Share Market Highlights 18 October 2023: Sensex sheds 551 pts; Nifty below 19,700; Bajaj Finance leads losses

The rupee settled 2 paise lower at 83.27 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking negative cues from domestic equity markets amid surging crude oil prices overseas.

However, fresh foreign capital inflows and a weak greenback against major rivals overseas favoured the rupee and restricted the loss, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.24 against the dollar and traded in a narrow range of 83.23 to 83.27. It finally settled at 83.27 (provisional) against the greenback, registering a loss of 2 paise over its previous close. Read more.

Equity benchmark indices ​Sensex​ and ​Nifty​ fell nearly 1 per cent on Wednesday due to a sharp jump in global crude oil prices and sluggish global market trends.

Selling pressure in banking, financial services and energy stocks also pulled the benchmarks lower, traders said.

After a day’s breather, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 551.07 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 65,877.02. During the day, it fell 585.99 points or 0.88 per cent to 65,842.10.

The Nifty declined 140.40 points or 0.71 per cent to 19,671.10. ​Read more​.

Persistent Systems reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹298.39 crore as against ₹175.10 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock traded at ₹5,680 on the NSE, down by 0.55%.

Kineco Kaman Composites India Private Limited, step-down subsidiary of Indo-National, has been awarded a ₹100 crore ($12.39 million) contract from BAE Systems to manufacture and export fully assembled Mission Crew Workstations (Consoles) for the Boeing P-8 Poseidon Aircraft.

Infosys is expanding its alliance with Google Cloud to help enterprises build AI-powered experiences leveraging Infosys Topaz offerings and Google Cloud’s generative AI solutions. The stock traded at ₹1,441.25, down by 0.08% on the NSE.

Servotech Power Systems Ltd (SPSL) has recently signed two MOUs with IIT Roorkee to develop state-of-the-art rectifier units for CCS2 chargers and Onboard EV chargers for 2, 3 and 4 Wheelers. The stock declined by 4.98% on the NSE, at ₹79.20.

SJVN has issued a letter of award to EKI Energy Services Limited for registration, issuance and purchase/trading of IRECs for 1,500 MW NJHPS.

SJVN stock traded at ₹74.75, down by 0.20% on the NSE, while EKI Energy stock rose by 5% on the BSE, trading at ₹465.55.

The National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM-K), in collaboration with the Ind Food and Beverage Association (IFBA), commemorated World Food Day 2023, at the NIFTEM-K Campus.

The event, themed “Food for a Better Tomorrow - Building Synergies,” emphasised the significance of food security, sustainable practices, and India’s pivotal role in the global food landscape. The event featured several esteemed dignitaries in attendance. Among the participants were senior government officials and representatives from prominent industry organizations, including IFBA (Ind Food and Beverage Association), IBA (Indian Beverage Association), PBFIA (Plant-Based Foods Industries Association), and IHA (India Honey Alliance), leading NGOs, Private Equity Funds and Advisory companies.

Shoppers Stop Limited has informed the exchange regarding allotment of 5368 shares pursuant to ESOP scheme. The stock rises by 1.49% on the NSE, trading at ₹692.80.

Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd (Sona Comstar) has been awarded the Golden Peacock Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance 2023 (GPAECG). The stock trades at ₹559.95, up by 0.09% on the NSE.

Stel Holdings reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹2.98 crore as against ₹2.34 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock declines by 3.04% on the NSE, trading at ₹201.25.

Graphite India stock declines by 1.61% on the NSE, trading at ₹486.60. The company had informed the exchanges that an information security incident occurred at the Company’s German operations and the impacted IT assets have been isolated.

Nayas Laboratories Pvt Ltd, subsidiary of Jeevan Scientific Technology Ltd, has entered into Co- Development Agreement with Aditri Pharma Sciences Pvt Ltd to develop certain pharmaceutical preparations on 50:50 basis. The stock rises by 5.89% on the BSE, trading at ₹62.75.

Major gainers: Cipla (2.97%); Dr Reddy (2.36%); Tata Motors (2.30%); Sun Pharma (1.60%); HDFC Life (0.65%)

Major losers: Bajaj Finance (-2.47%); Axis Bank (-1.72%); Bajaj Finserv (-1.62%); Tata Consumers (-1.53%); HDFC Bank (-1.44%)

Stocks advanced on BSE at 3 pm on October 18, 2023, were 1,371 against 2,301 stocks that declined; 151 stocks remain unchanged. Total stocks traded were 3,823. The number of stocks that recorded a 52-week high was 286, and those that hit a 52-week low was 26.

Sanjivani Paranteral reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹170.61 lakh as against ₹76.53 lakh in the same quarter previous year.

LTIMindtree Ltd has informed the exchange regarding allotment of 2,000 securities pursuant to ESOP/ESPS. The stock declines by 1.26% on the NSE, trading at ₹5,148.30.

IRM Energy IPO has been subscribed 0.88 times as of 2:15 pm on the opening day - October 18, 2023. The NII portion has been subscribed 1.34 times, retail 1.22 times, and those reserved for employees 0.24 times. The issue closes on October 20.

Polycab India reported its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹449.75 crore as against ₹260.54 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock declines by 1.09% on the NSE, trading at ₹5,408.35.

Bharti Airtel announced the launch of Airtel CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) – an industry first omni-channel cloud platform that offers a unified experience for all contact center solution required by an enterprise. The stock trades at ₹955.15 on the NSE, up by 0.16%.

It recorded net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹39.64 crore as against ₹20.82 crore in the same quarter previous year.

The stock slides down by 0.81% on the NSE, trading at ₹243.70.

The stock declines by 2.14% on the NSE, trading at ₹248.75.

The latter expressed intention to acquire 22.5% stake in company via a preferential issue priced at ₹1.50 equity share. Godha stock rises by 5.56% on the NSE, trading at ₹0.95.

Cosmo First informed the exchange regarding project for manufacture of Metallized Film for Capacitors. The commercial operation has commenced from October 18, 2023. The stock rises by 2.12% on the NSE, trading at ₹698.80.

NHPC informed that its wholly-owned subsidiary Lanco Teesta Hydro Power Limited’s Teesta-VI HE Project, Sikkim (500 MW) was affected due to flash flood in Teesta Basin on Oct. 4. Expected quantum of loss/ damage caused due to the natural calamity/ other force majeure events ₹233.56 crore approx.

NHPC stock trades at ₹52.80, down by 0.56% on the NSE.

Shriram Housing Finance Ltd (SHFL), a leading affordable housing finance company, today announced the signing of a co-lending agreement with public sector lender Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) for business loans against affordable homes. The two entities will jointly service the self-employed customers as per the co-lending model (CLM) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Le Lavoir Ltd has signed a contract with K Raheja Corp (The Resort) Aksa Beach, Madh-Marve Malad (W) up to April 30, 2024 to provide laundry services for the resort hotel and the contract being renewable on an annual basis from April 2024.

• Godrej Properties (-2.26%)
• Sobha (-1.79%)
• Oberoi Realty (-1.71%)
• Phoenix Mills (-1.45%)
• Brigade (-1.09%)

The windfall tax was imposed on account of the supernormal profits earned by energy companies because of lower crude prices. However the recent rise in crude prices on account of Israel-Hamas conflict, led to Government cutting down on windfall tax. Reduction in windfall tax may help to maintain the margins which were affected on account of rising crude prices.

Marine Electricals (India) has paid GST due on sale of solar equipment as per the rates defined in Goa state where Company facilities are situated. The stock declines by 2.47% on the NSE, trading at ₹73.

Bharti Airtel announced that it has over 3 million 5G customers in Telangana. The company also announced that Airtel 5G Plus service is available across all the districts in the state within just 12 months of the launch.

The stock trades at ₹954.60, up by 0.10% on the NSE.

Divgi Torqtransfer: RS 114.82CR NSE Block Trade; For ~1035505 shares, at RS 1108.85

India permits exports of 10.43 lakh tonnes of rice to 7 countries on G2G basis. Cooperative firm NCEL will handle these shipments. The Philippines, Malaysia, Cote D’Ivoire, Nepal, Cameroon, Guinea and Senegal will benefit from this. A DGFT notification has been issued in this regard this morning.

IRM Energy IPO has been subscribed 0.53 timesas of 12:15 pm on the opening day - October 18, 2023. The NII portion has been subscribed 0.63 times, retail 0.80 times, and those reserved for employees 0.18 times. The issue closes on October 20.

Welspun Investments and Commercials reported its net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹2.85 crore as against ₹2.93 crore in the same quarter previous year.

The stock trades at ₹591, down by 0.03% on the NSE.

PNGS Gargi Fashion Jewellery has opened its new retail brand store at Phoenix Mall of the Millennium, Wakad, Pune. The stock trades at ₹310 on the BSE, down by 0.97%

Birlasoft has appointed Selvakumaran Mannappan as the chief operating officer. The stock trades at ₹553.30 on the NSE, down by 0.22%.

FibreConnect partners with Tejas Networks to successfully deploy an end-to-end optical network in Italy. Tejas Networks stock rises by 2.27% on the NSE, trading at ₹896.25.

Major gainers: Cipla (3.46%); Dr Reddy (1.87%); Sun Pharma (1.59%); Hindalco (0.79%); Tata Motors (0.70%)

Major losers: Bajaj Finance (-2.16%); Bajaj Finserv (-1.72%); LTIMindtree (-1.56%); Axis Bank (-1.42%); ICICI Bank (-1.40%)

Stocks advanced on BSE at 12 noon on October 18, 2023, were 1,344 against 2,183 stocks that declined; 174 stocks remain unchanged. Total stocks traded were 3,701. The number of stocks that recorded a 52-week high was 264, and those that hit a 52-week low was 18.

Windfall tax: The latest cut in windfall tax by the government is more of realigning itself to the crude prices. It is actually reversing a part of the tax that was raised last month when Crude had crossed $97.

Windfall tax has now been a regular feature to generate additional revenues for the Centre as oil producing companies make extraordinary profits when crude moves up —- Kaushik Dani Fund Manager - PMS, Abans Investment Managers

Esaf Small Finance Bank Ltd has received final observation from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO).

The company had re-filed preliminary IPO papers with SEBI in July 2023. The IPO includes a fresh issue up to ₹486.74 crore and an offer for sale of up to ₹142.30 crore by Promoter and other selling shareholders.

The offer for sale comprises of up to ₹119.26 crore by Esaf Financial Holdings Private Limited, up to ₹12.67 crore by PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited, up to ₹10.37 crore by Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited. Read more

3i Infotech Ltd has announced their partnership with Databricks, the Data and AI company. The partnership aims to drive business value by unifying data and artificial intelligence (AI) on a single platform. The stock rises by 1.26% on the BSE, trading at ₹39.41.

Avalon Technologies Ltd has informed the exchange regarding appointment of Shriram Vijayaraghavan as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company w.e.f. October 18, 2023. The stock trades at ₹538.55, up by 0.60% on the NSE.

Cement volumes are expected to rise by 9-10% in FY24 supported by demand from infrastructure and urban housing sectors. In H1 FY24, the volumes increased by 11-12% YoY. Nevertheless, the below normal monsoons could impact the overall crop output in 2023, adversely impacting farm incomes and demand for rural housing in some markets, says Icra.

Also, with the upcoming State Elections, the release of funds towards ongoing infra projects may slow down, posing some downside risks to cement volume off-take in H2 FY2024. The cement prices in FY2024 are expected to sustain at previous-year levels. ICRA’s outlook on the cement sector is Stable, it adds.

• GKW (20%)
• Signet Industries (15.21%)
• Sastasundar Ventures (14.19%)
• Apollo Micro Systems (13.05%)
• Orient Cement (10.13%)

Emami Ltd has completed the acquisition of 26% shareholding of Axiom Ayurveda Private Limited and its associates, Axiom Food & Beverages Private Limited and Axiom Packwell Private Limited. Emami stock trades at ₹499.90, down by 0.16% on the BSE.

Shares of L&T Technology Services declined 4 per cent on Wednesday after the company lowered its revenue growth guidance for the current fiscal.

The stock fell four per cent to ₹4,429.15 on the BSE.

At the NSE, it dropped 3.97 per cent to ₹4,430.

L&T Technology Services on Tuesday posted a five per cent increase in the September-quarter net profit at ₹315.4 crore but lowered its revenue growth guidance for the current fiscal. Read more

Tata Metaliks reported its net profit for the quarter ended September 2023 at ₹44.16 crore as against ₹14.29 crore in the same quarter previous year. The stock trades at ₹952.55, down by 0.57% on the NSE.

IRM Energy IPO has been subscribed 0.33 times as of 11:03 am on the opening day - October 18, 2023. The NII portion has been subscribed 0.39 times, retail 0.52 times, and those reserved for employees 0.12 times. The issue closes on October 20.

Major gainers: Orient Cement (11.65%); IRB (9.95%); Astra Microwave (8.77%); Newgen (7.80%)

Major losers: MMTC (-9.99%); Housing Urban (-9.01%); KIOCL (-8.21%); Syngene (-6.50%); Vakrangee (-6.33%)

Tata Elxsi stock rises by 2.42% on the NSE, trading at ₹7,625.75. For the quarter ending September 2023, company reported ₹881.7 crore of operating revenue, a growth of 15.5% over the same quarter of previous year (YoY).

Syngene International stock falls by 6.52% on the NSE, trading at ₹728.55. The company reported revenue from operations for the quarter was up 18.5% year-on-year to ₹910 crore.

• Sun Pharma(3.34%)
• Dr Reddy (1.66%)
• Pfizer (1.54%)
• Pfizer (1.24%)

Crude oil futures traded higher on Wednesday morning following the fears of escalation in the conflict in the West Asia and the reports of a decline in the crude oil inventories in the US.

At 9.53 am on Wednesday, December Brent oil futures were at $91.84, up by 2.16 per cent, and December crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $87.44, up by 2.34 per cent. Read more

The company has been positioned as a Niche Player in the 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Low-Code Application Platforms for its ability to execute and completeness of vision.

Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Wednesday amid sluggish global market trends and spike in Brent crude oil prices.

After a day’s breather, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 161.41 points to 66,266.68. The Nifty skidded 36.7 points to 19,774.80.

Among the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, NTPC and Larsen & Toubro were the major laggards.

Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Tata Steel and Sun Pharma were among the gainers. Read more

BLS E-Services Ltd (BLS E-Services), a subsidiary of BLS International Services Ltd (BLS International), has entered into a Master Business Correspondent Agreement with Kotak Mahindra Bank. The stock is down by 0.88% on the BSE, trading at ₹254.

Aptech Ltd has announced the launch of holistic end-end virtual production academy in Mumbai. The stock trades at ₹288.35 on the NSE, down by 0.05%.

The rupee appreciated by 2 paise to 83.23 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday on the back of a weaker American currency and inflow of foreign funds in the domestic equity markets.

Forex traders said surging crude oil prices and negative trend in equity markets, however, capped the rise in the domestic currency. Read more

HSBC Holdings Plc has nearly doubled the size of a loan arrangement to part of Mukesh Ambani’s business empire, bolstering its bet on Asia’s richest person.

The London-based bank originally provided a £60 million ($73 million) loan facility to a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd. shortly after it acquired the Stoke Park estate in southeast England for £57 million in 2021, according to UK registry filings. Read more

IRCTC has tied up with Zomato Ltd for supply and delivery of pre-ordered meals through IRCTC’s E-catering portal as a Proof of Concept (PoC) in the first phase at five Railway stations i.e. New Delhi, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow & Varanasi.

IRCTC stock trades at ₹715.10 on the NSE, up by 0.07%. Meanwhile, Zomato stock slides down by 0.40% on the NSE, trading at ₹113.40.

Arm Kotak Securities signs agreement with Delente Technologies for sale of entire shareholding (7.50% equity) in Entroq Technologies at Rs 508.06/Sh

Government to sell up to 7% stake in HUDCO via offer for sale. The OFS includes optional 3.5% additional stake sale. Floor price of OFS set at Rs 79 per share, at a discount of 12.17% to the previous close.

The company signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence for construction and delivery of one training ship for Indian Coast Guard at a cost of Rs 310 crore.

The company’s board appointed Shriprakash Shukla, a Non-Executive Director, as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors with immediate effect.

Sprayking Agro Equipment Ltd has created and introduced a new forging product that will be used in a sensor part. The stock is up by 1.52% on the BSE, trading at ₹201.

Easy Trip Planners has announced its continued partnership with the World Tennis League (WTL) for the second consecutive year as the Official Associate partner of the highly anticipated ‘Greatest Show on Court,’ EaseMyTrip is set to exalt the world of tennis and entertainment from December 21 to 24.

The stock is down by 0.07% on the BSE, trading at ₹41.99.

Bajaj Electricals stock rises by 1.32% on the NSE, trading at ₹1,104 after the receipt of contract from Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, aggregating to ₹347.29 crore.

Exide Industries stock inches up by 0.54% on the NSE, trading at ₹270.25 following the investment of over ₹100 crore in the equity share capital of its wholly owned subsidiary, Exide Energy Solutions Limited.

Lemon Tree Hotels stock inches up by 0.29% on the NSE, trading at ₹122.40 after the company signed a Franchise Agreement for upcoming hotel in Vadodara, Gujarat under the Company’s brands – ‘Keys Select by Lemon Tree Hotels’.

The cement maker restarted operations of Carbon Disulphide refining on Tuesday after obtaining approval from Department of Industrial Safety and Health, Kalyan. Company also obtained other permissions and deposited Bank Guarantee of Rs 2 lakh with Kalyan (MPCB)., which shall be forfeited for re-starting the operations.

The company partnered with FIbreConnect to deploy end-to-end optical network in Italy. It is the sole supplier of optical networking and broadband access products for FIbreConnect.

The Competition Commission of India approved the merger of IDFC with IDFC First Bank.

Management is set to meet on Oct. 20 to consider and approve the issue and offer of non-convertible debentures on private placement basis.

The RBI imposed a penalty of Rs 12.19 crore on ICICI Bank and Rs 3.95 crore on Kotak Mahindra Bank for non-compliance of certain regulatory norms.

The company updated on collaboration with Petromin Corp., Saudi Arabia, who will be setting up 1000 Petromin Express Stations (Quick Service Vehicle Care) at HPCL Retail outlets across India in 5 years.

Kotak Mahindra Bank received an order dated October 17, 2023, passed by the Adjudication Committee of Executive Directors of the Reserve Bank of India imposing a monetary penalty of ₹3.95 crore on the Bank for non-compliance with RBI Directions.

Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd has established its latest business unit, Generative AI Business Services (GBS). The new unit will offer full-scale Generative AI offerings across multiple domains. Sridhar Mantha, currently serving as the company’s EVP & CTO, has been appointed as the President & CEO of GBS with immediate effect, and will be reporting to Executive Board Member, Rajiv Shah.

The company has declared Interim Dividend of ₹2.50 per equity share.

Major gainers: Cipla (1.84%); Hindalco (1.49%); JSW Steel (0.99%); Tata Motors (0.88%); Dr Reddy (0.83%)

Major losers: Bajaj Finance (-0.85%); Apollo Hospital (-0.83%); Tata Consumers (-0.77%); LT (-0.73%); LTIMindtree (-0.67%)

Omaxe’s wholly-owned subsidiary Omaxe Heritage Pvt. Ltd. has received the ‘Occupancy Certificate (OC)’ from Municipal Corporation of Delhi for its multi-level parking and commercial project i.e. “Omaxe Chowk” situated in the heart of Delhi at Chandni Chowk.

Bharat Road Network informed the exchange that Officers of the Directorate of Enforcement conducted search proceedings u/s 17(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) at the office premises of Guruvayoor Infrastructure Private Limited (GIPL), one of the subsidiaries of the Company and at the premises of the Company since the Company is a major shareholder in GIPL.

Biocon Sdn Bhd., a step-down subsidiary of Biocon Biologics, has received a communication from the USFDA pursuant to its July 2023 cGMP inspection at its insulins manufacturing facility at Johor, Malaysia. The FDA has determined the inspection classification as “OAI” (Official Action Indicated).

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd has launched in India the first triple-drug fixed-dose combination (FDC) of the widely-used Teneligliptin with Dapagliflozin and Metformin.

9:00 AM Happiest Minds

Dial: 022 6280 1144

12:30 PM CIE Automotive India

Dial: 022 7195 0000

3:00 PM Can Fin Homes

Dial: 022 6280 1245

3:00 PM Syngene International

Dial: 022 6280 1279

3:00 PM Som Distilleries

Dial: 022 6280 1527

4:00 PM Tips Industries

Dial: 022 6280 1550

5:00 PM TCI Express

Dial: 022 6280 1143

5:30 PM IndusInd Bank

Dial: 022 6280 1102

6:00 PM LTIMindtree

6:30 PM Bajaj Auto

Dial: 022 6280 1510

7:00 PM Wipro

Dial: 022 6280 1120

Crude oil futures traded higher on Wednesday morning following the fears of escalation in the conflict in the Middle East and the reports of a decline in the crude oil inventories in the US. At 9.09 am on Wednesday, December Brent oil futures were at $91.58, up by 1.87 per cent; and December crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $87.21, up by 2.07 per cent. October crude oil futures were trading at ₹7351 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) on Wednesday morning against the previous close of ₹7192, up by 2.21 per cent; and November futures were trading at ₹7261 as against the previous close of ₹7095, up by 2.34 per cent.

Bajaj Finance Ltd. Q2FY24 Result First Cut - Decent Quarterly Profits Inline with Street Estimates; Significant AUM Growth and New Customer Additions

• Bajaj Finance Ltd. reported a healthy quarter across all financial and portfolio metrics and healthy AUM growth.
• Net interest income (NII) stood at Rs. 7,197 crores in Q2FY24, up 7.1% QoQ / 30.0% YoY.
• Loan losses and provisions for Q2FY24 were Rs. 1,077 crores as against Rs. 734 crores in Q2FY23.
• Consolidated Profit after Tax increased to Rs. 3,551 crores in Q2FY24, up 3.3% QoQ / 27.7% YoY, in line with market estimates of Rs. 3,550 crores.
• Gross NPA marginally increased to 0.91% in Q2FY24, up 4bps QoQ / down 26bps YoY.
• Net NPA remained constant at 0.31% in Q2FY24 sequentially and down 20bps YoY.
• Deposits book stood at Rs. 54,821 crores (up 39% YoY / up 9.8% QoQ) as of 30 September 2023. In Q2FY24, the net deposit growth was Rs. 4,877 crores. Deposits contributed 21% of consolidated borrowings as of 30 September 2023.
• Assets under management (AUM) grew to Rs. 2,90,264 crores as of 30 September 2023 from Rs. 2,70,097 crores as of 30 June 2023 and Rs.2,18,366 crores as of 30 September 2022.
• Capital adequacy ratio (including Tier-II capital) as of 30 September 2023 was 23.19%.

Ex-Dividend 19 October 2023 (Tomorrow)

Last date for Cum-Dividend Today

Brand Concepts Ltd

Dividend Per Share Rs.0.5

Previous day Closing Price – Rs. 508

Semac Consultants Ltd

Dividend Per Share Rs.5

Previous day Closing Price – Rs. 2362

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

Dividend Per Share Rs.9

Previous day Closing Price – Rs. 3506.65

• Bajaj Finance: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 20.
• Lloyds Metals and Energy: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 25.
• Bosch: To meet analysts and investors on Nov. 9.
• Elecon Engineering: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 23.
• Voltas: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 20.
• Lakshmi Machine Works: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 27.
• UGRO Capital: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 27.
• Poonawala Fincorp: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 21.
• Transport Corporation of India: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 31.
• Havells: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 20.
• Castrol India: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 30.
• Zaggle Prepaid: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 20.
• Gland Pharma: To meet analysts and investors on Nov. 6.
• RBL Bank: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 21.
• Tube Investments: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 31.
• Central Bank of India: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 21.
• Sun Pharma: To meet analysts and investors on Nov. 1.
• Bajaj Finance: To meet institutional investors on Oct. 20.
• Chalet Hotels: To meet analysts and investors on Oct. 25

Indian shares are set to open lower on Wednesday, as intensifying conflict in the West Asia and worries of a prolonged high interest rate regime after a better-than-expected US retail sales data hurt sentiment.

India’s GIFT Nifty was down 0.07 per cent at 19,797 as of 8:09 a.m. compared to its overnight close, indicating that the Nifty 50 will open below Tuesday’s close of 19,811.50. Read more.

• BALRAMPUR CHINI
• BHEL
• DELTACORP
• GNFC
• HINDCOPPER
• IBULHSGFIN
• INDIACEM
• MANAPPURAM
• MCX
• SAIL

AKI India Limited has entered into Joint Venture arrangement with NPS Shoes Limited Company incorporated under the appropriate laws of the United Kingdom intend to co-operate in manufacturing/dealing in and exporting Leather Shoes in India and abroad for mutual benefit by setting up a new manufacturing company.

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders has signed a contract with the acquisition wing of the Ministry of Defence for the construction and delivery of one training ship for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) at a cost of Rs 310 crore

Tiger Logistics (India) Ltd., a BSE-listed international logistics company, has signed an alliance partnership agreement with ICICI Bank to facilitate integrated banking and end-to-end logistics for exporters and importers. NPS Shoes will hold 75 per cent and AKI India Limited – 25 per cent.

SEBI has exempted four family trusts linked to promoters from making open offers to the shareholders of three companies - Torrent Power, Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Gujarat Lease Financing - following their proposed indirect share acquisition in these firms. The orders came after four Mehta Family Trusts filed applications with the regulator in July 2023, and sought exemption from certain provisions of takeover regulations. In order to facilitate succession planning, Sudhir Uttamlal Mehta and Samir Uttamlal Mehta created four trusts to streamline the family’s shareholding in Torrent Investments Private Limited (TIPL).

Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta group firm, has migrated from its current software to a more upgraded version. The move will result in more agility and mobility of the business processes, the company said in a statement.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has penalised ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra after it found serious violations of its various directions.

ICICI Bank has been slapped with a ₹12.19 crore monetary penalty for sanctioning/committing loans to companies in which two of its directors were also directors, marketing and engaging in the sale of non-financial products, and failing to report frauds to RBI within the prescribed timelines, per a central bank statement. Read more.

The government will sell up to 7 per cent stake in Housing & Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) through open offer for sale mechanism. The floor price is fixed as ₹79 a share. The OFS for over 14.01 crore shares or 7 per cent stake will open for institutional investors on Wednesday. Retail investors can place bids for Hudco shares on Thursday. Read more.

Turnover : (NSE + BSE)

Cash Volume: 67587.03 + 4934.78 Total : 72521.81

F&O Volume: 366864.24 + 79913.65 Total : 446777.89

Provisional Cash Rs. In Crs.

FII/FPI: NET BUY: +263.68

(8517.96 - 8254.28)

DII: NET BUY: +112.55

(6492.43 - 6379.88)

- India plans to double infrastructure spending to Rs 143 lakh crore over the next seven fiscal years (until 2030).

- In the previous seven years (2017-2023), India spent Rs 67 lakh crore on infrastructure.

The Finance Ministry has lowered the Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED), better known as windfall gain levy on domestically produced crude, to ₹9,050 a tonne from ₹12,100. The change will take effect on October 18.

This decision has been taken as crude prices saw some moderation earlier. The reduction will likely impact oil exploration companies such as ONGC and Oil India. Read more.

The canalising agencies like MMTC, STCI and PRC served a purpose during the era of shortages, high tariffs and import restrictions. They have outlived their utility and need to be shut down.

IRCTC has tied up with Zomato for supply and delivery of pre-ordered meals through IRCTC e-atering portal as a proof of concept in the first phase at five railway stations--New Delhi, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Lucknow and Varanasi.

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Hudco, Bajaj Auto, Wipro, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bandhan Bank, ICICI Lombard, UTI Asset, Persistent Systems, Hindustan Zinc, Thermax, IDFC, IDFC First Bank, Torrent group, Titagarh Rail, Graphite, AKI India. Click here to know more details related to stocks in focus.

Dabur has received a GST demand notice of Rs. 320.60 crore. The company added that it will challenge this by making submissions to the relevant authorities, in a BSE filing. The company said it has received this notice from Directorate General of Good and Services Tax Intelligence, Gurugram Zonal Unit

HAPPIEST MINDS Q2:

CONS. NET PROFIT UP 0.2 % AT 58 CR (QOQ) , DOWN 1.6 % (YOY)

REVENUE UP 4 % AT 406 CR (QOQ) , UP 14.5 % (YOY)

EBIT DOWN 15 % AT 68.3 CR (QOQ) , DOWN 9 % (YOY)

MARGINS AT 16.8 % V 19.25 % (QOQ) , 22.7 % (YOY)

DIVIDEND: Rs 2.5; RECORD DATE: 30 OCT

Board approved the establishment of its latest Business Unit, Generative AI Business Services (GBS) which will offer full-scale Generative AI offerings across multiple domains.

Also approved the formation of the Product and Digital Engineering Services (PDES) Business Unit by combining the Product Engineering Services (PES) and Digital Business Services (DBS) Business Units.

The ₹545-crore IPO of IRM Energy Limited, a city gas distribution (CGD) company, opens for public subscription today (October 18) and ends on Friday (October 20). The company, which is in the business of laying, building, operating and expanding the city or local natural gas distribution network, has fixed the price band at ₹480 to ₹505 a share for its initial public offer.

Investors can bid for a minimum of 29 shares and in multiples of 29 Shares thereafter.

The public Issue of face value of ₹10 a share is entirely a fresh issue of equity shares up to 1.08 crore shares. The offer also includes a reservation for eligible employees, who can enjoy a discount of ₹48 a share. Read more.

Lemon Tree Hotels signed pact for – ‘Keys Select by Lemon Tree Hotels’ in Vadodara. The property will be franchised by Lemon Tree Hotels. It is expected to open in FY26.

Tiger Logistics (India) Ltd., a BSE-listed international logistics company, has signed an alliance partnership agreement with ICICI Bank to facilitate integrated banking and end-to-end logistics for exporters and importers. NPS Shoes will hold 75 per cent and AKI India Limited – 25 per cent.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday approved the merger of IDFC Ltd with IDFC FIRST Bank. IDFC FIRST Bank is in the business of providing banking services, while its parent IDFC Ltd (IDFCL) is an RBI-registered non-banking financial company. The deal is subject to conditions, including the merger of IDFC Financial Holding into IDFC Ltd in the first step and subsequently, the amalgamation of IDFCL with IDFC FIRST Bank. Read more.

Graphite India has informed the exchanges that an information security incident has occurred at the Company’s German operations and the impacted IT assets have been isolated. The company is investigating the matter and appropriate containment and remediation actions are being taken in a controlled manner to address the incident.

• Name of Seller: Government of India (Promoter)
• Non Retail Investors: 18th October 2023
• Retail Investors: 19th October 2023
• Floor Price: Rs 79/Share (12.1% Discount versus today’s close Rs 89.95)
• Base Offer Size: 7.006 Crore shares (3.50% of Equity)
• Oversubscription Option: 7.006 Crore shares (3.50% of Equity)
• Total offer size with Oversubscription: 14.1 shares (Rs 1113.9 cr at Floor price)

Cello World, ESAF Small Finance Bank, and ASK Automotive have received capital market regulator SEBI’s go-ahead to mobilise funds through Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).

The three companies, which filed their respective preliminary IPO papers with Sebi during June and August, obtained the regulator’s observation letters on October 9, an update with the markets watchdog showed on Tuesday.

5paisa Capital, Astral, Bajaj Auto, Bandhan Bank, Heritage Foods, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, IndusInd Bank, IIFL Finance, LTIMindtree, Oracle Fin Serv Software Limited, Persistent Systems, Polycab India, RPG Life Sciences, Shoppers Stop, Tips Industries, Titagarh Rail Systems, UTI Asset Management Company, Wipro and Welspun Investments

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07:30 CHINA Industrial Production y/y (Expected: 4.3% versus Previous: 4.5%)

07:30 CHINA GDP y/y (Expected: 4.5% versus Previous: 6.3%)

11:30 U.K. CPI y/y (Expected: 6.5% versus Previous: 6.7%)

18:00 U.S. Building Permits (Expected: 1.45M versus Previous: 1.54M)

Bharat Road Networks informed the exchanges that the Officers of the Directorate of Enforcement conducted search under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) at the office premises of Guruvayoor Infrastructure Private Limited (GIPL), one of the subsidiaries of the company and at the premises of the Company, since it is a major shareholder in GIPL.

Further, the ED has passed an Order against GIPL to freeze the movable properties (including bank balance and fixed deposits) to the tune of approx. Rs. 125.21 crore.

Biocon Sdn Bhd, a step-down subsidiary of Biocon Biologics Limited has received a communication from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pursuant to its July 2023 cGMP inspection at its insulins manufacturing facility at Johor, Malaysia.

The FDA has determined the inspection classification as “OAI” (Official Action Indicated). The OAI status may cause delay and/or withholding of pending product approvals or supplements from the facility.

“We submitted a comprehensive Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) plan to the FDA in response to observations from the July inspection and believe we are on track to complete all actions as committed. The company will continue to engage with the Agency to understand any outstanding concerns and work closely to address them expeditiously,” the company said in a notice to the stock exchanges.

Asian stocks were muted after US equities struggled and bonds slumped following data reinforcing the case for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer. Oil climbed as the Israel-Hamas conflict intensified. Benchmark indexes were little changed in Australia and Japan, while South Korean shares edged lower. US futures fell after the S&P 500 erased gains Tuesday, with Nvidia Corp. leading a slump in technology stocks as the US restricts the sale of chips the company designed for the Chinese market.

The outlook is bullish for Blue Star. The 2.4 per cent rise on Tuesday indicates that a new leg of upmove has begun. Prior to this rise, the stock was in a corrective fall for more than three weeks.

The 21-Day Moving Average (MA) halted that fall by providing support. The bounce from this moving average support strengthens the bullish case to see more rise. Supports are at ₹890 and ₹878 – the 21-Day MA. Read more.

Here are the intraday supports and resistances for widely traded stocks such as Reliance Industries, ITC, ONGC, Infosys, HDFC Bank, TCS and SBI