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Market closes higher, Tejas Networks bags order worth Rs 696 crore from BSNL

Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 17,398.05 (38.3, 0.2%), BSE Sensex closed at 59,106.44 (114.9, 0.2%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 14,601.95 (44.1, 0.3%). Of the 1,977 stocks traded today, 1,559 were on the uptrend, and 384 went down.

Indian indices settled in the green after switching between losses and gains on a volatile day of trade. Tejas Networks closed over 4% higher after it won its largest-ever order worth Rs 696 crore from Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL).

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the green, outperforming the benchmark index. Nifty Bank and Nifty Media closed higher than Friday’s levels. Nifty Auto closed sharply higher, led by heavyweights Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra.

European stocks traded higher, taking cues from the major Asian indices, which closed in the green. However, US indices futures traded lower as investors assessed the impact of rising crude oil prices on already high inflation levels. Brent crude oil futures rose over 5% on the back of production cuts by OPEC+.

  • Avalon Technologies’ Rs 865 crore IPO gets bids for 3% of the available 1.14 crore shares on offer on the first day of bidding. The retail investor quota gets bids for 16% of the available 20.8 lakh shares on offer. The IPO consists of a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 320 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 545 crore.

  • Mahanagar Gas sees a short buildup in its March 29 future series as its open interest rises 53% with a put-call ratio of 0.48.

  • Ed Yardeni, President of Yardeni Research, says the US Federal Reserve will likely hike interest rates by 25 bps. He expects inflation to moderate further.
  • PNB Housing Finance rises as Morgan Stanley gives an ‘overweight’ call on the stock with a target price upside of 32%. This comes after the company’s board approved a rights issue of 9.06 crore shares to raise up to Rs 2,500 crore. Morgan Stanley expects PNB Housing Finance’s net profit to rise by 8-9% over FY24-25.

  • Tata Motors’ monthly wholesales in March rises 3% YoY to 89,351 units, driven by a 4% YoY and 3% YoY growth in total passenger vehicle and domestic commercial vehicle sales. Its electric vehicle (EV) sales jump 89% YoY to 6,509 units. The stock shows up in a screener for companies with a low PE Ratio.

  • Tejas Networks is surging as it wins an order worth Rs 696 crore from Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) to supply, install and commission 13,000 of its access and aggregation routers.

  • ICICI Bank, Nippon Life India Asset Management and Poonawalla Fincorp's weekly average delivery volumes rise ahead of their Q4FY23 results in April.

  • Rail Vikas Nigam is rising as it receives two orders from the NHAI totalling Rs 1,992.7 crore. The first project involves the construction of a six-lane elevated expressway in West Bengal for Rs 720.7 crore. The company also bagged a contract for constructing a six-lane highway in Jharkhand for Rs 1,272 crore through its consortium, in which its share is 49%.

  • Deepak Khetrapal, Managing Director and CEO of Orient Cement, expects demand for cement to increase by 10-12% in FY24. He says there is a need to increase the price of cement by Rs 40-50 per bag in South India.
  • Telecom stocks like Vodafone Idea, Tejas Networks, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) and Optiemus Infracom are rising in trade. The broader sectoral index BSE Telecom is also trading in the green.
  • Anil Gupta, promoter of KEI Industries, sells a 0.22% stake in the company on Friday. He now holds a 12.18% stake.

  • HG Infra Engineering is rising after winning two projects from the National Highway Authority of India, for constructing two 6-lane highways in Jharkhand worth Rs 1,762.4 crore for the Varanasi-Kolkata route.

  • India’s manufacturing PMI touches a three-month high of 56.4 in March, compared to 55.3 in February on the back of improving output and new orders.
  • ICICI Direct initiates coverage on CreditAccess Grameen with a ‘Buy’ rating and a target price of Rs 1,100. This implies an upside of 20.1%. The brokerage believes that the firm is well-placed to expand further in the untapped microfinance space given its deep penetration and increasing customer base. It expects the company’s net profit to grow at a CAGR of 52% over FY22-25.

  • Crude oil prices rise over 5% to $84 per barrel, after OPEC+ announces a production cut of 1.15 million barrels per day. David Lennox, Resource Analyst at Fat Prophets, expects crude oil prices to hover around $85-87 per barrel in the near term.
  • Maruti Suzuki is rising despite its passenger vehicle (PV) wholesales declining by 1% YoY to 1.3 lakh units. Mahindra & Mahindra is also up as its PV wholesales increase 30% on the back of growth in SUV sales.

  • SpiceJet is rising as it sells its cargo and logistics division for Rs 2,555.7 crore, converting it into a separate entity called SpiceXpress and Logistics Private Ltd. According to MD & Chairman Ajay Singh, this hive-off will "reduce SpiceJet’s negative net worth and strengthen SpiceJet's balance sheet".

  • Avalon Technologies raises Rs 389.25 crore from anchor investors ahead of its IPO by allotting 89.27 lakh shares at Rs 436 per share. Investors include Goldman Sachs, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund and Mahindra Manulife Mutual Fund.

  • JP Morgan initiates coverage on KPIT Technologies with an ‘Underweight’ rating and a target price of Rs 520. The brokerage expects a slowdown in the growth of the company by over 20% in the next few years.

  • Barbeque-Nation Hospitality falls after reporting a ransomware attack on Friday. The company is investigating the incident and will take corrective actions. However, it maintains that its core operations are unaffected and restaurants are working efficiently.

  • Government Of Singapore sells a 2.9% stake (51.5 lakh shares) worth Rs 670 crore in Phoenix Mills in a bulk deal on Friday.

  • Ashoka Buildcon rises as it receives a letter of acceptance from the Ministry of Railways for civil engineering works and the supply of machine-crushed stones for the North Central Railway project. The contract value is Rs 284.6 crore.

  • Gujarat Gas's Managing Director Sanjeev Kumar resigns on account of his appointment as Principal Secretary to the Government Forests & Environment Department, effective from April 1, 2023.

  • G R Infraprojects is rising as it wins two projects for building greenfield highways in India's north and south belts. The first order worth Rs 847.8 crore is to build a four-lane highway in Telangana and the other for a six-lane highway worth Rs 1,248.3 crore on the Varanasi-Kolkata route.

  • Hindustan Aeronautics’ revenue rises 7.6% YoY to Rs 26,500 crore in FY23. Its order book stands at Rs 82,000 crore as of the end of March. Meanwhile, Bharat Electronics’ revenue and exports increase 15% YoY to Rs 17,300 crore and 40% in FY23. Its order book stands at Rs 60,500 crore.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Vodafone Idea Ltd. (6.15, 6.03%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Healthcare Ltd. (1,4031.35, 5.19%) and Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd. (27.80, 4.51%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Adani Transmission Ltd. (943.40, -5.00%), Adani Green Energy Ltd. (837.45, -4.96%) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (225.50, -4.77%).

Volume Rockets

14 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (75.35, 9.84%), Balaji Amines Ltd. (2,100.00, 8.06%) and Laxmi Organic Industries Ltd. (240.15, 7.81%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were KPIT Technologies Ltd. (811.20, -12.31%), Mahanagar Gas Ltd. (920.95, -6.36%) and Orient Electric Ltd. (253.55, -6.20%).

Suven Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (470.70, -0.36%) was trading at 7.4 times of weekly average. Graphite India Ltd. (275.80, 5.05%) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (225.50, -4.77%) were trading with volumes 4.3 and 3.7 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

11 stocks took off, crossing 52-week highs, while 1 stock hit 52-week low.

Stocks touching their year highs included - AIA Engineering Ltd. (2954.80, 1.78%), Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. (492.40, 0.17%) and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. (4,656.50, 0.73%).

Stock making new 52 weeks lows included - TeamLease Services Ltd. (2,203.10, -1.62%).

25 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Healthcare Ltd. (14,031.35, 5.19%) and Tejas Networks Ltd. (607.95, 4.67%). 15 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Orient Electric Ltd. (253.55, -6.20%) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (225.50, -4.77%).

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The Baseline
31 Mar 2023
Five Interesting Stocks Today
  1. Bharat Electronics: This public sector defence company has bagged multiple orders worth nearly Rs 16,300 crore in March for the supply of indigenously developed equipment and electronic warfare systems to the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. These order wins come after the company’s order inflow fell to a two-year low of Rs 3,500 crore during the first nine months of FY23 due to approval delays.

The company is expected to be a major beneficiary of the Centre’s push for reducing defence imports, as it commands a market share of 37% in the Indian defence sector. According to Geojit BNP Paribas, the company’s order book backlog of Rs 50,116 crore provides strong revenue visibility over the next three years. The company shows up in a screener for stocks with consistently high returns over the past five years. According to Trendlyne’s Forecaster, the consensus recommendation from 20 analysts is ‘Buy’.

While the management is optimistic about growth in orders from the defence sector, it plans to diversify into non-defence sectors like healthcare, airports, infrastructure and smart city projects. The firm’s long-term plan is to increase the contribution of its non-defence segment to 25% from 10% of total revenue.

With the rise in demand for locally manufactured defence systems, the company expects these orders to increase in the coming years. To be able to meet the upcoming requirements, it aims to make five new facilities operational in the next two-three years. It has budgeted a capex of Rs 600 and Rs 600-800 crore for FY23 and FY24 respectively. The management expects revenue to grow in the range of 15-20% in FY24, led by large orders and commissioning of new facilities.

  1. Zydus Lifesciences: This pharmaceutical company reached its 52-week high of Rs 493.2 per share on Wednesday after receiving two US FDA approvals on the same day. The company shows up in a screener of stocks with strong momentum.

Zydus Lifesciences received final approval from the US FDA for its loperamide hydrochloride capsules, used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, on Tuesday. According to IQVIA, the capsule has had an estimated annual sales of $34.7 million in the year ended January 2023 in the US.

The company received final approval from the US FDA for its levothyroxine sodium injection as well on Tuesday. The capsules, used for the treatment of myxedema coma, will be manufactured at its facility in Jarod, Gujarat.

However, it’s not all good news for the company. Earlier in the week (on Sunday), the drug manufacturer announced that it had recalled 55,000 bottles of colchicine tablets after it received an out-of-specification (OOS) result during release testing.

According to Sharekhan, the drug manufacturer stands to gain from strong product launches and volume growth in the US market, as its revenue of Rs 1,925 crore in Q3FY23 contributed to 44% of the total revenues. The brokerage estimates the company’s revenue to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% during FY22-25 and maintains its ‘buy’ rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 572. Trendlyne’s forecaster estimates its revenue to rise by 9.9% in FY23.

  1. Allcargo Logistics: This logistics company rose over 2.4% on Tuesday after announcing its plan to acquire a 30% stake in Gati-Kintetsu Express for Rs 406.7 crore. Allcargo will buy shares from KWE Singapore (26% stake) and KWE India (4% stake). Gati-Kintetsu Express is a JV of Allcargo’s group company Gati and Kintetsu World Express. Gati deals in overseas courier services, while KWE is a Japanese freight forwarding company.

Allcargo has been on an acquisition spree over the past few months. The company had also bought the remaining 38.9% stake from its partner, ACCI, in the contract logistics business at an enterprise value of Rs 373 crore earlier this month.

In January, it bought a 75% stake in German cargo consolidator Fair Trade for 12 million euros, according to reports. Speaking to the media about the company’s recent acquisitions, Ravi Jakhar, the Chief Strategy Officer said the acquisitions were in line with the company’s strategy to simplify the organisational structure, enhance its growth in the domestic supply chain, and strengthen its position in key strategic markets.

Apart from the acquisitions, the company sold 90% of its logistics parks business to private equity firm Blackstone in February. Allcargo will also sell its non-core customs business.

However, despite a recent rise in its share price, the company is still down 27.3% from its 52-week high of Rs 495 in November 2022. But, it ranks high on Trendlyne’s checklist with a score of 73.9% and shows up in a screener for stocks with high Piotroski scores.

  1. Jindal Stainless: This metals & mining stock rose 4% in early trade on Wednesday after it announced an acquisition of a 49% stake in Indonesia-based Nickel Pig Iron Co. However, it pared the gains and closed 0.2% lower. Jindal Stainless (JSL) plans to invest $157 million (Rs 1,290 crore) over the next two years to build a facility with a production capacity of 2 lakh metric tonnes. The company’s Managing Director Abhyuday Jindal says that not having backward integration for nickel is a big risk for the nation as we face a deficiency in nickel reserves.

This acquisition will help the company secure the supply of nickel, a critical raw material used in making alloys. Jindal Stainless has a series of other projects lined up. The company has announced an investment of Rs 120 crore to set up rooftop solar projects in Jajpur and Hisar facilities.

Sector growth looks decent for JSL as Bank of America Securities has given a positive stance for the near term. It expects steel demand to bounce back, resulting in higher prices. It also expects export opportunities to improve as export duty on steel has been scrapped.

Although the stock has fallen 5% in the past week, it gained 23.4% in the past three months and outperformed its sector by 3.7% in the past month. Jindal Stainless was a multi-bagger stock last year (gaining nearly 199%) but gained only 43.5% this year. Trendlyne’s Forecaster estimates a 5.7% increase in its annual revenue in FY23.

  1. Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries: Thispharmaceutical giant expects its revenue to take a hit after reporting a ransomware attack on its system in early March. It reported a breach of some files and theft of company and personal data, impacting operations. The firm has isolated its network and started the recovery process. It is also evaluating the expenses for litigation and insurance. The stockfell nearly 3% the following week.

The firm did a series of acquisitions in Q4FY23, including a 60% stake in Vivaldis Health and Foods for Rs 143 crore in March, US-based Concert Pharmaceuticals for USD 576 million and a minority stake in Agasta Software and Remidio Innovative Solutions.

Lately, Sun Pharma has been focusing on the domestic market to increase its market share. The US and India each contribute 31% of revenue to the company, while emerging markets contribute 19%. It has nearly 9% share of the pharma market in India. Market share growth coupled with new launches for India formulations have led top-line growth in Q3FY23. Focusing on the global specialty portfolio also led to an increase in the margins. The specialty portfolio contributes nearly 13% of its revenue. The stock shows up in a screener for top Indian exporters among listed companies.

According to the management, its US portfolio is expected to grow 4.6%, while the India division should rise 7%. Its chronic portfolio is also expected to see strong growth led by new launches.

ICICI Securities says Sun Pharmaceuticals’ India business will outperform the industry, and global specialty sales will help margin expansion. Meanwhile, profitability will be slightly offset by rising R&D spend.


Trendlyne's analysts identify stocks that are seeing interesting price movements, analyst calls, or new developments. These are not buy recommendations.

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The Baseline
31 Mar 2023
Market closes higher, HDFC Securities keeps ‘Buy’ rating on Aether Industries

Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 17,359.75 (279.1, 1.6%), BSE Sensex closed at 58,991.52 (1031.4, 1.8%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 14,557.85 (212.3, 1.5%). Of the 1,964 stocks traded today, 1,301 were gainers and 618 were losers.

Indian indices extended their gains in the final hour of the trading session and closed in the green. The Nifty 50 rose nearly 250 points and closed above the 17,300 mark. Reliance Industries will conduct a shareholder meeting to demerge its financial services business.

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the green, following the benchmark index. Nifty Energy and Nifty Bank closed higher than Wednesday’s levels. All other major sectoral indices close in the green. Nifty IT gained 2.4% at close, following the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index closing 0.91% higher on Thursday.

European indices trade in the green, in line with the Asian indices, which closed higher. US indices futures also traded in the green, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index futures.

  • Zydus LifesciencesbeatsAbbott India in YoY revenue and net profit growth, FII holdings and broker average target upside. But it lags in Trendlyne durability score and mutual fund holding.

  • AIA Engineering and KEI Industries reach their all-time highs of Rs 2,960 and Rs 1,744 per share respectively. AIA Engineering has risen 11.5% in the past month, while KEI Industries grew 5.8%. They show up in a screener for stocks with new 1-year highs.

  • Crisil expects IT firms’ revenue to fall to 10-12% in FY24. In FY22, revenue growth for the sector was 19% and in FY23, it is expected to be around 18-20%. The reason for the fall is a slowdown in the BFSI sector, which accounts for 30% of its revenues.

  • Torrent Power is one of the top loser stocks in trade today. It shows up in a screener with declining ROE in the past two years. The stock, however, has gained 6% in the past six months.

  • Avalon Technologies, a vertically-integrated electronic manufacturing services provider, opens for IPO subscription on Monday. The price band for the issue is Rs 415-436 per share. The size of the issue is Rs 865 crore, comprising a fresh issue of Rs 320 crore and an offer for sale for Rs 545 crore.

  • Anupam Rasayan, Manappuram Finance and Rail Vikas Nigam outperform the Sensex by 32.4%, 20.2% and 18.6% respectively in the past month.

  • Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, MphasiS and LTIMindtree are rising in trade. All constituents of the broader sectoral index Nifty IT are also trading in the green.

  • Shriram Properties rises as strategic investors grab a 14.3% stake in the company through a block deal. It shows up in a screener for high-volume stocks today.

  • HDFC Securities maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on Aether Industries with a target price of Rs 1,121, indicating an upside of 20.6%. The brokerage remains positive about the firm due to its capacity expansion-led growth, advanced R&D capabilities, strong product pipeline and market leadership in most of its products. It expects the company’s revenue to grow at a CAGR of 37.1% over FY22-25.

  • Jefferies maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on Sun Pharmaceutical Industries with a target price of Rs 1,200. This comes after Sun Pharma completed the acquisition of US-based Concert Pharmaceuticals.
  • Alembic Pharma rises more than 6% in trade as the US FDA approves its ophthalmic solution used to treat glaucoma. It is trading above its third resistance or R3 level and is a high-volume high-gainer stock.

  • Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers is surging as it signs a contract with the Ministry of Defence for the construction of four next-generation offshore patrol vessels for Rs 3,500 crore. The first vessel will be delivered 44 months after signing the contract.

  • Indian rupee appreciates 24 paise to 82.19 against the US dollar in early trade today. The rise is on the back of foreign fund flow inflows and fall in crude oil prices.
  • Commodity trading & distribution, electric utilities and oil equipment & services industries rise more than 16% over the past month.

  • Larsen & Toubro is rising as its power transmission and distribution business bags multiple contracts worth Rs 1,000-2,500 crore to establish gas- and air-insulated substations in the Khavda RE zone and Kurnool.

  • ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, Bank of Baroda, IDFC First Bank and Bandhan Bank are rising in trade. All constituents of the broader sectoral index Nifty Bank are also trading in the green.

  • Morgan Stanley upgrades India to ‘Equalweight’ from ‘Underweight’ amid a narrowing valuation premium and a strong economy. The brokerage is positive about India’s structural growth outlook.
  • Bharat Electronics is rising as it signs two contracts worth Rs 2,696 crore with the Ministry of Defence to supply fire control systems worth Rs 1,705 crore to the Indian Navy and procure automated air defence control and reporting system worth Rs 991 crore for the Indian Army.

  • Foreign institutional investors invest Rs 253.8 crore in the equity market over the past week, according to Trendlyne's FII dashboard. Meanwhile, index options witness the highest inflow of Rs 39,707.7 crore from foreign investors. Mutual funds also invest Rs 5,184.9 crore in the Indian markets.

  • G R Infraprojects is rising as it receives an order worth Rs 740.8 crore from the National Highways Authority of India to construct a four-lane highway in Karnataka.

  • Va Tech Wabag is surging as its joint venture with Metito Overseas secures a design build operate (DBO) order worth Rs 4,400 crore from the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board. The DBO order is for building a 400 million litres per day (MLD) sea water reverse osmosis desalination plant.

  • Reports suggest that 2.06 crore shares (0.55% equity) of Vedanta, amounting to Rs 585.64 crore, change hands in a large trade.
  • Hero MotoCorp appoints Niranjan Gupta as Chief Executive Officer, effective from May 1, 2023. Gupta has been promoted from his current position as Chief Financial Officer.

  • Jefferies initiates coverage on SBI Cards and Payment Services with a ‘Buy’ rating and a target price of Rs 900. This implies an upside of 25%. The brokerage expects a 23% CAGR in card spends and improvement in net interest margins over FY23-26E.

  • Share prices of Bajaj Auto, Mahindra CIE Automotive and UTI Asset Management fall over the week ahead of their Q4FY23 results in April.

  • Rail Vikas Nigam bags a project from the Ministry of Railways for the manufacture and maintenance of Vande Bharat trainsets, including the upgradation of government manufacturing units & trainset depots. It has to deliver 200 trainsets for a cost of Rs 120 crore each.

  • Bandhan Bank will transfer loans, a written-off portfolio and non-performing assets worth Rs 4,930.3 crore to an asset reconstruction company for Rs 739.8 crore. After hitting a 52-week low in the past week, the stock is up 3.5% in trade today.

  • Bharat Dynamics signs a contract worth Rs 8,161 crore with the Ministry of Defence for the production and supply of Akash weapon system to the Indian Army. It will be supplied to two regiments and executed in three years. The stock shows up in a screener for stocks with strong annual EPS growth.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Macrotech Developers Ltd. (930.30, 7.36%), Bharat Electronics Ltd. (97.55, 6.55%) and Adani Wilmar Ltd. (405.85, 4.99%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Oil India Ltd. (251.65, -4.30%), Torrent Power Ltd. (510.40, -3.74%) and NHPC Ltd. (40.20, -3.37%).

Volume Shockers

25 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Sonata Software Ltd. (836.30, 11.26%), Capri Global Capital Ltd. (661.15, 9.91%) and HLE Glasscoat Ltd. (504.80, 8.06%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Ltd. (291.60, -5.55%), Bajaj Electricals Ltd. (1,051.90, -4.28%) and Phoenix Mills Ltd. (1,300.95, -2.96%).

Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd. (241.50, 0.19%) was trading at 10.2 times of weekly average. PNB Housing Finance Ltd. (513.15, 5.72%) and Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (496.35, 5.91%) were trading with volumes 8.2 and 7.7 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

11 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 7 stocks tanked below their 52-week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - AIA Engineering Ltd. (2,908.00, 0.09%), Bosch Ltd. (19,369.90, 2.07%) and Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. (491.55, 0.24%).

Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd. (1,009.15, -1.54%) and Vodafone Idea Ltd. (5.80, -1.69%).

44 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Bharat Electronics Ltd. (97.55, 6.55%) and Hitachi Energy India Ltd. (3,343.40, 5.47%). 8 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (293.35, -1.89%) and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. (4,310.90, -1.19%).

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The Baseline
30 Mar 2023
Screener of the week: Best and worst performing sectors in Q4FY23, and their top companies
By Abdullah Shah

The first few months of 2023 have been anything but positive as the Nifty 500 fell by nearly 8% in the past 90 days. This week, we take a look at the outperforming and underperforming sectors over the past quarter and their best and worst-performing companies. 

Sectors like food, beverages & tobacco, healthcare equipment and consumer durables have surpassed the Nifty 500, despite a weak quarter for markets. These are defensive sectors which remain stable regardless of the economy, as consumer spending here stays steady. The general industrials sector returned 2.9% in this period, backed by the capex push of the central government. 

The outperforming screener shows stocks from the top-performing sectors. These are high-growth stocks which outperformed Nifty 500 by over 20% in the past year and by over 10% in the past quarter. Notable stocks in the screener are ITC, Siemens, Varun Beverages, Polycab India and KEI Industries

Sectors like commercial services, utilities, media and retailing were underperformers and fell by over 15% in the past quarter. The utilities sector was dragged down by Adani group stocks, which plunged after Hindenburg’s explosive report on the group’s corporate governance issues. 

The underperforming screener has stocks from the worst-performing sectors. Companies in this screener are Adani Total Gas and Adani Transmission, which underperformed Nifty 500 by over 50 percentage points. It also includes players like Aditya Birla Fashion, Concor and Sun TV Network.

You can find some popular screenershere.

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The Baseline
29 Mar 2023
Chart of the week: Facing high cost of funds, NBFCs are passing on rate hikes to their customers
By Abdullah Shah

Interest rate hikes by central banks across the world have put banks under pressure, and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Credit Suisse signal the dangers ahead. 

SVB bought billions of dollars worth of treasury bonds using customers’ deposits when the interest rate was low. However, as the US Fed increased interest rates aggressively over the past year, the value of these bonds plummeted, causing the bank to sell the bonds at high losses and eventually collapse. 

This raises the question of how Indian lenders are operating in an environment of rising repo rates.

In this edition of chart of the week, we take a look at the cost of funds (COF) of Indian non-banking financial companies (NBFC). COF is the interest rate at which a bank borrows money from the central bank and other financial institutions to lend to its customers. The general trend is that the higher the repo rate, the higher the cost of funds for banks. 

Most NBFCs which witnessed a rise in COF in the past two quarters have been able to maintain their net interest margin (NIM) by increasing customers’ effective interest rates.

Even though Bajaj Finance’s COF has risen for the past two quarters (a QoQ increase of 30 bps in Q3FY23), the lender managed to keep its NIM at Q2 levels. The company’s assets under management (AUM) improved by 27% YoY to Rs 2.3 lakh crore in the same quarter, while its net interest income (NII) grew by 24% YoY.

Cholamandalam Investment & Finance’s COF has also increased by 40 bps QoQ to 6.4% in Q3, for the second consecutive quarter since Q1FY23. However, the lender was able to offset this rise by increasing customers’ effective lending rates and a staggered hike in interest rates across its segments. Its loan disbursements increased by 68% YoY to Rs 17,559 crore in Q3FY23.

Poonawala Fincorp also managed to improve its NIM by 33 bps QoQ in Q3FY23 and loan book by 34.2% YoY to Rs 17,682 crore despite its COF rising 30 bps QoQ to 7.5%. 

Piramal Enterprises and Muthoot Finance were the only exceptions to this trend as their COF fell 40 bps and 20 bps QoQ respectively in Q3FY23. This is despite the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiking policy repo rates by 40 bps. Muthoot Finance managed to improve its COF by reducing borrowings from bonds while increasing them from banks and financial institutions.

Market closes higher, HFCL bags order worth Rs 282.61 crore from the Gujarat Metro Rail Corp

Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 17,080.70 (129, 0.8%), BSE Sensex closed at 57,960.09 (346.4, 0.6%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 14,345.60 (133.8, 0.9%). Of the 1,967 stocks traded today, 1,339 were on the uptrend, and 573 went down.

Indian indices extended their gains in the final hour of the trading session and closed in the green. The Nifty 50 rose nearly 130 points and closed above the 17,000 mark. Zee Entertainment closed sharply higher after it reached a settlement agreement with IndusInd Bank and paid the first tranche of the settlement amount.

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the green, following the benchmark index. Nifty Pharma and Nifty Bank closed higher than Tuesday’s levels. Nifty Auto rose over 1.7%, led by heavyweights Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Motors.

European indices traded in the green, in line with the Asian indices, which closed higher. US indices futures also traded in the green, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index futures. Brent crude oil futures traded in the green for a third straight trading session after industry data released on Tuesday showed a surprisingly large draw in US crude stocks, which could lead to tighter supply in the near term.

  • Money flow index (MFI) indicates that stocks like Anupam Rasayan India and Aurobindo Pharma are in the overbought zone.

  • Macrotech Developers is up 10% in trade today. The company shows up in a screener for stocks with book value per share improving over the past two years. The firm is also ranked high on Trendlyne’s checklist with a score of 50%.

  • Rainbow Children's Medicare rises 14% in six months. ICICI Direct has a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 840. The stock gains 74% from its 52-week low.

  • JSW Steel, TVS Motor and Crisil are trading above their third resistance or R3 level.

  • Media stocks like Dish TV India, New Delhi Television, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, TV18 Broadcast and Network 18 Media & Investments are rising in trade. The broader sectoral index Nifty Media is also trading in the green.

  • Maruti Suzuki rises as it achieves exports of 25 lakh vehicles to date. The stock has gone up 10% in the past year. It features in a screener for stocks with upgraded broker recommendations or target prices in the past three months.

  • Zee Entertainment rises over 4% after it reaches a settlement agreement with IndusInd Bank and pays the first tranche of the settlement amount.
  • PSU banks like UCO Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Central Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra are rising in trade. All constituents of the broader sectoral index Nifty PSU Bank are also trading in the green.

  • PNB Housing Finance is rising as its board approves a rights issue of 9.06 crore fully paid-up equity shares amounting to Rs 2,500 crore. The issue price is set at Rs 275, including a premium of Rs 265. The rights issue will open on April 13 and close on April 27.

  • The Department of Economic Affairs, in its Monthly Economic Report, states that India’s current account deficit will narrow in FY23. It also discusses the possibility of extreme weather conditions affecting food grain output.
  • Zydus Lifesciences and Gujarat Pipavav Port touch their 52-week highs of Rs 489.3 and Rs 115.5 respectively in a weak market. Zydus has risen 4.4% over the past month, while Gujarat Pipavav rose 9.6%.

  • Larsen & Toubro’s minerals & metals business secures two orders worth Rs 2,500-5,000 crore from the Vedanta group to set up a fertilizer plant for Hindustan Zinc and expand the capacity of an aluminium smelter complex at Korba, Chhattisgarh, for Bharat Aluminium Co.

  • Himachal Futuristic Communications (HFCL) is rising as it bags an order worth Rs 282.61 crore from the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation to design, manufacture and supply telecommunication systems for the Surat Metro Rail Project.

  • Axis Direct maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on Dalmia Bharat and raises the target price to Rs 2,260 from Rs 2,120. This indicates an upside of 19.9%. The brokerage is optimistic about the company’s prospects due to increased production capacity, rising cement demand and cost optimisation measures. It expects the firm’s revenue to grow at a CAGR of 14% over FY22-25.

  • Hindustan Construction Co (HCC) is up more than 8% as it sells its entire stake in Baharampore-Farakka Highways, its wholly owned subsidiary, to Cube Highways, a Singapore-based company. The expected payout to be received by HCC is Rs 941 crore.

  • ICICI Bank and UltraTech Cement are rising ahead of their results on April 22 and April 28.

  • BofA Securities maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on HCL Technologies, while it has a 'Neutral' stance on Tata Consultancy Services & Info Edge and an ‘Underperform’ on Wipro and Tech Mahindra. The brokerage expects an incremental slowdown for the IT space in Q4FY23.
  • RHI Magnesita India's board will meet on April 1, 2023, to consider and approve fundraising through preferential allotment. They plan to issue equity shares for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 200 crore.

  • Reports suggest that 6.48 lakh shares (0.35% equity) of Mphasis, amounting to Rs 109.39 crore, change hands in a large trade.
  • G R Infraprojects is rising as it bags a project for the construction of tunnels worth Rs 587.6 crore for the Khurda-Bolangir new rail line project. It shows up in a screener for stocks with zero promoter pledges.

  • Share prices of Infosys, HCL Technologies and MphasiS fall over the week ahead of their Q4FY23 results in April.

  • Quess Corp is rising as 6.6 crore shares (4.5% equity) amounting to Rs 251 crore change hands in a large trade, according to reports.

  • Porinju Veliyath buys a 0.56% stake in Shalby for Rs 7.1 crore in a bulk deal on Tuesday.

  • NBCC bags an order worth Rs 100 crore to reconstruct and redevelop Small Industries Development Bank of India. It also receives an order for phase 2 development of an engineering institute in West Bengal for Rs 46.39 crore. The stock is up 2% in early trade today.

  • Jindal Stainless acquires a 49% stake in Indonesian nickel pig iron company, New Yaking, for $157 million (Rs 1,289.8 crore). The acquisition offers the benefits of backward integration to the company.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Macrotech Developers Ltd. (866.50, 9.98%), Adani Enterprises Ltd. (1,740.40, 8.72%) and Indian Overseas Bank (22.75, 7.82%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (299.00, -9.06%), Adani Green Energy Ltd. (894.35, -4.41%) and Adani Total Gas Ltd. (871.70, -4.20%).

Movers and Shakers

42 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included NBCC (India) Ltd. (35.25, 13.34%), Suzlon Energy Ltd. (7.95, 12.77%) and Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (459.00, 9.95%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Symphony Ltd. (1,022.55, -5.75%), Bajaj Holdings & Investment Ltd. (5,866.75, -3.22%) and AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd. (3,241.95, -3.14%).

Quess Corp Ltd. (357.50, 4.12%) was trading at 57.6 times of weekly average. Cholamandalam Financial Holdings Ltd. (525.00, 0.76%) and Borosil Renewables Ltd. (414.65, 6.16%) were trading with volumes 14.8 and 7.6 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

6 stocks overperformed with 52-week highs, while 48 stocks hit their 52-week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - Bosch Ltd. (18,977.15, 2.40%), Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. (490.35, 1.16%) and Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (966.30, 0.80%).

Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - ACC Ltd. (1,625.90, 0.74%) and Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (468.65, -2.07%).

34 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including NBCC (India) Ltd. (35.25, 13.34%) and Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (459.00, 9.95%). 11 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (299.00, -9.06%) and Bajaj Holdings & Investment Ltd. (5,866.75, -3.22%).

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The Baseline
28 Mar 2023
Five analyst picks this week
By Suhas Reddy

  1. Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences: Prabhudas Lilladher maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this healthcare facilities company with a target price of Rs 1,660. This implies an upside of 22.6%. Analysts Param Desai and Sanketa Kohale are optimistic about the company as they expect its occupancy rates, profitability and scalability to rise in the coming quarters. They also see the firm’s plans to expand its operations in Karnataka and Maharashtra as key positives. 

The analysts expect an operational turnaround and a rise in occupancy rate in KIMS’ Kingsway unit in Nagpur as it plans to add more clinical talent and fill in therapeutic gaps like oncology radiation. They also anticipate the occupancy rate to increase in the firm’s new Sunshine unit in Secunderabad, Telangana.. “The new Sunshine unit will be moved to a new state-of-the-art facility in a prime location by the end of Q1FY24. This would attract clinical talent across other therapies,” they added. Desai and Kohale estimate the hospital chain’s revenue to grow at a CAGR of 21.9% over FY22-25.

  1. Shree Cements: ICICI Securities maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this cement manufacturer and increases its target price to Rs 29,130 from Rs 27,550. This implies an upside of 15.6%. Analyst Harsh Mittal is positive about the company’s prospects on the back of strong capacity additions and increased demand due to the upcoming general elections. He sees the firm’s plan to increase the share of premium cement sales to 15% from 7% in 12-15 months, as a key positive. 

He also believes that the company will be able to improve its realisations with the help of cost-saving initiatives such as increased use of alternative fuels. “Consumption cost for alternate fuels is around Rs 1.3-1.5 per kilocalorie (kcal). Shree Cements’ current fuel consumption cost is Rs 2.3 per kcal at its current thermal substitution rate of 4.5%, and the company aims to increase it to 15% in the next 12 months,” he added. 

Mittal expects sales volumes to rise, and the firm’s expansion plans are on track. He expects the cement company’s net profit to grow at a CAGR of 18.3% over FY22-25.

  1. State Bank of India: Motilal Oswal gives a ‘Buy’ call to this bank with a target price of Rs 725, indicating an upside of 43.1%. Following an interactive session with State Bank of India’s Chairman Dinesh Kumar Kharato to discuss the bank’s growth and margin outlook, analysts Nitin Aggarwal and Yash Agarwal say, “The bank’s robust performance has been aided by strong loan growth, margin expansion and lower provisions.” 

They believe that a high mix of floating loans will continue to aid net interest income and earnings, even though the cost of deposits may increase. According to the analysts, manufacturing, export, renewables, batteries and EV segments are likely to be the key growth drivers for the bank. Aggarwal and Agarwal say, “Asset quality performance remains strong, with consistent improvements in headline asset quality ratios while the restructured book is under control at 0.9%.’

  1. Zydus Lifesciences: Sharekhan maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this pharmaceutical company with a target price of Rs 572, implying an upside of 18.8%. Analysts at the brokerage believe the company’s growth will be driven by new product launches and volume growth in the US and India. They also expect input and freight costs to stabilise, leading to better profitability. 

The analysts believe the firm will outperform the Indian pharma market in the long term by penetrating newer geographies, launching new products and improving institutional sales. “The company has one of the largest pipelines of biosimilar products among Indian players, as it has so far launched 14 products in India,” they add. 

Sharekhan’s analysts anticipate strong demand in the US market on the back of robust product approvals in the recent past. The management is optimistic about maintaining the sales growth momentum in the US, driven by new launches, as well as volume expansion of existing products. The analysts expect the company’s net profit to grow at a CAGR of 12% over FY22-25.

  1. Jyothy Labs: Hem Securities initiates a ‘Buy’ call on this personal products company with a target price of Rs 225. This indicates an upside of 20.9%. In Q3FY23, the company’s profit and revenue have grown 75.4% YoY to Rs 67.4 crore and 15.7% YoY to Rs 627.9 crore respectively. Analyst Chinmay Bhandari says that the company has posted good results in the past few quarters despite input price inflation and slowdown in volume growth. 

According to Bhandari, brands such as Ujala and Henko continue to register strong growth, while Exo Bar and Pril increase their market share. The analyst believes that falling crude prices will help the company post better margins and points out that the management is trying to increase its distribution network of key brands in newer markets to improve its topline. 

Note: These recommendations are from various analysts and are not recommendations by Trendlyne.

(You can find all analyst picks here)

Market closes lower, Centre sanctions Rs 800 crore to set up 7,432 EV charging stations

Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 16,951.70 (-34, -0.2%) , BSE Sensex closed at 57,613.72 (-40.1, -0.1%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 14,211.80 (-50.9, -0.4%). Of the 1,975 stocks traded today, 476 showed gains, and 1,466 showed losses.

Indian indices extend losses and close in the red on a volatile day of trade. The Nifty 50 fell 30 points and closed below the 17,000 mark. The volatility index, India VIX, also fell, declining below 15.

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the red, tailing the benchmark index. The Nifty Bank index closed higher than Monday’s levels. All other major sectoral indices close in red. Securities and Exchange Board of India approves JG Chemicals' IPO for a fresh issue of equity worth Rs 202.5 crore. The Home Minister of India Amit Shah stated that the government is working to reduce logistics cost to GDP to 7.5% in the next five years.

European indices traded higher led by regional banking stocks. The sentiment was boosted by comments from Eurozone Governing Council Member Gediminas Simkus stating the banks in the eurozone have high capital buffers, high liquidity and high profitability in a rising interest rate cycle.

Brent crude oil futures rallied after reports stating that 450,000 barrels per day of oil supply from Kurdistan was stopped due to an arbitration case that requires Iraq’s consent to ship oil from Turkey.

  • Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Anupam Rasayan India and Aurobindo Pharma are in the overbought zone.

  • Centre sanctions Rs 800 crore to Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum for setting up 7,432 fast-charging stations under the EV scheme, say reports.

  • Computer Age Management Services (CAMS) and C.E. Info Systems (MapmyIndia) hit their 52-week lows of Rs 2,014 and Rs 993.6 respectively. CAMS has fallen 14.7% in the past year, while the other is down 35.1%.

  • Securities and Exchange Board of India approves JG Chemicals' IPO worth Rs 202.5 crore. The IPO will consist of a fresh issue of Rs 202.5 crore and an offer for sale of 57 lakh shares.

  • Emami is up more than 3.5% in trade today. The average broker target price indicates a 39.7% upside from the current price. It shows up in a screener for stocks with strong annual EPS growth.

  • The Centre allocates 39,600 MW of domestic solar PV module manufacturing capacity to 11 companies, including Reliance Industries, JSW Energy and Tata Power Solar. The allocation comes under the PLI scheme for high-efficiency solar PV modules (Tranche-II), with an outlay of Rs 14,007 crore.
  • The industries of advertising & media, iron & steel products and other leisure facilities rise by more than 13% over the past 90 days.

  • Promoter group Madhuraj Foundation acquires 1.2 crore shares (0.24% stake) in Trident for Rs 31.9 crore via a block deal on Monday. The stock is rising in trade today.

  • G R Infraprojects emerges as the lowest bidder for projects worth Rs 1,613.84 crore from the National Highways Authority of India for the construction of a 4/6-lane bypass in Belagavi City and a four-lane with paved shoulders on the Belgaum-Raichur section.

  • Reports suggest that 5.65 lakh shares (0.21% equity) of Eicher Motors, amounting to Rs 162.13 crore, change hands in a large trade.
  • Embassy Office Parks Management Services, the Manager of Embassy Office Parks REIT, approves the acquisition of Embassy Business Hub, Bengaluru, for an aggregate enterprise value of Rs 334.8 crore and exclusive ownership rights.

  • Media stocks like Dish TV India, New Delhi Television, Sun TV Network and PVR are falling in trade. The broader sectoral index Nifty Media is also trading in the red.

  • JP Morgan remains cautious on the telecom space in India due to the 5G capex cycle, incremental competition and any delay in tariff hikes, says Ankur Rudra, Head of APAC Telecoms & India TMT Research. The brokerage adds that tariff hikes will likely be implemented at the end of CY24.

  • ICICI Direct maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on HG Infra Engineering with a target price of Rs 915, implying an upside of 20.4%. The brokerage expects the company’s robust execution pace and healthy order book to drive strong revenue growth in the coming quarters. It estimates the firm’s revenue to increase at a CAGR of 18% over FY22-25.

  • Sterlite Technologies is falling as it inks a business transfer agreement to sell its telecom products and software business to Skyvera LLC for $15 million.

  • Kalyan Jewellers falls over 8% in trade. Reports suggest that 2.8 crore shares (2.74% equity) of the company, amounting to Rs 312.17 crore, change hands.

  • Allcargo Logistics is rising as it is set to acquire 1.5 lakh shares (30% stake) of Gati-Kintetsu Express for Rs 406.7 crore. The company will purchase 1.3 lakh shares (26% stake) from KWE Kintetsu World Express and 20,000 shares (4% stake) from KWE-Kintetsu Express.

  • Aditya Birla Capital is rising as it decides to sell its entire stake of 50% (25.65 lakh shares) in Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers (ABIBL) to Edme Services, a part of Samara Capital Group. Another stakeholder of ABIBL, Infocyber India Private, will also sell its entire stake to Edme Services. The total value of this transaction is Rs 455 crore.

  • Indian rupee appreciates to 82.15 from the previous close of 82.37 against the US dollar in early trade today amid a weak dollar.
  • Transformers & Rectifiers (India) rises as it receives an order worth Rs 184 crore from a central utility for the supply of transformers.

  • Porinju Veliyath's wife Litty Thomas buys a 0.98% stake in Ansal Buildwell for approx Rs 50.8 lakh on Monday.

  • SJVN secures GREEN Financing worth Rs 915 crore (15 billion Japanese yen) from Japan Bank of International Cooperation for the development of solar power projects in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The estimated cost for the projects is Rs 1,288.35 crore. SJVN shows up in a screener of stocks with improving cash flow from operations in the past two years.

  • Dilip Buildcon is rising as it wins a tender floated by the National Highway Authority of India to build a six-lane highway on the Bangalore-Vijayawada corridor for Rs 780.12 crore. The project will be completed in 24 months. The stock has hit a 52-week low in the past week.

  • PNC Infratech emerges as the lowest bidder for the construction of a four-lane highway in Uttar Pradesh. The project is worth Rs 819 crore and will be built in 24 months. The stock shows up in a screener for companies with high TTM EPS growth.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Torrent Power Ltd. (511.35, 4.96%), Emami Ltd. (365.40, 4.50%) and Bank of India (71.55, 3.62%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Adani Enterprises Ltd. (1,600.85, -7.09%), Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. (593.40, -5.67%) and Bandhan Bank Ltd. (187.45, -5.23%).

Volume Shockers

13 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included PNC Infratech Ltd. (282.00, 6.37%), Torrent Power Ltd. (511.35, 4.96%) and Tanla Platforms Ltd. (523.05, 2.60%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Kalyan Jewellers India Ltd. (107.15, -9.69%), Raymond Ltd. (1,109.20, -5.86%) and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. (593.40, -5.67%).

Sun TV Network Ltd. (397.95, -2.83%) was trading at 4.7 times of weekly average. United Breweries Ltd. (1,406.70, -0.51%) and ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India Ltd. (9,982.25, -0.18%) were trading with volumes 4.4 and 4.0 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

2 stocks overperformed with 52 week highs, while 77 stocks hit their 52 week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. (484.75, 0.59%) and UltraTech Cement Ltd. (7,403.10, -0.63%).

Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - ACC Ltd. (1,613.95, -4.21%) and Avanti Feeds Ltd. (329.05, -0.29%).

12 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including PNC Infratech Ltd. (282.00, 6.37%) and Torrent Power Ltd. (511.35, 4.96%). 23 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Minda Corporation Ltd. (199.15, -7.16%) and Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. (117.15, -6.91%).

Market closes higher, Larsen & Toubro bags orders worth Rs 2,500-5,000 crore

Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 16,985.70 (40.7, 0.2%), BSE Sensex closed at 57,653.86 (126.8, 0.2%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 14,262.70 (-16.3, -0.1%). Of the 1,986 stocks traded today, 372 were on the uptick, and 1,579 were down.

Indian indices fall from their day's high but closed in the green on a volatile day of trade. The Nifty 50 rose 40 points but closed below the 17,000 mark. S&P Global maintained India's economic growth forecast unchanged at 6% in FY24. 

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the red, despite the benchmark index closing in the green. Nifty Pharma closed higher than Friday’s levels. Larsen & Toubro's power transmission & distribution business bags orders worth Rs 2,500-5,000 crore in India and overseas.

European indices traded higher as market sentiment improved after European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde assured European Union leaders that the euro-area banking sector remains healthy. Brent crude oil futures traded in the green, extending their gains from last week as traders assess the impact of the banking crisis on the wider economy.

  • Avenue SupermartsbeatsTrent in PE ratio, annual RoE and broker average target upside. But it lags in YoY revenue & net profit growth, FII holdings and one-year dividend yield.

  • Analysts at HSBC expect Zomato’s stock price to touch Rs 87, a 64% rise from its current level. They say the company's market share will increase to 57% by FY24. The company shows up in a screener for stocks with increasing revenue over the past four quarters.

  • Dalmia plans to further cut its stake in Indian Energy Exchange and eventually exit the company. Dalmia Group currently holds a 14.8% stake in the company through three entities.
  • FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa) falls more than 2% in trade today. According to reports, Jefferies maintains its target price on the stock at Rs 200 despite the recent resignations of 5 senior executives. The management indicates that the number of exits is minor compared to the company's size.

  • Hardware technology & equipment, forest materials and telecommunications equipment sectors fall by more than 7% over the past month.

  • Healthcare stocks like Biocon, Lupin, Alkem Laboratories and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals are rising in trade. The broader sectoral index Nifty Healthcare is also trading in the green.

  • ICICI Securities maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on KEC International and raises the target price to Rs 540 from Rs 528. This indicates an upside of 18.2%. The brokerage keeps a positive outlook on the firm as it expects robust pick-up of orders across segments, balance sheet improvement and lower commodity prices.

  • One97 Communications (Paytm) is rising as the RBI extends the time to resubmit the application for a payment aggregator license. The company can continue its online payment aggregation business while the RBI awaits approval from the Centre for the past investments from the company into Paytm as per FDI guidelines.

  • Bank of America Securities remains constructive on the metals and mining sector in the near term. According to the brokerage, steel prices will rise on the back of high demand and increase in export opportunities after the removal of export duty on steel products.

  • Larsen & Toubro’s power transmission & distribution business bags orders worth Rs 2,500-5,000 crore in India and overseas. The stock shows up in a screener for companies with book value per share increasing over the past two years.

  • Rites and a joint venture partner win a project management consultancy work worth Rs 122 crore under the Assam health system strengthening project.

  • Sun Pharmaceutical Industries says that the ransomware attack on the company on March 2 has impacted its business operations and expects reduced revenues in some businesses. However, the company's guidance for FY23 remains intact.

  • ISGEC Heavy Engineering wins an order worth Rs 197.25 crore from Maharashtra State Power Generation to renovate and modernise electrostatic precipitators at Chandrapur thermal power station.

  • Butterfly Gandhimathi falls in trade as it announces a merger with Crompton Greaves Consumer. Upon merger, Crompton Greaves will issue 22 fully paid shares for every five fully paid share of Butterly Gandhimathi. This will result in Butterfly Gandhimathi dissolving after the merger.

  • Grasim Industries leases 220 acres in Gujarat Industrial Development Corp from Century Textiles & Industries for Rs 254.7 crore to set up manufacturing facilities. The stock shows up in a screener for companies with RoCE improving over the past two years.

  • TPG Growth III Fund sells a 7.6% stake (2.3 crore shares) in Campus Activewear for Rs 805.8 crore in a bulk deal on Friday. Fidelity Investments Trust and Societe Generale, among others, pick up the shares. Campus Activewear falls 48% from its 52-week high.

  • Promoter Sanjay Mohan Labroo sells a 0.16% stake (4 lakh shares) in Asahi India Glass for Rs 18.6 crore in a block deal on Friday. In another block deal, BNP Paribas Arbitrage sells a 0.02% stake (13.8 lakh shares) in Bharti Airtel for Rs 105.4 crore.

  • India's credit card transactions decline marginally but remain above the Rs 1 lakh crore level in February, suggests data released by the Reserve Bank of India.

  • Zydus Family Trust, promoter of Zydus Wellness, buys a 0.8% stake in the company on Friday. It now holds an 8.83% stake in the company.

  • Godawari Power & Ispat is rising as its sponge iron plants, steel melting shop, rolling mills and wire drawing plants at Siltara and Raipur resume partial operations on Friday. The plants will work at full capacity from April 1. The stock shows up in a screener of consistent returns over the past five years.

  • Morgan Stanley initiates coverage on Phoenix Mills with an ‘Overweight’ rating and a target price of Rs 1,700. It expects the company to more than double its rental portfolio in the next 3-4 years and expansion to improve EBITDA CAGR to 27% over FY24-25.

  • Sunil Singhania's Abakkus Fund buys a 1.75% stake in TTK Healthcare for Rs 22.5 crore in multiple bulk deals on Friday.

  • Karur Vysya Bank falls in trade as the Reserve Bank of India imposes a fine of Rs 30 lakh on the bank for failure to report a few accounts as fraud. The stock is trading below its third support or S3 level.

  • Sun Pharmaceuticals is rising after signing an agreement with Vivaldis Health and Foods to acquire a 60% stake in the company for Rs 143.3 crore. It will acquire the remaining 40% stake in the future, as per the terms of agreement.

  • Bharat Electronics (BEL) wins orders worth Rs 4,300 crore from the Indian Army and Indian Navy. BEL has signed a contract worth Rs 3,000 crore with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supply electronic warfare systems for the Indian Army. Also, it received contracts worth Rs 1,300 crore for the supply of gun fire control, surveillance and sonar systems, among others, to the Indian Navy.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include UNO Minda Ltd. (455.10, 3.64%), Biocon Ltd. (205.50, 3.42%) and Lupin Ltd. (658.75, 2.93%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Adani Transmission Ltd. (1,068.40, -4.99%), Adani Power Ltd. (183.00, -4.98%) and Adani Wilmar Ltd. (387.50, -4.95%).

Volume Rockets

18 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included EPL Ltd. (161.30, 3.20%), Lupin Ltd. (658.75, 2.93%) and SJVN Ltd. (30.85, 0.98%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd. (312.25, -8.09%), Wockhardt Ltd. (151.20, -6.12%) and Praj Industries Ltd. (308.55, -4.99%).

Thyrocare Technologies Ltd. (421.10, -2.80%) was trading at 6.9 times of weekly average. Timken India Ltd. (2,765.00, -1.21%) and Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Healthcare Ltd. (13,700.00, -0.31%) were trading with volumes 5.4 and 5.2 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

4 stocks overperformed with 52-week highs, while 57 stocks hit their 52-week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - AIA Engineering Ltd. (2,890.95, 1.68%), Cyient Ltd. (1,008.20, 0.70%) and Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (961.60, 1.09%).

Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - Avanti Feeds Ltd. (330.00, -1.60%) and Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Ltd. (810.45, -2.47%).

9 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including EPL Ltd. (161.30, 3.20%) and Grasim Industries Ltd. (1,623.90, 1.86%). 27 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Hitachi Energy India Ltd. (3,146.65, -5.61%) and PNC Infratech Ltd. (265.10, -4.62%).