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Benchmark equity indices closed with marginal gains as investors’ risk appetite improved after oil prices eased and the RBI kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5%. For the week, the Nifty 50 index added 0.08% to 19,653.50 and the Sensex gained 0.25% to 65,995.63.
In broader markets, the BSE Midcap index fell 0.81% to 32,077.66, while the BSE Smallcap index gained 0.79% to end at 37,860.58.
Top gainers were Realty [2.06%], IT [1.75%], Consumer Durables [1.36%], and Media [0.82%]. Top losers were Energy [-2.16%], Healthcare [-1.95%], Pharma [-1.91%], Oil & Gas [-1.42%], and Metal [-1.39%].
FIIs were net seller for Rs 8412.65 crore and the DIIs were net buyers for Rs 4435.17 crore in the cash segment.
The Indian rupee closed at 83.25 against the US dollar on Friday.
Crude Oil prices fell over $10 per barrel from recent highs of about $95 per barrel due to demand concerns. During the week, WTI Crude Oil prices fell to $82.79 a barrel and Brent Crude Oil declined to $84.58 per barrel.
Company News
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL): UK-based Superdry plc announced that it has signed an IP joint venture agreement with Reliance Brands Holding UK Ltd (RBUK), and agreements for the sale of Superdry’s intellectual property assets, including the SUPERDRY brand and related trademarks in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh to the joint venture company. RBUK and Superdry will own 76% and 24% of the joint venture company, respectively. RBUK is held by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) through its subsidiary Reliance Brands Limited (RBL). The sale deal was was for £40 million and Superdry will receive gross cash proceeds of £30.4 million.
HDFC Bank: The lender said that its gross advances aggregated to about Rs 23,545 billion for the quarter ended September 2023, up 57.7% from Rs 14,933 billion in the year-ago period. The bank’s deposits aggregated to about Rs 21,730 billion in Q2FY24, up 29.9% over Rs 16,734 billion in the year-ago period. The bank’s CASA deposits aggregated to Rs 8,175 billion in Q2FY24, a rise of 7.6% over Rs 7,597 billion in the year-ago period. The bank’s CASA ratio stood at around 37.6% as of September 30, 2023, compared to 45.4% as of September 30, 2022, and 42.5 percent as of June 30, 2023.
Bajaj Finance: The company’s new loans booked during Q2FY24 grew by 26% to 8.53 million as against 6.76 million in Q2FY23. Assets under management (AUM) grew by 33% to Rs 290,200 crore in Q2FY24 compared to Rs 218,366 crore in Q2FY23. Its deposits book stood at Rs 54,800 crore in Q2FY24 compared to Rs 39,422 crore in the year-ago period.
Bajaj Finance, in an exchange filing, said that its board has approved fundraising Rs 8,800 crore via Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP). The company’s board has also approved raising funds up to Rs 1,200 crore via warrants. The company will be seeking approval of the shareholders for the proposed QIP and warrants by convening an Extra Ordinary General Meeting.
Tata Motors: The company said wholesales in Q2FY24 were 96,817 units, up 29% YoY and wholesales for the first half of FY24 were 190,070 units, up 29% YoY. Retail sales in Q2FY24 were 106,561, up 21% YOY and retail sales in H1 FY24 were 208,555 units, up 25% YoY. Order book remained strong at 168,000 units, reducing in line with the fulfilment of client orders, with demand for most profitable Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender models accounting for 77% of the orders. JLR presently expects positive free cash flow of around £300 million in Q2FY24.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL):The company handed over the first LCA Tejas twin seater to the Indian Air Force in the presence of Rakha Rajya Mantri, Ajay Bhatt, at a ceremony on Wednesday. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said that IAF would be going forward to procure 97 more LCAs and with this it will have 220 LCAs in its inventory.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL): The state-owned oil refiner has firmed up plans to pump in over Rs 2,600 crore in setting up several greenfield units and expanding its facilities across the northeast over the next few years, PTI news reported citing a senior company official. The board of IOC has already approved various new projects, while some are in the process of getting the nod, with the leading energy firm in talks with the local governments in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur to finalise land parcels for the greenfield units, the report added.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T): The engineering conglomerate said its buildings and factories division has secured various orders in the large category. According to the company’s project classification, the value of the orders ranges between Rs 2500 crore to Rs 5000 crore. The business has secured an order to construct a residential township in Bengaluru and commercial towers in Hyderabad. The business has also bagged an order from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur to construct a Super Specialty Hospital & Academic Block as part of the Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology.
Vodafone Idea: The telecom firm said that the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has disposed-off the company’s representation with respect to license fee demand aggregating to Rs 3,273 crore. The company said that it has in the past written to DoT to correct the errors in demands up to FY 2016-17 which DoT has not acted upon so far.
Kalyan Jewellers: The company recorded a consolidated revenue growth of about 27% for the recently concluded September quarter compared to the same period in the previous financial year. The revenue growth in the first half of the current financial year rose 29% YoY. Its Indian operations during Q2FY24 grew 32% YoY, led by robust operating momentum on the ground with healthy same-store-sales growth across all the key markets in the country.
Hindalco Industries: The company has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Odisha Mining Corporation for long-term supply of Bauxite ore for its proposed 2-million tonne alumina refinery and 150-MW captive power plant at Kansariguda in the Rayagada District. The total proposed investment of Rs 8,000 crore, which will be in two phases. The first phase of 1 million tonne is expected to be commissioned in FY27, at an investment of Rs 5,500 crore.
IndusInd Bank: The private lender’s net advances improved to Rs 3,14,928 crore in Q2FY24, registering a growth of 21% as compared to Rs 2,60,129 crore in the year-ago period. The bank reported a 14% growth in deposits at Rs 3,59,819 crore in Q2FY24 as against Rs 3,15,921 crore in the year-ago period. CASA ratio reduced to 39.4% in the quarter ended September 2023 compared with 42.4% in the same period last fiscal .
InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo): The airline said that it is introducing fuel charge on domestic and international routes, effective October 6 to offset rising Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices. The fuel charge would be in the range of Rs 300 to Rs 1000 based on the distance and route.
Sun Pharma: The drugmaker has decided to acquire a 37.76% stake in Ezerx Health Tech Private Limited for Rs 29 crore. Ezerx is engaged in the business of production, marketing and distribution of non-invasive diagnostic and ancillary medical device.
Punjab National Bank (PNB): The public sector lender witnessed 11.3% YoY rise in total business to Rs 22.5 lakh crore for the quarter ended September FY24. Deposits rose 9.7% YoY to Rs 13.08 lakh crore and CASA deposits grew by 2.6% YoY to Rs 5.4 lakh crore. Further, global gross advances increased 13.8% YoY to Rs 9.4 lakh crore and domestic advances increased by 13.9% YoY to Rs 9.08 lakh crore.
Marico: The FMCG major said domestic volumes grew in low-single digits on a yearly basis during the July-September quarter, with low single-digit volume growth in Parachute Coconut Oil and Saffola Edible Oils, and low single-digit value growth in Value Added Hair Oils. The International business delivered double-digit constant currency growth. Consolidated revenue was marginally lower YoY, dragged by pricing corrections in key domestic portfolios over the last 12 months, which will progressively come into the base going ahead.
Economy News
The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.50%. The standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remains unchanged at 6.25% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate was kept at 6.75%. The central bank maintained India’s real GDP growth estimates for FY24 at 6.5% and CPI inflation projection was maintained at 5.4%.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) registered 57.5 in September, down from 58.6 in August. Further, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI rose from 60.1 in August to 61 in September.
Meanwhile, India’s GST revenue in September was 1.62 lakh crore, with CGST collections at Rs 29,818 crore, SGST at Rs 37,657 crore, IGST at Rs 83,623 crore, and compensation cess at Rs 11,613 crore.
Global Markets
The US markets closed mixed as technology-related stocks and growth stocks gained, while most other stocks underperformed. For the week, the S&P 500 index advanced 0.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq gained 1.6%.
The Labor Department reported that employers added 336,000 nonfarm jobs in September and average hourly earnings rose 0.2%. Meanwhile, the workforce participation rate also stayed steady at 62.8%. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said that its Non-Manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.6 in September from 54.5 in August. The S&P Global US Services Purchasing Manager index (PMI) fell to 50.1 September from 50.5 in August.
Stocks in Japan fell during the week due to concerns over soaring US Treasury yields and hawkish monetary policy stance by global central banks. For the week, the Nikkei 225 index fell 2.7% and the broader Topix index declined 2.6%. The Japanese Yen appreciated to JPY 149 against the US dollar. The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond (JGB) rose to 0.80%, a 10-year high, from 0.76% at the end of the previous week.
On the economic front, Japan’s Services PMI fell to 53.8 in September from 54.3 in August. The Manufacturing PMI slipped to 48.5 in September from 49.6 in the previous month, due to lower output and a steep fall in new orders.
Financial markets in Mainland China were closed last week for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday and will reopen on October 9. However, the Hong Kong market was open and the benchmark Hang Seng index declined over 1%. In economic news, China’s official Manufacturing PMI rose to 50.2 in September from 49.7 in August. The Non Manufacturing PMI expanded to 51.7 in September from 51 in August.