Closing Bell: Sensex up 261 pts, Nifty above 19,800; mid, smallcaps gain

Indian benchmark indices ended higher on October 17 with Nifty above 19,800 amid buying across the sectors. At close, the Sensex was up 261.16 points or 0.39 percent at 66,428.09, and the Nifty was up 79.70 points or 0.40 percent at 19,811.50.

We wrap up today's edition of the Moneycontrol live market blog, and will be back tomorrow morning with all the latest updates and alerts. Please visit https://www.moneycontrol.com/markets/global-indices/ for all the global market action.

Markets snapped a 3-day losing streak on broad-based buying even as participants remained worried about rising tensions in the Middle East. All eyes will be on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell who is also scheduled to speak on Thursday (October 19) for further insights into the central bank's next steps and guidance on US interest rate policies. Technically, while the market will waver and trade choppy, the biggest support for Nifty is placed at 19509 mark while confirmation of strength only above the 19887 mark.

Markets snapped a 3-day losing streak on the back of short-covering as positive Asian cues aided recovery. Investors are jittery about the ongoing geopolitical tension in the Middle-East and are cautiously making selective bets in an uncertain situation. Also, the Indian market is still expensive and investors, especially foreign, are using global uncertainty to reduce their exposure in local shares.

Technically, the Nifty is trading above 19750 and above the same, the index could rally till 19900-19935. On the flip side, below 19750, the uptrend would be vulnerable and could slip till 19700-19675.

Markets edged higher after a muted session and gained nearly half a percent. Upbeat global cues triggered a firm start, followed by range bound move till the end. Consequently, Nifty settled at 19,811.45 level; up by 0.40%. Meanwhile, a mixed trend continued on the sectoral front wherein energy and financials were among the top gainers while auto and realty closed flat. Among the broader indices, the smallcap index almost retested its record high and gained nearly a percent.

We reiterate our mildly bullish view on Nifty and suggest continuing with a “buy on dips” approach till it manages to hold 19,600. On the other hand, we are seeing a rise in volatility across sectors with the beginning of earnings, so traders should keep a check on stock selection and risk management aspects.

The market witnessed a persistent struggle between the bulls and the bears, resulting in the index closing around the resistance level of 44500. This signifies ongoing uncertainty and indecision among market participants. The index is currently stuck within a broad trading range, with support around 44000 and resistance at 45000. This range-bound movement suggests a lack of a clear, sustained trend in either direction.

Despite the sideways trading range, the overall sentiment within this range remains bullish. Investors are inclined to use dips in the market as buying opportunities, reflecting confidence in the potential for upward movements.

Net profit up 27.8% at Rs 3,550.8 crore against Rs 2,781 crore and Net Interest Income (NII) up 26.4% at Rs 8,841.2 crore versus Rs 6,997 crore, YoY.

On the daily charts the Nifty broke the Inside bar pattern on the upside which has bullish implications. The daily and hourly momentum indicator has a positive crossover which indicates that the dips should be bought into. On the upside the index is likely to continue its rally towards 19883 and beyond that potentially towards 20030. On the downside the key hourly moving averages placed in the range 19770 – 19750 are likely to act as a cushion in case of a dip.

Bank Nifty opened gap up however was unable to capitalize on the gains and it corrected intraday. However, the dip is likely to witness buying interest in the zone of 44350 – 44300 where support in the form of the key hourly moving averages are placed. We expect the pullback in Bank Nifty towards 45,000 from short term perspective. On the downside 44100 – 44000 shall act as a crucial support

The market started to gap up following strong global sentiment and has so far remained in strength. The short-term trend remains strong as the index sustains above critical moving averages on the daily timeframe. A "buy on dips" strategy is favored as long as it remains above 19,550. On the higher end, it might move towards 20,000-20,200.

The market's gap-up opening today, offsetting the losses of the past three days, indicates an optimism over the ongoing Q2 earnings despite concerns about the Middle East and subdued start by the IT sector. The upward trend was broad-based with particular upside in Banking, Oil & Gas and FMCG sectors. However, some profit-taking was evident as the day concluded.

FIIs continue to withdraw funds due to the rise in US bond yields. An insight about the future direction of interest rates is expected from the Fed chair's upcoming speech on October 19th. While the market will also closely monitor the developments in the Israel- Hamas conflict, with a consensus emerging that the geopolitical risk will not elevate.

Following its global counterparts, the Indian bourses started the session on a strong note but after an uptick in the initial hour, the Index oscillated in a thin range of 19,800-19,840 before a reversal in the last session helping the Major Index to end the day at 19,811.50 with gains of 79.75 points.

All the sectors ended the day in green where Energy and PSU Banks were the top performers.

A mixed trend was seen in the Broader markets where Midcap moved in tandem with the Frontline Index while Smallcaps outperformed.

On the daily charts, Nifty is on the verge of giving a breakout from the continuation pattern known as Cup and Handle formation where a level of 19,850 is a breakout point with an expected target of 20,350.

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Indian rupee ended flat at 83.26 per dollar on Tuesday versus Monday's close of 83.28.

benchmark indices ended higher on October 17 with Nifty above 19,800 amid buying across the sectors.

At close, the Sensex was up 261.16 points or 0.39 percent at 66,428.09, and the Nifty was up 79.70 points or 0.40 percent at 19,811.50. About 2102 shares advanced, 1451 shares declined, and 142 shares unchanged.

Top gainers on the Nifty were BPCL, Power Grid Corporation, SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Life and Coal India, while losers included Tata Motors, L&T, UPL, IndusInd Bank and TCS.

All the sectoral indices ended in the green with power index up 1 percent, while FMCG, PSU Bank, metal and oil & gas added 0.5 percent each.

BSE Midcap index added 0.4 percent and Smallcap index gained 0.7 percent.

Dabur India has received intimation of tax ascertained as being payable under Section 74(5) of CGST Act, 2017, wherein GST short paid / notpaid amounting to Rs 3,20,60,53,069 has been advised to be paid by the Company along with the amount of applicable interest and penalty under Section 74(5) of COST Act, 2017, failing which Show Cause Notice will be issued.

-Add call, target price Rs 880 per share
-EBITDA was at Rs 23.5 crore, up 0.5 percent YoY
-EBITDA up 0.5 percent mainly due to EBITDA margin contraction from 14 percent to 8.1 percent YoY
-Net income was at Rs 14.7 crore, up 106.4 percent YoY
-Order intake YTD stood at Rs 3,49. 4 crore
-A healthy 140 percent profit growth is likely going ahead
-Ongoing Israel-Hamas war needs to be monitored

Titan Company approved a proposal to raise up to Rs 2,500 crore through the issuance of rated, listed, redeemable, unsecured Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) on a private placement basis.

A Board committee has also been empowered to finalise the issuance terms and allotment of the NCDs, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Unsecured Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) are debt instruments issued by companies without collateral backing. Being "non-convertible," they cannot be transformed into equity shares of the issuing company. Instead, investors receive a fixed interest over a specified period. Due to their unsecured nature, they typically carry higher interest rates to compensate for the increased risk. Read More

-Overweight call, target price Rs 2,360 per share
-Concall takeaways show management expects volume market share loss
-Market share loss in the eastern market to continue in the near-term
-Prices in the south had struggled last quarter, but saw some hikes recently
-Fuel costs deflation was better than expected
-Fuel costs deflation better but the bulk of the moderation is now behind us

Sensex Today | Market at 3 PM

The Sensex was up 193.20 points or 0.29 percent at 66,360.13, and the Nifty was up 64.40 points or 0.33 percent at 19,796.20. About 1897 shares advanced, 1324 shares declined, and 102 shares unchanged.

-Add call, target price Rs 2,000 per share
-HDFC Bank posted a healthy Q2 profit of Rs 15,900 cr
-Healthy profit despite a sequential decline in margin
-Decline in margin due to improved operating leverage & lower credit costs
-Confident of healthy growth in advances post HDFC merger
-Margin pressure to stay in H2FY24 amid excess liquidity & elevated cost of deposits
-Offsetting lower credit costs with margin decline
-Offsetting lower credit costs amid rapid branch expansion drives growth certainty

Indian Rupee is trading with a slight positive bias on positive domestic markets and softness in crude oil prices. However, a positive US Dollar and concerns over the ongoing conflict in the Middle East capped sharp gains. US Dollar gained better than expected Empire State Manufacturing Index and expectations of favourable economic data from US. Investors are also on the watch out for Fed Chair, Jerome Powell’s speech on Thursday for cues on monetary policy.

We expect Rupee to trade with a slight positive bias on rise in risk appetite in global markets and decline in crude oil prices. diplomatic efforts to contain the Middle East conflict may also support the risk assets. However, elevated US Dollar and any further escalation on geopolitical tensions between Hamas and Israel may cap sharp gains. Selling pressure from FIIs and RBI’s maturing of Dollar/Rupee swap transaction may pressurise Rupee at higher levels. Traders may take cues from retail sales and industrial production data from US. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 82.90 to Rs 83.70.

IndusInd Bank is likely to report 14 percent year-on-year (YoY) net profit growth to Rs 2,128 crore in the July-September quarter for fiscal year 2023-24 (Q2FY24) led by stable asset quality and strong pick-up in loan growth, according to an average estimate of five brokerages. The private sector lender’s Q2FY24 report card is due on October 18, 2023.

Similarly, the lender’s net interest income (NII) is estimated to grow 19 percent YoY to Rs 4,896 crore in Q2FY24 from Rs 4,302 crore in Q2FY23. However, margin pressures owing to deposit-rate hike lags is likely to keep IndusInd’s NII growth flat on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, said analysts. In Q1FY24, IndusInd’s NII stood at Rs 4,867 crore.

That said, net interest margins (NIMs) is expected to remain in a narrow range of 4.1-4.3 percent in Q2FY24 from 4.24 percent in Q2FY23 as the impact of deposit rate hikes start to reflect in the top-line of banks. Analysts expect margin compression to bottom out in the second half of this fiscal year (H2FY24) if there are no further changes in the RBI policy repo rates.

Shares of KIOCL zoomed 20 percent for second consecutive session on October 17 after operations resumed at its Pellet plant unit in Mangalore on October 14. The operations were temporarily suspended due to the unavailability of iron ore fines and essential maintenance.

KIOCL shares on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), were locked in at the upper circuit at Rs 476.40, a fresh 52-week high.

In the last five days, KIOCL shares have rallied more than 44 percent. In the past year, the stock has demonstrated consistent growth, with gains of around 160 percent. Over six months, the stock has risen by over 130 per cent, outperforming benchmark Nifty 50, which as rallied around 12 percent during this period.

Piramal Enterprises public bond sale to open on October 19 and close on November 2, according to draft prospectus. The issue size is Rs 200 crore with greenshoe option of Rs 800 crore. Care and Icra has issued AA ratings on the issue. AK Capital, JM Financial, Nuvama Wealth and Trust Investments are the lead managers to the issue.

Bajaj Finance is likely to clock a 30 percent year-on-year increase in net profit to Rs 3,626 crore in the July-September quarter, driven by stable asset quality and higher loan growth, according to the average estimate of five brokerages.

The non-bank lender is scheduled to announce its Q2 results on October 17.

The consumer financier’s net interest income (NII) may rise 34 percent to Rs 7,420 crore from Rs 5,537 crore a year earlier, the analysts estimated. Brokerage firm Anand Rathi Institutional Equities pegged the highest NII for Bajaj Finance at Rs 8,398 crore for Q2. Read More

Net profit up 5.3% at Rs 122.6 crore versus Rs 116 crore, YoY.

Shilpa Medicare's finished dosage form manufacturing facility, Unit IV, situated at Pharma SEZ, Jadcherla, Telangana state has successfully closed-out a GMP Inspection from TGA, Australia.

The facility is involved in manufacturing, packaging, labelling, testing and release of finished dosage forms (sterile injections and non-sterile oral solids) for the treatment of various forms of cancer and adjuvant therapy.

This inspection is the fourth major regulatory inspection (after Russia, Canada and Brazil), cleared by this site in the past two years.

The successful closure of this inspection will allow the company to register and market its products in Australia and other rest of world markets which recognize Australian GMP.

Lemon Tree Hotels has signed agreement for a 55-room hotel property in Dehradun, Uttarakhand under the brand Keys Prima by Lemon Tree Hotels. The hotel is expected to be operational by FY27, and will be managed by subsidiary Carnation Hotels.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Nifty Pharma index up 0.4 percent led by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Torrent Pharma, Biocon

Net profit up 58.3% at Rs 47.8 crore versus Rs 30 crore and revenue up 16.5% at Rs 293.2 crore versus Rs 251.7 crore, QoQ.

Net profit at Rs 44.2 crore versus Rs 14.3 crore and revenue was down 14% at Rs 755 crore versus Rs 877 crore, YoY.

Amit Batra has resigned as Executive Vice President & Head - Open Market & Corporate Sales of SBI Cards and Payment Services, due to personal reasons, with effect from December 26.

-Buy call, target price cut to Rs 1,850 per share from Rs 1,930 per share
-Cut FY24-26 earnings estimate by 2.5-4 percent
-Company is facing tough deliverables
-Few low hanging fruit to pluck, consistent execution can pull it through
-Risk-to-reward ratio is favourable
-Improving NIM and narrowing of the performance gap versus ICICI Bank are critical

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Nifty PSU Bank index up 0.6 percent led by Canara Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, UCO Bank

At mid-day on October 17, shares of Karur Vysya Bank were trading more than 7 percent higher on the NSE, at Rs 147.30. On October 16, the bank announced a 51 percent year-on-year increase in net profit for Q2FY24.

In a regulatory filing, Karur Vysya Bank reported a net profit of Rs 378 crore for the Quarter ending September 2023, a 51 percent increase from Rs 250 crore during the previous fiscal. Operating profit for the period grew 12 percent year-on-year to Rs 638 crore from Rs 572 crore for the same period. Read More

The Debenture Allotment Committee of Bajaj Finance has at its meeting held on 17 October 2023, allotted 2,23,600 Secured Redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures at the face value of Rs 1 Lakh each, aggregating to Rs 2,236 crore.

Tata Power's subsidiary Tata Power Renewable Energy has signed a power delivery agreement (PDA) with auto component manufacturer Endurance Technologies through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) TP Green Nature, for the development of 12.5MW AC captive solar plant. The plant will be set up at Aachegaon in Maharashtra and will generate 27.5 million units (MUs) of electricity every year. This will help in reducing Endurance Technologies' carbon footprints and mitigate approximately 9,125 metric tonnes (MT) of carbon emissions annually. The project is expected to be completed within 12 months of the signing of the PDA.

Sensex Today | Market at 1 PM

The Sensex was up 370.08 points or 0.56 percent at 66,537.01, and the Nifty was up 112.50 points or 0.57 percent at 19,844.30. About 2098 shares advanced, 1053 shares declined, and 119 shares unchanged.

-Overweight call, target price Rs 1,985 per share
-Rs 4,000 crore rights issue announced
-Company highlighted that proposed would be used to fund ongoing capex journey
-Company highlighted that proposed would be used to repay existing debt
-Announcement reaffirms management's focus on organic growth
-Moreover, this would help Grasim arrest debt ratios to more comfortable levels
-As of June 2023, net debt at Rs 3,500 crore
-A Rs 4,000 crore rights issue would imply 3.1 percent dilution in current market

Aurobindo Pharma has inaugurated the green-field manufacturing unit of Eugia Steriles in Vishakhapatnam. Eugia Steriles is 100% subsidiary of Eugia Pharma Specialities and a step-down subsidiary of Aurobindo. This unit will manufacture general injectables and expected to supply globally in phases. The project cost of the Unit is approximately Rs 600 crore and the commercial production will be commenced during Q4 of FY24 in phases.

Kirloskar Electric Company management has declared lockout at the company’s unit 15 at Bengaluru rural district with effect from October 16.

Sensex Today | BSE Bank index up 0.5 percent led by Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank

Arvind Kumar Maurya has been appointed as Chief Executive & Business Head - Knits Business, as a part of senior management personnel, by the board of directors of RSWM with effect from October 16.

Oil prices steadied on Tuesday after a more than $1 slide on Monday amid hopes the U.S. would ease sanctions on producer Venezuela and as Washington stepped up efforts to prevent an escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Brent crude futures were up 16 cents at $89.81 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was down 1 cent at $86.65 a barrel as of 0632 GMT.

Sensex Today | BSE Smallcap index up 0.8 percent supported by KIOCL, MRPL, Chennai Petroleum Corporation

Vakrangee has appointed Ashish Ladhani as vice president in technology department, with effect from October 16. Ashish Ladhani was working at Ebixcash Payment Services, a part of Ebix Group as group head technology.

Som Distilleries and Breweries has signed a strategic contract manufacturing agreement in Jammu and Kashmir for the manufacture of IMFL (Indian-made foreign liquor). The company will deliver high quality products to the Canteen Stores Department (CSD), and this will also lead to a shorter turnaround time for the supply of products to the northern and border regions of the country.

-Equalweight call, target price raised to Rs 160 per share
-Q2 RoA is holding up well at 1.4 percent, helped by very benign credit costs & fee income
-Margins remain muted and unlikely to recover in the near-term
-Stock is not expensive at 1.0x F25 core book but lacks a strong catalyst

JK Paper has received board approval for acquisition of Manipal utility Packaging Solutions for Rs 88.7 crore. The said acquisition is expected to be completed within six weeks of execution of a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with the target entity.

Sensex Today | Market at 12 PM

The Sensex was up 299.94 points or 0.45 percent at 66,466.87, and the Nifty was up 94.10 points or 0.48 percent at 19,825.90. About 2084 shares advanced, 1026 shares declined, and 133 shares unchanged.

The Central Government has appointed Sanjay Kulshrestha as CMD of Housing & Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), with effect from October 16. Sanjay Kulshrestha was executive director (ED) at REC.

The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board has cancelled the allotment of land in Bengaluru Urban District alleging breach of conditions imposed under the lease deed. The company is evaluating the matter and will take necessary action as legally advised. The financial impact of the cancellation of allotment of land is estimated to be upto Rs 19 crore.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | BSE Power index up 1 percent led by Adani Power, NHPC, Power Grid

J. Kumar Infraprojects received a ‘Letter of Acceptance’ (LOA) for the project of Provn of Tech Accn and Allied Infra for Command Hospital, Lucknow on EPC Mode for contract cost amounting to Rs 509,00,00,000 including Goods and Service Tax.

-Overweight call, target price Rs 2,110 per share
-Q2 profit was 12 percent above MSE, and led to RoA of 1.9 percent
-This was helped by benign credit costs, treasury gains and lower taxes
-Core PPoP was 1 percent below MSE, owing to lower margins (10 bps below MSE)
-Core PPoP partly offset by higher-than-expected fees, lower opex
-Expect NII growth to reaccelerate from here

Shares of MIC Electronics were locked in a 5 percent upper circuit to hit a 52-week high of Rs 40 per share on BSE on October 17 after the company bagged order worth Rs 3.55 crore from Central Railways – Hyderabad division.

In less than three weeks, the company had bagged three other orders from Central Railways – one from the Hyderabad division (Rs 3.38 crore) and others from Vijayawada (Rs 1.5 crore) and Kota divisions (Rs 2.7 crore).

The stock of this smallcap company has surged 39 percent in a month.

Cyient DLM opened nearly 6 percent higher on October 17, a day after the electronics manufacturing services and solutions company reported a healthy set of numbers for the September quarter.

In the September quarter, Cyient DLM reported a 106.4 percent year-on-year growth in profit to Rs 14.6. Revenue from operations grew 71.5 percent YoY to Rs 291.8 crore.

Net profit grew 106.4 percent to Rs 41.7 crore for the same period. The EBITDA for the quarter was up 0.5 percent to Rs 2.35 crore.

Sensex Today | Market at 11 AM

The Sensex was up 322.67 points or 0.49 percent at 66,489.60, and the Nifty was up 98.20 points or 0.50 percent at 19,830.00. About 2167 shares advanced, 900 shares declined, and 121 shares unchanged.

Shares of Trident also slipped over 2 percent following the news of search operations being conducted at the group's premises. The CNBC-TV18 report also stated that a search operation by the Income Tax department is underway across several locations of the Trident Group including Punjab, and Delhi-NCR.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is set to issue 1.23 crore equity shares of the company, each having a face value of Rs 5, to Suzuki Motor Corporation on a preferential basis. "The consideration payable by the company for such purchase of 100 percent of the SMG's equity shares shall be discharged by way of issue and allotment of 1.23 crore equity shares of the company having a face value of Rs 5 each to SMC, at a price of Rs 10,420 per equity share, on a preferential basis," the company said in an exchange filing on October 17.

Following the announcement, shares of Maruti Suzuki witnessed a strong knee-jerk reaction, erasing their early gains as they slipped into losses.

Shares of Data Patterns marched 6 percent higher to the day’s high of Rs 2,120 per share on BSE on October 17 after the company inked licensing and transfer of technology (ToT) agreement with IN-SPACe to acquire miniature synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capability.

In the past month, the stock of this defence and aerospace electronics solutions provider has declined 1.6 percent, as against a 2 percent dip in the Sensex benchmark.

IN-SPACe, an independent nodal agency under the Department of space (DoS) will provide Data Patterns with miniature SAR radar capability, which would enhance its remote sensing prowess. The technology has been developed at Space Applications Centre (SAC) Isro and is the forerunner of Isro’s upcoming high-resolution SAR satellite. IN-SPACe has made this technology available for ToT to industry players.

Grasim Industries was trading 2.4 percent higher on October 17 morning, a day after the Aditya Birla Group company said it would raise up to Rs 4,000 crore through a rights issue, a move analysts say would also help improve debt ratios.

In an exchange filing on October 16, Grasim Industries said the proposed fundraise is subject to regulatory approvals. The record date of rights issue shall be determined in due course.

Analysts said that the promoters group has committed to fully subscribe to its entitlements. Promoters extended to cover any unsubscribed portion, too, if applicable.

The fundraise comes after Grasim Industries announced plans to get into the paints business. Read More

Shares of ICICI Securities surged 8 percent in early trade and hit a 52-week high of Rs 683 on October 16 after the company reported stellar earnings for the July-September quarter.

The broking company recorded a 41 percent surge in its net profit to Rs 423.6 crore during July-September, sharply up from Rs 300 crore in the same period of the preceding fiscal.

Revenue also jumped 45.5 percent on year to Rs 1,249 crore, while total assets under management rose 12 percent to Rs 65 lakh crore. Meanwhile, the operating margin also expanded year-on-year to 64.9 percent in July-September as against 61 percent in the base period.

The Board of Directors of Maruti Suzuki at its meeting held on October 17, 2023, has approved execution of a Share Purchase and Subscription Agreement to acquire 100% equity capital of Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Limited (SMG) owned by Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) and discharge the consideration for such purchase of 100% of the SMG’s equity shares by way of issue and allotment of the company’s equity shares to SMC on a preferential basis for consideration other than cash.

Bajaj Finance is set to acquire a 26-percent stake in Pennant Technologies for Rs 267 crore in a cash deal. With a turnover of Rs 74.28 crore in FY23, Pennant provides technology services and software products for the banking and financial services industry. This is a strategic investment to strengthen its technology roadmap, Bajaj Finance said in its regulatory filing.

Bajaj Finance will acquire 5.71 lakh compulsorily convertible preference shares (Series A CCPS) of face value of Rs 100 each. Additionally, it would also buy 4.22 lakh equity shares from promoters and existing shareholders of Pennant. Bajaj Finance has suggested December 30 as an indicative time period for the completion of the acquisition. Read More

-Buy call, target price Rs 2,110 per share
-Q2 NIMs at 3.4 percent, low credit cost, tax reversals support 2 percent RoAs
-Profit beat driven by non-interest income, lower credit cost, and tax reversals
-Core NIMs impacted by additional liquidity, I-CRR, & merger management
-Advances growth led by commercial and rural banking & retail book
-Deposit accretion encouraging
-Asset quality showed improvement in merged like-to-like basis
-Most watched out metrics on retail deposit accretion at >Rs 90,000 crore
-Most watched out metrics encouraging
-Sustenance of this momentum will be key

Savita Oil Technologies added more than 4 percent to hit a 52-week high of Rs 355 in the early trade on October 17 after the company commissioned a new manufacturing plant in Maharashtra.

The company on October 16 said it successfully commissioned a synthetic ester plant at its facility in Mahad.

The multipurpose plant, designed to manufacture synthetic esters for transformer fluid applications, will also have the capability to manufacture synthetic esters for high performance automotive and industrial lubricants. Read More

Sensex Today | Market at 10 AM

The Sensex was up 332.28 points or 0.50 percent at 66,499.21, and the Nifty was up 98.00 points or 0.50 percent at 19,829.80. About 2283 shares advanced, 647 shares declined, and 110 shares unchanged

Shares of JK Paper were up 1 percent to Rs 400.80 in the early trade on October 17 after the company's board approved the acquisition of Manipal utility Packaging Solutions Private Limited.

JK Paper entered into share purchase agreement (SPA) for the acquisition of 100 percent (4.07 crore equity) shares of Manipal Utility Packaging Solutions Private Limited (MUPSPL), the company said in its release. Read More

Shares of Tata Power gained 1.6 percent in early trade on October 17 after its subsidiary Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL) signed a power delivery agreement (PDA) with Endurance Technologies through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), TP Green Nature Limited, for the development of a 12.5MW AC captive solar plant.

The plant will be set up at Aachegaon in Maharashtra to generate 27.5 million units (MUs) of electricity every year. The project is expected to be completed within 12 months of the signing of the PDA. Read More

The market scenario is changing fast. There is a risk-on mood in the market triggered by the hope that the Israel-Hamas conflict will not spread. President Biden’s upcoming trip to Israel and Jordan and the two US aircraft carriers sent to the Eastern Mediterranean is a clear message to Iran and Hezbollah not to intervene in the war. The market hopes that the war will remain localised, and this is the reason why the market remains hopeful.

The HDFC Bank results, particularly the bullish guidance and commentary, are positive and the bank, which has the highest weightage in the Nifty, can support the market. Results from the other leading banking names too will be good.

Capital goods and autos continue to be on strong wicket.

Bajaj Finance, L&T Technology Services, Can Fin Homes, Happiest Minds Technologies, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, Tata Elxsi, Tata Metaliks, IIFL Securities, CIE Automotive India, Hathway Cable & Datacom, Himadri Speciality Chemical, Newgen Software Technologies, PCBL, Syngene International, Vikas Lifecare, VST Industries, and Zensar Technologies will be in focus ahead of their quarterly earnings scorecard on October 17.

KEC International has secured new orders worth Rs 1,315 crore across its various businesses including transmission & distribution projects in India, Middle East, Australia and Americas.

Nomura Research downgraded Dalmia Bharat to "neutral" from "buy," citing limited upside due to lower industry volume growth and uncertainty surrounding Jaypee deal. Despite the downgrade, the brokerage house has maintained the target price for Dalmia Bharat at Rs 2,600 per share, indicating a 12 percent increase from its present market price.

During the second quarter of FY24, Dalmia experienced a continuation of the market share loss in north Bihar and West Bengal, which had begun in the first quarter of the fiscal year. This was attributed to pricing decisions that did not yield the intended outcomes. However, the company has taken corrective measures to address this issue and expects improved results in the fourth quarter. Dalmia's primary objective is to optimise resource utilisation and outperform industry growth benchmarks. Read More

Cyient DLM has reported massive 106.4% on-year growth in profit at Rs 14.6 crore for the quarter ended September FY24, driven by other income and topline. Revenue from operations surged 71.5% YoY to Rs 291.8 crore for the quarter.