Equity investors became poorer by Rs 7.48 lakh crore in five consecutive days of market fall, where the BSE Sensex has declined by nearly 3 per cent. In the past five days, the BSE Sensex has tumbled 1,713.71 points or 2.79 per cent. This has led to an erosion of Rs 7,48,887.04 crore from the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms in five trading sessions.
Companies are not able to pass on the pressure from rising input costs to buyers, and this is likely to result in a compression in corporate profit margins for the March quarter, a report said on Monday. Operating profit margins for companies are set to fall by as much as 3 percentage points compared to the year-ago period, and up to 0.60 per cent as compared to the preceding December quarter, the research wing of rating agency Crisil said in a report. The report comes ahead of the earnings season when major companies start reporting their profits.
So which sectors are likely to do well in 2022? Should you focus on domestic economy-related sectors or export-oriented ones?
Essar group on Friday announced the signing of a USD 2.4 billion (Rs 19,000 crore) deal to sell certain ports and power infrastructure to ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel in one of the largest post-pandemic merger and acquisition deals in India. In a statement, the Ruia-run firm said the deal also envisages a 50-50 joint venture between Essar and ArcelorMittal for building a 4 million tonnes a year LNG import terminal at Hazira in Gujarat. Without giving details, it only identified certain ports and power infrastructure that are primarily captive to operations of the Hazira steel plant, which was acquired by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) in 2018-19, as part of the deal.
Jewellers in India, the world's second largest gold consuming country after China, have started receiving more inquiries for purchase of gold or silver immediately after the Reserve Bank's announcement to withdraw Rs 2,000 notes from circulation. However, there is no panic buying of the precious metal unlike the situation witnessed in 2016 during demonetisation, jewellers body GJC said on Sunday. In fact in the last two days, the actual gold purchase has been less in exchange of Rs 2,000 notes due to strict Know your Customer (KYC) norms although sources said some jewellers have started charging a 5-10 per cent premium, taking the gold prices to Rs 66,000 per 10 grams level.
Equity benchmark Sensex declined nearly 390 points on Friday, pressured by heavy selling in IT, tech and energy stocks despite a positive trend in the global markets. Besides, rising crude oil prices and relentless foreign capital outflows further weighed on sentiment, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex opened strong but came under severe selling pressure to close 389.01 points or 0.62 per cent lower at 62,181.67.
The automobile sector has started seeing volume growth, the crucial economy segment included. Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) could be a big beneficiary as the country's largest passenger vehicle (PV) maker has seen several favourable developments including volume recovery. Demand for its new sports utility vehicles (SUVs) appears to be good, and the company has 4 lakh outstanding orders by April 2023, (up from 3.6 lakhs in January 2023). Siam (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) estimates that passenger vehicle demand would grow by 5-7 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year (FY24) and MSIL is likely to beat the market growth.
The surge in volatility across the globe sparked by Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to an increase in prices of gold and silver - considered to be safe-haven investment bets. In the past month, silver funds have delivered returns of 7.34 per cent, while gold funds on an average have risen around 6 per cent. In comparison, the benchmark Nifty has declined 4 per cent. Fund managers say precious commodities act as a good hedge against inflation and phases of geopolitical uncertainty.
Earnings growth, attractive valuations and change in FPI flows from negative to positive over the next 12 months are some of the key triggers for an upside. "A poor monsoon, high inflation and further rate hike are some of the key risks
Among the Sensex firms, HCL Technologies fell the most by 2.4 per cent. IndusInd Bank (2.35 per cent), Infosys (2.28 per cent), Wipro (1.8 per cent), NTPC (1.71 per cent), Asian Paints (1.7 per cent), Tata Consultancy Services (1.36 per cent),Tech Mahindra (1.03 per cent) and SBI (1 per cent) were among the major laggards.
Inflation trajectory, domestically as also globally, is what will shape the economy, and therefore the market, over the next couple of quarters.'
'IT companies do not have a large presence there either in terms of market and team. So, the impact of the war will be minimal. But West Asia is an emerging economy.'
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday pitched for policy guidelines to utilise scrapped vehicles as raw material for steel production, saying there are close to about one crore such vehicles in the country. Scindia, who also holds steel portfolio, said the time is not far away when the country will have to move towards green steel, and therefore, the option of iron ore and coking coal will not be available. Green steel is manufactured without using fossil fuels.
India's top listed companies reported their best-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 2.39 trillion in the September quarter of FY22, up 46.4 per cent year-on-year. The earnings were driven by a big surge in the profitability of banks, non-banking financial companies & insurance (BFSI), oil & gas, and metal & mining firms. The combined net profit of these three cyclical sectors were up 87 per cent YoY to a record high of Rs 1.53 trillion, up from Rs 82,000 crore a year ago and Rs 1.08 trillion in Q1FY22.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher for a second straight session on Monday following buying in index majors Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and recovery in global markets.
Equity investors became richer by Rs 5.66 lakh crore as markets bounced back sharply on Tuesday following a recovery in global equities. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,276.66 points or 2.25 per cent to settle at 58,065.47 points. During the day, it zoomed 1,311.13 points or 2.30 per cent to 58,099.94 points. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms climbed Rs 566,318.84 crore to Rs 273,92,739.78 crore.
The People's Bank of China cut its daily reference rate for the currency by a record 1.9 per cent, the biggest loss since January 1994.
The automobile sector is considered a good indicator of economic health. It has a very long value chain, from primary materials, like metals, glass and plastic, to value-added high-end electronic components, specialised alloys, and software.
'For equities, inflation trending upwards but within the range of expectations can actually be a big positive as it helps earnings and may shift flows from bonds to equities.'
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the group's biggest cash generator, overtook Vedanta to become the highest dividend payer in India in FY23. The IT services major paid Rs 42,090 crore for FY23, up 167.4 per cent from Rs 15,738 crore for FY22. The 10 biggest payers together shelled out Rs 2.06 trillion for FY23, more than double the Rs 98,371 crore for FY22.
'Returns can be very variable in equity markets.' 'That is why I tell small investors don't put 100 per cent of your money in equities, even if you are young.'
Bajaj Finserv was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, soaring around 8 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank and SBI.
All nine Adani stocks saw a rise in their share price in H1FY23, ranging from 6.1% in case of Adani Ports to 102% in case of Adani Power.
'Yet the market didn't do all that badly because it was cushioned by domestic inflows.'
Seven consecutive sessions of decline in the equity market has eroded the wealth of investors by a whopping Rs 10.42 lakh crore and the benchmark Sensex has tumbled more than 2,000 points during this period. Concerns over more rate hikes by developed economies, weak global equity markets and fresh foreign fund outflows from the domestic market have dented investor sentiments. On Monday, the BSE Sensex dropped 175.58 points or 0.30 per cent to end at 59,288.35 points, marking a decline for seven straight trading sessions.
'Large-caps are better placed to withstand the impact of higher input cost inflation, rising rates and withdrawal of excess global liquidity.'
The banking, oil and metal sectors were the top sectoral losers on the BSE, while IT stocks rendered support at lower levels.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms reached an all-time high of Rs 288.50 lakh crore on Wednesday amid an ongoing rally in equities, as the benchmark Sensex settled above 63,000-level for the first time ever. The 30-share BSE barometer climbed 417.81 points or 0.67 per cent to settle at 63,099.65, its fresh record closing high. During the day, the benchmark jumped 621.17 points or 0.99 per cent to 63,303.01, its lifetime intra-day peak. Extending its winning momentum to seventh day, the Sensex has rallied 1,954.81 points or 3.19 per cent during this time.
Nifty ends above 8,400; TCS, HDFC surge 2%, Bajaj Auto dips 2%.
The NSE Nifty ended at 5,058, up 59 points. All the sectoral indices barring the IT index ended in green. The rally was led by realty and auto indices were up 3%, respectively.
Markets end in the red, midcaps in focus
Government will start to auction the rights to up to 70 diamond and gold exploration zones to mining companies this year
Bajaj Finance was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 5 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra and Infosys. On the other hand, Maruti, Bajaj Auto, Nestle India, PowerGrid and Axis Bank were among the laggards.
A strong performance by sectors including banking raised the profits of Indian companies by 28 per cent in the three months ended March 2022. The rate of growth is, however, lower than the 30 per cent seen in December. Growth in net sales was also lower than what was seen in the December quarter for the sample under consideration.
FMCG major ITC and private banking major ICICI Bank were the top Sensex losers
'My adrenalin kicked in and the happiness returned! It was time to go in for the kill again.' IAF Veterans Group Captain Dilip Kumar Dass tells Air Commodore Nitin Sathe about how the IAF decimated tanks in the famous Battle of Longewala.
The Chinese dependence is far from over, industry players are also citing a shortage of electronic toys in the country.
Three-four big gem and jewellery firms are showing financial weaknesses and might find it tough to withstand shocks
Pharma major Lupin and mortgage lender HDFC were the top losers.