Companies are squeezing more profits from their operations relative to the capital they put to work, the highest now since 2011. Profit after tax relative to capital employed came in at 10.47 per cent in September, shows data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), higher than the 8.41 per cent seen in September last year. This is the highest since March 2010.
Retail investors are moving away from a buy-and-hold approach and towards more informed short-term positioning, recent investment patterns show.
Without changes to the taxation rules, buybacks are expected to remain scarce.
As the Indian stock markets tumble under the panic set off by US President Donald Trump's tariff tantrums, three market experts weigh in on the reasons behind this fall, how much pain is left and how should investors adapt their strategies to invest in markets.
'The universe of PSU stocks is huge and diverse.' 'Investors should bet on specific sectors and stocks from the basket as most of them may continue to consolidate after years of outperformance.'
'The market's nervousness ahead of anticipated US tariffs has led to a significant downturn in Indian equities.'
Stock Market News today, PSU banks: The year 2024 was a roller-coaster ride for Indian stock markets, marked by volatility driven by the Lok Sabha elections, Union Budget 2024, a slowdown in corporate earnings, and sticky inflation. Geopolitical tensions - particularly between Israel and Iran in West Asia - along with various stimulus announcements by China and yen carry trade rocked the equity markets throughout the year.
The US Fed interest rate decision, ongoing quarterly earnings, macroeconomic data and FII trading activity are the major triggers that will drive stock markets this week, analysts said. Investors would also track global market trends and the movement in global oil prices for further cues. "This week, the focus will shift to global cues, particularly the US markets," Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart Ltd said.
'Retail investors have to stick to their asset allocation plans and continuously do portfolio reviews.'
'Despite the current uncertainties, the long-term outlook remains constructive due to strong fundamentals, government initiatives, and a stable banking sector.'
Benchmark Sensex closed above the 85,000 level for the first time while Nifty scaled the 26,000 peak at close on Wednesday as fag-end buying in banking and power shares helped stock markets recoup early losses. After a see-saw trade during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 255.83 points or 0.30 per cent to settle at an all-time high of 85,169.87. During the day, it surged 333.38 points or 0.39 per cent to hit a record intra-day peak of 85,247.42.
'Many do not have robust business models, and their prospects of survival and long-term growth are poor.'
IPOs inherently carry more risks than stocks that have been listed on the exchanges for some time.
Indian companies are generating more cash than ever. The net cash flow from listed firms' operations hit a new high of Rs 11.1 trillion in financial year 2023-24 (FY24), crossing the Rs 10-trillion mark for the first time, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data going back to 1990-91. The FY24 figure represents a 19.3 per cent jump over the previous year, even as quite a few companies are yet to release their numbers.
Movement in the stock market this week will largely be driven by global trends, macroeconomic data announcements and trading activity of foreign investors, analysts said. Equity benchmark indices, which are on a dream run for the past several days, will also track trading in global oil benchmark Brent crude and movement of rupee against the US dollar. "The next FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting is scheduled for mid-September, but before that, the market will be closely watching upcoming US economic data.
India's total value of defence production breached Rs 1 trillion-mark in the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), up 12 per cent year-on-year (YoY). At the bourses, this has been well reflected in related-stocks from the sector as they gained considerable ground during this period. Shares of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, MTAR Technologies, Bharat Electronics (BEL), and Bharat Dynamics (BDL) have skyrocketed up to 160 per cent in a year, as against a 14 per cent jump in the S&P BSE Sensex.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty slumped over 1 per cent on Friday, tracking a weak trend in global markets and fresh foreign fund outflows. Falling for the third day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 1,017.23 points or 1.24 per cent to settle at 81,183.93.
From the Sensex basket, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, JSW Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, and Power Grid were the major gainers. Nestle, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, Titan, HCL Technologies and Infosys were the laggards.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty settled higher on Thursday, powered by a rally in banking and power stocks amid a largely firm trend in global markets. The stock markets mostly traded range-bound in the absence of any major trigger and persistent foreign capital outflows, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 144.31 points, or 0.18 per cent, to settle at 81,611.41.
Automobile, apparel and electronics are among sectors that see a sales boost during the festival season, a time when investors expect gains in related stocks. This year could be different: Analysts have factored in all positives and do not expect such stocks to deliver lucrative returns. "Indian households spend across sectors like automobiles, consumer durables, and consumer staples during the festival season.
From the Sensex basket, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Larsen & Toubro and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the biggest laggards. Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank and Maruti were the major gainers.
The recent blip in housing sales on a quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis should not worry investors as the long-term prospects of real estate stocks remain on a strong foundation, according to analysts. In the first half of the calendar year 2024 (H1CY24), realty stocks surged up to 104 per cent. This sharp run should be used to book partial profit in related stocks, suggested Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.
Credit-to-deposit (CD) ratio of major public sector and private sector banks during the October-December quarter of FY24 inched up as compared to the previous quarter though government-owned lenders reported a lower rate than their private peers. CD ratio is the ratio of the funds that banks lend as compared to the funds raised in the form of deposits. The CD ratio of top public sector banks (PSBs) - State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank - was lower than their private counterparts.
Paytm, the country's leading fintech player which had to shut its payment bank business following regulatory action, is revisiting its business strategy including partnership with lenders. Also, the company's founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Vijay Shekhar Sharma has decided to oversee the day-to-day operations with all the major verticals reporting directly to him now. "The thing on top of everyone's agenda is getting the core businesses back on track," a person in the know said.
Eighty per cent, or 60 of the 75 companies that made their debut on the mainboard this financial year, ended their listing day with gains.
From the Sensex basket, Tata Consultancy Services, Nestle, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, Maruti Suzuki India, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro and NTPC were the major laggards. Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, JSW Steel and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.
Benchmark indices bounced back on Wednesday after a two-day decline, with the Sensex and Nifty climbing nearly 1 per cent each, tracking a positive trend in European markets. Buying in IT and bank stocks also supported the recovery in equities. The 30-share BSE benchmark jumped 547.83 points or 0.99 per cent to settle at 55,816.32.
Most of the Adani Group companies fell in the morning trade on Friday and flagship Adani Enterprises tumbled 10 per cent after index provider MSCI decided to reduce the weightage of four firms in its indices following a review. Amid volatile trading in the market, seven Adani Group firms were in the negative territory while three others were in the green. Adani Enterprises plunged 10 per cent to Rs 1,734.60 per share, its lower price band on the BSE, and the company's market valuation dropped to Rs 2.14 lakh crore.
The revenue growth of early birds or companies that have declared their Q4FY24 (March quarter) numbers is the highest in the last four quarters. The 178 companies (excluding their listed subsidiaries) that declared their results have reported a sales growth rate of 13.2 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), taking aggregate revenue to Rs 9.1 trillion. Including other income, growth is at 16 per cent, the highest in the last four quarters.
Market players attribute the rally in small and midcaps to flows from retail investors and domestic institutions.
Benchmark BSE Sensex on Tuesday gave up intra-day gains to close lower by a little over 100 points on emergence of fag-end selling in FMCG, banking and IT stocks and weak opening in European stock markets. The 30-share BSE index declined 100.42 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 53,134.35. During the day, it jumped 631.16 points or 1.18 per cent to 53,865.93.
Equity indices failed to hold on to morning gains on Tuesday, with the Sensex falling 236 points amid a sell-off in IT stocks and weak trends from global markets. The 30-share BSE benchmark opened higher but could not carry forward the momentum and declined 236 points or 0.43 per cent to settle at 54,052.61. During the day, it hit a low of 53,886.28 and a high of 54,524.37. The broader NSE Nifty dropped 89.55 points or 0.55 per cent to end at 16,125.15.
Investors should view any bounce-back in bank stocks as an opportunity to exit the pack, analysts suggested, as the worst may not be over yet. The recent quarterly results of HDFC Bank and Axis Bank disappointed the Street, triggering a marketwide selloff by foreign institutional investors, especially in banking counters. While HDFC Bank, which was the anchor for the market correction during the past week, ended 2 per cent higher amid short covering on Wednesday, Axis Bank's shares settled 3 per cent lower.
Domestic equity gauges Sensex and Nifty extended their losing run for the third session in a row on Friday as participants remained cautious tracking other Asian markets amid geopolitical uncertainties in eastern Europe. After swinging about 700 points between gains and losses during the session, the BSE Sensex finally closed 59.04 points or 0.10 per cent lower at 57,832.97. On similar lines, the NSE Nifty edged lower by 28.30 points or 0.16 per cent to settle at 17,276.30.
The BSE gauge Sensex tanked over 1,500 points to crack below the 57,000-mark and the NSE Nifty slipped below the 17,000-level in the opening session on Monday, amid heightened tension over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The 30-share Sensex nosedived 1,540.85 points to 56,612.07 in early deals and the broader Nifty plummeted 458.20 points to 16,916.55. On the Sensex chart, all 30 shares were trading with steep to moderate losses -- with SBI, Tata Steel and IndusInd Bank tumbling over 4 per cent.
Tech Mahindra IPO is worth subscribing as it is attractively priced
Domestic equity investors' wealth eroded by more than Rs 4.43 lakh crore on Monday as fears of a financial contagion triggered by one of the biggest bank failures in the US roiled market sentiments. After a strong opening, Indian stocks went into a tailspin with the benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex tumbling nearly 900 points to close at 58,237.85 points -- sliding for the third straight trading session. The NSE Nifty too declined 258.60 points to end at 17,154.30 points.
Investors' wealth tumbled over Rs 5.78 lakh crore in two days of market fall amid a weak trend in global markets after a host of central banks hiked interest rates and gave hawkish commentary. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 461.22 points or 0.75 per cent to settle at 61,337.81 on Friday. In the previous trade, the BSE benchmark had tanked 878.88 points or 1.40 per cent to settle at 61,799.03.
Among the main gainers were Jio Financial Services which jumped 4.99 per cent, Tata Steel (2.09 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (1.87 per cent), M&M (1.31 per cent) and Infosys (1.19 per cent).
Stocks of defence-related companies have been firing on all cylinders on the bourses in calendar year 2023 (CY23). Shares of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Bharat Electronics (BEL), Bharat Dynamics (BDL), Data Patterns, MTAR Tech, Cochin Shipyard and GRSE have rallied in the range of 21-96 per cent so far this year. By comparison, the BSE Sensex is up 8 per cent. The gains have been sustained on the back of robust export opportunities, a healthy project pipeline and the government's continued push for local manufacturing and indigenisation of defence equipment.
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