Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Dragged By Heavy Sell-Off In Banking, Financials; FPIs Remain Net Sellers

Overseas investors remained net sellers of Indian equities for the fourth straight day on Wednesday.

Foreign portfolio investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,393.94 crore, according to data from the National Stock Exchange.

On the other hand, domestic institutional investors mopped up stocks worth Rs 1,378.49 for the fourth day, according to NSE data.

Foreign institutions net bought Rs 14,398.8 crore worth of Indian equities in December, but have remained net sellers of Rs 23,254.43 crore of Indian stocks so far in 2023.

The local currency strengthened by 13 paise to 81.59 at close on Wednesday. It closed at 81.72 Tuesday.

Source: Bloomberg

The yield on the 10-year bond closed largely flat at 7.35% on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

The Indian benchmark indices declined through the trading day on Wednesday, tracking the weak global cues.

Equity markets slipped after tech giant Microsoft Corp. and a slew of other major firms forecast slowing earnings. Also, the lackluster U.S. business activity data reminded investors of the likelihood of recession in the world’s biggest economy.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed down 774 points or 1.27% at 60,205.06 while the NSE Nifty 50 was 226 points or 1.25% lower at 17,891.95.

Bajaj Auto Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Britannia Industries Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd. and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. were the top gainers in the gauge.

Whereas, Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd., State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd. and HDFC Ltd. were the top losers amongst the NSE Nifty 50 constituents.

The broader market indices were trading lower; S&P BSE MidCap was down 1.52%, whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was lower by 0.94%.

All the 20 sectors compiled by BSE declined, except only S&P BSE Metals advanced in trade.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bears. About 1,136 rose, 2,378 declined, 132 remained unchanged on the BSE.

• Government sold Rs 8,000 crore or one billion-dollar worth of securities, including Rs 4,000 crore each of five and ten-year notes.

• The 10-year bond got priced at a coupon of 7.29%, compared with a 7.31% estimate in a Bloomberg survey. 

• The five-year bond was sold at a cut-off yield of 7.10% vs 7.13% as per the Bloomberg estimate.

• This was the first tranche of two from which the central government aims to raise a total Rs 16,000 crore within a month.

Source: Bloomberg, RBI press release

Shares of FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd fell 3.83% to Rs 129.2 apiece in trade on Wednesday after 18.8 lakh and 12.5 lakh shares changed hands in two bunched trades.

The stock fell as much as 5.32% intraday. Total traded volume stood at 3.7 times its 30-day average.

Out of the 20 analysts tracking the company, 15 maintain a 'buy' rating, three recommend a 'hold' and two suggest to 'sell' the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 133.3% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg

• Revenue up 6% at Rs 5,810 crore Vs Rs 5,479 crore (BBG estimate : Rs 6,172 crore)

• Net profit up 10% to Rs 801 crore Vs Rs 729 crore (BBG estimate : Rs 920 crore Profit)

• EBITDA up 12% to Rs 1,408 crore from Rs 1,256 crore (BBG estimate : Rs 1,473 crore Profit)

• Margins at 24.2% Vs 22.9% (BBG estimate : 23.9%)

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of UltraTech Cement Ltd fell 1.39% to Rs 6,714.95 apiece in trade on Wednesday.

The stock fell as much as 2.02% intraday. It has been falling in trade since the last five sessions from Jan. 18. It has fallen 8.99% in the last six sessions.

Out of the 47 analysts tracking the company, 42 maintain a 'buy' rating, two recommend a 'hold' and three suggest to 'sell' the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 17.7% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of Zomato Ltd fell 6.72% to Rs 48.6 apiece in trade on Wednesday.

The stock fell as much as 14.88% intraday. Total traded volume stood at 6.1 times its 30-day average.

Out of the 25 analysts tracking the company, 18 maintain a 'buy' rating, four recommend a 'hold' and three suggest to 'sell' the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an downside of 70.8% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg

The Indian benchmark indices opened marginally lower and fell more than 1% in trade through midday on Wednesday, following the weak global cues.

Asian markets struggled to find traction while the U.S. and European equity futures slumped as a downbeat revenue forecast from Microsoft Corp. added to risk aversion in global markets.

As of 12:01 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 736 points or 1.21% at 60,242.72 while the NSE Nifty 50 was 219 points or 1.21% lower at 17,899.30

Bajaj Auto Ltd., Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. were the top gainers in the gauge.

Whereas, Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd., State Bank of India, Adani Enterprises Ltd., IndusInd Bank Ltd., and HDFC Bank Ltd. were the top losers amongst the NSE Nifty 50 constituents.

The broader market indices were trading lower; S&P BSE MidCap was down 1.29%, whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was lower by 0.86%.

All the 20 sectors compiled by BSE declined, except only S&P BSE Metals advanced in trade.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bears. About 901 rose, 2,460 declined, 112 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Shares of State Bank of India fell 4.23%% to Rs 569.2apiece in trade on Wednesday.

The stock fell as much as 4.43% intraday, the most in over eight months since May 13, 2022. Total traded volume stood at 3.2 times its 30-day average.

Out of the 53 analysts tracking the company, 51 maintains a 'buy' rating and two recommend a 'hold' on the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an downside of 26.7% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

• Net sales of $139.2 million, line with the same quarter in the previous fiscal.

• Continue to experience price pressures particularly in the U.S. generic business.

• Gross profit of $64 million, 46% of net sales compared to $76.0 million, 54.7% of net sales.

• Research and development expenses at $12.9 million compared to $1.3 million.

• Selling, marketing, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) of $49.9 million increased to $25.0 million.

• Operating income of $1.3 million compared to operating income of $37.0 million. The current year quarter operating result is primarily attributable to the aforementioned price erosion, as well as the on-going impact associated with our recent acquisition.

Source: Company filing

Shares of banking companies declined in trade on Wednesday as the headline indices were trading more than 1% lower in trade.

The NSE Nifty Bank Index was down 1.66%. All the 12 stocks compiled by the gauge declined in trade.

Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, IDFC First Bank Ltd., Federal bank Ltd. and IndusInd Bank Ltd. were nearly 2% higher in trade.

Source: NSE

Shares of Nazara Technologies Ltd. rose 4.18% as of 10:30 am, to Rs 637.25 apiece in trade on Wednesday after the diversified gaming and sports media platform reported strong growth powered by growth in all major segments.

All business verticals reported profitable numbers in the third-quarter.

"The business continues to scale profitably as has been our stated goal to deliver long term compounding across our five key business verticals. Our diversified business across multiple geographies allows us to have various levers of growth and mitigate industry headwinds affecting any one segment." said Nitish Mittersain, founder, chief executive officer and managing director of the company in the press release.

Nazara Technologies Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenues up 19.33% at Rs 314.8 crore

• Ebitda up 119.71% at Rs 30.1 crore

• Ebitda margin at 9.56% vs 5.19%

• Net profit up 77.45% at Rs 18.1 crore

The stock gained as much as 6.45% intraday, the most in over eight days since Jan. 12, 2022.

Total traded volume stood at 42.7 times its 30-day average.

Out of the 11 analysts tracking the company, eight maintain a 'buy' rating, one recommends a 'hold' and two suggest to 'sell' the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 31% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of CarTrade Tech Ltd. rose 4.35% as of 10:05 am, to Rs 494.9 apiece in trade on Wednesday after the company reported a stellar set of third-quarter earnings results.

CarTrade Tech's net profit surged to 279.07% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 13.1 crore. It stood at 3.44 crore in the previous quarter of the same fiscal.

Also, the revenue from operations rose to 10.6% to Rs 97.2 crore in the September to December quarter. The company reported Rs 87.88 crore of revenue in the July-September quarter.

CarTrade Tech Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenues up 10.6% at Rs 97.2 crore

• Ebitda up 29.58% at Rs 10.6 crore

• Ebitda margin at 10.90% vs 9.31%

• Net profit up 279.07% at Rs 13.1 crore

The stock gained as much as 6.82% intraday, the most in over ten weeks since Nov. 11, 2022.

Total traded volume stood at 36.5 times its 30-day average.

Out of the seven analysts tracking the company, six maintain a 'buy' rating and one suggests to 'sell' the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 60.2% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of United Spirits Ltd. fell 5.14% as of 09:44 am, to Rs 774.7 apiece in trade on Wednesday after the Diageo-controlled liquor maker's consolidated net profit declined by 28.5% to Rs 214.2 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2022.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2022, the Bengaluru-based company reported a net profit of Rs 1,023 crore as compared with Rs 632 crore in the year-ago period.

Total income declined to Rs 22,079 crore as against Rs 23,306 crore in the April-December period of last financial year, it said.

United Spirits Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenues down 5.72% at Rs 2,778.7 crore

• Ebitda down 28.32% at Rs 371.8 crore

• Ebitda margin at 13.38% vs 17.6%

• Net profit down 28.5% at Rs 214.2 crore

The stock fell as much as 5.47% intraday, the most in over fourteen weeks since Oct. 11, 2022.

Total traded volume stood at 11.7 times its 30-day average.

Out of the 26 analysts tracking the company, 16 maintain a 'buy' rating, seven recommend a 'hold' and three suggest to 'sell' the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 20.8% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

The Indian benchmark indices opened marginally lower in trade on Wednesday.

Asian markets struggled to find traction on Wednesday while the U.S. and European equity futures slumped as a downbeat revenue forecast from Microsoft Corp. added to risk aversion in global markets.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened down 144 points or 0.24% at 60,834.42 while the NSE Nifty 50 was 25 points or 0.14% lower at 18,093.35.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Bajaj Auto Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd. and Hindalco Industries Ltd. were the top gainers in the gauge.

Whereas, Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd., Adani Enterprises Ltd., HDFC Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd. and HDFC Bank Ltd. were the top losers amongst the NSE Nifty 50 constituents.

The broader market indices were trading lower; S&P BSE MidCap was down 0.51%, whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was lower by 0.23%.

Seventeen out of the 19 sectors compiled by BSE declined, while only S&P BSE Auto and S&P BSE Metals advanced in trade.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bears. About 1,078 rose, 1,359 declined, 129 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The yield on the 10-year bond opened largely flat at 7.34% on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

The local currency strengthened by 10 paise to 81.62 at open on Wednesday. It closed at 81.72 Tuesday.

Source: Bloomberg

• U.S. Dollar Index at 101.88

• U.S. 10-year bond yield at 3.45%

• Brent crude up 0.71% to $86.7 p4er barrel

• Nymex crude at $80.58 per barrel

• SGX Nifty down 0.26% to 18,087.5 as of 8:10 a.m.

• Bitcoin down 1.54% to $22,552.88

The consensus of analyst estimates as pooled by Bloomberg, for the companies that will announce their earnings today, are as follows;

Amara Raja Batteries, Bajaj Auto, Bikaji Foods International, Blue Dart, Ceat, Chennai Petroleum Corporation, Cipla, Dixon Technologies, DLF, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Embassy Office Parks REIT, Go Fashion, Indraprashtha Gas, Indian Bank, India Grid Trust, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India, Jindal Saw, Jyothy Labs, Kirloskar Pneumatic Company, Patanjali Foods, Solar Industries India, Tata Elxsi, Tata Motors, Tata Steel Long Products, TeamLease Services, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Asahi India Glass, Best Agrolife, Equitas Holdings, Olectra Greentech, Shanthi Gears, Sundaram-Clayton, VIP Industries, VST Industries

The estimates for major earnings scheduled to be declared today are as follows:

TVS Motor Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 22% at Rs 8,066.1 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 6,345 crore)

• Ebitda up 33% at Rs 1,021.9 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 661.6 crore)

• Ebitda margin at 12.7% vs 11.7% (Bloomberg estimate: 10.4%)

• Net profit up 23% at Rs 303.9 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 352.6 crore)

• The board approved interim dividend of Rs 5 per share.

Pidilite Industries Q3 FY23 (Consolidated YoY)

• Revenue up 5% at Rs 2,997.5 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 3,129.2 crore)

• Ebitda down 10% at Rs 495.8 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 570.9 crore)

• Ebitda margin stood at 16.5% vs 19.3% (Bloomberg estimate: 18.2%)

• Net profit down 15.2% at Rs 304.1 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 377.7 crore)

PDS Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenues up 15.33% at Rs 2,573.7 crore

• Ebitda up 26.98% at Rs 131.7 crore

• Ebitda margin at 5.12% vs 4.65%

• Net profit up 17.89% at Rs 77.5 crore

• Rahul Ahuja has been appointed as the CFO, effective Jan. 25, after the resignation of Ashish Gupta.

Indus Towers Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenues down 15.08% at Rs 6,765 crore

• Ebitda down 33.7% at Rs 3,024.3 crore

• Ebitda margin at 44.71% vs 57.26%

• Net loss of Rs 708.2 crore vs profit of Rs 871.8 crore

Macrotech Developers Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenues down 13.87% at Rs 1,773.8 crore

• Ebitda down 15.68% at Rs 403.7 crore

• Ebitda margin at 22.76% vs 23.25%

• Net profit up 41.65% at Rs 404.5 crore

United Spirits Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenues down 5.72% at Rs 2,778.7 crore

• Ebitda down 28.32% at Rs 371.8 crore

• Ebitda margin at 13.38% vs 17.6%

• Net profit down 28.5% at Rs 214.2 crore

CardTrade Tech Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenues up 10.6% at Rs 97.2 crore

• Ebitda up 29.58% at Rs 10.6 crore

• Ebitda margin at 10.90% vs 9.31%

• Net profit up 279.07% at Rs 13.1 crore

Triveni Engineering & Industries Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenues up 34.26% at Rs 1,658.7 crore

• Ebitda down 4.66% at Rs 193.3 crore

• Ebitda margin 11.66% vs 16.42%

• Net profit up 13.19% at Rs 147.2 crore

Nazara Technologies Q3 FY23 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenues up 19.33% at Rs 314.8 crore

• Ebitda up 119.71% at Rs 30.1 crore

• Ebitda margin at 9.56% vs 5.19%

• Net profit up 77.45% at Rs 18.1 crore

• Tata Steel/TCS/Tata Power: Tata Trusts, the majority stakeholder in Tata Sons, appointed Siddharth Sharma as the CEO and Aparna Uppaluri as COO, effective April 1, 2023.

• New Delhi Television: The company appointed Mumbai based education consultant Viral Jagdish Doshi as additional director.

• Barbeque -Nation Hospitality: Anurag Mittal resigned from the office of chief financial officer of the company, effective Feb. 6, 2023.

• Axiscades Technologies: The board decided not to go ahead with the the acquisition of Germany-based Add Solution after due diligence.

• Rail Vikas Nigam: The company received a contract with project cost of Rs 38.4 crore for provision of automatic block signalling in Arakkonam Junction-Nagari Section of Chennai division under Southern Railway.

• Coffee Day Enterprises: SEBI imposed a fine of Rs 26 crore against the company for diversion of funds by seven subsidiaries to a company related to promoters.

• Sonata Software: The company appointed Samir Dhir, the current whole-time director and CEO of the company as MD and CEO, and the current MD Srikant Reddy as executive vice chairman.

• State Bank of India: United Forum of Bank Unions has called for a two-day nationwide bank strike on Jan. 30 and 31.

Asia markets opened on a cautious note as a forecast from Microsoft Corp. dampened sentiment further and pushed down U.S. equity futures. Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

The S&P 500 closed 0.1% lower to snap a two-day advance. The Nasdaq 100 shed 0.2%. In early Asian trading, Nasdaq 100 futures slid around 0.6% after Microsoft said revenue growth in its Azure cloud-computing business would decelerate, tarnishing what had been an encouraging profit report.

At 8:10 a.m., the Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of India's benchmark Nifty 50, was down 0.26% to 18,087.5.

Crude oil prices fell 2%, and Bitcoin fell nearly 1% around the $22,000 level.

Domestic benchmark indices ended flat after a volatile session on Tuesday, even as auto, technology, and banking stocks gained.

The rupee again closed lower against the U.S. dollar in the face of continued FII outflows.

Overseas investors in Indian equities remained net sellers for the third straight day on Tuesday. Foreign portfolio investors offloaded equities worth Rs 760.5 crore, while domestic institutional investors mopped up stocks worth Rs 1,144.7 crore for the third day, according to NSE data.