Closing Bell: Nifty ends near 21,250, Sensex falls 1,053 pts; mid, smallcaps plunge

Markets resumed the corrective tone and shed over one and a half percent. Initially, the Nifty opened with an upside gap, tracking firm global cues and buoyancy in banking major, ICICI Bank, in reaction to its numbers. However, the move fizzled out in no time and the index settled closer to the day’s low at 21,238.80 level. All key sectors, barring pharma, ended lower wherein realty, metal and energy were among the worst hit. The broader indices too witnessed a sharp cut and lost nearly 3% each.

The pace of decline shows more pain ahead and the 20,800-21,000 zone may offer some support. Earlier, we were seeing private banking majors facing the heat but it is now cascading to the other sectors and also to the broader indices. We thus recommend keeping a check on leveraged positions and maintaining shorts too.

Despite positive momentum in the global market, selling pressure continued today in the domestic markets mainly on the back of news that is worrying FIIs, as SEBI has drafted paper to impose tightened ultimate beneficial ownership norms for overseas investors with effect from February 1. This was despite pressure from foreign banks and few offshore fund managers to ease the rules ahead of the deadline. If this stands true domestic markets may see more selling in the range of Rs 1.5 lakh crore to Rs 2 lakh crore over the next six months by funds unable to comply with the norms.

The recent selloffs in Indian markets have been triggered by heavy offloading by FIIs in the past few sessions and today's slump could be due to mixed earnings outcome so far and higher valuation worries. There are indications that rate cuts in the US may not happen soon because of inflation playing truant there, and hence investors are getting uncomfortable with the current valuations. Although India's growth prospects for the year appear positive, slowdown in China and other developing countries may lead to demand slowdown and push investors to curb their equity exposure going ahead.

On January 23, benchmark indices concluded the trading session on a lower note for the second consecutive day, with Nifty hovering around 21,250. Despite a gap-up opening, Nifty retreated below crucial support levels, forming a robust bearish candle on the daily chart, indicating increased bearish sentiment in both Nifty and Bank Nifty.

The overall market sentiment was negative, with the Sensex losing 1.47 percent and closing at 70,370.55, while the Nifty declined by 1.54 percent intraday, settling at 21,238.80 levels. Meanwhile, Bank Nifty experienced a 2.26 percent drop, closing at 45,015.05.

Across sectors, except for pharma, all other sectoral indices recorded losses, with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices each declining nearly 3 percent. IndusInd Bank, Coal India, ONGC, Adani Ports, and SBI Life Insurance were the biggest losers on the Nifty, while Cipla, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, and Dr Reddy's Laboratories emerged as gainers.

India VIX exhibited a positive trend, rising by 7.61 percent intraday and settling at 14.85.

The Nifty has a support level around 21,000-20,900, while Bank Nifty has support at 44,500-44,050. On the call side, the highest open interest (OI) was observed at 21,500, followed by 21,700 strike prices. On the put side, the highest OI was recorded at the 21,000 strike price.

Looking at the OI data for Bank Nifty, support is anticipated at 44,600-44,000, with resistance levels at 46,300 and 46,600.

A few days of consolidation have led to a decline, with Nifty slipping below the lower end of the recent consolidation range. The bearish sentiment appears to be strengthening as Nifty closed at its lowest points on multiple days. Weakness may persist in the short term, with support at 21,200; below this level, the index could potentially decline towards 21,000 and beyond. Looking ahead, the market may continue to be a "sell on rise" scenario as long as it remains below 21,500.

Net profit up 3.7% at Rs 6,071.1 crore versus Rs 5,853.1 crore and net interest income (NII) up 9.4% at Rs 12,532 crore versus Rs 11,459.3 crore, YoY.

The Nifty opened gap up however it was unable to sustain and sold off. It closed in the red down ~333 points. On the daily charts we can observe that the 21750 – 21810 zone acted as a stiff resistance and the Nifty started the next leg of the fall. On the way down the Nifty is likely to drift lower towards 20870 which is the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level of the rise from 18838 – 22124.

Daily and hourly momentum indicator has a negative crossover which is a sell signal. In case of a bounce, it should be used as a selling opportunity. Overall, the trend continues to remain weak. In terms of levels, 20977 – 20950 is the immediate support while 21400 – 21430 shall act as an immediate hurdle from short term perspective.

Bank Nifty opened gap up however it was sold into and it resumed the next leg of the decline. On the downside, the bank Nifty is headed towards 44600 from short term perspective. On the upside 45800 shall act as immediate hurdle.

Rupee opened positively but relinquished its gains in the afternoon as strong selling from FII's, especially in the financial sector, led to profit booking across the broader market. The rupee reached a high of 83.06 but later dropped to 83.17, resulting in a range-bound session. Crude prices offered some support to the rupee as profit booking followed yesterday's rise. However, the dollar index holding at USD 103 continued to exert pressure on the rupee. The broad range for the rupee is anticipated between 82.70-82.80 as resistance and 83.25-83.40 as support.

Despite the positive momentum observed in global markets, today witnessed substantial profit-taking in the market. The BSE Sensex experienced a sharp decline of nearly 1,700 points from its peak of over 72,000, concluding the day 1.47% lower, down by 1053 points, settling at 70,370.55. Similarly, the Nifty 50 witnessed a drop of nearly 500 points after reaching an intraday high above 21,700, recording a significant loss of 1.54%, closing at 21,238.80, down by 333 points.

Sectoral indices also mirrored the downturn, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices falling over 2.7%.

From a technical perspective, the Nifty is under selling pressure, and this trend may persist in the upcoming sessions. The support range of 21,500-21,450 is crucial for maintaining positive momentum, with 21,850 acting as a barrier for the Nifty.

Expecting a narrow trading range until the budget day, we advise traders to adhere to stop-loss strategies and draw insights from price action.

The market witnessed a continuous decline today, abruptly turning negative despite a positive start, mainly due to substantial selling in heavyweight sectors, particularly finance. Mid and small caps witnessed more decline compared to the main indices. Selling by FIIs due to reasons like high valuation and mixed results for the earnings season so far, along with recent escalations in tensions in the Middle East and Red Sea, prompted the investors to book profit from the recent rally. Going forward, markets are likely to witness stock-specific actions during the ongoing earnings season.

The recent selloffs in Indian markets have been triggered by heavy offloading by FIIs in the past few sessions and today's slump could be due to mixed earnings outcome so far and higher valuation worries. There are indications that rate cuts in the US may not happen soon because of inflation playing truant there, and hence investors are getting uncomfortable with the current valuations. Although India's growth prospects for the year appear positive, slowdown in China and other developing countries may lead to demand slowdown and push investors to curb their equity exposure going ahead.

Indian equities commenced the truncated week on a firm note backed by strong quarterly numbers of heavyweights Cipla and ICICI Bank but in the opening trade itself, the bears smashed the bulls through a steep cut in the Mid and Smallcap segments. Selling pressure accelerated in the 2nd half of trading session and the Index breached the support level of 21,200 and finally settled the day at 21,238.80 with a loss of 333 points. Except for Pharma, all other sectors corrected where Media was the major laggard followed by Realty and PSU Banks.

With a loss of 3.11% & 2.87%, mid and smallcap segments underperformed the Frontline Index. On the daily chart, the Index has made a big negative candle but the lower timeframe suggests a probable reversal as it has formed an advanced harmonic bullish cypher pattern with a bullish divergence in RSI. As per the pattern, the targets are 21,550 & 21,770 while level of 20,950 will act as an immediate support.

Indian rupee ended lower at 83.15 per dollar on Tuesday against Friday's close of 83.06.

: Benchmark indices ended lower for the second consecutive session on January 23 with Nifty around 21,250.

Biggest losers on the Nifty were IndusInd Bank, Coal India, ONGC, Adani Ports and SBI Life Insurance, while gainers were Cipla, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

On the sectoral front, except pharma, all other sectoral indices are trading in the red.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices down nearly 3 percent each.

-Buy call, target Rs 1,300 per share
-Business performance in-line across all parameters, ripe for rerating
-NIM moderation underway but still 40 bps above Q4FY22 levels
-Loan growth remains healthy, some calibration in unsecured loans but not much
-Asset quality healthy, 17 percent average RoE over medium term

Net profit down 38% at Rs 10.1 crore versus Rs 16.3 crore and revenue down 11.2% at Rs 87.7 crore versus Rs 98.8 crore, YoY.

Sony has terminated its JV/merger/acquisition with Zee considering various issues regarding legal, leadership, compliance etc which got dragged for more than two and a half years now. This resulted in fall in share prices of Zee which were held for a long time hoping that this merger would propel the consolidated entity as the biggest media house in India.

Apart from that Zee is operationally facing lot many challenges in the form of subdued Advertising business, depleting viewership share in its key markets like Hindi GEC, Tamil and Marathi markets, competitive pricing in subscription business and slow growing OTT business with competition from the biggies. Therefore the stock is seeing a free fall today and may see some buying post we see a further fall in it.

-Overweight call, target Rs 7,200 per share
-Revenue beat offset by margin miss
-Revenue growth guidance maintained, implying healthy Q4 driven by order wins
-Furlough reversal & bottoming out of travel vertical among others
-Valuations are at a premium, but can sustain driven by robust revenue growth

Despite weakness in the secondary market, listing of Medi Assist was in line with our expectation. The listing premium is justified on the back of being the leading Third Party Administrator (TPA) health-tech and insurance-tech company which is serving the emerging Indian health insurance sector. Perhaps it is asking a decent premium for its unique play and taking first mover advantage in the listed space.

Given the low penetration of insurance in India and expected growth from current 16% to 33% in next 5 years, we feel Medi Assist is well positioned as a dominant TPA player to tap the upcoming growth, and the rising awareness in the healthcare business is the tailwind for the whole sector. Considering all the factors, we recommend allotted investors to “HOLD” with a long-term perspective only. For non allottees one can accumulate more in dips post listing and look to hold for a long term like 3-5 years’ time horizon.

-Buy call, target Rs 2,925 per share
-Q3 EBITDA of Rs 40700 crore, down 1 percent QoQ, up 15 percent YoY was slightly above estimate Rs 39,500
-Earnings beat was driven by higher-than-expected E&P earnings
-In telecom, subscriber adds continued to surprise to upside
-In retail all segments posted solid revenue growth driven by same store sales growth
-Capex intensity declined with completion of Pan-India 5G roll out
-Capex intensity in-line with estimate of capex to peak in FY24

Indian Rupee depreciated by 0.06% on weak domestic markets and rising crude oil prices. FII outflows also put downside pressure on Rupee. However, weak US Dollar cushioned the downside. US Dollar has declined on strong Yen and positive Asian and European markets. Bank of Japan kept its ultra-loose monetary policy intact and left interest rates unchanged at -0.1%. However, its lowered its core inflation projection in 2024 to 2.4% from 2.8% in October and in 2025 from 1.6%-2% to 1.6-1.9%.

We expect Rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on weak domestic markets and selling pressure from foreign investors. Any further increase in crude oil prices may also weigh on Rupee. However, positive global markets and a weak Dollar may support Rupee at lower levels. Traders may remain cautious ahead of Richmond manufacturing index data from US. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 82.80 to Rs 83.50

Revenue up 54.2% at Rs 5,298 crore versus Rs 2,428 crore and loss at Rs 8,245 crore versus Rs 4,564 crore, YoY.

-Outperform call, target Rs 1,190 per share
-Q3 PAT in-line - high provisions and opex offset by high fee income
-NIMs decline in-line with expectations, FY24 guidance maintained
-Company is making provisions for AIF exposure
-Overall credit costs were restricted to 37 bps
-Management expects retail delinquencies to normalise

ICICI Bank touched a 52-week high of Rs 1,067.40 and quoting at Rs 1,024.35, up Rs 16.05, or 1.59 percent on the BSE.

Sensex Today | Market at 3 PM

The Sensex was down 1,101.65 points or 1.54 percent at 70,322.00, and the Nifty was down 354.50 points or 1.64 percent at 21,217.30. About 719 shares advanced, 2645 shares declined, and 98 shares unchanged. 

Net profit at Rs 27 crore versus Rs 12.7 crore and revenue at Rs 201.4 crore versus Rs 58.4 crore, YoY.

Net profit at Rs 747.5 crore versus Rs 227.8 crore and revenue up 12.9 percent at Rs 1,978.7 crore versus Rs 1,752.5 crore, YoY.

Net profit flat at Rs 30 crore and revenue up 1.3 percent at Rs 133.8 crore versus Rs 132 crore, YoY.

Shares of Hero Motocorp Limited traded 3.15 percent higher to Rs 4,540 in afternoon trade on January 23 after the company announced the launch of two new bikes, the Xtreme 125R and a special collector's edition named 'Hero Forever', CNBC TV-18 reported. The new Xtreme 125R is available at Hero MotoCorp dealerships in two variants, priced at Rs. 95,000 for IBS and Rs. 99,500 for ABS.

The company also unveiled the Maverick 440 at its Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur. The company has said that the new bike will be available in its flagship showrooms.

-Net Profit up 21% to Rs 60.3 crore vs Rs 50 crore (YoY)
-Revenue rises 4% at Rs 757.7 crore vs Rs 789.3 crore (YoY)
-EBITDA up 3.3% to Rs 80.3 crore vs Rs 77.7 crore (YoY)
-Margin at 10.6% vs 9.8% (YoY)

With over 50 percent FII ownership, HDFC Bank's price movement has become a bit dependent on FII flows. The bank has gone through a large merger in the recent past and will take a couple of more quarters before its financial number stabilises.

In the interim, management focus has been less on the business and more on getting the merger right. Various digital initiatives taken in the recent past have not given the desired results. But now the management focus appears back on the business growth and valuation is very comfortable for investment.

REC reported a 13.6 percent jump in its Q3 net profit to Rs 3,269.3 crore as against Rs 2,878 crore in the year-ago period while net interest income rose 18 percent to Rs 4,159 crore.

-Outperform call, target Rs 1,190 per share
-Q3 PAT in-line - high provisions and opex offset by high fee income
-NIMs decline in-line with expectations, FY24 guidance maintained
-Company is making provisions for AIF exposure
-Overall credit costs were restricted to 37 bps
-Management expects retail delinquencies to normalise

ONGC has received approval of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) for formation of a wholly-owned subsidiary company. The proposed name of the company is “ONGC Green Limited” subject to approval of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India.

The Board has accorded its in-principle approval for formation of a Joint Venture Company (JVC) either directly by ONGC or through its Affiliate/Subsidiary, with NGEL – a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC Limited, subject to necessary Government/ regulatory approval(s) including from NITI Aayog, DIPAM and Administrative Ministry.

The said JVC shall be engaged into the business of Offshore Wind Energy & other Renewal Energy.

Bank Nifty resumes its weak trend for the January series starting of the week on a sour note. After 4 days of sideways consolidation, today it broke its recent swing low of 45500 support.

44800/44000 are the supports /downstairs for the coming week. While 46000 is building up as a resistance.

Ahead of the Jan monthly expiry options chain matrix have noted shift of OI in CE selling bets from 47k to 46k, hinting 46000-46200 building up as a resistance. Put writers are shifting their OI support base to lower strikes at 44k as selling pressure aggravated in the day trading session.

Net profit down 53% at Rs 4.7 crore versus Rs 10 crore and revenue down 3.8% at Rs 450.6 crore versus Rs 468.2 crore. YoY.

-Upgrade to buy, target raised to Rs 9,875 from Rs 6,950 per share
-Reported another strong quarter
-Revenues grew 3 percent QoQ, defying seasonal furlough headwinds
-Should benefit from pre-gen AI investments, ensuring medium-term growth
-Expensive valuations a key concern

Sensex Today | Market at 2 PM

The Sensex was down 804.60 points or 1.13 percent at 70,619.05, and the Nifty was down 261.00 points or 1.21 percent at 21,310.80. About 903 shares advanced, 2445 shares declined, and 92 shares unchanged. 

-Underweight call, target Rs 1,180 per share
-Q3 pre-sales, revenue & margin came below expectation
-Pre-sales could result in underperformance versus peers
-But pre-sales have picked-up in Q4 & net D/E has improved to 0.15x

Nova Agritech’s Rs 143.8-crore IPO was subscribed 4.7 times by January 23 afternoon, the first day of bidding. Retail investors bid 7.21 times and high net-worth individuals (HNI) picked 5.2 times their allotted quota of shares.

The price band for the issue, which closes January 25, has been fixed at Rs 39-41 a share. The initial public offering consists of a fresh issue of 2.73 crore shares worth Rs 112 crore and an offer of sale of 77.58 lakh shares worth Rs 31.81 crore.

-Hold call, target raised to Rs 2,600 per share
-Q3 earnings tad below consensus as O2C weak on shutdown
-Digital still range bound but E&P strong and retail picking up
-Digital appears to be focused on subscribers over ARPU
-Capex momentum slowing but related liabilities to be paid off

-Neutral call, target Rs 260 per share
-Implied value per share in scenario of merger falling through is Rs 190
-Implied value per share is 20% downside from current levels
-Sony files termination notice and seeks penalties
-Zee refutes claims made by Sony and plans to contest claims
-Sony’s termination on merger is negative development for Zee
-Merged entity would be in a better position to compete with Reliance + Disney merged entity

-Overweight call, target Rs 1,350 per share
-Q3 PAT grew 24 percent YoY, RoA was 2.3 percent & RoE was 18.5 percent
-Continues to deliver strong balance sheet growth - both loans & deposits
-Margin normalisation continues
-Expect company to remain well above pre-COVID levels
-Deposits rates catch up fully, helped by an improved loan mix & disciplined pricing
-Expect profitability to remain strong
-Although RoA will likely moderate as margins move lower, expect it to remain above 2 percent
-Raise F24 EPS estimate 2.5 percent

Shares of Finolex Industries slipped four percent in trade on January 23 after the pipemakers’ quarterly earnings results came in under expectations. Over the past five sessions, the stock has fallen more than 6 percent.

Finolex Industries posted around 24 percent YoY growth in net profit at Rs 89.21 crore for October-December of the financial year 2023-23, despite a decline in income from operations. However, on a sequential basis, there was a decline of 2.5 percent in net profit.

The sales revenue slipped by 9.3 per cent to Rs 1,019.69 crore during the reporting quarter while the finance cost rose to Rs 7.7 crore from Rs 5.13 crore year-on-year. Read More

Sensex Today | BSE Capital Goods index down 1.6 percent dragged by RVNL, BHEL, GMR Airports Infrastructure:

-Buy call, target Rs 2,930 per share
-Company displayed strong pricing power amidst input cost deflation
-Toothpaste segment reported a double-digit revenue growth
-Company also reported an all-time high gross and EBITDA margin, ad spends too moved up
-Price-led growth should enable a respectable EPS growth going forward
-We remain unsure if growth is sustainable from a long-term standpoint

Sensex Today | Nifty Auto index sheds 1 percent dragged by Balkrishna Industries, MRF, Sona BLW Precision Forgings:

-Overweight call, target raised to Rs 3,046 per share
-Clarity on start-up of its solar panel production should provide clear pathway for next value creation
-Moderation of 4h investment cycle this century should provide pathway for next leg of value creation
-Investment cycles have unwound with 2-3x value creation for shareholders in past two decades
-Estimate 13 percent EPS CAGR over FY23-26 with multiple triggers in near & medium terms across business

Sugar stocks in focus as the sugar production till January 15, 2024 in the current 2023-24 reached 149.52 lakh tons, against 157.87 lakh tons produced last year on the corresponding date.

-Buy call, target raised to Rs 7,400 per share
-Q3 revenue ahead but profits missed due to lower than expected margin
-Strong 16 percent YoY growth in executable order book should support mid-teens growth
-Sharp fall in average employee costs should support margin expansion
-Expect a 28 percent EPS CAGR over FY24-26e

Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as traders weighed a host of conflicting supply and demand worries, from rising tensions in the Middle East to cold weather woes disrupting production in the United States.

Brent crude futures added 2 cents to $80.08 a barrel by 0702 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) climbed 3 cent to $74.79 a barrel.

Sensex Today | BSE Bank index down 1.6 percent dragged by IDFC First Bank, IndusInd Bank, AU Small Finance Bank:

-Buy call, target Rs 2,280 per share
-Q3 was another strong quarter with core PPoP growing 21 percent YoY
-Higher provisioning towards investments in AIF led to a PAT miss by 6 percent
-Mark to market loss in investment book led to a PAT miss by 6 percent
-Adjusting for both, PAT would have seen a growth of 17 percent YoY with RoA of 2.4 percent
-Believe that with new CEO, investors will shift focus to improving fundamentals
-Improving fundamentals includes expanded RoAs & strong CQGR growth
-Valuation looks attractive with stock trading at a disc to its 10-year average
-Key catalysts for stock are its loan growth momentum

Lloyds Metals and Energy has reported a 44.1% year-on-year growth in profit at Rs 331.6 crore for the quarter ended December FY24, supported by growth in topline as well as operating numbers. Revenue from operations grew by 91.1% to Rs 1,910.5 crore compared to year-ago period.

Jammu & Kashmir Bank has registered a massive 35% on-year growth in net profit at Rs 421 crore for quarter ended December FY24. Net interest income increased by 1.8% to Rs 1,280 crore compared to year-ago period. Asset quality improved with the gross NPA declining 42 bps QoQ to 4.84% and net NPA falling 21 bps to 0.83% in Q3FY24.

Sensex Today | Nifty Metal index shed 2 percent dragged by MOIL, Coal India, APL Apollo:

Rossari Biotech has recorded net profit at Rs 34.4 crore for October-December period of FY24, growing 34% over a year-ago period despite pressure in operating margin. Revenue from operations grew by 19% YoY to Rs 463.8 crore in Q3FY24, while EBITDA improved by 18% on-year to Rs 63.7 crore but margin dropped 20 bps to 13.7% during the same period.

Net loss at Rs 2.5 crore versus profit of Rs 1 crore and revenue down 21.7% at Rs 99.7 crore versus Rs 27.4 crore, YoY.

Net profit down 32% at Rs 53.7 crore versus Rs 79 crore and revenue was up 4.9% at Rs 362.6 crore versus Rs 345.7 crore, YoY.

-Sell call, target Rs 2,001 per share
-Q3 gross margin led beat for margin but volume growth remains elusive
-Company reported 8.2 percent topline growth in Q3FY24, 1 percent below estimate
-Colgate exhibited strong margin expansion
-Believe company missed an opportunity to be agile in pricing & to spur volume growth in category
-On 2-year CAGR basis, growth remains weak
-Believe company’s ability to drive further margin expansion from here is limited

Sensex Today | BSE FMCG Index down 1 percent dragged by Andrew Yule and Company, Avanti Feeds, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar:

Beardsell has entered into a non-binding term sheet for acquisition of a leading manufacturer in radio frequency drying technology. This i subject to execution of definitive agreements with mutual acceptance, and fulfilment of other obligations.

Cyient's US Subsidiary, Cyient Inc has entered into an agreement to settle, and dismiss with prejudice, the civil class action antitrust lawsuit for $7.4 million. Cyient Inc will utilize the insurance amounts available to it towards payment of the aforesaid settlement amount.

Keystone Realtors has signed a Letter of Intent for redevelopment of the plot and premises of 2 societies i.e., Veena Nagar Co-operative Housing Society & NeelKamal Ghruh Cooperative Housing Society. The project will be developed on the combined land admeasuring approximately 12,120 square meters in Malad (W), Mumbai. This redevelopment will lead to sale potential of ~3,42,000 square feet RERA carpet area with the expected gross development value (GDV) of Rs 1,200 crore.

Ashoka Buildcon has submitted bid to City & Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (CIDCO) for the project viz. ‘Request for Proposal for Design and Construction of Stilt Bridge SBR - 9 for Eastern Connectivity for Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) Project, Navi Mumbai. in Joint Venture, where the company is Lead Member of JV.

The company has received LoA from CIDCO for the said Project.

The accepted contract value for the project is Rs 662.55 crore, excl. GST.

At 12:38 hrs Ashoka Buildcon was quoting at Rs 163.35, up Rs 1.65, or 1.02 percent on the BSE.

-Downgrade to sell, target cut to Rs 180 from Rs 340 per share
-Merger called-off, non-operational concerns
-Increasing competitive intensity take center-stage
-Cut FY24-26 earnings estimate by 22-38% (assume slower margin recovery)
-Lower multiple to 17x Dec FY25 EPS

A significant trend in global economic growth now is the underperformance of China and the outperformance of India. This is getting reflected in the stock market. Since the important Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong have crashed, the Hang Seng index is near a 19-year low. This trend is likely to continue since the prospects for the Chinese economy and stock market appear bleak for now. However, if the Chinese economy stages a comeback the Chinese stocks will bounce back since their valuations are very low.

Net profit down 42% at Rs 16.3 crore versus Rs 28.1 crore and revenue up 15.1% at Rs 459.4 crore versus Rs 980 crore, YoY.

Net profit 1% at Rs 125.6 crore vs Rs 124.3 crore and revenue up 0.8% at Rs 1,155.5 crore versus Rs 1,146.1 crore, YoY.

Oberoi Realty has recorded a 49% on-year decline in net profit at Rs 360 crore for October-December period of FY24, impacted by weak topline and operating numbers. Revenue from operations fell by 35.3% YoY to Rs 1,054 crore during the quarter.

Spandana Sphoorty Financial has reported a 78.5% on-year growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 127.4 crore for the quarter ended December FY24. Net interest income for the quarter increased by 60.67% year-on-year to Rs 375.85 crore. Assets under management (AUM) surged 52% YoY to Rs 10,404 crore and disbursement increased 8% to Rs 2,543 crore in Q3FY24.

-Neutral call, target Rs 1,860 per share
-Q3 saw positive surprise on margins pat miss on higher credit costs
-NIMs flat QoQ despite rising cost of funds
-Credit costs higher than expectations, contingent buffers continue to decline
-Upside Risk: Better-than-expected loan growth
-Downside Risk: Higher credit costs dampening RoAs

Nifty Bank Index shed 1,300 points from day's high; IDFC First Bank, PNB, AU Small Finance Bank top laggards

Mahindra Logistics announced the ground breaking of its state-of-the-art warehousing facility in Phaltan, near Pune. Encompassing an expansive area of 6.5 lakh sq. ft., this facility will be developed in two phases. The first phase, comprising 3.5 lakh sq. ft., is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2024.

Greaves Finance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Greaves Cotton Ltd, under its electric vehicle ownership platform evfin, today announced its partnership with ElectricPe. This collaboration marks a pivotal moment in revolutionising the EV landscape, combining the strengths of two innovative entities dedicated to simplifying the EV ownership experience.

-Overweight call, target raised to Rs 4,171 per share
-Believe domestic capex cycle is strong & company’s Saudi Arabian business is at an inflexion point
-Company’s RoCE should improve driven by infrastructure margins
-Company’s RoCE should improve driven by an increasing international hydrocarbon contribution