Share Market Highlights 09 November 2023: Sensex sheds 143 pts; Nifty ends below 19,400; auto stocks shine

Benchmark Sensex declined by 143 points on Thursday amid continuous foreign fund outflows and mixed trends from global markets.

In a volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 143.41 points or 0.22 per cent to settle at 64,832.20. During the day, it fell 206.85 points or 0.31 per cent to 64,768.76.

The Nifty dipped 48.20 points or 0.25 per cent to 19,395.30.

Among the Sensex firms, Hindustan Unilever, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan and UltraTech Cement were the major laggards.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro and Maruti were among the gainers.

The rupee stayed range-bound and settled 1 paisa higher at 83.29 against the US dollar on Thursday amid a negative trend in domestic equities and sustained foreign fund outflows.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.25 and finally settled at 83.29 against the greenback, registering a gain of 1 paisa from its previous close.

During the day, the rupee witnessed a range-bound trade reaching the peak of 83.25 and hitting the lowest level of 83.29 against the American currency.

GMM Pfaudler reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹15.78 crore as against ₹21.35 crore in the same quarter previous year.

Graphite India reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹815 crore as against ₹139 crore in the same quarter previous year.

Vascon Engineers Limited has signed its 2nd redevelopment project for Prakash Co-operative Housing Society Ltd located at Santacruz (West), Mumbai with a total construction area of approximately 211,000 square feet. The stock inches up by 0.80% on the NSE, trading at ₹75.55.

IndusInd Bank has launched a ‘loan mela’ for two-wheelers with all major Original Equipment Manufacturers(OEMs). The stock is up by 1.27% on the NSE, trading at ₹1,507.85

Bharti Airtel has extended 5G coverage to all 23 districts of West Bengal. The stock trades at ₹932.05 on the NSE, down by 0.50%.

Bosch Limited reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹998.9 crore as against ₹372.4 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock trades at ₹19,620 on the NSE, down by 0.14%.

MCX, the country’s largest commodity exchange, reported a net loss of ₹19 crore in the second quarter of the current financial year against a profit of ₹63 crore in the same period last year.

Income dipped to ₹184 crore in Q2FY24 as compared with an income of ₹146 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Ashok Leyland reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹561.01 crore as against ₹199.31 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock declines by 2.07% on the NSE, trading at ₹169.95.

Major gainers on the NSE at 3 pm:

M&M (3.75%); Apollo Hospitals (3.31%); Coal India (1.81%); Power Grid (1.40%); Hero Motocorp (1.32%)

Major losers:

Adani Enterprises (-2.11%); Adani Ports (-2.05%); Hindustan Unilever (-1.69%); Tata Consumers (-1.66%); Tech Mahindra (-1.62%)

According to the latest Insurance report from Emkay Global Financial Services, the private life insurance industry clocked a robust 19.8% YoY Retail APE growth in Oct-23, on a favorable base of Oct-22 (up almost 3% YoY, owing to Diwali holidays). Owing to the stronger base of Nov-22 and Diwali festivities this year coming in November, Emkay Global Financial Services expects some slowdown in growth during Nov-23.

With private players continuing to log robust growth momentum, the life insurance industry is expected to deliver a high single-digit retail APE growth in FY24; estimated APE growth for private sector: ~12-13%, LIC: low single-digit. This is owing to growth slackening in Mar-24 on account of preponed buying of high-ticket non-linked policies in Mar-23.

Based on 12-month rolling RWRP YoY growth, MAX Life surpasses HDFC Life as the fastest growing Life Insurer among peers. Among Listed Private Life Insurers, MAXF reported a strong 37.6% YoY Retail APE growth during Oct-23, while HDFC Life and SBI Life reported a decent show—16.5% YoY and 16.4% YoY Retail APE growth, respectively.

Stocks advanced on BSE at 3 pm on November 9, 2023, were 1,609 against 2,049 stocks that declined; 137 stocks remain unchanged. Total stocks traded were 3,795. The number of stocks that recorded a 52-week high was 239, and those that hit a 52-week low was 27.

Mindteck (India) reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹4.15 crore as against ₹2.95 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock trades at ₹199 on the NSE, up by 6.47%.

Ircon International reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹230.44 crore as against ₹178.10 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock trades at ₹154.50 on the NSE, down by 0.10%.

Arihant Capital Markets Limited has informed the exchange regarding appointment of Uttam Maheshwari as Chief Financial Officer of the company w.e.f. December 01, 2023. The stock is down by 0.36% on the NSE, trading at ₹68.40.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone has reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹195.85 crore as against loss of ₹298.18 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock trades at ₹802.10 on the NSE, down by 2.03%.

Indian vegetable oil imports would be around 16.20 million tonnes (mt) for the oil year 2023-24 (November to October), says Sudhakar Desai, President of Indian Vegetable Oil Producers Association (IVPA). Of this, import of palm oil is expected to reach 9 mt during the oil year 2023-24 and soft oils at 7.12 mt.

Dhruv Consultancy Services reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹1.88 crore as against ₹2.43 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock rises by 1.17% on the NSE, trading at ₹60.70.

Ask Automotive IPO has been subscribed 19.89 times as of 2:09 pm on November 9, 2023. The QIB portion has been subscribed 46.27 times, NII 21.99 times; and retail 3.92 times. The issue closes today.

Nitin Spinners reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹31.69 crore as against ₹29.11 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock is up by 0.34% on the NSE, trading at ₹294.05.

Textile stocks, mainly cotton and fabric manufacturers, have been attracting investors interest in recent times at the bourses.

According to analysts, strong Q2, momentum in domestic economic activity and focus on emerging areas such as technical textiles and home furnishing have led to an interest in textiles companies.

Top performers such as Trident, Welspun, Raymond, Gokaldas Exports, Indo Count Industries Ltd have seen a turnaround in their fortunes.

Shares of Trident opened at Rs 36 (- 2 per cent from previous close) on the BSE and have gained 15 per cent in the past three months. Gokaldas Exports opened at Rs 800.65 (+1 per cent) and delivered 59 per cent returns during the period. Raymond was almost flat at Rs 1,861.70 and has lost five per cent in three months, while Indo Count gained 38 per cent and opened at Rs 287.10 (near its 52-week high of Rs 302.05).

Samvardhana Motherson International reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹250.53 crore as against ₹213.91 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock declines by 0.43% on the NSE, trading at ₹92.45.

SEL Manufacturing Company reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹61.58 crore as against ₹27.82 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock declines by 1.21% on the NSE, trading at ₹98.

Tega Industries reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹33.11 crore as against ₹24.54 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock rises by 3.42% on the NSE, trading at ₹1,037.95.

Inox Green Energy Services Limited has announced that CRISIL has upgraded its ratings from Crisil BBB+ to Crisil A- (long term rating), Crisil A2 to Crisil A2+ (short term ratings). The stock trades at ₹67.70 on the NSE, up by 0.07%.

Sandhar Technologies reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹27.67 crore as against ₹16.61 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock slides down by 0.53% on the NSE, trading at ₹400.

Arihant Capital Markets reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹13.67 crore as against ₹11.12 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock declines by 0.29% on the NSE, trading at ₹68.45.

Balrampur Chini Mills has commenced its cane crushing operations at Kumbhi Unit with the additional capacity of 2000 TCD. The stock trades at ₹433.15 on the BSE, up by 0.77%.

Granules India has reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹116.15 crore as against ₹108.92 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock trades at ₹357.70 on the NSE, down by 0.10%.

​NCL Industries​ reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹13.83 crore as against ₹2.77 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock rises by 1.33% on the NSE, trading at ₹221.35.

​Menon Bearings ​reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹6.29 crore as against ₹6.89 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock declines by 1.59% on the NSE, trading at ₹138.90.

SJVN has concluded the E- Reverse Auction (e-RA) for Selection of RE Power Developers for supply of 1,500 MW firm and dispatchable power from ISTS- Connected Renewable Energy (RE) Power Projects with Energy Storage System in the country. The stock declines by 0.98% on the NSE, trading at ₹76.15.

Aspero, India’s premier fixed income investment platform, announces the release of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) on its platform, ahead of Diwali. As Dhanteras approaches, the decision to invest in gold carries substantial weight. Sovereign Gold Bond Schemes stand out as a compelling choice for investors seeking tax efficiency, high safety, and capital appreciation potential. With the added advantage of a sovereign guarantee and no expense in management, SGBs offer a robust investment avenue.

These government securities are denominated in grams of gold and if held until maturity, SGBs are exempt from capital gains tax, making them an excellent choice for long-term investors. Notably, the tax exemption continues even if SGBs are purchased in the secondary market or through a bond platform like Aspero. Investors also have the option to redeem the NCDs at the end of the 5th, 6th, and 7th years from the series issue date with the Reserve Bank of India.

Sustained improvement in trade receivables and capex intensity will be the key credit drivers for rated Indian power utilities, in the near to medium term, says Fitch Ratings.

We expect the improvements in receivables over the past two years to continue in the near term. However, long-term, sustained improvement would depend on focused implementation of structural reforms to boost discoms’ financial health. Such reforms include timely recovery of power purchasing costs through subsidies from state governments and improvements in discoms’ operational efficiency.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed India-based Bharti Airtel Limited’s (Bharti) Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating at ‘BBB-’. The Outlook on the IDR is Stable. Fitch also affirmed Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B.V.’s senior unsecured guaranteed bonds at ‘BBB-’ and Network i2i Limited’s subordinated perpetual notes at ‘BB’.

Indian banks’ Viability Ratings (VR) will continue to benefit from improved operating conditions and performance in the near term, says Fitch Ratings. We expect Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to remain stable across banks as they are driven by Fitch’s expectation of extraordinary support from the Indian sovereign (BBB-/Stable), should there be a need.

Two Indian banks’ VRs were upgraded in 2023, with upside possible for several banks as we expect the recent, better-than-expected, financial performance, mainly in asset quality and earnings, to be maintained. The recent revision of the operating environment score to ‘bb+’ from ‘bb’ also supports our assessment.

Five of the eight Indian banks’ VRs are in the ‘bb’ category, reflecting a moderate degree of financial strength, while the other three with VRs in the ‘b’ category are still weighed down by their risk profiles, weak financial metrics of the past and weaker loss-absorption buffers than higher rated peers. Risk profiles and capitalisation are most important to our assessment of the banks’ standalone credit profiles amid their growing risk appetite.

​Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar ​reported its standalone net loss for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹139.85 crore as against loss of ₹160.06 crore. The stock declines by 4.56% on the NSE, trading at ₹32.45.

Currently, the market is in a typical consolidation phase, with the Nifty index hovering within the critical resistance range of 19,450 – 19,500. The NSE Nifty 50 commenced trading at 19,457.40, registering a minor uptick of 0.07%. Simultaneously, the BSE Sensex opened at 65,025.32, gaining 49.71 points, signaling a positive start to the day.

In the derivative market, the Nifty weekly contracts exhibit the highest open interest for Calls at 19,500 – 19,550 and for Puts at 19,300, whereas monthly contracts show the highest open interest for Calls at 19,500 and for Puts at 19,000. For potential buyers, a recommended entry point falls within the range of 19,400 – 19,450, with a suggested stop loss set at 19,375.

Lead futures (November contract) on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) encountered a strong barrier at ₹192 in early September. It fell off this level.

But as the calendar turned to October, the bears lost momentum. The bulls did not gather strength to turn the tide in their favour as well.

The board of Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances has informed the exchange about the appointment of V. A. Joseph as the Chief Financial Officer of the company. The stock declines by 1.21% on the NSE, trading at ₹1,075.

TBO Tek Limited, one of the travel distribution platforms in the global travel and tourism industry, filed Offer Document with SEBI for an IPO proposing to raise funds through issue of equity share of face value Rs 1 each comprising of fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 400 crore (fresh issue) and an offer for sale of up to 1.56 crore shares.

TBO proposes to utilise the Net Proceeds from the Fresh Issue towards Growth and strengthening of the platform by adding new Buyers and Suppliers, Unidentified inorganic acquisitions and general corporate purposes.

The Indian life insurance sector has been a bright spot in the Asian region as life insurers in the country have received higher valuations than in other countries such as China, Japan and Taiwan, according to a report by McKinsey.

Valuation of life insurers in the region declined between 2012 and 2022, converging with that of global insurers, due largely to slower growth and a declining population in markets such as Japan and Taiwan. The deceleration in China’s growth also negatively affected valuations.

South West Pinnacle Exploration Ltd has been awarded Global Near Surface Geophysics Award 2023 under the category of excellence in industry award by Aqua Foundation, a non-governmental organisation. The stock declines by 0.92% on the NSE, trading at ₹183.20.

Prakash Pipes reported its net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹22.67 crore as against ₹13.13 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock inches up by 0.65% on the NSE, trading at ₹393.05.

Lupin Limited has informed the exchange regarding allotment of 26,421 shares. The stock inches up by 0.40% on the NSE, trading at ₹1,216.

Global Health reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹95.09 crore as against ₹65.32 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock inches up by 0.53% on the NSE, trading at ₹837.95.

NAVA Ltd reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹31.40 crore as against ₹53.63 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock rises by 1.74% on the NSE, trading at ₹422.85.

A View from Mukesh kochar, National Head of Wealth at AUM Capital

In general,investors follow the historical performance of a fund while considering investment in any fund. It should be filtered out as it will not help to see the performance in isolation. In the years to come, the top performers of last year may or may not deliver good returns. Consistency of performance, rather than top performances, should be taken into account by investors. Furthermore, it is necessary to take account of risk adjusted returns instead of performance alone. If funds are to be identified in conjunction with the trend of the market, then values such as Standard Deviations, Sortation Ratio, Sharpe and Beta etc. should be used.Proper asset allocation, with proper diversification and periodic rebalancing of the portfolio, must be maintained at all times. It is important to invest in equity funds over a long period of time and there should be little focus on 1 year’s returns from muhurat to muharat. The main thing is that in order to avoid short term volatility, you need to start building your portfolio soon and investing regularly for a longer period. In this market scenario, we love the multicap strategy. The large cap component in the multicap strategy provides stability for a portfolio, while Mid and Small Cap acts as an incentive to achieve performance. Given that the election, geo-policy developments and Fed stance will have an effect on markets for a while, but we’re very positive about the longer term. There’s a lot of liquidity on the sidelines that could be helpful to the stock market in any correction phase.

Reliance Industries has raised Rs 20,000 crore via a 10-year bond issue, according to market sources. The coupon on the bonds is 7.79%.

The bond issuance had a base size of Rs 10,000 crore with a greenshoe option for another Rs 10,000 crore. The entire issue was subscribed.

On November 1, CareEdge had assigned AAA rating to the issue.

RHI Magnesita India Limited has reported its consolidated financial results for the quarter ended September 2023. It recorded 63.8% growth in total income compared to the same quarter of the previous financial year. The stock declines by 2.09% on the NSE, trading at ₹701.15.

The Bombay High Court has directed the Income Tax department to refund ₹1,128 crore to Vodafone Idea Limited paid by the telecom operator in taxes for the assessment year 2016-2017.

The assessment order passed by the department in August this year was “time barred and hence cannot be sustained, “the HC noted in its judgement on Wednesday.

A division bench of Justices K.R. Shriram and Neela Gokhale also took a strong view against the assessing officer for showing “laxity and lethargy” in not passing t

Indian shares were flat on Thursday, as the rally in financials and IT stocks since the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate pause fizzled out. At noon trade, the NSE Nifty 50 index eked out a gain of 0.06% to 19,454.85, while the S&P BSE Sensex edged 0.08% lower to 65,027.65. Stocks advanced on BSE at 12 noon on November 9, 2023, were 1,780 against 1,707 stocks that declined; 159 stocks remain unchanged. Total stocks traded were 3,646. The number of stocks that recorded a 52-week high was 207, and those that hit a 52-week low was 21. Major gainers on the NSE at 12: M&M (2.82%); Apollo Hospitals (1.85%); IndusInd (1.64%); Tata Motors (1.44%); Hero Motorcorp (1.34%) Major losers: Tech Mahindra (-1.56%); Tata Consumers (-1.24%); Hindustan Unilever (-1.16%); UPL (-0.95%); JSW Steel (-0.89%)

Major gainers on the NSE at 12:

M&M (2.82%); Apollo Hospitals (1.85%); IndusInd (1.64%); Tata Motors (1.44%); Hero Motorcorp (1.34%)

Major losers:

Tech Mahindra (-1.56%); Tata Consumers (-1.24%); Hindustan Unilever (-1.16%); UPL (-0.95%); JSW Steel (-0.89%)

Stocks advanced on BSE at 12 noon on November 9, 2023, were 1,780 against 1,707 stocks that declined; 159 stocks remain unchanged. Total stocks traded were 3,646. The number of stocks that recorded a 52-week high was 207, and those that hit a 52-week low was 21.

Tamilnad Merchantile Bank has informed the exchange about opening of new branches. The stock trades at ₹535.90 on the BSE, down by 0.35%.

India’s steel-makers have begun negotiations for a price hike in auto-grade offerings, that is supplies to car companies and auto OEMs. Indications are that they have sought a Rs 2,000-Rs 6,000 per tonne increase across categories, on the back of rising raw material prices, mostly coal.

The price hike for hot rolled coils (HRCs) is expected around Rs 2,000-3000 per tonne, and for cold rolled coils Rs 4,500-6,000 per tonne.

Central Depository Services (India) informed the exchange about the appointment of Meena Pednekar, Vice President - Admission Cell and Regulatory Compliance Department of the Company with effect from November 09, 2023. The stock rose by 4.11% on the NSE, trading at ₹1,674.70.

Piramal Pharma informed the exchange that the company has received USFDA’s EIR report after inspection at a manufacturing facility located in Bethlehem, USA. The stock rose by 2.85% on the NSE, trading at ₹118.90.

Wardwizard Innovations & Mobility reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹2.41 crore as against ₹2.50 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock rose by 2.21% on the BSE, trading at ₹51.55.

Bajaj Consumer Care reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹38.40 crore as against ₹31.76 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock trades at ₹238.30 on the NSE, up by 0.02%.

TBO Tek, a travel distribution platform, filed Offer Document with SEBI for an IPO proposing to raise funds through the issue of equity shares of face value ₹1 each, comprising of fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 400 Crore and an offer for sale of up to 15.6 million equity shares.

TBO proposes to utilize the Net Proceeds from the Fresh Issue for the Growth and strengthening of the platform by adding new Buyers and Suppliers, Unidentified inorganic acquisitions and general corporate purposes.

The Offer for Sale comprises of up to 2.03 million equity shares by Gaurav Bhatnagar; up to 572,056 equity shares by Manish Dhingra; up to 2.6 million equity shares by LAP Travel collectively referred to as “Promoter Selling Shareholders” and up to 3.76 million equity shares by TBO Korea and up to 6.65 million equity shares by Augusta TBO referred to as “Investor Selling Shareholders”.

CRISIL MI&A Research on Wednesday launched its alternative investment fund (AIF) benchmarks for March 2023, including five new ones in the sub-category-level — social venture funds, SME funds — both in Category I; real estate funds – residential (debt-oriented) in Category II; and long-only equity funds (open-ended) and long-only equity funds (closed-end), both in Category III.

With this, CRISIL now provides peer comparison for AIFs in 15 sub-categories within the broad AIF categories I, II, and III (listed below) to help investors analyse performance and evaluate investments.

“AIFs are one of the important sources of funding not only for early-stage start-ups, but also for companies that require growth capital. The growth of the AIF industry thus bodes well for economic development. AIF benchmarks help investors arrive at their decision and thus aid growth of the industry,” says Jiju Vidyadharan, Senior Director, CRISIL Market Intelligence & Analytics.

“The five new sub-category benchmarks will support granular comparison of strategies. The new real estate funds – residential (debt-oriented) category, which is a carve-out of real estate funds – residential, forms ~88% of the total valuation coverage of real estate funds – residential in the CRISIL AIF benchmarks for March 2023. The long-only sub-category is divided almost equally among closed and open-ended funds in terms of assets under management,” says Piyush Gupta, Director, Funds Research, CRISIL Market Intelligence & Analytics.

Sharp India Ltd informed the exchange about the resignation of Sunil Sane from the position of Chief Financial Officer. The stock rose by 2.80% on the BSE, trading at ₹51.

Major gainers on the BSE at 11 am:

Jaiprakash Associates (6.91%); Polymed (6.76%); Welcorp (6.44%); PFC (6.01%); Techno Electric (5.97%)

Major losers:

MTAR Technologies (-8.61%); Cressanda Solutions (-6.88%); Pricol (-6.14%); Midhani (-5.91%); Valiant Org (-5.65%)

China’s consumer prices swung back into contraction and factory-gate deflation persisted in October as domestic demand struggled, weighing on the outlook for any broader-based recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.

The consumer price index dropped 0.2 per cent in October from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday, as per a Reuters report.

Mirae Asset Mutual Fund has launched UPI AutoPay Mandate for SIP registrations.

This is one of its kind Industry initiative jointly developed by Mirae Asset Mutual Fund, KFintech, and BillDesk to help investors of Mirae Asset Mutual Fund register SIP mandate using the UPI AutoPay feature simplifying the overall investment process which reduces the investment time, thereby improving the overall investment experience.

UPI AutoPay allows an investor to automate their recurring Systematic Investment Plan payments. The payments will be deducted from the bank account on a particular date.

Mirae Asset Mutual Fund UPI AutoPay facility enables a hassle-free monthly deduction from the investor’s bank account to invest in their desired Mirae Asset Mutual Fund schemes, making the investment process more convenient and disciplined. Investors can now enable recurring e-mandate using all UPI applications supporting UPI AutoPay.

Monetary policy remains watchful and actively disinflationary to progressively align inflation to the target, while supporting growth: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

While growth remains on track, inflation is on a path of moderation, though it is still above the target: Das

Indian economy has sailed through the turbulent waters smoothly during the recent years...The confidence and trust in India’s prospects are at an all-time high

In the current uncertain environment, it is best to avoid any sense of complacency. We remain agile and continue to fortify our macroeconomic fundamentals and buffers

Driven by its inherent dynamism and supported by a prudent policy mix, growth is getting stronger foothold while inflation is also coming under control: Das

Our economic performance also owes a lot to the very calibrated, focused and targeted monetary and fiscal responses since the pandemic: Das

Linking of the UPI with fast payment systems of other countries is being undertaken: Das

Linkage of fast payment systems of India and Japan may also be explored to leverage the power of fintech and make cross-border payments more efficient and less costly: Das

Although financial innovation enhances ease of payment and lowers its cost, they also pose risks and challenges to the financial system. These risks have a bearing on overall financial stability and market integrity: Das

RBI intends to play a dual role of acting as promoter of innovation as well as being the regulator: Das

While promoting innovation, our focus is on ensuring a well-regulated ecosystem that addresses systemic risks and challenges: Das

Restaurant Brands Asia (RBA IN) - Amnish Aggarwal - Head of Research, Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt Ltd.

Rating: ACCUMULATE | CMP: Rs114 | TP: Rs145

Q2FY24 Result Update – India – strong 2H guidance, Indonesia shows initial recovery

Quick Pointers:

§ BK India ADS at Rs126k, SSG at 3.5%, 2H SSG expected at 8-9%

§ Indonesia expected to be cash breakeven in FY24, Popeyes ADS 30% higher than BK ADS, 50% growth in chicken and 35% in Burgers

Restaurant Brands Asia (RBA) had shown broad based recovery in 2Q24 led by 3.5% SSG in India and margin beat lead by steady GM and lower increase in overheads. Indonesia business has reported strong 50% growth in chicken and 35% in burgers in a seasonally weak quarter. 2H24 outlook in India better with 1) seasonal uptick in 3Q resulting in improved store traffic 2) higher stores openings (46 in 2H) 3) sustained benefits from value meal and innovations and 4) strong growth in smaller towns. We believe margin expansion in India business will be slightly curtailed in 2H due to overheads associated with accelerated store openings. Indonesia operations is showing initial signs of recovery led by 1) relaunch/innovation in Whopper range 2) new range of chicken offerings 3) desserts scalability and 4) sustained traction with 30% higher ADS in Popeyes then BK.

Given strong SSG guidance beyond FY24, we now expect India business to report FY26 PBT from operations of Rs276mn versus Rs165mn earlier. We value the company at Rs 145 (Rs142 earlier) on SOTP basis. Accumulate.

Welspun Corp has entered into an arrangement for supply of renewable energy under group captive structure with Mounting Renewable Power Limited (MRPL), a subsidiary of Welspun New Energy Limited. The stock surges by 7.27% on the NSE, trading at ₹490.15.

Nifty 50 (19,450) opened today’s session slightly higher at 19,457.40 versus Wednesday’s close of 19,443.50. But the index is now back to near yesterday’s closing level of 19,450.

The benchmark index is staying flat despite positive cues from the Asian market. Interestingly though, the mid- and small-cap indices are up today after the first hour of trade.

Cummins India (KKC IN) - Amit Anwani - Research Analyst, Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt Ltd.

Rating: HOLD | CMP: Rs1,767 | TP: Rs1,811

Q2FY24 Result Update – Healthy Q2; eyes on exports, CPCB-IV transition

Quick Pointers:

§ Industrial segment witnessed revenue growth of ~20% YoY, driven by strong traction in road construction segment.

§ CPCB-IV products accounted for ~30% of domestic power gen sales.

Cummins India (KKC) reported decent quarterly performance with revenue declining 2.6%, due to de-stocking of inventory at dealer level and EBITDA margins expanding by 294bps YoY to 17.8%. EBITDA margin expansion was mainly due to softening commodities prices, stable product pricing and favorable product mix. Management expects H2 to be better driven by 1) continued demand & normalizing inventory levels in domestic powergen segment, 2) pickup in industrial segments especially construction sector and 3) continued demand from sectors such as data center, manufacturing etc. Export market is likely to be muted in near term owing to demand slowdown from key geographies such as Europe, North America, Africa etc. Management guided for double digit revenue growth with 100bps EBITDA margin improvement for FY24.

We expect Cummins’ outlook to remain intact given 1) strong domestic demand in power gen across sectors with CPCB-IV product witnessing traction 2) improving margin profile and 3) ample room for growth in distribution business. The stock is trading at PE of 38.9x/34.2x/30.4x FY24/25/26E. We roll forward to Sep’25E and maintain ‘Hold’ rating on stock with revised TP of Rs1,811 (Rs1,788 earlier) valuing it at 33x Sep’25E (35x FY25E earlier).

Exide Industries (EXID IN)

Result Report Q2 FY24

Recommendation: BUY

CMP: Rs 266

Target Price: Rs 325

Potential Return: +22%

Li-ion project on-track to start by end FY25

EXID’s 2QFY24 results was better led by better than expected gross margins at 31.1% (+60bp YoY/ +280bp QoQ) resulted in EBITDA/ADJ.PAT beat of 6-11% to our/street estimates. The sharp expansion QoQ is due to favorable product mix. The management indicated 10.4% YoY growth in revenues was led by volumes as pricing remained stable. The demand outlook is stable to positive for the base business for auto/industrial vertical, as current volume growth is expected to sustain in 2HFY24E. Further, re-configured products for exports (to avoid antidumping) to benefit exports recovery in the near-term. We believe recent increase in lead prices (by ~14% YoY and +3% QoQ vs average of 2Q) to influence margins ahead. While EXID’s LAB business is expected to grow 7‐8% CAGR over 3‐5 years, significant ramp-up in EV cell manufacturing and order wins to act as key re-rating trigger for the stock. We estimate Revenue/EBITDA/PAT CAGR of 12%/25%/31% over FY23‐25E as we cut FY24 EPS by 3.5% to factor in for lead inflation. We have raised target multiple to 16x (v/s 15x) to factor in for increased order inflow for its packs business and maintain BUY with TP of Rs325 (16x Mar-25 EPS + 50% holdco discount to HDFC Life stake

Stove Kraft Ltd (STOVEKRA IN)

Result Report Q2 FY24

Recommendation: BUY

CMP: Rs 503

Target Price: Rs 624

Potential Return: +24.1%

Guidance maintained despite weak 1H; re-iterate BUY

New products launched has been meeting with the strong response and company is falling short of manufacturing capacity to supply products like air-fryers. We feel STOVEKRA can achieve double digit revenue growth and margin delivery can be achieved as operating leverage kicks in. Considering strong growth potential, success of new products and management sticking to its guidance despite subdued 1H on both revenue as well as margin front is encouraging. We estimate STOKRA to deliver revenue CAGR of over FY23-25E of 13% which looks achievable given the expansion in distribution and new product launches. We have estimated EBITDA margin of 10% in FY24 is lower than management guidance of 11% factoring for some additional expenses. With strong growth potential and improvement in EBITDA margins, we remain positive on the stock and reiterate our BUY rating with TP of Rs624 valuing the company at 22x FY25E EPS.

Top Nifty Realty stocks at this hour: Brigade (4.92%); Sobha (4.23%); Swan Energy (2.60%); Prestige (2.59%); Oberoi Realty (1.59%)

Carysil Ltd (CARYSIL IN)

Result Report Q2 FY24

Recommendation: BUY

CMP: Rs 693

Target Price: Rs 882

Potential Return: +26%

On track to achieve Rs7-7.25Bn revenue target for FY24!

We reckon, CARYSIL should witness improvement in demand from hereon. Hence, we expect Quartz volumes to grow by 18%CAGR over FY23-FY25E. Also, with ramp-up in stainless steel biz & better trajectory in UK subsidiary’s, we expect Revenue to grow by 23%CAGR over FY23-FY25E. Incrementally with better volumes, margins are likely to expand, hence we reckon EBITDA margins to improve by 250bps over next 2-years. At CMP, the stock trades at P/E(x) of 23x/17x on FY24E/FY25E EPS of Rs 31/40, both revised upwards by 25%/10% respectively, largely due to better-than-expected performance of UK subsidiaries & higher margins. We continue to value the company at P/E(x) of 22x on FY25E EPS, arriving at a target price of Rs882. Hence, we maintain our BUY rating on the stock.

LKP Research

SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE

Q2 FY24 Result Update

Business momentum remains positive across its traditional and emerging businesses and we expect this to continue as core data improves which reflects on the overall business it operates in with adequate digitalization opportunities and positive outlook ahead. Further, company’s performance has been consistent for FY22, FY23 and H1FY24 wherein execution has remained strong with consistent margin improvement and expects it to continue with strong order book and pipeline ahead including focus of management remains on collections and cash. Overall company remains optimistic in the short to mid-term with support from the government in the form of investment, reforms and policies. Considering the strong H1FY24 performance we are increasing the estimates and target upwards given strong margin beat in first half. Hence, we maintain BUY with a revised TP of ₹400

Bank Nifty opened today’s session lower at 43,626.10 versus Wednesday’s close of 43,658.65. But it has now recovered to 43,710, up 0.1 per cent.

The breadth of the index is giving it a bullish bias as the advance/decline ratio stands at 7/5. AU Small Finance Bank, up 2.4 per cent, is the top gainer whereas SBI, down 0.5 per cent, is the top loser.

The rupee appreciated 5 paise to 83.25 against the US dollar in morning trade on Thursday, as crude oil prices and the American currency retreated from their elevated levels.

However, a muted trend in domestic equities and sustained foreign fund inflows weighed on investor sentiment.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.25, higher by 5 paise over its previous close.

Benchmark equity indices declined in early trade on Thursday amid continuous foreign fund outflows and mixed trends from global markets.

At 10.30 a.m., the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 62.05 points to 64,933.70. The Nifty dipped 21.15 points to 19,422.35.

Among the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank, Infosys and JSW Steel were the major laggards.

Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Wipro, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Motors were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai were trading in positive territory, while Hong Kong quoted lower.

The US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.23 per cent to $79.72 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 84.55 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Vinati Organics Limited has subscribed to the additional 2,84,13,000 fully paid-up equity shares of the face value of ₹10 each at par, amounting over ₹28 crore. The stock trades at ₹1,761 on the NSE, down by 0.42%.

Syncom Formulations (India) stock jumps 13.74% on the NSE, trading at ₹10.35 after the company reported its financial results for the period ended September 2023.

Ask Automotive IPO has been subscribed 1.71 times as of 10:15 am on the closing day, November 9, 2023. The QIB portion has been subscribed 0.06 times, NII 3.22 times; and retail 2 times.

LKP Research

SUDARSHAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED

Q2 FY24 Result Update

In the near-term SCIL continues to face headwinds particularly from the export market, however softening of the prices, raw material prices and some other costs coupled with uptick in volumes in the domestic market has aided SCIL’s strong recovery. Despite declining prices across its product categories the company says it saw early signs of volume gains which helped domestic market to grow 16% YoY. We believe recent headwinds in the overall pigment industry will be transient and that shifting of global players away from pigment businesses (Top players like BASF & Clariant selling pigment biz), China +1 and sustained demand recovery will be some of the key tailwinds for the overall pigment industry and are likely to benefit SCIL as well.

We believe that challenges like a) consolidation in pigment industry, b) high inflation in developed economies, c) weak geopolitical scenario, d) sharp volatility in commodity prices and e) supply chain disruptions are expected to hit mid-sized and small pigment players resulting in benefit to major players like SCIL.

We forecast a Revenue/EBITDA/PAT CAGR of 11.2%/31%/92% over FY23–25E vs 11.2%/26%/76% CAGR earlier, on the back of low base and a swift recovery in volumes in the domestic market despite muted pricing growth. We have factored in a FY24/FY25 EBITDA margin of 12%/12.7%. We retain ‘BUY’ and our TP of ₹605 (25.4x FY25 Adj. EPS of ₹23.9).

J.B. Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (JBCP IN) - Param Desai - Research Analyst, Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt Ltd.

Rating: BUY | CMP: Rs1,462 | TP: Rs1,675

Q2FY24 Result Update – Margin surprise

Quick Pointers:

§ Reiterate CDMO revenue guidance of $100mn over next 3-4 years.

§ Adj for ESOP (Rs 77mn), OPM came in at 28.5%.

J.B. Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (JBCP) Q2FY24 EBITDA growth of 32% YoY was 6% above our estimate aided by higher margins. Revenue growth across domestic formulation (+11% YoY) and contract manufacturing business (+5% YoY) continue to remain healthy. We believe JBCP will continue with its growth momentum driven by 1) geographical expansion of legacy brands 2) improvement in MR productivity 3) scale up in Sanzyme, Azmarda and Razel franchise 4) launch of new products & therapies 5) scaling up contract manufacturing business and 6) improvement in FCF generation. Our FY24/25E EPS stands broadly remains unchanged. We expect EPS CAGR of 29% over FY23-26E. At CMP, the stock is trading at 27x FY25E P/E adjusted for ESOP and amortization charges. We maintain our ‘BUY’ rating with revised TP of Rs1,675/share (Rs1,500 earlier), valuing at 30x Sept 2025E EPS adjusted for ESOP and amortization charges.

GE T&D India (GETD IN) - Amit Anwani - Research Analyst, Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt Ltd.

Rating: HOLD | CMP: Rs386 | TP: Rs367

Q2FY24 Result Update – Healthy Q2; focus on improving profitability

Quick Pointers:

§ Order inflow came in at Rs10.8bn up 122.6% YoY, driven by continued strong demand.

§ Order prospects continue to remain strong for next couple of quarters from AIS, GIS substation, power transformers and grid automation.

We revise our FY24/25E estimates upwards by 26.5/21.8%, factoring in EBITDA margin expansion and strong demand outlook. GE T&D (GETD) reported decent quarterly performance with revenue flat at Rs7bn and EBITDA margins coming in at 8.7% driven by focus on operational efficiencies, streamlining resource allocation and enhancing execution capabilities. Net debt has reduced sharply to Rs114mn vs Rs1.7bn in March 2023, driven by better cash flows and working capital situation. Going forward, management will be focusing on healthy profitable orders, better productivity, cost controls and working capital improvement. Management expects healthy order intake on the back of major traction in HVDC ordering in the medium term.

We believe healthy order pipeline, strong order book (Rs43.4n) and management’s focus on margin improvement augers well for medium term revenue and profit growth. The stock is trading at PE of 54.6x/36.6x/27.7x FY24/25/26E. We roll forward to Sep’25E, and maintain ‘Hold’ rating on stock with TP of Rs367 (Rs260 earlier) valuing it at PE of 30x Sep’25E (30x FY25 earlier).

Spencer’s Retail, a part of the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, on Wednesday reported widening of its net loss to ₹70.12 crore for the second quarter this fiscal from ₹53.78 crore for the same period last fiscal.

A top bank in market capitalisation, has joined forces with IntellectAI, the WealthTech and InsurTech arm of Intellect Design Arena Ltd. The bank has chosen IntellectAI’s eMACH.ai Custody Edge platform to reshape the landscape of custodial services in the country. The stock rises by 1.98% on the NSE, trading at ₹676.10.

ICICI Securities

Apollo Tyres’ (APTY) standalone Q2FY24 EBITDAM was up 130bps QoQ at 19.1%, driven by scale efficiencies and cost control, with GM only being up 30bps QoQ. Exports, which typically account for ~15% of standalone revenue, saw volume decline of ~40% YoY, although up 7% QoQ. EU EBITDAM improved ~100bps QoQ to ~14% with revenue up 17% QoQ to EUR 169mn. Consolidated FCF of INR 7bn during H1FY24 helped APTY reduce net debt/EBITDA to 1.0x vs 1.4x in Mar’23. Amidst elevated profitability and limited capex, annualised RoCE was ~16% in H1FY24 as against sub-12% in recent years. Maintain HOLD with a revised DCF-based TP of INR 412 (earlier: INR 381), implying ~14x

FY25E EPS. Change in TP is due to 23%/20% higher FY24E/FY25E EPS led by ~230bps/180bps increase in consolidated EBITDAM estimates

Brigade Enterprises stock surges by 6.91% on the NSE, trading at ₹742.70 after the company reported its financial results for the period ended September 2023.

MTAR Technologies Ltd, which is engaged in the manufacturing and development of precision-engineered systems for clean energy, has reported a decrease in the net profit in the second quarter ended September 30, 2023. The firm reported a net profit of Rs 20.5 crore in the quarter as against Rs 24.7 crore in the comparable quarter last year, showing a decline of 17.1 per cent.

On Thursday, the company’s shares are trading at Rs 2,346.55, down by 8 p.c. There is a spurt in volume by more than 3.17 times in the early trade.

JSW Steel reported consolidated Crude Steel production for the month of October 2023 at 23.12 lakh tonne, grew by 12% y-o-y. Capacity utilisation at Indian operations level stood at 95% for October 2023. The stock trades at ₹754.50 on the NSE, down by 0.29%.

International and domestic crude oil futures extended losses on Wednesday falling for a third straight session after a report showed an outsized rise in U.S. oil inventories while demand in the country was seen falling.

API showed U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 11.9 million barrels for week ending November 3, after a 1.347-million-barrel rise in crude inventories in the prior week.

Adding to the bearish outlook, the EIA forecasted for a 300,000 bpd drop in U.S. demand this year, while gasoline demand will fall to the lowest in decades in 2024.

Additionally, China economic numbers continue to struggle and continued to weigh on sentiments.

From an intraday perspective, international crude oil prices have started with small gains on Thursday morning in Asian trading on short covering and as markets shrug off data.

However, investors await fresh triggers so markets could remain range bound.

The range for the NYMEX WTI December is $74.00 to $77.00, while that for MCX November crude futures is 6,200 to 6,400.

NYMEX and domestic gas futures extended losses on Wednesday as most weather models forecast a much warmer temperatures over the next 15-days.

However, downside was capped as U.S. natural gas stockpiles likely decreased by 6.5 billion cubic feet last week, when cold weather likely boosted demand for heating.

From an intraday perspective, NYMEX natural gas prices have started flat this early Thursday morning in Asian trade as investors await fresh triggers.

The range for the NYMEX Gas December is $3.045 to $3.175, while that for MCX natural gas November contract is 254 to 262. -- Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities

International and domestic gold prices eased on Wednesday as investors take profits as safe-haven buying eases while the dollar rises.

Meanwhile, the highly anticipated Fed Chair Powell’s speech at a conference celebrating the Fed’s Centennial of the Division of Research and Statistics did not provide any indication of the course of monetary policy.

Reflecting investors sentiments, SPDR Gold Trust ETF fund, said its holdings fell 0.03% to 867.28 tonnes on Wednesday.

However, the U.S. Treasury Yields continued to ease on Wednesday and capped downside in bullion.

From an intraday perspective, LBMA spot and COMEX futures of gold and silver futures started flat this early Thursday morning Asian trading as investors again await cues from Fed Chair Powell speech tonight as well.

Downside could be limited as benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields held near their lowest in more than a month, while the Dollar also remained subdued this Thursday morning.

Intraday, the range for COMEX December gold is between $1,940 to $1,972, while COMEX December silver is $22.120 to $22.985.

Domestically, the range for MCX gold December is 59,825 to 60,320, while that for MCX silver December is 70,330 to 71,585. -- Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities

International and domestic copper prices continued to struggle on Wednesday as the Dollar showed strength.

Downside was capped as October refined copper production in China was below expectations at 993,800 tonnes, down 1.8% from the previous month.

Meanwhile, international and domestic zinc prices rose on Wednesday on the back of supply concerns after a fire hit a large Russian mine operation in the wake of recent mine suspensions.

Adding to supply concerns, LME zinc inventories have more than halved since early September.

Most other base metals ended mixed with LME alumnium easing further, while lead and nickel prices gaining on Wednesday.

From an intraday perspective, COMEX copper has started marginally stronger this early Thursday morning in Asian trade after mixed data from China early this morning.

China inflation data released showed that October CPI fell 0.2% year on year, while PPI data fell 2.6% year on year and was broadly in line with a poll.

The data is suggesting that multiple stimulus measures from Beijing did little to stimulate overall spending and will keep upside limited in base metals.

Intraday, the range for COMEX December Copper is $3.615 to $3.685, while that for MCX copper November is 700 to 711. -- -- Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities

M&M (2%); Coal India (1.17%); Apollo Hospitals (1.16%); BPCL (1.08%); Hero Motocorp (0.65%)

Major losers:

Tata Consumers (-1.10%); Tech Mahindra (-0.70%); HDFC Life (-0.56%); Sun Pharma (-0.56%); ONGC (-0.54%)

Organic Recycling Systems Limited is a technology engineering (TEPC) has posted its revenue of ₹126.348 million with EBITDA of ₹56.274 million (EBITDA margin of 45%) and PAT of ₹20.148 million (PAT margin of 16%).

R.P.P. Infra Projects reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹16.95 crore as against ₹3.27 crore in the same quarter previous year.

Welspun Corp’s shares are up nearly 6% after the company posted a net profit in the second quarter compared to loss year ago

DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations Limited has commenced full-fledged operations in five diverse countries: Philippines, Thailand, UK, US, and Qata

TD Power Systems Ltd (TDPS) and BRUSH SEM s.r.o (Czech Republic) have entered into two agreements, in terms of which TDPS will manufacture and supply Generators primarily for the Oil and Gas market based on Baker Hughes BRUSH technology design and TDPS design, respectively.

Nifty outlook:

Upsides dominated yesterday, but stopped just shy of the 19475 objective pencilled in for yesterday. Momentum appears to have eased though, and we favour a turn lower from either 19475, 19550 or 19630. For such a move, 19360 should suffice as the near term downside marker, but the 19840 view shall continue to be intact, as long as 19170 holds.

Derivative outlook:

Nifty weekly contract has highest open interest at 19500 for Calls and 19300 for Puts while monthly contracts have highest open interest at 19500 for Calls and 19000 for Puts. Highest new OI addition was seen at 19500 for Calls and 19400 for Puts in weekly and at 19500 for Calls and 19400 for Puts in monthly contracts. FIIs increased their future index long position holdings by 2.40%, increased future index shorts by 3.20% and decrease in index options by 12.50% in Call longs, 12.50% in Call short, 21.63% in Put longs and 31.39% in Put shorts. - Read more

USD-INR outlook:

USDINR inched higher yesterday, but did not see 83.3, pipped yesterday to trigger a sell on rallies approach. This is awaited today. As maintained yesterday, congestion point at 83.19 could pivot down moves, and momentum may not kick in until below 82.98. Alternatively outright rise above 83.4 could call for extended upsides aiming 84 initially.

Total Income of ₹1,590 Crore in Q2 FY24 against ₹1,310 Crore in Q2 FY23

EBITDA of ₹172 Crore with an EBITDA margin of 10.8% in Q2 FY24

At 9.20 am on Thursday, January Brent oil futures were at $79.72, up by 0.23 per cent; and December crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $75.53, up by 0.27 per cent. November crude oil futures were trading at ₹6312 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) in the initial trading hour of Thursday morning against the previous close of ₹6274, up by 0.61 per cent; and December futures were trading at ₹6342 as against the previous close of ₹6305, up by 0.59 per cent.

Equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 opened on a flat note on Thursday. Stocks in Asia advanced after US equities hit their hottest winning streak in two years, as investors cling to hopes that interest rates have peaked.

Australian and Japanese shares rose, while futures contracts for Hong Kong were flat. Those moves followed a 0.1% gain for the S&P 500 on Wednesday, it’s eighth consecutive advance and the best run for the index since November 2021.

Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (0.75 per cent up) is the top gainer among the Nifty50 stocks followed by BPCL, Mahindra and Mahindra, Dr Reddy’s and Hero MotoCorp. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra and HDFC Bank have lost the most.

Jefferies has said that Gujarat Pipavav will find it hard to maintain its market share given Adani group’s aggressive expansion plans across the coast of India. Strong balance sheet and operational cash flows limit downside, it said.

It added that aggressive competition from Mundra leading to further market share loss.

Schneider Electric Infrastructure’s business momentum remains positive across its traditional and emerging businesses and we expect this to continue as core data improves which reflects on the overall business it operates in with adequate digitalization opportunities and positive outlook ahead. Further, company’s performance has been consistent for FY22, FY23 and H1FY24 wherein execution has remained strong with consistent margin improvement and expects it to continue with strong order book and pipeline ahead including focus of management remains on collections and cash.

Overall, company remains optimistic in the short to mid-term with support from the government in the form of investment, reforms and policies. Considering the strong H1FY24 performance we are increasing the estimates and target upwards given strong margin beat in first half. Hence, we maintain BUY with a revised TP of ₹400

Best ever quarter, driven by successful launches

- PEPL has had a strong start to the year with Rs 11,000 crore of bookings in 1HFY24 and is about to enter a seasonally strong second half. Management now aims to achieve over Rs 20,000 crore of pre-sales in FY24 vs. initial guidance of Rs 16,000 crore. Consistent scale-up in residential business will continue to provide strong visibility of cash flows.

- As company continues to invest on residential land and capex for future growth we expect company to report net cash deficit over next two years and eventually turn positive from FY26 onwards with a peak debt of Rs 9,000 crore. Scale-up in residential business and progress on commercial execution will continue to provide visibility on substantial rental step-up over next four-five years which is right now not fully baked into the valuations.

- We reiterate buy rating with revised TP of Rs 1,000

Revolt Motors will supply the electric bikes for Adani Green’s corporate fleet

NIFTY-50 OUTLOOK

NIFTY-50 has closed in a doji candle, trending near the 100 day average and an either side move could be expected from current levels. f On the higher side, a crossover of 19,500 levels would push the index higher to 19800 levels over the next few days. f RSI is sustaining above the average line and other key technical indicators are positively poised. f Highest call OI has moved to 19,500 strike while on the downside the highest put OI is at 19,300 for the weekly expiry.

BANK NIFTY OUTLOOK

BANK NIFTY opened higher and failed to sustain at higher levels and witnessed profit booking in the second half to close near the low point of the day. f The index has closed in an inside range of the previous day’s candle and crossover of 43,800 levels will give an upward breakout. f RSI has crossed the average line and other key technical indicators are positively poised for a higher breakout. f Bank Nifty 44,000 CE has the highest OI while on the downside it has moved higher to 43,500 for the put options OI.

US market indices, S&P 500 and Nasdaq, eked out small gains on Wednesday to extend their recent winning streaks as investors considered Federal Reserve officials’ recent comments for signals on the path of interest rates and focused on the direction of Treasury yields.

US Treasury yields have retreated sharply since the benchmark 10-year Treasury note topped 5% in late October, as comments from Fed officials and softer labour data led to growing expectations the central bank had reached the end of its rate-hike cycle.

Most Asia-Pacific markets edged higher on Thursday after indices in the region fell for two straight days, as investors focused on inflation data from China. Indian shares are likely to open on a positive note Thursday after Brent crude and WTI contracts fell more than 2% overnight to hit their lowest since mid-July on concerns over declining demand in the US and China.

On the stock-specific news, our focus would be on Adani Ports, Apollo Hospitals, Bosch, Muthoot Finance, Zee Entertainment, Ashok Leyland, Torrent Power, Piramal Enterprises, and Globus Spirits, among others, ahead of their September quarter results.

Inox Wind, a part of the Inox GFL Group, said that CRISIL has upgraded its ratings from Crisil BBB+ to Crisil A- (long term rating), Crisil A2 to Crisil A2+ (short term ratings) with

stable outlook in relation to ratings of its banking facilities.

CRISIL’s rationale for upgrading Inox Wind’s ratings reflects the steps undertaken by the promoters in fiscal 2024 to reduce debt leading to significant improvement in the financial risk profile, improvement in the business risk profile which the company has demonstrated by delivering significant improvement in operating performance in the first half of fiscal 2024 and commercialisation of the 3.3 MW turbine.

The upgrade in ratings also reflects Inox Wind’s market position, focus on cost efficiencies, healthy order book and robust execution capabilities.

The benchmark indices witnessed subdued activity at higher levels, with Nifty gaining 31 points while Sensex rose by 33 points. Among the various sectors, realty and pharma indices outperformed, with both rising over 1 per cent, while financial and IT stocks saw intraday profit-booking. From a technical standpoint, the market is currently consolidating at higher levels following a promising uptrend.

On the daily chart, the index has formed a small candle near the 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), indicating indecision between the bulls and bears. Our view is that the broader market structure is bullish, but if the index falls below 19400/64825, we could see a quick intraday correction. For day traders, 19400/64825 could act as a trend-deciding level, above which the market is likely to continue the positive momentum till 19500-19550/65200-65350.

Conversely, selling pressure is expected to increase below 19400/64825, below which it may retest 19350-19315/64600-64500 levels./64600-64500 levels. For intraday traders, the strategy should be to buy Nifty if it crosses 19470 but with a strict stop loss at 19400 levels.

The bank nifty should support for the market to move towards 19500 or 19550 levels. It has support at 43400 and at 43200. Above 43900 it would move towards 44300 and 44500 levels. Buying is advisable above 43900 levels with a strict stop loss at 43600.

Nifty is witnessing early upward momentum and appears to be the standout bullish Diwali theme in town, largely unaffected by relentless selling from FIIs. However, the likelihood of this pressure jeopardizing Nifty’s recent optimism seems slim, given its standing as a standout bullish theme. Encouragingly, WTI crude oil futures have reached a three-month low at $75 per barrel, despite signals of supply cuts from Saudi and Russia, setting Nifty’s targets at 19,500 and possibly 19,789. Traders are increasingly confident that the Federal Reserve has concluded its historic tightening cycle, with expectations leaning towards a rate cut in June.

Yet, with all eyes on Fed Chair Powell’s upcoming speech, more aggressive traders might prefer a cautious stance. Technically, sustained selling below the Nifty 19,221 level could make the benchmark vulnerable. Nifty’s options data hints at a probable trading range of 18,900-19,700, with 19,600 remaining a crucial resistance zone. As Q2 results from various companies like Adani Ports, Aurobindo Pharma, Bosch, and others are set to be revealed today, the overall sentiment suggests Nifty will likely continue to shine amid the welcome decline in oil prices.

The Burman family, which has made an open offer to acquire a majority stake in Religare Enterprises, has denied the allegations made by the independent directors of the company and claimed that it is being targeted for raising questions on few issues in the company.

“Some of these allegations are being made because we drew the attention of the Company by our letter dated October 26 to the Board of REL, to certain share trades by a certain senior executive at REL immediately prior to the launch of our open offer,” said Burman family spokesperson.

“We are concerned that instead of dealing with the legitimate queries raised in our letter the attention of regulatory authorities / Board / public shareholders is being deflected to such falsehoods,” he added.

The independent directors of the company had written a letter to Sebi, RBI and IRDA alleging fraud and other breaches against Burman family which had made the open offer to Religare investors in September.

Indian shares are set to open higher on Thursday, tracking Asian peers, following a drop in oil prices to their lowest levels in more than three months.

India’s GIFT Nifty was up 0.24% at 19,528.50 as of 8:05 a.m. IST, over 80 points above the benchmark Nifty 50’s Wednesday close of 19,443.50.

The net profit of Kaveri Seed Company has gone up by three times to ₹10.72 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2023, against ₹2.72 crore in the comparable quarter last year. The firm registered a revenue of ₹96.12 crore in the quarter (₹84.49 crore). The board has recommended a dividend of ₹5 per equity share of ₹2 each.

“Despite stable volumes in rice and cotton, our strategic approach has transformed better realisations into substantial revenue growth, fuelling a significant improvement in margins,” GV Bhaskar Rao, Chairman & Managing Director, said.

Birla Corporation, the flagship company of MP Birla group, on Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit of ₹58.37 crore for the second quarter of this fiscal against a net loss of ₹56.46 crore for the same period last fiscal.

The company’s revenue from operations rose 14.30 per cent year-on-year to ₹2,285.83 crore for the period under review (₹1,999.83 crore), according to a stock exchange filing.

Som Distilleries and Breweries said the Income Tax Department has been conducting a search & seizure operation at its Corporate office and Factories since November 7, 2023.

The Company, which has its registered office in Dehi and corporate office in Bhopal, in a regulatory filing, said it has been co-operating with the officials during the proceedings and responded to the clarifications and details sought by them.

“The business operations of the Company continue as usual and have not been impacted due to the search. We will comply with our legal obligation for disclosure from time to time

and will update you on further developments in near future as and when the situation permits,” per the filing.

Ahmedabad-based Eris Lifesciences said it has availed a Term Loan Facility from Citi Bank N.A. amounting to Rs. 280 Crores for financing the acquisition of the Nephrology and Dermatology businesses pertaining to the Indian Territory of Biocon Biologics Limited. Eris has provided the lender exclusive charge on assets acquired through the slump sale transaction, including hypothecation charge on brand portfolio acquired from Biocon Biologics Limited, as security.

Footwear major Bata India on Wednesday reported a 38 per cent year-on-year fall in its consolidated net profit to ₹33.99 crore for the second quarter this fiscal due to lower revenue and a one-time charge for introducing a voluntary retirement scheme.

The company had posted a net profit of ₹54.82 crore for the second quarter last fiscal. During the period under review, revenue from operations fell 1.3 per cent y-o-y to ₹819.11 crore (₹829.75 crore).

Even as Sony Corp balks against appointing Punit Goenka as the MD and CEO of the Zee-Sony merged entity, Goenka has no plans to relinquish his future role in the merged entity.

Sources close to matter told businessline that Goenka’s ambitions for the MD position have been bolstered after the Securities Appellate Tribunal set aside SEBI’s order that barred him from taking up any key managerial position. Read on to know more about Punit Goenka’s bid to become the new chief of the Sony-Zee merged entity.

Market observers expect high single-digit returns for the benchmark indices in Samvat 2080 as well.

The general elections to be held next year, coupled with global interest rates, bond yields, inflation and geopolitical issues may be key factors that dictate market movement this year.

Interest rates are widely expected to have peaked and the US Federal Reserve may keep rates steady from here on. Read on to know outlook for Samvat 2080.

The short-term outlook is bullish for Century Plyboards (I). The stock surged over 4 per cent on Wednesday. That rise has taken it above the 100-Day Moving Average (MA) resistance poised around ₹650. Prior to this rise, the stock had found strong support below ₹630 this week.

The 100-Day MA will be an immediate support now.

Here are the intraday supports and resistances for widely traded stocks such as Reliance Industries, ITC, ONGC, Infosys, HDFC Bank, TCS, and SBI

Oil held near its lowest in more than three months as bullishness in wider financial markets was offset by signs that demand is weakening and supplies remain ample, per a Bloomberg report.

West Texas Intermediate edged higher toward $76 a barrel after losing almost 7% over the previous two sessions, while global benchmark Brent settled below $80 for the first time since July, the report added.

Stocks in Asia advanced after US equities hit their hottest winning streak in two years, as investors cling to hopes that interest rates have peaked, per a Bloomberg report.

Australian and Japanese shares rose, while futures contracts for Hong Kong were flat. Those moves followed a 0.1% gain for the S&P 500 on Wednesday, it’s eighth consecutive advance and the best run for the index since November 2021.

The upward momentum weighed on Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge. The VIX index marked its longest slide since October 2015 and is hovering at a level last seen in the middle of September.