India's largest cable and wire manufacturer Polycab India ended financial year 2024-25 (FY25) on a high, delivering another strong quarter of double-digit growth and market share gains. This coupled with margin expansion, operating breakeven for its fast-moving electrical goods (FMEG) business, and steady exports outlook for FY26 is expected to support the stock, which is up 18 per cent over the past month. The stock is currently trading at Rs 5,765 a share.
After underperforming its peers in the consumer space in 2022-23, and experiencing a mixed bag in the 2023-24 (FY24) April-June quarter (first quarter, or Q1), brokerages are positive about the medium-term outlook for liquor stocks. Higher raw material costs, concerns regarding increased duties, regulatory changes, and competitive pressures weighed on performance returns in the past quarters. Analysts believe that the sector could experience a reversal of fortunes due to better demand and margin improvements.
After some enforced slowdown in offtake during April-May 2024 due to elections, the cement sector is looking at a possible demand rebound which may help it to push up prices. The April'24 offtake was muted while May'24 saw some improvement with a likely 5-6 per cent rise in demand month-on-month (MoM). In June, some price hikes seem to have been taken, which suggests more sustained improvement in demand.
Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company (IHC), one of the largest sovereign funds that manages assets close to $100 billion, has reaffirmed its support to the Adani Group, saying its outlook on investments in the group remains unchanged despite the US indictment of the conglomerate's founder chairman Gautam Adani. "Our partnership with the Adani Group reflects our confidence in their contributions to the green energy and sustainability sectors," IHC, one of Adani group's key foreign investors, said in a statement.
Information technology (IT) stocks ended at their lowest in nearly nine months after a fresh bout of selling, triggered by concerns over a recession in the US, the key market for domestic software exporters. A report by Morgan Stanley citing risks to growth also weighed on sentiment.
Moody's Ratings on Wednesday said India's economic growth will exceed 6.5 per cent in the next fiscal, up from 6.3 per cent this year, on higher government capex and consumption boost from tax cuts and interest rate reduction. Projecting a stable outlook for the banking sector, Moody's said although the operating environment of Indian banks will remain favourable in the next fiscal, their asset quality will deteriorate moderately after substantial improvements in recent years, with some stress in unsecured retail loans, microfinance loans and small business loans.
With the RBI infusing Rs 7.5 lakh crore in liquidity -- and possibly more in the future -- the short- to medium-term corporate bond market is expected to benefit.
ABB India's March quarter results (Q1CY24) were led by strong margin performance. Revenue was, however, largely in line with estimates at Rs 3,080 crore (up 28 per cent Y-o-Y and up 12 per cent Q-o-Q). The growth was across electrification (30 per cent Y-o-Y), process automation (73 per cent Y-o-Y) and robotics & motion (8 per cent Y-o-Y).
Acutely conscious that he's left with less than four years to create his legacy, Trump is undoubtedly a man in a hurry, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa) hosted its annual investor day recently. The responses were positive from analysts. Although some analysts pared FY25 and FY26 estimates, the bulk continued to issue 'buy' calls after the stock rose 2.5 per cent. The management expects the Beauty & Personal Care (BPC) business to grow at a 25 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during FY24-28.
India registered its protest at the board of IMF, which met on Friday to review the EFF lending programme for Pakistan.
P&G Hygiene and Healthcare's June quarter numbers were better than Street estimates, led by strong sales and robust margins. The company, which owns leading consumer brands like Whisper, Vicks and Old Spice, posted a 12.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in sales at Rs 852.5 crore during the quarter. The double digit sales growth, led by expansion of its distribution reach, reverses a sluggish sales graph with three of the last four quarters reporting a fall in sales.
Some major contracts coming up for renewal include TCS' deals with Star Alliance, a consortium of airlines based in Germany, and Nielsen; Infosys' deals with GE Appliances and Daimler; HCLTech's with UK-based life insurer Chesnara; Wipro's with German electric utility company E.ON and Petrobras of Brazil; and Tech Mahindra's with Circle Health.
After heightened activity in 2024, there has been a slowdown in new listings, with no main-bourse IPOs hitting the market in the past three weeks due to a correction in the secondary market. This slowdown in IPO activity is reflected in the numbers, as only five companies went public in January and four in February, compared to 16 listings in December 2024.
Automobile giant Tata Motors' shares were in demand on Wednesday as the stock rallied as much as 3.69 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 671.80 per share, before settling 3.18 per cent higher at Rs 668.45. By comparison, the BSE Sensex settled 0.10 per cent, or 72.56 points, lower at 74,029.76.
German carmaker Volkswagen will be driving in its two globally acclaimed performance models Golf GTI and Tiguan R-line in India as part of its steps to enhance brand positioning in the country, a senior company official said on Monday.
India's job market looks bullish with 44 per cent of companies planning to add more staff in the next three months as corporates gear up to bring workers back after the pandemic, a survey said on Tuesday. According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released by ManpowerGroup India, employers report a Net Employment Outlook of 44 per cent - the most optimistic outlook in seven years. The Net Employment Outlook is derived by subtracting the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity from the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity.
'But the way the home team should get support, everyone needs to know this is our home team that is playing in Lucknow and what can we do to help them win? 'Everyone's contribution is important. We will find a way anyway to win matches.'
'Stay disciplined, and remain invested.' 'Volatile times are the best to invest in structural opportunities at the right price.'
Shares worth over Rs 50,000 crore (or approximately $6 billion) are set to become freely tradable between now and April 10. Historically, such substantial volumes have been absorbed by a buoyant block-deal market.
'In the past six months, capital markets have seen a dip, and realty is struggling. The stock-market investor will be cautious of putting that investment in real estate when there may be a slowdown coming.'
'Cancer incidence is projected to increase by 12.8 per cent by 2025 compared with 2020, necessitating more dedicated cancer treatment centres and specialised beds.'
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (IPRU) disappointed the market even though some analysts said the Q3FY25 results were in line. Most analysts cut margin estimates. The insurer reported M9FY25 growth of 8.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in value of new business (VNB) premium to Rs 1,575 crore, while total annual premium equivalent (APE) grew 27.2 per cent to Rs 6,910 crore.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported very strong results for the January-March quarter of the last financial year (Q4FY24), beating consensus comfortably. The margins of the automobile business improved 170 basis points (bps) year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 8.8 per cent, while FES (Farm Equipment Sector) margins improved to 15.8 per cent (up 60 bps Y-o-Y), despite a decline in volumes due to cost optimisation and lower raw material costs.
'When Prime Minister Modi met President Trump, they agreed to initiate a bilateral trade dialogue.' 'It makes sense to give these negotiations a chance.'
The trigger for international gold prices rising to $3,000 per ounce was Germany's upcoming heavy government borrowing.
When investing in fixed-income products, balancing considerations like safety, liquidity, and income is essential.
Market downturns or regulatory shifts can reduce liquidity, making it harder to buy or sell assets when needed.
The Indian economy is expected to be "a little weaker" in 2025 despite steady global growth, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has said. Georgieva also said she expects quite a lot of uncertainty in the world this year mainly around the trade policy of the US. In her annual media roundtable with a group of reporters on Friday, she said global growth is expected to be steady in 2025, but with regional divergence.
Indian employers have robust hiring intentions for the next three months, with 49 per cent of companies planning to add more staff in the January-March quarter, as employers are positive about achieving sustained post-pandemic recovery, a survey said on Tuesday. According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, hiring sentiment in India is the strongest reported in eight years, improving by five percentage points in comparison with the prior quarter and by 43 percentage points when compared with this time one year ago. The survey of 3,020 employers noted that 64 per cent expect to increase their staffing levels, 15 per cent anticipate a decrease and 20 per cent do not anticipate any change, resulting in a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of 49 per cent.
'If gold's recent surge has increased its allocation beyond 15 per cent in your portfolio, now may be a good time to rebalance.'
India and the US are expected to have smooth trade negotiations after US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a productive meeting during Modi's visit to the White House last month, Stephen A Schwarzman, chairman, chief executive officer, and co-founder of one of the world's largest alternative investment firms, Blackstone Group, said in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Delhivery share price dropped 6.6 per cent to a low of ?295.8 per share on the BSE on Monday after analysts cut their earnings estimate on the stock, following weak results for the December quarter (Q3) of the current financial year (FY25). Q3 is a seasonally strong quarter due to festive pick-up in demand.
Brokerages expect a further slowdown in Indian firms' revenue and earnings growth in Q4FY25, following low single-digit growth in the preceding three quarters, as factors like weak consumer demand and credit growth linger on.
Retail investors have been the hardest hit in the recent market downturn, with stocks where they hold over 20% falling 45% from their 52-week highs.
Risks emerging from the US have left automotive investors worried. US President Donald Trump has announced 25 per cent tariffs on automotive imports, while global electric carmaker Tesla has taken its first steps towards entering India. While these developments are sentimentally negative for related stocks, it may be too early to conclude the eventual impact, analysts said.
Although UltraTech Cement's results for the December quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25) were not an improvement compared to Q3FY24, the company managed to surpass Street expectations. The company's profit attributable to the owners of the parent dropped 17.4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1,469.5 crore in Q3FY25 as against Rs 1,777 crore in Q3FY24.
Due to unseasonal rains, the second quarter of financial year 2023-24 (Q2FY24) was disappointing for the room-air conditioner (RAC) segment and Q3FY23 was also slow. While general consumption demand was low in Q3FY24, the low base and the pent-up demand from the first half of financial year 2023-24 (H1FY24) seem to have driven an off-season demand for RACs.
Macroeconomic data announcements, trading activity of foreign investors and global trends will guide equity market movement this week, which would also mark the beginning of the new calendar year and month, analysts said.
TVS Motor Company has been one of the best-performing two-wheeler stocks in the current financial year (FY24), enriching investors with gains of 24 per cent. Among listed two-wheeler stocks, only Hero MotoCorp has done better in this period. New launches, market share gains, steady margins and expectations that its performance will continue in FY24 are expected to support TVS Motor's stock.
