PremiumEconomists predict that RBI will raise its benchmark rate for the seventh consecutive meeting and leave the door open for more increases to bring inflation back within its target range. Retail inflation rose 6.44% in February, easing from 6.52% in January but has remained above the central bank's mandated target range of 2%-6%.
Vaishali Parekh, Vice President - Technical Research, Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd: NIFTY: Nifty opened on a positive note above 17400 zone and gradually picked up momentum as the day progressed to move past the confluence of moving averages of 200DMA and 50EMA near 17500 levels and ended on a strong note near 17550 levels ahead of the RBI Policy outcome. The index needs to sustain above the 17500 zone which would establish conviction and strength for further upward move ahead in the coming days for next target of 16750-16800 zone. The support for the day is seen at 17400 levels while the resistance is seen at 17700 levels.
India may look at importing dairy products like butter and ghee if needed as there is a supply constraint for such items due to stagnant milk production in the last fiscal year, a top government official said on Wednesday.
After assessing the stock position of milk in Southern states where the flushing season has started, the government will intervene to import dairy products, he said, adding that the country's milk production was static in 2022-23 due to lumpy skin disease in cattle. (Read More)
Leading retailer Reliance Retail has roped in RS Sodhi, the former MD of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) that markets its products under the Amul brand.
Sodhi, a dairy industry veteran, will work with Reliance Retail's fruit and vegetable category of its Grocery division, said an industry source.
His presence would help Reliance Retail to bolster its Grocery division, which runs Smart Bazar and Smart Point stores, he added.
An email sent to Reliance Retail over the development did not elicit any response by the time of filing the story.
Earlier, in January this year, Sodhi resigned as Managing Director of GCMMF after serving for almost four decades. (PTI)
The RBI will announce its bi-monthly monetary policy review on Thursday. Experts expect that RBI’s monetary policy committee will go for another 25 bps rate hike this time. However, this time, many are hoping that April 2023 policy will be the last rate hike of the latest cycle (Read More)
The initial public offering (IPO) of Avalon Technologies Limited opened for subscription on 3rd April 2023 and it will remain open for bidding till 6th April 2023. This means today is the last date to apply for the public issue worth ₹865 crore. Meanwhile, after the trend reversal on Dalal Street, the grey market is also dropping positive signals in regard to Avalon Technologies IPO. According to market observers, shares of Avalon Technologies Limited are available at a premium of ₹30 in the grey market today. However, Avalon Technologies IPO subscription status after two days of bidding is not promising. After day 2 of bidding, the public issue has been subscribed 0.10 times whereas its retail portion has been subscribed 0.48 times.
According to market observers, Avalon Technologies IPO grey market premium (GMP) today is ₹30, which is ₹5 higher than its yesterday's close. (Read More)
Apple Inc. will open its first flagship retail store in India in Mumbai, marking a significant milestone for the US giant as part of its efforts to ramp up both sales and manufacturing activities in the country.
The highly anticipated Apple store will come up at the Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio World Drive Mall in Mumbai’s upscale Bandra Kurla Complex commercial hub. The company already sells directly to customers through its online platform and third-party resellers. (Read More)
Unseasonal rains in March have lifted reservoir levels, easing temperatures and boosting hydropower supply, offering some respite from the impending summer heat, even as the wet weather destroyed winter crops in their wake.
Hydropower usually comes into play in June as rains begin; however, as of 31 March, live storage at 146 reservoirs monitored by the Central Water Commission (CWC) was 76.058 billion cubic meters (BCM), which is 94% of the storage a year ago, and 118% of the average of last 10 years. Of these 146 reservoirs, 18 are hydropower projects with a total live storage capacity of 34.960 BCM. (Read More)
STOCK IN FOCUS
JK Tyres (CMP 163): In view of the strong products basket, regular price hikes, likely revival in replacement demand, healthy export potential and margin expansion in India as well as Mexico operations, we reiterate BUY rating on JKT with a 1-Year Target Price of Rs190, valuing the stock at 8.5x FY25E EPS.
Intraday Picks
TATAMOTORS (PREVIOUS CLOSE: RS427) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs422-426 for the target of Rs440 with a strict stop loss of Rs419.
UPL (PREVIOUS CLOSE: RS732) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs725-730 for the target of Rs748 with a strict stop loss of Rs718.
ONGC (PREVIOUS CLOSE: RS153) SELL
For today’s trade, short position can be initiated in the range of Rs155-157 for the target of Rs150 with a strict stop loss of Rs159.
Paytm recorded a 40% YoY growth in its Merchant Payment Volumes (GMV) which amounted to ₹3.62 lakh crore ($44 billion) from ₹2.59 lakh crore in Q4FY22, the company said in a filing with the stock exchanges on Wednesday.
As a result of the reported growth in Paytm's March quarter results, the company's stock rose 1.31% to reach a high of ₹647.35 on BSE.
The digital payments company further informed that it disbursed loans amounting to ₹12,554 crore in the quarter ending March, registering a growth of 253 per cent year-on-year (YoY). Paytm disbursed loans worth ₹3,553 crore in the last quarter of the financial year 2021-2022. (Read More)
Beauty and fashion firm FSN E-Commerce Ventures, which operates under the Nykaa brand, is expecting over 30 per cent growth in revenue in the just-ended fiscal 2023, the company said on Wednesday.
However, it has estimated subdued growth in the fashion business, due to consumers tightening their wallets on discretionary spending.
"The Operating parameters for the BPC business viz. average order values and conversion rates have been robust, which has aided growth in revenue. For FY23, we expect our percentage revenue growth rates to be in line with the ones seen in 9M (nine months) FY23, early-thirties," Nykaa said in its revenue update for the fourth quarter of the last fiscal.
The company had registered 37 per cent growth in the consolidated revenue of nine months ended December 31, 2022.
"Consumer pullback in discretionary spending has had some impact on our fashion business, leading to subdued growth in NSV this quarter. For Q4 FY23, we expect our percentage revenue growth rates in the Fashion business to come through in the late teens," the filing said. (PTI)
Two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd on Wednesday announced a voluntary retirement scheme for its staff with an aim to improve efficiency and become a lean and more productive organisation.
The scheme has been designed in line with the vision to make the organisation agile and 'future-ready', consolidating roles and reducing layers to increase empowerment and agility, Hero MotoCorp said in a statement.
"We expect this to improve efficiency within the company through a lean and more productive organisation," it added.
The company said the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) is applicable to all staff members and it "offers a generous package that includes - among other benefits - a one-time lump-sum amount, variable pay, gifts, medical coverage, retention of company car, relocation assistance and career support", among others. (PTI)
The Adani group aims to boost group-level operating earnings by nearly 50% to around ₹91,000 crore over the next two fiscal years, helping lower its leverage ratios and assuaging the concerns of investors and creditors to whom it owes around $23 billion.
In recent meetings with creditors, Adani officials outlined plans to lower the group’s leverage ratio from 4.2 times now to 3.1 by the end of FY24, chiefly by increasing earnings rather than reducing debt, two people with direct knowledge of Adani’s strategy said on the condition of anonymity.
Adani’s new strategy is noteworthy, coming on the heels of short-seller Hindenburg Research terming the group as over-leveraged and raising allegations about corporate governance in a scathing report on 24 January that set off a steep decline in the share prices of group companies. (Read More)
Healthvista India, which runs home healthcare business Portea Medical, and Cyient DLM, a unit of IT services firm Cyient, are among the four companies that have received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to raise funds through initial public offerings (IPOs).
Rashi Peripherals and fintech firm Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services are the other two companies, according to a Sebi update on Wednesday. The companies filed their draft papers with the regulator between July 2022 and January 2023 and received approval during 29-31 March.
Since January, 44 Indian companies have launched IPOs worth ₹22,245.3 crore. (Read More)
U.S. stocks lost ground on Wednesday and Treasury yields extended their decline as a batch of data fueled worries that restrictive central bank policies could push the global economy into recession.
The S&P 500 closed in negative territory, and megacap momentum stocks dragged the tech-heavy Nasdaq down more than 1%, while defensive stocks helped keep the Dow modestly green.
The 10-year Treasury yield slid further to a near seven-month low.
A spate of economic indicators on Wednesday suggested economic cracks are beginning to show. Private sector job adds fell well short of expectations, demand for home loans is softening despite falling mortgage rates, and the services sector is losing momentum.
Together, the data appears to suggest the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening - designed to rein in inflation by tossing cold water on the U.S. economy - is having its intended effect.
"The Fed did what it wanted. The economy is slowing down. It's working," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia. "There's a lot of thought out there that they might have overdone it." (Reuters)
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