Sensex Today | Share Market Live Updates: Sensex jumps 400 pts; Tata Motors, Apollo Hosp shine

Indian government bond yields drifted in a narrow range in the early session on Friday, as major focus remained on debt supply, while the market broadly ignored a further drop in U.S. yields.

The 10-year benchmark bond yield was at 7.3169% as of 10:25 a.m. IST, after ending at 7.3245% in the previous session.

“It is clear that local issues continue to remain on top priority, rather than global fundamentals, and hence even as oil and U.S. yields have come down sharply from their highs, bonds are unable to break the trading range,” a trader with a primary dealership said. (Reuters)

The Indian rupee depreciated 2 paise to 83.26 against the US dollar in the morning session on Friday, tracking a strong American currency overseas and sustained foreign fund outflows. The local currency opened at 83.23 a dollar as compared to previous close of 83.24.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.01% lower at 106.11. (Read More)

During Friday’s early trading session, JK Lakshmi Cement, affiliated with the JK Organization, experienced a significant 6.77% increase in its stock price, reaching a four-month peak of ₹719.90 per share. This surge was driven by the company’s strong Q2FY24 performance. At 10:00 AM, the stock was trading with a 5.17% gain at ₹709.

The company unveiled its Q2FY24 results after-market hours on Thursday, revealing a notable 55% rise in its consolidated net profit, totaling ₹96 crore. In the corresponding period of the previous year, the company reported a net profit of ₹62 crore, while in the preceding June quarter (Q1FY24), the net profit stood at ₹80 crore. (Read More)

Hero posted healthy set of numbers in Q2, led by pick up in volume performance, supported by sound ASP growth. Margins grew well as the input cost benefits, cost savings, operating leverage and product mix helped the cause. Going forward, we expect decent volume trajectory with the XTech variants launched last year, new launches coming up in the 125 cc segment, scooters Zoom & Destini and premium bike launches under the Hero as well as the HD brand. Expansion of the EV scooter in more cities soon will further add to the steam. Demand levers in the rural markets are positive, despite low monsoons on account of a strong El Nino. Festive season has started on a strong wicket and is expected to continue in similar fashion. Hero’s high stake (37.5%) in Aether Energy to manufacture Electric Scooters and battery swapping platform shall give Hero a good fillip in the EV 2W space. Profitability would improve through better product mix on Hero’s premiumization theme under which the focus of the company is now on the premium bikes and X-Tech variants, price hikes, cost saving programs like LEAP-2 and operating leverage stemming from improving volumes. EV spending may impact margins in the initial period till we see an expansion of scale and volumes. We therefore maintain our BUY rating on the stock with FY 25E target price of ₹3,579 (valued at 14x v/s current multiple of 12x). Improving return ratios, zero debt and dividend yield of 3.3% in FY 23 gives investors an additional comfort.

Paragon Fine and Speciality Chemicals made an impressive debut on the NSE SME today, with its share price starting at ₹225 per share, marking a significant 125% increase from the IPO issue price of ₹100. The IPO’s price band was set between ₹95 to ₹100, allowing investors to bid for a minimum of 1200 shares and in multiples thereof. (Read More)

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s spectacular rise and fall in the cryptocurrency industry — a journey that included his testimony before Congress, a Super Bowl advertisement and dreams of a future run for president — hit rock bottom Thursday when a New York jury convicted him of fraud for stealing at least $10 billion from customer and investors.

After the monthlong trial, jurors rejected Bankman-Fried’s claim during testimony in Manhattan federal court that he never committed fraud or meant to cheat customers before FTX, once the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, collapsed into bankruptcy a year ago. (AP)

A slew of firms have released their Q2 results this week, and today about 187 companies will be releasing their earnings for the September quarter. Zomato. Titan, InterGlobe Aviation, MRF, IDFC Ltd, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, JM Financial, and UCO Bank are among the handful of major companies releasing their earnings for the quarter and half year ended September 2023. (Read More)

Shares of Indian automaker Tata Motors rose as much as 4.6% on Friday after the company raised the full-year margin outlook for luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover and reported its fourth consecutive quarter of profit.

Apple on Thursday gave a sales forecast for the holiday quarter that missed Wall Street expectations, hurt by weak demand for iPads and wearables, sending its shares down about 3% in after-hours trading. Chief Executive Tim Cook insisted that the company’s new iPhone 15 models were doing well in China, seeking to ease Wall Street worries that Apple was losing market share to a resurgent Huawei and other local smartphone sellers. Apple’s revenue from China dipped 2.5% overall in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, though Cook said it grew after accounting for foreign-exchange rates.

Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told analysts on a conference call that sales for the current quarter, which includes the Christmas holidays and when Apple typically has its biggest sales of new iPhone models, will be similar to the previous year. Wall Street had expected a forecast for a rise in sales of 4.97% to $122.98 billion. (Reuters)

Mandar Bhojane, Research Analyst, Choice Broking: The Sensex and Nifty indices are expected to open slightly higher on November 2, as suggested by the GIFT Nifty trends, pointing towards a positive start with an expected gain of 160 points.

Looking at the daily chart, the Nifty50 has formed a DOJI candlestick pattern, reflecting a state of indecision between the bullish and bearish forces. Currently, the index is positioned in the middle of the range, which spans from 19,050 to 19,200, awaiting a decisive breakout in either direction.

The markets kicked off the weekly expiry day on a strong note, starting above 19,000, but these higher levels weren’t sustained for long, and most of the gains were retraced. However, in the latter part of the trading session, PSU Banks, Metal stocks, and certain heavyweight stocks took charge, leading to a recovery that culminated in the index closing at 19,133.25, showing a gain of 144.10 points. Mid and Small-cap stocks outperformed the frontline stocks with gains exceeding 1.30%.

In the case of the Bank Nifty, a doji candlestick formed at the bottom, which could indicate a potential reversal signal. Should the price manage to close above the 43,300 level, it may pave the way for further advances to 43,700 and 44,000. Conversely, the 42,400 and 42,250 levels are crucial support levels to watch for on the downside.

Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services: Market history tells us that sharp up moves in the market happen at unexpected times. It appears that this truism is turning out to be true. The Fed decision to hold rates and refrain from making hawkish indications has emboldened the bulls to make a strong comeback in the mother market US with S&P rising 1.9% yesterday. Good earnings numbers and expectations that the interest rate will remain stable for now and will decline in H2 of CY2024 have facilitated market recovery.

The positive global sentiments can embolden the bulls in India to stage a comeback. Since FIIs are short in the market, short covering is a possibility.

Investors should remember that the buy-on-dips strategy has worked in this market. It is likely to work again. High-quality large-caps in financials, automobiles and capital goods are on a strong wicket. Mid-cap IT is doing well.

Sam Bankman-Fried has been found guilty on all seven counts related to fraud and money laundering. He is the co-founder and former CEO of crypto exchange FTX, , once the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, and trading firm Alameda Research. A New York jury convicted him of fraud in a scheme that cheated customers and investors of at least $10 billion, AP reported.

Jurors rejected Bankman-Fried’s claim that he had never committed fraud or meant to cheat customers before FTX collapsed into bankruptcy a year ago. (Read More)

Vaishali Parekh, Vice President – Technical Research, Prabhudas Lilladher recommends these stocks for day trading:

Buy Sobha Ltd at ₹747.75 with a stoploss of ₹735 and a target price of ₹790.

Buy Metropolis Healthcare Ltd at ₹1,456.80 with a stoploss of ₹1,425 and a target price of ₹1,540.

Buy Hindustan Copper Ltd at ₹145.70 with a stoploss of ₹142 and a target price of ₹156. (Read More)

The Cello World IPO share allotment has been concluded, and investors who participated in the issue can verify their allotment status on the registrar’s portal, Link Intime India Private Ltd. The basis of allotment will determine the number of shares allocated to each investor, and this information will be available in the IPO allotment status. Refunds will be processed for applicants who did not receive any shares, while those allotted shares will receive them in their demat accounts. (Read More)

State-run Coal India on Thursday reported a 12% rise in its output to 394 million tonne (MT) for FY24 so far, surpassing its annual growth target of 11%.

PM Prasad, chairman and managing director, Coal India, expressed confidence in reaching the production target of 780 MT for the current fiscal. He highlighted the company’s progress from its inception in 1975 with 79 MT to achieving 703 MT in FY23.

In October, the mining giant’s production rose 15% on year to 61 million tonne. (Read More)

On Thursday, November 2, Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) disclosed its fiscal 2023-24 (Q2FY24) results, revealing a 9% decline in net profit to ₹1,549.87 crore, down from ₹1,714.28 crore in the corresponding period last year. During the second quarter of the current fiscal year, the company’s revenue from operations surged by 16%, reaching ₹6,766.32 crore, compared to ₹5,809.8 crore in the year-ago period. (Read More)

Berger Paints India’s second-quarter earnings were below expectations due to a weak monsoon and delayed festivities, despite a nearly 33% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit, amounting to ₹292 crore ($35.1 million) for the quarter ending September 30. This result fell short of analysts’ estimate of ₹308 crore as per LSEG data. Furthermore, Berger’s revenue experienced a 3.6% growth, marking its slowest growth in 12 quarters, and also missed analysts’ estimates. (Read More)

Adani Green Energy, the renewables firm of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, is in talks with a group of foreign lenders to borrow as much as $1.8 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The loan proceeds will be used to build new capacity in solar and wind projects, said the people, who asked not to be named as the matter is private.

The banks involved include Barclays Plc, BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG, First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, Rabobank and Standard Chartered Plc, they said. A representative of Adani Group declined to comment. (Read More)

• Tata Motors: Collaborating with Jaguar Land Rover to develop premium EVs. Q2 net profit of ₹3,783 crore, revenue at ₹1,05,128 crore.
• TCS: Facing a $450 million annual loss due to Postbank branch closures after its 2020 acquisition.
• Adani Green Energy: Seeking a $1.8 billion loan from foreign lenders for solar and wind projects.
• HPCL/Tata Power: Instructed to cut production by 50% in Mumbai to combat rising pollution.
• InterGlobe Aviation: IndiGo’s Chief Commercial Officer for cargo resigns citing personal reasons.
• Berger Paints: Q2 earnings below estimates due to weak monsoon and delayed festivities.
• IRFC: 9% drop in net profit at ₹1,549.87 crore, 16% revenue growth at ₹6,766.32 crore.
• Coal India: Output increases 12% to 394 million tonnes, targeting 780 million tonnes for the fiscal year.
• JK Lakshmi Cement: Q2 consolidated profit after tax up 55.15% to ₹95.87 crore, revenue at ₹1,574.53 crore.
• Suzlon Energy: Q2 net profit jumps 45% to ₹102 crore, with revenue at ₹1,417 crore despite a ₹35 crore loss. (Read More)

Tata Motors Ltd’s passenger electric vehicle subsidiary on Thursday said it will enter a strategic partnership with Jaguar Land Rover, the wholly-owned British luxury vehicle arm of the group, to leverage its electrified modular architecture (EMA) platform and develop its premium pure EV series, Avinya.

For the first time since the Tatas acquired JLR, the Indian passenger vehicle firm will be sharing the new platform and utilizing the strengths of JLR to fast-track the development of new vehicle types. (Read More)

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd boss K. Krithivasan is battling a new problem that is not the company’s making: Making up for a nearly $450 million loss in annual business.

Earlier this week, Deutsche Bank announced that it will shut almost half of the 550 branches of Postbank over the next two years as Germany’s biggest bank sees more customers prefer online banking than walking into a branch.

It was only in November 2020 that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) bought Postbank Systems AG, the IT firm of Postbank, as the Mumbai-based technology services firm looked at doing more business with its German client. (Read More)

Wall Street roared higher again on Thursday with hopes the Federal Reserve may finally be done with its market-rattling hikes to interest rates.

The S&P 500 leaped 1.9% for its fourth straight winning day. It’s already up 4.9% this week and on pace for its best week in nearly a year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 564 points, or 1.7%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.8%.

Stocks around the world rallied after the Federal Reserve opted against raising its main interest rate late Wednesday. It’s already jacked up rates furiously since early last year in hopes of slowing the economy and hurting financial markets enough to starve high inflation of its fuel.

More importantly for financial markets, investors also took comments by the Fed’s chair to mean that recent jumps in longer-term Treasury yields were acting like rate-hike substitutes and could obviate the need for more increases by the Fed. (AP)