'A cutback in hiring and compensation growth by IT companies will have a significant impact on consumer demand, especially in the urban sector of the economy.'
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
The index had risen over 585 points in the previous three sessions.
The benchmark indices are set to end their five-month gaining streak, but the market breadth continues to hold strong So far this month, stocks gaining have outnumbered those declining, a sign that the bulls still have the upper hand, even as the pullback in the S&P BSE Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty indicates otherwise. On the BSE, 2,126 stocks have advanced and 1,955 have declined in August, translating into an advance/decline ratio (ADR) of 1.1.
'Some risks to this market rally include inflation, erratic weather conditions, rising crude prices, slowing global growth and the resultant impact on domestic exports, escalation in geopolitical tensions.'
Stock market minnows put up a stellar show in 2021 giving returns of up to 60 per cent amid Dalal Street dream run and are likely to continue sailing northwards in the New Year too. Trumping pandemic-induced uncertainties, the Indian equity market posted stunning gains this year achieving several feats and smaller stocks benefited the most from the strong momentum. From reaching the momentous 50,000-mark in January to scaling 61,000-level in October, the BSE Sensex had an epic journey this year.
The net inflows into active equity mutual fund (MF) schemes registered more than a twofold month-on-month rise in August, crossing Rs 20,000 crore, the highest in five months. This rise in net inflows was boosted by an 18 per cent growth in gross investments, driven by a record Rs 15,800 crore inflow through the systematic investment plan (SIP) route and Rs 5,000 crore collected by seven new fund offers (NFOs) in the active equity space, reveals data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). Moreover, redemptions moderated in August, declining by 19 per cent to Rs 24,580 crore, after staying elevated in the previous three months owing to profit booking.
From the Sensex pack, Infosys tanked over 8 per cent after the company reported a lower-than-expected 11 per cent rise in net profit for the June quarter and delivered a shocker as it slashed its FY24 growth outlook to 1-3.5 per cent on delayed decision-making by clients amid global macro uncertainties. Hindustan Unilever, HCL Technologies, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra were the other major laggards. On the other hand, Larsen & Toubro rose the most by 3.88 per cent after it bagged an order of worth over Rs 7,000 crore from the bullet train project.
The rumour verification process would now be triggered by changes in price or 'material price movements', as the paper defines it. What this means is that companies would need to verify rumours only if the share price moves significantly.
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.
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.
Equity benchmark index Sensex buckled under selling pressure for the second straight session to close below the 65k mark on Friday, as investors offloaded IT, teck and metal stocks amid a bearish global trend. Besides, fresh foreign fund outflows also hit investor sentiments, traders said. In a volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 202.36 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at 64,948.66.
Irregular rainfall and a pick-up in commodity costs are expected to weigh on the demand and margins of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. Most companies reported a sharp expansion in gross margins in the April-June quarter (first quarter, or Q1) of 2023-24 (FY24), given the lower prices of key raw materials and earlier price hikes. Furthermore, there were expectations that cost savings being passed on could reflect in volume growth going forward. However, these hopes could be dashed if demand recovery, especially in the rural segment, stalls, and gains on the raw material front start to recede.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
The market breadth was weak. Out of 2,777 stocks traded, 1,951 stocks declined compared to 706 advances on BSE.
Mutual funds focused on small-caps have emerged as the winner with a net inflow of close to Rs 11,000 crore in April-June quarter, as fund managers struggle to create alpha in the large-cap space, and the trend is expected to continue for some time. On the other hand, large-cap space, which is yet to pick up momentum, witnessed an outflow of Rs 3,360 crore during the quarter under review, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed. Apart from the June quarter, small-cap funds logged an inflow of Rs 6,932 crore in three months that ended in March.
Stocks of small- and mid-cap companies continued to gain ground in July, notwithstanding analysts sounding caution on these two market segments given the sharp run thus far in calendar year 2023 (CY23). Sanjeev Prasad, co-head of Kotak Institutional Equities, in a note co-authored with Anindya Bhowmik and Sunita Baldawa in June-end, had cautioned against the sharp run in small- and mid-caps. "We do not see any particular reason for the excitement in small- and mid-cap stocks.
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.
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.
Public-sector enterprise stocks have seen a good run thus far in 2023-24 (FY24), with the S&P BSE PSU Index surging by over 26 per cent during the period, compared to an 11 per cent increase in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.
Stock markets would be largely driven by macroeconomic data, auto sales numbers, FII inflows and global trends this week, analysts said. The US debt ceiling negotiations and institutional flows will also be watched by investors. "This week, market participants will closely monitor institutional flows, as there is a historical observation that when both FIIs and DIIs become net buyers simultaneously, there is a likelihood of some profit-booking in the market," said Santosh Meena, head of research, Swastika Investmart Ltd.
The move to demerge the hotel business into a separate entity by ITC has brought back focus on hotel stocks, which have already seen a good run thus far in fiscal 2023-24 (FY24). Analysts believe there could be more gains in store over the next one year for the stocks in this sector, but suggest investors put in money on a correction only from a long-term perspective. Hotel stocks, according to A K Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital, have seen a good run as travel picked up post Covid in India. Not only have the room rents increased, the occupancy, too, has surged.
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HCL Tech led the Sensex gainers' chart, spurting 3.58 per cent, followed by UltraCement, Nestle India, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and HDFC twins. In contrast, ITC, Maruti, NTPC, Asian Paints and Sun Pharma were among the main laggards, shedding up to 1.51 per cent.
The 55 basis point (bps) spike in the US 10-year bond yield, triggered by a combination of FOMC's hawkish commentary and BOJ's relaxation of the yield control curve (YCC) has made analysts cautious on Asian equities and expect them to trade sideways in the short-to-medium term.
IndusInd Bank was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 7.46 per cent, followed by SBI, Tata Motors, M&M, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank and Infosys. In contrast, Tech Mahindra was the only winner.
From the Sensex pack, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Infosys, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Nestle, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finance were the major gainers. Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti, Titan, HDFC Bank, Wipro, HDFC and ITC were among the laggards.
Investors became poorer by Rs 1.36 lakh crore on Friday as the markets witnessed a sell-off amid weak global trends. Benchmark stock indices Sensex tanked 671.15 points or 1.12 per cent to close at 59,135.13, as 21 of its scrips declined. The sharp decline in equities eroded Rs 1,36,037.96 crore from the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms and that now stands at Rs 2,62,94,723.65 crore.
Investors became richer by over Rs 2.27 lakh crore on Monday as equities rebounded, with the BSE Sensex rallying over 1 per cent amid continuous foreign fund inflows and upbeat global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 709.96 points or 1.16 per cent to settle at 61,764.25. During the day, it zoomed 799.9 points or 1.31 per cent to 61,854.19. Following the rally, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms jumped by Rs 2,27,794.46 crore to Rs 2,76,06,443.06 crore.
Kotak Mahindra Bank was the biggest loser from the Sensex pack, skidding 1.83 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies, IndusInd Bank and Nestle. In contrast, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, Infosys, HDFC Bank, HDFC and ITC were the gainers.
Benchmark Sensex dropped 334 points on Monday due to intense selling pressure in metal and power stocks as FII outflows dampened investor sentiment. Besides, a sharp decline in the rupee against the US dollar also put pressure on domestic equities, traders said. After losing nearly 500 points, the 30-share BSE index recovered some lost ground to settle at 334.98 points or 0.55 per cent lower at 60,506.90. During the session, the index touched its intra-day low of 60,345.61.
These stocks offer the best combination of maximum 'buy' recommendations from brokerages and share price upside over the next 12 months.
Smaller stocks have continued to give higher returns to equity investors so far this fiscal, significantly outperforming bigger peers on indices. The BSE smallcap index has zoomed 7,333.47 points or 35.51 per cent, while midcap index has jumped 5,096.41 points or 25.25 per cent so far this fiscal. In comparison, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex has gained 9,797.78 points or 19.78 per cent.
Stock market investors became poorer by Rs 8.30 lakh crore as equities continued their slide for the sixth consecutive day on Friday. The BSE Sensex has tumbled 1,855.58 points or 3 per cent since February 16. During this period, the combined market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms has tanked Rs 8,30,322.61 crore to reach Rs 2,60,00,662.99 crore. "The domestic market is broadly demonstrating a lack of confidence, registering its sixth consecutive day of losses despite global markets turning green.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, will answers your queries.
Among the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, ITC, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, Tata Steel, Wipro, Infosys and Maruti were the major gainers. Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan and Larsen & Toubro were the major laggards.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your mutual fund queries.
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.