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Domestic benchmark indices rose sharply at the end of the week after data showed robust economic growth during the April-June 2023 quarter. For the week, the Sensex 0.77% to 65,387.16. The Nifty 50 index 0.88% to 19,435.30. The BSE Midcap index surged 2.34% to 31,435.62 and the BSE Smallcap index soared 3.78% to 37,420.53.
Among Nifty sectoral indices, top gainers were Realty [5.76%], Metal [5.09%], Auto [3.68%], Consumer Durables [2.37%], and IT [1.94%]. Top losers were FMCG [-0.52%], Pharma [-0.09%], and Healthcare [-0.09%].
For the week, FIIs were net sellers for Rs 4,311.6 crore and DIIs were net buyers for Rs 9,570 crore in the cash segment. In the month of August 2023, FIIs were net sellers for Rs 20,620.65 crore and DIIs were net buyers 25,016.95 crore.
The Indian rupee rose 8 paise to 82.71 against the US dollar on Friday.
Company News
Maruti Suzuki: The automaker plans to invest about Rs 45,000 crore to achieve a cumulative production of 4 million cars by FY2031. The company aims to add a production capacity of 2 million additional cars within the next eight years, said Maruti Suzuki Chairman RC Bhargava during the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Meanwhile, the company said its total sales in August 2023 grew 14.48% to 1,89,082 units as compared with 1,65,173 units sold in the same period last year. The sales of passenger vehicles increased 16.36% to 1,56,114 units, while sales of light commercial vehicles slipped 23.94% to 2,564 units in August 2023 as compared with August 2022. While the company’s total domestic sales rose by 14.46% to 164,468 units while exports grew by 14.58% to 24,614 units in August 2023 over August 2022. After the strong sales data, shares of the company touched a new lifetime high of Rs 10,397.95 during the week.
Reliance Industries (RIL): The company’s media arm Viacom 18 has bagged the BCCI TV and digital right for the domestic and international games to be played in India. The deal is for the next five years and its cumulative bid is Rs 5,963 crore. Viacom 18 beat competitors Star India and Sony in an e-auction conducted by the BCCI. As per the new deal which has 88 international matches, Viacom18 is estimated to be paying INR 67.75 crore per game to the BCCI, which is 12.91% higher than the Rs 60 crore Disney Star had paid during the 2018-23 period.
ONGC: The state-owned company will invest about Rs 2 lakh crore to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2038, its chairman Arun Kumar Singh said. It will invest Rs 1 lakh crore by 2030 in setting up 10 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, offshore wind energy projects, and green ammonia plant, while the remaining funds would be used to achieve Scope-1 and Scope-2 net zero carbon emissions.
State Bank Of India (SBI): The country’s largest lender has received approval to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary, ‘SBI Funds Management,’ at IFSC Gift City, Gujarat.
Tata Motors: The company’s domestic and international sales for August 2023 stood at 78,010 vehicles, down 1.06% compared to 78,843 units sold in August 2022. The company’s total domestic sales dropped 0.29% to 76,261 units sold in August 2023 from 76,479 units sold in the same period last year. Total commercial sales rose 1.9% YoY to 32,077 units sold in August 2023.
Adani Group: The conglomerate has denied a new report by OCCRP which levelled charges against the group for using ‘opaque investments’ through Mauritius. The group had issued a press statement before the market opened today citing that these news reports appear to be yet another concerted bid by Soros-funded interests supported by a section of the foreign media to revive the meritless Hindenburg report. Shares of all Adani Group companies declined over 5% in intraday trade.
Tata Power: The company said Tata Power Renewable Energy through its subsidiary TP Alpha (SPV) has signed a power delivery agreement with Sanyo Special Steel Manufacturing India (SSMI) for setting up of 28.125 MW (AC) captive solar plant in Aachegaon in Maharashtra. Tata Power Renewable Energy is a subsidiary of Tata Power Company. The solar plant is projected to produce an annual electricity of 61.875 million units (MUs) which would meet the energy requirement of steel manufacturing unit of ‘SSMI’. The overall capacity of the Aachegaon facility is 120 MWp AC and the project will be commissioned by the end of this fiscal.
Indian Bank: The lender said that its committee of directors approved raising of equity capital aggregating up to Rs 4,000 crore through qualified institutions placement (QIP). The funds will be raised in one or more tranches, subject to all statutory and regulatory approvals.
Trigyn Technologies: The company has received Letter of Award from Digital India Corporation, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, for providing technical manpower for LokOS project. The project duration will be three years from award of work, and further extendable based on the performance. The project value is approximately Rs 35 crore for three years and Rs 65 crore for five years.
Jet Airways: The Jalan Kalrock consortium, which was the successful bidders of Jet Airways, have paid Rs 100 crore as part of the process to take over the non-operational airline. The payment comes after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal allowed it to make payment in tranches earlier this week. With this development, the consortium has so far invested Rs 250 crore in the airline.
Economy News
India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.8% in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal, compared to a growth of 6.1% in the previous January-March quarter of FY23, according to official data released by the National Statistical Office.
Further, output of eight key infrastructure sectors (core sectors), marginally slowed to 8% in July from 8.3% in June. In July 2022, the core sector rose 4.8%. The data for June 2023 was revised upwards to 8.3% from 8.2% estimated earlier.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 58.6 in August from 57.7 in July, indicating an improvement in the health of the sector. A reading above 50 indicated that the manufacturing sector expanded.
Global Markets
The US markets rose during the week after softening economic data boosted expectations of a pause in interest rate hike by the Fed. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 2.5%, the Nasdaq soared 3.25% and the Dow Jones gained 1.43%. For the month, the S&P 500 lost 1.77%, the Dow Jones dropped 2.36%, and the Nasdaq fell 2.17%.
The Labor Department reported that employers added 187,000 jobs in August 2023, which was slightly above consensus expectations. Average hourly earnings rose by only 0.2% month-on-month in August. The unemployment rate climbed from 3.5% to 3.8%, highest since February 2022. The participation rate hit 62.8%, its highest level since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
The US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index increased by 3.3% year-on-year in July, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation. Excluding food and energy, the core PCE price index rose by 4.2% in July, on a yearly basis. The Commerce Department reported that personal spending jumped 0.8% in July.
Japan’s stock markets gained over the week, with the Nikkei 225 index rising 3.4% and the broader Topix index soaring by 3.7%. The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond fell to 0.63%, from 0.64% at the end of the previous week. The Japanese Yen strengthened to JPY 145.4 against the US dollar, from about JPY 146.4 in the prior week.
Chinese stocks rose after the government announced a raft of stimulus measures to support the country’s ailing economy. The CSI 300 index jumped 2.22%, the Shanghai Composite index gained 2.26%, and the benchmark Hang Seng index rose 2.37%.
Lower-than-expected economic data, concerns over probable deflation, worsening crisis in the debt-laden property sector, and high youth unemployment dented investors’ confidence in China’s economy. Country Garden Holdings, one of the largest property developers, in China said in a filing that it might default on its debt if its financial performance continued to deteriorate.