Inflation at the consumer level has been easing and that has given investors more hope that central banks could consider softening their policy on interest rates. Meanwhile, investors are keeping a close eye on corporate earnings and their outlook to get a sense of the economy.
Reliance Securities Stock in Focus for Today: Voltas
STOCK IN FOCUS
Voltas (CMP 810): Considering the decent earnings growth, higher volume and improved business visibility over the medium-term, we have our BUY rating on the stock, with a Target Price of Rs1,065.
Intraday Picks
BERGEPAINT (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 568) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs567- 563 for the target of Rs582 with a strict stop loss of Rs559.
MARUTI (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 8,479) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs8,420- 8,370 for the target of Rs8,620 with a strict stop loss of Rs8,315.
INDIGO (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 2,080) SELL
For today’s trade, short position can be initiated in the range of Rs2,110- 2,125 for the target of Rs2,045 with a strict stop loss of Rs2,145.
Sensex remains flat at preopen; ITC, Adani Enterprises, ICICI Prudential in focus
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Geojit Financial Services on today’s market: From now on Budget expectations also are likely to influence the market trend
Dr V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services: India’s outperformance in 2022 has been temporarily reversed in January 2023, till date, mainly due to FII outflows to other markets, mainly China. Consequently, Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite have appreciated by 9 percent and 4.4 percent respectively YTD while Nifty is down by around 0.3%. India’s current underperformance is likely to be temporary since India has the best growth and earnings prospects among large economies. However, concerns of global slowdown this year and the possibility of FIIs again turning sellers at higher levels will cap the upside to the market in the near-term. From now on Budget expectations also are likely to influence the market trend. IT stocks which have bounced back after the good Q3 results and high quality banking and capital goods stocks along with RIL have the strength to support the market.
INDIA RUPEE-Rupee to open higher tracking NDFs, BoJ in focus
The Indian rupee is likely to inch up against the dollar on Wednesday, helped by the decline in the USD/INR non-deliverable forwards (NDF).
The rupee is expected to open at around 81.60 compared with 81.76 in the previous session. Over the last two sessions, the local currency has come under pressure on dollar purchases from public sector banks and on position adjustments by speculators.
The USD/INR 1-month NDF declined after normal over-the-counter market hours on Tuesday, hovering near 81.70. On the interbank order match system, rupee was last dealt at 81.60.
The rupee, taking cues from NDF, should inch up at open, but is unlikely to do much after that considering the Asian cues, a trader at a Mumbai-based bank said. It looks like the rupee is now in a new range of 81.20 to 82.00, he added. (Reuters)
Maruti recalls 17,362 cars due to faulty airbags. These models are affected
India’s top carmaker Maruti Suzuki on Wednesday said it was recalling 17,362 units of its seven models, Alto K10, S-Presso, Eeco,Brezza, Baleno and Grand Vitara, to rectify a possible defect in airbag controller according to a regulatory filing by the company. The affected vehicles are manufactured between 8 December 2022 and 12 January 2023.
“The Company has announced to recall a total of 17,362 vehicles manufactured between 8 December 2022 and 12 January, 2023. The affected models are Alto K10, S-Presso, Eeco,Brezza, Baleno and Grand Vitara,” the company said in a statement. (Read More)
Stocks to Watch: ITC, Bank of India, ICICI Prudential, ICICI Lombard, Adani Enterprises, Nalco, Glenmark, Eris Lifesciences, Angel One, Sundaram Fasteners, and Tata Investments
IndusInd Bank, Persistent Systems, Central Bank of India, Oracle Financial Services Software, CCL Products and PSP Projects will be among the stocks in focus as they declare their December quarter earnings today. (Read More)
ICICI Lombard net profit rises 11 pc to ₹353 crore
Leading general insurer ICICI Lombard on Tuesday reported an 11 percent growth in net income at ₹353 crore in the three months ended December boosted by capital gains of ₹152 crore and higher sales.
The company’s gross direct premium income for the quarter rose 16.9 per cent, lower than the industry growth of 18.1 per cent, at ₹5,493 crore. In the year-ago period, the same stood at ₹4,699 crore.
Excluding crop segment, the gross direct premium income growth was 17.1 per cent, which is higher than the industry growth of 16.6 per cent, the company said in a statement.
The combined ratio, a key profitability matrix, improved to 104.4 from 104.5 on-year, it added.
The ICICI group company booked ₹152 crore from its market investments in the latest December quarter, up from ₹131 crore a year ago, boosting its bottom line. (PTI)
Quant Mutual Fund buys stake in this multibagger stock in December 2022
Quant Mutual Fund bought a fresh stake in Apollo Micro Systems in December 2022. As per the Quant Mutual Fund shareholding after the end of December 2022, the mutual fund has added 18 fresh stocks in its portfolio and small-cap stock are one of them. The asset management company (AMC) has bought 5,52,774 shares of Apollo Micro Systems Ltd, which is around 2.66 per cent of the net paid-up capital of the listed stock. These Apollo Micro Systems shares held by Quant Mutual Fund are to the tune of 0.11 per cent of the total asset under management of the mutual fund.
In the last month, this small-cap stock has surged to the tune of 25 per cent whereas, in the last six months, this multibagger stock has ascended from around ₹134 to ₹334, logging around 150 per cent rise in this period. (Read More)
Adani Enterprises to deploy hydrogen-powered trucks
Adani Enterprises on Tuesday signed an agreement to launch a pilot project to develop a hydrogen fuel cell electric truck (FCET) for mining logistics and transportation with Ashok Leyland, India, and Ballard Power, Canada.
“This collaboration marks Asia’s first planned hydrogen powered mining truck. The demonstration project will be led by AEL, a company focused on both mining operations and developing green hydrogen projects for sourcing, transporting, and building out hydrogen refueling infrastructure,” the company said in a statement.
Eris Lifesciences to buy 9 dermatology brands from Glenmark Pharma
To deepen its presence in the anti-fungal and anti-psoriasis segments, Indian drugmaker Eris Lifesciences Ltd on 17 January said it would acquire a portfolio of dermatology brands from Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd for ₹3.4 billion. Through Eris’ dermatology-focused unit, the deal is for the purchase of nine brands, including Onabet, Halobate, Sorvate, and Demelan for India and Nepal, Eris said.
Post divestiture of the brands, Glenmark said that will further consolidate its position in the core therapeutic areas of cardiometabolic, respiratory, dermatology, and oncology segments. (Read More)
ICICI Prudential Life Q3 profit dips 29 pc to ₹221 crore
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance on Tuesday reported a 29 per cent decline in its profit at ₹221 crore for the third quarter ended December 2022.
The company had posted a profit of ₹311 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
During the third quarter of this fiscal the net premium income increased to ₹9,465 crore as against ₹9,074 crore in the same period a year ago, ICICI Prudential Life said in a regulatory filing.
The assets under management of the company stood at ₹2,51,884 crore, it said, adding, the company had a debt-equity mix of 54:46 as on December 31, 2022. (PTI)
Elon Musk not invited for World Economic Forum meeting, says Davos organiser
The organiser of the World Economic Forum Summit that is being held at Davos Switzerland, said that Elon Musk wasn’t on the guest list, even though the Twitter owner claims. WEF Yann Zopf knocked down Musk’s claim saying that the billionaire wasn’t there, though he says he was invited.
The spokesman added the last time the Tesla CEO got an invitation was “not this year and not recently — last time in 2015″.
On 22 December, Musk wrote a tweet that read: “My reason for declining the Davos invitation was not because I thought they were engaged in diabolical scheming, but because it sounded boring af lol”. (Read More)
BharatPe’s founder Koladiya sues Grover to reclaim shares
Bhavik Koladiya, the original founder of BharatPe, has filed a lawsuit against Ashneer Grover in the Delhi High Court. Koladiya is taking legal action against BharatPe’s co-founder and former managing director Grover “to get back his shares from him.”
The matter has been listed before Justice Prateek Jalan in the Delhi High Court. Koladiya and Grover’s fight over shares was first reported by Mint last year. (Read More)
India’s capex spending is likely to slow on lower tax haul
India’s pace of spending on infrastructure, buildings and other fixed assets will probably slow in the coming fiscal year, a development that could dent the nation’s ability to maintain world-beating growth.
To sell itself as an attractive destination for foreign capital, Asia’s third-largest economy has leaned on robust capital spending, increasing its infrastructure budget by 39% and 26% in the last two years. But as recessionary woes spread globally, India’s tax collections and asset sales are likely to fall, analysts say. (Read More)
Stocks close mixed on Wall Street on Tuesday; Goldman weighs on Dow
Stock indexes on Wall Street closed mixed Tuesday, as investors focus on a busy week of corporate earnings for insight into how much damage inflation is inflicting on the economy.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, ending a four-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%, mostly because of a big drop in Goldman Sachs after the investment bank’s results came in far below analysts’ estimates as dealmaking dried up.
Gains in technology stocks helped the Nasdaq composite eke out a 0.1% gain, extending the tech-heavy index’s winning streak to a seventh day.
The mixed start to the holiday-shortened week follows a solid start to the year for Wall Street after a dismal 2022. The broader market is coming off its best week in two months, but investor sentiment could quickly turn as companies report their results for the October-December quarter.
Analysts still expect companies in the S&P 500 to report a drop in profits for the fourth quarter from a year earlier. That would mark the first such decline since 2020, when the pandemic was crushing the economy.
More importantly, investors are listening closely to financial updates from companies to get a better determine whether inflation will continue squeezing consumers’ wallets and sapping corporate profits. (AP)
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