28th October 2020 Highlights: Markets down 1.4%, Q2 results corner, vaccine by Christmas, & more.
-28th October 2020-
Sensex 39,922.46 ▼ 1.48%
Nifty 11,729.60 ▼ 1.34%
The markets ended down by 1.4%. Even though various companies reported good numbers in their Q2 results, global market sentiments affected the Indian markets resulting in a sell-off today.
Globally, equity markets are under pressure as the second wave of Covid infections spreads across Europe and the USA. The Indian markets also faced the heat, and volatility was high ahead of the monthly derivatives expiry tomorrow. All sectoral indices ended the day in the red, with the worst being the Nifty Bank index, which lost 2.1%. Among the major stocks, HDFC (-3.5%), Indusind Bank (-3.1%) and ICICI Bank (-3.1) were the top index losers. However, the selling was not only restricted to banks, as 41 of the Nifty50 stocks ended in the red.
Top Gainers (Nifty)
Bharti Airtel Rs 451.85 ▲ 4.27%
UPL Rs 450.75 ▲ 2.78%
Hero MotoCorp Rs 2946.20 ▲ 1.18%
M&M Rs 604.15 ▲ 1.17%
Eicher Motors Rs 2135.00 ▲ 0.79%
Top Losers (Nifty)
HDFC Rs 1968.90 ▼ 3.55%
IndusInd Ban Rs 592.85 ▼ 3.44%
ICICI Bank Rs 396.05 ▼ 3.39%
Adani Ports Rs 353.65 ▼ 2.95%
Tech Mahindra Rs 804.30 ▼ 2.94%
Here are the top stories of the day.
Q2 Results: L&T, Axis Bank, Titan, Dr Reddy's
L&T
Larsen & Toubro's consolidated net profit was reported at Rs 1,410.29 crores in the July to September quarter. This is a decline of 44.73% from the same quarter last year.
The revenue from operations for the quarter dropped 12.15% to Rs 31,034.74 crores.
The company declared a special dividend of Rs 18 per share.
L&T bagged orders worth Rs 28,039 crores at the group level during the quarter. This is a 19% increase from the April to June quarter but a decline of 42% when compared to the same quarter previous year.
The shares of the company ended 0.09% higher at Rs 982.85 per share.
Axis Bank
The bank's standalone net profit was reported at Rs 1,682.67 crores in the July to September quarter as compared to a net loss of Rs 112.08 crores in the same quarter previous year.
Net interest income rose 20% to Rs 7,326 crores in the quarter under review.
Asset Quality:
Gross non-performing assets (NPA) were at 4.18% of the gross advances as compared to 5.03% in the same quarter previous year. GNPA was at 4.72% in the April to June quarter.
Net NPAs stood at 0.98% as compared to 1.99% in the same quarter previous year. NNPA was at 1.23% in the April to June quarter.
The shares of the bank ended 0.67% lower at Rs 504.7 per share today.
What is net interest income(NII)?
NII is the difference between the interest a bank earns from lending and the interest it pays to depositors.
Titan Company
Titan's standalone net profit fell 37.81% to Rs 199 crores.
The total income fell 1.72% to Rs 4,389 crores. This included gold bullion sales worth Rs 391 crores.
Segmental Revenue:
Jewellery: Fell 2.3% to Rs 3,446 crores (excluding gold bullion sales)
Watches and wearables: Fell 44% to Rs 400 crores
Eyewear: Fell 39% to Rs 94 crore
The shares of the company fell 1.2% to Rs 1,217 per share.
Dr Reddy's
The consolidated net profit fell 30.22% to Rs 762.3 crores.
The revenue rose 1.99% to Rs 4,896.7 crores.
Research & Development (R&D) expenses stood at Rs 436 crores which is 8.9% of revenues. R&D expenses stood at 7.6% of the revenues in the same quarter a year ago.
Segmental Revenue:
Pharmaceutical Services and Active Ingredients: Rose 20.63% to Rs 1,025.6 crores
Proprietary product: Fell 98.6% to Rs 10 crores
Global generics: Rose 21.4% to Rs 3,984.1 crores
The shares of the company ended 2.91% lower at Rs 4,951 per share.
Bharti Airtel dials up Q2 revenues
It would be an understatement to say that Bharti Airtel, one of India’s leading telecom operators, has underperformed as compared to the Nifty50 this fiscal. The telco has gained just 2% versus the Nifty50, which has risen 36%. However, the company’s Q2 results have brought some cheer to its investors. The company reported consolidated revenues of ₹25,785 crore (up 22% over the same period last year) and its net loss has significantly narrowed to ₹763 crore as compared to ₹23,045 crores. The strong rise in revenues is a result of a ~27% rise in its mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) to ₹162, the highest in the past three years. Recently, Sunil Mittal, the company’s chairman, hinted that ARPUs are expected to rise to ₹200 (23% higher than the current rate) towards the end of this fiscal stating that current rates are not sustainable. Today, the stock was the top gainer in the Nifty50 and closed 3.3% higher.
JLR boosts Q2 for Tata Motors
Tata Motors’ consolidated revenues for Q2 were down 18.2% on a year-on-year basis to ₹53,530 crore. Its net loss widened to ₹307 crore (versus ₹187 crore last year). However, what keeps investors excited is the strong sequential recovery in the performance of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which accounts for ~80% of Tata Motors’ revenues. The luxury carmaker showed a sharp 53% sequential jump in volumes after demand revived in key markets such as China and the UK, with the reopening of its global dealer network. Despite risks of the second wave of Covid infections in certain countries, the company expects a gradual recovery in demand in the coming months. In the domestic market, Tata Motors’ passenger segment is seeing traction as sales volumes for the quarter were up 73% as compared to the same period last year. While the commercial vehicle segment is still lagging behind (volumes down 56% from last year), the company is hopeful of a full recovery in this segment as the economy gradually improves. Today, the stock gained 5.6% intraday but witnessed selling in an overall weak market and closed with a loss of 0.6%. During this fiscal, the stock has gained close to 90%.
TV18 posts bumper profit
TV18 Broadcast Ltd reported a 150% year-on-year jump in its consolidated net profit even as its revenues declined by 10%. The company’s operating margin expanded sharply to 16.2% (versus 9.3% last year) due to improved cost control. Reduction in operational costs, marketing expenses and employee costs have led to a 17% drop in overall costs as compared to last year. The company sees favourable trends in both viewership and monetisation, heading into the festive season. In an otherwise weak market, the stock was up 0.5% for the day.
Limited Vaccine Availability by Christmas
The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine may become available to some high-risk persons before Christmas this year (2020).
This list of high-risk persons would include people working as medical professionals, emergency workers, etc.
This vaccine has been in the final stage (phase 3 trials) of testing and the results are due in December 2020.
As per reports, the tests show the vaccine is functional in both young and old age groups.
The wide-spread availability of the vaccine is expected in the first half of the year 2021.
DGCA Extends Suspension of International Flights Till 30 Nov
The DGCA has extended the suspension of international flights to and from India till Nov 30, 2020.
International flights had been suspended in March when the lockdowns started and have remained suspended since.
Flights under the Vande Bharat mission and the air bubbles program continue to operate, however.
Using the present options of Vande Bharat flights and air bubbles program, flyers do have access to many major international destinations.
More countries are being added to the air bubbles program also.
Closing bell
While there may be contrasting views over the GDP growth in this fiscal, the market may gradually start looking at what would happen in the next fiscal. The Finance Minister expects India to be one of the fastest-growing large economies in the coming financial year. That said, in the near term, the second wave of Covid infections could spook the markets. Although today’s decline in the Nifty50 looks decisive, it is still within the trading range created on 15 October, when the Nifty50 fell by over 2.4%.
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