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Benchmark indices were trading flat in the afternoon on Friday amid profit-booking.
The market opened on a positive note amid mixed global cues, but erased all gains by mid-session, dragged by IT and financials. Metals and pharma gained focus.
At 1 pm, the BSE Sensex was at 53,113.24, down 45.61 points or 0.09 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 53,290.81 and a low of 53,022.16. The Nifty 50 was trading at 15,915.25, down 8.95 points or 0.06 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 15,962.25 and a low of 15,887.90.
Divi’s Lab, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Reliance and Sun Pharma were the top gainers on the Nifty 50, while HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Eicher Motors, Infosys and Shree Cements were the top laggards.
Wipro at fresh highs post Q1 results
Wipro hit a 52-week high of ₹589.25 on the NSE, following its Q1 FY2022 results. At 1 pm, however, the stock was trading at ₹574.90, down ₹1 or 0.17 per cent.
Terming it the “best-ever” results on the back of robust demand and a strong deal pipeline, the tech giant on Thursday said its consolidated net profit for the first quarter of FY22 rose 35.2 per cent to ₹3,230 crore over the same period last year. It further said it had witnessed its highest organic sequential growth in 38 quarters, with revenues rising 22.4 per cent to ₹18,250 crore.
However, analysts’ reactions on the stock were mixed.
Emkay Global Services gave the stock a ‘Hold’ rating with a target price of ₹565.
“We raise FY22E/FY23E/FY24E EPS by 4.3 per cent/3.1 per cent/2.7 per cent, factoring in a Q1 performance and higher growth assumptions. Wipro delivered a strong revenue performance in Q1; however, the valuation remains rich (low single-digit valuation discount to Infosys despite nearly 5 per cent lower earnings, CAGR expectations over FY21-24E and about 10 per cent lower ROE)," it said in its report.
ICICI Securities gave it a ‘Sell’ rating at a target price of ₹485.
“We see a downside risk given the impending wage hikes, supply-related cost pressures and planned investments. Even as incipient signs of a turnaround are encouraging, we await further evidence of sustainable execution on this front. Current valuations (24xFY23E EPS) more than price-in a turnaround. As we see higher scope for incremental disappointments v/s surprises, we retain our Sell rating,” it said.
However, HDFC Securities has maintained its ‘Add’ rating with a target price of ₹585.
Metals, pharma gain
On the sectoral front, metals and pharma rallied, while IT and financials faced selling pressure.
Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services were down 0.47 per cent and 0.17 per cent, respectively. Nifty Private Bank was down 0.50 per cent while, Nifty PSU Bank was down 0.51 per cent and Nifty IT was down 1.25 per cent.
Meanwhile, Nifty Metal was up 0.74 per cent, while Nifty Pharma was up 1.29 per cent.
Broader indices
The broader indices remain resilient, outperforming the benchmarks.
Nifty Midcap 50 was up 0.40 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 1.42 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was up 0.26 per cent, while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.18 per cent.
The volatility index softened 1.75 per cent to 12.06.
Zomato IPO
The ₹9,375-crore share sale will close today.
At 1 pm, Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) subscribed 14.94 times, Non-Institutional Investors subscribed 4.62 times, Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) subscribed 6.06 times, Employee Reserved subscribed 0.42 times. It was subscribed 10.42 times in total, as per BSE data.
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