Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Bajaj Finance, ONGC, Yes Bank, HDFC, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, TCS, ICICI Bank and RIL, rising up to 3.57 per cent.
The hospitality sector has been hit very hard by the pandemic. In the past 18 months, it has lost business, first because of the harsh lockdowns and after that because of lack of demand due to the ensuing economic slowdown. Most hospitality businesses have sustained low revenues and losses since April 2020. Is this the classic case of a beaten-down cyclical sector that may be close to bottoming out?
Consumer durables and electronics companies are putting the final touches to their festive period plans.
In the July to September quarter of 2023-24 (Q2FY24), Voltas' revenues grew by 29.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), but the adjusted net profit was down by 63 per cent Y-o-Y. The revenues hit Rs 2,290 crore, led by growth in the Unitary Cooling Products segment (up 15.4 per cent Y-o-Y, and in the EMP (Electromechanical project) business (up 66.8 per cent Y-o-Y). The UCP revenue rose to Rs 1,200 crore in Q2FY24, driven by volume growth despite weak consumer spending - the three-year annual growth is 18 per cent.
Wipro was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 4.34 per cent, followed by HCL Tech, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Infosys, Power Grid, Tata Consultancy Services and State Bank of India. Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Axis Bank, Nestle, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Asian Paints were among the laggards.
West Bengal is home to 43,000 Durga Pujas, and the business around it is a major economic driver.
In the longer-term, analysts expect IHCL to see revenue CAGR of 15 per cent between FY23 to FY25 and Ebitda CAGR of 20 per cent in the same period. Analysts are seeing targets of around Rs 375-Rs 380 for the stock, which is a significant upside from the current Rs 313.
'Due to rural stress, volumes continue to remain an issue for the industry, and we are yet to see any revival in demand.'
Import bill for September rises to $3.5-4 billion as traders and retailers stock up the precious metal.
The visitor returns not just with the jewel-like beauty of the country imprinted on the mind, the body rejuvenated by hot stone massages, but also with the captivating stories and myths that are built into every important structure -- whether a tourist magnet or an off-the-beaten track spot.
The growth momentum that started during the festival season is likely to sustain in the new year, reports Arindam Majumder.
In a letter to states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan stressed on monitoring and reporting of district-wise influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) cases in all health facilities on a regular basis for detecting the early rising trend of cases.
The sector seems set for a rally that may be somewhat temporary.
Yes Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, soaring 24.03 per cent, after the lender said it had received a binding offer for $ 1.2 billion funding from an overseas investor. SBI, Infosys, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech and HDFC too rallied up to 7.69 per cent.
The US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, global cues, macroeconomic data announcements and the ongoing quarterly earnings are the major triggers that will dictate trends in stock markets this week, analysts said. Besides, the trading activity of foreign investors and the movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude will also be tracked. "All eyes are on the outcome of the US Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for November 1, particularly due to the multi-year high levels of the US bond yields.
Berger Paints, the country's second-largest decorative paint maker, continued to outperform its peers and gain market share in the 2023-24 (FY24) October-December quarter (third quarter, or Q3). The company posted a consolidated revenue growth of 7 per cent compared to the year-ago quarter, surpassing Asian Paints (5.4 per cent) and Kansai Nerolac Paints (5.7 per cent).
Reliance Retail's digital commerce platform JioMart will morph into an e-marketplace offering multiple brands - from electronics, consumer durables, fashion and lifestyle, beauty, home, kitchen, and grocery - as it girds up to take on the likes of Amazon and Flipkart ahead of the festival season sales. India's largest retailer was in the process of onboarding third-party sellers these past few months, further increasing its selection across categories multifold. Its website and application offers general merchandise as well.
Losers include ONGC, Bajaj Finance, Reliance, SBI, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank, L&T, Vedanta, Yes Bank and Axis Bank, falling up to 2.54 per cent. On the other hand, Tata Steel, PowerGrid, HCL Tech, Kotak Bank and Maruti were the top gainers on Sensex, rising up to 2.31 per cent.
A weaker-than-expected sales performance, concerns about higher competitive intensity in the current year, and earning cuts by some brokerages have weighed on the stock of the country's largest paint maker, Asian Paints. While the Q3 volume show was slightly below expectations, the company's operational and bottom line beat estimates, benefiting from the falling raw material costs. The stock ended the day with a decline of over 2 per cent at Rs 3,175 apiece.
Passenger vehicle sales are expected to experience muted growth in the current financial year.
Discount retailer DMart (Avenue Supermarts) hit its highest levels in a year and a half last week and is up over 11 per cent in the last one month. The company depends on low operating costs to offer the lowest prices to consumers, which enables sales velocity and scale, further reducing costs. This virtuous feedback loop has helped DMart gain market share in a sector dominated by unorganised stores.
Hindustan Unilever's Q3FY24 performance was lacklustre, with both sales and operating profit barely moving from the year-ago period due to price cuts and higher advertising costs. Besides weak demand, the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) major is facing increased competitive pressures, particularly from regional players, which, coupled with a slow recovery in rural markets, could put revenues under pressure going forward. Margins are expected to remain range-bound as benefits from falling raw material costs are expected to be neutralised by rising promotional budgets.
Despite demand, gold jewellery sales are likely to decline by up to 60 per cent this festive season due to stock crunch following restrictions on imports, according to industry experts.
Indian stock markets on Thursday witnessed a record daily turnover of over Rs 5 lakh crore, even as the benchmark Sensex missed its all-time intra-day high by a whisker.
If you are raring to go this festive season, here are a few tried and tested tips to help you avoid online shopping pitfalls.
The outstanding credit card base dropped to 77.99 million in August from over 80 million in July, mainly on account of the new norms of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that warrant the deactivation of cards that are inactive for a year. While there was a 2.8 per cent decline in net card additions on a month-on-month (MoM) basis in August, a first in many months, credit card spends slipped 3 per cent on a high base. Still, spends topped the Rs 1-trillion mark for the sixth consecutive month.
The One97 Communications stock saw a surge in interest as the company's operating performance update for August was considered positive by the Street. In addition, there was a news buzz as the company released a new hitech soundbox, which has longer battery life and processes all major cards. The performance indicates that the company, which is better known by its Paytm brandname, is still on course to achieve its guidance of going cashflow positive by the end of the 2023-24 financial year (FY24).
'The consolidation of the world's fifth-largest economy in the hands of 15-20 corporate giants is a once-in-generation event, which we are focusing on.'
However, compared to August, vehicle sales increased by 15.25 per cent on the back of discounts. Maruti led the market in offering heavy discounts and incentives for buyers and dealers, reports Arindam Majumder.
Domestic mutual funds (MFs) and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been net buyers of stocks in August. Domestic fund houses have continued to invest in stocks, propelled by the success of various new fund offers (NFOs) and strong flows into equity funds. MFs had purchased stocks worth more than Rs 8,300 crore until August 23, according to the data provided on the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) website. Jimmy Patel, MD and CEO at Quantum AMC, says: "The surge in equity investments by MFs is because of two key reasons. One, equity NFOs are getting a strong response from investors, and fund houses need to deploy that money in the markets.
The country's largest listed footwear brand by market capitalisation, Metro Brands, posted better than expected December quarter results for the 2022-23 financial year (FY23), riding on store expansion and strong same store sales (SSS) growth. Profitability too remained robust, even as net profit growth was marginally lower. The company, which retails across the Metro, Mochi, Walkway, Crocs and Fitflop formats, posted a 24 per cent growth in revenues over Q3FY22.
As freebies/gift vouchers attract GST, retailers are opting for straight discounts this festive season.
It was expected that supplies from China will be back to normal by end-June as their factories are now operating at nearly 90 per cent of normal capacity. But the recent issue with shipments has placed an obstacle that manufacturers can't bypass.
Demonetisation impacted the smartphone market at almost all levels, including customer demand and stock movement in distribution channels.
Gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) witnessed a net outflow of Rs 199 crore in January, making it the third monthly withdrawal in a row, with investors preferring equities over other segments on buoyant record SIP flow. This was in comparison to a net outflow of Rs 273 crore registered in the segment in December and Rs 195 crore in November. Prior to that, Gold ETFs attracted Rs 147 crore in October, data with Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed.
'Investors should look to incrementally allocate towards equity from a medium-to-long term horizon.'
Sales of four- and two-wheelers almost halved in August, compared to the equivalent month last year.
Small stocks made a dashing comeback in 2020 after delivering negative returns in the last two years as increased retail investor participation in pandemic times saw small-cap index surging up to 31 per cent and outperforming the bigger benchmark gauge. This year turned out to be eventful for the equity market, witnessing bearish and bullish sentiments at different points of time. While the initial part of COVID-ravaged 2020 saw the bears in full force amid concerns related to the pandemic and lockdowns hurting economic activities, bulls made a comeback towards the latter half of the year. As the market swayed with many lows as well as highs, small and mid-cap indices emerged as markets favourites in 2020.
Aseem Chhabra's Top 10 Films/ Series from TIFF 2024 includes films that he watched for the first time in Toronto. The films were impressive due to their rigor, passion, unique storytelling style and sometimes exploring the vulnerable sides of big name stars.
Gold prices are already moving fast to the key level of Rs 30,000 per 10 gms
