Intense volatility was witnessed on the bourses as key benchmark indices moved into green from red in late trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was provisionally up 21.72 points or 0.1%, up 135.62 points from the day's low and off 66.31 points from the day's high. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. The market sentiment was boosted by data showing that foreign funds stepped up purchases of Indian stocks on Friday, 18 October 2013.
Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC edged lower. Shares of engineering and construction major L&T surged after the company reported a strong growth in order inflow in Q2 September 2013 at the time of announcing its Q2 results after market hours on Friday, 18 October 2013. HDFC edged higher in volatile trade after Q2 results. Metal and mining stocks edged higher as data last week showed acceleration in China's GDP growth in Q3 September 2013. Asian Paints and Zee Entertainment Enterprises, both, jumped after reporting strong Q2 results.
Key benchmark indices edged higher in early trade on firm Asian stocks. A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices reversed initial gains in morning trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, reversed direction after hitting its highest level in more than 35 months. The 50-unit CNX Nifty reversed direction after hitting 22-week high. Key benchmark indices extended intraday losses in early afternoon trade. Key benchmark indices trimmed losses after hitting fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade. Intraday recovery on the bourses gathered steam in mid-afternoon trade. Intense volatility was witnessed on the bourses as key benchmark indices moved into green from red in late trade.
The market sentiment was boosted by data showing that foreign funds stepped up purchases of Indian stocks on Friday, 18 October 2013. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1752.98 crore on Friday, 18 October 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
As per provisional closing, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 21.72 points or 0.1% to 20,904.61. The index gained 88.03 points at the day's high of 20,970.92 in morning trade, its highest level since 9 November 2010. The index fell 113.90 points at the day's low of 20,768.99 in mid-afternoon trade.
The CNX Nifty was up 20.45 points or 0.33% to 6,209.80. The index hit a high of 6,218.95 in intraday trade, its highest level since 20 May 2013. The index hit a low of 6,163.30 in intraday trade.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1,452 shares gained and 985 shares fell. A total of 157 shares were unchanged.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 1976 crore, lower than Rs 2091.62 crore on Friday, 18 October 2013.
Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC lost 2.58% to Rs 344.85. The stock stock high of Rs 355.40 and low of Rs 343. The company unveils Q2 result on Friday, 25 October 2013.
Asian Paints jumped 8.71% to Rs 529.35, also its record high. The company during market hours today, 21 October 2013, said its consolidated net profit jumped 36.7% to Rs 326.80 crore on 18.3% growth in income from operations to Rs 3114.70 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012.
Commenting on the company's financial performance, K.B.S. Anand, Managing Director & CEO, Asian Paints, said: "The decorative paints business in India fared very well and registered good double digit volume growth. Good growth was witnessed across geographies, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Industrial coatings business continues to be affected by the economic slowdown. Automotive coatings growth was subdued due to lower demand in the auto sector. The international business registered good growth, with volume sales exceeding 1 lac KL mark in the first six months of FY 2014. Middle East and Asia have done well even though some countries continued to be affected by political events and macro economic uncertainty".
HDFC edged higher in volatile trade after Q2 results. The stock was up 0.6% at Rs 823.55. The stock hit a high of Rs 825 and low of Rs 804.50. The company's net profit rose 10% to Rs 1266.33 crore on 12.82% growth in total income to Rs 5953.98 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012. The Q2 result hit the market during trading hours.
On a consolidated basis, HDFC's net profit rose 20.08% to Rs 1891.17 crore on 14.97% growth in total income to Rs 9982.71 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012.
The National Housing Bank (NHB) vide its notification dated 6 September 2013 has reduced the provisioning requirement to 0.75% from the earlier 1% in respect of standard loans for Commercial Real Estate-Residential Housing. Accordingly, Rs 45.81 crore has been released from standard assets provisioning as on 30 September 2013, HDFC said. This amount is being adjusted through lower provisioning over a period of three quarters starting with Q2 September 2013, HDFC said.
As on 30 September 2013, the loan book of the company stood at Rs 1.84 lakh crore as against Rs 1.55 lakh crore as on 30 September 2012. This is after considering the loans sold during the preceding 12 months amounting to Rs 3792 crore, HDFC said.
Engineering and construction giant L&T surged 6.2%. The company after market hours on Friday, 18 October 2013, said its recurring profit after tax rose 7% to Rs 978 crore on 10% growth in gross revenue at Rs 14648 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012. The company attributed top line growth to pick-up in execution of various jobs.
L&T said that the upward trend in order inflow was sustained in the second consecutive quarter of the year. Order inflow rose 27% to Rs 26533 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012. L&T said that its order book at Rs 1.76 lakh crore as on 30 September 2013, increased 11% on year-on-year basis. International order book constituted 15% of the total order book.
L&T said that the macro-economic environment continues to remain weak and uncertain on account of the twin deficits, tight liquidity, persistent inflation and heightened volatility in the financial markets. Investment climate in the economy is yet to show sign of recovery. Deferral of new projects and delayed decision making/execution features the weak performance of the core sector this far, L&T said. The recent government measures such as improved allocation of resources to kick-start the stalled projects are, however, a welcome move to improve the investment sentiment, L&T said.
The company said its strategy of business development in select international markets has started yielding results as is evident from the increased share of international business. The company continues to focus on emerging prospects in the Middle East and other select international markets as part of its twin strategy to hedge against domestic slowdown and attain global competitiveness, L&T said in a statement. With its growing order book, increased international presence, and improved competiveness, the company is hopeful of meeting its growth aspirations in the near and medium term, L&T said.
India's largest power equipment maker by capacity Bhel lost 1.66%.
Metal and mining stocks edged higher as data last week showed acceleration in China's GDP growth in Q3 September 2013. China is the world's largest consumer of copper and aluminum. JSW Steel (up 3.89%), Tata Steel (up 2.3%), NMDC (up 2.71%), Sail (up 4.63%), Hindustan Copper (up 2.47%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.94%) edged higher.
Sesa Sterlite gained 2.02% to Rs 199.25, with the stock extending Friday's 6.05% rally.
Hindalco Industries rose 2.96% after the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Saturday, 19 October 2013, said that the Prime Minister is satisfied that the final decision of allocation of Talabira-II and III coal blocks in Odisha to Mahanadi Coalfields, Neyveli Lignite Corporation and Hindalco Industries was entirely appropriate and is based on the merits of the case placed before him. The PMO said that the final decision on the Talabira coal block allocation differed from the earlier recommendation of the Screening Committee, and this was done following a representation received in the Prime Minister's Office from one of the parties, which was referred to the Ministry of Coal.
Hindalco, last week, claimed that the company had followed every process required for allocation of coal completely as stipulated by the government policy. The company issued the statement after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 15 October 2013 named Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla in its 14th FIR in the coal block allocation case. CBI also filed FIRs against Nalco, Hindalco and former coal secretary PC Parakh.
Jindal Steel & Power shed 3.72%.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises jumped 6.24% to Rs 269 after hitting a 52-week high of Rs 271.10 in intraday trade. The company during trading hours today, 21 October 2013, said that its consolidated net profit rose 25.88% to Rs 236.27 crore on 18.03% growth in total income to Rs 1156.20 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012.
Consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization) jumped 42.7% to Rs 310.50 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012. Zee Entertainment's EBITDA margin surged to 28.2% in Q2 September 2013, from 22.8% in Q2 September 2012. The company's advertising revenue rose 10.5% to Rs 583.30 crore and subscription revenue rose 16% to Rs 458.10 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012.
Mr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Zee, stated: "The Indian economy continues to face challenges of depreciating rupee, current account deficit and growing inflation. However the situation is expected to improve in the coming quarters as a result of the curbs on gold imports, a weak rupee benefiting exports, and a sharp slowdown in domestic demand pulling down consumption and investment goods' imports. The Entertainment & Media industry growth is marginally impacted by the overall slowdown in the economy. The television sector, in particular, continues to grow on the back of better subscriber growth linked to increasing digitization."
Commenting on the results, Mr. Chandra added: "While overall business environment has stayed slightly weak, Zee continues to grow its business at a healthy pace. There was an apprehension about the trends in advertising spends given the overall weakness in the economy. But television media industry has continued to grow in double digits during the second quarter. Zee has outpaced the industry advertising revenue growth once again. We look forward to continuing our investments in creating compelling content across genres and take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead of us. We will continue to pursue growth opportunities, which would enhance long term shareholder value."
Mr. Punit Goenka, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Zee, commented: "We are pleased with the performance during the quarter. We have seen robust growth in market share in some of our key channels and overall have been able to maintain network viewership share. Once again we have outperformed the television industry advertising revenue growth and have delivered 20% plus yoy growth (excluding sports). Despite the launch of new channels both in domestic and international markets during the quarter, we have managed to improve our EBITDA margins over the corresponding period last year. Sports performance for the quarter has been good but due to a heavy sports calendar and rupee depreciation, the business is expected to be in losses for some more time to come. In line with our strategy of undertaking value-accretive investments, we launched &pictures, an interactive Hindi movie channel aimed at targeting the younger mindset. The channel endeavors to build upon the existing film and digital resources to create a continuing conversation with an audience that is interested in staying connected and engaged with the world around them. This quarter also saw the soft launch of Zee Anmol, an FTA Hindi GEC which is the first channel in the Indian television space to be simultaneously launched on mobile and television platforms. Positioned as Dil Choo Jaaye, Zee Anmol is a channel that believes in touching people's hearts through real, genuine emotions that will be depicted through some of the best shows that Indian Television has ever seen."
Speaking about the outlook for the business, Mr. Goenka said: "Beginning next quarter, we will see reduction in advertising inventory across the network in accordance with TRAI regulations. We are in the process of negotiations with advertisers and are confident that this will not have any major impact on revenue monetization. Digitisation will lead to fragmentation of audiences. At Zee, we believe this presents a huge opportunity to create new products for specific segments, which will allow us to monetize this opportunity both from advertising and subscription standpoint. Therefore, we continue to innovate in terms of our content and formats."
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (MMFSL) rose 2.28% after consolidated net profit rose 20% to Rs 232 crore on 32% growth in total income to Rs 1291 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012. The Q2 result was announced during trading hours today, 21 October 2013.
On standalone basis, MMFSL's net profit rose 18% to Rs 221 crore on 31% growth in total income to Rs 1213 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012.
MMFSL said that the company maintained healthy growth of business and profits despite slowdown in the auto industry growth and continuing high cost of borrowings through control of transaction costs and maintaining high collection efficiency levels.
Mahindra Finance, during the half year ended 30 September 2013, registered a disbursement growth of 17% against the corresponding period last year, maintaining its leadership position for vehicles and tractors in the rural and semi-urban markets, MMFSL said in a statement.
MMFSL's total assets under management stood at Rs 31146 crore as on 30 September 2013, as against Rs 23770 crore as on 30 September 2012, a growth of 31%.
MMFSL said that the company continued to broad base its consortium of lenders by bringing in new banks, mutual funds, insurance companies and trusts.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 61.54, weaker than its close of 61.27/28 on Friday, 18 October 2013. The rupee had hit two-month high of 60.94 in intraday trade on Friday, 18 October 2013. The Reserve Bank of India on Friday, 18 October 2013, said that its dollar window for oil marketing companies remains open, adding that any tapering would be done in a calibrated manner.
European indices were mostly trading lower on Monday, 21 October 2013, as investors awaited a report on existing home sales in the United States to gauge if the country's housing market remains in recovery mode. Key benchmark indices in Germany and France were off 0.13% to 0.31%. UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.21%.
Asian markets rose on Monday, 21 October 2013, as traders continued buying spree that began last week on bets the US Federal Reserve will continue its monetary stimulus for the US economy. Key benchmark indices in South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia and Japan rose by 0.03% to 1.62%. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted fell 0.26%.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could advance 11 points at the opening bell on Monday, 21 October 2013. US stocks rose on Friday, 18 October 2013, with the S&P 500 index continuing its record run, as investors applauded quarterly results from Internet-search titan Google Inc. and investment bank Morgan Stanley.
Federal Reserve officials largely avoided the topic of tapering in a series of speeches on Friday, 18 October 2013. Charles Evans, the president of the Chicago Fed, disputed the notion that interest rates have to normalize to bring stability to the financial system.
The US government will release the influential nonfarm-payroll data for September 2013 tomorrow, 22 October 2013. The data has been delayed due to the 16-day partial shutdown of the US government this month.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds a two-day policy meeting on 29-30 October 2013. On 18 September 2013, the Fed surprised economists and investors with its decision to delay scaling back its stimulus amid concerns about the strength of the economic recovery.
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