Indian shares remained subdued on Tuesday as caution ahead of upcoming key data offset gains in pharmaceutical stocks. Drug maker Gland Pharma surged almost 20% after reporting 41% rise in June-quarter revenue, aided by the acquisition of French firm Cenexi.

The Nifty 50 index ended 27 points down at 19,570, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 106 points to close at 65,846. Nine of the Nifty’s 15 broad sectoral indices gained.

SBI Life and Hero MotoCorp climbed almost 4% each, followed by Cipla, TechM and Tata Consumers. Hindalco and Adani Enterprises shed more than 2% each. M&M and Divi’s Lab were other laggards in today’s session.

Metal shed around a per cent. Auto, FMCG and Realty were other laggards with marginal losses. PSU Bank jumped more than 2.5%. Pharma and COnsumer Durable jumped half a per cent each.

Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday after Wall Street rallied and Chinese exports fell ahead of a US inflation update that might influence Federal Reserve plans for possible interest rate hikes.

Japan’s Nikkei share average rose, buoyed by the gains in U.S. stocks overnight, although caution prevailed as the peak for the domestic earnings season approaches. The Nikkei added 0.38%, while the broader Topix gained 0.34%.

China stocks edged down after the country’s July exports and imports contracted more than expected. Hong Kong shares were also down, dragged by property stocks.

China’s blue-chip CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.3%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was down 1.8%.

China’s exports fell 14.5% year-on-year in July, while imports contracted 12.4%, customs data showed on Tuesday in the worst showing for outbound shipments from the world’s second-largest economy since February 2020.

European stock markets fell at the start of trading with attention turning to US inflation data later in the week as the earnings seasons winds down.

London’s FTSE 100 index fell on Tuesday, hurt by declines in the mining sector after Glencore’s dour first-half showing and bleak China trade data, while midcap stocks rose on upbeat earnings.

The share price of Visagar Financial Services has been on an upward trend since the start of morning trading. The company’s share price today began on a positive note and quickly reached an intraday high of ₹1.13 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), triggering a 5% upper circuit within a short period after the stock market opened.

Visagar Financial Services has gained attention due to its announcement to venture into the media sector, as conveyed to the Indian stock market bourses. This expansion plan into the media industry could be a contributing factor behind the increased interest from buyers in this small-cap stock. (Read More)

The initial public offering (IPO) of TVS Supply Chain Solutions Limited has established a price band of ₹187 to ₹197 per equity share. The book build issue is set to enter the primary markets on August 10, 2023, which falls on Thursday this week, and it will remain open for subscription until August 14, 2023. The public issue, valued at ₹880 crore, is intended for listing on both the BSE and NSE.

Market observers have reported that shares of TVS Supply Chain Solutions are currently trading at a premium of ₹30 in the grey market today, which indicates a level of demand and anticipation for the IPO. (Read More)

On Tuesday, Emami’s share price exhibited a significant increase in its opening, accompanied by strong trading volumes. The share price of Emami witnessed a surge of more than 9% on the same day, driven by the company’s positive Q1 results that exceeded market expectations. At the opening, Emami’s share price reached ₹463.75 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

In its recent quarterly report, the company disclosed an impressive 86.5% year-on-year rise in its consolidated net profit (attributable to equityholders of the parent) for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending in June (Q1FY24), amounting to ₹137.72 crore. However, on a sequential basis, the consolidated net profit demonstrated a 4.6% decrease from the ₹144.43 crore recorded in the previous quarter, Q4FY23. (Read More)

On Tuesday, banking stocks in the Eurozone experienced significant declines, with the STOXX Europe 600 Banks Index dropping by approximately 2%. This decline was triggered by Italy’s approval of a proposal to impose a 40% windfall tax. This tax will be applicable only in 2023 and will specifically target banks.

A windfall tax is a special and additional tax that is imposed when an entity unexpectedly generates a substantial amount of profit. The purpose of this tax is to capture a portion of the extra profit earned by companies or individuals and allocate it towards public needs or government projects.

Reports from the media indicate that Italy’s cabinet has given the green light to a 40% tax on the additional profits that banks earn through higher interest rates. The proceeds from this tax are intended to assist with mortgage payments and tax cuts, as part of the Italian government’s plans. (Read More)

The Piramal Pharma rights issue for 2023 has officially commenced today, allowing interested applicants to subscribe. The subscription window for the rights offer will remain open until August 17, 2023. To be eligible for participation in this rights issue of the pharmaceutical company, individuals must have held Piramal Pharma shares on the rights issue’s record date, which was August 2, 2023.

Piramal Pharma has already announced that qualified applicants will receive five rights shares for every 46 fully paid-up Equity Shares held on the Record Date. This signifies a rights issue ratio of 5:46. (Read More)

Leasing activity in India’s industrial & logistics sector surged to 19.1 million sq. ft. across eight major cities during the first half of 2023 (Jan-Jun), marking a substantial 35% year-on-year increase, according to a report by CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd.

Leasing activity was led by Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Chennai, accounting for a collective 60% share in total leasing during January-June. Notably, all cities, except Bengaluru, exhibited a discernible upswing in I&L leasing as compared to the same period in the previous year.

The report suggests that festival season sales are likely to contribute to sustained leasing activity during July-December. (Read More)

Hindalco Industries has announced a substantial 58.6% decrease in its standalone net profit for the quarter ending in June 2023, amounting to ₹600 crore, in contrast to ₹1,448 crore achieved during the same period in the previous year.

The company’s revenue from standalone operations in Q1FY24, however, exhibited a 2% growth, reaching ₹19,904 crore in comparison to ₹19,518 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

In terms of Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA), the company encountered a significant decline of 46.7%, with figures dropping to ₹1,561 crore from ₹2,927 crore year-on-year. This also led to a notable contraction in the EBITDA margin, which decreased to 7.8% from 15% in the same period, YoY. (Read More)

A recent survey has mande an optimistic hiring forecast in India’s IT sector. According to the latest survey by TeamLease EdTech platform, major Indian IT firms are gearing up to recruit approximately 50,000 freshers across various job roles encompassing both IT and non-IT sectors nationwide between July-December 2023.

The ed-tech platform said that the rapid adoption of digital transformation initiatives, along with, the emergence of new business opportunities in Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cybersecurity, and other cutting-edge technologies, has become a catalyst for substantial growth within the IT industry. (Read More)

Indian corporates could raise record funds through bond issuances this year as they take advantage of attractive interest rates, four merchant bankers said on Tuesday.

“We see consistent supply for the rest of the year with overall supply surpassing last year’s record number,” said Arnab Choudhury – executive vice president and group head of debt capital markets, SBI Capital Markets.

Indian companies raised 8.17 trillion rupees in FY23, an increase of 29% over FY22, data from information service provider Prime Database showed.

In the months of April to July, firms raised 3.51 trillion rupees via bonds, of which fundraising in July was the lowest at 539 billion rupees. Bankers said the dip was an anomaly.

Expectations of a hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve pushed up U.S. yields, the effects rippling across emerging markets like India. That made issuers stay on the sidelines until rates stabilise, these bankers said. (Reuters)

Nomura Singapore ODI, a foreign institutional investor (FII) based in Singapore, has increased its ownership in India’s FMCG company, Mishtann Foods Ltd. The small-cap stock recently disclosed this development in an exchange filing. The FII’s stake has risen from 1.28% to over 2% in the company.

According to the FMCG company’s submission to the Indian stock market bourses, Nomura Singapore ODI previously held 1,28,25,854 shares of Mishtann Foods. This stake has now been increased to 2,18,82,762 company shares, representing 2.19% of the total paid-up capital of the company. (Read More)

India’s aspirations to become a major steelmaker will help lift metallurgical coal prices and offset concerns about China’s sluggish recovery, according to an Australian producer.

Infrastructure-related stimulus packages in India will drive demand for the blast-furnace fuel, Coronado Global Resources Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Douglas Thompson said Tuesday. That comes as the nation prepares for elections next year with a “fair amount of stimulus” likely in the lead up to voting, he said.

“India is, I think, the shining light on the horizon,” Thompson said. That marks a contrast with China, where the impact of recent stimulus measures are struggling to gain traction, he said.

Indian demand for coking coal, while currently weak, is expected to return — and continue expanding — once the country’s monsoon season ends later this year, Coronado said in an earnings statement. The nation is investing more in steel, with the intensified focus on production likely to persist well beyond a bid to win election support, Thompson said. (Bloomberg)

The management expects benefits of easing raw material prices to reflect in the company’s performance gradually, but dealers channel checks show that cement prices have failed to see an uptick in the recent months across most regions in India. This has prompted some analysts to trim their earnings expectations from the company.

“We are slashing FY24/25E Ebitda by 34%/12% to factor in the weak pricing environment,” said a Nuvama Research report. Given the company’s long-standing concerns of high net debt and low future return on equity, the brokerage house maintains a Reduce rating on the stock. As of 30 June 2023, the company’s total debt stood at Rs2,950 crore versus Rs2,900 crore in March 2023. (Read More)

Vijay Shekhar Sharma will increase his holding in Paytm to 19.42%, becoming the largest shareholder in the fintech giant, while the stake of Antfin, an affiliate of China’s Ant Group Co, will drop to 13.5%.

Analysts at BofA Securities noted that a Chinese shareholder ceasing to be the largest shareholder, would also directionally be positive for the company fundamentals.

“We consider this announcement to be positive as it removes overhang on the stock from the risk that Antfin in future may look to reduce its stake leading to more supply. Furthermore, Sharma buying the stake at Friday’s close indicates his confidence in the story with a “skin in the game” approach,” BofA said in a report. (Read More)

Rahul AGARWAL and Harshit SARAWAGI of InCred Equities on APL Apollo Tubes: Margins need to be better; retain estimates

APAT IN / | ADD – Maintained | INR1,477 tp:INR1,611

■ APL missed our EBITDA/PAT estimates by 7-10%. Input prices were volatile that led the gross profit to decline to Rs9,436/t, down 11% yoy and 6% qoq.

■ Jul-Aug 2023 was better & management retained its sales volume & EBITDA margin guidance for FY24F-26F. Raipur unit’s EBITDA: Rs30m in 1Q.

■ Retain estimates, TP and ADD rating. Risks: Sudden input price fluctuations.

In preparation for the acquisition of Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) in Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Limited (SMG), Maruti Suzuki has announced its intention to issue equity shares through a preferential allotment to Suzuki Motor Corporation. This move was disclosed in the company’s stock filing on Tuesday.

The board of Maruti Suzuki granted approval for the issuance of equity shares to SMC on the same day. However, this decision remains subject to the necessary regulatory and statutory approvals that may be required. Following the completion of the acquisition, Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Limited (SMG) will transition into a wholly-owned subsidiary of Maruti Suzuki. (Read More)

Pepperfry’s Ambareesh Murty died of a heart attack on Tuesday.

According to media reports, he was in Ladakh where he suffered a heart attack.

Ambareesh, an IIM Calcutta alumnus, founded the home decor company in Mumbai in 2012. Before Pepperfry, he was associated with eBay

Customs data show China’s exports fell 14.5% in July from a year ago, adding to pressure to shore up flagging economy. (Reuters)

The initial public offering (IPO) opened for bidding on 4th August 2023 and its subscription will end on 8th August 2023. This means, today is the last date to apply for the public offer of this Rekha Jhunjhunwala-backed company. However, after trend reversal on Dalal Street and strong Concord Biotech IPO subscription status, grey market has gone highly bullish on the public issue. Accor4ding to market observers, shares of Concord Biotech are available at a premium of ₹202 in grey market today.

Market observers said that Concord Biotech IPO grey market premium (GMP) today is ₹202, which is ₹49 higher from its GMP of ₹153 on Monday. (Read More)

Benefiting from an incredibly positive response, Hero MotoCorp, recognized as the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, has amassed a remarkable 25,597 bookings for the Harley Davidson X440 since the commencement of bookings on July 4th, 2023.

As of now, the booking period has been concluded, and the announcement of the next booking window is imminent. Hero MotoCorp has scheduled the initiation of Harley-Davidson X440 production for September 2023, with customer deliveries set to begin from October.

With regard to pricing, the initial ex-showroom prices have been adjusted. The updated prices for the Denim, Vivid, and S variants of the motorcycle will stand at ₹2,39,500/-, ₹2,59,500/-, and ₹2,79,500/- respectively. (Read More)

Richard Liu of JM Financial views on Godrej Consumer (GCPL IN): 1QFY24 | Tracking well on numbers and even better on quality

Result Update BUY INR 1,165

GCPL’s 1QFY24 report was healthier on quality overall. To quote CEO Sudhir Sitapati, EBITDA margin of the business is now slightly higher than four-year ago level even though gross margin is relatively lower and ad-spends in the business are higher. GCPL’s domestic A&P of 12.5% of sales is now higher vs any of its HPC peers including HUL – this speaks of the seriousness of its category development intent. Domestic organic volume growth of 10% was on a soft base but 4-year volume CAGR at c.5% was still amongst the highest in the sector – HI had double-digit volume growth this time, helped by a favourable season and sustained market-development activities. Both Africa and Indonesia had accelerated growth alongside margin improvement. The overall gross margin recovery was also much sharper especially in India where GPM expanded 11ppt – a significant part of which was used to fund the higher A&P. On the flip side, the newly acquired Raymond FMCG is still a WIP and likely to stabilise only in 2H. Plus, currency issue in Nigeria would create some headwinds in FY24 financials. Be that as it may, we believe the execution machinery being put in place is yielding good results with improvement in underlying metrics across geographies alongside higher cash generation. GCPL remains a favoured pick.

In morning trading, the share price of Gland Pharma surged by 11%, following the announcement of its first-quarter earnings. The pharmaceutical company’s revenue for the first quarter experienced a notable 41% increase, largely driven by its acquisition of Cenexi. However, its profit witnessed a decline when compared to the previous year.

The company, based in Hyderabad, posted a Profit After Tax (PAT) of ₹194 crore, generated from a revenue of ₹1,200 crore. This is in contrast to the revenue of ₹857 crore reported in the same period of the previous year. Comparatively, Gland Pharma had reported a PAT of ₹229 crore in the first quarter of the financial year 2022-23. It’s worth noting that 37% of the total revenue in the reported quarter was attributed to Gland Pharma’s acquisition of Cenexi, which took place in January. (Read More)

China’s foreign market presence is on the decline, with the country experiencing a continuous decrease in exports for the third consecutive month in July. The country’s exports to foreign markets decreased by 14.5% compared to the same period last year.

This decline in exports is particularly significant, representing the largest drop since 2020, as indicated by official data released on Tuesday. China, the world’s second-largest economy, is grappling with sluggish global demand and a domestic economic slowdown.

Official data from China’s customs authority reveals that the sales of Chinese products to foreign markets experienced a year-on-year contraction of 14.5% in the past month, marking the third straight month of decline. In June, China’s exports had already experienced a 12.4% decrease compared to the same month in the previous year. (Read More)

Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services: A significant near-term trend in the market now is the sustained selling by FIIs ( ₹10437 crores) during the last eight trading sessions matched by the sustained buying by DIIs ( ₹10860 crores) in the same period. It is important to understand that while FII activity is influenced by external factors like the Dollar Index and US bond yields, DII activity is predominantly determined by domestic factors like GDP growth and corporate earnings. In the near term, the spike in the US 10-year bond yield above 4 % has triggered selling by FIIs who might be moving some money to US bonds.

The domestic market construct continues to be resilient. Thursday’s US CPI inflation print will be keenly watched by markets.

Shares of PowerGrid Corporation Of India Ltd, Castrol India Ltd, Westlife Foodworld Ltd, among four other companies will be in focus on Tuesday as they will trade ex-dividend today.

A total of seven stocks will trade ex-dividend today. The ex-dividend date is the day on which the price of an equity share adjusts to reflect the next dividend payout.

Here is a list of dividend stocks today: (Read More)

Vaishali Parekh, Vice President — Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladherhas recommended three intraday stocks for today, here we list out full details in regard to those day trading stocks:

1] RITES: Buy at ₹458.50, target ₹480, stop loss ₹452;

2] M&M Finance: Buy at ₹295.50, target ₹310, stop loss ₹291; and

3] Samvardhana Motherson: Buy at ₹98.50, target ₹103, stop loss ₹97. (Read More)

Reliance Industries’ attrition rates rise, Godrej Consumer Products’ net profit falls, Paytm Payments Services appoints new auditor, Tata Chemicals’ net profit declines, HDFC Bank’s weightage in index grows, Emami’s net profit rises, Inox Wind’s promoter plans to reduce ownership, PB Fintech’s net loss narrows, Torrent Pharma’s net profit increases, MMTC’s stockbroker license cancelled. (Read More)

Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. released its financial results for the June quarter (Q1 FY24), recording a consolidated net profit of ₹378 crore. This marked a 7% increase compared to the same period in the previous year. The company’s revenue also experienced growth, reaching ₹2,591 crore in the quarter under review, up from ₹2,347 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

The Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) totaled ₹791 crore, leading to an EBITDA margin of 31%. The net profit margin was reported at 14.6%.

During the quarter, Torrent Pharma allocated ₹129 crore, reflecting a 6% increase compared to the previous year. The debt to equity ratio rose to 0.74x in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, up from 0.60x in the same quarter of the preceding fiscal year. (Read More)

PB Fintech released their April to June quarter results on Monday and posted a net consolidated loss of ₹11.9 crore which was 94% lower year-on-year from net loss of ₹204 crore reported during the corresponding quarter previous fiscal. The total revenue of the company jumped 39% YoY, while the operating revenue jumped 32% to ₹666 crore during the Q1FY24 from ₹505 core during the same period last fiscal year.

The Earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was a positive ₹23 crore during the period under review, an improvement from ( ₹66 crore) during the same quarter last year which marks a jump of ₹89 crore. (Read More)

The share price of Berkshire Hathaway, the investment firm led by billionaire Warren Buffett, achieved a new record on Monday. This surge was driven by the company’s quarterly operating profit exceeding $10 billion for the first time in its history. The share price of Berkshire Hathaway surged by 3.41%, equivalent to $18,320, reaching a value of $551,920. Consequently, this increase boosted the conglomerate’s overall market value to approximately $799 billion.

Throughout the day, the stock price of Berkshire Hathaway climbed to $555,800, surpassing the previous peak of $544,000 set on March 28, 2022. Thus far in 2023, Berkshire Hathaway shares have experienced an 18% rally. Additionally, the Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway also performed well, registering a 3.6% increase to close at a historic high of $362.58. (Read More)

An insider source revealed to CNBC TV-18 on August 7th that the promoter entity of Inox Wind intends to initiate a substantial transaction valued at ₹500 crore. The purpose of this deal is to decrease their ownership in the wind energy firm. The deal is expected to occur at a price that could potentially be discounted by up to 5% compared to the current market value. It’s noteworthy that the collective stake held by Inox Wind’s promoter and promoter groups is 72.01% according to the shareholding pattern disclosed for the quarter ending June 2023.

Tata Chemicals released its financial results for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023, announcing a net profit of ₹523 crore. This indicated an 11.8 percent decrease compared to the ₹593 crore recorded in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

In terms of revenue, the company reported a growth of 5.6 percent, with figures amounting to ₹4,218 crore in Q1FY24. This was in contrast to the ₹3,995 crore reported in Q1FY23, as stated in the regulatory filing submitted to the stock exchange. Notably, the net income for the preceding quarter (Q4FY23) stood at ₹4,407 crore, which was significantly higher than the net income for the June quarter.

Furthermore, the company shared additional insights into its performance. It noted that its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) saw an increase of 2.8 percent, reaching ₹1,043 crore in Q1FY24. This was in comparison to the ₹1,015 crore recorded in the same period of the previous fiscal year, FY23. (Read More)

On Monday, One97 Communications Limited announced to the stock exchanges that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Paytm Payments Services, has chosen S.R. Batliboi & Associates as its new auditor. This decision comes after Price Waterhouse resigned from its position as the auditor for Paytm Payments Services Ltd. on the same day.

The Company in a regulatory filing said,” We wish to inform you that M/s. Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP (Firm Registration No. 012754N/N500016) Statutory Auditors of material subsidiary i.e. PaytmPayments Services Limited (“PPSL”) have resigned with effect from August 07, 2023.

The Statutory Auditors have not raised any concern or issue and in fact this is aligned with the holding company OCL’s appointment of S.R. Batliboi & Associates as its auditor. (Read More)

Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) on Monday said its consolidated net profit fell 7.6% at ₹318.82 crore for the April-June quarter of fiscal year 2024 from ₹345.12 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

The total revenue in the first quarter stood at ₹3,448.91 crore, 10.36% up from ₹3,124.97 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in an exchange filing.

GCPL’s India revenue rose 8.43% at ₹2,005.48 crore during the June quarter from ₹1,849.41 crore a year ago. (Read More)

The promoters of Adani Group raised about $500 million by selling a part of their holdings in Adani Green Energy Ltd to investors, including INQ Holding Llc, a wholly owned unit of sovereign fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

This is one of the several recent stake sales by billionaire Gautam Adani aimed at cutting promoter-level debt and releasing stock pledges. At current market prices, around ₹31,095 crore ($3.75 billion) is required by the promoters to release the shares pledged by the promoters in five key group firms. Additionally, shares worth $7.18 billion or ₹59,436 crore and ₹2,532 crore are pledged by the promoters in Ambuja Cements Ltd and ACC Ltd. (Read More)

Stocks climbed Monday as Wall Street’s big rally for the year kicked back into gear following a brief hiccup.

The S&P 500 rose 40.41, or 0.9%, to 4,518.44 and recovered more than a third of its loss from last week. That was its first losing week in four and just its third in the last 12.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 407.51 points, or 1.2%, to 35,473.13, and the Nasdaq composite added 85.16, or 0.6%, to 13,994.40.

Berkshire Hathaway rose 3.6% and was a major force lifting the market after the company run by famed investor Warren Buffett reported stronger profit and revenue for the spring than analysts expected. Pharmaceutical company Viatris also rose after its results topped forecasts. Viatris’s stock climbed 3.9%.

Besides profit reports from some media giants like The Walt Disney Co. and Fox, this upcoming week also features highly anticipated reports on inflation.

Inflation has been the key to Wall Street’s big moves in recent years after soaring to its worst level in generation. Since hitting a peak last summer, inflation has been cooling steadily. That has raised hopes the Federal Reserve may be done with its drastic hikes to interest rates. (AP)