Sensex falls 260 pts, Nifty nears 18,650; Adani Ent crashes 7%, RIL, SBI 1%

Closing Bell on June 23, 2023: Among sectors, the Nifty Metal index fell 2.5 per cent, followed by the Nifty Media index (2.13 per cent), the Nifty IT index (0.89 per cent)

1:54 PM

IKIO extends rally post strong listing; zooms 67% over issue price

Shares of IKIO Lighting (IKIO) hit a new high of Rs 477.15, surging 7 per cent on the BSE in Friday's intra-day trade, in an otherwise subdued market, after making strong listing last week. READ MORE

1:43 PM

Betting on gold? How to pick between gold ETFs and sovereign gold bonds

Investors willing to diversify assets could consider the first tranche of the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Scheme 2023–24 of this fiscal year, which is currently open for subscription and will close today on June 23, 2023. READ MORE

1:32 PM

ALERT :: IndusInd Bank rises to day's high amid reports of further fund infusion by Hinduja Group

>> According to ET Now, Hinduja Group may infuse Rs 10,000 crore in the bank

1:25 PM

Comment :: How further rate hikes by global central banks will affect markets

Recently most markets - US, Euro Zone, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India - touched 52-week highs. This was partly on expectations that interest rates are near a peak. This optimism has been partly dented by the recent decision of ECB and National Bank of Sweden's decision to hike rates and the surprise decision of Bank of England to sharply hike the rate by 50 bps. Also, the Fed chief Powell recently hinted that the fight against inflation has a long way to go. So, the monetary environment is hawkish and this is slightly negative from the market perspective. However, investors need not be too concerned about short-term challenges. The long-term prospects of India are very bright.

 

Views by: Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services
 

1:15 PM

Asian Market Update:: Nikkei, Hang Seng, Shanghai decline close to 1.5%

Source: Yahoo Finance

1:03 PM

India's steel production rises 4.1% in May, global output falls 5%

Despite a 7.3 per year-on-year (y-o-y) fall, China remained the top steel producing country in May with 90.1 MT crude steel production, worldsteel data showed. READ MORE

12:50 PM

MARKET CHECK :: Sensex recoups most of the losses, trades flat

12:47 PM

Brokerage Call :: JM Financial on Oil & Gas

OMCs’ blended auto-fuel gross marketing margin (GMM) has jumped to +INR7.4/ltr vs. negative INR4.6/ltr in FY23 and vs. historical GMM of +INR3.5/ltr; this has been driven by normalisation of diesel cracks and moderation in Brent crude price to ~USD 77/bbl (vs. OMCs’ break-even crude price of ~USD 85/bbl).

Gross refining margin (GRM) has normalised in the last 2-3 months from record high levels in FY23; but discount on Russian crude is likely to aid OMCs’ GRM by ~USD 3/bbl (or annualised benefit of ~INR 280bn). Assuming current refining/marketing margin continues, OMCs are likely to recoup FY23 EBITDA deficit of ~INR 190bn by end-Jul’23 with HPCL likely to be the biggest beneficiary given its leverage to the marketing business.

Hence, OMCs may have to cut petrol/diesel price by INR 4-5/ltr from Aug’23 onwards given key state elections likely from Nov-Dec’23 onwards.

Though OMCs’ FY24 P/B valuations (0.9-1.0x for HPCL/IOCL and 1.3x for BPCL) appear reasonable, there exists significant uncertainty on earnings in the fuel marketing business given risk of OPEC+ strong pricing power driving high crude price during the next election-heavy 9-12 months. Hence, optimism on OMCs will be contingent on crude sustaining below ~USD 80/bbl and government fully compensating for FY23 fuel under-recoveries.

12:43 PM

Brokerage Call :: Nuvama on Vijaya Diagnostic Centre

Vijaya remains at the forefront of adopting the latest medical technologies. This provides it a clear edge over competitors, including hospitals that do not replace diagnostic equipment frequently. Moreover, its radiology tests’ prices are much lower than what hospitals charge.

 

Vijaya’s higher B2C share, focused expansion, and a differentiated integrated model should hold it in good stead. We forecast a revenue/PAT FY23-25E CAGR of 15%/28%; ‘BUY/SO’ with INR490 TP based on 36x FY25E EPS (10% discount to Lal)

12:40 PM

Brokerage Call :: Nuvama on Real Estate

May-23 housing demand in India’s top seven cities edged up 1% MoM (up 16% YoY). Launches continued to decline, falling 14% MoM/ 19% YoY. However, YTD (CY23) demand/supply has risen 16%/6% YoY. Unsold inventory continued to improve (down 5% YoY/1% MoM) with inventory months falling to 18 in May-23 (from 24 in May-22).

Prices rose YoY across top-seven cities during the month. With the RBI hitting the pause button on rate hikes (refer to Housing stocks: Back in favour) and developers ramping up business development (refer to Business development building up), we believe the sales momentum would improve, particularly for organised developers.

DLF (BUY) and Brigade (BUY) stay our top sectoral picks

12:37 PM

Brokerage Call :: Centrum Broking on V-Mart

We reckon, sustained food inflation impacted consumer sentiments and cut discretionary demand in core markets at the bottom of pyramid segment, yet V‐Mart saw resilient demand  in malls and stores located in urban & Tier1 towns. We believe, turnaround in Limeroad business  is underway driven by Omni‐channel strategy.

Given strain on revenues, we cut earnings for FY24E/FY25E by 15.0%/0.3% and retain BUY with a revised TP Rs 2,750 (EV/EBITDA of 15x 25E). 

Key risks – renewed competition, slowdown in top‐line, and longer breakeven in new stores.

12:34 PM

Brokerage Call :: Centrum broking on Shriram Finance

BUY | Target Price: Rs 2,400 |  Forecast return: 38%

Shriram Finance Ltd (SFL) rallied ~23% in last 3 days after stake sale by TPG (2.65%) and Piramal Enterprises (8.34%). This removes a major supply overhang lingering on the stock price performance over last few years.

In our view, the stock should now rerate to its 5-year average of 1.7x P/ABV as we expect 15% AUM CAGR over FY23-25E and 3.1% RoA and 15% RoE in FY25E. SFL is trading at a discount to peers due to lower AUM growth expectations as 50% of its book is still dependent on CV (~90% used), while others have expanded their product lines.

In our view, the valuation for SFL still remains inexpensive for a strong franchise in used vehicles segment. Merger synergies in cross sell of 2W, Personal loans and Gold loans can provide further upside.

12:31 PM

Brokerage Call :: Kotak Securities on Tata Motors

Key takeaways from the FY2023 annual report—(1) 100 bps yoy improvement in EBITDA margin driven by a richer product mix and favorable FX, (2) significant improvement in performance of the China JV led by better pricing and cost-control measures, (3) the company remains well-capitalized with debt securities well spread out and (4) the pension plan remains overfunded.

Given rapid adoption of EVs in the SUV segment in China and increased competitive intensity from Chinese players, we believe JLR’s market share will remain under pressure given the company’s late entry to the EV segment.

Maintain REDUCE rating with an unchanged FV of Rs 530

12:21 PM

Betting on gold? How to pick between gold ETFs and sovereign gold bonds

Gold prices have gained over 17 percent in FY23, and around 8.2 per cent  year to date. Traditionally, gold has been regarded as a safe haven for investors, especially during financially turbulent markets. You can invest in gold in various forms: jewellery, gold bars, or coins if you want physical gold. Apart from that , you can invest in gold exchange-traded funds (gold ETFs), golf funds and sovereign gold bonds, owing to better returns and lower risk of storage and theft.  READ MORE

12:09 PM

ALERT :: Lupin launches Rufinamide oral suspension in the US