sanjiv Puri, the chairman and managing director, shed light on the decision to maintain a 40% stake in the demerged ITC Hotels.
Puri elaborated on the rationale behind this choice, stating that the demerged entity would adopt a 'royalty-like' arrangement concerning the utilization of other ITC brands and assets.
“ITC will stay invested in the hotels business with this holding and also draw synergies for its foods vertical from the demerged entity. The hotel entity will have a strong balance sheet and also be debt-free. It can also raise capital either through debt, equity or from strategic investors," he told analysts over a con-call. (Read More)
U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday after news that the Bank of Japan will allow long-term interest rates to rise sent U.S. yields higher, snapping the longest winning streak for the Dow since 1987.
The Nikkei newspaper reported the central bank will maintain its 0.5% cap for the 10-year government bond yield, but discuss allowing long-term interest rates to rise above that level by a certain degree. Reuters confirmed the central bank may make minor tweaks to extend the lifespan of its yield control policy.
Michael Green, chief investment strategist at Simplify Asset Management, said reports of the Bank of Japan's plans were the biggest driver behind Wall Street's performance on Thursday.
Higher rates in Japan pushed the U.S. 10-year yield over 4% and reduced the attractiveness of stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 237.4 points, or 0.67%, to 35,282.72, the S&P 500 lost 29.29 points, or 0.64%, to 4,537.46 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 77.18 points, or 0.55%, to 14,050.11. (Reuters)
