In the next quarter, the country will also start gearing up for various Assembly elections could put the government as well as the OMCs under pressure
The deregulation of fuel prices will mean a valuation re-rating for most stocks in the sector, Amar Ambani, vice-president, research, at IIFL, speaks to the Business Standard.
The current power crisis is mainly on account of sharp decline in electricity generation from different fuel sources and not due to non-availability of domestic coal, a top official said on Sunday. The above statement assumes significance in the wake of reports of many states, including Maharashtra, facing power outages due to shortage of coal. In an interview to PTI, Coal Secretary A K Jain attributed the low coal stocks at power plants to several factors such as heightened power demand due to the boom in the economy post COVID-19, early arrival of summer, rise in the price of gas and imported coal and sharp fall in electricity generation by coastal thermal power plants.
The key risks against a fast recovery would include long delays in business travel resumption, delays in commissioning, etc.
The limited availability of flexible (flex)-fuel vehicles in the Indian market and the slow rollout of ethanol-blended petrol by oil-marketing companies (OMCs) remain major obstacles to achieving widespread use of biofuels in the transportation sector in India. Recently, two Union ministers have emphasised India's biofuel potential, arguing that it has the capacity and potential to lead a transition towards widespread biofuel adoption. Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari signalled that this transition is well underway and urged car manufacturers to quickly adapt and introduce new biofuel-run vehicles, lest the government resort to taxing diesel vehicles.
In a memorable year for the equity market, Dalal Street investors added a whopping Rs 81.90 lakh crore to their wealth in 2023 as a raft of positive factors powered a stellar rally in stocks. Experts said India's strong macroeconomic fundamentals, political stability owing to the BJP's success in recent elections in three significant states, optimistic corporate earnings outlook, signals from the US Federal Reserve about three prospective rate cuts next year and heavy retail investors participation played a major role in fuelling the stock market rally in 2023. In the year 2023, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 11,399.52 points or 18.73 per cent.
In a move that could potentially irk New Delhi, China has offered to supply liquified petroleum gas to Nepal after gifting fuel to ease the crisis in the country, hit by acute fuel shortage due to a blockade at key border trade points with India.
Jet Airways said on Thursday it will increase fuel surcharge by Rs 150 on both Club Premiere and Economy Class tickets on domestic routes, with effect from May 4.
Long-term investors can never lose money in the stock market if the fundamentals are right!
Among the Sensex firms, HDFC Bank emerged as the biggest loser, falling 4 per cent. JSW Steel, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Maruti, Tata Steel, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Larsen & Toubro were the other major laggards. Power Grid, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, NTPC, ITC and Infosys were among the gainers.
Apart from this, state refiners are looking at optimising crude oil inventory levels without in any way affecting fuel supplies in the domestic market.
Mahindra & Mahindra was the biggest gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 2.56 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Nestle, Power Grid, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement and L&T. In contrast, Asian Paints, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors were among the laggards.
Since the Budget announcement on July 5, FIIs have been busy unloading their stock.
Despite the best ever quarterly net profit of Rs 3,091 crore during April-June of financial year 2023-24 (Q1FY24), challenges are mounting for InterGlobe Aviation-run IndiGo in the near term, said analysts. Given this, most brokerages have retained their ratings from 'buy to underperform', as well as their target price for the stock. For instance, Motilal Oswal Financial Services has retained its 'neutral' rating on the scrip as it believes the low-cost airline is facing teething issues at present.
The government on Monday said the coal supply at the thermal power stations is not adequate and the countrywide fuel stock has come down to half of the requirement norm of 22 million tonnes.
A driver who accidentally hits a person and subsequently informs the police or takes the victim to the nearest hospital will not be prosecuted under the stringent provisions of the recently enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a senior government functionary said on Tuesday.
Kajaria Ceramics, the country's leading listed tile manufacturer, has seen its stock fall by 7 per cent over the past month amid concerns about rising input costs and sluggish domestic demand. Other listed stocks also experienced weakness in September, although there was some recovery in October. While strong exports are expected to help stabilise domestic market prices, the surge in gas prices over the past couple of months may have impacted margins in the second half of FY24.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty fell for the third day running on Friday due to weak trends in global markets and soaring crude oil prices. Foreign fund outflows also weighed on investor sentiments amid strengthening US bond yields which are nearing 5 per cent for the first time since 2007. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 231.62 points or 0.35 per cent to settle at 65,397.62.
There's a straightforward relationship between economic activity and power consumption. If economic activity increases, so does power consumption. Since the latest GDP (gross domestic product) data indicates India's growth rates exceeded expectations in the second half if the 2022-23 financial year (H2FY23) and GDP estimates of FY24 are strong, we would expect power consumption to rise as indeed it has. There is also a direct relationship between power consumption and National Thermal Power Corporation or NTPC's results since the public sector undertaking (PSU) is the largest power generator in India.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has called on Hamas to immediately release all hostages without conditions and urged Israel to allow rapid and unimpeded access to humanitarian aid for civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Back home, the Nifty IT index - a gauge of the performance of the IT stocks on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) that has closely mirrored the performance of NASDAQ over the past few years - has lost nearly 2 per cent in CY23.
Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and former Planning Commission member Kirit S Parikh, who heads an expert committee on fuel pricing, may join the deliberations, official sources said.
The home loan top-up, a kind of secured multipurpose personal loan, is on the regulator's radar, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Multiple triggers such as asset sales, pickup in energy cash flows, increased traction in omni-channel retail, and rise in ARPUs could further drive the stock.
A new regulation concerning the disclosure of family arrangements by listed companies is exacerbating rifts between feuding shareholders. The latest example is Bengaluru-based TD Power Systems (TDPS), currently enmeshed in a legal dispute before the Karnataka high court over ownership of its 16 per cent equity. Vijay Kirloskar, who is asserting a claim over the 16 per cent stake held by Mohib Khericha (chairperson of TDPS) and Nikhil Kumar (managing director of TDPS and nephew of Kirloskar), has sent a letter to the market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and stock exchanges. He accuses TDPS of insufficient disclosure concerning shareholder agreements.
Morgan Stanley Sales & Trading, US, believes the stock is better value for money than others and has a upside as high as 73 per cent. A slowdown in the economy has hit demand and led to a fall in overall consumption in an auto market which till recently was one of the fastest growing in the world.
Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest fuel retailer, positioned adequate stocks of all petroleum products -- petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG in the state.
Break the chains of debt, invest in your future, and wave the flag of financial independence high. Freedom awaits, comrades. Let's conquer this battlefield together this Republic day, exhorts Vatsal Ramaiya.
Fiscal pressure for the Indian economy is gradually rising, suggested analysts at Jefferies in a recent note, as oil prices (Brent) - which are close to the $100 a barrel mark - continue to climb ahead of a busy election calendar. They added that the sharp rally in the equity markets during the last few months has made valuations costly. As a result, Jefferies expects the Indian markets to remain choppy in the near term.
Given the school break, this is the peak travel season and companies catering to the 'friends and family' segment are expected to gain.
Indian growth in the rest of this fiscal year and next will be propelled by robust domestic consumption as consumer confidence improves, and by investment, including large increases in government capital expenditure, according to the Asian Development Outlook September 2023. "As slowing exports could foment headwinds for the economy, and erratic rainfall patterns are likely to undermine agricultural output, the growth forecast for FY2023 is revised down marginally to 6.3 per cent," ADB said.
Kotak Mahindra Bank was the biggest loser from the Sensex pack, skidding 1.83 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies, IndusInd Bank and Nestle. In contrast, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, Infosys, HDFC Bank, HDFC and ITC were the gainers.
Ratnagiri Gas and Power Pvt Ltd, the NTPC-GAIL joint venture that runs the Dabhol power plant, may have to shut down the project by end of this month due to fuel scarcity.
Millions of people in Pakistan were left without electricity when a major power outage occured on January 23.
Less-than-expected rainfall and a poor spatial distribution, experts say, can rekindle fears of a rise in food and fuel inflation that can have an impact on the RBI's monetary policy. The fear of less than optimal rainfall due to El Nino this year, analysts believe, is the biggest short-term risk for the markets, which they said has not been fully priced in yet by them. Monsoon set over Kerala on June 08, a week later than its scheduled date.
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 headline for corporate profit growth has been very encouraging in the July-September quarter (Q2) of 2023-24 (FY24), with the combined net profit of listed companies up by 38 per cent year-on-year. However, the earnings distribution has been very lopsided, with most of the growth coming from public-sector oil-marketing companies (OMCs), banks, non-bank lenders, automobile (auto) companies, and cement producers. By comparison, companies from information technology services, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, and consumer durables were disappointed, experiencing a sharp slowdown in net sales growth and a relatively muted increase in reported net profit.
While political experts claim that the Modi Magic is missing in the 2024 general election, the common people in the street -- at least those in the crowd on Thursday -- vow that they will vote for Modi and the candidate who contests the election doesn't matter much.
Indian imports of Russian oil plunged by a record in August month-on-month (M-o-M) as discounts on the fuel shrank in tandem with rising Brent oil prices. Higher crude prices will drive inflation or hurt earnings at oil companies and India's fiscal position if such spikes are not passed on to consumers. Indian purchases of Russian crude declined by around 24 per cent in August from July to the lowest level since January, with refiners expecting volumes to drop further amid rising rates of Russian benchmark Urals grade, substantial stocks at refiners, and planned maintenance at Indian refineries, according to ship tracking data and industry officials.
Among the Sensex firms, Axis Bank, Power Grid, Maruti, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, ITC, Nestle and Mahindra & Mahindra were the major gainers. Bajaj Finance and Larsen & Toubro were the laggards.
