Except for Westlife Foodworld (Westlife), a weak 2022-23 (FY23) January-March (fourth quarter, or Q4) quarter performance and a muted near-term outlook led to a downward revision of earnings estimates for quick-service restaurant (QSR) players. Brokerages have slashed estimates by as much as 10 per cent for 2023-24 (FY24) and 2024-25 (FY25). The downward revisions have weighed on the performance of listed players, who have underperformed the market with low single-digit returns over the past month.
The equity cult has grown at a rapid pace in India in the last few years, with retail investors latching on to the stock markets like never before. At 126.6 million, the number of dematerialised (demat) accounts, where investors hold their securities in electronic form for trading purposes, are at record high levels. The growth rate, on an annualised basis, stood at 27 per cent in 2022-2023, up from barely 6 per cent a decade ago.
A day after Adani Group's shares took a beating as Hindenburg Research made damaging allegations against it, the group on Thursday said it is examining legal options to take "punitive action" against the US activist investor for its "reckless" attempt to sabotage a share-sale at the conglomerate's flagship firm. "The maliciously mischievous, unresearched report published by Hindenburg Research on January 24, 2023 has adversely affected the Adani Group, our shareholders and investors. "The volatility in Indian stock markets created by the report is of great concern and has led to unwanted anguish for Indian citizens," the group's lead head Jatin Jalundhwala said in a statement.
In the current calendar year, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have witnessed an impressive surge in initial public offerings (IPOs), surpassing the 2018 record. Over 150 SME IPOs have been introduced to the market, breaking the previous record of 141 set in 2018. According to data from PRIME Database, a primary market tracking firm, 147 companies successfully concluded their debut share sales by the end of October, raising a cumulative Rs 3,727 crore.
Equity valuations are once again on the rise, after they cooled down in the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022. The BSE Sensex trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple has risen to a 17-month high of nearly 25x, from 23.7x at the end of December 2022 and 21.6x at the end of June 2022. Similarly, the index closed on Friday with a trailing price-to-book (P/B) value ratio of 3.6x, up from 3.4x at the end of December 2022; it is the highest since December 2021.
Higher valuation creation in companies beyond the top 100 has given the domestic markets a shot at a $4 trillion market capitalisation (mcap) - a club exclusive to three countries currently. On November 23, the mcap of all BSE-listed stocks finished at a new record of Rs 328.33 trillion ($3.94 trillion), despite the benchmark indices ending with losses. The mcap was propelled by gains in the broader market, including small and midcap stocks - a trend dominant this year.
'Similar to the case of the digital payment system where the government created a public platform and others joined in, we are exploring a similar structure to create a PPP platform where the compute required for AI could be accessed by the small player.'
A GLOF occurred in parts of Lhonak Lake, leading to a rapid rise in water levels with very high velocities downstream along the Teesta River Basin in the early hours of October 4. This resulted in severe damage in Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong and Namchi districts.
Reliance Petroleum Ltd, a unit of Reliance Industries that plans to sell 1.8 billion shares in an initial public offering to raise up to $1.3 billion
The stock of Colgate-Palmolive (India) surged after the company delivered a better than expected operating performance for the March quarter of the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) recently. The stock, however, has given up most of these gains over the last one week as the Street awaits recovery in the core toothpaste segment and sustained recovery in market share. The country's largest listed oral care company posted a gross margin expansion of 100 basis points (bps) on a sequential basis to 66.9 per cent, led by pricing and efficient sourcing.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) will issue equity shares on a preferential basis to parent Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) to acquire 100 per cent stake in the latter's Gujarat plant. This deal is expected to increase the share base of MSIL by about 4 per cent. And consequently, it will raise SMC's shareholding in Maruti by around 1.8 percentage point. "Whether it is in terms of PAT (profit after tax) or earnings per share (EPS) or dividend per share (DPS) of MSIL, the share-swap option will give shareholders a better deal than any other option such as cash payment," MSIL chairman RC Bhargava told reporters during a press conference.
JSW Steel (3.37 per cent), Tata Steel (3.33 per cent), Maruti (3.24 per cent), Power Grid (3.07 per cent), IndusInd Bank (2.95 per cent), Bajaj Finance (2.12 per cent) and Tech Mahindra (2.22 per cent) were among major gainers. On the other hand, Ultratech Cement, Sun Pharma, Nestle and L&T were the losers.
After nearly four years of underwhelming performances in equity schemes, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund (ABSL MF) is experiencing a revival. During the first quarter of the 2023-24 financial year (Q1FY24), the fund house arrested its declining market share, bolstered by stronger equity fund results and subsequent ratings upgrades. Mahesh Patil, the chief investment officer, attributes this resurgence to changes in the fund management team and adjustments to investment strategies.
Debit card payments remained sluggish due to the surge in digital transactions after the pandemic, and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has emerged as the most popular mode of money transfer, particularly for small value transactions, according to RBI data. In July 2020, the total debit card spends stood at Rs 2.81 trillion, as compared to Rs 3.15 trillion in July 2023, reflecting a growth of 11.96 per cent. UPI spends have seen a whopping growth of 428 per cent, zooming from Rs 2.90 trillion to Rs 15.33 trillion during the same period, the data revealed.
US-based boutique investment firm GQG Partners along with other investors on Wednesday bought an 8.1 per cent stake in Adani Power Ltd for over Rs 9,000 crore ($1.1 billion) as the marquee investor shrugged off damning report of a US short seller to invest in billionaire Gautam Adani's group.
A piece of slightly negative news can cause a serious setback, warns Debashis Basu.
The former PM said key national institutions vital for good governance are experiencing unprecedented new strains, India's neighbourhood is far less secured than it was in 2014 and its ties with neighbours deteriorated in the last four years.
'But he was very quick and did a very stylish adab.' 'Of course, I didn't expect him to hug.'
Embattled Adani group has appointed accountancy firm Grant Thornton for an independent audit of some of its companies in a bid to come clean of the damning allegations levelled by the US short-seller Hindenburg Research and to assure investors and regulators. Sources said the audit is primarily to show to regulators like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that the group has nothing to hide and it is in compliance with relevant laws. The audit will specifically look into if there was any misappropriation or repatriation of funds and if loans were used for any purpose other than the one they were intended for.
After being underweight on domestic agrochemical companies and preferring global plays, brokerages believe that the former may perform better in the quarters ahead. Domestic crop protection companies have faced multiple headwinds over the past year and a half, given high inventory costs, pricing pressures, lower realisations in the generic segment, increased stocks due to lower infestations, and demand-led hits to volumes. Some of the overhang from previous quarters was reflected in the April-June quarter (first quarter, or Q1) of 2023-24 (FY24) as well, with aggregate revenues and operating profit for the sector down 12 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively.
Buying term insurance is not a one-size-fits-all purchase. It requires some level of deliberation to ensure that the policy aligns with your needs, life stage as well as future circumstances, says Casparus Kromhout, MD & CEO Shriram Life Insurance Company
In a growth market, these funds should not form more than 10-15% of your portfolio. Invest with a horizon of at least 5 years
Bootstrapping has put Nithin Kamath of Zerodha in a position where he can trifle with talk about valuation, points out Suveen Sinha.
'Notwithstanding the seriousness of the allegations made, every accused had a right to a speedy trial and the court had to take into account long periods of incarceration without trial as an additional consideration for grant of bail.'
Despite multiple headwinds at the start of 2023, the Indian markets delivered a strong performance, posting 19-20 per cent growth for the year. Even as new records were set, investor sentiment remains strong going into 2024, given the lower inflation, expectations of steady to lower interest rates, higher economic growth, and strong inflows. However, the overriding concern for most brokerages is valuations.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani has overtaken Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani to become the richest Indian in the world with a net worth of $84.3 billion, according to Forbes Real-time billionaire list for 2023. Ambani overtook Adani after the Reliance Industries chairman's assets went up 0.19 per cent with an increase of wealth by $64 million while Gautam Adani's assets went down by 4.62 per cent with the industrialist's weath pegged at $84.1 billion according to the real time tracker of Forbes of 5 pm EST on Tuesday. Adani who figured among the top three billionaires in the world has dropped in the ranking to number 10 just below Mukesh Ambani.
The US market has been a standout performer this year, with the benchmark Standard and Poor's 500 (or simply the S&P 500) gaining over 16 per cent during the first half of calendar year 2023 (CY23) in what was its best first-half show since 2019. By comparison, India's National Stock Exchange Nifty 500 has gained 6.4 per cent. On the surface, it appears that the US markets have done exceedingly well. However, a deeper analysis reveals the gains in the domestic market to be more well-spread.
There has not been a large impact of untimely rain and hailstorm so far in several major wheat-growing areas, and those might have damaged around 3 per cent of the standing crop -- not enough to make a big dent in the expected 112 million tonnes of production in FY24, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Relentless rain pounded most North Indian states all through March. Separately, the chairman of Food Corporation of India (FCI), Ashok K Meena, told reporters the agency was on track to achieve the targeted 34 million tonnes of procurement in FY24 on the back of a strong start to the purchase season from Madhya Pradesh.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Thursday came out with the Indian Space Policy 2023 to promote greater private sector participation in the entire value chain of the space economy. According to the policy, Isro will encourage new-generation entities to participate in space exploration and human presence in outer space, including collaboration with domestic and international stakeholders. The policy also sets a road map for Isro to transition from manufacturing operational space systems to focus energies on research and development in advanced technologies.
Beauty and Personal Care (BPC) e-retailer Honasa Consumer's initial public offering (IPO) has failed to find backing from analysts due to the company's weak financial track record and expensive valuation. T Manish, research analyst at Samco Securities suggests avoiding the IPO as the company's financial performance does not inspire confidence. "The profit has been inconsistent and advertising and marketing expenses are incredibly high at around 40 per cent of the revenues.
The value of MF exposure to REITs and InvITs which was at Rs 734 crore at the end of March 2020, rose to Rs 5,200 crore by the end of March 2023.
The unheralded Varun Chakravarthy's whopping Rs 8.40 crore deal at the Indian Premier League auctions
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