Share Market Today: Sensex, Nifty End Higher Led By Gains In Banking, Utilities, Power Stocks; FPIs Net Sell

Overseas investors stayed net sellers for the seventh day in a row on Monday.

As per data from the National Stock Exchange, foreign portfolio investors net sold equities worth Rs 372.03 crore.

On the contrary, Domestic institutional investors stayed net buyers and bought equities worth Rs 1,582.24 crore.

Institutions have net bought Rs 2,698.04 crore worth of equities in October so far and net sold Rs 35,128.57 crore worth of Indian equities till date in 2022.

The Indian rupee closed largely flat against the U.S. dollar on Monday.

The local currency opened at 82.37, four paise lower from Friday's close.

During the day, the rupee fell as much as 0.1%, or 8.3 paise, to 82.42. At close, the local currency traded only 0.02% lower, paring most losses to end at 82.35.

The rupee hit a record low of 82.72 on Monday last week.

India’s stock benchmarks closed higher, paring opening losses, aided by gains in banking, utilities and power stocks. 

The Sensex added about 491 points (0.85%) to close at 58,410.98. The Nifty 50 added about 131 points (0.76%) to end at 17,317.

Today, 37 of the Nifty 50 stocks rose while 13 declined. State Bank of India Ltd., NTPC Ltd., Bajaj Finserv Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd. and ICICI Bank Ltd. were the top gainers on Nifty 50.

While, Hindalco Industries ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., JSW Steel Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd. and Britannia Industries Ltd. were the top losers.

The broader indices underperformed their larger peers MidCap and SmallCap, which gained 0.26% and 0.09% respectively, while LargeCap almost mirrored its larger peers, and gained about 0.75%.

Thirteen of the 19 the sectoral measures complied by BSE Ltd. advanced with Financial Services, Utilities, Bankex and Power gauges gaining the most, over 1%.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of bears. About 1,614 stocks rose, 1,920 fell and 167 remained unchanged.

Shares of PVR Ltd. after India's largest multiplex operator reported a net loss of over Rs 70 crore on low footfalls and a string of Bollywood films that struggled to break even at the box office.

Key Q2 Highlights (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue fell 30% to Rs 686.72 crore from Rs 981.4 crore.

• Net loss of Rs 71.23 crore as against a net profit of Rs 53.38 crore.

• Ebitda fell 55% to Rs 153.65 crore from Rs 341.57 crore.

• Margin stood at 22.37% vs 34.8%.

Of the 31 analysts tracking the company, 27 maintain 'buy', two suggest 'hold' and two recommend 'sell'. The return potential of the stock is 31.4%.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange Filings

Shares of Bank of Maharashtra rose 3.9%, after the company posted a twofold increase in Q2 net profit. Total traded volume is three times the 30-day average.

Net profit rose 102.93% to Rs 535 crore in Q2. Operating profit for July-September gained 21.64% quarter on quarter to Rs 1,462 crore.

Total business grew by 15.92% to Rs 344,065 crore.

Total Deposits up by 7.86% to Rs 195,849 crore. CASA increased by 12.58%. Credit - Deposit (CD) Ratio improved to 75.68%.

Gross Advances increased by 28.62% to Rs 148,216 crore. Gross NPA declined to 3.40% as on Sept. 30.

Net interest Income increased by 25.84% year-on-year and 11.94% quarter-on-quarter Rs 1,887 crore.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange Filings

– Edtech unicorn Byju’s has raised a fresh round of $250 million from investors.

– The startup did not disclose the valuation at which funding came. Byju’s last round was done at a valuation of $22 billion in March.

– The company did not disclose the name of the investors in the current round.

– Funding announcement comes days after the startup announced plans to lay off 2,500 employees.

Source: Press release

Shares of ACC swung between gains and losses after the cement maker swung into a net loss in Q3 owing to higher expenses, while revenue missed estimates.

Revenue up 6.3% to Rs 3,987.3 crore vs Rs 3,749 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 4,110 crore)

Ebitda down 97% to Rs 16.38 crore vs Rs 712.26 crore.

Net loss at Rs 87.3 crore vs profit of Rs 450.21 crore.

Of the 45 analysts tracking the company, 24 maintain 'buy', 11 suggest 'hold' and 10 recommend 'sell'. The return potential of the stock is 8.8%.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange Filings

European markets open mixed as Stoxx 50 Index gave up early gains. The pound rallied, while UK bonds surged.

Shares of Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corp. rose about 8.4%, the most in nine months. Total traded volume is 4.7 times the 30-day average.

The one analyst tracking the company maintains 'buy'. The return potential of the stock is 3.5%.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Oberoi Realty Ltd. fell over 7%, after company reported its quarterly results. Total traded volume is 5.5 times the 30-day average.

Of the 26 analysts tracking the company, 16 maintain 'buy', six suggest 'hold' and four recommend 'sell'. The return potential of the stock is 16%.

Total consolidated revenue for July-September stood at Rs 711.79 crore, a decline of 7.38% year-on-year . The consolidated profit after tax stood at Rs 318.53 crore as against Rs. 266.55 crore for the second quarter.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange Filings

India's stock benchmarks advanced, aided by gains in Utilities, Bankex and Power. Shares of fuel exporters declined after windfall taxes on locally produced crude oil and exports of diesel were raised by the government.

The Sensex rose 0.63% to 58,285.32. The Nifty 50 gained 0.48% to 17,267.40. Today 38 stocks rose, while twelve declined.

State Bank Of India Ltd., Bajaj Auto Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., NTPC Ltd. and Infosys Ltd. were the top gainers on Nifty 50.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Ultratech Cement Ltd., JSW Steel Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd. and Apollo Hospital Enterprises Ltd. were the top losers on Nifty 50.

The broader indices underperformed their larger peers MidCap and SmallCap, which gained 0.11% and 0.08%, respectively, while LargeCap almost mirrored its large peers, with a 0.55% increase.

Eleven of the 19 the sectoral measures compiled by BSE advanced with BSE Utilities, Bankex and Power gaining the most over 1%.

The market breadth is skewed in the favour of bears. About 1,540 stocks rose, 1,864 fell and 180 remained unchanged.

JSW Steel and Smartex has signed a memorandum of understanding to explore potential to promote innovation and turnkey approaches at decarbonising the steel sector in India.

This also includes de-risking industry investment, accelerating climate action and addressing social equity, the company said in a statement.

Smartex has launched a Financing Steel Decarbonisation initiative this year which is creating a $1 billion (Rs 8,238 crore) steel decarbonisation fund.

The fund will host technical assistance facility for identified decarbonization projects’ preparation and explore a technology debt fund for low-cost long-term financing solutions.

The stock fell as much as 2.5% intraday. Total traded quantity is 1.7 times the 30-day average for the time of the day

Out of the 33 analysts tracking the company, six maintain 'buy', 10 keep 'hold', while 17 maintain 'sell'. The potential downside of the stock is 11.5%.

Source: Bloomberg, Press release

Shares of Craftsman Automation Ltd. rose after the company reported a 36% rise in revenue at Rs 776.2 crore against Rs 571 crore in the year-ago period.

The company's net profit also rose by 25% year-on-year at Rs 62.5 crore vs Rs 50 crore.

Source: Exchange Filings

• Ericsson has entered into a long-term contract with Reliance Jio Infocomm to roll out a standalone 5G network in the country.

• This is the first partnership between Jio and Ericsson for radio access network deployment in the country.

• Ericsson's energy-efficient 5G Radio Access Network products and solutions and E-band microwave mobile transport solutions will be deployed in the 5G network for Jio.

• Source: Press release

Axis Bank said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has imposed a penalty aggregating to Rs 2 crore alleging certain violations of directions.

The alleged violations are related to transfer of shares of Max Life Insurance Company between Max Financial Services and Axis Bank and its subsidiaries.

Axis said the penalty does not have any material impact on the bank or its corporate agency operations.

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of Anupam Rasayan rose over 3.5%, most since Thursday.

• The rise comes after the company announced that it inked two long-term contracts with European crop protection company.

• Anupam Rasayan India signed two contracts with a European crop protection company for the supply of two new life science-related specialty chemicals.

• The company will supply these products for the next three years under the contract.

• The product will be manufactured at its existing manufacturing facilities.

• Of the nine analysts tracking the company, eight suggest 'hold' and one recommends 'sell'. The return potential of the stock is 37%.

Source: Exchange filing, Bloomberg

Shares of Shree Cement fell 4.9%, most in more than three weeks. Trading volume is twice the 30-day average.

Q2FY2023 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 20% at Rs 4,038 crore.

• EBITDA fell 41% to Rs 542.76 crore.

• EBITDA margin 13% versus 27%

• Net profit fell 67% to Rs 183 crore

Shree Cement's Q2 numbers were weak, dragged by higher variable costs and weak realisation, according to Motilal Oswal and added that valuations appeared rich considering the narrowing of cost benefits compared to peers. The brokerage has a 'neutral' rating on the stock.

ICICI Securities also said that weak realisation hurt the profitability of the company in Q2 and expected the company to incur capex of Rs 6,800 crore in the next 24 months to achieve 56 mtpa capacity by FY2025.

Of the 47 analysts, 19 suggest 'buy', 16 recommend 'hold' and 12 maintain 'sell'. The return potential of the stock is 5.5%.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing, Brokerage notes

Zydus Lifesciences subsidiary Zydus Worldwide DMCC received tentative approval from the U.S. FDA to market Valbenazine Capsules USP 40 mg, 60 mg, 80 mg.

Valbenazine capsules are indicate for treatment of adults with tardine dyskinesia (movements in the face, tongue or other body parts that cannot be controlled).

The drug will be manufactured at the group's formulation manufacturing facility at Ahmedabad.

Valbenazine capsules had annual sales of $781 million in the U.S. according to IQVIA data as on August 2022.

The company also received tentative nod from U.S. FDA to market Roflumilast tablets 250 mg. The drug is used to reduce the risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) exacerbations in patients with severe COPD associated with chronic bronchitis and will be made in Ahmedabad facility. Roflumilast tablets had annual sales of $248 million in the U.S., according to IQVIA data, as on August 2022.

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of fuel exporters declined after windfall taxes on locally produced crude oil and exports of diesel were raised by the government. The move is expected to reverse some of the relief that was given earlier this month.

Tax on crude oil produced from domestic field has been raised by 37.5% to Rs 11,000 per tonne from October 16. Exports of aviation fuel will attract a levy of Rs 3.50 per liter. The levy was scrapped in the earlier fortnight from October 1 before this tweak.

Tariff on diesel exports will increase to Rs 12 per liter, up from Rs 5 per liter.

Government has been adjusted taxes every fortnight to track international price movements.

Shares of RIL, ONGC, Mangalore Refinery and Chennai Petroleum declined in Monday's session.

Source: Bloomberg, Government notification

Shares of Electronics Mart India listed at Rs 89.40 apiece on the BSE, a premium of 51.53% to its IPO price of Rs 59.

On the NSE, the stock listed at Rs 90, a 52.54% premium.

The stock extended gains to as much as 54.24% in early trade on NSE.

Source: BSE, NSE

Shares of Snowman rose 3%, most in over a week since October 6, after company announces the launch of Fifth-Party Logistics or 5PL services in India.

According to the exchange filing, the company now offered distribution and consolidation services, including sourcing on behalf of customers & full inventory management, in addition to existing 3PL services.

“We are the first company to introduce this service in the cold chain logistics and supply chain management sector in India”, company said in the exchange filing.

Snowman Logistics is cold chain & integrated temperature-controlled logistics service provider with 43 strategically located warehouses and a total pallet capacity of 130,201 across 17 major cities in India. It is a group company of Gateway Distriparks Limited. The company will report its earnings for the September quarter on October 20.

Total traded volume is 0.6 times the 30-day average.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange Filing

Shares of Tata Elxsi tumbled over 8.6%, most since February 24, the day after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine which spooked global markets, after the company reported sequential decline in EBITDA, net income and EBITDA margin for the quarter ended September, post market hours on Friday. The numbers were below the average analyst estimate as well

Tata Elxsi Q2 FY23 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue up 5% at Rs 763 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 770 crore).

• Ebitda fell 5% to Rs 226.53 crore.

• Ebitda margin 30% versus 33%

• Net profit fell 6% to Rs 174.27 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 184 crore).

ICICI Securities reiterated sell and cut target price to Rs 5,173 from Rs 5,322 on Sunday (an implied downside of 38.89%). The brokerage firm said that the company's growth was constrained by supply side such as lower senior management bandwidth and softness in media and communications segment, largely due to macro headwinds. Overall attrition in the quarter declined 30bps sequentially to 18.7% but the onside attrition rose. ICICI Securities reduced its EPS estimates by 4%/3% due to lowering of dollar revenue estimates and slashed target price to account for super premium valuation of 65x on FY24EPS.

Axis Capital also maintained sell and lowered target to Rs 6500 from Rs 7100 (implied downside of 23.22%) to account for steep decline in margin. Axis Capital cut EPS estimates on the stock by 4-9% and expected dollar revenue/EPS CAGR of 16%/17% over FY2022-25.

Trading volume is ten times the 30-day average. Share price crossed below 200-day simple moving average, indicating potential downward price momentum. The stock, though, has outperformed the benchmarks, rising 33.6% in 2022 so far compared to 0.3% gain for the Sensex.

Of the nine analysts tracking the company, one each maintain 'buy' and 'hold' while seven suggest 'sell'. The return potential of the stock is -20.3%.

Since the earnings, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Spark Capital have reiterated 'underweight', 'underweight/inline' and 'sell' respectively.

Source: Exchange filing, Bloomberg, Brokerage notes

Shares of Bajaj Auto rose over 2.3%, most since Wednesday, after the company reported 20% YoY growth in net profit to Rs 1,530 crore in the quarter-ended September, post market hours on Friday.

Bajaj Auto Q2 FY23 Highlights (YoY)

• Revenue up 16% to Rs 10,203 crore, against the Rs 9,839.5 crore forecast.

• Operating profit rose 26% to Rs 1,758.74 crore, against the projected Rs 1,649.8 crore.

• Operating margin stood at 17.2% compared to 16% last year and an estimate of 16.7%.

Trading volume is more than quadruple the 30-day average.

Of the 54 analysts tracking the company, 312 maintain 'buy', 17 suggest 'hold' and six recommend 'sell'. Since the earnings on October 14, 25 analysts reiterated their earlier recommendations while Reliance Securities, Dolat Capital upgraded the stock to 'buy', while ICICI Securities upgraded the stock to 'hold'. The return potential of the stock is 11.6%.

Source: Exchange filing, Bloomberg

India's stock benchmarks opened lower before erasing losses amid slide in equities across Asia weakness on Wall Street and Chinese President Xi Jinping's reiteration that China will not let up in the Covid-Campaign or its housing market policies.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened 167 points lower (0.29%) to 57,752.50. The 30-stock gauge erased opening losses in the initial minutes. The NSE Nifty 50 also was volatile at 17,142.85. Twelve of the Nifty 50 stocks rose while 38 fell. Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, Infosys, ICICI Bank and Power Grid advanced while Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Apollo Hospitals, ONGC and RIL were the top losers.

Biocon has entered into strategic out-licensing agreement with Japanese pharmaceuticals company Yoshindo Inc. for commercializing two of its pipeline biosimilar assets, bUstekinumab and bDenosumab, in the Japanese market.

Under the terms of this deal, Yoshindo gets exclusive commercialization rights in Japan for bUstekinumab and bDenosumab developed and manufactured by Biocon Biologics, for an addressable market opportunity of USD 700 million, company said in the exchange filings

According to the exchange filing, Biocon Biologics will receive an upfront license fee as well as additional payments on the achievement of certain development milestones over the next few years. The financial terms of the agreement are confidential.

Ustekinumab, a biosimilar referencing Stelara, is a monoclonal antibody used to treat several autoimmune conditions, including psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Denosumab, a biosimilar referencing Prolia, is a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Source: Exchange Filing

Yield on the 10-year bond fell 5bps to 7.42% in the opening minutes of Monday's session.

Source: Bloomberg

Indian currency depreciated 4 paise to 82.37 against the U.S. dollar, at the open.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of fuel exporters may move after windfall taxes on locally produced crude oil and exports of diesel were raised by the government. The move is expected to reverse some of the relief that was given earlier this month.

Tax on crude oil produced from domestic field has been raised by 37.5% to Rs 11,000 per tonne from October 16. Exports of aviation fuel will attract a levy of Rs 3.50 per liter. The levy was scrapped in the earlier fortnight from October 1 before this tweak.

Tariff on diesel exports will increase to Rs 12 per liter, up from Rs 5 per liter.

Government has been adjusted taxes every fortnight to track international price movements.

In Focus: Reliance Industries, Mangalore Refinery, Chennai Petroleum Corp, ONGC.

Source: Bloomberg

Sunteck Realty reported a 24% year-on-year increase in pre-sales to Rs 337 crore.

Collections gained 60% year-on-year to Rs 331 crore in the second quarter.

Source: Exchange filing

• U.S. Dollar Index at 113.01.

• U.S. 10-year bond yield at 3.99% on Friday.

• Brent crude up 0.81% to $92.37 per barrel.

• Nymex crude at $86.21 per barrel.

• SGX Nifty down 0.96% to 17,047.5 as of 6:33 a.m.

• Bitcoin down 0.7% to $19,197.2.

PVR, Tata Metaliks, Tata Coffee, Spandana Sphoorty Financial, Oriental Hotels, Maharashtra Seamless, Bank of Maharashtra, IRB InvIT, Heidelberg Cement, Craftsman Automation, Choice International, Can Fin Homes, ACC

• Axis Bank: Irdai has imposed Rs 3 crore penalty on Max Life Insurance Company for certain violations in a case pertaining to purchase and sale of shares by the Axis Bank Ltd. and group companies, and a Rs 2 crore penalty on Axis Bank, a corporate agent of the insurer.

• Tata Power: The company suffered a cyberattack on its IT infrastructure, impacting some of its systems. The company has taken steps to retrieve and restore the systems and all critical operational systems are functioning.

• Tata Steel: The company said it is actively engaged with the U.K. government for financial support for its business there, amid reports of that the company is looking to divest its steel business in the country, PTI reported.

• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone: Adani Agri Logistics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Logistics, has received a letter of award from the Food Corporation of India, to develop and operate silo complexes at Kanpur, Gonda and Sandila in Uttar Pradesh and Katihar in Bihar.

• Bharat Petroleum Corporation: The company has aimed to convert its 7,000 conventional retail outlets into energy stations providing multiple fueling options including an EV charging facility.

• Authum Investment & Infrastructure: The company acquired debt-ridden Reliance Commercial Finance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Capital, for Rs 1 crore.

• State Bank of India: The bank has hiked MCLR by 25 basis points across tenors. The revised rates will come into effect from Oct. 15, 2022.

• Zee Entertainment Enterprises: Shareholders of Zee Entertainment approved the proposed merger of the company with Sony. The proposed merger has already received approval from the stock exchanges and the Competition Commission of India.

• Ujjivan Small Finance Bank/Ujjivan Financial Services: The boards of the two companies approved the merger of Ujjivan Financial Services into and with Ujjivan Small Finance Bank.

• Shree Cement: The company’s board approved appointment of Hari Mohan Bangur as the Chairman, while Chairman Emeritus Benu Gopal Bangur resigned effective immediately. The board also named Prashant Bangur as Vice Chairman and Neeraj Akhoury as the Managing Director.

• HDFC: NCLT has ordered the company to hold a shareholders meeting on Nov. 25, 2022, to approve the merger deals of wholly owned subsidiaries HDFC Investments and HDFC Holdings with and into the company, and HDFC with and into HDFC Bank.

• L&T Finance Holdings: Market regulator SEBI approved sale of L&T Investment Management and L&T Mutual Fund to HSBC Mutual Fund.

• IRB Infrastructure Developers: The company will transfer Vadodara Kim Expressway Project to an InvIT arm, following which, it will receive Rs 342 crore as against sponsor contribution and debt of Rs 955 crore will reduce from its consolidated debt.

• Narayana Hrudayalaya: The company executed a share purchase agreement by Health City Cayman Islands Ltd., its wholly owned subsidiary, to acquire ENT in Cayman Ltd.

Bajaj Auto Q2 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 16% at Rs 10,202.77 crore, compared with Bloomberg estimate of Rs 9,839.5 crore.

• Ebitda up 26% at Rs 1,758.74 crore, compared with Bloomberg estimate of Rs 1,649.8 crore.

• Ebitda margin 17% versus 16% and Bloomberg estimate of17%.

• Net profit up 20% at Rs 1,530 crore, compared with Bloomberg estimate of Rs 1,437.9 crore.

Tata Elxsi Q2 FY23 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue up 5% at Rs 763 crore.

• Ebitda fell 5% to Rs 226.53 crore.

• Ebitda margin 30% versus 33%

• Net profit fell 6% to Rs 174.27 crore.

Shree Cement Q2 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 20% at Rs 4,038 crore.

• Ebitda fell 41% to Rs 542.76 crore.

• Ebitda margin 13% versus 27%

• Net profit fell 67% to Rs 183

HDFC Bank (Consolidated, YoY)

• Net Profit: Rs 10,606 crore vs Rs 8,834 crore

• NII: Rs 21,012 crore versus Rs 17,684 crore

• GNPA: 1.28% versus 1.23%

• NNPA: 0.33% versus 0.35%

Avenue Supermarts (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue jumped 37% to Rs 10,638.33 crore.

• Operating profit rose 33% to Rs 892.02 crore.

• Margin came in at 8.4% against 8.6%.

• Net profit increased 64% to Rs 685.7 crore.

Asian equities fell but major currencies appreciated against the dollar in a cautious opening to the week, tracking further weakness on Wall Street and a defiant message to the world from China’s Communist Party congress.

Stocks declined in Japan, Australia, and South Korea. Futures for Hong Kong, too, fell. Contracts for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose after tumbling on Friday when Treasury yields climbed as year-ahead inflation expectations increased. US yields fell slightly during the opening trade in Asia.

At 6:35 a.m., the Singapore-traded SGX Nifty — an early barometer of India's benchmark Nifty 50 — fell 0.96% to 17,047.50.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country’s global power had increased while warning of “dangerous storms” ahead. There were few signs of any let up in the Covid-Zero campaign or housing market policies that are weighing on the economy. Xi also said China would prevail in its fight to develop strategically important technology, amid rising tension with the U.S.

Oil clawed back some of its losses after a weekly slump as fears over an economic slowdown continued to weigh on the outlook for demand. Gold was little changed