Share Market Highlights 8th April 2024: Sensex and Nifty hit record highs amid global optimism and foreign inflows

The rupee settled on a flat note on Monday at 83.31 (provisional) against the US dollar, as the support from positive domestic equities was negated by the strength of the American currency in the overseas market.

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty reached their fresh record highs on Monday, amid optimism in global markets and foreign fund inflows.

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) has incorporated a subsidiary company “RVNL Infra Middle East” in the Sultanate of Oman.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services

“The buoyancy in sentiment continued, led by sectorial tailwinds and Q4 earnings growth expectations. The up-move was largely broad-based, with outperformance by auto, reality, oil & gas, and consumer discretionary, while IT was tepid owing to insipid Q4 growth expectations due to a slowdown in spending. On the global front, after the release of robust US job data, investors are awaiting the release of US CPI data, ECB policy, and UK GDP data this week.”

Equity benchmark indices closed higher on Monday. BSE Sensex was higher by 494.28 pts or 0.67% at 74,742.50, and Nifty 50 was up 152.60 pts or 0.68% at 22,666.30.

​APL Apollo Tubes Ltd.(APL) ​announced that it stands at the 86th percentile in the steel industry on ESG rankings in S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, up from 80th percentile in 2022 and 56th percentile in 2021. 

Shares closed at ₹1,591.50 on the NSE, higher by 2.62%.

Transformers And Rectifiers (India) Limited has board has recommended final dividend of ₹0.20 per equity share.

Stock declines 2.10% on the NSE, trading at ₹456.

Rama Steel Tubes Ltd has reduced its total sanctioned bank loan limits by ₹73.74 crore (₹737.40 million), which is 21 per cent of the total existing sanctioned limits over the month. During the year, the company reduced its total sanctioned loan limits by ₹189.72 crore (₹1,897.20 million), which is 55 per cent of the total existing sanctioned loan limits, including Lepakshi Tubes Private Limited. 

The Rama Steel stock rose 1.90 per cent on the NSE, trading at ₹13.40.

Major gainers: Eicher Motors (4.39%), Maruti (3.49%), M&M (3.20%), JSW Steel (2.28%), SBI Life (2.20%)

Major losers: Adani Ports (-1.94%), Nestle India (-1.65%), Apollo Hospitals (-1.45%), Wipro (-1.19%), LTIMindtree (-0.82%)

A total of 1,891 stocks advanced on the BSE at 3 pm on Monday as against 1,980 stocks that declined; 146 stocks remain unchanged. Total stocks traded were 4,017. While 258 stocks recorded a 52-week high, 12 hit a 52-week low. 

In addition, 382 stocks traded in the upper circuit, while 262 hit the lower circuit.

Grasim Industries Ltd.’s, Birla Pivot, the B2B e-commerce unit, under the Aditya Birla Group, surpassed ₹1,000 crore in revenue during its inaugural year of operations in FY24. The company said, the platform emerged as one of the fastest-growing entities in the B2B e-commerce sector by achieving this feat. Read more

Vuenow Infratech Ltd (formerly known as Good Value Irrigation Ltd) has acquired a 2 megawatt capacity data center from NGBPS Ltd, located at Bhiwadi in Rajasthan for consideration amounting to ₹9.25 crore.

Vuenow Infratech stock surged by 4.97% on the BSE, trading at ₹12.45.

Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd has acquired 100% stake of Lumen Australia Pty Ltd., Lumen International Holdings Pty Ltd (which further holds 100% in Lumen North America, Lumen Thailand, Lumen Europe and 90% in Lumen South Africa), Lumen Engineering Solutions Pty Ltd and Lumen Special Conversions Pty Ltd. via a 100% subsidiary of Samvardhana Motherson Automotive Systems Group B.V., a wholly-owned material subsidiary of the company.

The stock traded at ₹120.30 on the NSE, up 0.75%.

SW JNPT Liquid Terminal Pvt Ltd, wholly-owned subsidiary of JSW Infrastructure, has entered into a concession agreement with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority for equipping, operation, maintenance and transfer of liquid cargo berths LB3 and LB4 at Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

JSW Infrastructure stock trades at ₹248.40 on the NSE, down by 0.94%.

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited has received letter of acceptance from Central Railway for signalling and telecommunication work for provision of automatic block signalling on Khapri- Sewagram Section of Nagpur Division.

Stock declines 0.25% on the NSE, trading at ₹263.45.

Ddev Plastiks Industries informed that the board has approved incorporating a wholly-owned subsidiary in Saudi Arabia with an initial investment of ₹25 crore.

The stock trades at ₹204.85 on the BSE, down by 0.36%.

Grasim’s stock rises 1.56% on the NSE, trading at ₹2,272.35.

While the Market Capitalization hitting Rs 400 lakh crores is a good achievement for Indian #stockmarkets The Market Capitalization to GDP ratio is now approaching 1.35X which is just 10% off peaks seen in 2000 and 2008

The difference is that we are on a good growth path, financial conditions are benign and inflation is under control

Near term return potential has reduced but we are not at the end of cycle

Info Edge (India) recently reported that its standalone billings for the year ended March 31, 2024, at ₹2,495.9 crore as against ₹2,366.3 crore in the corresponding year-ago period.

Top gainers:

Eicher Motors (6.34%), Maruti (3.65%), M&M (3.01%), Shriram Finance (1.89%), Reliance (1.84%)

Major losers:

Adani Ports (-1.94%), Apollo Hospitals (-1.75%), Nestle India (-1.44%), Adani Enterprises (-0.43%), Bajaj Finance (-0.34%)

Cosmo First’s stock trades at ₹567.95 on the NSE, up 0.37%.

• Tata Nifty 500 Multicap 50:30:20 Infrastructure Index Fund
• Tata Nifty MidSmall Healthcare Index Fund
• Tata Nifty Realty Index Fund
• Tata Nifty Financial Services Index Fund
• Tata Nifty Auto Index Fund
• Tata Nifty 500 Multicap India Manufacturing 50:30:20 Index Fund

Edelweiss Financial Services’ ₹200-crore public issue for Secured Redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures with a face value of ₹1,000 each, opened on April 8. The issue, which includes a green shoe option of up to ₹100 crore, will close on April 23, 2024.

The shares were down by 0.25 per cent at ₹71.97 at 11.14 am on the BSE.

Bharti Airtel’s stock inches up 0.31% on the NSE, trading at ₹1,194.70.

Cochin Shipyard’s stock jumps 6.42% on the NSE, trading at ₹1,150.65. The stock hit a 52-week high today at ₹1,153.05. 

Capri Global Capital’s stock rose 1.26% on the NSE, trading at ₹224.70.

Adani Total Energies E-Mobility Limited (ATEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Total Gas Limited (ATGL), and MG Motor India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the EV charging infrastructure in the country.

ATGL’s stock trades at ₹979.80 on the NSE, up 0.08%.

REC Ltd’s shares trade at ₹468.20 on the NSE, down by 0.72%.

Godrej Properties Ltd’s shares were up 5.41 per cent after the company said it sold over 1,050 homes, totaling a value of over ₹3,000 crore within three days of the launch of its latest project, Godrej Zenith, located in Sector 89, Gurugram.

Godrej Zenith is GPL’s largest residential development in Gurugram, where the company recording a 473 per cent year-on-year increase in sales in FY24. GPL’s launch pipeline for FY25 includes project launches in Sector 103, Sector 43, and Sector 54.

Edelweiss Financial Services has announced the opening of the public issue of secured NCDs of the face value of ₹1,000 each for an amount up to ₹100 crore, with a green shoe option of up to ₹100 crore, cumulatively aggregating up to ₹200 crore.

Shares trade at ₹71.95 on the NSE, down by 0.35%.

Major gainers:

Paisalo (9.99%), Voltas (9.39%), Naukri (8.26%), Aster DM (7.14%), Force Motors (6.78%)

Major losers:

JP Associates (-6.95%), Bandhan Bank(-5.27%), Great Eastern Shipping (-3.97%), Neuland Lab (-3.70%), Schaeffler (-3.45%)

Vodafone Idea’s board had approved issuance of up to 139 crore equity shares at an issue price of ₹14.87 per share, aggregating to ₹2,075 crore to Oriana Investments Pte. Ltd.

Crude oil futures traded lower on Monday morning as Israel and Hamas started peace talks in Egypt. This decision is likely to help in the of de-escalation of tensions in Middle East.

At 9.52 am on Monday, June Brent oil futures were at $89.77, down by 1.54 per cent, and May crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $85.61, down by 1.50 per cent.

April crude oil futures were trading at ₹7129 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during initial trading on Monday morning against the previous close of ₹7284, down by 2.13 per cent, and May futures were trading at ₹7091 against the previous close of ₹7238, down by 2.03 per cent.

The Nifty 50 April Futures (22,689) is up 0.4 per cent. The region between 22,650 and 22,600 will now be a very good support for the contract. We expect the contract to sustain above this support zone and rise to 22,900 in the coming sessions.

Godrej Properties (5.41%)

Lodha (3.06%)

Phoenix Mills (2.78%)

Suntech (1.51%)

BSE Sensex rose 347.29 points or 0.47 per cent to trade at 74,595.51 as of 9.44 am, Nifty 50 traded at 22,606.55, up 92.85 points or 0.41 per cent.

A total of 3,239 stocks were actively traded, 2013 advanced, while 1,086 declined and 140 stocks remained unchanged, where 161 stocks hit a 52-week high and six stocks hit a 52-week low at 9.50 am on Monday on BSE.

Nalco’s share price declined 127% to ₹17525 on NSE.

Voltas (9.49%)

V Guard (3.31%)

M&M (1.62%)

GAIL (India) (1.47%)

Va Tech Wabag (0.07%)

Lemon Tree Hotels’ stock rose 1.27% on the NSE, trading at ₹143.30.

Aurobindo Pharma informed that an accident occurred near Vacuum Tray Dryer (VTD) area at Unit 6 of Apitoria Pharma Private Limited, situated at Parawada, Anakapalli District, Andhra Pradesh. There was one casualty due to the accident. The unit continues its normal operations. 

Shares trade at ₹1,114.80 on the NSE, down by 0.79%.

CMP: ₹101 | Market Cap: ₹144 crore | Promoter: 73.37%

Maiden Forgings announced that it is registered as a supplier to the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) for supply of Guns and Shell Factory items. This marks company’s entry in B2G segment. This will allow company to participate in the tenders soon.

Outlook: We maintain our BUY rating but revise our target to ₹176 (from ₹187) valuing 10x FY26 EEPS.

Som Distilleries & Breweries’ shares were up 3.17% on the NSE, trading at ₹316.95.

While BPCL (2.08%), Tata Steel (1.59%), Power Grid (1.38%), Reliance Industries (1.31%) and Bajaj Finserv (1.31%) were the top gainers within the Nifty50 pack, Adani Ports (-1.62%), Apollo Hospitals (-1.09%), Wipro (-0.45%), Adani Enterprises (-0.41%) and Bharti Airtel (-0.39%) were the major laggards.

Issue Open - 15-April-24

Issue Close - 29-April-24

Right issue Size: Rs. 175 Crs (11.67 Crs Shares)

Stock Price – 24.57/-

Right issue Price: Rs. 15 /-

Payment Terms: Rs. 15/- (Full amount of Rs.15 for rights equity shares has to be paid on application.)

Rights Entitlement Ratio: 6 Rights Equity Share for every 37 shares held (Effectively 0.16 for every 1 share held).

Last Trade date (Cum Right): 20 March 2024

Ex-Right Trading date: 21 March 2024

Record Date: 21 March 2024

Right Entitlement (RE) Trading Period:- 15-April-2024 to 24-April-2024

Last day of Renunciation of Rights Entitlements: 24-April-2024

Date of Allotment (on or about): Not Yet Announced

Date of listing (on or about): Not Yet Announced

Route – Tender 

Buyback Price: 625 

Current Market Price: 470.85 /-

Market Cap: Rs 6,047 crores 

Buyback Size: Rs 37.19 crores (representing 24.89% of the aggregate of the company’s fully paid-up equity capital and free reserves) 

Buyback Size: 5,95,000 shares (Representing 0.46% of O/s. shares) 

Retail Quota: 89,250 shares

Last Cum Trading Date – 19 April 2024

Ex-Date – 22 April 2024

Buyback Record Date: 22 April 2024

Buyback Schedule: Not Yet Announced

Aditya Birla Group has shopped Vodafone Idea’s proposed follow-on public offer to around 250 institutional investors in the last 40 days in a bid to shore up support for the fund raise plan. Sources close to the development told businessline that the Birla camp wants to be sure that the ₹20,000 crore target in equity fundraise is successful this time. Read more

Hike could lower EPS by 0.4% in 2024 and 1% in 2025, as per analysts

Royalty Rates Of Other Consumer Co.’s

Devyani-6%

Nestle-5.25%

Page-5%

Westlife-5%

Colgate-4.9%

Jubilant-4%

HUL-3.45%

Jefferies on Bandhan Bank

Downgrade to Underperform from BUY

TP cut to Rs170 from Rs290

Founder-CEO resignation a negative surprise

In a surprise move, Bandhan Bank’s founder-CEO resigned wef 9 July, even as the board had approved a 3yr reappointment & application was awaiting RBI’s approval

Regulator doesn’t clarify on such aspects, but per mgt there isn’t any word from RBI

Smooth succession is key, as most Sr. Mgt. are new at bank

Uncertainty may lead to slower growth & higher credit cost

Given the uncertainty, we are lowering our growth outlook and credit cost estimates for FY25-26, driving our EPS down by about 10-14%

We also see valuations staying under overhang from such uncertainty

We refer to a similar event at RBL Bank where the CEO had abruptly left, followed by interim CEO appointment of ED, and finally appointment of external CEO.

ICICI Sec on Bandhan Bank

Under review from ADD

We have put Bandhan Bank’s rating and target price under-review until further clarity

Our previous rating was ADD and target price INR250, which stands suspended

No apparent management succession

Timing of the resignation of Mr Ghosh, has come as a negative surprise as the Board had approved his re-appointment for three years in Nov’23

Mr Ghosh has been the founder and has been instrumental in the overall functioning of the bank, and therefore, his resignation could significantly alter business growth and profitability of the bank

We believe the timing of the resignation is unfortunate as the bank is still seeing elevated asset quality stress while the two executive directors are fairly new to the bank and there have been multiple senior exits in the last couple of years

We believe the stock price ahead could tread divergently vs underlying business or financial performance until more clarity emerges on MD & CEO succession

GS on Bandhan BK

Buy, TP Rs 267

CEO to retire; Growth & B/S in focus as transition plays out

Could prompt debate among investors around a variety of topics, including:

1 succession planning & announcement of new CEO

2 impact of leadership transition on loan growth &profitability

JPM on Bandhan BK

OW, TP Rs 270

Unexpectedly announced that founder & current MD & CEO Mr Ghosh will be retiring effective July-24

Timing however remains contentious

Given board will have to a hire a new CEO by July, uncertainty will be an overhang

CITI on Wipro

Sell, TP Rs 440

Appointed Mr. Srini Pallia as CEO & MD effective April 7, 2024, for 5 yrs

Investors will await clarity on any strategic/organisational changes & capital allocation

Turnaround needs to be monitored in a challenging macro environment

CLSA on Wipro

Sell, TP Rs 445

Trend of a new CEO every 4-5 years continues

Mr. Pallia’s candidature looks promising, but an arduous task ahead

For new CEO, formulating strategy should be simple, execution is key

Believe new CEO has a tough task ahead to turn around

MS on Wipro

UW, TP Rs 450

CEO announcement a surprise to market, given incumbent’s tenure expected to last until July 2025

Believe transition could create uncertainty in near term before boosting hopes of potential turnaround

Jefferies on Wipro

U-P, TP Rs 470

Resignation of MD & CEO, a year ahead of completion of his term, along with several other senior-level exits, reflects continued execution issues

Any improvements in performance under new CEO is likely to be gradual

Jefferies on IDFC First Bank

Initiate Buy, Target Rs 100

Co Has Built A Well-Rounded Platform, Arguably Among Most Improved Deposit Franchises

Operational Efficiencies Will Play Out From H2FY25

Over FY24-27 Strong Deposit Growth Will Aid Loan Growth

Strong Deposit Growth Should Aid 28% EPS CAGR Even As Credit Costs Rise

Improving RoA, To 1.5% & RoE To 14% Will Aid Rerating

A Fall In Rates Should Help It More Than Peers

Ability To Raise Capital Will Be Key

MS on Bank Of India

Underweight Call, Target Rs 125

Gross Loan Growth Remains Healthy At 3.7% QoQ, Up 13.6% YoY

Domestic Loans Grew By 3.7%, Up 14% YoY

Overseas Book Grew By 3.4% QoQ, Nearly 11% YoY

Deposit Growth Picked Up, Up 4% QoQ Vs 1% Last Quarter Led By Domestic Deposits

Domestic LDR Moderated By 1% QoQ, To 78%

MS On Titan

Equal-Weight Call, Target Rs 3,290

Co Reported Better Topline Growth In Q4 Update, Led By 19% Growth In India Jewellery Biz

Both Buyer & Same Store-Sales Growth For Jewellery Division Grew Double-digits

Watches – Sales Rose 6% YoY, After 21% Growth In Q3

Eyecare Revenue Declined 1% YoY Vs 4% Decline In Q3, Up 5% 5Y-CAGR, Similar To Q3

Emerging Businesses Grew 24% YoY & Caratlane Sales Were Up 30% YoY

CLSA on Titan

Buy Call, Target Rs 4,574

Standalone Revenue Would Grow By 17% YoY Vs Est Of 11.2% Growth

Consensus Expectations Of 14% Growth In Standalone Revenue

Jewellery Segment Is Expected To Grow 18% YoY, Slightly Above Our Estimate

Watches And Wearables To Grow 6% YoY While Eye Care Is Expected To Contract By 1% YoY

Emerging Biz Is Expected To Grow 24% YoY

Caratlane Is Expected To Report Strong 30% Growth

Co Added 76 New Stores In The Standalone Business And 10 Stores For Caratlane During Quarter

MS on GCPL

Equal-Weight Call, Target Rs 1,089

Co’s Q4 Performance Was Ahead Of Estimate On The Topline

Co’s Q4 Performance Was Led By Better Performance In The Indian & Indonesian Biz

Goodknight Agarbatti Launch Has Been Well Received By Consumers, Which Is A Key Positive

Devaluation In Nigeria Continues To Affect Overall Growth

MS on Marico

Equal-Weight Call, Target Rs 533

Co’s Q4 Performance Was Broadly In-line With Est

Co Met Its Earlier Stated Target Of Positive Revenue Growth In Q4

Co Met Its Earlier Stated Target Of Margin For FY24 & Targets For New Businesses

Management Expects Revenue Growth Momentum To Improve Going Ahead

CLSA on Marico

Sell Call, Target Rs 451

Q4 Update Stated Consolidated Revenue Growth Would Be In The Low-single digits

Our Expectation For Cons Rev Growth Is 2.8% Topline Growth

Consolidated Revenue Est Is A Slight Decline To What Consensus Expects

Co Expects Strong Gross Margin Improvement On YoY Basis

Co Expects Low, Double-figit Growth In Gross Margin In Operating Profit

Domestic Business Posted A Slight Uptick In Volume Growth

Co Expects Consolidated Revenue Growth To Trend Upwards Over Coming Quarters

HSBC on Kalyan Jewellers

Buy Call, Target Raised To Rs 500

Co’s Consolidated Sales Up 34% YoY In Q4, Led By Strong India Sales

Co Opened 10 New Showrooms & 9 Franchise In Q4

Co’s Total India Store Count To 204; Set To Open 80 In FY25

Asset Light Network Expansion Is Delivering Results

MS on Nestle

UW, TP Rs 1981

Board approved increase in royalty rate payable to parent entity from 4.5% of net sales currently to 5.25% over a 5-yr period

Change will be effective from July 1, 2024 & will be implemented in a staggered manner with a 0.15bps increase per annum

Nomura on Chola Fin

Reduce, TP Rs 1000

4Q: Growth trending below expectations

Growth/profitability to moderate further

AUM grew 35%/7% y-y/q-q in 4Q24 (lower vs est. of 36%/9% y-y/q-q)

Overall disbursements grew only 17%/10% y-y/q-q in 4Q24 (5% lower than est.)

Jefferies on Chola Invst

Buy Call, Target Rs 1,400

For Q4, Co’s Disbursement Grew 17% YoY, 4% Ahead Of Our Est

Auto Loan Disbursement Growth Slowed To 6% YoY/ 4% QoQ On High 4Q Base

Stocks that are likely to be included in the MSCI Standard index during the May 2024 index reconfiguration are - Zydus Lifesciences, Mankind Pharma, Bosch, Jindal Stainless, Oberoi Realty, Phoenix Mills, Sundaram Finance, PB Fintech, Solar Industries, Oracle Financials, Oil India, Canara Bank, Indus Tower and JSW Energy.

PAYTM is likely to be excluded from the index, which may result in an outflow of $90 million. Paytm stock plunged 52% in the past six months.

Total inflow on account of the stock inclusions is expected around $3.2 billion. 

If included in the index - PB Fintech is expected to witness inflow of $250 million, While Zydus Life, Phoenix Mills, Sundaram Finance, NHPC and Torrent Power are expected to receive inflows between $200 and $230 million.

MSCI will announce the changes on May 14, while the changes will take place on May 31.

JSW Steel has recorded annual consolidated crude steel production of 26.43 million tonnes, with a growth of 9% y-o-y. Crude Steel production for Q4 FY 24 stood at 6.79 million tonnes, higher by 3% y-o-y. Capacity utilisation at Indian operations level stood at 93% for Q4 FY 24.

Indian equity markets recovered from an early slide and closed with little change amid weak cues from global markets. The key benchmark indices remained lacklustre throughout the session after the RBI maintained the policy repo rate at 6.50% for the seventh consecutive time in its first bi-monthly monetary policy of FY25, without providing any clear signals on when rate cuts may begin. Banking stocks witnessed healthy gains propelled by robust credit growth in Q4FY24. Additionally, escalated tensions in West Asia, along with rising crude oil prices weighed on sentiment. 

Bond yields rose after the RBI maintained its main lending rate and stance as widely expected. Losses were extended following the surge in US Treasury yields amid concerns over the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts.

The yield on the 10-year benchmark paper (7.18% GS 2033) rose by 3 bps to close at 7.12% as compared to the previous close of 7.09%.

Crude oil futures traded lower on Monday morning as Israel and Hamas started peace talks in Egypt. This decision is likely to help in the de-escalation of tensions in Middle East. At 9.11 am on Monday, June Brent oil futures were at $89.71, down by 1.60 per cent, and May crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $85.57, down by 1.54 per cent. April crude oil futures were trading at ₹7131 on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Monday morning against the previous close of ₹7,284, down by 2.10 per cent, and May futures were trading at ₹7,081 against the previous close of ₹7,238, down by 2.17 per cent.

China’s central bank purchased gold for its reserves for a 17th consecutive month in March, extending a buying spree that has helped the precious metal surge to a record. The People’s Bank of China’s gold holding was up 0.2 per cent to 72.74 million troy ounces, the smallest increase in the run of monthly purchases since November 2022. Gold has been on a tear in the past two months, hitting records on expectations of lower US interest rates. China’s official reserve assets rose to the highest since November 2015, and foreign exchange reserves rose to $3.2457 trillion.

Silver gains as escalating geopolitical tensions continued to prompt investors to seek the safe-haven commodity, despite data showing stronger than expected U.S. non-farm payroll employment adding to concerns about the outlook for Fed interest rates. U.S. job growth blew past expectations in March and wages increased at a steady clip, suggesting the economy ended the first quarter on solid ground and potentially delaying anticipated Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year. Fed Chair Powell emphasized on the need for sustained evidence of inflation nearing the 2% target before considering rate cuts. Investors await upcoming inflation data in the US next week, which could impact the Fed’s decision-making in the coming months.

German Industrial Production

German Trade Balance

Sentix Investor Confidence from Euro Zone

Gold prices rose, touching a new record high supported by US interest rate cut bets, speculative buying and central bank purchases, amid strong US job growth in March. The country’s economy added the most jobs in 10 months, while jobless rate dropped below forecasts, indicating the continued tightness in the labor market and supporting the case for the interest rates to remain restrictive longer. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari stated that if inflation remains stubbornly high, rate cuts may not be necessary this year. 

Jefferies on Kaynes: Initiate Buy on Company, target price at ₹2900/Sh (Positive) 

Jefferies on Syrma SGS: Initiate Buy on Company, target price at ₹640/Sh (Positive) 

Nomura on IDFC First Bank: Maintain Buy on Bank, target price at ₹100/Sh (Positive) 

HSBC on Kalyan Jewel: Maintain Buy on Company, raise target price at ₹500/Sh (Positive) 

Citi on Kalyan Jewel: Maintain Buy on Company, raise target price at ₹500/Sh (Positive) 

Citi on Info Edge: Upgrade to Buy on Company, raise target price at ₹6650/Sh (Positive) 

Nomura on Info Edge: Maintain Buy on Company, raise target price at ₹6210/Sh (Positive) 

Citi on Chola Invest: Maintain Buy on Company, target price at ₹1510/Sh (Positive) 

Jefferies on Chola Invest: Maintain Buy on Company, target price at ₹1400/Sh (Positive) 

Citi on Zomato: Maintain Buy on Company, raise target price at ₹220/Sh (Positive) 

Nomura on Voltas: Maintain Buy on Bank, raise target price at ₹1450/Sh (Positive) 

CLSA on Titan: Maintain Buy on Company, target price at ₹4574/sh (Positive) 

GS on Godrej CP: Maintain Buy on Company, raise target price at ₹1425/Sh (Positive) 

Citi on Godrej CP: Maintain Buy on Company, target price at ₹1350/Sh (Positive) 

Macquarie on Marico: Maintain Outperform on Company, target price at ₹600/Sh (Positive) 

MS on Marico: Maintain Equal weight on Company, target price at ₹533/Sh (Positive) 

CLSA on Marico: Maintain Sell on Company, target price at ₹451/Sh (Neutral) 

MS on Godrej CP: Maintain Equal weight on Company, target price at ₹1089/Sh (Neutral) 

Citi on Titan: Maintain Buy on Company, cut target price at ₹3850/Sh (Positive) 

MS on Titan: Maintain Equal weight on Company, target price at ₹3290/sh (Neutral) 

JP Morgan on Titan: Maintain Overweight on Company, target price at ₹3950/sh (Neutral) 

MS on IDFC First: Maintain Underweight on Bank, target price at ₹125/Sh (Neutral) 

Nomura on Chola Invest: Maintain Reduce on Company, target price at ₹1000/Sh (Neutral) 

JP Morgan on Wipro: Maintain Neutral on Company, cut target price at ₹480/sh (Neutral) 

Jefferies on Wipro: Maintain Underperform on Company, target price at ₹470/sh (Neutral) 

MS on Wipro: Maintain Underweight on Company, target price at ₹450/sh (Neutral) 

Nomura on Wipro: Maintain Reduce on Company, target price at ₹410/sh (Negative) 

Jefferies on Bandhan Bank: Downgrade to Underperform on Company, target price at ₹170/sh (Negative)

Jindal Steel and Power’s strategic expansion would augment its crude steel capacity by 65% to 15.9m tonnes and enrich its product mix. As India enters a nation-building phase, demand for steel is likely to be robust. Therefore, with the company’s huge capacity expansion, we factor in a ~24% sales volume CAGR over FY24-26. Also, the company is strengthening raw-material integration and increasing the share of VAPs. Considering its strong focus on margin expansion, we expect it to achieve ₹15,175 EBITDA/tonne by FY26. With a 0.9x net debt/EBITDA, it has one of the strongest balance sheets among domestic peers. We, thus, initiate coverage with a Buy and a ₹1,070 TP, 6.5x FY26e EV/EBITDA.

Q4 FY24 preview: Quarter marred by pricing weakness

We estimate the average EBITDA/t of cement companies under our coverage to drop by ₹150 QoQ, mainly on account of weak cement prices in Q4FY24. The sharp rise seen in prices during Aug-Sep’23 has reversed now, with five consecutive months of decline. We anticipate blended realizations for our universe to decline by ~5% QoQ to ₹5,424/t in Q4FY24. Following weakening of demand in Q3FY24 (up ~5% YoY), the volume trajectory is expected to improve in Q4FY24 and our universe is likely to report 10% YoY volume growth. Our checks suggest the industry has attempted price hikes (₹10-50/bag) in Apr-24, mainly to arrest the persistent dip in prices. We expect cement demand moderation in Q1FY25 due to the upcoming general elections. Thus, the extent of price hikes/sustainability remains a key monitorable. Top picks are UltraTech and Ambuja Cement.

“The market boarded on a strong trajectory at the onset of the new financial year, where Mid & small caps outperform with 4 & 7%, respectively. The banks provided a return of 2.4%, aided by robust deposit & credit growth data. However, towards the end of the week, volatility rose due to a surge in US bond yields and crude oil prices, along with escalating geopolitical tensions. Despite the RBI’s policy meeting aligning with expectations, concerns surrounding food inflation and alerts of a heat wave tempered market sentiment.

“Investors are expected to closely monitor developments in the upcoming weeks as Q4 results are unveiled. The auto sector anticipates positive results in Q4 due to volume growth in the premium segment and higher price realisation. While weakness in the commercial vehicle and tractor segment continues owing to high base and lower reservoir level. However, the ongoing correction trend in the IT sector, influenced by global uncertainties, is anticipated to persist in the medium term, particularly with muted quarterly expectations. Further, the release of US non-farm payroll and unemployment data later today will provide more insights into the Fed’s rate trajectory.”

OEMs: Margins to improve for OEMs, mixed bag for auto ancillary plays

Expect Q4FY24E revenue for Elara OEM universe (ex-Tata Motors) to improve 14% YoY (+5% QoQ). Revenue for ancillaries may grow 15% YoY (+3% QoQ). Also, Q4 production has likely improved sequentially for PVs, 2Ws, CVs, while possibly declining for tractor in Q4E. Expect 2W production to surge 3% QoQ (+29% YoY) and PV production ~20% QoQ (+12% YoY). Also, MHCV production may likely improve 4% QoQ (-11% YoY). 

Operating leverage and product mix improves for most OEMs

Most OEMs are expected to report a sequential EBITDA margin expansion led by improving product mix and operating leverage. Expect ASPs to improve QoQ sharply for Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and Eicher Motors led by enhancing product and export mix. However, in Bajaj’s case the impact of higher ASPs on a QoQ basis will be partially offset by higher EV volumes which is margin dilutive. MSIL’s margin may see a sharp 140bps QoQ improvement led by operating leverage. 

Expect Elara Auto Ancillary universe to post a revenue growth of 15% YoY/3% QoQ, while EBITDA growth may be 26% YoY/3% QoQ in Q4E. Ancillary tyre companies are expected to post a QoQ margin compression led by a sharp surge in natural rubber prices. SAMIL may post a sequential margin improvement led by integration of new acquisitions and operating leverage. Given the sequential improvement in PV/2W production, we expect ~20bps QoQ margin expansion for Uno Minda, while revenue growth of 28% YoY may continue to outpace industry growth.

Q4 FY24 Preview: Near-term headwinds to persist

We anticipate overall volumes for wood panel/tiles companies across segments to remain weak owing to subdued demand. The plywood segment is likely to log low to mid-single-digit YoY growth. For the MDF segment, sector players have been aggressively pushing volumes in the domestic market via introducing new incentives (ranging over 5-6%) to gain market share; this action may hit their EBITDA margin during Q4FY24. Besides, our channel checks have indicated that ~0.9mn CBM/year of new MDF capacity has been commissioned (>30% of the existing capacity) in Q4. Near-term headwinds are likely to persist for the MDF sector with delay in the implementation of BIS norms by a year (to Feb-25), which could result in higher imports. For tiles, we expect domestic volumes to grow in low single digits YoY. Realizations for the tiles segment are likely to remain under pressure in the near term, given that 35-40 new units are slated for commissioning gradually in Morbi going ahead.

K-shaped divergence continues

Demand trends remain mixed, with high-ticket jewellery, luxury, and durables retailing outperforming the smaller-ticket QSR and Apparel categories. The K-shaped recovery, increase in gold prices, and rising finance penetration continue to drive our BUY rating on TTAN, SENCO, ETHOSLTD, and AVL. Within QSRs, the focus on improving transaction share (vs. bill size) and continued expansion should impact SSG and margins, in our view. Low competition in the chicken category and timely portfolio/dine-in investment drive our relatively higher confidence on SAPPHIRE/WESTLIFE (vs. JUBI/DEVYANI). For Apparel players, a high base (pent-up) and excess channel inventory will delay growth recovery. We prefer GOCOLORS (BUY), given its presence in a niche category and inventory optimization; we retain our REDUCE stance on PAG and ABFRL.

BANDHAN BANK 

HINDCOPPER 

SAIL

ZEEL

Price band changes from 20% to 10%: Shipping Corporation of India Land and Assets. 

Ex/record dividend: Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys, Sun TV Network. 

Moved into short-term ASM framework: Genesys International, GOCL Corporation, Indraprastha Medical, and Manali Petrochemical.

Moved out short-term ASM framework: Skipper.

The bids were led by institutional investors (48.57 times), non-institutional investors (10.52 times), and retail investors (2.83 times). 

Bajaj Finance: Bajaj Housing Finance is mandatorily required to list by Sept. 30, 2025. The company’s board will undertake discussions with respect to the mandatory listing requirement, including considering various options based on the prevailing market conditions, at its meeting scheduled on April 24, 2024.

Tata Power: The company signed a share purchase agreement and acquired 100% equity stake in Jalpura Khurja Power Transmission Ltd. It will build, own, operate and transfer electrical power transmission system to establish twin 400 KV GIS substations at Jalpura and Metro-Depo, Greater Noida. 

Tata Steel: The company achieved highest ever annual crude steel production of 20.8 million tons, a growth of 4% year-on-year. It achieved debottlenecking across sites and achieving higher steel production at Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd.

Adani Wilmar: The company witnessed double-digit growth in edible oils and foods at the end of the fourth quarter. Food and FMCG volume growth stood at 10% YoY, while edible oil was at 13%.

Punjab National Bank: The company reported total deposits stood at ₹13.7-lakh crore, up 7% YoY as of March 31, total advances stood at ₹9.86-lakh crore, up 11.5%, and total business stood at ₹23.56-lakh crore, up 8.8%.

Shyam Metalics: The company reported steel sales at 2.38 lakh tonne, up 26.4% YoY for the end of March and long steel sales at 1.36 lakh tonne, up 11.2% YoY and steel sales at 6.87 lakh tonne, up 6.5% QOQ for the end of the fourth quarter and long steel sales at 3.8 lakh tonne, up 12% QOQ.

Union Bank of India: The company reported total deposits at ₹12.2-lakh crore, up 9.3% YoY, as of March 31 and total business stood at ₹21.3-lakh crore, up 10.3%.

Bank of Baroda: The company reported domestic deposits at ₹11.3-lakh crore, up 7.75% YoY as of March 31. Domestic advances stood at ₹8.97 lakh crore, up 12.8% YoY; global deposits stood at ₹13.3-lakh crore, up 10.2% YoY; and global advances stood at ₹10.9- lakh crore, up 12.4% YoY.

Bank of India: The bank reported domestic deposits at ₹6.3-lakh crore, up 11% YoY; as of March 31, domestic advances stood at ₹4.93-lakh crore, up 14%; global gross advances stood at ₹5.86-lakh crore, up 13.6%; and global deposits stood at ₹7.38-lakh crore, up 10.2%.

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank: The lender reported total deposits at ₹17,473 crore, up 27.4% YoY, as of March 31 and its gross loan portfolio stood at ₹18,299 crore, up 31%.

Rites: The company signed an MoU with IIT Madras to collaborate on green energy projects in the field of transport and mobility.

UCO Bank: The company appointed Sourav Kumar Dutta as its new chief technology officer on a contractual basis for 3 years.

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories: The company and Bayer signed a marketing and distribution agreement for the second brand of Vericiguat in India.

Mahindra EPC Irrigation: The company received an order worth ₹13.2 crore from the Office of the Assistant. Engineer to supply micro irrigation systems for 2,700 hectares.

South Indian Bank: The company appointed Vinod Francis as CFO with effect from April 8, 2024.

Indiamart Intermesh: The company reappointed Dinesh Chandra Agarwal as MD and CEO for 5 years, effective Jan. 8, 2025.

Landmark Cars: The company will incorporate a wholly owned subsidiary, Landmark Premium Cars.

Dodla Dairy: The company purchased land valued at ₹6.5 crore in Karnataka and subsequently closed the leased plant in the region after the lease period concluded. 

United Breweries: The company received a demand order worth ₹264 crore for FY20 from the Maharashtra GST department.

Shalby: The company availed enhanced banking facilities up to ₹168.53 crore from IndusInd Bank. 

Jammu and Kashmir Bank: CFO Pratik D Punjabi resigned from the position effective today. 

Electronic Mart India: The company commences commercial operation at new 8,500 sq feet multi-brand store in Telangana.

Q4 Preview - Mixed bag for specialty chemical players

We believe Q4 will be a mixed bag, albeit again largely a subdued quarter YoY for most sector players, owing to demand slowdown in chemicals due to: a) destocking of channel inventory build-up and reduced volume forecast at the customers’ end in agrochemicals; and b) desperation of Chinese players to reduce prices for gaining more market share. Discretionary spends have started showing green shoots of recovery in certain geographies, whereas non-discretionary spends are still weak. The quarter is likely to look sequentially better on a lower base of Q3, and with Q4 being seasonally strong for most companies. Broad-based recovery is expected from H2FY25. We prefer only Aarti Industries within our sector universe for now. We have a BUY rating on Aarti; an ADD on SRF, Deepak Nitrite and Anupam; a REDUCE on NFIL; and a SELL on GFL.

India: Where size meets agility!

India is set to exit FY24 with a GDP of $3.6 trillion and an underlying growth of 7.6%+. Capital markets signed off FY24 with a stellar 29%/60%/70 % returns in Nifty/Nifty Midcap 100/Nifty Smallcap 100. India’s market cap has reached $4.4 trillion, making it the fifth largest in the world. During FY20-24, Nifty and MOFSL Universe’ profit pool has expanded from ₹3.5-lakh crore to ₹7.7-lakh crore and ₹4.3-lakh crore to ₹11-lakh crore in FY24, representing a solid compounding of 22% and 27%, respectively. 

India’s capital markets have witnessed vibrant participation from domestic retail savers, with Demat accounts surging to 15.1 crore in Mar’24 from 3.6 crore in Mar’19. Cumulative domestic equity inflows have amounted to $92.7 billion over the last five years. 

India Inc. has raised $92.9b through primary markets over the last five years. India now boasts a unique combination of ‘size and growth’. India’s GDP is likely to exceed $4 trillion in FY25/26 and $8 trillion by FY34. 

Expectations of political continuity after the forthcoming Lok Sabha Elections’24 should bolster the overall economic momentum further, with a focus on infrastructure, capex and manufacturing occupying the centre stage, in our opinion. With size and growth in its wings, India’s capital markets are truly poised to embrace the Amritkaal going forward.

Decent Q4; enhanced business thrust to aid profitability

Target price: ₹1,350

Godrej Consumer Products is likely to post 5% organic consol. revenue growth with high single-digit volume growth. We expect GCPL’s domestic business to log a mid-single-digit organic growth (mostly driven by volume), while its Raymond portfolio (~9% domestic sales contribution) would aid in 17% reported growth. We reckon its international business would see a 10% drop, given ₹700 crore worth business restructuring in the Africa cluster; organic growth would clock in a mid-single digit. Backed by better GM, we see EBITDA margin expansion of 115bps (to 21.2%), leading to 11% EBITDA growth, though higher tax would slow down earnings growth to ~6%. As we roll over from Dec-24E to Mar-25E, our TP increases to ₹1,350/sh from ₹1,325/sh, based on 50x P/E (20% premium to its last 5YF avg P/E, given improved execution). We maintain ADD.

Q4 FY24: A Flop Show

Poor box-office collections are likely to lead to a weak performance for PVR Inox in Q4FY24. Lack of big budget movies in Bollywood and Hollywood, coupled with no sleeper hits, should result in sub-par occupancies in the quarter. While the box office collection of regional movies was steady, PVR Inox’s lower market share in the South is likely to lack any meaningful contribution. For Zee, near-term pain is set to remain elevated, as the company embarks on a medium-term plan of accelerating revenue growth and driving margin improvement. Saregama’s music licensing revenue growth should remain impacted by the transition of select OTTA platforms to paid subscriptions, in our view, while release of two films should add to the Films and TV serial segment revenue.

Lack of trigger bothering; demand revival remains key for FY25

The sluggish demand outlook strained with incremental pressure from raw-material inflation is bothersome and being gradually built in sector valuations (now at avg. 5YF P/E of 49x). In the recent past, FMCG companies have enhanced thrust on topline recovery with increased A&P spends and distribution expansion. We remain hopeful of demand recovery with better monsoons. Innovation has been missing, and we expect enhanced execution in this regard. We remain positive on Dabur, ITC, and Honasa (BUY on all three). We expect an upside in Britannia (upgrade to ADD from Reduce). Regarding Q4 results, we see revenue/EBITDA/adj. PAT growth at 4%/5%/5% for our coverage (ex-ITC). Colgate, Marico and Nestlé are likely to log better double-digit earnings. For Honasa, we expect 24% revenue growth with ~7% EBITDA margin.

Strengthening the core; accelerating EV, non-engine forays

Target Price: ₹2,450

Shriram Pistons & Rings’ maiden investor call reinforces our positive stance on the company (refer to our recent IC report: Dominant & growing franchise at attractive valuations). KTAs: a) strong growth visibility guidance for the core IC business, with market-leading growth, sustained high profitability led by well-diversified mix (no segment share over 17-18% of revenue), and utilization at ~75% with fungible lines offering growth headroom; b) SPRL is leading the disruption, as in the past, backed by tech-leadership & R&D efforts, with OEMs on multiple newer powertrain options; c) seeing strong export tailwinds from global OEMs as the ‘last man-standing’ for ICE components; d) accelerating diversification efforts in EV-specific and engine-agnostic parts, incl. via M&As; invested ₹70 crore in Coimbatore for land backed by new order wins in EV components.

Equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty are likely to open on a flat note on Monday, tracking mixed global cues. Analysts expect the market to remain volatile during the day due to selling by foreign portfolio investors and domestic institutions’ counter buying. Truncated week (market is closed on Thursday on account of Ramzan Id) is likely to keep local participation low. Besides, as the election process kicked in, analysts expect that investors will remain on wait-and-watch mode.

Wipro has appointed Srinivas Pallia as its new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, following the resignation of Thierry Delaporte from the end of business hours on May 31.

Embassy Group, the largest shareholder in Indiabulls Real Estate, has invested ₹1,160 crore through a preferential allotment of shares and warrants. Of this, 25 per cent is upfront and the balance will be invested over 18 months. The floor price of the issuance was ₹111.51 per share.

The board of Vodafone Idea (formerly Idea Cellular) has approved issuance of up to 139 crore equity shares at an issue price of ₹14.87 per share, aggregating to ₹2,075 crore to Oriana Investments Pte. Ltd. The debt-ridden company has also increasing the authorised share capital from the existing ₹75,000 crore to ₹1-lakh crore.

Titan Company has reported a year-on-year revenue growth of nearly 17 per cent in the quarter ended March 2024. Jewellery business revenue grew by 18 per cent from the year-ago period. Watches business grew 6 per cent even as eyecare business saw a decline of 1 per cent. Emerging business saw Taneira’s revenue grew by 37 per cent, while CaratLane’s business grew by 30 per cent.

FMCG firm Nestle India Ltd on Friday said its board has approved increasing royalty payment to its parent firm by 0.15 per cent annually for the next five years, thereby enhancing it to 5.25 per cent of net sales.

The board of JSW Energy has approved issuance of 10.3 crore equity shares to 97 qualified institutional buyers at an issue price of ₹485 a share. The buyers included GQG Partners, Nomura India, ADIA, BlackRock and Nomura. The company has raised ₹5,000 crore through the QIP.

Bandhan Bank said its MD and CEO Chandra Shekhar Ghosh will retire from his services upon completion of his tenure on July 9, 2024.

Voltas said it has registered the highest-ever sales for FY24. Air conditioner maker said it has recorded a 35 per cent sales growth to over two million units in FY24, becoming the first company in the domestic market to cross this mark.

Godrej Consumer Products said its organic business grew at high-single-digit. Indonesia business delivered double-digit volume growth and sales growth. Godrej Africa, the US, and West Asia organic businesses delivered double-digit constant currency sales growth. The company expects consolidated sales growth in mid-single digits. The underlying volume growth is expected to be in double-digit.

Punit Goenka, MD and CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises has proposed lean organisation structure to the board. The company has initiated the process of rationalisation of the workforce by 15 per cent.

Greaves Retail, the retail unit of Greaves Cotton Limited, has entered into a strategic technology transfer and supply agreement with Tsuyo Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd. (Tsuyo), an Indian company specialising in electric vehicle components. The agreement marks Greaves Cotton’s presence in the low-speed electric 3-wheeler (L3) vehicle segment.

Adani Green Energy will invest around ₹41,400 crore, or roughly $5 billion, in expanding the solar and wind power capacities at its flagship renewable energy (RE) park in Gujarat by 2026. The renewables arm of the mining-to-energy Adani Group is setting up the world’s largest RE plant with 30 GW of renewables capacity by 2030 near Khavda village in Kutch district.

Aurobindo Pharma has said one person died in an accident at the manufacturing facility of its wholly owned subsidiary in Andhra Pradesh. On Saturday, at around 11.30 p.m., an accident occurred near the Vacuum Tray Dryer area at Unit 6 of Apitoria Pharma Pvt Ltd in the Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh, the Hyderabad-based drug firm said in a regulatory filing. The unit continues its normal operations, Aurobindo Pharma further said.

Cochin Shipyard has signed a master syipyard repair agreement with the US Navy to repair US Naval Vessels under Military Sealift Command. The MSRA is a non-financial agreement and is effective from April 5, 2024.

Gland Pharma has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Eribulin Mesylate Injection, 0.5 mg/mL Single Dose Vial (Product). “The product is expected to be the first generic approval on the market, and the company expects to launch this product in the near term through its marketing partner. The product has US sales of approximately $92 million for twelve months ending in February 2024, according to IQVIA,” the company said in a statement.

The weekly candles indicate indecisiveness in the market. However, the price action on the daily candles is relatively positive. Nifty has supports at 22,350, 22,230 and 22,150. So broadly, 22,150 to 22,350 will be a very good support zone for this week.

Sun Pharma Advanced Research’s stock rallied sharply towards the end of 2023. But since the beginning of this year, it was largely trading in a broad sideways trend. Last week, it gained nearly 18 per cent, indicating that the stock has resumed the uptrend.

While there is a chance for the price to see a corrective decline to ₹400 from here, we expect it to eventually rally to ₹500 in the short term.

Asian stocks followed gains on Wall Street after better-than-expected US payrolls data on Friday. Oil fell as Israel said it would pull some troops out from Gaza. Benchmark equity indexes advanced in Japan while futures in Hong Kong pointed to gains, per a Bloomberg report. 

Futures for US stocks edged higher after both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes climbed more than 1% on Friday. China’s financial markets reopen after a two-day holiday, the report added.