The combined net profit of "early bird" companies, those that have declared their quarterly results, rose for the third consecutive quarter in July-September 2023 (Q2FY24). But the figures suggest a continued slowdown in revenue growth and stagnation in earnings over recent quarters. This slowdown is severe for companies in the manufacturing and non-financial service sectors.
During a three-hour long virtual meeting with CEOs of large public and private sector banks along with heads of NBFCs, the prime minister assured them that the government is ready to take all steps to support the financial sector.
The country's biggest carmaker is now more valuable than the combined market cap of the three leading automobile companies in the country: Tata Motors (Rs 1,18,684 crore), M&M (Rs 86,336 crore) and Ashok Leyland (Rs 34,700 crore).
Eight of the 10 most valued firms faced a combined erosion of Rs 1,17,493.78 crore in market valuation in an overall weak trend in equities last week, with Infosys taking the biggest hit. Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were among the eight companies that suffered a decline in their valuation. ITC and State Bank of India were the only gainers. Last week, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 775.94 points or 1.28 per cent.
Banks, the biggest component of the Indian equity market, are now trading at a big discount to the benchmark indicesThe BSE Bankex index, which tracks the share price of the 10 top listed banks, is trading at a trailing price to earnings (P/E) multiple of 15.3X, nearly a 40 per cent discount to the BSE Sensex current P/E of 24.37X. This is the biggest valuation gap between the two indices in at least 10 years. Similarly, the BSE Bankex price to book ratio (P/B) of 2.22X is 40 per cent lower than the current Sensex P/B ratio of 3.61X.
The tailwind of low price erosion in the US generics market, seen by domestic pharmaceutical companies in calendar year 2023 (CY23), may be reversing slowly, caution analysts. According to the latest data from US-based Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS), price erosion in calendar year 2024 (CY24) on a year-to-date (YTD) basis stood at a high of 15 per cent in the oral solid dosage (OSD) segment compared to a low of 1 per cent in CY23. This erosion, according to a report by Antique Stock Broking, was the highest in the last three years.
Following are comments from economists at leading financial institutions, banks and rating agencies on the interim Budget:
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries:
There was no smooth surge in middle class prosperity for foreign businesses to tap into because of the Indian economy was mismanaged, argues Debashis Basu.
Equity benchmark Nifty scaled the psychological milestone of 21,000 in afternoon trade on Friday, and the Sensex touched its all-time intraday high of 69,888.33 after the central bank's decision to keep policy rates unchanged in line with market expectations. The 50-share benchmark index opened on a bullish note, after taking a breather on Thursday, and rose to 21,006.10. As many as 25 stocks were trading in the green, and 24 stocks defied the broader market and were trading in the negative territory.
Worries related to the Iran-Israel conflict, quarterly earnings and foreign investors' trading activity are the key factors that would dictate stock markets this week, analysts said. Besides, trends in Brent crude oil and movement of the rupee against the dollar will also be crucial factors. This week will be crucial for the market amid ongoing worries about the conflict between Iran and Israel, said Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst, Swastika Investmart Ltd.
From the Sensex basket, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro and HDFC Bank were the major gainers. Titan, Nestle, Bharti Airtel and IndusInd Bank were among the laggards.
Payouts to key management personnel in non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are under the banking regulator's scrutiny. Top industry officials said this is a follow-through on the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) circular of April 29, 2022, which asked NBFCs in the "middle" and "upper" layer of its four-tiered scale-based regulatory (SBR) framework to put in place a board-approved compensation policy.
This is a good opportunity for long-term investors to pick quality small and midcap stocks at reasonable valuations.
Despite the ups and downs, the home financier is able to sustain its spreads and report the same loan growth Q-o-Q; so predictable that analysts sometimes find it boring.
Re-rating of Axis Bank's stock may continue in the near-future, believe analysts, as the risk-reward on the stock remains favourable amid healthy financials. The bullish stance comes after the Mumbai-based lender delivered a strong outperformance in the March quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 (Q4FY24) on core pre-provision profit and net profit, with improving asset quality. Axis Bank's net interest margin (NIM) expanded, against expectations, even in a tough market.
Among the Sensex firms, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Nestle, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.
In the second part of this five part series on top 25 mutual funds analysed by Value Research we produce the next best five mutual funds that investors can put their money in for the long term.
The number of dematerialised (demat) accounts - required to hold shares and other securities in electronics format - crossed the 150-million mark for the first time in March. In March, 3.12 million new demat accounts were added despite a spike in market volatility, taking the total count to 151.4 million. The milestone has come 19 months after the total number of demat accounts hit the 100-million mark, a sign that more domestic households are taking to direct equity investing.
HDFC Bank's track record of consistent growth with high profit margins and robust risk management systems bode well for the future.
HDFC Bank has ensured that no bank will be able to match them in the near future without bleeding on margins.
rediffGURU Sunil Lala answers your MF-related queries.
Equity benchmark index Sensex on Wednesday crashed over 900 points to sink below the 73,000 level due to widespread selling pressure amid a sharp fall in smallcap and midcap indices. Besides, deep losses in utility, energy and metal stocks and recent selling by foreign investors added to the gloom, analysts said. Benchmark indices started the session on a positive note, but the selling intensified during afternoon trade, with all sectoral indices ending in the red.
HDFC Bank's 12-month forward price-to-book ratio is estimated to be the highest among 166 large and mid cap banks in Asia Pacific.
These stocks offer the best combination of maximum 'buy' recommendations from brokerages and share price upside over the next 12 months.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance has posted a 65 per cent growth in premium income at Rs 66 crore (Rs 660 million) during the first half of this fiscal, its CEO Deepak Satwalekar said on Tuesday.
ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have effected a cut of up to 0.50 per cent in term deposit rates following tepid credit growth and ease in money market rates.
Analysts had on average forecast a net profit of 23.21 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Among the Sensex firms, State Bank of India rose the most by 3.78 per cent after the bank announced the acquisition of SBI CAPS subsidiary for Rs 708.07 crore. Nestle India gained 1.68 per cent after it reported around 9 per cent growth in sales. JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank and Asian Paints were among the gainers.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
All the four listed private life insurance companies recorded a drop in value of new business (VNB) margin in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) as compared to FY23. This is because of a higher share of unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) in the product mix. VNB is a measure of the economic value of profits expected to emerge from a new business.
HDFC Bank proposes to raise Rs 4,200 crore (Rs 42 billion) through a mix of preference shares to its promoters and domestic and overseas equity issues.
'We created war rooms -- from an IT perspective and also a customer war room -- to address any challenges that come up.'
Equity benchmark indices ended flat on Wednesday with Sensex sliding 33 points and Nifty gaining 9 points after an unabated record-breaking rally in the last few trading sessions. Weak global market trends and fall in HDFC twins also spoiled markets party. The 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 33.01 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 65,446.04.
Among the Sensex firms, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Wipro were the major gainers. Nestle India, Asian Paints, JSW Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were among the losers.
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
McDonald's asks the consumer whether he wants a hamburger with cheese, with tomato or without tomato. We will also have to deliver products as and when and how the customer wants.
Most companies reporting an improvement in operating margins in Q1 as they cut ad spends and other expenses.
