'When you have the best market at your doorstep, international diversification is a distraction.'
Trading sentiment in the stock market this week will be guided by quarterly earning announcements from blue-chips such as Infosys and Bajaj Finance, the outcome of India-US trade talks and global cues, analysts said. Markets may on Monday react to the quarterly results of three heavyweights - Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, an expert said.
Bharti Airtel sees opportunity in raising tariff for data services as it feels that rich are paying less and poor are not required to pay anymore, a senior official of the company said. During the company's earnings call for the first quarter of the current fiscal, Bharti Airtel vice-chairman and MD Gopal Vittal said that the company has written to the government for a relief on adjusted gross revenue and has demanded that it should be given benefit at par with other telecom operator, without naming Vodafone Idea.
Voltas saw strong growth in both UCP (Unitary Cooling product) and EMPS (electro mechanical projects) segments.
The July-September quarter (Q2) results for 2024-25 (FY25) from the largest listed consumer electrical solutions companies, Havells India and Polycab India, followed similar trends, demonstrating robust revenue growth while falling short of profitability expectations. Both companies witnessed overall growth in the 16-30 per cent range, but margins declined by 130-290 basis points (bps) year-on-year (Y-o-Y). Although brokerages are bullish on long-term prospects and have raised revenue projections, earnings forecasts have been revised downward due to margin pressures.
'We like certain stocks from banking, insurance, retail, hospitals and capital goods.' 'Though some of these stocks may seem expensive, they will compound well over the long term, thus justifying their current multiples.'
'It is good to have the H1-B visa option but if tomorrow things happen to change, it is not the end of the world situation.'
The slowdown in private consumption in the economy is taking a toll on the growth of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). The net sales growth of listed FMCG companies hit a 14-quarter low of 2.5 per cent in October-December 2023 (Q3FY24). This is the lowest revenue growth for the industry since the June 2020 quarter, when the FMCG firms in the Business Standard sample had reported a 13.2 per cent Y-o-Y decline in combined net sales owing to the lockdown.
Qcom alone is expected to account for a 60 per cent surge in gig hiring, adding 1.5 million to 2 million roles.
Quinton de Kock has reversed his retirement from ODI cricket and has been named in both the ODI and T20I squads for the Pakistan tour.
Chartered accountant Nitin Kaushik's message to India's young workforce is clear: spend smart, save smarter and let money serve your goals.
From the Sensex firms, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Bharat Electronics and ICICI Bank were among the laggards. Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement and Power Grid were among the gainers.
Tata Motors on Friday reported a 62.2 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,003 crore in the June quarter, impacted by volume decline across segments, drop in JLR profits due to US tariffs and high base effect due to gain from sale of discontinued operations. The auto major had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 10,587 crore in the April-June quarter of the previous fiscal, Tata Motors Ltd (TML) said in a regulatory filing.
Fuelled by rising disposable incomes and growing awareness about disciplined investing, monthly SIP inflows across the mutual fund industry could scale up to Rs 40,000 crore over the next 18-?24 months, according to Madhu Nair, CEO of Union Asset Management Company (AMC). SIP inflows stood at Rs 25,925 crore in March, although the industry has witnessed a declining trend over the past four months amid heightened market volatility triggered by frequent US tariff changes.
'We are increasing our footprint, but other markets also compete - like Indonesia or Vietnam.'
'States should be compensated for the revenue loss for at least five years or beyond till the revenue stabilises.'
After two weeks of buying, FPIs turned net sellers in Indian equities this week, with a net withdrawal of Rs 976 crore amid a strengthening US dollar and steady rise in US 10-year bond yields, impacting investor sentiment. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) began the week on a positive note, investing Rs 3,126 crore in equities during the first two trading sessions (December 16-20).
The stock of India's largest listed pure-play retail company, Avenue Supermarts (DMart), has slipped over 10 per cent from its monthly highs. A weak operational performance in the fourth quarter (January-March) of financial year 2024-25 (Q4FY25) and muted near-term outlook due to intense competitive pressures and higher costs could lead to downward momentum on the stock. While the stock dipped by 3.44 per cent in early trade on Monday, it recovered a bit to close 1.07 per cent lower at 4,017.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Tata Steel, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid, Zomato, Adani Ports, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Industries were among the biggest laggards. Titan and Sun Pharma were the only gainers.
The hospitality industry has seen plenty of interest since the catastrophic impact of the pandemic, which led to losses in FY21. The hotel industry market cap has more than tripled since 2019 on the combination of a strong earnings rebound and positive surprises, as well as three recent listings. The industry has good tailwinds. The anticipation is, demand for rooms will outrun supply for a few years despite capacity expansions.
If pharmaceutical exports from India to the US come under a 25 per cent tariff bracket, the impact on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) could be around 5 per cent, felt analysts. This is after assuming that about 75 per cent of the tariff would be passed on.
From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Zomato, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Titan were the biggest gainers. Tata Motors tanked over 5.5 per cent after US President Donald Trump announced he would impose 25 per cent tariffs on imported cars. Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the laggards.
Metropolis Healthcare (MHL) has decided to acquire a 100 per cent stake in Gurgaon-based Core Diagnostics for Rs 247 crore. This is about 2.2x FY24 (financial year 2023-24) enterprise value (EV)/sales and estimated 14x FY26 EV/Ebitda for the deal.
Net inflows into equity mutual fund (MF) schemes scaled a record high in July as the market correction and a raft of new fund offerings (NFOs) lifted lump-sum collections. Active equity schemes raked in a net Rs 42,702 crore in July, going past the previous high of Rs 41,156 crore in December 2024. Systematic investment plan (SIP) inflows continued to scale new highs, rising over 4 per cent month-on-month (M-o-M) to Rs 28,464 crore.
Foreign brokerages remain cautious on the road ahead for the Indian equity markets. Though analysts at Nomura have revised their March 2026 Nifty target to 26,140 levels from the earlier 24,970, but the upside from the current levels is a modest 6 per cent. BofA Securities, on the other hand, has not made any change to its year-end Nifty target.
The news that Amazon India has launched diagnostic services in select metro cities in partnership with the unlisted Orange Health Labs has led to a look at the competitive intensity in healthcare services. Listed companies in the space such as Dr Lal Path Labs, Metropolis Health, Thyrocare, Vijaya, and Krsnaa have all seen double-digit stock price corrections over the last 6-9 months.
Brokerages expect Nifty50 companies to have cumulatively witnessed strong double-digit growth in their earnings in the first quarter of FY24 (Q1FY24). This growth in the combined earnings is expected to have been driven by banks, automakers, and oil & gas companies. Other sectors may report muted profit growth.
Ask rediffGURU and PF, MF and insurance expert Purshotam Lal your mutual fund, insurance and personal finance-related questions.
Listed paint majors posted another lacklustre showing in the January-March quarter (Q4) of 2024-25 (FY25), with average revenue growth under 3 per cent. Sales were weighed down by Asian Paints - the market leader and the only major to report a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline.
The ultra-rich invest differently -- embracing growth, compounding, and long-term clarity to build wealth with purpose and discipline, explains Ramalingam Kalirajan.
Merchandise exports to the US jumped 23.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to $8.3 billion in June, even as India's overall outbound shipments witnessed contraction during the month, according to the data released by the commerce department on Tuesday. The increase in outbound shipments to the US was largely driven by the rush among exporters to utilise America's pause on its plans to impose country-specific reciprocal tariffs.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
618 companies were part of the billion dollar club when the markets reached all-time highs on September 26, 2024. That number has fallen to 500 following a $1 trillion wipeout in India's market capitalisation amid relentless selling by FPIs.
The revenue growth of Indian companies for the July-September quarter is estimated to be 5-7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), marking the slowest growth in 16 quarters, rating agency CRISIL said on Thursday.
With another quarter of steady growth in demand, cement companies are expected to report strong year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in earnings, according to analysts. The September quarter (Q2FY24) also witnessed a resumption of price hikes in certain markets. UltraTech Cement, India's largest cement producer, reported a 15 per cent Y-o-Y increase in cement sales in the country for the quarter under review.
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 universe of stocks trading at a 12-month forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 50x or more has swelled by 2.5x to 104, indicating the growing froth in the market. In March 2023, the number of stocks with a P/E of 50x and 100x stood at 41 and 3, respectively, which has now grown to 104 and 9, according to an analysis by Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE).
Hindalco's India business, including Utkal Alumina, reported good results for the January-March quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) and consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) also rose. Earnings growth was driven by favourable pricing, lower input costs and lower tax outgo for Novelis.
'Sectors like e-commerce, small finance, housing finance, and healthcare are in great favour, and people are paying a PEG ratio of up to 5, which is dangerous.' 'Wealth destruction is inevitable.'
Shares of Bajaj Finance surged over 6 per cent on Thursday after the diversified non-banking finance company reported an 18 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,308 crore for the December quarter. The stock rallied 6.33 per cent intraday to touch Rs 8,249.95 - a 52-week high -- on the BSE.
