Around 75 per cent, or 372 stocks, that are part of the BSE500 are trading at least 10 per cent below their all-time high levels, despite the index hitting a record high 20,515 points on the BSE in intra-day trade on Wednesday, surpassing its previous high of 20,390 touched in March 12. The index, which accounts for 93 per cent of BSE listed companies' market capitalisation, has gained 8 per cent from its recent low of 18,983, touched on April 19. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 6 per cent over the same period, but is still nearly 4.5 per cent away from its all-time high of 52,517 that it hit on February 16.
With raw material prices rising sequentially in Q4 FY23, margins of fast moving electrical goods (FMEG) companies could witness pressure as they refrain from hiking prices and demand remains soft. Transition to a new regulatory regime-fans moved to new BEE standards from January 1-poses additional risk for firms. Business depends on volume trends in summer for key sub-segments, which account for a significant chunk of the sector's overall sales pie.
Terming the 23.9 per cent fall in economic growth in the June quarter alarming, former Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan has said bureaucracy should come out of complacency and take meaningful action. The current crisis requires a more thoughtful and active government, he said, adding, "Unfortunately, after an initial burst of activity, it seems to have retreated into a shell."
Declining interest rates, a near-normal monsoon leading to higher rural incomes and pay hikes for central government employees are key triggers, says Dev Chatterjee.
The gauge for the performance of informational technology (IT) stocks soared nearly 5 per cent-most in nearly three years-as growth worries eased following a robust order book posted by bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The Nifty IT index rose 4.5 per cent to close at 30,945. This was the biggest single-day gain since September 14, 2020. Industry titan TCS' shares rose 5 per cent to Rs 3,509.
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'.
'Kindling the private sector's animal spirits is more important than focusing on how government can give jobs on its own.'
Largest software exporter TCS will be hiring more than 40,000 freshers from campuses in the country in the financial year 2021-22 , a top executive said on Friday. The company, the largest employer in the private sector with a base of over 5 lakh employees, had hired 40,000 graduates from campuses last year and will do better on that number, its chief of global human resources Milind Lakkad told reporters in Mumbai. He said the COVID pandemic-related restrictions do not pose any difficulties in hiring and added that last year, a total of 3.60 lakh freshers had appeared for an entrance test virtually.
An overwhelming majority of Indians (84 per cent) feel it is safe to return to their workplaces, according to a Deloitte survey that suggests consumers in India are showing a positive spending intent and brighter outlook towards the future. The latest monthly analysis (wave 220) of Deloitte's Global State of the Consumer Tracker, signals a cautious consumption revival in the country, aided by the decreasing number of Covid-19 cases and an improved vaccination drive. The Global State of the Consumer Tracker is an online survey based on responses from 1,000 people each in 18 countries including India.
With 19 per cent market share, Samsung rules supreme in India.
'Although mid- and small-cap funds have the potential for higher growth, they come with inherent higher volatility.'
Leading software outsourcing firm Cognizant Technology on Tuesday reported a 15.4 per cent rise in net profit at $319.6 million in the quarter to September driven by a strong ramp up in demand for outsourcing services, up from $276.9 million a year ago.
The country's largest software company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Wednesday said its net profit increased 8.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 11,342 crore in the September 2023 quarter. The Tata Group flagship had reported a net profit of Rs 10,431 crore in the year-ago period.
The resurgence of COVID-19 has dented but not debilitated economic activities in the first half of Q1 of the current fiscal even though caseload of infections is much higher than before, according to an RBI article. The ferocity of the second COVID-19 wave has overwhelmed India and the world, the article said, adding that war efforts have been mounted to stop the surge in its tracks. "The impact of the second wave on the real economy seems to be limited so far in comparison with the first wave. Evidently, the localised nature of lockdowns, better adaptation of people to work from home protocols, online delivery models, e-commerce and digital payments are at work," the article on the state of economy authored by RBI Deputy Governor M D Patra and other officials said.
The agency welcomed the Rs 1.70-lakh crore package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier in the day but said more measures like loan forbearances for small businesses and households are necessary.
According to research firm IDC, a slowdown in smartphone shipments began showing up as early as late February, though companies insist that the March quarter was fine, albeit on a low base.
Wipro's revenue from the information technology services business for the quarter ended September was in line with its estimate, though it lagged some of its larger Indian peers in a few operating parameters. Chief executive T K Kurien tells Bibhu Ranjan Mishra he expects a few issues involving a couple of large clients to be resolved in a quarter, before all the company's engines start firing.
IT major Accenture's second straight cut in its revenue growth forecast for FY23 suggests there is more pain ahead for the Indian IT sector, say analysts. Accenture has lowered the top end of its FY23 growth guidance in constant currency (CC) to 9 per cent from 10 per cent earlier. The firm, which follows a September-August fiscal cycle, expects a 2-6 per cent CC growth in Q4 of FY23 (June-August 2023) versus the 6-10 per cent prior guidance.
However, the cumulative gains of these six companies at Rs 35,716.85 crore was less than the total loss seen by the four firms - TCS, ITC, HDFC and CIL
The company's revenue rose 16 per cent at Rs 17,535 crore.
The combined profit before tax of 748 companies, which have declared their results for Q1FY21, is down 46 per cent YoY. Their net sales went down by a quarter as the Covid-19 lockdown led to a sharp fall in economic activity.
India, along with Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, is expected to sustain growth in the medium-term in Asia region, replacing China as the key growth driver, Morgan Stanley and Nomura said in two separate reports released on Monday. While Morgan Stanley projected a 6.2 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for India in FY24, Nomura estimated the Indian economy to grow at 5.9 per cent in 2023. "Even with a slowing China, we expect GDP growth in Asia to sustainably outperform other emerging markets and the US. India and Southeast Asia are set to be the fastest-growing economies this decade.
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These sectors are seeing a marked slowdown, as consumers are postponing purchase decisions amid uncertainty and severe cash crunch, report Ram Prasad Sahu, Sheetal Agarwal & Ujjval Jauhari from Mumbai.
The FMCG sector is generally considered to be a safe haven during difficult times as people never stop buying soap and toothpaste. However, weak rural and semi-urban demand has been a factor since the lockdowns of 2020-21 while rising inflation has also impacted margins. While the FMCG majors have survived on the basis of price hikes and good management practices, they have seen growth slowdowns and experienced margins being squeezed as raw materials and transport costs rose. The FMCG sector witnessed positive volume growth in the fourth quarter of the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) after five consecutive quarters of decline, and the rebound in demand was led by urban markets.
TCS has done better than Infosys in sequential and yearly revenue growth so far this financial year.
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IT major TCS said 2014-15 will be better than the ongoing fiscal on account of uptick in client spending in the US and Europe and growth in demand for technologies like cloud, mobility and Big Data.
Which sectors will bounce back fast? Which will lag? Has the consumer changed forever? Here are some answers.
Top carmakers, including Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai and Honda, are expecting a spike in their sales following the implementation of 7th Pay Commission recommendations.
Good performances by most information technology (IT) companies in the September quarter and improved forecasts notwithstanding, with the exception of Infosys, stocks of IT biggies such as TCS, Wipro and HCL Technologies have fallen three to nine per cent since Infosys announced its earnings on October 11.
The Bengaluru-based company had registered a net profit (after minority interest) of Rs 5,197 crore a year ago, a regulatory filing said. Infosys' revenue grew 22.9 per cent to Rs 31,867 crore in the quarter ended December 2021 from Rs 25,927 crore in the year-ago period, it added.
While TCS, Infosys and Cognizant have hinted at a weak quarter, analysts say the slowdown is cyclical and growth will return after the US elections
TCS is confident of bringing in industry-leading numbers, despite soft third quarter results
'The current crisis is one of incomes, driven by poor job growth, agrarian distress and poor investment sentiment,' notes Harsh Pati Singhania, director, JK Organisation.
'The idea of subversive activities is so vague that it could include making fun of the government, being critical of the government.'
To snatch a state government out of Congress hands is therefore a high-stakes game with national political implications, for it denies the party the essential fuel to run effective election campaigns, notes T N Ninan.
The analyst community tracking the Indian IT services industry took special note of Accenture's first quarter (Q1) performance, which showcased the rapid growth of its consulting business that outperformed its outsourcing business. Bookings indicate that the trend will continue. Consulting bookings increased 41.6 per cent year-on-year (yoy) to $9.4 billion, higher than the 17.6 per cent growth in outsourcing to $7.4 billion. The management commentary was also more bullish on the consulting business.
Economists caution that the underlying cause could be an alarming drop in demand -- something that's not good for economic growth.
In the future, publishers will need to think of digital immersive marketing just like marketing a movie or show on Netflix is an immersive experience.
