▼ Nifty: 11,642 (-0.24%) ▼ Sensex: 39,614 (-0.34%)
The markets witnessed a see-saw between gains and losses today. The Nifty50 was primarily supported today by heavyweight Reliance Industries, which rose 1.8% ahead of its Q2 earnings announcement. Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty Auto index (-1.1%) was the top loser and the Nifty Realty index (2.1%) was the top gainer. Coming to individual stocks, public sector enterprises BPCL (+3.5%), Coal India (+3.4%) and NTPC (+2.1%) hogged the limelight. The Nifty50 fell by 2.4% this week.
Here are the top stories of the day.
TVS Motors zooms ahead on margin expansion
The two-wheeler major reported a 6% year-on-year rise in standalone revenues from operations to ₹4,605 crore. What surprised the street was the margin expansion to 9.3% (versus 8.8% last year), which was contrary to a general expectation of a margin decline. The margins improved thanks to cost savings on employee expenses and lower other expenses, which include advertising and marketing expenses. The profit before tax and exceptional items stood at ₹267.4 crore, up 14% as compared to the same period last year. The stock surged +7.7% today, after having fallen nearly 10% this month until yesterday.
Realty sector builds up gains
As per reports, Tier 1 cities have registered a 60% rise in real estate sales in Q2 versus Q1. The recovery is the cumulative effect of multiple factors including discounts & offers given by developers, pent-up demand as lockdown restrictions ease, lower interest rates, and government support in the form of stamp-duty cuts in Maharashtra. These green shoots of recovery are providing much-needed respite to the sector, which has been struggling recently. Stocks such as Sobha (+5.4%), Godrej Properties (+4.1%) and DLF (+3.7%) saw gains today, in an otherwise subdued market.
Blue Dart takes off after strong Q2 results
Express logistics provider Blue Dart reported a modest standalone revenue growth of 8% on a year-on-year basis. However, its net profit nearly tripled to ₹41.3 crore (versus ₹13.9 crore last year) owing to stringent cost-control measures. On a sequential basis, the company bounced back to profits as it reported a net loss of ₹127.9 crore in Q1. The company is seeing its customers’ businesses coming back on track. Further, the management mentioned that the company is gearing up to provide logistics support to pharmaceutical companies and the government as and when a Covid vaccine is available. This logistics opportunity is enough to spark investor interest. The stock gained +13.3% today and has risen ~80% since the start of Q2.
Closing bell
The US stock markets bounced up a little yesterday as the quarterly GDP growth hit a record of 33.1%. The four big tech companies (Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google) reported solid earnings for the September quarter. However, rising Covid cases and delays in fresh stimulus in the US are clearly acting as headwinds. Back home, the opening of the markets on Monday is likely to take cues from Reliance Industries’ Q2 results.