Stock Market Today: Nifty Hits Fresh High After Best Session In Over Two Months

India's benchmark indices ended at record high level tracking sharp gains in informational technology, and financial services stocks.

The NSE Nifty 50 settled 369.85 points or 1.64% up at the highest closing level of 22,967.65. The S&P BSE Sensex ended 1,196.98 points or 1.61% up at 75,418.04, the highest closing.

HDFC Bank Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., and ICICI Bank Ltd. were the top gainers in the benchmarks on Thursday.

The NSE Nifty 50 gained 1.75% or 395.80 points to record high level of 22,993.60. The intraday percentage gain is the highest since March 28, when the index posted 1.77% gain.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 1.72% or 1,278.85 points to fresh high of 75,499.91. The index posted the biggest intraday rise since January 29.

"What triggers this (markets' record rally) is of course the RBI bonanza. The finance ministry has an advantage. Now, we are looking at different interest rates scenario, very different fiscal management, which will surely going to bring back the foreign institutional investors, who were sitting on short," said Ajay Srivastava, managing director, Dimension Consulting.

Indian markets were under invested in large-cap and bank stocks. Today, what you see is a retail frenzy to get into those stocks.  And for the first time a Prime Minister made a statement saying the banking industry made a profit of this many lakh crore. That showed a very clear trajectory for banks that a good time is going to come, Srivastava said.

"Bulls dominated today's trade and the Index kept on compounding its gains to end the weekly expiry trade at a record level of 22,967.65 with gains of 369.85 points," said Aditya Gaggar, director, Progressive Shares.

Barring Pharma, all sectors ended the session in green with Auto and BankNifty being the performers. Major buying was witnessed in the Index-based stocks, resulting in an underperformance by the Broader markets. On the daily chart, Nifty50 has given a breakout from an Ascending Triangle Formation, indicating a continuation of an uptrend with an approximate target of 23,850. Considering today's sharp uptick, we expect a pullback in the Index where a level of 22,780 will be considered as immediate support, he added.

HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., and Axis Bank Ltd. added to the index.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Powergrid Corp of India Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd., Coal India Ltd., and NTPC Ltd. limited gains in the index.

On NSE, 11 sectors advanced out of 12 with the NSE Nifty Auto rising over 2% to emerge as the top performing sector. The NSE Nifty Pharma sector was the top loser on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the NSE Nifty Auto rose to 2.36% to record high of 23,874.75.

On BSE, 18 sectors advanced out of 20, and two declined. The S&P BSE Auto was the top performing sector, and the S&P BSE Healthcare fell the most.

Broader markets underperformed benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Midcap ended 0.58% higher, and the S&P BSE Smallcap settled 0.27% higher.

Market breadth was skewed in favour of sellers. Around 2,010 stocks declined, 1,822 stocks rose, and 113 remained unchanged on BSE.

• Revenue rose 6.3% to Rs 1,069 crore from Rs 1,005 crore

• Ebitda rose 1.3% to Rs 110 crore from Rs 108 crore

• Margin at 10.3% vs 10.8%

• Net profit at Rs 516 crore vs Rs 47 crore

• Revenue rose 1.1% to Rs 16,579 crore from Rs 16,398 crore

• Ebitda fell 0.8% to Rs 6,162 crore from Rs 6,209 crore

• Margin fell 70 basis points to 37.2% from 37.9%

• Net profit fell 1.3% to Rs 5,020 crore from Rs 5,087 crore

• Cigarettes revenue rose 8% to Rs 7,925 crore from Rs 7,356 crore

• Hotels revenue rose 15% to Rs 898 crore from Rs 782 crore

• Agri-Business revenue fell 13.4% to Rs 3,100 crore from Rs 3,579 crore,

• Board recommends final dividend of Rs 7.5 per share

"What triggers this (markets' record rally) is of course the RBI bonanza. The finance ministry has an advantage. Now, we are looking at different interest rates scenario, very different fiscal management, which will surely going to bring back the foreign institutional investors, who were sitting on short," said Ajay Srivastava, managing director, Dimension Consulting.

Indian markets were under invested in large-cap and bank stocks. Today, what you see is a retail frenzy to get into those stocks.  And for the first time a Prime Minister made a statement saying the banking industry made a profit of this many lakh crore. That showed a very clear trajectory for banks that a good time is going to come, Srivastava said.

This Rs 2.11 lakh crore dividend can really change the dynamics of the country's next year's fiscal dramatically, he added.

• GPT Infraprojects Ltd. emerged as the lowest bidder for project worth Rs 555 crore.

Source: Exchange filing

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 1.25% to Rs 75,150.63, the highest level since its incorporation. The index was trading 939.44 points or 1.27% higher at 75,160.50 as of 2:08 p.m.

The Nifty 50 hit a record high by midday trade on Thursday due to a rally in financial services stocks after the Reserve Bank of India gave a Rs 2 lakh crore dividend to the government.

"The market had those jitters a few weeks back on low voter outcomes, but it has recovered from that, and now you see more brokers come out with positive view points," Andrew Holland, chief executive officer of Avendus Capital, told NDTV Profit. The market hasn't had the pre-election rally, but it can catch up to the global market, he said.

Bank stocks are leading after underperforming in the recent sessions, noted Nilesh Jain, head AVP, technical and derivatives research, at Centrum Broking Ltd. "I think it's time for Bank Nifty to lead from here," he said, adding that 48,800–49,000 will act as resistance.

Nifty 50 is set to hit 22,800, and any dip can be used as a buying opportunity, according to Jain.

At 12:32 p.m., the NSE Nifty 50 was trading 192.00 points, or 0.85%, higher at 22,789.80 after hitting its lifetime high of 22,806.20, and the S&P BSE Sensex gained 598.78 points, or 0.81%, to trade at 74,819.84.

Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., and Infosys Ltd. contributed the most to gains in the Nifty.

While those of Power Grid Corp. Of India, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd., Coal India Ltd., and ITC Ltd. weighed the index.

Most sectoral indices were higher on NSE, with Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty IT, and Nifty Bank gaining more than 1%.

Broader markets were mixed. S&P BSE Midcap rose 0.46% and S&P BSE Smallcap was 0.26% higher.

Five out of 20 sectors on BSE declined and 15 advanced. S&P BSE Bankex rose the most.

Market breadth was equally split between buyers and sellers. Around 1,870 stocks advanced, 1,763 declined and 146 remained unchanged on the BSE.

• Kirloskar Electric Company has approved merger of four units with itself.

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. rose 2.54% to Rs 2,585.00, the highest level since its listing on Jan 3, 1996. It was trading 2.22% higher at Rs 2,576.65 as of 12:47 p.m.

The NSE Nifty 50 rose to 22,806.20, the highest level since its incorporation tracking sharp gains in financial services sector's stocks. It was 197.55 points or 0.87% higher at 22,795.35 as of 12:36 p.m.

The benchmark took 14 sessions to post the fresh high on Thursday.

The NSE Nifty Auto index rose 0.54% to 23,447.75, the highest level since its inception on July 12, 2011.

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• KPI Green Energy Ltd. approved splitting each stock into 2.

Source: Exchange filing

• Delhivery announced a tie-up with Sugar Cosmetics for pan-India B2B shipments.

Source: Exchange filing

The NSE Nifty 100 rose 0.52% to 23,757.25, the highest level since its incorporation on June 26, 2009.

The NSE Nifty 200 index rose 0.50% 12,877.00, the highest level since its incorporation on July 19, 2011.

The NSE Nifty 500 rose 0.48% to 21,338.95, the highest level since its inception.

• Gujarat Pollution Control Board revoked closure order issued after fire accident at Aether Industries Ltd.'s manufacturing facility.

Source: Exchange filing

Vedanta Ltd. fell 4.78% to Rs 463.70 apiece, the lowest level since May 18. It was trading 4.27% lower at Rs 466.20 apiece, as of 10:50 a.m. This compares to a 0.35% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has risen 61.51% in 12 months, and on year to date basis, it has risen 80.81%. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 0.9 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 68.87.

Out of 13 analysts tracking the company, seven maintain a 'buy' rating, four recommend a 'hold,' and two suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies a downside of 14.2%.

• May manufacturing PMI at 58.4 vs 58.8 in April

• May services PMI at 61.4 vs 60.08 in April

• May composite PMI at 61.7 vs 61.5 in April

Source: S&P Global

The NSE Nifty PSU Index rose 2.60% 7,428.70, the highest level since May 6. The index was 175.90 points or 2.43% higher at Rs 7,416.20 as of 10:36 a.m., as compared to 0.43% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 index.

• JSW Infrastructure Ltd. has signed a MoU with AP Moller Capital for opportunities in port & related infra

• Intent of each party to invest significantly in the platform

• Investment subject to mutually agreeing terms in the future

• The company will hold 51% and AP Moller Capital to hold 49% in the platform.

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of Powergrid Corp of India Ltd. declined 5.14% to Rs 309.00, the lowest level since May 16. It was trading 3.45% lower at Rs 314.50 as of 10:28 a.m., as compared to 0.45% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 index.

The scrip fell as much as 2.67% to Rs 359 apiece, the lowest level since May 22. It pared gains to trade 2.45% lower at Rs 359.70 apiece, as of 10:10 a.m. This compares to a 0.29% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has fallen 43.38% on a year-to-date basis and 337.75% in the last twelve months. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 0.27 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 48.52.

Out of the 17 analysts tracking the company, five maintain a 'buy' rating, five recommend a 'hold,' and seven suggest 'sell,' according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 14.6%

Shares of HEG Ltd. tumbled nearly 8% on Thursday after its profit slumped during January-March.

The graphite manufacture's consolidated net profit slumped 67% on the year to Rs 33 crore in the fourth quarter from Rs 100 crore.

HEG Ltd. slumped 7.70% to Rs 2,480.05, the lowest level since May 17. It was trading 7.63% lower at Rs 2,482.00 as of 10:15 a.m., as compared to 0.33% advance in the NSE Nifty index.

The scrip gained 112.08% in 12 months, and on year to date basis, it has risen 30.04%. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 3.1 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 57.27.

Out of five analysts tracking the company, four maintain a 'buy' rating, one recommend a 'hold', according to Bloomberg data.

• Lists at Rs 286/share on NSE vs issue price of Rs 272

• Lists at a premium of 5.15% on NSE

• Lists at Rs 281.10/share on BSE vs issue price of Rs 272

• Lists at a premium of 3.35% on BSE

Source: Exchanges

PG Electroplast Ltd. rose over 9% to Rs 2,600 on Thursday after reported a net profit higher than expected.

Its net profit rose 73.2% on the year to Rs 70 crore during January-March from 40 crore. The net profit figure is also higher than analysts' expectation of Rs 56.57 crore.

Shares of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. rose to all-time high level Thursday after the company reported its net profit more than doubled during January-March.

The scrip jumped 18.31% to Rs 1,411.00 apiece, the highest level since Oct 10,2018. It was trading 16.97% higher at Rs 1,391 apiece, as of 09:47 a.m. This compares to a 0.35% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has risen 59.23% in 12 months, and on year to date basis, it has risen 58.92%. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 1.75 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 82.92, which implied the stock is overbought.

Out of four analysts tracking the company, two maintain a 'buy' rating, and two suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies a downside of 49.9%.

India's benchmark indices opened flat on Thursday as State Bank of India, ICICI Bank Ltd. rose, while Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Powergrid Corp of India dragged.

As of 09:18 a.m., the NSE Nifty 50 was 5.75 points or 0.03% higher at 22,603.55, and the S&P BSE Sensex was 16.34 points or 0.02% up at 74,237.41

"Domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex are expected to trade range-bound today, influenced by negative global sentiment and continuous selling by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs). In Nifty, the 22,800 Call strike shows significant open interest (OI) of approximately 60 lakh shares, while the 22,500 Put strike holds substantial OI of about 78 lakh shares. Support for the day is anticipated between the 22,400 and 22,500 levels, with resistance expected between the 22,700 and 22,800 levels," said Shrey Jain, founder and CEO SAS Online.

ICICI Bank Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., State Bank of India, and Axis Bank Ltd. added to the index.

Powergrid Corp of India Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., and JSW Steel Ltd. weighed on the benchmark.

On NSE, seven sectors advanced, four declined, and one remained flat out of 12. The NSE Nifty Metal was the top loser sector, while the NSE Nifty PSU Bank was the top gainer.

Broader markets outperformed benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Midcap was trading 0.44% higher, and the S&P BSE Smallcap was 0.49% up.

On BSE, 14 sectors advanced, and six declined out of 20. The S&P BSE Realty was the top gainer, and the S&P BSE Metal was the top loser sector.

Market breadth was skewed in favour of buyers. Around, 1,845 stocks advanced, 881 stocks declined, and 125 stocks remained unchanged.

• Remain selective- Infosys and HCLT only “Neutrals”

• Demand has botttomed out but expect slow recovery

• ⁠Global companies have lowered guidance

• Disconnect between Large bank tech spend and Indian BFSI

• Insourcing is affecting tech spends

• Gen AI not helping Indian IT

• Believe step up in margins is not easy

• Margins challenge visible in LTIM, Persistent, LTTS and Coforge

• Pricing is not favourable in tough demand environment

• ⁠Valuations are high in historic context

At pre-open, the NSE Nifty 50 was 16.30 points or 0.072% higher at 22,614.10, and the S&P BSE Sensex was 32.47 points or 0.04% higher at 74,253.53.

• Morgan Stanley rated Grasim Industries Ltd. equal weight with a target price of Rs 2,560, which implied an upside of 5%

• Viscose business did well while chemicals were weak

• Their calculations for paints and B2B business suggests combines EBITDA loss of Rs. 1 billion

• EBITDA margins were better than expected helped by lower costs

• Trims estimates and rates hold with a TP of Rs. 475 (Previous 500) (downside 1%)

• Recorded low margins but delivery growth picks up

• Co. saw some stabilization in LFL in Q4

• Delivery trends improved however dine-in was severely under pressure

• Focus on volumetric growth by offering value and new customer acquisition

• FY25 to see 180 store additions in dominos, 50 popeyes stores and 25 Hong’s kitchen stores

• A pick up in same store sales growth holds key for price performance

• Rates stock as equal weight with a target price of Rs. 427, which implied a downside of 11%.

• Current operating deleverage cycle has resulted in significant cuts to estimates

• Improved underlying demand remains key to a recovery

• LFL turned positive on a weak base

• Delivery ticket size decline was partially offset by introduction of packaging charges

• L&T Technology Services Ltd. has opened simulation centre for Airbus at its Bangalore facility.

Source: Exchange filing

• Motilal Oswal upgraded HDFC Life Insurance Co. Ltd. to Buy with a target price Rs 700, which implied a 25% upside.

INDUSTRY TREND

• Industry premiums likely to grow 12-15%

• Amid strong equity market performance, customer demand shifted to ULIP products

• Increase in the share of Return of Premium products to about 25-30% of retail protection

COMPANY RELATED GUIDANCE

• Company is likely to grow at higher end of the industry growth range

• HDFC Life Insurance continues to expect to double all key metrics every 4yrs

• Credit protect is fast growing, Co expects to sustain momentum in near term

• Strategically positioned to capitalize on market demand trends while balancing VNB margins

• Agency channel mix to shift from 1/5th to 1/4th; focus on tier 2/3 cities

• Focus on higher end of income bracket for low tier cities

• Majority of 75 branches opened in FY24 is in lower tier cities

• Regulatory moves likely to be favorable

MOTILAL OBSERVATIONS / VIEWS

• 20% correction in the past five months

• De-rating steeper after the announcement of the exposure draft on surrender charges

• Premium valuation is due to ability to weather adverse regulations relatively better

• Reason for managing regulation better: product innovation and a strong distribution network

• Expect growth of 15.2/16% in APE/VNB

• One year Forward P/EV of HDFCLIFE at 2.2x has been the lowest since Jan’23 at 2.2x

Geopolitical tensions are not currently affecting the oil market, but they are having an impact on inflation, according to Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group.

Current inflation levels are higher and more persistent than many anticipated due to the influence of geopolitical disruptions. These concerns are expected to persist for the foreseeable future, according to him.

• US Dollar Index at 104.88

• US. 10-year bond yield at 4.42%

• Brent crude down 0.82% at $81.23 per barrel

• Nymex crude down 0.94% at $76.84 per barrel 

• Bitcoin was up 0.15% at $69,516.69

• GIFT Nifty was 1.5 points or 0.01% lower at 22,648.50 as of 7:37 a.m.

• Revenue up 13% at Rs 1,215 crore vs Rs 1,075 crore

• Ebitda up 18.5% at Rs 139 crore vs Rs 117 crore

• Margin at 11.4% vs 10.9%

• Net profit down 41% at Rs 71 crore vs Rs 122 crore

• Citi Research maintains 'buy' On Cipla with a target price of Rs 1,650 apiece, implying a potential upside of 11%

• Lanreotide acetate: ANDA approval could accelerate Cipla's market share

• Current market share is hovering around 20%

• Lanreotide (brand and generic) market is approximately $900m in the US.

• US sales could rise by $100m next year if market share rises to 35–40%

• The brokerage maintains 'buy' on Sun Pharma with a target price of Rs 1,640 per share, an upside of 4.8% from the previous close.

• Guidance indicates margin pressure in FY25.

• Top line expected to grow in high single digits.

• FY25 to be year of investments due to higher research and development spends related to new launches.

• Possibility for subdued margins in FY25 and stock may be under pressure in near term.

• Underlying business trends and medium/long-term margin-expansion story remains intact.

• Revenue up 24.6% to Rs 3,052 crore from Rs 2,448 crore

• Ebitda up 14.3% to Rs 635 crore vs Rs 556 crore

• Margin at 20.8% vs 22.7%

• Net profit at Rs 254 crore vs loss of Rs 45 crore

• Nuvama maintains 'buy' on Indigo Paints with a target price of Rs 1,825 per share, implying a potential upside of 30% from the previous close.

• Q4 FY24 revenue/Ebitda growth of 18.3%/17.9% came in marginally ahead of their estimates.

• Indigo Paints grown by over four times the industry growth rate.

• Remains positive on Indigo Paints' ability to improve its presence across states.

• Citi maintains 'sell' on Paytm parent One97 Communications with a target price of Rs 360 per share.

• Regulatory action impacted Q4 results.

• Full impact and bottoming out in Q1 FY25.

• Lowered its multiple substantially in April.

• Raises multiple to 24 times versus 16 times earlier.

• Revises adjusted Ebitda downward by 34%.

• Watch for bottlenecks, including onboarding new customers, merchants and payment aggregator licence.

• Bernstein rates Paytm 'outperform' with a target price of Rs 600 per share, implying a potential upside of 63% from the previous close.

• Gross merchandise value at Rs 4.7 trillion during the quarter was down by 8% QoQ.

• Ebitda (before ESOP expense) declined 50% both on a QoQ and a YoY basis.

• Payment metrics on the GMV front have witnessed a revival in April–May.

• Merchant loans have seen early signs of an uptick in April.

• Take rate inched up to 5.2%, owing to the shutdown of low take rate postpaid product.

• The brokerage maintains 'buy' with a target price of Rs 5,365 per share versus Rs 4,926 apiece earlier. This implies an upside of 16% from the previous close.

• Trent’s market share is about 2%/8% of the overall/organised market share.

• The company has room to grow its stores 3–4 times.

• Sells more than 80% of the apparel at full price.

• Revises FY25/26 earnings estimates by 2%/8%.

• Valuing the standalone business at 80 times FY26 price–earnings.

• Plans to develop a 5,000 km expressway network in Maharashtra.

• Government opened bids for six expressway projects.

• L1 bids totaling to 90,000 crore, a 34% premium to estimated cost

• Bidders: L&T, NCC, HG Infra, GR Infra, PNC Infra, Ircon, Welspun Enterprises and J Kumar Infraprojects.

• High bids to estimated cost implies that bids might have to be re-tendered.

• Developers need to work on segmental diversification to counter the slowdown in NHAI project awards

• Prefers diversified EPC players, such as NCC (but) and J Kumar (buy)

• Nifty May futures up by 0.27% to 22,657.95 at a premium of 60.15 points.

• Nifty May futures open interest down by 1.23%.

• Nifty Bank May futures down by 0.17% to 47,974.1 at a premium of 192.15 points.

• Nifty Bank May futures open interest down by 6%.

• Nifty Options May 23 Expiry: Maximum call open interest at 23,000 and maximum put open interest at 22,000.

• Bank Nifty Options May 29 Expiry: Maximum call open interest at 48,000 and maximum put open interest at 48,000.

• Securities in ban period: Aditya Birla Capital, Balrampur Chini Mills, Bandhan Bank, Biocon, Hindustan Copper, Vodafone Idea, Indian Energy Exchange, India Cements, Metropolis Healthcare, National Aluminium, Piramal Enterprises, PNB, and Zee Entertainment Enterprises.

The Indian currency strengthened by 3 paise to close at 83.28 against the US dollar.

• Apollo Tyres: White Iris Investment sold 2.24 crore shares (3.46%), while ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund bought 41.89 lakh shares (0.65%), Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore PTE bought 40.14 lakh shares (0.63%), Mirae Asset Mutual Fund bought 31.42 lakh shares (0.49%) and among others at Rs 477 apiece.

• Granules India: Krishna Prasad Chigurupati sold 75 lakh shares (3.09%) at Rs 405.08 apiece, while Massachusetts Institute of Technology bought 25.93 lakh shares (1.06%) at Rs 405.1 apiece, Axis Mutual Fund bought 25.26 lakh shares (1.04%) at Rs 405.1 apiece. Fidelity Funds India Focus Fund bought 10.93 lakh shares (0.45%) and among others at Rs 405 apiece.

• Aarti Pharmalabs: Quant Mutual Fund bought 10.51 lakh shares (1.15%) at Rs 575.83 apiece, while Baron Emerging Markets Fund sold 8.61 lakh shares (0.95%) at Rs 573 apiece.

• Moved into short-term ASM framework: Honeywell Automation India, Seamec Consultants.

• Moved out of short-term ASM framework: Allsec Technologies, Cartrade Technologies, Suraj Estate Developers.

• Go Digit General Insurance: The company's shares will debut on the stock exchanges on Thursday at an issue price of Rs 272 apiece. The Rs 2,614.7-crore IPO was subscribed 9.6 times on its third and final day.

• Awfis Space Solutions: The public issue was subscribed to 2.02 times on day 1. The bids were led institutional investors (0.3 times), non-institutional investors (2.76 times), and retail investors (6.03 times).

• FSN E-Commerce: The board approved the acquisition of the western wear and accessories business from Nykaa Fashion, approved the transfer of a 100% stake held in Iluminar Media to Nykaa Fashion and gave principal approval for the merger of Iluminar Media into Nykaa Fashion.

• AllCargo Logistics: The company’s arm, ECU Worldwide, acquired a 25% stake in Fair Trade for €2.9 million.

• Jubilant Foodworks: The company approved a further investment of Rs 30 crore in the Bangladesh unit.

• Oil India: The company signed a new long-term definitive agreement for the transportation of additional petroleum products through OIL’s Numaligarh-Siliguri Product Pipeline following the commissioning of the Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project.

• Powergrid: The board approved raising up to a Rs 5,000 crore term loan/credit line from a consortium of bankers.

ITC, InterGlobe Aviation, Page Industries, Fortis Healthcare, Bayer Crop Science, CESC, Finolex Cables, Bikaji Foods International, PCBL, JK Lakshmi Cement, Tega Industries, Saregama India, Orchid Pharma, Gabriel India, Steel Strips Wheels, Subros, Johnson Controls Hitachi Air, Sandhar Technologies, Barbeque Nation Hospitality, Tata Investment Corp. and Schneider Electric Infrastructure.

Jubilant Foodworks Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 24% at Rs 1,573 crore vs Rs 1,270 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 1,331 crore).

• Ebitda up 24.6% at Rs 310 crore vs Rs 249 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 274 crore).

• Margin at 19.7% vs 19.6% (Bloomberg estimate 20.6%).

• Net profit at Rs 208 crore vs Rs 29 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 50 crore).

Minda Corp. Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 13.1% at Rs 1,215 crore vs Rs 1,075 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 1,200 crore).

• Ebitda up 18.5% at Rs 139 crore vs Rs 117 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 134 crore).

• Margin at 11.4% vs 10.9% (Bloomberg estimate 11.2%).

• Net profit down 42% at Rs 71 crore vs Rs 122 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 60.25 crore).

FSN E-Commerce Ventures Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue up 28.1% at Rs 1,668 crore vs Rs 1,789 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 1,631 crore).

• Ebitda up 32% at Rs 93 crore vs Rs 99 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 88.43 crore).

• Margin at 5.6% vs 5.5% (Bloomberg estimate 5.4%).

• Net profit at Rs 9 crore vs Rs 17 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 13.27 crore).

Petronet LNG Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue down 6.5% at Rs 13,793 crore vs Rs 14,747 crore.

• Ebitda down 35.3% at Rs 1,104 crore vs Rs 1,705 crore.

• Margin at 8% vs 11.6%.

• Net profit down 37% at Rs 764 crore vs Rs 1,213 crore.

GMM Pfaudler Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue down 14.5% at Rs 741 crore vs Rs 866 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 925 crore).

• Ebitda down 3.8% at Rs 91 crore vs Rs 94 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 148 crore).

• Margin at 12.3% vs 10.9% (Bloomberg estimate 16%).

• Net profit down 13.9% at Rs 29 crore vs Rs 33 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 75 crore).

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 69% at Rs 1,016 crore vs Rs 601 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 824 crore).

• Ebitda at Rs 91 crore vs Rs 20 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 58 crore).

• Margin at 8.9% vs 3.4% (Bloomberg estimate Rs 7.1%).

• Net profit at Rs 112 crore vs Rs 55 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 102 crore).

HEG Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY) 

• Revenue down 11.4% at Rs 547 crore vs Rs 617 crore.

• Ebitda down 65.3% at Rs 43 crore vs Rs 123 crore.

• Margin at 7.8% vs 20%.

• Net profit down 67% at Rs 33 crore vs Rs 100 crore.

Torrent Power Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY) 

• Revenue up 8.1% at Rs 6,529 crore vs Rs 6,038 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 7,092 crore).

• Ebitda up 1.7% at Rs 1,109 crore vs Rs 1,090 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 1,231 crore).

• Margin at 17% vs 18.1% (Bloomberg estimate 17.4%).

• Net profit down 7.6% at Rs 447 crore vs Rs 484 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 509 crore).

Gland Pharma Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY) 

• Revenue up 96% at Rs 1,537 crore vs Rs 785 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 1,532 crore).

• Ebitda at Rs 359 crore vs Rs 168 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 362 crore).

• Margin at 23.3% vs 21.5% (Bloomberg estimate 23.6%).

• Net profit jumped 143.03% to Rs 192 crore vs Rs 79 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 239 crore).

Ramco Cements Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY) 

• Revenue up 4.1% at Rs 2,678 crore vs Rs 2,573 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 2,503 crore).

• Ebitda up 1.8% at Rs 419 crore vs Rs 412 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 463 crore).

• Margin at 15.6% vs 16% (Bloomberg estimate 18.5%).

• Net profit down 14.6% at Rs 129 crore vs Rs 151 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 135 crore).

• Board recommends dividend of Rs 2.5 per share.

Star Cement Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY)  

• Revenue up 10.2% at Rs 914 crore vs Rs 829 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 900 crore).

• Ebitda up 8.2% at Rs 180 crore vs Rs 166 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 180 crore).

• Margin at 19.7% vs 20% (Bloomberg estimate 20%).

• Net profit down 8.8% at Rs 88 crore vs Rs 96 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 99 crore).

Power Grid Corp Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY)  

• Revenue down 2.5% at Rs 11,978 crore vs Rs 12,286 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 10,594 crore).

• Ebitda down 7.6% at Rs 10,099 crore vs Rs 10,931 crore.

• Margin at 84.3% vs 89%.

• Net profit down 3.6% at Rs 4,166 crore vs Rs 4,323 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 4,160 crore).

• Board recommends final dividend of Rs 2.75 per share.

Metro Brands Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY)   

• Revenue up 7.1% at Rs 583 crore vs Rs 544 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 596 crore) .

• Ebitda up 10.5% at Rs 159 crore vs Rs 144 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 156 crore).

• Margin at 27.2% vs 26.4% (Bloomberg estimate 26.2%).

• Net profit at Rs 156 crore vs Rs 69 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 71 crore).

Sundram Fasteners Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY) 

• Revenue up 1.3% at Rs 1,466 crore vs Rs 1,448 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 1,434 crore).

• Ebitda up 0.6% at Rs 228 crore vs Rs 227 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 222 crore).

• Margin at 15.6% vs 15.7% (Bloomberg estimate 15.4%).

• Net profit up 5.4% at Rs 134 crore vs Rs 127 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 120 crore).

• Board declared second interim dividend of Rs 4.17 per share.

PG Electroplast Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY) 

• Revenue up 30% at Rs 1,077 crore vs Rs 828 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 1,124 crore).

• Ebitda up 53.7% at Rs 116 crore vs Rs 76 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 88.6 crore).

• Margin at 10.8% vs 9.1% (7.9%).

• Net profit up 73.2% at Rs 70 crore vs Rs 40 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 56.57 crore).

Grasim Industries Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 12.7% at Rs 37,727 crore vs Rs 33,462 crore.

• Ebitda up 28.7% at Rs 7,892 crore vs Rs 6,131 crore.

• Margin at 20.9% vs 18.3%.

• Net profit up 15.5% at Rs 2,722 crore vs Rs 2,356 crore.

New India Assurance Co Q4 FY24 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Total income up 13.9% at Rs 10,875 crore vs Rs 9,548 crore.

• Net profit at Rs 308 crore vs Rs 144 crore.

Stocks in the Asia Pacific region were trading mixed on Thursday after the US benchmarks fell on the Federal Reserve's desire to keep interest rates elevated for longer.

The Nikkei 225 was trading 154 points or 0.40% higher at 38,771, while the S&P ASX 200 was 82 points or 1.06% down at 7764 as of 06:32 a.m. Meanwhile, South Korea's benchmark was down 0.39%.

While US equity fell after the release of the FOMC minutes, their futures rose following robust results from Nvidia Corp.

The S&P 500 fell 0.27%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.18%, as of Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 0.51%.

Brent crude was trading 0.48% lower at $81.51 a barrel. Gold was higher by 0.10% at $2,381.17 an ounce.

The GIFT Nifty was trading 13 points or 0.06% higher at 22637 as of 06:35 a.m.

India's benchmark stock indices ended the range-bound session higher, tracking gains in shares of Reliance Industries Ltd., Infosys Ltd., and Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

The NSE Nifty 50 ended 68.75 points, or 0.31%, higher at 22,597.80. It settled higher for the fifth consecutive session and recorded the longest winning streak since April 25. The S&P BSE Sensex closed 267.75 points up, or 0.36%, at 74,221.06.

Overseas investors in Indian equities remained net sellers on Wednesday for the third straight session. Foreign portfolio investors offloaded stocks worth Rs 686 crore and domestic institutional investors remained net buyers for the second day and mopped up equities worth Rs 962 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

The Indian currency strengthened by 3 paise to close at 83.28 against the US dollar.