Sensex ends above 39K, Nifty moderately higher; HCL Tech, Maruti rally ahead of Q2 numbers

23 Oct 2019

JSW Steel Q2 consolidated net profit up 21% at Rs 2,536 crore

JSW Steel has posted 21.5 percent growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 2,536 crore in the quarter ended September 2019. The company had posted profit of Rs 2,087 crore in the same quarter last year.

Total revenue of the company was down 18.5 percent at Rs 17,572 crore versus Rs 21,552 crore, YoY. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was down 44.3 percent at Rs 2,731 crore, while margin was down 720 bps at 15.5 percent.

Indian Bank Q2 profit spikes 139% to Rs 358.6 cr YoY

Indian Bank registered a whopping 139 percent year-on-year growth in second quarter profit at Rs 358.6 crore, with showing sequential improvement in asset quality performance. The bottomline growth was driven by higher other income and pre-provision operating profit, and also lower provisions.

Net interest income during the quarter increased 7.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,863 crore while other income (non-interest income) grew by 72.2 percent to Rs 737.65 crore YoY. Pre-provision operating profit in quarter ended September 2019 jumped 26 percent to Rs 1,501.8 crore compared to same period last year.

Havells India Q2 standalone net profit at Rs 181cr

Havells India has reported 1.5 percent year-on-year jump in its Q2 FY20 standalone net profit to Rs 181.4 crore. Revenue rose 1.8 percent to Rs 2,230.3 crore.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 10.8 percent at Rs 234 crore, while EBITDA margin was down 150 bps at 10.5 percent. Tax expense of the company stood at Rs 23.7 crore versus Rs 75.4 crore.

IRB Infra Q2 profit rises 16% to Rs 200 cr, construction biz lifts revenue 22%

IRB Infrastructure Developers has reported a 15.7 percent year-on-year increase second quarter profit at Rs 200.18 crore, led by tax rate cut and strong revenue growth. However, lower margin limited bottomline growth. Profit in same quarter last year stood at Rs 172.95 crore. Tax expenses dropped 28.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 101.02 crore during the quarter.

Revenue in quarter ended September increased 22.3 percent to Rs 1,752 crore compared to same period last year, driven by construction business. Construction segment revenue grew by 43 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,330.15 crore in Q2FY20, with its earnings before interest and tax rising 62 percent YoY to Rs 381.32 crore, company said in its BSE filing.

Praj Industries gains 5% on robust Q2 numbers

Shares of Praj Industries rose 5.4 percent intraday on October 23 after the company had reported robust numbers post Q2FY20 numbers. The company's September quarter net profit was up 81.2 percent at Rs 16.1 crore versus Rs 8.9 crore in the same quarter in 2018.

The revenue was up 17.2 percent at Rs 294.1 crore versus Rs 251 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was up 20.9 percent at Rs 16.7 crore while the margin was at 5.7 percent.

L&T wins over Rs 7,000 crore contract from HPCL

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro on Wednesday said its arm LTHE has won a mega project from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. As per the company's scheme classification, the mega project bagged by L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering Ltd (LTHE) is worth over Rs 7,000 crore. The project has to be completed on engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) basis.

According to a statement by L&T, the project is for setting up a residue upgradation facility for Visakh Refinery Modernisation Project at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd's (HPCL) Vizag Refinery.

Bajaj Auto Q2 profit jumps 22% on tax rate cut, but low volumes hit revenue

Bajaj Auto reported a healthy 21.7 percent year-on-year growth in September quarter profit, largely driven by corporate tax rate cut.

Net profit during the quarter increased to Rs 1,402.4 crore, from Rs 1,152.5 crore in same period last year whereas tax expenses fell sharply to Rs 206.5 crore from Rs 500.2 crore in same period YoY.

Revenue from operations in Q2 declined 4.1 percent year-on-year to Rs 7,707.3 crore with 12 percent YoY drop in volumes.

Bank of Maharashtra's exposure to DHFL is Rs 550 crore: CEO RS Rajeev

Bank of Maharashtra's total exposure to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) is around Rs 12,000 crore, said RS Rajeev, managing director and CEO of the bank.

60 percent of the Rs 12,000 crore is exposed to HFCs while about Rs 400 crore is exposed to microfinance institutions (MFIs), said Rajeev.

Market Update: Sensex is up 136.60 points or 0.35 percent at 39100.44, and the Nifty up 33.10 points or 0.29 percent at 11621.50. About 1103 shares have advanced, 1065 shares declined, and 155 shares are unchanged.

HCL Tech, SBI and Maruti are the top gainers while ONGC, Vedanta and IndusInd Bank are the top losers. Among the sectors, auto, PSU Bank and the IT index gained a percent each while infra stocks dragged.

ICICI Securities hits 52-week high post Q2 earnings

Shares of ICICI Securities touched a 52-week high of Rs 316, adding more than 11 percent intraday on October 23 after the company reported better-than-expected earnings in Q2 FY20.

Net profit stood at Rs 135.1 crore, up 19 percent quarter-on-quarter. Revenue fell 8.8 percent YoY but was up eight percent QoQ to Rs 417 crore. The company has declared an interim dividend of Rs 4.25 per share.

Affle India rallies 14% to hit new high as co files 14 technology patents

Shares of Affle India rallied 14 percent intraday to hit a record high of Rs 1,385 on October 23 after company filed 14 technology patents in Singapore and USA. The technology company has filed 4 new patent applications in Singapore in the areas of conversational marketing & vernacular and voice-based intelligence.

Further, the company has decided to expand the jurisdiction of its 10 patents earlier filed in India by filing in the patent office of the USA as well, Affle said in a BSE filing.

Buzzing stock: Shares of Bajaj Finance gained about 2 percent intraday on October 23 as global brokerage houses retained their bullish stance on the stock after strong Q2 earnings.

The stock, in the last one year, has rallied 93 percent on the back of consistent earnings performance.

Market update:

Benchmark indices were trading in the green with the Sensex up 200 pts and the Nifty closing in on 11,650.

Sensex was up 201.95 points or 0.52% at 39,165.79, while the Nifty was up 55.10 points or 0.48% at 11,643.50. About 1,075 shares had advanced, 885 shares had declined, and 113 shares remained unchanged.

All but two sectors were trading in the green on Nifty, with Nifty PSU Bank emerging as the top gainer, up 2.24 percent. Media stocks were the biggest loser on Nifty, down 1.21 percent.

HCL Tech, SBI and Hero Motocorp were among the top gainers, while HUL, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel emerged as the biggest losers.

What should investors do with Axis Bank post Q2 results:

Axis Bank might have reported a net loss for the September quarter but strong operating performance and improvement in asset quality fuelled confidence among brokerage firms.

Most of the global brokerage firms which came out with recommendations maintained their rating on Axis Bank.

HCL Tech Q2 profit may grow in double-digits, IBM deal may lift CC revenue growth

HCL Technologies, the country's third largest IT company, is expected to report double-digit sequential growth in the September quarter profit, driven by corporate tax rate cut as well as better revenue growth from the IBM deal and strong operational income.

According to brokerages, profit growth in Q2 is likely to be in the range of 12-20 percent compared to June quarter and rupee revenue may increase around seven percent QoQ. They expect around six percent constant currency revenue growth with inorganic growth of over five percent after the buying of select IBM products.

Key things to watch out for would be update on further plans for the products and platform business, digital revenue growth, commentary about growth in IMS and engineering and R&D services businesses, outlook on margin and revenue growth for H2 FY20, and growth in the BFSI vertical.

HCL Tech climbs 3% ahead of Q2 results

Shares of HCL Technologies jumped 3 percent on October 23 ahead of the company's September quarter earnings wherein the company is expected to report double-digit growth sequentially.

The country's third-largest IT company, is expected to report double-digit growth sequentially in September quarter profit, driven by corporate tax rate cut, as well as, better revenue growth from IBM deal and good operational income.

RBL Bank tanks 20%, hits record low

RBL Bank fell nearly 20 percent intraday on October 23 as global brokerage houses remained bearish on the stock after steep fall in profit and weak asset quality during July-September quarter.

The private sector lender’s July-September quarter profit fell sharply by 73.4 percent year-on-year due to a sharp spike in provisions, and asset quality also deteriorated sequentially.

Infosys shares rebound after falling 4%

Shares of Infosys rebounded more than a percent after falling over four percent in early trade on October 23. The stock saw a massive loss of 16.21 percent on October 22 after a whistle-blowers' complaint spooked investors, shaving Rs 53,451 crore from its market valuation.

Sources told Moneycontrol that market regulator SEBI might look to intervene in the matter. The market regulator may also probe any possibility of insider trading in the stock given the huge build-up in short positions, reports CNBC-TV18 . The audit committee may question former CFO and Deputy CFO with respect to the whistle-blowers' complaints, it added.

JMC Projects surges 20% after winning orders worth Rs 1,059 cr

Shares of JMC Projects surged 20 percent intraday on October 23 after the company had won orders worth Rs 1,059 crore. The company has secured new orders which include orders worth Rs 782 crore of residential and commercial building projects in South and North India.

Coromandel International gains 3% on better Q2 show

Shares of Coromandel International added over 3 percent in the early trade on October 23 after the company had posted better numbers in the quarter ended in September.

The company's Q2FY20 consolidated net profit was up 37.8 percent at Rs 504 crore against Rs 365.6 crore in the same quarter in 2018.

Market update: Equity benchmark Sensex is trading flat, while among the secondary barometers, BSE Midcap was down 0.22 percent around 09:25 hours IST, but the BSE Smallcap index was up 0.15 percent at that time.

Rupee, bond yield slip: The Indian rupee opened 7 paise lower at 71 per dollar against Tuesday's close of 70.93 per dollar. Government 10-year benchmark bond yield opened at 6.53 percent against the previous close of 6.54 percent.

Gold update: Gold prices were steady on Wednesday, as investors waited for clarity on Brexit confusion after UK lawmakers voted for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's divorce plan but opposed his tight timetable to complete the legislative process in three days, reported Reuters.

Earnings today: L&T, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC Life, Biocon, Aarti Drugs, Havells, Hexaware, JSW Steel, Praj Industries, Texmaco Rail, Shoppers Stop, Zee Media, Texmaco Infra, HCL Technologies, JM Financial, KPIT Technologies and NIIT Technologies are among the companies that will release their September quarter numbers today.

Oil update: Oil slipped on Wednesday after US industry data showed a bigger-than-expected build in crude stockpiles, but possible deeper production cuts coming from OPEC and its allies prevented a further slide in prices.

Global markets update: Asian shares and US stock futures dipped on Wednesday after British lawmakers rejected the government’s timetable to fast-track legislation for its deal to take Britain out of the European Union. US stocks ended lower on Tuesday.

SGX Nifty update: Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat to positive opening for the broader index in India. Around 08:20 hours IST, Nifty futures was flat at 11,618 on Singapore exchange.