Shares of ICICI Bank may outperform those of HDFC Bank in the near-term, analysts said recently, after the Sandeep Bakhshi-led private sector lender reported a strong set of numbers for the July to September quarter (Q2) of financial year 2023-24 (FY24). The result, they said, reiterated that ICICI Bank is maintaining a sustainable and prudent growth led by tech-driven initiatives as against HDFC Bank, which is facing merger related challenges. According to analysts at Prabhudas Lilladher, ICICI Bank is valued at par with HDFC Bank at 2.2x/1.9x on FY25/26E core adjusted book value (ABV) basis.
From the Sensex pack, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, NTPC and UltraTech Cement emerged as major winners, closing the day with a gain of up to 3.33 per cent. On the other hand, Asian Paints, ITC, L&T and SBI were the laggards, ending the session up to 3.95 per cent lower. Of the 30 Sensex stocks, 14 closed the day in green, while on the 50-stock index Nifty 25 scrips ended with gains.
The finance ministry has cautioned that global and regional uncertainties and domestic disruptions may keep inflationary pressures elevated in the coming months, warranting "greater vigilance" by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). "Russia's decision to terminate the Black Sea grain deal, along with dry conditions in major wheat-growing areas, caused a price spike in cereals. Domestic factors like white fly disease and an uneven distribution of monsoon exerted pressure on vegetable prices in India," the ministry said in its latest Monthly Economic Report for July, released on Tuesday. However, the report maintained, the recent price surge in certain food items "is expected to be transitory". "Tomato prices are likely to decline with the arrival of fresh stocks by the end of August or early September.
Sebi on Tuesday restrained two Brightcom Group officials, M Suresh Kumar Reddy and Narayan Raju, from holding any managerial position in the company or its subsidiaries until further orders. Reddy is the promoter-cum-chairman and MD of Brightcom Group Ltd (BGL) while Raju is the chief financial officer. Besides, the regulator also banned Reddy from the securities market until further orders.
From the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Wipro, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors were among the major laggards. HCL Technologies, Power Grid, Titan, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, State Bank of India and Mahindra & Mahindra were the gainers.
HDFC Bank has reshuffled the portfolios of its senior management team. This is the first major rejig after the amalgamation of HDFC Ltd on July 1. "The runway for our growth is large. This change is being done to bring in a very sharp focus on leveraging what we have built and for enhanced execution," said Sashidhar Jagdishan, managing director and chief executive of HDFC Bank, explaining the reason for this overhaul.
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has stayed the ban imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Samir Jain, vice-chairman and managing director of Bennett, Coleman & Co (BCCL), his wife Meera Jain, and six others. BCCL owns news media organisations The Times of India, and The Economic Times. Last month, the regulator had refrained Jain from accessing the securities market for allegedly violating minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms in PNB Finance and Industries (PNBFIL) and Camac Commercial Company (CCIL), which are listed on the Calcutta Stock Exchange.
A 10-member Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team on Monday visited the Balasore train accident site and began its probe into the triple train crash, a Railway official said.
The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has recommended the names of three advocates for appointment as judges of the Bombay high court.
The share of slow-moving orders in the overall order book of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is at a multi-year low. This has led to a renewed focus on fast-moving orders. A mix of factors such as commodity price fluctuations, robust order inflow and strong sectoral demand have put capital goods order book in the fast lane, analysts and company executives said. L&T, with its large presence in the capital goods sector, is often seen as the bellwether for trends in this space.
Benchmark BSE Sensex recovered from early lows to close at a five-month high on Friday, riding on gains in banking and auto stocks ahead of the release of key inflation data. The 30-share index gained 123.38 points or 0.20 per cent to settle at 62,027.90, the highest closing level since December 12, 2022. The barometer opened lower due to early weakness in energy, power and IT stocks and touched a low of 61,578.15 in the day trade.
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UltraTech Cement was the biggest gainer in the Sensex chart, climbing 3.13 per cent, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Mahindra & Mahindra. In contrast, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, ICICI Bank and Nestle were among the laggards.
From the Sensex pack, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv and ICICI Bank were the major gainers. Power Grid, Maruti, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, HCL Technologies and Axis Bank were among the laggards.
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday hiked key benchmark policy rate by 25 basis points to 6.5 per cent, citing sticky core inflation.
The country's most valuable lender HDFC Bank can perhaps no longer claim to be a favourite of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). Two data indicators, both somewhat interconnected, point to this - the diminishing premium of HDFC Bank's American depositary receipts (ADRs) compared to local shares, and the ample investment opportunities available to FPIs in the domestic market. The ADR premium has shrunk to below 5 per cent, down from over 30 per cent in March 2021, and even lower than recent levels.
After the first quarter was washed out, exporters are now keeping their fingers crossed over a turnaround in outbound shipments to at least North America from September onwards. This comes even as other key destinations such as Europe may take longer to revive in FY24. Slowdown in key economies, as well as geopolitical tensions resulted in sluggish demand for Indian goods.
Equity benchmarks ended with gains on Tuesday amid a largely firm trend in global markets after facing bouts of volatility during the session. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 126.41 points or 0.21 per cent to settle at 61,294.20. During the day, it hit a high of 61,343.96 and a low of 61,004.04.
From the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Titan, Reliance Industries and Nestle were the major winners. Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, State Bank of India, Asian Paints and Wipro were the laggards.
Seven policemen, including two station house officers (SHOs), were critically injured after a group of villagers attacked a police station in Bihar's Katihar district on Saturday, hours after the death of a man allegedly in custody.
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty closed with gains on Tuesday, following a firm trend in the global markets. Extending its previous day's rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 361.01 points or 0.60 per cent to settle at 60,927.43. During the day, it rallied 420.26 points or 0.69 per cent to 60,986.68.
Among the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Larsen & Toubro, ITC, Sun Pharma, NTPC and Titan were the major gainers. Nestle, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel were the laggards.
From the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti, ITC, Titan, Nestle, Bajaj Finance and Reliance Industries were the major winners.
The changes in the domestic and global economy following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic are altering the corporate profit league table in India. Reliance Industries (RIL), which topped the India Inc profit chart for more than a decade, lost out to State Bank of India (SBI) in the 2023-24 (FY24) April-June quarter (first quarter, or Q1). India's biggest lender reported a consolidated net profit (adjusted for exceptional gains and losses) of Rs 66,860 crore during the trailing 12-month (TTM) ended in June this year, ahead of RIL's TTM adjusted net profit of Rs 64,758 crore in the quarter.
From the Sensex pack, Maruti, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Nestle, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra and Bharti Airtel were the major laggards. Power Grid, Sun Pharma, HCL Technologies, Larsen & Toubro and UltraTech Cement were the gainers.
From the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Tata Steel, Maruti, Infosys, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Titan, Reliance Industries, Wipro and Mahindra & Mahindra were the biggest gainers. Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India and Nestle were among the laggards.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty gained around half a per cent to close at nearly five-month high levels on Monday following continuous foreign fund inflows and firm trends in Asian and European markets. Rising for a second straight day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 317.81 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 62,345.71, the highest closing level since December 14. During the day, it rallied 534.77 points or 0.86 per cent to 62,562.67.
Of the top 10 valued firms, eight including Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, HDFC and ITC witnessed gains in their market valuation. From the top-10 pack, the valuation of HDFC Bank jumped Rs 31,553.45 crore to Rs 929,752.54 crore.
The continuing global uncertainity has complicated the fight against inflation, opined Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra during the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held on February 8. According to the minutes of the MPC meeting released on Wednesday, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das also mentioned that there is considerable uncertainty due to a host of global factors such as rising non-oil commodity prices. The RBI on February 8 hiked the key short-term lending rate by 25 basis points to 6.5 per cent, citing sticky core inflation.
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Wholesale price-based inflation rate fell to a 3-year low of (-) 3.48 per cent in May on easing prices of food, fuel and manufactured items, strengthening the case for continuing with the pause in rate hike in the coming months of the current fiscal. This is the second straight month when WPI has been in the negative zone mainly on account of a higher base and falling prices of fuel and manufactured goods. Food prices also eased during May. In May, 2022 WPI inflation was at 16.63 per cent. Last month, it was (-) 0.92 per cent.
Among the Sensex firms, HCL Technologies, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Mahindra & Mahindra were the major gainers. Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Asian Paints were the laggards.
Retail inflation declined to a 25-month low of 4.25 per cent in May mainly on account of softening prices of food and fuel items, with experts saying that RBI is expected to hold interest rates steady in the current fiscal. This is the fourth straight month when retail inflation has declined and the third straight month of Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation remaining within the RBI's comfort zone of below 6 per cent. CPI-based inflation stood at 4.7 per cent in April and 7.04 per cent in May 2022.
Equity benchmarks bounced back to end in the positive territory after trading lower for most part of the session on Thursday. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 223.60 points or 0.37 per cent to settle at 61,133.88. During the day, it had declined 431.22 points or 0.70 per cent to 60,479.06.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed with losses in a choppy trade on Thursday as investors preferred a cautious approach ahead of inflation and industrial production data to be released later in the day. Unabated foreign fund outflows also hit the investor sentiment. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 147.47 points or 0.25 per cent to settle at 59,958.03.
Equity benchmarks ended higher on Wednesday amid buying in banking counters and a firm trend in global markets. Continuing its previous day rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 91.62 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 61,510.58. During the day, it jumped 361.94 points or 0.58 per cent to 61,780.90. The broader NSE Nifty gained 23.05 points or 0.13 per cent to end at 18,267.25.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is mulling changes to the 'fit & proper' criteria for market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), such as stock exchanges, in a bid to segregate the role of an individual from the entity, said sources. Under the current framework, wrongdoing by senior personnel could lead to a debarment of the MIIs such as stock exchanges, depository participants and clearing members-with quite a few such instances in the past. Additionally, Sebi is also mulling to introduce a clause through which any order passed against an MII will not affect their operations, unless it is specifically mentioned so in the order.
The government on Tuesday announced a Rs 200 per cylinder cut in prices of domestic cooking gas as it looked to counter the cheaper LPG promise of the Congress in upcoming assembly elections in states like Madhya Pradesh.
Police arrested two men and detained a teenage boy last week after the headless body was found dumped near a canal at Vapi in Valsad district in neighbouring Gujarat.
Benchmark BSE Sensex and Nifty closed higher in a highly volatile trade on Monday, riding on the back of a recovery in IT, oil and financial stocks after a two-day fall. The 30-share Sensex recovered 169.51 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 59,500.41. During the day, it rose by 313.34 points or 0.52 per cent to 59,644.24.