Notwithstanding the robust turnaround in the financial performance for the June quarter (Q1FY24), stocks of state-run oil marketing companies have been in a downtrend in the last month. The fall comes on a rise in crude oil prices that have surged to a 7-month high of $88 a barrel. A busy political calendar in the months ahead that may see the government keep a lid on auto fuel prices is also a dampener, analysts said. Shares of Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Indian Oil (IOC) have shed 9-11 per cent since their respective earnings announcement between July 26 to August 4.
You will need a sharper eye for stock picking and a greater appetite for risk than most retail investors possess, recommends T N Ninan.
Shares of paint companies faced pressure, falling up to 5 per cent on the BSE in Monday's (February 26) intraday trade amid concerns that Grasim Industries' entry into the paint sector will intensify the competition. Asian Paints reached a 10-month low of Rs 2,850, slipping nearly 5 per cent after brokerage firm CLSA downgraded the stock following the Birla Opus launch. The paint maker's stock traded at its lowest level since April 28, 2023.
Bajaj Finance was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, dropping over 9 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, ICICI Bank and M&M. Reliance Industries, however, capped the losses by rallying over 3 per cent. Sun Pharma, Hero MotoCorp, L&T, PowerGrid and Bajaj Auto were also among the gainers.
The rupee on Tuesday recovered from its all-time intra day low of 77.79 to close higher by 7 paise on a stellar rally in domestic stock markets. After opening lower at 77.67, the local unit plunged further to its all-time intra-day low of 77.79 due to a spike in crude oil prices and disappointing macroeconomic data. However, a strong rally in domestic equities helped the rupee rebound and close at 77.48 (provisional), showing net gains of 7 paise over the last close of 77.55. The forex market was closed on Monday on account of Buddha Purnima.
With strong long-term fundamentals, banking sector cannot be completely ignored
A higher opening in the domestic stock market buoyed the rupee sentiment
'An upswing in corporate performance should last at least three years.' 'Today there is some concern globally about excessive debt, which could cause unpredictable shocks down the road.' 'Domestically, if the minders of the economy are watchful about over-heating, we could avoid a repetition of the boom-bust cycle of the past,' says T N Ninan.
Stocks of all the ten listed Adani Group firms ended with gains on Wednesday, continuing the positive momentum amid a recovery in the broader equity market. Adani Enterprises stock jumped 14.70 per cent to settle at Rs 1,564.55 on the BSE. In intra-day trade, it rallied 15.83 per cent to Rs 1,580.
Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS') contribution to the overall market capitalisation (mcap) of listed Tata group companies has slipped below 50 per cent for the first time in over a decade. This has happened amid a rally in other Tata stocks, led by smaller companies, even as TCS, the group's largest company by mcap, has lagged. In recent quarters, Tata's listed firms have emerged as leading performers on the bourses, with the group's combined mcap crossing Rs 30 trillion early last week - a first for a private sector conglomerate.
The sharp rally in the broader markets has propelled India's market capitalisation (m-cap) to a new high. The combined m-cap of all BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 291.9 trillion in intraday trade on Thursday before settling lower at Rs 290.9 trillion. The previous record was on December 14, 2022, at Rs 291.3 trillion.
Mid-cap information technology (IT) stocks dominate the list of companies that are trading significantly above their 200-DMA
Being one of the early commentators to flag economic slowdown and caution investors on corporate earnings, Gautam Chhaochharia, head of India research, UBS Securities, in an interview with Hamsini Karthik says the markets remain in an expensive zone despite the recent correction.
The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive
The year-to-date returns are 13.33 per cent for Indian funds, compared to 11.66 per cent for emerging market funds overall.
Number of stocks trading above 50 times and 100 times earnings are at record highs. When this happened in 2015 and 2016, the Sensex fell 22.6 per cent in a little over a year's time after peaking in January 2015, while it fell by 11.3 per cent in two months from its peak in September 2016.
In US, automatic spending cuts were triggered on Friday as lawmakers failed to agree on a resolution to prevent them, while China's manufacturing growth cooled in February to a four-month low.
The surge in IT, auto and FMCG stocks were led by investors seeking safety against market volatility.
Stock exchanges and other market infrastructure institutions as well as their top officials are liable to face penalties for lapses in handling and recitfying technical glitches, with Sebi putting in a place a stricter compliance system driven by "financial disincentives". The markets watchdog has come out with a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) less than five months after a technical glitch halted trading at the country's largest bourse NSE for nearly four hours. There will be a "financial disincentives" structure for MIIs -- stock exchanges, clearing corporation and depositories -- for any business disruption beyond pre-defined time, according to a circular issued on Monday.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting over 8 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, ICIC Bank, Sun Pharma, SBI and Kotak Bank.
The only path to recovery of the economy lies in profit growth that triggers off employment growth, and finally investment, notes Ajay Shah.
The country's top FMCG stocks, such as Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Nestl, Britannia, Godrej Consumer Products, and Dabur, among others, are currently trading at around 41x their trailing 12-month earnings, down from their peak P/E multiple of around 48x at the end of December 2018.
Indian equity markets had a good run in the first half of calendar year 2023 (CY23), with the S&P BSE Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty50 hitting fresh 52-week highs. While the Sensex scaled up to a peak 64,718, the Nifty50 hit Mt 19,189. As the markets now prepare to enter the second half (H2) of CY23, all eyes are on global central banks, especially the US Federal Reserve, as to when they will pause and pivot as regards their interest-rate cycle.
RBI policy, macro data, company earnings to decide market course this week: Experts
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.
'One can start accumulating economy driven stocks in the next few months with a two-three year view.'
After new-age tech companies reported better-than-expected June quarter (Q1FY23) results, analysts said it will be a long road to recovery for their respective businesses and the stock prices. Moreover, brokerages differ on whether it is the right time to own these stocks. The common thread, however, that runs across most brokerages is Zomato, where they suggest buying the stock with the one-year target price ranging between Rs 60 - 115, translating into an upside of around 9 - 109 per cent from the current levels. The company's gross order value (GOV) of food delivery jumped 10 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 42 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in Q1, aided largely by growth in volume, and mild growth in average order value (AOV) at 1-2 per cent. The company also broke even on an adjusted Ebitda basis during the quarter.
Good results for the January-March quarter (Q4) of FY24 and strong seasonal demand have led to strong investor interest in Crompton Greaves (CG) Consumer Electricals which is hitting new highs. While there's bullish consensus on the company's future performance, the stock has gained over 40 per cent in the last six months and valuations may become stretched. The Q4FY24 revenue rose 9.5 per cent YoY to Rs 1,960 crore.
In 2015, foreign investors slowed net buying of Indian equities.
The Nifty ended with a loss of 52 points at 5,269. BSE market breadth was negative. Out of 2,959 stocks traded, 1,696 declined while 1,148 advanced.
It has been a difficult year for the world's second-largest economy.
Markets ended at record closing highs for the second day in a row on institutional buying.
After being underweight on domestic agrochemical companies and preferring global plays, brokerages believe that the former may perform better in the quarters ahead. Domestic crop protection companies have faced multiple headwinds over the past year and a half, given high inventory costs, pricing pressures, lower realisations in the generic segment, increased stocks due to lower infestations, and demand-led hits to volumes. Some of the overhang from previous quarters was reflected in the April-June quarter (first quarter, or Q1) of 2023-24 (FY24) as well, with aggregate revenues and operating profit for the sector down 12 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively.
The value of the foreign portfolio investors' (FPI) holdings in the domestic equities reached $667 billion in three months ended September 2021, a surge of 13 per cent from the preceding quarter, according to a Morningstar report. This was largely on the back of strong performance by the Indian equity markets along with net inflows from FPIs at the later part of the quarter. "At the end of the quarter ended September 2021, the value of FPI investments in Indian equities shot up sharply to $667 billion, which was considerably higher than the $592 billion recorded in the previous quarter, a spike of around 13 per cent," the report noted.
The weak April-June quarter (first quarter, or Q1) results of the largest listed specialty chemical maker, SRF, and multiple global headwinds for the sector are expected to weigh on the prospects of Indian specialty chemical companies in 2023-24 (FY24). Stocks in the sector (down 7-18 per cent) have underperformed the benchmarks (up over 10 per cent) in the past three months, and given the multiple challenges, the trend is likely to continue. Kotak Institutional Equities expects a very weak quarter (Q1FY24) for the sector due to destocking, demand weakness across certain critical end-use industries, and price erosion amid intense competition from Chinese suppliers.
References to the stock market occur in popular discourse only when the market is overheated and normal middle class people are entering stocks with an unhealthy short-term perspective, says Devangshu Datta.
Nestle India was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding around 2 per cent, followed by SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, HUL and Dr Reddy's. NSE Nifty slipped 20.10 points to 15,670.25.
The market players are expected to react to the better than expected factory output data for the month of August, which revealed that the industrial production grew by 6.4%.
ONGC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 5 per cent, followed by SBI, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto and Maruti. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, HUL, Dr Reddy's, NTPC and Reliance Industries were among the gainers.
Equity markets braved all odds this fiscal and rewarded investors with high returns as the benchmark Sensex surged more than 66 per cent despite COVID-led disruptions and concerns over its impact on the economy. Market analysts termed FY 2020-21 as a roller coaster ride for not only Indian markets but also for equity indices globally due to the pandemic. In an unprecedented come back, the 30-share BSE Sensex has jumped 19,540.01 points or 66.30 per cent so far this fiscal. This extraordinary rally holds significance as markets faced volatile trends this fiscal.