▲ Nifty: 11,896 (+0.20%) ▲ Sensex: 40,544 (+0.28%)
Today, the markets ended with minor gains, buoyed primarily by HDFC Bank (1.7%), HCL Tech (4.2%), Infosys (0.8%) and TCS (1%). The Nifty50’s advance-decline ratio was nearly even, indicating strength in both bulls and bears. Among the other sectoral indices, Nifty Realty (3.9%) and Nifty Media (1.9%) gained, while the Nifty PSU Bank (-1.4%) and Nifty FMCG (-0.3%) fell.
Here are the top stories of the day.
ACC's Q2 numbers revive optimism in cement sector
ACC’s revenues in the July-September quarter are back to previous year’s levels, indicating a strong recovery from a muted June quarter strangled by Covid-19 restrictions. Its margins expanded to 19.4% (vs. 16.1% in the same period last year) thanks to cost-reduction measures. Net profit rose 20.1% on a year-on-year basis, beating market estimates. ACC’s share price jumped 3.5% intraday and closed with a gain of 0.9%. The management believes that India’s economic recovery is underway. It expects a strong revival in cement demand due to the government's thrust on infrastructure development, measures aimed at reviving the rural economy and focus on affordable housing. The optimism was reflected in the shares of cement makers such as Prism Johnson (+3.4%), JK Cement (+4.6%) and Ambuja Cement (+1.6%).
L&T rides high on bullet train contract hopes
As per reports, L&T could win its largest-ever order after it has emerged the lowest bidder to construct a significant part of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project. It will be the first high-speed train project of India, and is being built at a cost of ₹1.08 trillion with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The segment L&T has bid for is a 237km stretch between the Maharashtra-Gujarat border and Vadodara, estimated to be worth nearly ₹25,000 crore. Following the news, shares of L&T rose as high as 3.6% intraday and closed 1.6% higher than the previous close. The rise in price was supported by above-average volumes, indicating high investor interest.
FMCG majors see mixed sentiments post Q2 results
India’s major FMCG companies—Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Britannia—witnessed mixed reactions after declaring Q2 results. HUL (-0.1%) had a volatile session but ended flat. The company’s health, hygiene and nutrition segment, which comprises 80% of its portfolio, recorded double-digit growth. The company believes that the worst is over (after the pandemic) and that business is gathering momentum. While rural growth remains strong, urban demand is uncertain. Further, amid high inflation rates, the company expects margin to remain under pressure due to higher cost of raw materials. On the other hand, Britannia reported 11% growth in revenues and 23% rise in net profit. However, the stock declined 5.8%, as revenue growth was slower than market expectations of ~15%.
Closing bell
Although rising, the markets seem to be on tenterhooks, due to weakness in the global markets. The gains made in the last three days are within the trading range of 15 October—when the Nifty50 dropped by 2.6%—and thus don’t convey much in terms of direction. A decisive move on either side will provide direction to the markets, and the movement could be sharp.