Benchmarks indices ended with strong gains on Thursday, extending their winning run to sixth consecutive session. Positive global stocks boosted sentiment. The Nifty hit a record high of 18,350.75 and the Sensex hit an all time high of 61,353.25 in late trade.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 568.90 points or 0.94% to 61,305.95. The Nifty 50 index added 176.80 points or 0.97% to 18,338.55. Both the indices attained record closing levels.
Strong earnings by tech companies Mindtree, Infosys and Wipro fuelled the rally in other IT stocks. HDFC Bank hit a record high of Rs 1,690 today ahead of its Q2 earnings on 16 October 2021.
The broader indices lagged the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.54% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.46%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,703 shares rose and 1,655 shares fell. A total of 140 shares were unchanged.
The Sensex has risen 3.58% and the Nifty has climbed 3.92% in six consecutive sessions.
The Indian stock market will remain shut on Friday (15 October 2021) on account of Dussehra.
Economy:
India's inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) rose 10.66% in September 2021 compared with 1.32% in September 2020.
"The high rate of inflation in September 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, non-food articles, food products, crude petroleum & natural gas, chemicals and chemical products, etc. compared with the corresponding month of the previous year," the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement today.
WPI grew 11.39% in August 2021, while the figure for July was 11.57%.
Numbers to Track:
MCX Gold futures for 3 December 2021 settlement rose 0.26% to Rs 48,039.
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper (06.10 GS 2031) was currently at 6.329% as compared with its previous closing of 6.314%.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for December 2021 settlement rose 93 cents or 1.12% to $84.11 a barrel.
In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee rose to 75.265 from its previous closing of 75.375.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.26% to 93.84.
Global Markets:
US Dow Jones index futures were up 201 points, indicating a strong opening in the US stocks today.
European stocks rose across the board while most Asian stocks settled higher on Thursday with investors around the world reflecting on the latest inflation data and earnings out of the US. Investors also reacted to the release of China's inflation data for September. Markets in Hong Kong were closed on Thursday for a holiday.
China's producer price index for September soared 10.7% as compared with a year ago. China's consumer price index also rose 0.7% in September as compared with a year ago.
Meanwhile, Singapore's central bank unexpectedly tightened monetary policy on Thursday. Official advance estimates also showed on Thursday that Singapore's economy grew 6.5% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2021.
In US, minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's September meeting showed the central bank could begin tapering its asset-purchase program as soon as mid-November.
US consumer prices rose 0.4% last month, slightly higher than August's gain and pushing annual inflation back to the highest increase in 13 years. The consumer price index rose 5.4% in September from a year ago, the Labor Department said Wednesday, up slightly from August's gain of 5.3%. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core inflation rose 0.2% in September and 4% compared with a year ago. Core prices hit a three-decade high of 4.5% in June.
Stocks in Action:
ITC rose 2.89% to Rs 256.55, extending recent gains on reports that e-commerce giant Amazon is planning to invest in ITC e-Choupal. ITC's e-Choupal links directly with rural farmers via the Internet for procurement of agricultural and aquaculture products like soybeans, wheat, coffee, and prawns. The system saves procurement costs for ITC, while the farmers benefit through enhanced farm productivity and higher farm gate prices.
ITC hit a 52-week high of Rs 261.80 today. It has risen 10.75% in four sessions.
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) surged 10.94% to Rs 5467.35, extending gains for the third day. The stock hit a record high of Rs 5593.85 today. It has surged 14.55% in in three sessions.
IRCTC has fixed 29 October 2021 as the record date for the proposed 5-for-1 stock split.
Century Textiles & Industries jumped 2.87% after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 44.71 crore in Q2 FY22 as against a net loss of Rs 14.13 crore in Q2 FY21. Net sales increased 67.5% YoY to Rs 997.98 crore in Q2 FY22 over Q2 FY21.
Westlife Development jumped 3.17% after the company said that it will look at adding another 150-200 stores and invest Rs 800-1,000 crore across the business over the next 3-4 years.
Dish TV India fell 2.06%. The board of Dish TV India on Wednesday (13 October 2021) expressed its inability to convene EGM as requisitioned by Yes Bank, citing various regulatory and procedural hurdles. According to the company, Yes Bank's shareholding in Dish TV was due to invocation of pledges, and this prevented placing the resolutions before its shareholders.
Mindtree surged 7.56% after the company reported 16.2% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 398.9 crore on a 12.9% increase in revenue to Rs 2,586.2 crore in Q2 FY22 over Q1 FY22. As compared to Q2 FY21, the company's net profit and revenue have increased by 57.2% and 34.3%, respectively. EBITDA margin stood at 20.5% as on 30 September 2021 as against 20.3% as on 30 June 2021.
Wipro climbed 5.20% after the IT major reported 9.6% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,930.7 crore in Q2 FY22 from Rs 3,242.6 crore in Q1 FY22. Revenue from operations increased by 7.8% Q-o-Q to Rs 19,667.4 crore during the quarter. As compared to Q2 FY21, the IT firm's net profit and revenue from operations in Q2 FY22 have risen by 18.9% and 30.1%, respectively. The IT Services segment revenue was at $2,580 million, an increase of 6.9% Q-o-Q and 29.5% Y-o-Y. The Non-GAAP constant currency IT Services segment revenue increased by 8.1% Q-o-Q and 28.8% Y-o-Y. The IT Services operating margin for the quarter was at 17.8%, down 104 bps on a sequential basis.
Infosys gained 0.40%. The IT bellwether said its consolidated net profit rose 4.4% to Rs 5,421 crore on 6.1% increase in revenues to Rs 29,602 crore in Q2 FY22 over Q1 FY22. On a year-on-year basis, Infosys' net profit and revenue in Q2 FY22 increased 11.9% and 20.5%, respectively. Revenues in constant currency terms grew by 19.4% YoY and 6.3% QoQ. Operating margin for the quarter stood at 23.6%, a decline of 1.8% YoY and 0.1% QoQ. Infosys said its revenue guidance for FY22 is revised upwards to 16.5%-17.5%. Margin guidance is retained at 22%-24%.
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