Companies in the small-cap universe are having a dream run - the Nifty Smallcap 100 index has shot up more than 25 per cent on a year-to-date basis, even as the benchmark Nifty is up 7 per cent. This is the best start for the index since 2017 when the Nifty Smallcap 100 index surged 32.3 per cent between January 1 and May 10. However, in terms of outperformance to the Nifty, this year's performance is the best in more than a decade. A combination of sectoral tailwinds and lack of institutional selling pressure has helped small companies escape from the correction triggered by the second wave of Covid-19.
'We are most bullish on all aspects of the financial sector -- private sector banks, even one state-owned bank, insurance, mortgage finance, broking, wealth management, gold finance, etc.'
Earnings growth in the early-bird sample has been driven by banks and iron & steel companies.
'Hacking of an ID or an account will have the same impact on a user in a city and one in a small town.' 'Security is like a railroad, you create it to last for every customer.'
'It is critical that the Covid curve does not have a fat tail and the chain is broken quickly.'
Markets
...followed by financial services, IT, and sales and marketing.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das kept the red flag on cryptocurrencies flying, warning that the next financial crisis can be triggered by private cryptocurrencies if such speculative instruments are allowed to grow.
Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 5 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, HCL Tech and Titan. On the other hand, Maruti, ONGC, IndusInd Bank and Tech Mahindra were among the laggards.
'Rather than experimenting with CBDCs, we must come up with a very simple and straight design.' 'Dematerialise your currency/cash and with that dematerialised rupee allow all the transactions digitally.'
To begin with, there would be the immediate integration of various technology stacks. This would create more business for global consulting and IT services entities such as KPMG, PwC, EY, Accenture and IBM, among others. Indian service providers - Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and Wipro, for instance - would also cash in.
'The Indian economy and the Indian financial sector today remain resilient and much better placed.'
'Internet, healthcare and life insurance are a few sectors which offer solid long-term decadal potential.'
The fundamental issue between banks and fintech would be who will own the customer and who will be the service provider.
The stellar rise in corporate earnings in financial year 2021-22 (FY21) and FY22 did not result in a corresponding boom in capital expenditure (capex), with listed companies' investment in fixed assets rising just 2.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in FY22, growing at the slowest pace in the last six years. In comparison, the firms' combined net profit jumped 63.5 per cent YoY in FY22, while net sales increased 31.1 per cent - the fastest pace in over a decade. The 955 non-financial companies in Business Standard's sample reported combined net profit of Rs 7.18 trillion in FY22, compared with Rs 4.39 trillion in FY21 and Rs 2.59 trillion in FY20.
Jobs in HR, administration and recruitment have seen a substantial rise as per Monster data with a 42% growth in job posting activity.
Revenue up 15.8% at Rs 34,261 crore over year-ago period.
'Markets are factoring in a good show by India Inc in Q2.'
'In the short term, we may see some disruptions due to Covid, but in the medium-to-long term, we should keep an eye on US inflation and 10-year bond yields.'
'At the moment, it seems to be budgeted at Rs 300 crores with no sign of completion in the immediate future.'
Hiring demand for the month of October 2021, witnessed a dip of 3 per cent, as compared to September 2021. However, job demand grew 9 per cent sequentially in the past six months showing an optimistic outlook to recovery, said the Monster Employment Index. There has also been a strong year-on-year recovery with a 9 per cent uptick in October 2021 (Oct 2021 vs Oct 2020).
'It is very disturbing to know that even in today's world women are treated differently.'
In 2020, retail and e-commerce sector will lead the table and is expected to generate 112,000 jobs followed by IT & ITeS (105,500), FMCG (87,500), manufacturing (68,900), BFSI (59,700) and healthcare (98,300), the survey said.
IT and ITeS companies accounted for $28.1 billion of the total investment pie during the first nine months of 2021.
Revenue rises 20.7% to Rs 36,854 crore.
With economic activities gathering pace post easing of lockdowns across the country, hiring activities in most sectors have shown significant recovery in October over the previous month, says a report. On yearly basis, however, the overall hiring was down by 17 per cent in October, according to the Naukri JobSpeak Index for October' 2020.
Wipro on Friday revised upwards its IT services revenue outlook to 8-10 per cent sequential growth in the June 2021 quarter, following the completion of its $1.45 billion buyout of Capco. While announcing its March quarter results earlier this month, Wipro had said it expects to log a sequential growth of 2-4 per cent in its IT services revenues in the June 2021 quarter without including revenue from Capco and Ampion acquisitions. In March, Wipro had announced the acquisition of London-headquartered Capco in a $1.45 billion (over Rs 10,500 crore) deal - its largest ever till date.
Panaya drags Q1 profits though revenue improves on the back of large deal wins, good traction in North America.
Within two days, the business school had 108 recruiters making 370 domestic and international offers, including 23 new final recruiters with an average salary of Rs 25.08 lakh.
'Investors should plan and make investments strictly on the basis of their risk profile.' 'They should not bite more than they can chew.'
While the banking sector may be in the doldrums, impacting various other industries, there are still some sectors that are on an upward trend.
The Tata Sons' chief said that world's reliance on China for sourcing goods will reduce, and India will definitely have an opportunity to participate.
Non-IT sectors like industrial products, construction dominated the hiring trends.
A seasonally-strong quarter, with no immediate impact of the second wave and continued acceleration of digital transformation will allow the IT services sector to report a robust Q1 this financial year. However, key metrics to look out for will be attrition rate and margin lever as they will be impacted by salary hikes. Analysts expect growth for the quarter to be broad-based, with sectors like banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), retail, manufacturing, hi-tech and life sciences driving revenue growth. Analysts across brokerage houses are pegging revenue growth in the range of 1.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent.
'IIM Ahmedabad has seen one of the best placement seasons ever and this change can be attributed to the markets opening up after the pandemic.'
The adverse impact on the margins of auto, consumer staples and consumer durables sectors will be counterbalanced by an earnings uptick in the metals, cement and oil & gas sectors.
'Sectors related to foreign trade, exchange, import and travel are experiencing a slowdown, which is now reflecting in their talent demand too.'
Seven students were made international offers.
Wipro is trying to strengthen its presence in the banking, financial services and insurance segment by increasing its revenue share on par with other leading Indian information technology service companies.
'There's a lot of continuity in terms of basic values and there's also a lot of new thinking based on the generational shift... it's a combination of continuity and change,' says Wipro Chief Executive Officer Abidali Neemuchwala.
