At a time when the market is betting on a 'higher for longer' global interest rate view, Accenture's (ACN) weak revenue forecast is a negative read-through for the Indian IT firms, according to analysts. The Dublin-based company sees its revenue growth at 2-5 per cent in constant currency (cc) for the financial year 2024 (FY24), below the pre-Covid levels of 5-8 per cent for FY17-20. The weak projection, thus, signals that slower demand is likely to persist this year, and any recovery is unlikely in the near-to-medium term, experts note.
Among major Sensex shares, PowerGrid fell the most by 2.76 per cent. IndusInd Bank dropped 2.34 per cent, HUL by 2.23 per cent and NTPC by 2.04 per cent. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, ITC, Infosys, L&T, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra were among the losers. On the other hand, Tata Motors rose the most by 2.94 per cent, followed by Titan which gained 1.26 per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra, SBI and TCS were also among gainers.
After the success of the National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI's) first infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) with foreign institutional investors, the Centre is working on a proposal to launch a fresh InvIT for national highways, where domestic retail investors can hold units of the trust
The key risk factors would be anti-incumbency, small vote share swings causing large impact on outcomes and the 2004 example.
Rising for the second straight session, equity benchmark Sensex climbed 142 points on Thursday following buying in IT and finance stocks amid a higher opening in European markets. After a see-saw session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 142.43 points or 0.23 per cent higher at 60,806.22. During the day, the index witnessed a high of 60,863.63 and a low of 60,472.81.
Operating margins for some companies dipped in Q3, 2021-22 but this sector could be nearing the bottom of the cycle in terms of profits.
Equity benchmark Sensex plunged by 554.05 points on Tuesday, tracking deep losses in realty, auto and metal stocks amid widespread selling pressure in global markets. The 30-share index slumped by 554.05 points or 0.90 per cent to end at 60,754.86. The broader NSE Nifty fell by 195.05 points or 1.07 per cent to 18,113.05.
Morgan Stanley has increased the target prices of certain information technology (IT) stocks by as much as 29 per cent, anticipating an improvement in earnings in the near future. Within the IT and engineering research and development (ER&D) services sector, it is now more optimistic about growth and margin estimates for 2024-25 (FY25).
On the Sensex chart, Titan, Maruti, SBI, L&T, HDFC and Kotak Bank emerged as prominent gainers. NSE Nifty climbed 190.60 points to settle at 18,003.30.
HCL Tech was the biggest loser on the Sensex chart, shedding 2.79 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC, Wipro, Infosys and M&M. In contrast, Tata Motors, L&T, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank and SBI were among the winners, climbing up to 2.05 per cent.
L&T was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 2 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, SBI, Maruti, Axis Bank and Bajaj Auto.
The July-September quarter results of software companies in the engineering research and development (ER&D) segment were broadly in line with expectations, though there have been cuts in revenue growth guidance. While results were a mixed bag, and there are cautionary views on the near-term outlook, brokerages and global consulting firms highlight the strong growth trajectory for the sector. They expect this segment of the software sector to grow by 8-12 per cent going forward.
IndusInd Bank was the biggest gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 4.75 per cent, followed by M&M, L&T, NTPC, ITC, Ultra Cement, Tata Steel, Maruti and SBI. In contrast, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Sun Pharma were among the losers, shedding up to 2.30 per cent.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 4 per cent, followed by HCL Tech, Bajaj Auto, Tech Mahindra, L&T and Kotak Bank.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Wednesday due to selling in financials, oil and IT stocks amid weak global trends.
Kotak Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 1 per cent, followed by L&T, Tata Steel, HDFC, TCS, Reliance Industries, HCL Tech and ICICI Bank.
Titan was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, soaring nearly 7 per cent, followed by ONGC, L&T, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance and HDFC Bank. NSE Nifty soared 114.15 points to end at its lifetime peak of 15,690.35.
Market gauges Sensex and Nifty extended their losing streak to the sixth session on Wednesday as lingering Ukraine crisis continued to dent investor sentiment. The Sensex closed 68.62 points or 0.12 per cent lower at 57,232.06 and the Nifty ended 28.95 points or 0.12 per cent down at 17,063.25. For better part of session, both indices traded in the positive territory tracking mostly higher Asian peers as investors hoped that Western sanctions on Russia after Moscow's troop movements near Ukraine border might soften Vladimir Putin defiant tone and leave some room to avoid war. The Sensex breadth was equally divided between gains and losses.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Equity benchmark Sensex surged over 1,300 points on Monday to reclaim the 60,000-level, boosted by intense buying in banking and financial stocks after the announcement of merger between HDFC and HDFC Bank. Strong global cues and receding crude oil prices also propped up the domestic equity markets, according to traders. Shares of HDFC and HDFC Bank rallied nearly 10 per cent as investors lapped up the merger deal.
JP Morgan has reiterated its negative stance on Indian information technology (IT) services and downgraded the sector to underweight (neutral earlier post Q4-FY23 numbers), as it believes the overall demand environment for the sector still remains weak. The research firm expects most companies in the sector to disappoint while announcing their first quarter numbers for the current fiscal (Q1-FY24). Among stocks, it has placed Infosys, TCS, MphasiS in its 'negative catalyst watch'.
HDFC was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding over 3 per cent, followed by Infosys, L&T, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finserv and Tech Mahindra.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Wednesday said it has secured a large contract to construct the country's longest road bridge across river Brahmaputra connecting Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari in Meghalaya. The contract was bagged by the company's subsidiary L&T Construction. As per the company, a large contract is worth Rs 2,500-5,000 crore.
The transportation infrastructure business of L&T Construction has secured mega contract from the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) to construct 87.569 km of the bullet train project.
HCL Tech was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 5 per cent, followed by L&T, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement, ITC and Tata Steel. NSE Nifty rose 70.25 points to its all-time high of 15,924.20.
On the Sensex chart, all 30 shares closed with gains -- with Bajaj Finance, SBI, Bajaj FinServ, L&T and Titan rising as much as 5.13 per cent. The BSE gauge Sensex zoomed past the 58,000-mark by rebounding over 1,700 points and the Nifty recaptured the 17,000-level on Tuesday after a massive plunge in the previous session. The 30-share Sensex surged 1,736.21 points or 3.08 per cent to end at 58,142.05 - recouping the losses suffered on Monday. Likewise, the NSE Nifty soared 509.65 points or 3.03 per cent to settle at 17,352.45.
To sell off L&T IDPL, Nabha Power; transfer Hyderabad Metro to an InvIT.
L&T -- which has two subsidiaries L&T Infotech and L&T Technology Services -- is keen to bring Mindtree under its fold to exponentially raise its client base and product offering.
Honed and utilised in-house for over three years, the engineering major's new arm - L&T-Nxt - will focus on AI, IoT, vitual reality and cyber security among other fields of digitisation.
Chatterjee said the compNY is not aware of any major client concerns at this point.
State Bank of India was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, climbing nearly 2 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, L&T, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, M&M and ICICI Bank. NSE Nifty surged 112.15 points to 15,834.35.
The navy's need for shallow water anti-submarine craft stems from the peculiar nature of the Arabian Sea bed, which is extremely shallow even tens of nautical miles from the coast.
Among major Sensex movers, Reliance Industries soared by 3.29 per cent as energy prices rose due to the war in Ukraine. Tata Steel emerged as the lead gainer among Sensex scrips, jumping by 6.61 per cent. Power Grid, Titan, NTPC, ICICI Bank, L&T, Infosys and Sun Pharma were among the gainers.
Asian Paints was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.66 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, HUL, Wipro, M&M, HDFC and Bharti Airtel. On the other hand, TCS, Infosys, L&T, Tech Mahindra and HDFC Bank were among the gainers.
Among Sensex stocks, SBI, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Ultratech Cement, L&T, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance, HCL Tech, Asian Paints, Wipro and M&M were the major losers. On the other hand, HUL advanced the most by 1.14 per cent. Maruti, Tata Steel, NTPC and Sun Pharma also posted gains.
Tata Steel was the top loser in the Sensex pack, plunging over 8 per cent, followed by SBI, Dr Reddy's, Kotak Bank, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto and L&T. NSE Nifty declined 118.35 points or 0.71 per cent to 16,450.50.
Benchmark Sensex pared early losses to close 242 points higher while Nifty settled above the 18,000-mark on Wednesday following gains in IT, oil and select banking stocks amid mixed global trends. Extending gains for a second day, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 242.83 points or 0.40 per cent to close at 61,275.09 with 20 of its constituents ending in the green. The index opened lower at 60,990.05 but later regained foot to touch a high of 61,352.55 in day trade.
Analysts seem to be generally pessimistic about Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL). Out of 15 brokerages with recommendations since May this year, two have 'buy' while five have 'sell' and eight have 'underweight'/'reduce'/'underperform'/'hold' recommendations. The average target price of the public sector undertaking (PSU) is Rs 61. However, the stock has been consistently hitting new highs, which indicates that there is some kind of valuation mismatch.
Among Sensex shares, HDFC Bank fell the most by 2.58 per cent, followed by SBI (2.12 per cent), HDFC (2.09 per cent), and IndusInd Bank (2.02 per cent). Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, M&M, L&T, Reliance, Infosys and TCS were among the major losers. In contrast, Tata Motors, Maruti, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Power Grid and Titan were among the gainers.
M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, zooming over 5 per cent, followed by PowerGrid, ITC, L&T, Tech Mahindra, Titan and Tata Steel. Nifty rallied 169.80 points to 18,161.75.