The tug-of-war continues

Nifty50: 18,297 ▼ 18 (-0.10%)
Sensex: 61,904 ▼ 35 (-0.06%)

Namaste, friends!

Today is National Technology Day! It's a day when we look back at the achievements of India's scientists and honour their accomplishments. To mark this occasion, the government has announced tech projects worth ₹5,800 crore, which include a new observatory to study gravitational waves and a new cancer research centre. 

Progress in this sphere bodes well for us since science and technology form the cornerstone of development. After all, without technology, you wouldn't be reading this update on your device, right? Speaking of, technology companies put up a lacklustre show today. As for the rest of the market? Well, the tug-of-war continued. Let's have a look.

• Markets remained range-bound and closed marginally lower
• In all, 29 of the Nifty50 stocks closed in the green
• US consumer inflation eased slightly to 4.9%

Among the Nifty sectoral indices, Realty (+0.4%) and FMCG (+0.4%) were the top gainers, while Pharma (-1.2%) and Metal (-0.4%) were the top losers.

What’s trending

⭐ Godrej Consumer’s profit rises

The FMCG major and retailer of popular brands such as Cinthol and Good Knight rose by 2.0% today after reporting strong Q4 results. The company posted a consolidated profit of ₹452 crore for Q4FY23, up 24.5% YoY compared to ₹363 crore in the same period last year. Its sales stood at ₹3,172 crore, up 10% compared to Q4FY22.

⭐ SoftBank offloads part of Paytm stake

Investment banking firm SoftBank has sold 13,103,148 equity shares or 2.07% stake in One 97 Communications (-4.4%) the parent company of Paytm. This brings down SoftBank's total stake in Paytm to 11.17% from 13.23%. The filing did not disclose the market value of the sale.

⭐ Hindalco rocked by Novelis' poor Q4 

Shares of aluminium maker Hindalco slumped 3.4% today after its wholly-owned US subsidiary Novelis reported a 27% YoY decline in net income to $156 million (₹1,280 crore) in the March quarter. The company also reported a drop in net sales of 9% to $4.4 billion (₹36,116 crore) and a 5% YoY drop in shipments to 936 kilotonnes. The lower shipments were attributed to lower beverage can shipments.

⭐ Asian Paints Q4 profit zooms

Asian Paints (+3.3%) was among the top gainers today after the company reported robust Q4 results. Its consolidated net profit for the quarter grew by 45% to ₹1,234 crore from ₹850 crore. Consolidated net sales increased by 10.9% to ₹8,750 crore from ₹7,889 crore. The company's board has recommended a final dividend of ₹21.25 per share.

In Focus

Why truck makers could hit top gear

April was a bit of a rough ride for the Indian Commercial Vehicle (CV) segment, with the industry experiencing a slight dip in sales volumes. However, ICRA's got a positive outlook for FY24, predicting a 7-10% growth.

What's driving this optimism? Let's break it down.

Bounce-back from the dip

In April, sales contracted by 5% YoY and 41% sequentially, resulting from expected price increases with the BS6 2.0 transition, which had led to pre-buying in March. However, this dip is seen as a temporary setback. Industry experts are confident of a solid rebound in sales, turning what looks like a bump in the road into a launchpad for growth.

Scrappage policy

From April 1, 2023, India started implementing a scrappage policy in phases. This means government vehicles older than 15 years have to be scrapped—that's almost 9 lakh vehicles. This policy is like a green flag for new vehicle sales—a perfect opportunity for CV makers to capitalise on.

Loads of scrappage

There are approximately 11 lakh trucks older than 15 years, that are bound to be scrapped. That's a lot of potential for new sales as these old-timers bow out. This could mean a massive surge in demand for new trucks, which is music to the ears of CV manufacturers!

Infrastructure and housing sector demand

Big government projects and a booming housing sector mean one thing: more CVs are needed. With all the construction and development happening, the demand for commercial vehicles is set to stay strong.

Powerful buying made simple!

Markets often see sharp price movements triggered by positive news or technical patterns. In such situations, you may want to double down on certain high-conviction trades. However, having limited capital could be an obstacle in leveraging such opportunities. With Margin Trading Facility (MTF) on Upstox, you can increase your trading capacity instantly. Click here to know more about MTF.

Benefits of MTF:

🔹 Get 2X leverage on equity delivery orders

🔹 Borrow up to ₹25,00,000 at a time

🔹 Hold stocks bought via MTF for up to 365 days.

Phrase of the day

Going Long

When you buy a stock, futures or an option contract with the hope that its price will rise, it is called going ‘long’.  When should you go long, find out from this chapter What does going Long mean? 

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