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Trendlyne Marketwatch
Trendlyne Marketwatch
22 Feb 2024, 03:58PM
Market closes higher, Titagarh Rail Wagons invests Rs 100 crore in its SPV-JV, Shivaliks Mercantile
By Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50closed at 22,217.45 (162.4, 0.7%), BSE Sensexclosed at 73,158.24 (535.2, 0.7%) while the broader Nifty 500closed at 20,283.95 (155.7, 0.8%). Market breadth is in the green. Of the 2,034 stocks traded today, 1,078 were gainers and 915 were losers.

Indian indices recovered from their day lows and closed in the green. The Indian volatility index, Nifty VIX, fell 4.6% and closed at 15.2 points. ICRA projected a sequential slowdown in India's GDP growth to 6% in Q3FY24 from 7.6% in Q2, with Gross Value Added (GVA) growth also expected to decelerate to 6% QoQ in the same quarter. 

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the green, following the benchmark index. Nifty Metal and Nifty Media closed higher than their Wednesday levels.  According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, Software & Services emerged as the top-performing sector of the day, with a rise of 1.9%.

Major European indices closed in the green, taking cues from the Asian indices. US index futures traded sharply higher, indicating a positive start to the trading session. Brent crude oil futures traded in the green after closing higher on a volatile day of trade on Wednesday.

  • Indian Hotelssees a long buildup in its February 29 future series as its open interest rises 12.5% with a put-call ratio of 0.9.

  • KR Choksey retains its 'Buy' rating on Tata Consumer Productswith an upgraded target price of Rs 1,352. This indicates a potential upside of 16.8%. The brokerage believes that the company's focus on driving growth through organic and inorganic expansion will help top-line growth in the medium term. It expects a revenue CAGR of 13.9% over FY23-26.

  • Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, Central Bank of India, IDBI Bank, and Ciplaoutperform the Nifty 50 index over the past month after their Q3FY24 results.

  • Titagarh Rail Wagonsis rising as it invests Rs 100 crore in its special purpose vehicle (SPV) joint venture (JV), Shivaliks Mercantile. The SPV-JV then acquired an additional 28.2% stake in Titagarh Firema S.p.A, an Italian subsidiary of Titagarh Rail, for Euro 20.2 million (approx. Rs 182.1 crore).

  • Prataap Snacks surges to an all-time high of Rs 1,344.7 amid reports that ITC is considering buying a 47% stake in the company from venture capital firm Peak XV Partners (originally Sequoia Capital).

  • GPT Healthcare's Rs 525.1 crore IPO gets bids for 0.3X the available 2 crore shares on offer on the first day of bidding. The retail investor quota gets bids for 0.5X the available 98.8 lakh shares on offer.

  • Juniper Hotels’ Rs 1,800 crore IPO gets bids for 0.2X the available 2.9 crore shares on offer on the second day of bidding. The retail investor quota gets bids for 0.8X the available 52.6 lakh shares on offer.

  • Rail Vikas Nigam'sjoint venture (JV) with Salasar Techno Engineering bags an order worth Rs 174 crore from Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission for the construction of 132 kV and 220 kV transmission lines on a turnkey basis.

  • ICRA projects a sequential slowdown in India's GDP growth to 6% in Q3FY24 from 7.6% in Q2, with Gross Value Added (GVA) growth also expected to decelerate to 6% QoQ in the same quarter. This slowdown is primarily attributed to the industrial sector (slowing to +8.8% from +13.2%) and the agricultural sector (to +0.5% from +1.2%).

  • Olectra Greentech rises to an all-time high of Rs 2,215 as its consortium with Evey Trans bags an order worth Rs 4,000 crore from Brihan Mumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking for the supply of 2,400 electric buses.

  • Larsen & Toubro'sconstruction arm bags an order worth Rs 1,000-2,500 crore from a domestic real estate developer to construct residential towers in Thane, Mumbai.

  • Axis Direct reiterates its 'Buy' rating on CIE Automotive Indiawith a target price of Rs 565. This indicates a potential upside of 21.2%. The brokerage remains positive on the back of its long-term growth potential in Indian and Mexican operations, owing to increased capacity and a healthy balance sheet. It expects the company's net profit to grow at a CAGR of 11.6% over CY23-26.

  • Companies like Hindustan Aeronautics, Data Patterns (India) and MTAR Technologies are rising as the Union Cabinet modifies the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in the space sector. This could lead to increased foreign investment in satellite development & launch and ground infrastructure.

  • Grasim Industries touches an all-time high of Rs 2,244 as it launches the Birla Opus Paints Business and inaugurates three Birla Opus Paints plants in Haryana, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu.

  • Paisalo Digital'sboard of directors approves the issue of equity shares worth Rs 1,260 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP).

  • SpiceJet is rising in trade as it raises an additional Rs 316 crore via preferential issue, allotting 4 crore shares to two investors, including Aries Opportunities Fund. The company received the first tranche of Rs 744 crore in January, taking the total funds raised to Rs 1,060 crore.

  • Sugar stocks like Dhampur Sugar Mills, Balrampur Chini, and Shree Renuka Sugars are falling as the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs raises the fair and remunerative price (FRP) of sugarcane by 8% for the 2024–25 season. The revised FRP will be Rs 340 per quintal, at a sugar recovery rate of 10.25%.

  • PSU bank stocks like Bank of India, Punjab & Sind Bank, Indian Bank and Bank of Baroda are falling in trade. All constituents of the broader Nifty PSU Bank are also trading in the red.

  • Yum Restaurants India sells its entire 4.4% stake (5.3 crore shares) in Devyani International for approximately Rs 871.1 crore in a block deal on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Nippon India Mutual Fund and Societe Generale buy 0.7% and 0.4% stakes, respectively, in the company.

  • LTIMindtreesigns a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Eurolife FFH, a Greek insurance provider, to establish a Gen AI and digital hub in Athens, along with dedicated facilities in Europe and Mumbai.

  • Reports suggest that 1.8 crore shares (9.3% equity) of Eureka Forbes, amounting to Rs 975 crore, change hands in a block deal. Its promoter Lunolux will reportedly sell up to 12% stake (2.3 crore shares).

  • GPT Healthcare raises Rs 157.5 crore from anchor investors ahead of its IPO by allotting around 84.7 lakh shares at Rs 186 each. Investors include Societe Generale, Copthall Mauritius, Bandhan Mutual Fund, India Capital Growth Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund and Axis Mutual Fund.

  • Brigade Enterprisesis rising as it signs a joint development agreement (JDA) with PVP Ventures to develop a 2.5 million sq ft residential project in Chennai with a revenue potential of Rs 2,000 crore. Brigade Enterprises also signs a 45-year lease agreement to establish a 250-room resort on the East Coast Road in Chennai.

  • South Indian Bankrises sharply as its board of directors approves the rights issue of 52.3 crore equity shares for Rs 1,151 crore. The board has set the issue price at Rs 22 per share and record date on Tuesday. Shareholders will receive one share for every four shares held in the company.

  • NBCCsigns an agreement with the Greater Noida Authority to develop purchasable floor area ratio (FAR) for five existing Amrapali projects. They have a total value of Rs 10,000 crore.

  • Nifty 50was trading at 22,051.15 (-3.9, 0.0%), BSE Sensexwas trading at 72,677.51 (54.4, 0.1%) while the broader Nifty 500was trading at 20,151.95 (23.7, 0.1%).

  • Market breadth is highly positive. Of the 1,802 stocks traded today, 1,205 were in the positive territory and 522 were negative.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include ABB India Ltd. (5,425.00, 8.83%), YES Bank Ltd. (27.15, 6.26%) and Vodafone Idea Ltd. (16.30, 6.19%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (2,159.30, -3.53%), Supreme Industries Ltd. (3,830.95, -3.21%) and Gland Pharma Ltd. (1,898.65, -2.77%).

Volume Shockers

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

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Graphite India Ltd. (607.85, 11.43%), Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd. (441.80, 9.40%) and ABB India Ltd. (5,425.00, 8.83%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Eureka Forbes Ltd. (494.20, -3.11%), One97 Communications Ltd. (388.35, -1.70%) and Brigade Enterprises Ltd. (1,003.90, -0.11%).

Mas Financial Services Ltd. (338.35, 3.19%) was trading at 9.7 times of weekly average. HEG Ltd. (1,731.75, 6.52%) and NCC Ltd. (243.05, 7.28%) were trading with volumes 5.2 and 4.5 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

20 stocks overperformed with 52 week highs, while 1 stock were underachiever and hit their 52 week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. (6,769.20, 0.13%), Bharat Electronics Ltd. (194.75, 3.21%) and Cummins India Ltd. (2,760.85, 5.86%).

Stock making new 52 weeks lows included - Whirlpool of India Ltd. (1,266.65, 0.62%).

9 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including G R Infraprojects Ltd. (1,268.60, 7.27%) and HEG Ltd. (1,731.75, 6.52%). 12 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Supreme Industries Ltd. (3,830.95, -3.21%) and Eureka Forbes Ltd. (494.20, -3.11%).

 
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The Baseline
22 Feb 2024, 01:02PM
Indian exporters worry about rising shipping costs | Screener: Q3 winners that beat estimates for revenue and net profit

Just as the Red Sea started to look calm, the waters churned again. After a few quiet weeks, Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked a Belize-flag transport ship on Monday, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel. The attacks have continued despite the United States using its considerable firepower to hit Houthi bases with airstrikes. 

The Houthi rebels walk around with oversized jambiya daggers around their waists, but their real weapons are the anti-ship cruise missiles and drones they use to target ships.

Now, other gangs are joining the action. Pirates linked to Somalia's al-Shabab terror group have been inactive for nearly a decade. But since November, nearly 20 ships have been attacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, next to the Red Sea. 

As many as 19,000 ships cross the Suez Canal and Red Sea every year, making this strait a critical point for energy and freight movement. To avoid attacks, ships are now taking the longer route around Africa, to move goods between Europe, US and Asia. The higher time spent on the water is requiring an extra 20% of global fleet capacity.

Major shipping companies –  BP, Equinor, Maersk, Evergreen Line – warn that the security situation in the Red Sea is getting worse, not better in the near-term. This means higher insurance rates and more travel time for exporters. 

These costs are hitting some Indian companies especially hard. The Indian think-tank Research and Information Systems, estimates that higher container shipping rates and delayed shipments could cause a 6.7% drop in Indian exports in FY24, from FY23’s $451 billion total. This puts around $30 billion on the line.

In this week's Analyticks:

  • Rebels in the Red Sea raise risks for Indian exporters
  • Winners of Q3 screener: Stocks which beat Forecaster analyst estimates in both revenue and net profit

Let's take a look. 

CEOs are keeping a close eye on rising shipping costs

Sometimes, CEOs are able to take control and steer their companies through a crisis. Other times, they can only wait and watch. This has been the case with the Red Sea attacks, where Houthi rebels, shipping companies and insurance players are dictating terms to Indian exporters.

For India, the Red Sea is a major shipping route to Europe, the US East coast, the Middle East and Africa. And costs here are rising. Nilima Divi, Director of Divi's Laboratories for example, points to the "mandatory war risk insurance" exporters have to now take due to the attacks. Freight costs for Asia-Europe as well as Asia-US routes are near record levels.

Chart: WCI (World Container Index) prices for key routes from Asia to US and Europe

On earnings calls, Indian exporters say that they are currently paying 30% more on average in shipping freight. Major exports through the Red Sea from India include petroleum products, chemicals and cereals, according to the Indian Trade Ministry.

Chemicals stocks, which have been struggling with muted demand, China dumping and tight margins, have been hard hit by the additional freight costs. And while pharma companies are in recovery mode, with growth rising in the key markets of US and Europe, price pressures have only recently eased up. Rising shipping costs would renew the pressure. Lupin's Managing Director Ramesh Swaminathan called  the Red Sea "the dark cloud on the horizon."

Rashesh Gogri, MD of Aarti Industries notes two main challenges for chemical exporters, "The pricing of containers has definitely gone up, and we will have a quarter lag or in some cases a month lag to push these prices up with the customers," indicating that Aarti will in the meantime, take a hit to their margins in Q4. Tha second challenge is rising shipping times, which have increased by two weeks when ships are avoiding the Red Sea. These factors impact 30% of Aarti Industries' exports.

Auto component players are upbeat, thanks to strong demand in Europe

One set of exporters that are relatively less impacted by the Red Sea crisis (so far) is India's auto component industry, thanks to stronger demand outlook and margin growth. Auto component players in India have benefited from vendor diversification by global vehicle manufacturers, and the demand recovery in key markets like Europe.

  Chart: Europe sees car sales recover in January 2024

ICRA estimates that operating margins for auto component manufacturers are set to rise 50-100 bps YoY in FY24, reaching pre-Covid levels of 11.0-11.5%, and will continue to improve in FY25 by another 50-100 bps.

Vivek Vikram Singh, CEO of Sona BLW (Sona Comstar) notes that advance reservations have helped limit higher freight costs for now. "If you don't go on winter break and you're actually in office on 2nd January, it's easier to get containers booked," he says, "So the impact is not much right now. But if prices keep rising for a substantial time, we will see a significant impact."

The long-term cost outlook for exporters is actually pretty optimistic. According to logistics company Flexport, "There is so much new shipping capacity coming onstream in the next two years, that it can absorb the cost of long journeys around the cape of Africa, if trouble in the Red Sea persists." But in the short term, the rebels and the pirates are the ones holding the cards.

Screener: Stocks which beat Trendlyne's Forecaster estimates for revenue and net profit in Q3FY24

Natco Pharma, Adani Enterprises lead in positive estimates surprises in Q3FY24

As the Q3FY24 results season concludes, we take a look at companies that have outperformed their estimates. This screener shows stocks which beat Trendlyne's Forecaster estimates for revenue and net profit in Q3FY24 by over 5 %. 

The screener is dominated by stocks from the banking & finance, cement & construction, oil & gas and pharma & biotech sectors. Major stocks that appear in the screener are Natco Pharma, Macrotech Developers, UTI Asset Management, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Archean Chemical, Adani Enterprises, Nippon Life India Asset Management and Avanti Feeds. 

Natco Pharma beat its Forecaster estimates for revenue and net profit by 32.1% and 155.3%, respectively, in Q3FY24. Its revenue grew by 54% YoY to Rs 758.6 crore, while its net profit jumped 2.4x to Rs 212.7 crore. The revenue growth was driven by an improvement in the pharma and agrochem segments. The company’s operating profit margin also expanded by 13.8 percentage points, owing to reduced raw material costs.

Macrotech Developers also beat Forecaster estimates for revenue and net profit by 24.8% and 51.2%, respectively, during the quarter. The realtor’s revenue surged by 65.2% YoY to Rs 2,930.6 crore in Q3FY24, helped by enhanced pre-sales and average price realisation. Its net profit increased by 24.4% YoY to Rs 503.3 crore, while its operating profit margin expanded by 736 bps YoY to 30.1%, thanks to lower finance costs. 

You can find more screenershere,

 
Trendlyne Marketwatch
Trendlyne Marketwatch
21 Feb 2024
Market closes lower, Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services signs an agreement with Wipro
By Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50closed at 22,055.05 (-141.9, -0.6%), BSE Sensexclosed at 72,623.09 (-434.3, -0.6%) while the broader Nifty 500closed at 20,128.30 (-143.6, -0.7%). Market breadth is highly negative. Of the 2,045 stocks traded today, 624 were gainers and 1,398 were losers.

Indian indices pared the gains from the morning session and closed in the red. The volatility index, Nifty VIX, dropped by 0.9% and closed at 15.9 points. ABB India's net profit grows by 10.9% YoY to Rs 338.7 crore in Q3FY24. Revenue increases by 13.3% YoY to Rs 2,728.2 crore on the back of improvement in the robotics & discrete automation, motion, electrification and process automation segments.

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed lower following the benchmark index. Nifty Realty and Nifty PSU Bank closed higher than Tuesday’s closing level. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, realty emerged as the top-performing sector of the day, with a rise of over 1.4%. 

Most European indices trade mixed. US indices futures trade lower indicating a negative start. Union Bank of Switzerland’s (UBS) investment banking division predicts the Fed to start cutting rates by June 2024. UK’s largest lender HSBC Bank traded 5% lower after it reported a $3 billion impairment due to investments in China’s Bank of Communication.

  • Money flow index (MFI) indicates that stocks like Oil India, Trent, and Indian Hotels Co are in the overbought zone.

  • UltraTech Cement announces the commissioning of a 1.8 MTPA brownfield cement capacity expansion in Rajasthan. The company appears in a screener of stocks with improving book value per share.

  • Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Servicessigns an agreement with Wipro to offer its Zaggle save proposition and its benefits & expense management platforms.

  • Juniper Hotels’ Rs 1,800 crore IPO gets bids for 0.1X the available 2.9 crore shares on offer on the first day of bidding. The retail investor quota gets bids for 0.4X the available 52.6 lakh shares on offer

  • ICRA forecasts that the operating profit margins of hospitality firms will remain steady from FY24 to FY25. Robust revenue growth is expected to offset the increasing expenses of refurbishment, maintenance, and salaries. However, there might be a slowdown in revenue growth, with an anticipated growth rate of 7-9% in FY25, based on a high base of 14-16% growth in FY24.

  • HFCLrises sharply as it plans to expand into Europe with an optical fiber cable (OFC) plant in Poland. The plant will have an initial capacity of 3.3 million fkm per annum, with the ability to scale up to 7 million fkm per annum. The projected capex for setting up the plant is Rs 100 crore.

  • Tata Power'ssubsidiary, Tata Power Trading, signs a power purchase agreement (PPA) with BluSmart to supply 30 MW of power from its solar plant in Rajasthan.

  • Navin Fluorine International, Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals, Indian Energy Exchange, and VIP Industrieswitness a decrease in mutual fund holdings in the past month.

  • Medplus Health Services board decides against proceeding with its fund-raising plans, leading to a deferral of expansion plans for its Diagnostics Division beyond Hyderabad until the profitability of the pilot project is confirmed.

  • Varun Beveragesis rising as its Moroccan subsidiary signs an exclusive snacks appointment with PepsiCo to manufacture and package Cheetos in Morocco. The production is expected to start with a capex of Rs 100 crore.

  • Patel Engineering rises as it emerges as the lowest bidder, along with its joint venture partner, for a Rs 525.4 crore irrigation project in Telangana. The project involves the construction of an RCC (reinforced cement concrete) protection wall along river Munneru, within two years.

  • DLFsurges to its all-time highof Rs 894.5 per share as it acquires 28.5 acres in Haryana, with 19.3 acres registered for Rs 858 crore. The remainder will be bought by its subsidiary DHDL for Rs 50 crore, facilitating the partial bond redemption worth Rs 775 crore.

  • Hindalco Industries is rising as its wholly owned subsidiary, Novelis Inc, files draft initial share offering documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering (IPO).

  • ABB Indiarises sharply as its net profit grows by 10.9% YoY to Rs 338.7 crore in Q3FY24. Revenue increases by 13.3% YoY to Rs 2,728.2 crore on the back of improvement in the robotics & discrete automation, motion, electrification and process automation segments. It appears in a screener of stocks with consistent share price growth.

  • Realty stocks like DLF, Macrotech Developers, Godrej Properties, and Phoenix Mills are rising in trade. The broader Nifty Realty index also trades in the green and has reached its all-time high of Rs 912.2.

  • NTPC'ssubsidiary, NTPC Green Energy, reportedly signs a land lease agreement with Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corp to develop an integrated green hydrogen hub. The project will have a daily green hydrogen production capacity of 1,200 tonnes per day.

  • Campus Activewear rises more than 6% as reports suggest that 40.7 lakh shares (1.3% equity), amounting to Rs 99.7 crore, change hands in a large trade.

  • Media stocks like Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Nazara Technologies, Dish TV Indiaand Hathway Cable & Datacomare falling in trade. The broader Nifty Mediaindex also falls more than 2%.

  • Tourism Finance Corp rises as investor Aditya Kumar Halwasiya buys a 13% stake (around 1.2 crore shares), amounting to Rs 247.5 crore, in a block deal on Tuesday. However, promoters Pransatree Holdings Pte and Koppara Sajeeve Thomas sell 4.7% and 3.8% stakes, respectively, in the company. Foreign investor Varanium India has also exited the company.

  • Union Bank of Indiarises sharply as its board of directors approves issuing equity shares worth Rs 3,000 crore via a qualified institutional placement (QIP). The board has set the floor price at Rs 142.8 per share.

  • Devyani International rises more than 2% as reports suggest that 5.3 crore shares (4.4% equity), amounting to Rs 871 crore, change hands in a block deal.

  • Swan Energy'sboard of directors approves issuing equity shares, reportedly worth Rs 4,000 crore, through a qualified institutional placement (QIP). The board has set the floor price at Rs 703.3 per share for the issue.

  • Juniper Hotels raises Rs 810 crore from anchor investors ahead of its IPO by allotting around 2.3 crore shares at Rs 360 each. Investors include Government Pension Fund Global, Fidelity Funds, Goldman Sachs, Societe Generale, Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund, Quant Mutual Fund, and Invesco India Equity Fund.

  • Zee Entertainment Enterprises plunges in trade as SEBI reportedly finds a financial discrepancy amounting to approximately Rs 2,000 crore ( $241 million) in the company’s accounts.

  • Whirlpool India'spromoter, Whirlpool Mauritius, sells around 24% stake (3 crore shares) for roughly Rs 3,831.01 crore in a bulk deal on Tuesday. Meanwhile, SBI Mutual Fund and Aditya Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund buy 7.2% and 0.7% stakes, respectively, in the company.

  • Nifty 50was trading at 22,218.95 (22, 0.1%), BSE Sensexwas trading at 73,110.92 (53.5, 0.1%) while the broader Nifty 500was trading at 20,319.85 (48.0, 0.2%).

  • Market breadth is surging up. Of the 1,822 stocks traded today, 1,352 were in the positive territory and 421 were negative.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include ABB India Ltd. (4,984.70, 10.17%), One97 Communications Ltd. (395.05, 5.00%) and General Insurance Corporation of India (425.20, 4.33%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (164.60, -14.56%), Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd. (612.30, -4.31%) and MphasiS Ltd. (2,654.35, -4.00%).

Volume Rockets

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

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Tata Investment Corporation Ltd. (6,474.70, 10.64%), ABB India Ltd. (4,984.70, 10.17%) and Sterlite Technologies Ltd. (144.85, 7.74%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Ashok Leyland Ltd. (171.30, -0.95%) and Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd. (137.45, -0.76%).

Campus Activewear Ltd. (252.00, 2.84%) was trading at 29.8 times of weekly average. Poly Medicure Ltd. (1,613.40, 1.39%) and Raymond Ltd. (1,873.70, 5.79%) were trading with volumes 17.2 and 16.9 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

34 stocks took off, crossing 52 week highs, while 1 stock were underachiever and hit their 52 week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (1,075.15, 2.59%), Ambuja Cements Ltd. (587.80, -0.17%) and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. (6,760.15, 0.01%).

Stock making new 52 weeks lows included - Whirlpool of India Ltd. (1,258.80, -2.17%).

12 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Raymond Ltd. (1,873.70, 5.79%) and Chemplast Sanmar Ltd. (477.10, 4.85%). 8 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Metro Brands Ltd. (1,118.85, -2.78%) and SIS Ltd. (440.10, -2.74%).

 
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The Baseline
20 Feb 2024
5 stocks to buy from analysts this week with high upsides
By Satyam Kumar

1. Royal Orchid Hotels:

Edelweiss maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this hotel company with a target price of Rs 535. This indicates an upside of 26.4%. Analysts Amit Agarwal and Rishith Shah say, “Given the traction from domestic demand, the revival in meetings, conferences and exhibition activity, and constrained supply additions in the industry, we expect average room rate to trend upwards, with occupancy at near-optimal levels.” In Q3FY24, Royal Orchid’s revenue grew by 13.2% YoY to Rs 86.6 crore, while its net profit increased by 1.1% YoY to Rs 15.4 crore.

The analysts note that the company added 990 rooms in the past year, taking the total to 5,795. They expect the company to add around 2,300 rooms across 38-40 hotels by the end of FY25. As a large part of these room additions are under the asset-light model, Agarwal and Shah project the firm’s RoCE (Return on Capital Employed) to improve from 25.6% in FY23 to 28.8% in FY26. Benefiting from sectoral tailwinds, they predict a CAGR of 21% for revenue and 20% for profit after tax over FY23-26.

2. NTPC:

ICICI Direct maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this electric utilities company with a target price of Rs 400. This implies an upside of 15.7%. In Q3FY24, its net profit grew 7.9% YoY to Rs 5,155.3 crore. Analyst Chirag J Shah says, “The company’s vision is to become a 130 GW+ company by 2032, with 60 GW expected from renewable energy.”

Shah is optimistic about NTPC – it is the only company that has added coal-based capacities over the past five years, reaching an installed base of 73,000 MW on a consolidated basis. NTPC has 9,300 MW of coal-based plants under construction. The analyst expects them to be commissioned by FY25-26. This will lead to an 11% growth in generation, supported by strong power load factors.

NTPC aims to produce 45-50% of its capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030, and is targeting 60 GW of renewable capacity by 2032, according to Shah. He points out that the management is confident about reaching 20,000 MW of renewable capacity by FY26. He notes that the company is trying to diversify into green hydrogen and nuclear power through a joint venture with Nuclear Power Corporation of India. 

3. Prestige Estates Projects:

HDFC Securities maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this realty company with a target price of Rs 1,390, indicating an upside of 19.4%. Analyst Parikshit D Kandpal is upbeat about Prestige Estates registering its second-highest-ever presales by value and volume in Q3FY24, at Rs 5,320 crore, up 111% YoY, and 5.5 million square feet (msf), up 88% YoY, respectively. But, its revenue fell 16.1% YoY to Rs 1,970.5 crore, while net profit dropped by 9% YoY to Rs 116.3 crore in the quarter, mainly due to a decline in completions.

Kandpal believes that presales were supported by launches being at the highest ever, with new projects totalling 14.6 msf. This included Prestige City Hyderabad, which contributed Rs 2,400 crore to presales with its 12.6msf saleable area. He expects the company to launch its first project in NCR, Prestige Bougainvillea Gardens, in Q1FY25, with a saleable area of 3.1 msf. With Rs 16,330 crore in presales achieved in 9MFY24, the analyst forecasts that the company will surpass Rs 20,000 crore in presales in FY24.

4. Ashok Leyland:

KR Choksey maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this commercial vehicles company with a target price of Rs 221. This indicates a potential upside of 27.8%. Analyst Unnati Jadhav believes that Ashok Leyland will continue to benefit from the government’s focus on infrastructure, replacement demand, improved freight demand, and a shift towards higher tonnage vehicles. The company’s revenue grew by 6.6% YoY to Rs 11,119.5 crore in Q3FY24, while its net profit increased by 75.6% YoY to Rs 560.2 crore.

Jadhav notes that elections in major states during Q3FY24 led to a slowdown in the company's revenue growth by affecting sales volumes. However, she adds that the gross margin for the quarter expanded by 403 bps YoY and 130 bps QoQ to 27.8%, helped by softening steel prices and pricing discipline leading to improved realizations. She forecasts a revenue CAGR of 8.2% and an adjusted net profit CAGR of 37.3% over FY23-26.

5. HG Infra Engineering:

Geojit BNP Paribas maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this construction and engineering company with a target price of Rs 1,120, indicating an upside of 19.5%. Analyst Antu Eapen Thomas is upbeat about the company’s growing opportunities in road projects and its significant order book of Rs 9,626 crore, which is twice its trailing twelve month revenue. 

In Q3FY24, its revenue grew by 15.1% YoY to Rs 1,368.4 crore, while net profit declined by 22% YoY to Rs 102 crore, mainly due to increased input costs and employee expenses.

Thomas notes the company’s well-diversified order book: 51% from EPC orders, 37% from hybrid-annuity model projects, and 12% from railway projects. He expects a dip in order inflow in Q4FY24 due to the upcoming general elections but expects any shortfall to be compensated in FY25.

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

(You can find all analyst picks here)

 
Trendlyne Marketwatch
Trendlyne Marketwatch
20 Feb 2024
Market closes higher, Raymond launches a 2.7 acre project with estimated development value of Rs 2,000 crore
By Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50closed at 22,196.95 (74.7, 0.3%), BSE Sensexclosed at 73,057.40 (349.2, 0.5%) while the broader Nifty 500closed at 20,271.90 (30.8, 0.2%). Market breadth is in the red. Of the 2,046 stocks traded today, 959 were on the uptrend, and 1,059 went down.

Indian indices recovered from their day lows and closed in the green, with the Nifty 50closing at an all-time high for a second straight trading session. The volatility index, Nifty VIX, rose 0.3% and closed at 16.1 points. Waaree Renewable Energy closed sharply higher after it received a letter of award (LoA) for a Rs 990.6 crore order from an Indian renewable energy company.

Nifty Smallcap 100 closed in the red, while the Nifty Midcap 100 closed flat, despite the benchmark index closing in the green. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, Media emerged as the top-performing sector of the day, with a rise of 1.7%.

Most major Asian indices closed flat or higher, except for Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, which closed in the red. However, European indices traded flat or lower amid mixed global cues. US index futures traded in the red, indicating a negative start to the trading session. Brent crude oil futures traded lower after closing in the green for three consecutive trading sessions.

  • Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Bajaj Auto, Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals, Natco Pharma and Crisil are in the overbought zone.

  • Trident appoints Samir Joshipura as Chief Executive Officer, with effect from today.

  • Raymond’s real estate unit, Raymond Realty, announces the launch of a 2.7 acre project to develop a gated community in Bandra East, Mumbai. The project has an estimated development value of Rs 2,000 crore.

  • Au Small Finance Bank, G R Infraprojects, Syrma SGS Technology, and PNC Infratechunderperform their respective industries by more than 20% in the past month.

  • Delta Corpis set to divest its entire stake in its subsidiary Caravella Entertainment to Ability Games and Ashtek Consultancy for Rs 62 crore.

  • Tech Mahindra acquires a 100% stake in Orchid Cybertech Services Inc (OCSI), a customer experience provider based in the Philippines, through its wholly owned subsidiary, vCustomer Philippines Inc, for AUD 5 million (approx Rs 27.1 crore).

  • ICICI Direct retains its 'Buy' rating on Mahindra & Mahindrawith an upgraded target price of Rs 2,225. This indicates a potential upside of 20.6%. The brokerage believes that the company's market leadership in the SUV and tractor segments and tangible product outlook in the electric PV segment will help profitability. It expects the company's net profit to grow at a CAGR of 20.6% over FY23-26.

  • Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Servicessurges to its all-time highof Rs 298.9 per share as it signs an agreement with Easy Trip Planners to provide its integrated travel and expense management solutions to corporate clients.

  • Media stocks like Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Network18 Media & Investment, Dish TV India, and Hathway Cable & Datacomare rising in trade. The broader Nifty Media index also trades in the green.

  • Tourism Finance Corporation of India surges as reports suggest that 1.2 crore shares (13.1% equity), amounting to Rs 248 crore, change hands in a block deal.

  • Easy Trip Plannersis rising as it forms a strategic partnership with Jeewani Group and Radisson Hotel to develop a 150-room Radisson Blu Hotel in Ayodhya.

  • Godrej Consumer Productssigns an agreement to divest its entire stake in its arm Godrej East Africa Holdings, Mauritius, to HKG Africa Weave for $3.5 million (approx. Rs 29 crore).

  • Waaree Renewable Energy surges as it receives a letter of award (LoA) for a Rs 990.6 crore order from an Indian renewable energy company. The order involves engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for a 700 MWac solar power plant on a turnkey basis. This order win takes the company's unexecuted order book to 2.1 GW.

  • Jefferies India reports that the cement sector's demand expanded at a run-rate of 12–13% in H1FY24, but slowed to about 5-6% YoY in Q3FY24. The brokerage attributes this to state elections and unseasonal rainfall impacting demand during the quarter.

  • Droneacharya Aerial Innovations is rising as it signs a term sheet to acquire a 76% stake in Bengaluru's Aerophile Academy, a drone pilot training centre. This acquisition marks the company’s entry into the drone pilot training space in South India.

  • Ramkrishna Forgings rises sharply as it wins a contract worth $220 million (approx. Rs 1,825.4 crore) from a North American client. This enables the company to penetrate the light vehicles segment in North America.

  • Oil & Natural Gas Corprises to its 52-week highof Rs 281.2 per share, as Imperial Energy, its Cyprus subsidiary, announces plans to consolidate five other Cyprus-based subsidiaries into itself.

  • Bernstein initiates coverage on Power Grid Corp of India with an 'Outperform' rating and a target price of Rs 315. The brokerage believes that the company's capex will rise around 30% over the next two years. It also notes new growth opportunities for the company, including smart meters, batteries, and interstate transmissions.

  • Verlinvest Asia sells its entire stake (8.3%) in Sula Vineyards for approximately Rs 406.2 crore in a bulk deal on Monday. Mousserene LP also offloads a 3.4% stake in the company, amounting to around Rs 166.9 crore.

  • Retail Investor Bela Agarwal sells her entire stake (4.5%) in Minda Corpfor approx Rs 437.3 crore in a block deal on Monday.Meanwhile, Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund and Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund buy 1.8% and 1.5% stakes, respectively, in the company.

  • Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corpsurges as it enters a long-term liquified natural gas (LNG) supply agreement with Norway's Equinor ASA. As per the agreement, Equinor will supply 0.65 million tonnes of LNG annually to the company over the next 15 years, starting from 2026.

  • Whirlpool of India declines over 2% as 3.2 crore shares (24.9% equity), amounting to Rs 4,039 crore, reportedly change hands in a block deal. The company's promoter is reported to sell 24% of its stake for approx. Rs 3,734.5 crore.

  • Zee Entertainment Enterprises rises sharply as reports emerge that the company is in talks with Sony Group Corp to revive its merger. The companies are expected to reach an agreement in the next two days.

  • Vibhor Steel Tubes’ shares debut on the bourses at an 181.5% premium to the issue price of Rs 151. The Rs 72.2 crore IPO has received bids for 298.9 times the total shares on offer.

  • CIE Automotive Indiais falling as its revenue remains flat at Rs 2,240.3 crore in Q3FY24. However, it posts a net profit of Rs 168.9 crore for the quarter, owing to reduced raw material costs, compared to a net loss of Rs 657.8 crore in Q3FY23 due to losses from discontinued operations. It appears in a screenerof stocks with medium to low Trendlyne momentum scores.

  • NBCCrises sharply as it bags three orders worth Rs 369 crore from multiple clients. The orders include infrastructure development for Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University in Jhansi, a court complex and residential quarters in Telangana, and the renovation and furnishing of ICAI Bhavan in Noida.

  • Nifty 50was trading at 22,062.70 (-59.6, -0.3%), BSE Sensexwas trading at 72,554.8100 (-153.4, -0.2%) while the broader Nifty 500was trading at 20,206.85 (-34.3, -0.2%).

  • Market breadth is in the green. Of the 1,843 stocks traded today, 1,124 showed gains, and 660 showed losses.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (192.65, 7.93%), One97 Communications Ltd. (376.25, 5.00%) and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (287.90, 4.18%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Federal Bank Ltd. (154.40, -5.25%), General Insurance Corporation of India (407.55, -3.98%) and Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (4663.3500, -3.90%).

Crowd Puller Stocks

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

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (192.65, 7.93%), EID Parry (India) Ltd. (637.95, 6.40%) and Gujarat Ambuja Exports Ltd. (386.10, 6.04%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Whirlpool of India Ltd. (1,286.70, -3.34%), CIE Automotive India Ltd. (472.85, -2.15%) and EIH Ltd. (398.30, -1.61%).

Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. (514.55, 4.07%) was trading at 15.7 times of weekly average. Aarti Drugs Ltd. (543.65, 0.46%) and Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd. (639.85, 4.07%) were trading with volumes 7.8 and 6.9 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

30 stocks made 52 week highs,

Stocks touching their year highs included - Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (1,048.00, 4.36%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. (6,759.45, 1.54%) and Blue Star Ltd. (1,288.90, 1.52%).

10 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Sapphire Foods India Ltd. (1,408.00, 3.53%) and Jubilant Foodworks Ltd. (507.70, 2.26%). 8 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Schaeffler India Ltd. (2,905.50, -3.53%) and Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd. (111.90, -1.76%).

 
Trendlyne Marketwatch
Trendlyne Marketwatch
19 Feb 2024
Market closes higher, Power Grid Corporation of India approves Rs 655.8 crore investments in two projects
By Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50closed at 22,122.25 (81.6, 0.4%), BSE Sensexclosed at 72,708.16 (281.5, 0.4%) while the broader Nifty 500closed at 20,241.10 (76.2, 0.4%). Market breadth is in the green. Of the 2,074 stocks traded today, 1,237 were in the positive territory and 805 were negative.

Indian indices maintained the gains from the morning session and closed in the green, with the Nifty 50closing at an all-time high. The volatility index, Nifty VIX, rose by 5.2% and closed at 16 points. According to CRISIL ratings, the Indian hotel industry is expected to grow around 11-13% in FY25 despite a high base.

Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 closed higher following the benchmark index. Nifty Pharma and Nifty FMCG closed higher than Friday’s closing level. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, telecommunications equipment emerged as the top-performing sector of the day, with a rise of over 3.9%. 

Most European indices trade in the red except for Switzerland’s SMI index trading higher. US markets are closed today on account President’s Day holiday. According to Money Market Pricing, investors expect Fed rate cuts to be around 90 bps in 2024, down sharply from 145 bps at the start of February.

  • Biocon sees a short buildup in its February 29 future series as its open interest rises 9.6% with a put-call ratio of 0.5.

  • HDFC Securities reiterates its 'Buy' rating on Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals with a target price of Rs 375. This indicates a potential upside of 29.2%. The brokerage believes that scaling up the kitchen portfolio, premiumisation of products and expanding in new segments will help in revenue growth. It expects the company's revenue to grow at a CAGR of 7.7% over FY23-26.

  • Polycab India, Mastek, and 360 One Wamoutperform the Nifty 50 index over the past month after their Q3FY24 results.

  • Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency signs a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Punjab National Bank to co-finance green energy projects.

  • Power Grid Corporation of India's board approves investments in two projects: 5GW Leh-Kaithal Transmission corridor at Rs 141.1 crore and the Unified Load Dispatch and Communication (ULDC) Phase-III at Rs 514.7 crore.

  • IOL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals surges in trade as China’s drug regulator CDE (Center for Drug Evaluation) approves its Metformin Hydrochloride, a drug used to control high blood sugar levels.

  • Confidence Petroleum Indiasurges to its all-time high of Rs 120 per share as it partners with BW LPG to improve its LPG terminal infrastructure. BW LPG has also invested $30 million (approx. Rs 249 crore) in the company by way of a preferential issue of 8.5% stake.

  • Motilal Oswal Financial Servicesis falling on reports of a cyber attack by a ransomware group LockBit. The ransomware group is expected to have gained confidential data and the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is in the process of taking appropriate action.

  • GPT Healthcare, which runs a chain of mid-sized multi-specialty hospitals under the ILS Hospitals brand, sets its IPO price band at Rs 177-186 per share. The issue, valued at Rs 502 crore, consists of a fresh issue worth approximately Rs 40 crore and an offer for sale of 2.6 crore shares and opens on February 22.

  • Balrampur Chini Millsrises as it ventures into manufacturing Polylactic Acid (PLA) for the production of bioplastics using sugar as a raw material. It appears on a screenerfor stocks with good quarterly growth in net profit.

  • Lupinsees six analyst target price upgrades and two recommendation upgrades in the past month. TVS Motor Co, Cholamandalam Investment, and Bajaj Autosee five analyst target price upgrades over the same period.

  • Quess Corp surges to its 52-week high of Rs 582 as its board of directors approves the demerger of its business verticals into three separate entities: Quess Corp, Digitide Solutions and Bluspring Enterprises.

  • Jefferies moves Paytm to ‘Not Rated’ from the earlier ‘Underperform’. The brokerage notes that the company’s business model is shifting to a pure payments company. It also highlights that Paytm will focus on customer and merchant retention.

  • Titagarh Rail Systems rises as it bags an order worth Rs 170 crore from The Ministry of Defence to supply 250 specialized wagons.

  • Novartis India surges to its all-time high of Rs 1,148 as its parent company, Novartis AG, begins a strategic review that includes an assessment of its 70.7% shareholding. Additionally, reports suggest that Dr Reddy's Laboratories is in the running to acquire Novartis India.

  • Nifty 50hits an all-time high of 22,150.8 today after rising for five consecutive days.

  • PB Fintech rises over 5% as its arm, Policybazaar Insurance Brokers, gets IRDAI's in-principle approval to upgrade its license from Direct Insurance Broker (Life & General) to Composite Insurance Broker. This allows the company to sell reinsurance products in addition to life and general insurance products.

  • Consumer durables stocks like Havells India, Dixon Technologies, Voltas, Blue Star, and Crompton Greaves Consumer Productsare rising in trade. All constituents of the broader BSE Consumer Durables index are also trading in the green.

  • ITIrises sharply as it signs a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with JandK Operations to manufacture and provide BharOS-enabled digital devices and services.

  • Life Insurance Corp of Indiarises as it receives a tax refund of Rs 21,740 crore from the Income Tax Department for FY13-20.

  • Sula Vineyards declines over 6% as 1.16 crore shares (13.8% equity), amounting to Rs 676.6 crore, reportedly change hands in a large deal. Verlinvest Asia PTE is a likely seller in this transaction.

  • One97 Communications (Paytm)rises as the RBI extends the deadline for Paytm Payments Bank to stop accepting deposits and top-ups until March 15. The RBI also confirms that Paytm's QR, soundbox, and card machine services will remain operational past this new deadline. Additionally, Paytm partners with Axis Bank to set up an escrow account for merchant transactions.

  • Porinju Veliyath buys a 1.6% stake in Kerala Ayurveda in Q3FY24. He now holds a 4.8% stake in the company.

  • Schaeffler Indiafalls sharply as its net profit declines by 9.3% YoY to Rs 209.6 crore in Q3FY24. Revenue rises by 4.4% YoY, owing to an improvement in the automotive technologies, automotive aftermarket and industrial segments. Its EBITDA margin contracts by 194 bps YoY due to increasing raw material and employee benefit expenses.

  • Tata Poweris rising as it receives a letter of intent (LoI) worth Rs 838 crore from REC Power Development and Transmission to acquire a project special purpose vehicle (SPV), Jalpura Khurja Power Transmission.

  • Nifty 50was trading at 22,086.00 (45.3, 0.2%), BSE Sensexwas trading at 72,627.60 (201.0, 0.3%) while the broader Nifty 500was trading at 20,237.05 (72.2, 0.4%).

  • Market breadth is ticking up strongly. Of the 1,882 stocks traded today, 1,429 were on the uptrend, and 409 went down.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include PB Fintech Ltd. (1,000.85, 7.47%), Adani Wilmar Ltd. (366.45, 5.76%) and Dixon Technologies (India) Ltd. (6,743.85, 5.73%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include YES Bank Ltd. (27.10, -4.58%), Coal India Ltd. (461.00, -3.96%) and HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd. (3,734.50, -3.64%).

Volume Rockets

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

Top high volume gainers on BSE included JBM Auto Ltd. (2,381.75, 17.70%), Rajesh Exports Ltd. (344.25, 13.28%) and Supreme Petrochem Ltd. (732.90, 13.19%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Home First Finance Company India Ltd. (882.90, -5.97%), Schaeffler India Ltd. (3,011.85, -1.71%) and KPR Mill Ltd. (725.55, -0.51%).

Quess Corp Ltd. (540.60, 7.82%) was trading at 19.8 times of weekly average. Crisil Ltd. (5,026.50, 9.05%) and Archean Chemical Industries Ltd. (717.70, 8.88%) were trading with volumes 10.6 and 10.5 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

55 stocks made 52 week highs,

Stocks touching their year highs included - Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. (1,307.00, 0.01%), Aegis Logistics Ltd. (468.20, 7.34%) and Ambuja Cements Ltd. (584.85, -0.04%).

18 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Adani Wilmar Ltd. (366.45, 5.76%) and Metro Brands Ltd. (1,177.95, 4.86%). 7 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd. (113.90, -2.11%) and Schaeffler India Ltd. (3,011.85, -1.71%).

 
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The Baseline
17 Feb 2024
A rare opportunity: Can India gain from a fading China? | Screener: Outperforming export stocks
By Tejas MD

India has long been seen as a country with massive “potential”, but far from realizing it. The one with both the talent and the red tape. The top colleges and high unemployment rates. Instead, our neighbour China was the one in the spotlight.

But over the past many months, political and market factors have come together to favour India. Once part of the 'Fragile Five' countries, India is now being endorsed by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as the primary investment destination for the next decade.

Morgan Stanley even predicts that India’s stock market will become the world’s third-largest by 2030, as FIIs flee China due to its stock market slump and increasingly heavy-handed market controls. 

Vikas Pershad, an Asian equities portfolio manager at M&G Investments in Singapore, said. “People are interested in India for several reasons — one is simply that it’s not China. There’s a genuine long-term growth story here.”

However, the old problem of India’s potential not translating into reality, still looms over us. For this opportunity to not fizzle out, India must build up its manufacturing capability and drive exports. India faces stiff competition as a China alternative and global manufacturing hub. Other developing countries are in the race for the same sweet investment money.  

High import duties and the difficulties in doing business here could hurt India’s chances. Can we take the steps needed to become the top new manufacturing destination?

In this week’s Analyticks,

  • The Window of  Opportunity: Can India gain from China’s fading popularity? 
  • Screener: Exporters outperforming Nifty 50, with YoY growth in revenue and net profit

Indian stock market in top gear while China stumbles

In professional dance, a key role is that of the ‘understudy’. This is the person who shadows the main performer, and knows the role as well as them. The understudy is there to step in, in case the dancer gets injured.

Now the understudy, India, has a chance as China stumbles. Investors are withdrawing billions of dollars from China's faltering economy and turning to India. Besides Goldman and Morgan Stanley, the $62 billion hedge fund Marshall Wace has positioned India as its biggest net long bet after the US, in its flagship hedge fund. 

Nifty50 outperforms Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng over past four years

Despite efforts by China's government to rescue its crashing stock market, the outlook is weak. A monetary stimulus, and the national team (a group of Chinese state funds tasked to support the markets) buying 70 billion yuan ($9.7 billion) of onshore Chinese shares have failed to turn things around. Censorship and recent curbs on Chinese industries like tech and gaming are discouraging investors. 

But even as investments are flowing into Indian equities, some economists warn that India faces multiple speedbreakers in becoming a global manufacturing hub. 

India’s high import duties and ease of doing business are a major hurdle

The US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, highlights India’s missed opportunities, “Foreign direct investment isn’t flowing into India at the pace it should be. Instead, it is going to Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam.” 

Garcetti criticized India's tax strategy in particular, suggesting that high taxes create a limited market rather than a protected one, by taxing both inputs and outputs. 

India’s FDI inflow falls 16.4% to $70.9 billion in FY23

High FDI inflows in FY23 were seen in sectors like computer software & hardware, pharma, chemicals, automobile and auto components, and infrastructure. 

Singapore accounts for 24.3% of India’s total FDI in FY23 

High taxes have limited big investments from economies like the US. Singapore and Mauritius together accounted for 32.9% of India’s overall FDI inflows, followed by the US and Netherlands. 

And despite these inflows, India’s FDI fell YoY in FY23. Meanwhile, Vietnam continues to be a major competitor, offering an alternative to global companies trying to diversify away from China. 

Foxconn Technology Group’s recent decision to spend $100 million on a new plant in Vietnam highlights this trend. Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia and the Czech Republic are also in the running to win investments to expand global supply chains in the computer and electronics segments. 

Countries competing for FDI typically offer a mix of incentives, including tax breaks, free-trade zones, discounted utilities like water and electricity, free land and commitments to supply workers. However, India stands out here with higher import taxes, This encourages domestic setup for local consumption, but reduces export competitiveness. 

 India's import duties higher compared to other emerging markets

Data from the ICEA reveals that India faces a 3.6% cost disadvantage compared to Vietnam, due to tariffs on smartphone components. This gap could prompt multinational companies to consider countries like Vietnam as alternative manufacturing bases, potentially posing significant competition to India.

Elon Musk has also raised the issue of high import taxes. Tesla has expressed willingness to invest up to $2 billion for an electric vehicle factory in India, if the government cuts import duties on its vehicles to 15% for the first two years of operation.

It’s just not Asian countries that India is competing with. Mexico replaced China as the top exporter to the US in 2023. 

India needs to take measures to boost exports and attract foreign investors. It looks like the Centre is keeping a close eye on this. On January 31, the Indian government reduced tariffs on a range of imported components, including battery covers, lenses, antennae and mechanical parts, to 10% from 15% to attract global manufacturers. 

In addition, India is also close to finalizing a first-of-its-kind trade deal that could bring in up to $100 billion in investment from a group of European nations over the next 15 years. 

These measures indicate a commitment to attracting foreign investment. But India still has a long way to go to position itself as a leading manufacturing alternative to China. Relaxing FDI rules, setting up special economic zones,  and a relook at import duties on key raw materials are essential. 

To become, as the government says, “the growth engine of the world”, India has to tackle the political and legislative roadblocks businesses currently face. The logo of Make in India is a lion; these moves are essential to ensure that the reality is not a pussycat.

Screener: Exporters outperforming NIFTY 50 with YoY growth in revenue and net profit

Cummins leads in Nifty 50 outperformance and revenue growth among top exporters

With exporters in the spotlight, we look at a screener that finds export-focused stocks which are outperforming the Nifty 50 in month change, with growth in revenue and net profit. The screener consists of sectors like automobile & auto components, pharmaceuticals, general industrials and consumer durables. 

Major stocks in the screener are Cummins India, Blue Star, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Lupin, Hero MotoCorp, Cipla, Bajaj Auto and Voltas.

Cummins India has surged the most over the past month, outperforming the Nifty 50 index by 26.4 percentage points. The general industrials company’s revenue grew by 16.3% YoY to Rs 2,509.8 crore in Q3FY24, owing to an increase in sales and services in the engines segment. Meanwhile, its net profit improved by 20.6% YoY to Rs 498.9 crore, helped by reduced raw material costs. 

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries’ stock price has risen by 16.2% over the past month, outperforming the Nifty 50 index by 15.5 percentage points. This pharma company’s Q3FY24 revenue grew by 10.1% YoY to Rs 12,156.9 crore on the back of higher sales from its India and US formulations, and global specialty segments. Its net profit rose by 16.5% YoY to Rs 2,523.7 crore, thanks to lower raw material and finance costs.

You can find more screenershere,

 
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The Baseline
16 Feb 2024
Five Interesting Stocks Today

1. Aster DM Healthcare:

This healthcare facilities company has risen by 6.7% over the past week, touching its all-time high of Rs 478.3 per share on Thursday. The company announced its Q3FY24 results on February 8, with its net profit growing by 28.6% YoY to Rs 179.2 crore due to expanding  EBITDA margin from cost optimisation efforts. This marks a turnaround, as the stock's net profit had been falling YoY for the last five quarters. Its revenue also increased by 16.2% YoY to Rs 3,710.6 crore. This rise in net profit and revenue helped the company beat its Forecaster estimates by 157.5% and 4.4% respectively.

The revenue growth came from  improvements in the hospitals, clinics and retail pharmacies (including optical) segments. The hospitals segment, which contributes to 57.3% of the company’s total revenue, saw a 17.7% YoY growth, owing to an increase in the number of beds in India and the GCC. 

Aster’s board approved the sale of its Gulf business, Aster DM Healthcare FZC, to Alpha GCC Holdings for $1 billion (approximately Rs 8,330.1 crore) on November 28, 2023. Commenting on this in the company’s earnings call, Alisha Moopen, Deputy Managing Director, said, “After closing the deal, we plan to distribute 70% to 80% of the upfront consideration of $903 million as  dividends to shareholders. This dividend is expected to be within the range of Rs 110-120 per share.”

The remaining portion of the sale will be used for expansion into North India. The company aims to add 1,700 beds to bring the total capacity to 6,600 by FY27.

2. PI Industries:

This agrochemicals company has risen by 5.5% over the past week following its results. Its Q3 net profit increased by 27.5% YoY to Rs 448.6 crore, beating Trendlyne’s Forecaster estimates by 22.9%. This was driven by a favourable product mix and a deferred tax credit  of Rs 20.4 crore. Its revenue was up 17.6% YoY, driven by growth in its CSM (custom synthesis business) and pharma segments. Due to the rise in share price, PI Industries features in a screener of companies with prices above their short, medium, and long-term moving averages. 

During the quarter, the CSM segment’s revenue (which accounts for around 93% of its total revenue) increased to Rs 1,770.2 crore (up 9.7% YoY). The segment's export revenue also rose 13% YoY, led by volume growth and new product launches. However, the domestic business saw a 6% YoY decline due to the delayed and erratic monsoon. 

Meanwhile, the firm’s pharma business revenue climbed to Rs 127.3 crore, accounting for around 7% of total revenue, up from 3% in Q2. PI Industries entered the pharma segment in Q1 through acquisitions in the API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) and CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organisation) spaces. According to Mayank Singhal, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, “In the coming 4-5 years, we expect 20-25% of revenue to come from the non-agchem space, which includes pharma and non-agchem CSM exports.” 

For FY24, the management has maintained its revenue growth guidance of 18-20% YoY. It also plans to add 4-5 products per year. Following the company’s results, Motilal Oswal maintains its ‘Buy’ rating with a target price of 4,350. The brokerage is optimistic about PI Industries’ long-term growth, driven by its product launches and a strong order book.  

3. Tata Power: 

This electrical utility firm has fallen 7.6% over the past week after reporting tepid earnings. Its revenue increased by 3% YoY to Rs 14,841 crore, while its net profit rose by 2.2% YoY to Rs 1,076 crore. The firm’s Q3 profit was driven by higher realizations in the transmission and distribution business and better capacity utilization at the Mundra thermal power plant. The stock has delivered 45.2% returns in the past quarter and 83.3% in the past year.

The Indian government's recent initiative to launch a rooftop solar scheme for one crore houses is good news for Tata Power’s new solar module manufacturing unit, which has 4.2 GW capacity and is expected to be operational by Q4FY24. IIFL Securities notes that renewable energy capacity additions are likely to pick up, supported by multi-year low solar module prices and the government’s push for rooftop solar installations, in which the firm has a 17% market share. 

Clean energy constituted 39% of Tata Power's total installed capacity of 14,453 MW in Q3FY24, and the firm aims to produce around 70% of its capacity from renewable sources by 2030. This is in line with the government's aim to boost renewable power generation.

IIFL Securities predicts that the firm’s debt-to-equity ratio may inch up to 1.5x (currently 1x) due to new capacity additions, and expects its borrowing costs to be competitive at 7.8-8%, given the Tata Group parentage. Morgan Stanley has upgraded Indian power utility companies to ‘Overweight’, expecting the country’s energy security to require a capex of over Rs 4,500 crore in the next decade.

4. Birla Corp:

This cement products manufacturer has risen by 15% following its Q3FY24 earnings announcement, reaching a 52-week high of Rs 1,770 on February 9. In Q3FY24, it reported a net profit of Rs 109.1 crore, as against a loss of Rs 49.9 crore in Q3FY23. It beat Trendlyne Forecaster’s net profit estimate by 4.7%. The firm’s revenue grew by 15% YoY to Rs 2,328.3 crore. It achieved 85% capacity utilisation during the quarter, up from 74% last year.

Birla reported a 13% YoY volume growth due to increased real estate and infrastructure activity. Additionally, the Mukutban plant, launched in Q4FY22, has now reached 60% capacity utilisation, contributing to the overall increase. However, unseasonal rains in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra affected volumes. 

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sandip Ghose says that Mukutban has significantly boosted the company’s profitability, and is expected to increase its capacity going ahead. They are also counting on the plant to give better access to untapped markets in Western India. The company aims to increase its production capacity to 30 mtpa by 2030 from the current 20 mtpa.

EBITDA margin improved by 9.2% points YoY to 16.4%, with EBITDA/tonne rising 132% YoY to Rs 901. The margin improvement was led by better realization and lower operating expenses. Chief Financial Officer Aditya Saraogi says, “We are maintaining our EBITDA per tonne guidance of around Rs 850 for FY24.”  Input cost fell by Rs 140/MT, owing to efficient raw material sourcing. The firm also improved its fuel mix by leveraging renewable sources and waste heat recovery systems.

ICICI Direct recommends a ‘Buy’ for Birla Corp, forecasting significant improvements in margins and profitability over FY24-26. The brokerage estimates the firm’s PAT to grow at a 174% CAGR over the same period, driven by EBITDA expansion. Margins are expected to increase by 300 bps by FY26 from FY24 levels. The company appears in a screener for stocks with recommendations or target price upgrades by brokers in the past three months.

5. Zydus Lifesciences:

This pharma company hit its all-time high of Rs 893.8 on Friday, with a 10.3% rise in the past week. This rise was driven by a 26.8% YoY growth in its Q3FY24 net profit, beating Trendlyne’s Forecaster estimate by 14.5%. Its revenue also increased by 3.2% YoY. Additionally, the company announced a share buyback worth Rs 600 crore, representing 0.59% of total shares at Rs 1,005 per share, with the record date set for February 23, 2024. Zydus Lifesciences appears in a screener for stocks with high EPS growth in the past twelve months.

Zydus’s EBITDA margin improved by 408 bps YoY to 24%, led by a better product mix and higher price realization. A reduction in raw material costs further helped the bottom line. The growth was driven by a 16% rise in the Indian formulations business, which constitutes 29% of its total revenue. The European and emerging markets business, contributing 11% to its total revenue, also grew 30.5%.

Zydus acquired UK-based LiqMeds in Q3FY24 for 68 million euros (approx. Rs 690 crore), aiming to boost its oral liquids portfolio in the UK and other international markets. LiqMeds is a major player in the global oral liquid products market, offering a portfolio of 100+ products.

However, US formulation sales, constituting 43% of the top line, declined by 4.2% due to lower-than-expected sales of Revlimid and a planned inventory reduction. The management expects a rebound in US sales in Q4FY24, led by price stabilization and the launch of new products like Zituvio and  Metformin IR. Zydus is poised for expansion in the next 3-5 years, with the launch of vaccines and biosimilars for emerging markets including India, and complex generics for the US.

HDFC Securities maintains its ‘Buy’ call on Zydus Lifesciences as they expect steady growth in the US and India to improve margins in FY25-26 due to its R&D assets such as injectables, biosimilars and new chemical entities. With a target price of Rs 920, the stock has a potential upside of 4.3%.

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

 
Trendlyne Marketwatch
Trendlyne Marketwatch
16 Feb 2024
Market closes higher, HDFC Securities keeps its 'Buy' rating on Prestige Estates Projects
By Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50closed at 22,040.70 (130.0, 0.6%), BSE Sensexclosed at 72,426.64 (376.3, 0.5%) while the broader Nifty 500closed at 20,164.90 (127.9, 0.6%). Market breadth is in the green. Of the 2,020 stocks traded today, 1,168 were gainers and 820 were losers.

Indian indices maintained their gains from the afternoon session and closed in the green. The Indian volatility index, Nifty VIX, fell marginally and closed at 15.2 points. Mahindra & Mahindra closed sharply higher after it inked an agreement with Volkswagen. Mahindra will equip a certain range of its electric platform with electric components of Volkswagen´s MEB and unified cells.

Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 closed in the green, taking cues from the benchmark index. Nifty Energy and Nifty Media closed higher than their Thursday close. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, Healthcare Equipment & Supplies emerged as the top-performing sector of the day, with a rise of 4.4%.

European indices traded higher, following the Asian indices, which closed in the green. US index futures traded higher, indicating a positive start to the trading session. Brent crude oil futures traded in the red after rising 1.6% on a volatile day of trade on Thursday.

  • Money flow index (MFI) indicates that stocks like Swan Energy, Bosch, Bajaj Auto and Varun Beverages are in the overbought zone.

  • Zydus Lifesciences gets US FDA approval to manufacture and market Isosorbide Mononitrate tablet, which is used to prevent chest pain in patients with coronary artery disease.

  • HDFC Securities keeps its 'Buy' rating on Prestige Estates Projects with an upgraded target price of Rs 1,390 per share. This indicates a potential upside of 15.8%. The brokerage expects the realtor's presales to improve on the back of better visibility of its office assets. It expects the company's net sales to grow at a CAGR of 6.9% over FY23-26.

  • Lupin receives US FDA approval to market Minzoya tablets, designed for female contraception. The drug will be manufactured at Lupin’s Pithampur facility and has an estimated annual sales of $42 million in the US.

  • Ashok Atluri, Managing Director of Zen Technologies says, the company will achieve its revenue target of Rs 450 crore in FY24. He adds that it will continue to expand its anti-drone technology. Atluri also highlights that the firm is in a favourable position in the training and counter-drone technology.

  • RattanIndia Enterprises rises as its subsidiary, Neosky India, launches an innovative drone training programme in association with Narayana Health for school students in Bangalore. It appears in a screener for stocks with strong momentum.

  • Mahindra & Mahindra rises to an all-time high of Rs 1,864.7 after it inks an agreement with Volkswagen. Mahindra will equip a certain range of its electric platform with electric components of Volkswagen´s MEB and unified cells.

  • Advertising & media, photographic products, and warehousing & logisticsindustries rise more than 5% in the past week.

  • Santanu Sengupta, Chief India Economist at Goldman Sachs, forecasts India's economic growth to exceed 6% for the rest of the decade, attracting more investments from China. Citing demographics, government spending, and robust domestic demand as key drivers, he predicts a 6.3% GDP growth for FY25, slightly below the RBI's 7% expectation.

  • Foreign institutional investors withdraw Rs 1,844 crore from the equity market over the past week, according to Trendlyne's FII dashboard. Index options witness the highest outflow of Rs 62,619.8 crore from foreign investors. Meanwhile, mutual funds are net buyers in the equity market, injecting Rs 1,377.5 crore during the same period.

  • JSW Steelplans to invest Rs 65,000 crore in multiple phases in Odisha to develop an integrated green steel manufacturing complex.

  • EPACK Durable rises sharply as it posts a net profit of Rs 4.9 crore in Q3FY24 compared to Rs 6.2 crore in Q3FY23 owing to decreased raw material costs. Revenue grows by 1.2% YoY to Rs 279.1 crore during the quarter. It shows up in a screener of stocks with zero promoter pledge.

  • KPI Green Energy rises sharply as its subsidiary, KPIG Energia, receives a 1.5 MW solar plant project from Pruthvi Textile under the captive power producer segment.

  • Ajit Venkatraman, CEO of Finolex Industries, notes an uptick in volumes compared to December and forecasts double-digit volume growth for FY24. He highlights growth in the company’s non-agri segment, led by the construction industry.

  • Happy Forgingsbags a Rs 400 crore order from a leading Indian automaker to manufacture and supply components for the SUV segment for six years starting from April 2024.

  • Bajaj Autohits a new 52-week high of 8,434.8 as its shareholders approve, through a postal ballot, the buyback of 40 lakh equity shares for Rs 4,000 crore. This buyback represents 1.41% of the total equity shares of the firm.

  • Data Patterns (India) rises more than 7% as reports suggest that, 60 lakh shares, amounting to Rs 1,100 crore, change hands in a block deal.

  • GMR Airports Infrastructure's January 2024 passenger traffic rises 13% YoY to 1.1 crore. Its aircraft movements rise 5% YoY 66,302.

  • Auto stocks like TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki Indiaand Tata Motorsrise more than 2% in trade. All constituents of the broader Nifty Autoindex are also trading in the green, helping it to touch its all-time high of 20,315.7.

  • Entero Healthcare Solutions’shares debut on the bourses at a 2.3% discount to the issue price of Rs 1,258. The Rs 1,600 crore IPO has received bids for 1.5 times the total shares on offer.

  • The Centre raises the windfall tax on locally produced crude oil to Rs 3,300 per tonne from Rs 3,200 earlier. It also increases the export tax on diesel to Rs 1.5 per litre from ‘Nil’. The tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and petrol will remain ‘Nil’.

  • Ca Basque Investments sells a 1.4% stake in YES Bank for approx Rs 1,737.2 crore in a bulk deal on Thursday.

  • Bharat Petroleum Corp surges to its all-time high of Rs 687.9 per share as it sets up a pilot project to learn more about handling hydrogen for the automobile sector. The company expects a capex of Rs 25 crore.

  • Vedanta's promoter Finsider International sells a 1.8% stake in the company in a bulk deal on Thursday.

  • Dilip Buildcon's joint venture (JV) with Vijay Kumar Mishra Construction bags a Rs 412.9 crore order from the Water Resources Department of Madhya Pradesh. The project involves constructing the Machhrewa Irrigation Project Dam and a pressurized pipe irrigation network on a turnkey basis, with completion expected within 60 months.

  • Nifty 50 was trading at 22,005.45 (94.7, 0.4%), BSE Sensex was trading at 72,406.02 (355.6, 0.5%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 20,135.9000 (98.9, 0.5%)

  • Of the 1,801 stocks traded today, 1,469 showed gains, and 297 showed losses.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include General Insurance Corporation of India (427.20, 10.86%), Ipca Laboratories Ltd. (1,241.45, 7.73%) and UNO Minda Ltd. (654.9500, 7.73%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Gujarat Gas Ltd. (545.05, -6.16%), Torrent Power Ltd. (1,173.50, -2.89%) and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (274.55, -2.52%).

Volume Rockets

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

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Natco Pharma Ltd. (1,026.50, 15.71%), The New India Assurance Company Ltd. (285.85, 15.59%) and Rain Industries Ltd. (201.10, 11.23%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Gujarat Gas Ltd. (545.05, -6.16%), ICICI Securities Ltd. (786.45, -3.36%) and CSB Bank Ltd. (365.00, -2.41%).

Data Patterns (India) Ltd. (2,019.15, 8.87%) was trading at 16.1 times of weekly average. Mastek Ltd. (3,091.75, 7.98%) and Crisil Ltd. (4,609.20, 0.39%) were trading with volumes 11.6 and 9.0 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

57 stocks made 52 week highs, while 1 stock were underachiever and hit their 52 week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - Abbott India Ltd. (29,538.60, 1.22%), ACC Ltd. (2,720.40, 3.14%) and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. (1,306.85, 3.14%).

Stock making new 52 weeks lows included - One97 Communications Ltd. (341.30, 5.00%).

19 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Data Patterns (India) Ltd. (2,019.1500, 8.87%) and UNO Minda Ltd. (654.95, 7.73%). 4 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including G R Infraprojects Ltd. (1,186.80, -2.16%) and Procter & Gamble Health Ltd. (5,103.60, -0.65%).

 
Trendlyne Marketwatch
Trendlyne Marketwatch
15 Feb 2024
Market trades higher, Rajesh Exports' net profit plunges by 97% YoY to Rs 12.4 crore in Q3
By Trendlyne Analysis

Nifty 50closed at 21,910.75 (70.7, 0.3%), BSE Sensexclosed at 72,050.38 (227.6, 0.3%) while the broader Nifty 500closed at 20,037.00 (114.7, 0.6%). Market breadth is in the green. Of the 2,013 stocks traded today, 1,277 were gainers and 711 were losers.

Indian indices maintained the gains from the morning session and closed in the green. The volatility index, Nifty VIX, dropped by 1.4% and closed at 15.2 points. The Reserve Bank of India directs commercial card operators Visa and Mastercard to suspend card-based commercial transactions by both small and large businesses, citing lapses in adhering to Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.

Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 closed higher following the benchmark index. Nifty Energy and Nifty PSU Bank closed higher than Wednesday’s closing level. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, telecommunication equipment emerged as the top-performing sector of the day, with a rise of over 3.1%
. 
Most European indices trade in the green. US indices futures trade higher, indicating a positive start. Berkshire Hathway sold a 1.1% stake in Apple valued at around $1.8 billion. Morgan Stanley increased the target price of Nvidia from $603 to $750 ahead of its quarterly earnings release next week. The global brokerage cited booming demand for high-end chips for nascent AI technology to be the major reason.

  • Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Zydus Lifesciences, Bosch, Kalpataru Projects International and Bajaj Auto are in the overbought zone.

  • ICICI Lombard General Insurance, HDFC Asset Management Co, and Federal Bank outperform the Nifty 50 index over the past month after their Q3FY24 results.

  • Happiest Minds Technologies is rising as it enters a partnership with Soroco, a US-based AI company, to provide IT solutions to automation discovery using Soroco's Scout AI model.

  • Coal India inks a memorandum of understanding with Haryana Power Purchase Centre for to supply 800 MW of power from its arm, Mahanadi Basin Power.

  • India’s merchandise trade deficit narrows to $17.5 billion in January from $19.8 billion in December. Merchandise exports stand at $36.9 billion in January, and imports at $54.4 billion.

  • Axis Direct reiterates its 'Buy' rating on Hindalco Industries with an upgraded target price of Rs 660. This indicates a potential upside of 28.6%. The brokerage is optimistic about the company's capital allocation, highlighting capex directed towards downstream assets in India and at Novelis. It expects the company's net profit to grow at a CAGR of 10.7% over FY23-26.

  • ABB India launches next-generation compact drive, ACH180, for its HVACR (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration) equipment. The compact drives require lower capital expenditures and are easy to commission.

  • Paytm falls another 5% as the stock exchanges NSE and BSE lower the circuit limits from 10% to 5%.

  • Vibhor Steel Tubes' Rs 72.2 crore IPO gets bids for 206X the available 35.9 lakh shares on offer on the third day of bidding. The retail investor quota gets bids for 152.6X the available 17.8 lakh shares on offer.

  • Reliance Industries is reportedly in talks to buy a 29.8% share in Tata Play from Walt Disney. If this deal closes, it will mark the company's entry into the television distribution market, positioning it as a major player in the Indian media space.

  • MIC Electronicsrises sharply following its announcement of a new 42-volt EV battery charger for e-cycles and two-wheelers, set to commercialize in March 2024. The firm is also developing high-power rating EV battery chargers for the same categories.

  • Edelweiss retains its 'Buy' rating on Neogen Chemicalswith a target price of Rs 1,600 per share. This indicates a potential upside of 18.5%. The brokerage remains positive, driven by the company's battery chemical business, which has been allotted significant capex. It expects the company's net profit to grow at a CAGR of 32% over FY23-26.

  • Lupinreceives US FDA approval for Ganirelix Acetate Injection, used for inhibiting premature luteinizing hormone (LH) surges. The injection has estimated annual sales of $87 million.

  • Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director and CEO (Auto and Farm Sector) at Mahindra & Mahindra, notes an industry-wide decline in the tractor business. He expects muted performance in Q4 due to a shift in the festive season. Jejurikar foresees a delay in tractor launch in the US market.

  • Fineotex Chemicalhits a new 52-week high of Rs 429 as its net profit increases 46.5% YoY to Rs 32.9 crore in Q3FY24 due to lower employee benefits and finance costs. Its revenue rises 26.7% YoY to Rs 138.4 crore due to a 37.7% YoY increase in the volumes.

  • Star Health and Allied Insurancereceives a Rs 179.3 crore tax demand from the Deputy Commissioner of the Large Tax Unit, Chennai, for non-payment of GST on re-insurance commissions received in FY19.

  • Surya Roshnibags a Rs 94.8 crore order from a domestic entity in Siliguri, West Bengal, for supplying MS Coated Spiral Welded Pipes in six months.

  • KP Mahadevaswamy, CMD of NBCC (India), expects the company’s revenue to reach Rs 10,500-11,000 crore in FY24. He highlights execution challenges in Delhi due to pollution and farmer strikes. Mahadevaswamy forecasts a revenue of over Rs 13,000 crore in FY25, and PAT of more than Rs 600 crore.

  • The Reserve Bank of India directscommercial card operators Visa and Mastercard to suspend card-based commercial transactions by both small and large businesses, citing lapses in adhering to Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.

  • Rajesh Exportsfalls sharply to touch its 52-week low of Rs 300.3 per share as its net profit plunges by 97% YoY to Rs 12.4 crore in Q3FY24. Revenue drops by 30.7% YoY to Rs 65,476.9 crore during the quarter. It appears in a screenerof stocks with medium to low Trendlyne momentum scores.

  • PSP Projects bags a Rs 630.9 crore order from Rail Vikas Nigam to construct Gati Shakti Vishwavidhyalaya in Vadodara within 30 months. The firm's cumulative order inflow in FY24 to date amounts to Rs 2,626.6 crore.

  • Yes Bank is rising as 39 crore shares (around 1.4% equity), amounting to Rs 1,129 crore, reportedly change hands in a large deal.

  • Narayana Hrudayalaya falls sharply as its Q3FY24 net profit grows 22.3% YoY to Rs 188 crore but misses Forecaster estimates by 6.4%. Revenue rises by 6.7% YoY to Rs 1,203.6 crore during the quarter. It features in a screener of stocks with improving cash flow from operations over the past two years.

  • Container Corp of India (CONCOR) and Container Company of Bangladesh (CCBL) renew their memorandum of understanding till April 2027. This agreement focuses on developing the modalities for operating container trains between India and Bangladesh, aiming to boost cross-border trade.

  • Vedantais reportedly negotiating to sell a partial stake to GQG Partners in a $1 billion deal. This is believed to be a part of Vedanta's plans to raise funds to repay debt.

  • NMDCsurges to its all-time high of Rs 248.8 per share as its net profit grows by 62.7% YoY to Rs 1,483.9 crore in Q3FY24. Revenue rises by 45.4% YoY on the back of improvement in the iron ore and pellet, other minerals & services segments. Its EBITDA margin expands by 650 bps YoY, owing to lower raw material costs.

  • Nifty 50was trading at 21,907.95 (67.9, 0.3%), BSE Sensexwas trading at 72,061.47 (238.6, 0.3%) while the broader Nifty 500was trading at 20,036.00 (113.7, 0.6%).

  • Market breadth is ticking up strongly. Of the 1,785 stocks traded today, 1,504 were on the uptrend, and 247 went down.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Oil India Ltd. (563.15, 12.91%), Torrent Power Ltd. (1,208.45, 6.87%) and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (1,765.05, 6.52%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (187.90, -6.14%), One97 Communications Ltd. (325.05, -5.00%) and Vedanta Ltd. (267.95, -4.18%).

Volume Rockets

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

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Mangalore Refinery And Petrochemicals Ltd. (244.40, 19.83%), Oil India Ltd. (563.15, 12.91%) and NMDC Steel Ltd. (65.70, 11.36%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Rajesh Exports Ltd. (311.45, -7.54%), Vedanta Ltd. (267.95, -4.18%) and Gland Pharma Ltd. (1,897.10, -2.72%).

Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd. (359.15, 0.35%) was trading at 8.7 times of weekly average. Muthoot Finance Ltd. (1,343.35, -2.60%) and Jubilant Pharmova Ltd. (610.25, 4.54%) were trading with volumes 5.6 and 4.9 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

43 stocks took off, crossing 52 week highs, while 3 stocks tanked below their 52 week lows.

Stocks touching their year highs included - Aegis Logistics Ltd. (426.70, 8.87%), Bajaj Auto Ltd. (8,123.05, 0.49%) and Bank of Baroda (275.70, 2.95%).

Stocks making new 52 weeks lows included - Rajesh Exports Ltd. (311.45, -7.54%) and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (2,350.85, -1.55%).

23 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Polycab India Ltd. (4,564.95, 4.81%) and PI Industries Ltd. (3,567.60, 4.37%). 6 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including V-Mart Retail Ltd. (1978.30, -3.64%) and UNO Minda Ltd. (607.95, -2.46%).