Bulls march on

Nifty50: 18,145 ▲ 133 (+0.7%)
Sensex: 61,121 ▲ 374 (+0.6%)

Hello, folks!

Cricket crazy fans find ingenious ways of keeping up with the cricket score when they’re on the move. But one man managed to get a score update even when he was mid-air in a flight. He requested the pilot, who responded by sending the score written on a tissue. Now, that’s taking your cricket craze to new heights!

• Tracking positive global cues, benchmark indices closed higher for the fourth consecutive session.
• In all, 38 of the Nifty50 stocks closed in the green.
• Investors await the outcome of the US Fed’s meeting scheduled on Wednesday.

Among the Nifty sectoral indices, Metal (+2.3%) and Pharma (+2.1%) saw the most gains, while PSU Bank (-0.6%) and Media (-0.2%) were the top losers.

What’s trending

⭐ Car sales see strong growth

MARUTI (NSE): 9,435 ▼ 92 (-0.9%), TATAMOTORS (NSE): 421 ▲ 8.2 (+2.0%)

Indian car makers reported robust sales numbers in October. Maruti Suzuki’s domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales rose by 28% year-on-year (YoY) to 1.4 lakh units. Meanwhile, Tata Motors’ PV sales stood at 45,217, up 33% YoY. Similarly, SUV maker Mahindra & Mahindra reported a 60% jump in PV sales to 32,298 units.

⭐ L&T’s profit surges

LT (NSE): 2,021 ▼ 2 (-0.1%)

Engineering firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) reported a 22.5% YoY jump in its net profit at ₹2,229 crore. It was driven by healthy growth in sales and orders. Meanwhile, revenue was up by 23% YoY at ₹42,763 crore. L&T won orders worth ₹51,914 crore at the group level, a rise of 23% YoY. International orders stood at ₹17,341 crore, comprising 33% of the total order inflow.

⭐ Sun Pharma reports solid numbers

SUNPHARMA (NSE): 1,033 ▲ 16 (+1.5%)

Shares of Sun Pharma were upbeat after the company reported an 11% YoY jump in its consolidated net profit at ₹2,260 crore, on the back of higher sales in the domestic market. Meanwhile, its revenue rose by 14% YoY at ₹10,952 crore. The company’s gross sales stood at ₹10,809 crore, up 13% YoY. Its India formulation sales surged by 8.5% YoY, while US formulation sales rose by 14% YoY.

⭐ UPL’s profit jumps

UPL (NSE): 718 ▼ 11 (-1.6%)

Crop-protection products maker UPL reported a 28% YoY jump in its consolidated net profit at ₹814 crore. Meanwhile, its revenue from operations rose by 18% YoY to ₹12,506 crore. The management said the robust growth momentum continued in the second quarter. Its focus on quality growth with a better product mix and pricing actions drove strong profit growth.

In Focus

Cement stocks on a roll

Shares of leading cement companies like UltraTech Cement, Ambuja Cements and Shree Cement have risen in the range of 4-5% this week. Stock gains have come despite a drop in revenue and profitability during the September quarter. But what’s driving investors towards cement stocks? Keep reading to find out. 

The cement sector has witnessed a strong traction on expectations of a robust pick-up in demand after the monsoon season. The period from September to March is the peak construction period in India, during which demand for cement rises. 

As per market experts, with the general election scheduled in 2024, government spending on infrastructure projects and housing will accelerate further. The government is keen on developing affordable housing in urban and rural areas. It is also focusing on rail and road projects for better connectivity.    

The housing and infrastructure sector consumes nearly 90% of the total cement produced in India. Hence, this pre-election spending will ultimately boost demand for cement. To keep up with demand, companies like UltraTech Cement and Ambuja Cements are expanding capacity.

Lastly, cement companies faced high input costs during the September quarter, which adversely impacted their profitability. However, experts believe the recent drop in prices of key raw materials like petcoke (which is down nearly 35% from its peak) in the international market, will bring benefits from Q3 of FY23. 

IPO Corner

The IPO of DCX Systems was subscribed around 8.5 times on Day 2. Retail investors flocked to the public issue, with the retail portion being subscribed by over 26.5 times.

Click here to apply to the IPO on Upstox.

Good to know

What is a FDI?

A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment made by an individual or a firm in a company located in another country. Investors can make an FDI in many ways. It could be by establishing a subsidiary in another company, acquiring or merging with another company, or buying a stake in a company. This should not be confused with foreign portfolio investment (FPI), which refers to the purchase of securities like shares or bonds in another country.

Click here to join us on Telegram for trading and investment-related videos, daily market updates, details on upcoming IPOs and more.