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The Baseline
18 Mar 2024
5 stocks to buy from analysts this week
By Abhiraj Panchal

1. Indo Count Industries:

Edelweiss maintains a ‘Buy’ call on this textiles company with a target price of Rs 430. This indicates an upside of 33.2%. Analyst Palash Kawale met with the company’s management to get a sense of its growth plans and dynamics. He says, “The company aims to double revenue over the next three to four years with margin expansion. Its focus is on a strong clientele, expanding product bouquet, entry into new export markets, and shift in the product mix towards premium products.”

Kawale is optimistic about Indo Count due to its aggressive capex and its capacity expansion to 153 million metres from 90 million metres in the past few years. He is also positive about the textile export aspect in the medium-to-long term, as the United States (US) banned cotton imports from China, and believes that the firm will gain market share as India fills the void. As a result, the analyst expects a volume CAGR of 17% over FY24-26, and expects revenue to grow at a CAGR of 15% during the same period. 

2. IDFC First Bank:

BOB Capital Markets assigns a ‘Buy’ call to this bank with a target price of Rs 96, indicating an upside of 23.2%. Analyst Ajit Agrawal says, “Since its merger with IDFC, IDFC First Bank has delivered strong business growth with a focus on reducing high-cost funds to improve margins.” The analyst expects strategic growth in the loan book to be driven by the SME and retail portfolios, which will aid net interest margins (NIM). The management however, has guided for the NIM to stay at the current level.

The bank’s guidance for credit and deposit growth are at 20% and 25% CAGR respectively over FY24-FY29, while Agrawal expects it to grow at 24% and 31%, respectively over FY24-FY26. In his view, a strategic realignment of the balance sheet will improve the overall performance of the bank. He expects better operational efficiencies to boost ROA and ROE to 1.4% and 14% respectively, in FY26.

3. Finolex Cables:

Geojit BNP Paribas maintains a ‘Buy’ rating on this electrical products manufacturer with a target price of Rs 1,019 indicating an upside of 16.2%. In Q3FY24, the company’s revenue went up by 7.1% YoY to Rs 1,266.7 crore while its net profit declined marginally by 2.2% YoY to Rs 151 crore. 

Analysts at Geojit BNP Paribas attribute this decline to lower contributions from the construction wires segment.They also note that its communication cable segment declined 8% YoY due to delays in the BharatNet project. However, they believe that the tendering process will conclude in Q4FY24 and expect revenue to be generated from H1FY25.

The analysts are upbeat as gross margins improved 70 bps YoY to 21.4%, despite a 2.7% increase in raw material cost. They expect that an increase in capacity utilization led by stable demand from infra and construction will improve profitability. For FY24-26, they expect the company’s EBITDA margin to be above 12%. They also expect Finolex’s net profit to grow at a rate of 18% YoY for FY24-26.

4. Brigade Enterprises:

ICICI Direct maintains a ‘Buy’ rating on this realty company with a target price of Rs 1,100, indicating an upside of 28.7%. Analyst Bhupendra Tiwary is optimistic as Brigade’s sales volume increased 9.6% YoY to 1.7 million square feet (msf). At the same time,  its sales in value terms improved 38.6% YoY to Rs 1,400 crore. This was driven by the launches of 2.7 msf in Bengaluru. 

Given the company's strong pipeline, Tiwary expects launches of 10.8 msf in the next four quarters with a gross development value of over Rs 10,000 crore. He also expects a potential revenue of Rs 2,000 crore from Brigade’s joint development agreement with PVP Ventures to develop a 2.5 msf residential project in Chennai.

Tiwaryis optimistic given the company’s leasing portfolio of 8.7 msf, with occupancy above 95%. He is upbeat as Brigade is looking to expand its rental portfolio by five msf (57.5% growth). He also expects the company to add 1,200 keys (81.4% growth) to its existing hospitality portfolio of 1,474 keys, by adding four new hotels. Tiwary is positive as the company has a debt-free residential segment, while 90% of its debt in leasing and hospitality is securitised. He expects overall sales at 18% CAGR over FY24-26. 

5. Apollo Tyres:

Sharekhan maintains a ‘Buy’ rating on this auto tyres manufacturer with a target price of Rs 619, indicating an upside of 35.1%. Analysts at Sharekhan say, “As the company focuses on premiumisation, we expect bottomline growth to surpass topline growth in the next two years.” They are optimistic as the company has reported EBITDA margins above 18% in the last two quarters. This is mainly due to the company’s focus on improving product mix.

The analysts expect the company to improve its capacity utilization, currently at 75% before considering any large greenfield projects in 2026. They believe that higher penetration in the commercial vehicles segment and decline in revenue contribution from small-size tyres used in passenger vehicles have resulted in a better product mix leading to higher profitability. 

Another positive is the company’s focus on profitable volume growth. The analysts expect the company’s cost-effective production and focus on premiumisation to support profitability levels.

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

(You can find all analyst picks here)

Market closes flat, Jindal Drilling & Industries acquires a jack-up rig for $75 million
By Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 22,055.70 (32.4, 0.2%), BSE Sensex closed at 72,748.42 (105.0, 0.1%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 19,843.10 (17.9, 0.1%). Market breadth is holding steady. Of the 2,130 stocks traded today, 1,083 showed gains, and 1,009 showed losses.

Indian indices maintained the gains from the afternoon session and closed in the green. The volatility index, Nifty VIX, rose by 1.5% and closed at 13.9 points. The Indian government has approved an electric vehicle policy, with tax incentives for firms committing to invest a minimum of $500 million and setting up manufacturing facilities within three years. 

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed lower with the benchmark index closing higher. Nifty Auto and Nifty Metal closed higher than Friday’s closing level. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, healthcare, equipment & supplies emerged as the top-performing sector of the day, with a rise of over 2.7%. 

Most European indices trade higher, except for Switzerland’s SMI index trading lower. US indices futures trade flat, indicating a cautious start. Google’s parent firm Alphabet Inc. shares surged 3.2% pre-market, as it started a discussion with Apple to incorporate AI features into its flagship iPhones.

  • Zydus Lifesciences sees a long buildup in its March 28 future series as its open interest rises 6.9% with a put-call ratio of 0.6.

  • Shriram Properties rises as it sells 70% of its project inventory in the newly launched Codename Ultimate, located near Electronic City, Bengaluru.

  • Jindal Drilling & Industries rises sharply as its board of directors approves the acquisition of a jack-up rig from Discovery Drilling Pte, Singapore, for $75 million (approx. Rs 621.7 crore).

  • Rail Vikas Nigam rises as it bags an order worth Rs 339.2 crore from Maharashtra Metro Rail Corp to design and construct a 4.5 km elevated viaduct for the Pune Metro Rail project.

  • British American Tobacco initiates a $2 billion buyback program after selling a portion of its stake in ITC. The company says it will purchase Rs 739.4 crore worth of its shares in 2024 and an additional Rs 950.7 crore by the end of 2025.

  • Metal stocks like Tata Steel, Jindal Steel & Power, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and JSW Steel surge more than 2% in trade. The broader BSE Metal index is also trading more than 2% higher.

  • Krystal Integrated Services' Rs 300 crore IPO gets bids for 6X the available 30 lakh shares on offer on the third day of bidding. The retail investor quota gets bids for 1.9X the available 15.1 lakh shares on offer.

  • Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Healthcare appoints Kumar Venkatasubramanian as Managing Director of the company for a period of five years, effective May 1, 2024.

  • The SEBI deadline for PSU banks to meet the 25% minimum public shareholding (MPS) in August could impact the Rs 6.76 lakh crore rally in their stocks, which saw seven multibaggers last year. Punjab National Bank, one of the seven, meets the 25% requirement, while Union Bank of India became compliant last month after a Rs 3,000 crore QIP.

  • Adani Grop stocks like Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Total Gas and Adani Energy Solutions are falling in trade as US prosecutors expand their probe into bribery allegations.

  • J Kumar Infraprojects is rising as it bags a Rs 334.3 crore order from NBCC to develop the Hari Nagar Depot of Delhi Transport Corp.

  • Transindia Real Estate is rising as its board of directors appoints Ram Walase as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with immediate effect.

  • Amit Bakshi, Chairman and Managing Director of Eris Lifesciences, expects the company's debt to decrease by Rs 500 crore by the end of 2024. Its current total debt is around Rs 3,000 crore. He expects margins to stay within 34-37% over the next five years. He adds that the injectables segment will be huge for the company in the coming 3-5 years.

  • SJVN is rising as its subsidiary, SJVN Green Energy, receives a letter of intent (LoI) from Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam to set up a 200 MW solar project. The company bagged this order at a tariff of Rs 2.7 per unit on a build, own and operate (BOO) basis. It estimates the project cost at Rs 1,100 crore.

  • Coforge is falling after its announcement to raise Rs 3,200 crore by issuing equity shares through a qualified institutional placement.

  • Geojit BNP Paribas upgrades Finolex Cables to 'Buy' with a target price of Rs 1,019. This indicates a potential upside of 19.2%. The brokerage expects the company's strong construction activities to drive wires and cable volumes, while higher government capex will boost power cable demand. It expects the company's revenue to grow at a CAGR of 12.8% over FY23-26.

  • Reports indicate that the Centre has directed Public-Sector Banks (PSBs) to submit their business plans until 2026-2027 (FY27) by March end. Government-nominated bank directors will assess these plans on a quarterly basis, focusing on initiatives like low-cost deposits, capital raising, bad loan resolution, cybersecurity improvement, and financial outreach.

  • Lupin is falling as the US FDA concludes inspection at its Aurangabad manufacturing facility with one observation.

  • Anup Engineering is surging as it acquires a 100% stake in Mabel Engineering for Rs 33 crore to expand its product portfolio and capacity. The company's board of directors will meet on Wednesday to discuss issuing of bonus shares.

  • IRCON International is rising as it wins a Rs 630.7 crore order from National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corp (NHIDCL) to construct a 2.5 km twin tube unidirectional tunnel at Aizwal Bypass in Mizoram. The project is expected to be completed in the next 36 months.

  • Gujarat Gas is seeking expression of interest from ceramic customers in Morbi and Surendranagar for the purchase of natural gas as part of its plans to add 40% volume to its industrial segment and draw in new customers. In Q3FY24, the industrial segment's piped natural gas made up 60.4% of the company's total gas volumes.

  • RailTel Corp of India rises as it wins a Rs 352 crore order from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai for developing HMIS for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's health department. It also gets a Rs 130.6 crore order from the State Project Director, Bihar.

  • KPI Green Energy hits its upper circuit following an order win from Maharashtra State Power Generation for the development of a 100-megawatt alternating current solar power project.

  • Hindustan Aeronautics is rising after securing a Rs 2,890 crore order from the Indian Navy for the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of 25 Dornier aircraft and additional equipment. The project will be completed in the next 6.5 years.

  • Punjab National Bank's board approves issuing equity shares worth Rs 7,500 crore in multiple tranches during FY25 via qualified institutional placements (QIPs) or follow-on public offers (FPOs).

  • Nifty 50 was trading at 22,002.80 (-20.6, -0.1%), BSE Sensex was trading at 72,587.30 (-56.1, -0.1%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 19,821.35 (-3.9, 0.0%).

  • Market breadth is highly positive. Of the 1,873 stocks traded today, 1,246 were gainers and 550 were losers.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Macrotech Developers Ltd. (1,081.35, 7.7%), Tata Steel Ltd. (149.70, 5.7%) and Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. (808, 5.2%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Coforge Ltd. (5,697.15, -6.9%), Adani Total Gas Ltd. (947.25, -4.2%) and Relaxo Footwears Ltd. (854.75, -3.7%).

Volume Shockers

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

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Zensar Technologies Ltd. (583.55, 5.3%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Healthcare Ltd. (16,470, 4.5%) and DCM Shriram Ltd. (895, 3.1%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Coforge Ltd. (5,697.15, -6.9%), Tata Investment Corporation Ltd. (7,172.25, -5%) and Carborundum Universal Ltd. (1,089.90, -0.6%).

HLE Glascoat Ltd. (442.45, 0.7%) was trading at 16.0 times of weekly average.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

6 stocks took off, crossing 52 week highs, while 5 stocks hit their 52 week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - Bharti Airtel Ltd. (1,225.30, 0.4%), Crisil Ltd. (5,223.55, 5.0%) and Linde India Ltd. (6,778.20, 5.2%).

Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - Blue Dart Express Ltd. (5,590, -1.9%) and La Opala RG Ltd. (301.75, -3.2%).

12 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Shoppers Stop Ltd. (767.75, 6.0%) and APL Apollo Tubes Ltd. (1,547.35, 4.9%). 9 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Century Plyboards (India) Ltd. (647, -3.0%) and Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd. (1,977, -1.7%).

Markets closed down today . Dow Jones was trading at 38698.63 (-207.0, -0.5%) , S&P 500 was trading at 5115.85 (-34.6, -0.7%) while the broader US Tech Composite was trading at 15980.56 (-153.0, -1.0%)

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Rewalk Robotics Ltd (4.65, 675%), Verb Technology Company Inc (0.60, 328.6%) and Sizzle Acquisition Corp - Units (1 Ord & 1/2 War) (20.88, 122.1%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Gracell Biotechnologies Inc - ADR (0, -100%), L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp - Ordinary Shares - Class A (0, -100%) and Frontier Investment Corp - Ordinary Shares - Class A (0, -100%).

IXIX-CFD: highs, lows and moving averages

28 stocks outperformed, hitting 52 week highs, Stocks touching their year highs included - Progressive Corp. (204.69, 1.4%), Idex Corporation (241.48, 0.1%), NRG Energy Inc. (63.96, 0.9%) and WestRock Co (48.45, 1.1%).

4 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including NiSource Inc (26.55, 0.7%) and Globe Life Inc (116.61, 0.5%).

17 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Adobe Inc (496.46, -13.0%) and Las Vegas Sands Corp (51.10, -2.4%).

82 stocks are currently overbought in RSI including NiSource Inc (26.55, 0.7%), Globe Life Inc (116.61, 0.5%) and Halliburton Co. (37.70, 0.2%).

140 stocks are currently oversold in RSI including Adobe Inc (496.46, -13.0%) and Las Vegas Sands Corp (51.10, -2.4%).

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The Baseline
15 Mar 2024
Five Interesting Stocks Today

1. Hindustan Aeronautics:

This defence company made a new 52-week high of Rs 3,428 on Monday as the company won orders worth Rs 8,073 crore from the Ministry of Defence, to manufacture 34 Dhruv Mk-III helicopters. According to the Ministry, the Army will get 25 and the Coast Guard will receive nine helicopters.

The company also got another deal this month worth Rs 5,300 crore to manufacture advanced engines for existing MiG-29 fighter jets. At the same time, it received a hike in its contract value for the development of Tejas fighter jets. According to a regulatory filing, the value of the contract has been revised to Rs 5,078 crore from Rs 2,701 crore earlier. The Indian Air Force plans to replace its aging MiG-21 aircraft with the Tejas Mark 1A by 2025.

In Q3FY24, the company’s net profit increased by 9.2% YoY to Rs 1,261.4 crore, while revenue went up by 5.8% YoY to Rs 6,521.3 crore. The EBITDA margin expanded by 629 bps YoY to 23.7%, led by lower provisions which fell 38% YoY. 

Chairman and Managing Director, C.B. Ananthakrishnan, emphasized the company's goal of expanding into the civil helicopter market, focusing on areas like air ambulance services, helicopter tourism, and offshore operations. Meanwhile, the capital outlay on aircraft and aero-engines for defence forces in the interim budget for FY25 has increased 44% YoY to Rs 40,800 crore from Rs 28,200 crore in FY24.

Prabhudas Liladhar highlights demand opportunities for the company owing to the government’s push for indigenous procurement in defence. They note that the company has a robust order book with a further five-year pipeline of Rs 2 lakh crore. The analysts have a ‘Hold’ rating as the stock is trading at a premium valuation. Analysts at CLSA however, gave the company an ‘Outperform’ rating with a target price of Rs 3,225.

2. Bharti Airtel:

This telecom services company has risen by 2.1% today, after it announced a couple of network footprint enhancement plans under its rural enhancement project in the Alappuzha and Bharuch District covering a total of 5,954 villages and 17 towns. The company is targeting rural areas including highways, tourist destinations and trade centers to gain over 40% revenue market share in the next 12-18 months and to bridge the gap with market leader Reliance Jio.

In Q3FY24, the company's net profit grew by 53.8% YoY to Rs 2,442.2 crore and revenue increased marginally by 6.3% YoY on the back of a 11.8% YoY increase in the Indian mobile services. But it saw a 7.1% YoY decline in the African mobile services segment, which accounts for 27% of the total revenues. In Africa the company serves 14 countries out of which Nigeria’s customer base growth was affected by new National Identity Number (NIN)/SIM regulations. While the firm beat Trendlyne Forecaster’s revenue estimate by 0.1%, it missed net profit estimate by 16.7% due to the decline in the overseas mobile services and weak digital TV profit margins.

The company added a net of 18.5 lakh wireless subscribers at the end of Q3 and saw a rise in market share of active wireless subscribers both sequentially and YoY to 36%. The company leads the average revenue per user (ARPU) in the industry which rose by 7.8% YoY to Rs 208 due to a richer product mix. Reliance Jio’s ARPU in comparison, was Rs 181.7 in Q3. The company anticipates ARPU to rise to Rs 300 due to 2G&3G consumer conversion to 4G and plans to focus on key markets in South, Maharashtra, and Bengal.

Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO of the firm, said, “Revenue from the India business sustained its momentum, while the consolidated revenue was impacted by the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira and Malawian Kwacha.  We remain on course with our strategy of premiumization that helped us add 7.4 million 4G/5G customers.”  

Axis Securities recommends a ‘Buy’ for Airtel with a target price of Rs 1,400. They say “Given the company’s strong recovery potential and strong conversion, rising digital portfolio, and moderated capex, we value the stock at Rs 1,400/share – a robust upside.”

3. Torrent Power:

This electric utilities company hit its all-time high of Rs 1,287.5 on Monday after announcing an order win worth Rs 1,540 crore to set up grid-connected solar PV projects in Nasik. The company has won several other projects over the past month, including a Rs 2,700 crore order from Railway Energy Management to supply round-the-clock renewable power, and an order from NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam to supply power, with a minimum revenue potential of Rs 440 crore. Additionally, it won a 35-year build, own, operate and transfer contract from PFC Consulting with annual transmission charges of Rs 50 crore. Speaking about the rising order pipeline, General Manager Rishi Shah said, “There is an ongoing, good pipeline of projects in which we have bid, and we are hopeful that we'll be able to get them.”

Torrent Power’s profit for Q3FY24 fell 47.4% YoY to Rs 359.8 crore, while revenue fell by 1.6% YoY. The profit decline was due to a rise in higher depreciation and finance expenses. It also missed Trendlyne Forecaster’s profit and revenue estimates by 39.1% and 8.7%, respectively. However, the company posted strong operational numbers during the quarter, generating 1,994 MU of power, a 62% increase YoY. The firm appears in a screener for stocks with PE higher than their industries.

Torrent Power has an aggregate installed generation capacity of 4,287 MW and has renewable projects of 1,402 MW under development. Managing Director Jinal Mehta mentioned that the company will invest Rs 47,000 crore in Gujarat's green energy plan. The firm has also received an allocation of 18 KTPA of green hydrogen production under the solar PV PLI tender, at an average PLI of Rs 28.9 per kg.

Geojit BNP Paribas gives Torrent Power a ‘Sell’ call due to softening gas prices. The brokerage is cautious over the execution risks in renewable capacity additions, current high valuations, and the recent rise in stock price (up 59.1% in the past six months).

4. PayTM (One97 Communications):

This digital payments player saw its parent company One97 Communications’ share price hit the upper circuit on Friday, after it got the nod from NPCI for a third-party application provider licence. The NPCI approval for PayTM came just in time, as Paytm Payments Bank ceases operations today.  

The licence approval allows PayTM to continue with payments after PPB stops operations. Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI and YES Bank will be the payment service provider banks for PayTM. YES Bank will be the merchant acquiring bank for both existing and new merchants, which means that the @Paytm handle will now redirect to YES Bank for transactions. 

Paytm's business model – minus PayTM Payments Bank, and with this licence – is now more like pure payment service companies like PhonePe and Google Pay. 

CFO Madhur Deora had estimated the “worst case scenario” of RBI’s action against PayTM at Rs. 300-500 crore impact on annual EBITDA, which is unlikely now that the business has received the licence. But PayTM is not yet completely out of the woods. One lingering question is how successful it will be in retaining its merchant base in the coming months, with competitors eyeing its customers in the wake of PayTM’s reputational damage. The merchants are key to Paytm’s bottomline. The average ticket size of PayTM’s merchant loans was Rs 2 lakh at the end of Q3FY24, Rs. 30,000 higher than the personal loan average.

UBS Securities recently highlighted the churn that is likely in PayTM’s customer and merchant base. It estimated this at 15-20%, with a 60% QoQ decline in loan origination. 

Analysts have been increasingly lukewarm on the stock since the RBI action – the Forecaster consensus is ‘Hold’. A major complaint from the regulator – weak corporate governance – is still visible. As analysts point out, Vijay Sekhar Sharma remains MD, Chairman and CEO of the company. PayTM seems reluctant to reform unless pushed, and regulators as a result may continue to side-eye the company on its various corporate governance and transparency issues.

5. Rail Vikas Nigam

This construction & engineering stock fell by 8.6% on Wednesday as the broader market declined. However, it recovered sharply on Thursday to rise by 9.4% after its joint venture (JV) with Salasar Techno Engineering bagged an order worth Rs 174 crore from Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission. The company has also won eight other orders since February 7. 

The largest order is worth Rs 888.6 crore from the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board, received on February 7, 2024 to develop the distribution network in the South Zone of the state. The project is expected to be completed in the next 24 months.Other wins include new orders from the Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corp, and the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board. At the start of the year, the company also reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with REC to fund infra projects up to Rs 35,000 crore.

Commenting on the results, management said, “We have been actively exploring opportunities in Central Asia, the UAE, and Western Asia alongside our operations in the UAE. As a result, we anticipate achieving a profit that aligns with our performance in other sectors.”

However, despite a good order book, the company’s revenue reduced by 6.4% YoY in Q3FY24 to Rs 4,689.3 crore due to a high number of orders being in the execution phase. The management believes revenue is largely in line with the expectations of Rs 22,000 crore in FY24, despite falling during Q3FY24. It posted a revenue of Rs 16,080.5 crore in the first three quarters of FY24 and it expects the balance to be achieved in Q4FY24. However, its net profit declined by 6.2% YoY on the back of its taxes increasing by 74% YoY to Rs 112.8 crore during the quarter. 

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

Market closes lower, Star India initiates arbitration proceedings against Zee at the London Court of Intl Arbitration
By Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 22,023.35 (-123.3, -0.6%), BSE Sensex closed at 72,643.43 (-453.9, -0.6%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 19,825.20 (-91.2, -0.5%). Market breadth is even. Of the 2,082 stocks traded today, 984 were gainers and 1,069 were losers.

Indian indices maintained the losses from the afternoon session and closed in the red. The volatility index, Nifty VIX, rose by 0.5% and closed at 13.7 points. The data released by the Election Commission revealed Bharti Airtel, Shree Cements, Aurobindo Pharma, Alkem Laboratories, Bajaj Auto and Torrent Pharmaceuticals as the buyers of electoral bonds between April 2019 and January 2024.

Nifty Smallcap 100 closed in the green, while Nifty Midcap 100 closed lower, following the benchmark index. Nifty FMCG and Nifty Metal closed marginally higher than Thursday’s closing level. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, hardware technology & equipment emerged as the top-performing sector of the day, with a rise of 1.4%. 

Most European indices trade lower, except for France’s CAC 40 and England’s FTSE 250 index trading higher. US indices futures trade flat, indicating a cautious start. Brent crude prices trade above $84 per barrel after surging 4% this week. A recent strike by Ukrainian forces on Russian oil refineries caused a fire at Rosneft’s biggest refinery. US crude stockpile also declined this week, leading to the gains for crude prices.

  • Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Zydus Lifesciences and Intellect Design Arena are in the overbought zone.

  • NCC is falling sharply as its subsidiary, NCC Infrastructure Holdings, agrees to a Rs 175 crore settlement with TAQA India Power Ventures and Himachal Sorang. The settlement relates to the divestment of the Himachal Sorang Power Project. NCC will make the payment in three instalments to TAQA and Himachal Sorang.

  • Sikka Ports & Terminals and Jamnagar Utilities & Power acquire 0.5% and 1.1% stakes, respectively, in Jio Financial Services from Reliance Industries Holding.

  • Zee Entertainment Enterprises falls sharply as Star India initiates arbitration proceedings against the company at the London Court of International Arbitration. Star India claims non-compliance with the terms of an agreement signed between the two companies on August 26, 2022.

  • Citigroup notes that India's banking liquidity recovery has pushed key overnight rates closer to the policy rate after a five-month break, indicating the start of monetary policy easing in India. The brokerage observes that the weighted average of the call money rate remained roughly 15 points above the benchmark from October to January.

  • Vishnu Prakash R Punglia rises as it wins an order worth Rs 103.5 crore from HSIIDC Kharkhoda for the construction of 57 water treatment plants.

  • Krystal Integrated Services' Rs 300 crore IPO gets bids for 0.7X the available 30 lakh shares on offer on the second day of bidding. The retail investor quota gets bids for 0.7X the available 15.1 lakh shares on offer.

  • Ahluwalia Contracts is rising as it bags an order worth Rs 364 crore from the government of Assam to construct an open stadium at Amingaon Sports Complex, Assam. The project is expected to be completed in the next 24 months.

  • KPI Green Energy wins the bid for a 500 MW hybrid renewable power project by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL), which includes an additional 500 MW greenshoe option.

  • Biocon falls as its Chief Financial Officer Indranil Sen resigns from the company, effective today.

  • Foreign institutional investors invest Rs 18,412.3 crore in the equity market over the past week, according to Trendlyne's FII dashboard. On the other hand, index options witness the highest outflow of Rs 51,903.5 crore from foreign investors. Meanwhile, mutual funds are net buyers in the equity market, injecting Rs 3,895.1 crore during the same period.

  • SpiceJet rises sharply as it signs a lease agreement for two wide-body A340 aircraft for its upcoming Haj operations. The airline's Haj operations generated Rs 337 crore in revenue in 2023.

  • India’s domestic air traffic grows by 4.8% YoY in February, according to DGCA data. IndiGo’s market share falls by 100 bps to 60.1% MoM, while Air India’s stands at 12.8%.

  • Auto stocks like TVS Motor, Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Auto are falling in trade. The broader sectoral index, Nifty Auto, is also trading in the red.

  • Complying with the Supreme Court's directions, the Election Commission releases data on electoral bonds bought by companies and individuals from April 2019 to January 2024, sourced from State Bank of India. Buyers include Bharti Airtel, Shree Cements, Aurobindo Pharma, Alkem Laboratories, Bajaj Auto and Torrent Pharmaceuticals.

  • Navin Fluorine International's board of directors approve a Rs 250 crore investment in its subsidiary, Navin Fluorine Advanced Sciences. The company will use this investment to repay existing debts and further business funding requirements.

  • The Union government will soon announce the timeline for signing the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) after the legal review of pillars III and IV are done. Pillar III will concentrate on advancing clean energy and environmentally sustainable technologies, while Pillar IV aims to boost investment, trade, and commerce in IPEF economies through the enforcement of robust anti-corruption and tax policies.

  • Metal stocks like Coal India, NMDC, Jindal Steel & Power and Jindal Stainless are falling in trade. All constituents of the broader BSE Metal index are also trading in the red, causing it to decline more than 2%.

  • L&T Technology Services rises as it bags a $100 million (approx. Rs 829.1 crore) program from the Maharashtra State Cyber Department to set up a cybersecurity centre for the state using its AI and digital forensic tools.

  • RailTel Corp of India wins a Rs 113.5 crore order from Odisha Computer Application Centre to establish network connectivity in Odisha under OdishaNet Phase-1.

  • As the government lowers petrol and diesel prices by Rs 2 per litre starting today, shares of state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) such as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) decline.

  • Shakti Pumps (India) hits its upper circuit following a Rs 93 crore work order win from the Maharashtra Energy Department Agency, set to be completed within 120 days.

  • One97 Communications hits the upper circuit as the National Payment Corp of India approves it to participate in UPI as a third-party application provider under the multi-bank mode.

  • Eris Lifesciences signs an agreement with Biocon Biologics to acquire its Indian branded formulations business for Rs 1,242 crore. The company has also entered into a deal with Swiss Parenterals to acquire a 19% stake for Rs 238 crore.

  • Ashok Leyland is rising as its subsidiary, Hinduja Tech, signs an agreement to secure $50 million (approx. Rs 414.8 crore) investment from Creador for a 19.6% stake in the company.

  • Nifty 50 was trading at 22,094.85 (-51.8, -0.2%) , BSE Sensex was trading at 72,886.77 (-210.5, -0.3%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 19,912.15 (-4.2, 0.0%)

  • Of the 1,839 stocks traded today, 1,216 showed gains, and 569 showed losses.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Relaxo Footwears Ltd. (887.90, 10.6%), Solar Industries India Ltd. (8,855.50, 8.7%) and IDBI Bank Ltd. (84.20, 5.7%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (468.85, -6.3%), Biocon Ltd. (251.65, -5.9%) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (161, -5.5%).

Crowd Puller Stocks

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

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (890.45, 10.7%), Relaxo Footwears Ltd. (887.90, 10.6%) and ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India Ltd. (15,313, 7.9%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (468.85, -6.3%), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (161, -5.5%) and Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (289.40, -4.9%).

Supreme Petrochem Ltd. (604.10, -3.9%) was trading at 9.7 times of weekly average. Campus Activewear Ltd. (232.25, 5.2%) and Metro Brands Ltd. (1,078.75, 3.8%) were trading with volumes 9.6 and 6.4 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

5 stocks took off, crossing 52 week highs, while 5 stocks were underachievers and hit their 52 week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - Bharti Airtel Ltd. (1,220, 2.1%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd. (2,728.55, 1.5%) and Solar Industries India Ltd. (8,855.50, 8.7%).

Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (289.40, -4.9%) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (141.70, -3.5%).

25 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Relaxo Footwears Ltd. (887.90, 10.6%) and ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India Ltd. (15,313, 7.9%). 10 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Biocon Ltd. (251.65, -5.9%) and Century Plyboards (India) Ltd. (664, -3.8%).

Market closes higher, Yes Bank's promoters reportedly plan to sell its 51% stake in the company for $8-9 billion
By Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50 closed at 22,146.65 (149.0, 0.7%), BSE Sensex closed at 73,097.28 (335.4, 0.5%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 19,916.35 (270.1, 1.4%). Market breadth is ticking up strongly. Of the 2,096 stocks traded today, 1,695 were on the uptrend, and 377 went down.

Indian indices extended their gains from the afternoon session and closed in the green. The Indian volatility index, Nifty VIX, fell 5.6% and closed at 13.6 points. Rail Vikas Nigam closed sharply higher after its joint venture (JV) with Salasar Techno Engineering bagged an order worth Rs 174 crore from Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission.

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the green, taking cues from the benchmark index. Nifty Energy and Nifty Infra closed higher than their Wednesday close. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, Telecommunications Equipment emerged as the top-performing sector of the day, with a rise of 11%.

Most Major Asian indices closed lower except for India’s BSE Sensex and Japan’s Nikkei 225 closing in the green. European indices trade flat or higher amid mixed global cues. US index futures traded in the green, indicating a positive start to the trading session. Brent crude oil futures traded in the green after closing 2% higher on Wednesday.

  • Multi Commodity Exchange of India sees a long buildup in its March 28 future series as its open interest rises 9.4% with a put-call ratio of 0.3.

  • Genesys International Corp surges as it wins a contract worth Rs 155 crore from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to develop an accurate 3D city model and map stack for Mumbai, with updates scheduled over the next three years.

  • Yes Bank surges more than 9% as reports emerge that the lender's promoter is planning to sell its entire 51% stake in the company for $8-9 billion (approx. Rs 66,272-74,556 crore).

  • Adani Green Energy rises over 7% as Adani Renewable Energy signs power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for 534 MW of solar power projects. This agreement brings the company's total renewable energy project portfolio to 21,778 MWac capacity.
  • Power Mech Projects rises as it receives a Rs 305.8 crore order from South East Central Railway to build an electrified railway line in Chhattisgarh.

  • Rail Vikas Nigam surges more than 9% as its joint venture (JV) with Salasar Techno Engineering bags an order worth Rs 174 crore from Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission. The order is for the construction of 132kV & 220kV transmission lines and associated feeder bays in Madhya Pradesh.

  • Popular Vehicles and Services' Rs 601.6 crore IPO gets bids for 0.9X the available 1.4 crore shares on offer on the third day of bidding. The retail investor quota gets bids for 0.9X the available 72.8 lakh shares on offer.

  • Fitch Ratings raises India's FY25 real gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to 7% from 6.5%, citing strong domestic demand and increasing corporate and consumer confidence. However, it has moderated its stance on rate cuts.

  • GAIL (India) rises sharply as it plans to enter the liquified natural gas (LNG) business, with an investment of Rs 650 crore, to set up LNG dispensing infrastructure.

  • SpiceJet rises over 5% as it signs agreements to lease 10 aircraft to expand its fleet for the upcoming summer schedule. The airline also benefits from settlement agreements that included receiving three airframes, leading to savings of Rs 685 crore.

  • Zydus Lifesciences rises as it receives final approval from the US FDA to manufacture and market chlorpromazine hydrochloride injection. It is used in the treatment of schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, manic phase or bipolar disorder. It also receives tentative approval from the US FDA to manufacture and market edaravone injections.

  • India’s WPI inflation eases to 0.2% in February from 0.3% in January 2024. Wholesale food inflation stands at 4.1%, compared to 3.8% in January.

  • KEC International is rising as it bags multiple orders worth Rs 2,257 crore across transmission & distribution, oil & gas pipelines, civil and cables businesses in international and domestic markets.

  • Bajel Projects rises as it wins an order worth Rs 358.4 crore from Power Grid Corp of India to supply goods and services for transmission line package.

  • Kalpataru Projects International wins new orders worth Rs 2,445 crore from Indian and overseas clients under transmission & distribution, and buildings & factories businesses.

  • According to a Colliers report, foreign investors have annually invested an average of $4 billion in India over the past five years, owing to its economic resilience, attractive investment climate, and rising urbanization. Foreign inflows rebounded in 2023, up by 20% YoY to $3.6 billion. The firm expects sustained investor interest, with new funds eager to enter the Indian market.

  • Larsen & Toubro's hydrocarbon vertical secures an order worth Rs 5,000-10,000 crore from a client in the Middle East for an onshore gas pipeline project.

  • Cholamandalam Investment & Finance rises as it buys 4.7 acres from DLF Home Developers for Rs 735 crore in Chennai.

  • Paramount decides to sell its entire stake in TV18 Broadcast to Reliance for Rs 4,286 crore, reports suggest.

  • Gopal Snacks’ shares debut on the bourses at a 12.5% discount to the issue price of Rs 401. The Rs 650 crore IPO has received bids for 9 times the total shares on offer.

  • India's average cement price has fallen by 4.63% sequentially so far in Q4, with every region seeing a drop. The most significant QoQ declines were in the east (5.5%) and south (5.3%). While Q4 demand slightly improved, sales were negatively affected by harsh winters in the north, financial issues in the east, and farmer protests in the NCR and Punjab markets.

  • Azad Engineering is rising as it signs a seven-year contract worth $35 million (approx. Rs 290 crore) with Vernova to supply high-complex rotating airfoils for the nuclear, industrial and thermal power industries.

  • Tata Motors inks an agreement with the Tamil Nadu government to set up a Rs 9,000 crore vehicle manufacturing facility.

  • IIFL Finance's board of directors approves a Rs 2,0000 crore fundraising plan, aiming for Rs 1,500 crore through a rights issue of shares and Rs 500 crore via non-convertible debentures (NCDs).

  • Hindustan Aeronautics reportedly bags two contracts worth Rs 8,073 crore from the defence ministry to supply 34 advanced light helicopters for the Indian Army and Coast Guard.

  • Nifty 50 was trading at 21,929.95 (-67.8, -0.3%), BSE Sensex was trading at 72,655.65 (-106.2, -0.2%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 19,585 (-61.3, -0.3%).

  • Market breadth is in the red. Of the 1,923 stocks traded today, 837 were gainers and 1,056 were losers.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Solar Industries India Ltd. (8,352, 13.7%), Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd. (140.25, 12.9%) and YES Bank Ltd. (23.45, 11.9%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Axis Bank Ltd. (1,058.25, -2.1%), Indian Bank (491.60, -1.9%) and IndusInd Bank Ltd. (1,476.75, -1.7%).

Volume Shockers

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

Top high volume gainers on BSE included BLS International Services Ltd. (343.15, 19.2%), ITI Ltd. (276.55, 18.3%) and SJVN Ltd. (118.65, 17.2%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Ltd. (499.60, -2.9%), Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd. (618.75, -1.3%) and Minda Corporation Ltd. (378.15, -1.1%).

Ipca Laboratories Ltd. (1,183.20, 4.4%) was trading at 6.6 times of weekly average. Vedant Fashions Ltd. (955, 5.1%) and Sunteck Realty Ltd. (397.30, -0.7%) were trading with volumes 5.6 and 5.4 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

2 stocks made 52 week highs, while 22 stocks were underachievers and hit their 52 week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd. (2,687.40, 4.5%) and Solar Industries India Ltd. (8,352, 13.7%).

Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - Atul Ltd. (5,963.55, -0.5%) and Bata India Ltd. (1,407.15, 0.3%).

25 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Easy Trip Planners Ltd. (45.50, 9.2%) and Trident Ltd. (38.20, 7.5%). 29 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Archean Chemical Industries Ltd. (588.40, -3.1%) and Bikaji Foods International Ltd. (492.35, -2.2%).