The second-quarter performance of the top five information-technology services firms gives the hint that slow growth has bottomed out on the back of discretionary spending kicking in for the sector's largest vertical - the banking and financial services. However, concern about the macro-environment continues to be a challenge. Among the top four - Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, HCLTech, and Wipro - it is Bengaluru-based Infosys that has performed the best and that was evident in its full-year revenue guidance.
'The RBI's MPC will maintain the current policy rates (6.50%) at the policy meeting, given ongoing inflationary pressures.'
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said people are finding current interest rates "very stressful" and urged banks to make them affordable. Speaking at an event organised by State Bank of India, the finance minister said that at present, India requires industry to ramp up and invest in new facilities, and added that lowering lending rates can help achieve the "Viksit Bharat" aspiration.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday congratulated President-elect Donald Trump on his election victory and called for China and the United States to find the right way to manage the differences by strengthening dialogue and communication.
The US unit of PwC will lay off about 1,800 workers, marking its first formal job cuts since 2009 as the company seeks to restructure its technology group. This comes amid a slowdown in demand for some of its advisory business, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Half of the anticipated layoffs will target offshore positions, impacting a wide range of employees from associates to managing directors.
Fear of a recession in the US due to rising unemployment has added to the concerns of India's IT services sector, which was seeing some growth returning after Q1FY25 results. The Nifty IT closed 3.26 per cent down, as major IT services companies' stock value fell. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT services firm, saw its stock price fall 4 per cent during intraday trading.
ABB reported a weak quarter. Revenue was at Rs 2,910 crore, up only 5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), with operating profit at Rs 540 crore, up 23 per cent and net profit at Rs 440 crore.
India Inc continued to grapple with muted revenue growth in the September 2024 quarter (Q2FY25) and witnessed a decline in margins and profits. The headwinds were especially severe for non-financial companies, while banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) firms significantly outpaced the rest of the corporate sector. The total profit of 1,353 listed companies that have released their Q2FY25 results thus far dropped by 0.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) - the first cumulative earnings decline in eight quarters.
In addition to interest rates, review the fine print for penalties and repayment terms, and select a reputable lender to avoid harsh recovery practices.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing Director (MD) Gita Gopinath has condemned the "terrible and disturbing" incident of rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. "Personally, it is terrible to have any event of this kind. It is disturbing," she told Business Standard in New Delhi.
Gland Pharma beat muted expectations for Q2FY25. There was increased Ebitda (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) loss at Cenexi, the CRAM subsidiary. However, overall Ebitda margin was better than expectations at 21.1 per cent. But given two years of earnings decline in FY23 and FY24, the business may have bottomed and upper-teens EPS (earnings per share) growth looks possible over next two financial years.
A Rs 525-crore contingency provision during the July-September period led to a 19 per cent fall in IndusInd Bank's share price on Friday (October 25). Contingency provisions are generally made when a lender expects more bad loans in the coming quarters. Shares of the bank on Tuesday (October 29) declined 1.53 per cent to settle at Rs 1,038.2 apiece on the BSE.
'Retail investors, who had not seen such a massive correction in the SMID universe since COVID-19, are witnessing something like this for the first time. Panic profit booking may continue.'
Investors' wealth plummeted by Rs 5.49 lakh crore on Friday as markets faced a massive correction tracking a weak trend in global peers and fresh foreign fund outflows. Falling for the third day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 1,017.23 points or 1.24 per cent to settle at 81,183.93. During the day, it plunged 1,219.23 points or 1.48 per cent to 80,981.93.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank were the biggest laggards. In contrast, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, NTPC, JSW Steel, Asian Paints and Reliance Industries were gainers.
'Domestic investors are opening up to the idea of high-growth Internet companies as a pool of value creation.' 'They like the execution that they see with Zepto, and for us, that is the most important factor.'
The narrative on China is changing post the recent stimulus measures, and it will be hard for global investors to ignore the Chinese markets.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday clinched a stunning hat-trick win in Haryana overcoming anti-incumbency and dashing Congress' hopes of a comeback while the National Conference-Congress combine pulled off a spectacular victory in maiden elections in Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
India's manufacturing sector growth moderated in August as output and sales rose at slowest rates since January, while competitive pressures and inflation concerns hampered business confidence, a monthly survey said on Monday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 57.5 in August, below July's reading of 58.1 but above its long-run average of 54.0, signalling a substantial improvement in operating conditions.
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.
The stock of Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals has shed about 12 per cent since the start of the month due to a muted near-term outlook. Demand slowdown across segments and pre-buying in cooling products in the June quarter are expected to weigh on revenues going ahead. In addition to pre-buying in the preceding quarter, demand conditions are soft on account of lower consumer spending due to inflationary conditions, weakness in rural demand and the fact that Q2 remains a soft quarter after a strong summer.
India stares at the risk of an influx of Chinese products as US tariffs on a range of Chinese goods, including solar panels, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, syringes, and steel, are set to take effect from September 27. With higher tariffs reducing China's access to the US market, there is concern that China may divert its exports to other markets, including India, which could lead to potential dumping of goods. This situation could challenge Indian industries, particularly in sectors where competition with Chinese products is already fierce.
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.
India's services sector activity growth touched a five-month high in August on stronger rise in new work orders, while payroll numbers rose solidly as companies remained upbeat regarding the economic outlook, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services Business Activity Index rose from 60.3 in July to 60.9 in August, registering the fastest expansion since March and was largely supported by productivity gains and positive demand trends.
In the June quarter, growth in the segment stood at around 4 per cent, with premium collection at Rs 15,724 crore against Rs 15,074 crore in the same period of FY19. This was the lowest growth in the last five quarters, starting from Q1FY19.
The Economic Survey seems convinced that 2019-2020 saw the bottom of the economic cycle, points out Abheek Barua, chief economist, HDFC Bank.
'Corporations that were recruiting 15 or 20 [students] have reduced the number to two or three.'
The rupee has depreciated by 0.6 per cent so far in the current financial year.
'The biggest near-term risk to Indian equities is the outflow of investments to China as tactical trades by foreign investors.'
India's three-wheeler exports, which have been on a downhill trajectory over the past few years, are showing no signs of recovery in FY25, with key markets like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Egypt witnessing subdued demand. In May, the country's exports plummeted 11.3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y).
The three day MPC meeting began on Monday and the decision will be announced on Wednesday by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.
'The August phenomenon of decline in sales occurs every year.' 'What they have done cleverly is, using the economic slowdown as an excuse, they want a package from the government to compensate the expenditure they will incur while converting BS4 to BS6.' 'That's why they are making a hue and cry.'
India's exports registered a steepest decline in 13-month falling 9.3 per cent in August to $34.71 billion due to global economic uncertainties, while the trade deficit soared to a 10-month of $29.65 billion. According to the government data released on Tuesday, imports increased by 3.3 per cent to $64.36 billion, which is a record high, due to a significant jump in the inbound shipments of gold and silver.
The new visa-free regime allows travellers to stay for up to 60 days instead of only 15 earlier.
India's manufacturing sector growth eased slightly in July, on softer increases in new orders and output, while cost pressures and demand strength led to the steepest increase in selling prices since October 2013, a monthly survey said on Thursday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) moderated slightly from 58.3 in June to 58.1 in July.
On the exports front, Bajaj is under pressure in Bangladesh and Africa. On the domestic front, it could ride improvement in rural demand and new launches but it also has to cope with competitive intensity and a high base. The management projects 7-8 per cent volume growth in domestic 2W in financial year 2025 (FY25) with moderation in H2FY25 due to a high base Y-o-Y.
Largecap, flexicap, and balanced advantage funds together recorded a net inflow of Rs 9,363 crore in August, representing a 70% increase from the previous month's total.
'If global growth continues to be sluggish, India instead could potentially take a bigger piece of a shrinking pie,' says Prachi Mishra, managing director, Global Macro Research, and India chief economist, Goldman Sachs.
Some of India's largest companies have seen a slowdown in the growth of temporary, contract and casual jobs, as compared to the increase in their total workforce. The absolute number of such jobs is up 30 per cent between financial year 2017-18 and 2021-22 (FY18-22), shows an analysis of data collated from the annual reports of S&P BSE 100 companies. Forty-eight firms were considered for the final analysis based on the availability of uniform data across the last five years. In comparison, the total workforce numbers are up 36 per cent in the same period.
Experts are of the opinion that though the second half of this financial year will see some recovery, volume growth is likely to remain in single digit as compared to the double-digit rise recorded in past years.
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