Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Close Lower; FPIs Remain Net Sellers
S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.5% lower at 60,353.27, while the Nifty 50 closed down 0.28% at 17,992.15.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
FPIs Remain Net Sellers
Overseas investors were net sellers of Indian equities for the tenth day in a row on Thursday.
Foreign portfolio investors net sold Indian equities worth Rs 1,449.45 crore, according to National Stock Exchange data.
On the other hand, domestic institutional investors broke there 21-day buying streak and sold 194.09 crore worth of Indian stocks on Thursday
Foreign institutions net bought Indian equities worth Rs 14,398.8 crore in December but have remained net sellers of Rs 1,053 crore of Indian stocks so far in 2023.
10-Year Bond Yield Largely Flat
Yield on the 10-year bond remained largely flat at 7.33% at close on Thursday.
Source: Bloomberg
Rupee Appreciates Against U.S. Dollar
The local currency appreciated by 25 paise to close at 82.55.
The rupee opened at 82.75 against the U.S. dollar, appreciating 5 paise against Wednesday's close of 82.80.
Source: Bloomberg
Closing Bell
Indian stock benchmarks ended lower on Thursday, dragged by declines in banking, financial and IT stocks.
S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.5% lower at 60,353.27, while the Nifty 50 closed down 0.28% at 17,992.15.
Of the 50 Nifty 50 constituents, 33 advanced, while 17 declined. Bajaj Finance Ltd., Bajaj Finserv Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Titan Company Ltd. and Infosys Ltd. were the top losers of the index, while Hero MotoCorp Ltd., Bajaj Auto Ltd., Cipla Ltd., NTPC Ltd., ITC Ltd., were the top gainers.
The broader markets outperformed its larger peers with S&P BSE Mid-cap gaining 0.33%, whereas S&P BSE Small-cap was flat.
Thirteen out of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE advanced, while six declined in trade.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bears. About 1,703 rose, 1,769 fell, while 154 remained unchanged.
European Markets Open Lower
BF Investment Hits Lower Circuit
Shares of BF Investment Ltd. hit a lower circuit limit at Rs 413.65 in trade on Thursday, snapping its eight-day winning streak over the delisting announcement.
Scrip had risen 75.34% in the previous eight sessions.
The company in an exchange filing today, informed that "the delisting proposal was not approved by the board".
As per the filing, one of the members of the promoter and promoter group sold 400 equity shares of the company on June 30, 2022.
Consequently, as per the delisting regulations, no promoter or promoter group member can sell their shares six months prior to the initial public announcement of delisting.
Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing
Grasim Sets Up A Subsidiary Named Grasim Business Services
Grasim Industries has incorporated a new subsidiary named Grasim Business Services.
The wholly-owned unit will provide business support services including staffing solutions.
Source: Exchange filing
Adani Cement Says Orient Cement Talks Report Incorrect
Adani Enterprises has said reports of the company being in talks to potentially acquire a stake in Orient Cement are “factually incorrect.”
Source: Exchange filing
Midday Market Update
As the Asian markets shrugged off the hawkish Fed minutes, the Indian benchmark indices opened higher but declined by midday in trade on Thursday.
As of 12:28 p.m., the S&P BSE Sensex was down 336 points or 0.55% at 60,321.99, while the NSE Nifty 50 was 59 points or 0.42% lower at 17,966.40.
Bajaj Auto Ltd., Britannia Industries Ltd., BPCL Ltd., JSW Steel Ltd. and Hero MotoCorp Ltd. were the top gainers amongst the NSE Nifty 50 constituents.
Whereas, Bajaj Finance Ltd., Bajaj Finserv Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Power Grid Corp of India Ltd. and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. were the top losers in the gauge.
The broader market indices were flat; S&P BSE MidCap was up 0.05%, whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was lower at 0.01%.
Eleven out of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE advanced, while nine declined in trade.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bears. About 1,594 rose, 1,741 declined, 160 137 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Tyre Stocks Rise
Shares of the tyre companies advanced in trade on Thursday.
Apollo Tyres Ltd., JK Tyre and Industries Ltd., TVS Srichakra Ltd., Balkrishna Industries Ltd., MRF Ltd. and Ceat Ltd. all rose by more than 2% in trade.
Source: Bloomberg
Long-Term Outlook For The Metals Sector |
Marico Rises On Q3 Update
Shares of Marico Ltd. rose 2.79% in trade on Thursday. Total traded volume stood at 2.8 times its 30-day average. Out of the 44 analysts tracking the company, 27 maintained a 'buy' rating, 13 suggested to 'hold' and four recommend to 'sell' the stock.
India business marked a slight improvement over the preceding quarter to post a mid-single-digit volume growth.
Recovery in rural demand was not as discernible as retail inflation stayed at elevated levels.
Premium personal care witnessed double-digit growth while value-added hair oils had a subdued quarter, which was mainly a reflection of tepid sentiment in rural and mass personal care categories.
Easing of commodity inflation, higher crop realizations, ongoing government interventions and likely stimulus from the upcoming Union Budget augurs well for the sector in the calendar year.
Gross and operating margins are expected to improve both on a sequential and year-on year basis on account of stability in key input prices.
Consolidated revenue in the quarter grew in low single digits on a year-on-year basis.
In view of the lower revenue growth, the company expects a modest growth in operating profit.
Source: Exchange Filing
Trending Stocks Of The Day: The Funda View
Godrej Consumer Products Sees Double-Digit Sales Growth In Q3
Expects low single-digit volume growth.
At a consolidated level, it expects to deliver sales growth in mid-teens in constant currency terms.
There has also been a sequential improvement from high single-digit sales growth and mid single-digit volume decline.
The growth is broad-based and led by around double-digit sales growth in both Home Care and Personal Care
Indonesia business has started to see gradual recovery in performance
Godrej Africa, USA, and Middle East clocked double-digit sales growth
Expects high single-digit EBITDA growth and meaningful improvement in the quality of profit.
Source: Exchange Filing
TTK Prestige Down After Increasing Stake In Ultrafresh Modular Solutions
TTK Prestige Ltd. informed the exchanges that it will be increasing its investment in Ultrafresh Modular Solutions Ltd.
The stake in the company will be raised from 40.9% to 51% with the additional investment of Rs 9.99 crore.
Source: Exchange filing
IndusInd Bank To Launch Multi-Branded Credit Cards In Partnership With Qatar Airways And British Airways
Card will be available to customers by Q1 of FY24 and it will be available in the Infinite variant of Visa.
Benefits of the card entail meet-and-greet service, tier fast-track and concierge service.
Source: Exchange filing
Arvind Fashions CFO Piyush Gupta Resigns
Arvind Fashions Ltd., informed in an exchange filing that its CFO Piyush Gupta has resigned due to personal reasons.
Source: Exchange filing
Shares Of Auto Companies Rise
Stocks of auto companies advanced in trade on Thursday after December retail sales updates from FADA.
The NSE Nifty Auto Index was up 0.78%. Twelve out of the 15 constituents compiled by NSE advanced while three declined.
Balkrishna Industries Ltd., MRF Ltd., Bajaj Auto Ltd., Hero MotoCorp Ltd. and Bharat Forge Ltd. advanced in trade.
Source: NSE
FMCG Shares Advance In Trade
Shares of Fast Moving Consumer Goods companies rose in trade on Thursday as the markets were trading flat.
The NSE Nifty FMCG Index rose 1.16%. Out of the 15 constituents in the gauge, twelve advanced while three declined.
Britannia Industries Ltd., Marico Ltd., Tata Consumer Products Ltd., Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd., and ITC Ltd. rose more than 1% in trade.
Source: Exchange filing
M&M Financial Services Rises After RBI Lifts Curbs On Appointing Third Party Agents For Recovery
Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd. rose 1.58% in trade on Thursday after RBI lifted restrictions against appointing third party agents for recovery or repossession.
Total traded volume stood at 2.9 times its 30-day average.
Out of the 33 analysts tracking the company, 17 maintained a 'buy' rating, 11 suggested to 'hold' and five recommend to 'sell' the stock.
Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing
Poonawalla Fincorp's Disbursement Rises 7% QoQ In December Quarter
Total disbursement for Q3FY23 stood at approximately Rs 3,980 crore; up 116% YoY and 7% QoQ
Assets Under Management rose by 28% YoY and 5% QoQ in the same period.
Share of Direct, Digital and Partnerships (DDP) rose to 56% in Q3FY23 Vs 47% in Q2FY23.
Firm says liquidity stands at around Rs 4,850 crore.
Source: Exchange filing
Bajaj Finance Falls After Brokerage Downgrades
Shares of Bajaj Finance Ltd. declined 6.06% in trade on Thursday after CLSA and Macquarie have downgraded the stock.
Total traded volume stood at 10.3 times its 30-day average.
Out of the 31 analysts tracking the company, 20 maintained a 'buy' rating, five suggested to 'hold' and six recommend to 'sell' the stock.
Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing
Opening Bell
As the Asian markets shrugged off the hawkish Fed minutes, the Indian benchmark indices opened higher in trade on Thursday.
The S&P BSE Sensex was up 190 points or 0.31% at 60,874.50, while the NSE Nifty 50 was 59 points or 0.33% lower at 18,101.95.
Britannia Industries Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., Nestle India Ltd. and Bajaj Auto Ltd. were the top gainers amongst the NSE Nifty 50 constituents.
Whereas, Bajaj Finance Ltd., Bajaj Finserv Ltd., Power Grid Corp of India Ltd., ONGC Ltd. and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. were the top losers in the gauge.
The broader market indices were mixed; S&P BSE MidCap was down by 0.03%, whereas S&P BSE SmallCap opened higher by 0.20%.
Eleven out of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by the BSE declined, while eight advanced in trade.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bulls. About 1,418 rose, 1,015 declined, and 137 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Retail Auto Sales In December (YoY)
Sales of passenger vehicles rose 8.15% to 2.80 lakh units Vs 2.59 lakh
Two-wheeler sales fell 11% to 11.33 lakh units Vs 12.76 lakh units
Sales of three-wheelers jumped 41.5% to 63,655 units Vs 44,983 units
Tractor sales rose 5.2% to 78,563 units Vs 74,653 units
Commercial vehicle sales rose 10.7% to 66,945 units Vs 60,491 units
Source: FADA
Rupee Appreciates Against The U.S. Dollar
The local currency opened 5 paise higher at 82.76 on Thursday. It closed at 82.81 on Wednesday.
Source: Bloomberg
Yield On The 10-Year Bond Flat
The yield on the 10-year bond opened flat at 7.32% on Thursday.
Source: Bloomberg
Q3 Business Update Brings Focus On Rural-Focused Stocks | Trade Setup For Thursday
Global Cues
U.S. Dollar Index at 104.24
U.S. 10-year bond yield at 3.71% on Wednesday
Brent crude up 1.17% to $78.75 per barrel
Nymex crude at $73.74 per barrel
SGX Nifty up 0.21% to 18,149 as of 8:10 a.m.
Bitcoin up 0.05% to $16,830.71
Pledge Share Details
Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers: Promoter Zuari Agro Chemicals created a pledge of 20 lakh shares on Jan. 2.
Bulk Orders
Somany Ceramics Limited: PGIM India Mutual Fund bought 3.07 lakh shares (0.72%) at Rs 499.03 apiece.
Stocks To Watch
Godrej Properties: Sells over a million square feet of area in a new launch at its project 'Godrej Garden City' in Ahmedabad.
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services: The RBI has lifted restrictions against Mahindra Finance on appointing third party agents for recovery or repossession. Also, the board of the company will meet on Feb. 3 to consider its financial results for the quarter ended December 2022.
NTPC/ Hindustan Petroleum: NTPC Green Energy, a subsidiary of NTPC, signed an MoU with HPCL to develop renewable energy projects and supply 400 MW green energy to latter's facilities.
IRB Infrastructure Developers: The board approved the proposal to split each existing share with a face value of Rs 10 into 10 shares with a face value of Re 1 each.
Bharti Airtel: The special committee of directors approved allotment of 83.5 lakh shares at a conversion price of Rs 521 apiece after certain holders converted FCCBs worth $60.4 million.
SJVN: The Cabinet approved investment of Rs 2,614 crore for the company's 382 MW Sunni Dam Hydro Electric Project in Himachal Pradesh.
Hindustan Unilever: The company completed the acquisition of 19.8% stake in Nutritionalab for Rs 70 crore.
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation: The company forayed into petrochemical business with pre-marketing of HP Durapol branded polymersin a pre-cursor to setting up a 9MMTPA refining and petrochemical complex in Rajasthan.
Tata Power: The company will compute and claim tariff from the beneficiaries based on the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission order that grants compensation for emergency supply from its Mundra plant.
Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences: The board approved raising funds via issuance of non-convertible debentures of Rs 300 crore in one or more tranches.
GR Infraprojects: Subsidiary GR Bhimasar Bhuj Highway received a letter from the NHAI declaring the appointed date of Jan. 2, 2023, for upgrading a section of NH341 from Bhimasar to Anjar–Bhuj in Gujarat to four-lanes. The bid project cost is Rs 1,085 crore.
National Aluminium Co.: The company's board will meet on Jan. 17 to consider interim dividend for the current fiscal.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone: Business Updates For December 2022 (YoY)
-The total cargo handled grew 8% to 25.1 million metric ton.
-Cargo volumes increased 8% to 253 million metric ton during April- December 2022 period.
Bajaj Finance: Business Updates For December Quarter (YoY)
-AUM as of Dec. 31, 2022, rose 27% to Rs 2.3 lakh crore
-New loan accounts grew 5.4% to record figure of 7.8 million
-Deposit book rose 41% to Rs 43,000 crore.
RBL Bank: Business Updates For December Quarter (YoY)
- Total deposits increased 11% to Rs 81,746 crore.
- CASA deposits increased 18% to Rs 29,948 crore.
- Gross advances increased 14% to Rs 68,371 crore.
Marico Ltd: Business Updates For December Quarter
- Consolidated revenue grew in low single digits on annual basis.
- Gross and operating margins to improve both on a sequential and on-year basis.
- The company expects a modest growth in operating profit.
SGX Nifty Suggests Higher Opening For Benchmark Indices
Asian markets headed towards a positive opening on Thursday after the U.S. shares snapped its two-day losing streak.
Equity benchmarks in Australia and South Korea were flat, while the Japanese and Hong Kong markets were trading higher. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and the dollar weakened.
At 8:10 a.m., the Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of India's benchmark Nifty 50, was up 0.21% to 18,149.
Meanwhile, yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell three basis points to 3.71%.
Crude price recovered after spiraling down nearly 5% to $77.84 back at $78.75, amid demand concerns arising from longer-than-expected recovery in China.
Domestic indices ended their two-day rally to end 1% lower on Wednesday, with the market breadth skewed in favour of bears.
Overseas investors were net sellers of Indian equities for the ninth day in a row on Wednesday. Foreign portfolio investors net sold Indian equities worth Rs 2620.89 crore, while domestic institutional investors continued mopped up equities worth Rs 773.58 crore of Indian stocks.
Rupee maintained its strong start against the U.S. dollar from earlier in the day to close in the green after two consecutive days of losses.
