Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) delivered a stronger-than-expected operational performance in the October-December quarter (Q3) of 2024-25 (FY25), driven by solid growth in its automotive (auto) and farm equipment segments. Higher volumes improved operating leverage, expanding margins.
Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday described the Union Budget as "by the people, for the people, of the people", and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was fully behind the idea to cut taxes for the middle class but it took time to convince the bureaucrats. "We have heard the voice of the middle class" who had been complaining about their aspirations not being met despite being honest taxpayers, she told PTI in an interview.
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All eyes will be on whether Sitharaman provides the much-expected tax relief for the middle class, leaving more money in their hands, as there is tax buoyancy
Brokerages on DMart Q3 results: Avenue Supermarts (DMart) shares slipped as much as 5.74 per cent to hit an intraday low of Rs 3,474 per share on Monday. However, the stock recovered slightly to close at Rs 3,507.95, down 4.82 per cent. Notably, the 52-week low for DMart shares is Rs 3,400. The downward movement in DMart's share price was triggered by the company's 2024-25 (FY25) October-December quarter (Q3) results, which missed Street expectations.
Havells India, the country's largest listed consumer electrical company, reported a mixed performance in the 2024-25 (FY25) October-December quarter (Q3). While the top line benefited from festival demand, lower margins impacted operational performance.
Info Edge (India) topped expectations in its October-December quarter (Q3) results, posting strong revenue and profit growth. Its shares have rallied as much as 6.14 per cent in two days. The technology holding company's revenue rose 15.2 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 722.3 crore, driven by robust performance across its key verticals, particularly its recruitment business.
Finance ministers of states demanded an increase in allocation under 50-year interest-free loan scheme, while fiscally stressed states like Punjab and Kerala pitched for a special package and borrowing flexibility, sources said on Friday. In a pre-budget meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, states have also urged for higher borrowing limits to support fiscal activities, besides additional funds for Jal Jeevan Mission.
It would be a difficult task for the Indian economy to reach the $5-trillion mark a year before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projection of 2026-27. Pankaj Chaudhary, minister of state for finance, said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that the government is taking steps to make the country a $5-trillion economy at a date earlier than the IMF's projection. In that context, it would not be difficult to meet the projection in the third quarter of FY27.
The Reserve Bank on Friday raised the inflation projection for current fiscal year to 4.8 per cent from 4.5 per cent with Governor Shaktikanta Das saying lingering food price pressures are likely to keep headline inflation elevated in the December quarter. Consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation increased sharply in September and October 2024 led by an unanticipated increase in food prices.
After a quiet April-June quarter in 2024-25 (FY25), the operational and financial performance of India's largest listed hotel company, Indian Hotels Company, clearly rebounded in the July-September quarter (Q2) of FY25. With double-digit growth in the average room rate (ARR) and higher occupancy, the Taj Hotels chain owner reported a 16 per cent revenue increase and a 30 per cent rise in operating profit.
The central government's fiscal deficit during 2023-24 at 5.6 per cent of the GDP was better than previous estimates of 5.8 per cent on account of higher revenue realisation and lower expenditure, according to official data released on Friday. In actual terms, the fiscal deficit -- or gap between expenditure and revenue -- was Rs 16.53 lakh crore, or 5.63 per cent of the GDP, which grew 8.2 per cent in 2023-24.
India may have to lean more on West Asian nations for supplies of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a cooking fuel, in the coming years after Indian state-run refiners drew up big plans to diversify into producing more profitable petrochemicals. This shift leads to reduced LPG output, Indian refining executives said. The mantra for state-run oil companies, from Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer Petronet LNG, which are looking to diversify their businesses from lower-margin fuels, has been value-added petrochemicals.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
Competition in the fast-growing quick commerce sector is heating up as Swiggy Instamart faces a tough challenge in narrowing the gap with Blinkit, which currently dominates the market. In the second quarter (Q2) of 2024-25 (FY25), Instamart's gross order value (GOV) rose by 42.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) and 75.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), reaching Rs 3,382 crore.
Even as the high inflation figure for October has ruled out any possibility of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monetary policy committee (MPC) in December, a rate cut in February also looks uncertain due to global uncertainties. Economists told Business Standard that unless domestic growth slows markedly, the outlook on rate cut remains unclear. India's headline inflation touched a 14-month high of 6.2 per cent in October, breaching the MPC's upper tolerance band of 6 per cent.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday termed misleading claims by opposition leaders that if any state is not named in the Budget speech, then it does not get any budgetary allocation. Replying to a Budget discussion in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman asserted that no state was being denied money. She recalled that in the past Budgets by the UPA government also did not mention names of all states in their Budget speech.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the Union Budget strikes a fine balance between growth, employment, and fiscal consolidation, and promotes cooperative federalism. Replying to the discussion on the Union Budget 2024-25 and Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Budget in Rajya Sabha, the minister said the government is on track to achieve the pre-announced fiscal deficit target of 4.5 per cent by 2025-26. Sitharaman, also a former defence minister, said the Agniveer Scheme to recruit people in the age group of 17.5 to 21 years, is aimed at keeping the armed forces fit, young and battle-ready.
These 10 stocks represent the best mix of value and growth, offering relatively low price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, a high return on equity, and sufficiently high potential from current levels.
The index is currently trading at 149 per cent of its historical P/B valuation, surpassing its previous peak of 125 per cent made in 2020-21.
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.
'With the deployment of a higher degree of mechanisation, awarding contractual mining to MDOs and operational efficiency, we feel confident of achieving the desired target.'
The listed information technology (IT) subsidiaries of engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T), LTIMindtree (LTIM) and L&T Technology Services, have seen sharp upmoves over the past fortnight, with returns ranging from 14 to 18 per cent. Both have outperformed the peer index, the National Stock Exchange Nifty IT, which has gained about 8 per cent, while the benchmark Nifty 50 is up 4 per cent during this period.
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Mumbai-based developers Macrotech Developers (Lodha) and Oberoi Realty have emerged as top gainers among largecap realty stocks over the past month, with gains ranging from 29 per cent to 33 per cent. Strong ongoing sales trends in Mumbai's core market, record bookings in the January-March quarter, and healthy guidance for 2024-25 (FY25) have propelled these companies, which derive the majority of their revenues from India's financial capital.
S&P Global Ratings on Monday kept its forecast for India's economic growth unchanged at 6 per cent in the fiscal year starting April 1, before rising to 6.9 per cent in the following year. In the quarterly economic update for Asia-Pacific, S&P saw inflation rate easing to 5 per cent in 2023-24 fiscal, from 6.8 per cent in the current financial year. It saw India's gross domestic product (GDP) likely growing by 7 per cent in the current financial year ending March 31 (2022-23), before slowing to 6 per cent in the next 2023-24 fiscal.
All eyes will be on whether Sitharaman will deliver a populist budget leaving more money in hands of the common man or push the reform agenda by staying on the fiscal glide path to lower the fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26.
BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) has seen its market share go past the critical 20 per cent mark in the derivatives segment, intensifying its battle with bigger rival - the National Stock Exchange (NSE) - which, less than a year ago, had a monopoly in this space. In April, the average daily trading volume (ADTV) for BSE stood at Rs 89 trillion, accounting for 20.6 per cent of the overall ADTV of Rs 432 trillion (based on notional volumes for options).
The government on Sunday appointed former Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya as the Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission. Joint Secretary in the finance ministry Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey will be the secretary to the commission, the government said in a notification. "The President is pleased to constitute a Finance Commission with Dr Arvind Panagariya, former Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog and Professor, Columbia University, as the Chairman. Members of the Commission will be notified separately," it said.
Hero MotoCorp, a major player in the two-wheeler market, has seen a 9 per cent rise in its stock since the beginning of the month. This increase, driven by the largest motorcycle company by volume, is attributed to expectations of a revival in rural sales due to normal monsoons, government measures to boost consumption, recent market share gains, and a large valuation discount compared to peers. In the near term, the company's volume performance and growth trajectory, particularly in rural markets and entry-level segments, are expected to be key drivers.
The central government's fiscal deficit touched 67.8 per cent of the full-year target at the end of January due to higher expenses and lower revenue realisations, according to official data released on Tuesday. In actual terms, the fiscal deficit or gap between the expenditure and revenue collection during April-January period stood at Rs 11.9 lakh crore, as per the data from the Controller General of Accounts (CGA). The fiscal deficit in the comparable period of 2021-22 was 58.9 per cent of that year's Revised Estimate (RE) in the Budget.
Food delivery major Swiggy has received approval from its shareholders for a $1.25 billion initial public offering (IPO), according to filings made with the Registrar of Companies sourced by Tofler. The Bengaluru-based firm plans to raise as much as Rs 3,750 crore (around $450 million) via a fresh issue and up to Rs 6,664 crore (around $800 million) through an offer-for-sale (OFS) component, the filings stated.
Weighed down by the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business, Reliance Industries (RIL) results for the April-June quarter (Q1) of 2024-25 (FY25) missed Street estimates. A 14 per cent fall in the O2C segment's operating profit compared to the year-ago quarter and a 22 per cent sequential decline pulled down the consolidated performance. The O2C segment accounts for a third of the overall operating profit and about 60 per cent of the attributable consolidated profit.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved restoration and continuation of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), which was suspended in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Automotive (auto) major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which is readying to launch nine sport utility vehicles (internal combustion engine/ICE), seven Born Electric Vehicles (BEVs), and seven light commercial vehicles by 2030, has outlined an investment of Rs 27,000 crore in its auto business between 2024-25 (FY25) and 2026-27 (FY27). Over the next three years, the company will deploy Rs 37,000 crore, including its auto business, farm business (Rs 5,000 crore), and service business (Rs 5,000 crore).
In a move to deepen manufacturing in electronics in India, the Centre is targeting 35-40 per cent value-addition through the yet-to-be launched production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for electronics components, sources in the government
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries.
The original points deduction meant Everton dropped from 14th in the standings into the relegation zone with four points. The club filed an appeal against the initial deduction, which they labelled "wholly disproportionate and unjust".
Stocks in the automotive, financial, cement, metal, and hotel sectors are likely to benefit if the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes back to power for a third time. The key investment themes have been identified after analysing the Sankalp Patra - the party's manifesto for the next five years - released on Sunday.
GDP growth of 7.7 per cent in the first half of this fiscal has "left sceptics gasping and woefully behind the curve", an RBI article said on Wednesday. It also stressed the buildup in the growth momentum is likely to be sustained. The article on the state of the economy published in the Reserve Bank's December Bulletin on Wednesday also said CPI-based retail inflation is expected to ease to 4.6 per cent in the first three quarters of 2024-25 from 5.6 per cent in November.
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