UK-based financial major Dawnay Day International is planning to enter the hospitality sector in the country.
Following the lacklustre growth numbers in the second quarter (Q2FY25), economists believe the upcoming Union Budget for 2025-26 should focus on reforms that will stimulate consumption, manufacturing and spur employment. India's growth unexpectedly slowed to 5.4 per cent in the second quarter, due to low capital formation, weak consumption, besides adverse weather impact.
The information technology (IT) services industry could see value investors taking selective punts in the near future. While growth remains visible, managements across the board have been cautious or measured in their guidance and have also complained about a combination of margin pressures and high churn. The two factors are related in that employee compensation is a large component of IT costs and high churn has forced firms to hike compensation packages and also invest more in hiring, training, and retention.
India's largest IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Thursday posted an 8.7 per cent year-on-year rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 12,040 crore in the first quarter ended June 2024. The net profit for the year-ago period stood at Rs 11,074 crore.
Trading in stock markets this week will be majorly influenced by the upcoming quarterly earnings from IT majors TCS and Infosys, along with global trends, analysts said. Besides, global oil benchmark Brent crude, rupee-dollar trend and trading activity of foreign investors would also dictate the movement, they said. "On the domestic front, all eyes will be on the beginning of corporate performance for the third quarter of the current fiscal year.
Mutual funds (MFs) are betting on a turnaround in the healthcare sector to boost returns but are divided on the prospects of the information technology (IT) sector amid uncertain growth outlook. At the end of June, all of the top 20 fund houses were overweight on the healthcare sector vis--vis the sector's presence in the BSE 200 index, shows a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFS). In the case of the IT sector, only six of the 20 fund houses had overweight positions.
Management commentary on demand environment, and forward guidance will be in focus when Indian IT services players declare their September quarter results for financial year 2024-25 (Q2FY25). The industry is exepected to have continued on the path of recovery in Q2, similar to the preceding quarter, rather than sprint towards growth. The top four firms likely grew between 0 per cent and 4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), according to consensus estimates.
'It was inspired by the Hamas attack and was like their attack -- well planned and well executed.'
'Corporations that were recruiting 15 or 20 [students] have reduced the number to two or three.'
India SME Forum, an organisation for small and medium businesses, has called for creating a dedicated fund of Rs 5000 crore for the export capacity development, promotion, and marketing of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in its Budget recommendation. The forum for MSMEs with over 98,000 members said that to enhance India's global competitiveness and increase its market share in global exports, it was "crucial to increase the number of active exporters and enable at least 3-4 lakh first-time micro, small, and medium exporters while supporting them in promoting Indian products globally."
Stocks of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) have more headroom left despite the sharp run in the last few weeks, suggests a recent report from Morgan Stanley. Stocks of these oil refining and marketing companies (OMCs), it believes, are seeing multiples re-rate as investors reassess long-term growth prospects. "IOCL trades at one year forward P/BV of 1.2x, 19 per cent below +1 standard deviation (SD); BPCL trades at one year forward P/BV of 1.5x, near historical averages; HPCL trades at one year forward P/BV of 1.5x, near +1SD," Morgan Stanley said.
'While investors need to be prepared for making some losses, they should not lose big money chasing euphoria amid fear of missing out.'
Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable company, is back on a growth path after six months of challenges as it posted better than expected earnings in the December quarter, brokerages said.
While the capital spending is being maintained at 3.1 per cent of the GDP, a little more would have boosted economic growth even further, suggests Rajiv Memani.
The government is likely to provide a subsidy of Rs 35,000 crore to state-owned Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to make up for losses they incurred on selling the fuel this fiscal, sources said.
Textile stocks have exhibited a mixed performance so far this calendar year (CY23), amidst higher domestic cotton prices and tepid global demand. Shares of Page Industries, Dollar Industries, Lux Industries, and VIP Clothing have declined up to 13 per cent so far in CY23, as against a 9 per cent jump in the S&P BSE Sensex. On the contrary, shares of Arvind, Welspun India, Raymond, and Gokaldas Exports have gained up to 51 per cent, during the same period.
The other prominent gainers were Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Wipro, State Bank of India and Larsen & Toubro. Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
The early-bird results for the April-June quarter of 2024 (Q1FY25) hint at a slowdown in corporate revenues and profits in FY25. Corporate profits might face headwinds from a continued revenue growth slowdown and a reversal in margin gains from lower commodity and energy prices in FY24. The combined net profit (adjusted for exceptional gains and losses) of the 210 companies that have declared their Q1FY25 results so far is down 4.2 per cent from the year-ago period - their worst showing in seven quarters.
Among the Sensex firms, Asian Paints, Titan, Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti and Reliance Industries were the major gainers. ICICI Bank, NTPC, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.
ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, NTPC, JSW Steel, State Bank of India and Adani Ports were the other big gainers. Asian Paints, Nestle, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and ITC were the other big laggards.
Domestic equity markets will be driven mainly by quarterly earnings, global trends, and the movement in crude oil prices in this holiday-shortened week, analysts said. Investors would also keep an eye on the Middle East amid the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict and the trading activity of foreign investors. Markets will remain closed on Tuesday for Dussehra.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty on Friday reversed their six-session losing streak and rebounded more than 1 per cent on value buying in auto, IT, financial and energy stocks. Better than expected quarterly financial results of corporates also boosted investor sentiments even as uncertainties persisted over the escalating tensions in the Middle East, according to analysts. In a largely range-bound trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 634.65 points or 1.01 per cent to settle at 63,782.80 points.
The S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices have managed to stay afloat in a volatile January that saw the frontline indices hit their respective 52-week high levels and then slip. While the S&P BSE Sensex has lost over 2 per cent thus far in January, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices have gained nearly 2.5 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively during this period.
Investment guru Parag Parikh talks about the state of the Indian stock markets. His advice? Value investing.
Gold, a safe-haven bet, is likely to continue its record-smashing journey in the New Year, rising to Rs 85,000 per 10 grams and even Rs 90,000 level in domestic markets if geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainties continue.
Strategic deals like the one involving the HDFC twins accounted for a bulk $126 billion of the overall quantum, while transactions involving private equity funds stood at $37 billion, the report by Deloitte, a consultancy firm, said. Despite global headwinds like rising interest rates and elevated inflation levels leading to increased margin pressures for companies, the firm expects the overall activity to remain "strong" in the ongoing 2023.
With Rs 17,087 crore raised so far this calendar year, the total is already 2.4 times that of the full year of 2023, which stood at Rs 7,266 crore.
Among the Sensex firms, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, Titan, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were the major laggards. UltraTech Cement, JSW Steel, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and ITC were the major gainers.
'Reduce your equity allocation, put that allocation into gold and fixed income.'
Among the Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Wipro and Hindustan Unilever were the major laggards. Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were among the winners.
Industry leaders including Google's India-born chief executive Sundar Pichai on Wednesday mourned the death of Ratan Tata, saying the veteran industrialist cared about making India better. "He leaves an extraordinary business and philanthropic legacy and was instrumental in mentoring and developing the modern business leadership in India. He deeply cared about making India better," Pichai said in a post on X. Pichai recalled that his last meeting with Tata was at Google's office where they spoke about the progress of self-driving car Waymo.
Reliance Industries Ltd on Monday reported a 5 per cent fall in the net profit for the July-September quarter, as weak oil refining and petrochemical business hurt operational performance.
Going by the current pace, IT firms are likely to exceed the manufacturing sector in salary payouts over the next five years.
'In the new coalition government, India's reform agenda may prioritise job creation and factor market reforms.'
RBI's interest rate decision, macroeconomic data and global trends would dictate terms in the equity market in a holiday-shortened week, analysts said. Besides, the focus will also be on foreign portfolio investors' trading activity, they added. Equity markets will remain closed on Tuesday for 'Mahavir Jayanti' and on Friday on account of 'Good Friday'.
After subdued earnings in the first half amid global headwinds, India Inc is taking a cautious approach on their capital expenditure (capex) for the second half of the financial year ending March 2025, according to management commentary. Minutes from the October monetary policy meeting show the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) optimism about private investments picking up.
From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra and HDFC were the major laggards. Maruti, Tata Motors, Titan, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India and IndusInd Bank were the biggest gainers.
Generative AI (GenAI) has the potential to add a cumulative $1.2-1.5 trillion to India's GDP over the next seven years, according to a report by EY. The report titled 'AIdea of India: Generative AI's potential to accelerate India's digital transformation' says that in 2029-30 alone, GenAI can contribute an additional $359-438 billion to India's GDP. The report said that around 69 per cent of the overall impact of GenAI on India's GDP is expected to be derived from sectors such as business services (including IT, legal, consulting, rental of machinery and equipment, and others), financial services, education, retail, and healthcare.
Among the Sensex firms, JSW Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, NTPC, Wipro, HCL Technologies, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid and Reliance Industries Limited were the major laggards. Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Finance were the gainers.
