Nifty 50 closed at 24,857.30 (21.2, 0.1%) , BSE Sensex closed at 81,455.40 (99.6, 0.1%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 23,440.90 (46.7, 0.2%). Market breadth is in the green. Of the 2,183 stocks traded today, 1,276 were on the uptick, and 888 were down.
Indian indices saw a volatile afternoon session but closed in the green. The volatility index, Nifty VIX, fell 0.5% and closed at around 12.9 points. Colgate-Palmolive touched an all-time high of Rs 3,408.9 as its Q1FY25 net profit grew 33% YoY to Rs 364 crore. Revenue rose by 13.6% YoY to Rs 1,520.1 crore during the quarter.
Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 closed in the green. Nifty Realty and Nifty Metal closed higher. According to Trendlyne’s sector dashboard, Forest Materials emerged as the top-performing sector of the day, with a rise of 2.9%.
European indices traded higher, except the UK’s FTSE 100 and Portugal’s PSI, which traded in the red. Asian indices closed lower, except India’s Nifty 50 and Thailand’ SET index which closed in the green. US index futures traded mixed, indicating a cautious start to the trading session. The Federal Reserve will begin its two-day policy meeting later today, and investors will be looking for clues over the timing and number of rate cuts to expect this year.
Relative strength index (RSI) indicates that stocks like Infosys, Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corp, India Cements, and PI Industries are in the overbought zone.
Nifty Oil & Gas hits an all-time high as BPCL and HPCL gain following the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board's revision in pipeline tariffs for transporting petroleum products. The new rates are 75% of rail tariffs for petroleum products and 100% for liquefied petroleum gas.
Data Patterns falls as its Q1FY25 net profit misses Forecaster estimates by 1.1%, despite rising 26.9% YoY to Rs 32.8 crore. Revenue grows 16% YoY to Rs 104.1 crore during the quarter. The company appears in a screener of stocks with no debt.
Shyam Metalics & Energy rises as its net profit grows by 35.3% YoY to Rs 276.1 crore in Q1FY25, helped by inventory destocking. Revenue increases by 8.9% YoY to Rs 3,662.5 crore during the quarter. It features in a screener of stocks near their 52-week highs.
Varun Beverages' Q1FY25 revenue rises 28.7% YoY to Rs 7,333.7 crore, beating estimates by 2.3%. Net profit grows 25.5% YoY to Rs 1,261.8 crore during the quarter. It appears in a screener of stocks where mutual funds increased their shareholding in the last quarter.
SEBI approves the IPOs for PN Gadgil Jewellers, KRN Heat Exchanger, Ecos India Mobility, and Premier Energies. The funds raised through the initial offerings are allocated for corporate expansions and debt repayment. It also returns the draft prospectus documents of Vishal Mega Mart, NBFC Avanse Financial Services, Sai Life Sciences, and BMW Ventures.
Kalpataru Projects falls as its Q1FY25 net profit drops 19.1% YoY to Rs 93 crore due to higher erection, sub-contracting & other project expenses. However, revenue grows 8.1% YoY to Rs 4,587 crore during the quarter, driven by power transmission & distribution and buildings & factories business. The company appears in a screener of stocks where mutual funds increased their shareholding over the past two months.
Akums Drugs and Pharmaceuticals' Rs 1,856.7 crore IPO gets bids for 0.8X the available 1.5 crore shares on offer on the first day of bidding. The retail investor quota gets bids for 2.1X the available 27.1 lakh shares on offer.
Axis Direct retains its 'Buy' call on ICICI Bank with a higher target price of Rs 1,425 per share. This indicates a potential upside of 16.2%. The brokerage expects increased revenue and profitability in the medium term, backed by strong credit and deposit growth and improving asset quality. It projects the company's net interest income (NII) to grow at a CAGR of 10.3% over FY25-27.
Sumant Kathpalia, CEO of IndusInd Bank, highlights Q1FY25 as a stable quarter, despite being a typically weaker period for the bank. He projects a return on assets (ROA) of 1.8% by Q3 and around 1.9-2% by Q4FY25. The bank aims to maintain its liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) above 110%, noting that LCR guidelines will only have a minor impact, remaining in single digits.
Maharashtra Seamless falls as its Q1FY25 net profit drops 37.4% YoY to Rs 129.3 crore due to lower sales and higher inventory. Revenue falls 5.8% YoY to Rs 1,151 crore during the quarter. The company features in a screener of stocks where mutual funds increased their shareholding over the past two months.
Wonderla Holidays falls sharply as its net profit declines by 25.1% YoY to Rs 63.2 crore in Q1FY25 due to higher raw material and employee benefits expenses. Revenue decreases by 6.7% YoY to Rs 177.5 crore due to reduced footfall. It shows up in a screener of stocks with medium to low Trendlyne momentum scores.
Quess Corp rises as its Q1FY25 net profit increases 117.1% YoY to Rs 103.8 crore due to lower material costs. Revenue grows 8.7% YoY to Rs 5,013.3 crore during the quarter. The company appears in a screener of stocks with new 52-week highs today.
Company promoters take advantage of the booming markets with a selling spree in Q1FY25. The promoters of India’s top 500 companies have sold shares totaling Rs 61,840 crore, the highest in the past nine months.
IdeaForge Technology falls sharply as its net profit declines by 93.8% YoY to Rs 1.2 crore in Q1FY25 due to a sharp increase in raw material costs. Revenue decreases by 8.4% YoY to Rs 92.2 crore. It shows up in a screener of stocks with declining profits from the past two quarters.
ACC is falling as its Q1FY25 net profit declines by 22.5% YoY to Rs 361.4 crore due to higher raw material costs. Revenue decreases by 1% YoY to Rs 5,226.6 crore, helped by increased clinker and cement sales. It features in a screener of stocks underperforming their industries in the past quarter.
CESC surges as it acquires a 63.9% stake in Purvah Green Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crescent Power, for Rs 205 crore. This acquisition aims to expand CESC's renewable energy business.
Ashok Atluri, CMD of Zen Technologies, reiterates the company’s FY25 revenue guidance of Rs 900 crore and export target of Rs 300 crore. He highlights the strong traction of orders in the anti-drone segment, and expects orders to pick up in Q3 and Q4.
Jindal Saw surges to its all-time high of Rs 648 per share as its net profit grows by 66.7% YoY to Rs 441.1 crore in Q1FY25. Revenue rises by 12.1% YoY to Rs 4,984.8 crore, driven by increased sales of iron & steel pipes and pellets. It shows up in a screener of stocks with improving cash flow from operations in the past two years.
ITD Cementation India receives a contract to construct a residential colony in New Delhi worth approx Rs 1,237 crore.
Rail Vikas Nigam wins an order worth Rs 739 crore from the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board to develop a distribution infrastructure at the Central Zone of Himachal Pradesh.
Nomura maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on KEC International with an upgraded target price of Rs 1,030. The brokerage notes the robust growth and the company’s focus on margins. It expects gross margins to recover starting in Q3FY25, driven by easing supply chain issues and increased contributions from new projects.
Tata Steel approves infusing funds in T Steel Holdings by acquiring 557.3 crore shares for $875 million (Rs 7,324.4 crore).
Colgate-Palmolive surges to its all-time high of Rs 3,408.9 per share as its net profit grows by 33% YoY to Rs 364 crore in Q1FY25, helped by inventory destocking and lower finance costs. Revenue rises by 13.6% YoY to Rs 1,520.1 crore, driven by improvements in the toothpaste, toothbrush, and personal care segments. It appears in a screener of stocks with negative to positive growth in sales and net profit with strong price momentum.
Reports suggest that a 13.1% equity of PNB Housing Finance has changed hands for Rs 2,642 crore in block deals. Carlyle Group's Quality Investment Holdings is the likely seller.
Hindustan Petroleum Corp's net profit plunges by 90.6% YoY to Rs 633.9 crore in Q1FY25 due to higher raw material, inventory, and finance costs. However, revenue grows by 1.4% YoY to Rs 1.2 lakh crore, helped by an improvement in the downstream petroleum segment. It features in a screener for stocks where mutual funds reduced their shareholding in the past quarter.
Nifty 50 was trading at 24,840.60 (4.5, 0.0%), BSE Sensex was trading at 81,349.28 (-6.6, 0.0%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 23,429.65 (35.5, 0.2%).
Market breadth is overwhelmingly positive. Of the 1,954 stocks traded today, 1,432 were on the uptrend, and 489 went down.
Riding High:
Largecap and midcap gainers today include FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd. (200.03, 9.4%), Adani Energy Solutions Ltd. (1,124.90, 6.9%) and Suzlon Energy Ltd. (68.22, 5.0%).
Downers:
Largecap and midcap losers today include Varun Beverages Ltd. (1,577.40, -6.4%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (3,111.15, -2.7%) and Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (1,439.80, -2.6%).
Volume Shockers
28 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.
Top high volume gainers on BSE included PCBL Ltd. (331.95, 10.8%), Computer Age Management Services Ltd. (4,695.05, 9.6%) and Fine Organic Industries Ltd. (5,872.65, 9.4%).
Top high volume losers on BSE were Varun Beverages Ltd. (1,577.40, -6.4%), CSB Bank Ltd. (330.25, -4.2%) and Vardhman Textiles Ltd. (556.65, -2.1%).
Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. (304.55, 8.1%) was trading at 20.3 times of weekly average. FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd. (200.03, 9.4%) and Trident Ltd. (40.78, 6.8%) were trading with volumes 13.8 and 9.2 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.
BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages
55 stocks hit their 52 week highs, while 1 stock tanked below their 52 week lows.
Stocks touching their year highs included - Ajanta Pharma Ltd. (2,530.55, 4.6%), Apollo Tyres Ltd. (559.65, 1.4%) and Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. (1,396.10, -0.6%).
Stock making new 52 weeks lows included - Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd. (81.81, -0.8%).
18 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. (304.55, 8.1%) and Trident Ltd. (40.78, 6.8%). 4 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Westlife Foodworld Ltd. (828.20, -1.1%) and GMM Pfaudler Ltd. (1,461, -0.3%).