SGX Nifty hints at a positive start for Indian benchmark indices Nifty 50 and Sensex, Reliance Industries (RIL), ICICI Bank, Adani Enterprises among stocks to watch on Monday.
Indian benchmark indices are likely to start the week on a positive note, hinted SGX Nifty on Monday. On the Singapore Exchange, Nifty futures traded 83 pts higher at 18,128 level. In the previous session, Sensex fell 237 pts to 60,622, while NSE Nifty 50 declined 80 pts to 18,028. “Nifty has been trading within the 17750-18250 zone for the last four weeks and either side’s decisive break would help in setting the tone for the next directional move. Meanwhile, we recommend continuing with stock-specific trading approach and focusing on overnight risk management. Participants should prefer index majors and quality midcaps over others citing the prevailing underperformance of the broader indices,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Technical Research, Religare Broking.
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Stocks in focus on 23 January, Monday
Reliance Industries: RIL on Friday reported a 15% on-year decline in net profit to Rs 15,792 crore during the October-December quarter, constrained primarily by higher finance cost, depreciation and special additional excise duty. RIL’ telecom arm Reliance Jio and retail arm Reliance Retail each posted healthy double-digit growth in revenues on-year as more consumers used their services. Jio increased its revenue by 18.87% on-year to Rs 22,998 crore in Q3FY23, driven by the steady increase in both the subscriber base and ARPU. Reliance Retail Ventures clocked a 17% on-year jump in revenue from operations at Rs 67,634 crore in the quarter ended December 2022. RIL board also approved raising Rs 20,000 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
ICICI Bank: The private sector lender announced a 34% on-year increase in its net profit for the three months ended December 31 to Rs 8,312 crore, despite an increase in the provisions. ICICI Bank’s provisions increased 12% on-year to Rs 2,257 crore even as the asset quality improved. The bank has made its non-performing assets (NPA) provisioning policy more conservative, a statement said. Provisioning coverage ratio on non-performing assets was 82.0% on 31 December. Net interest income (NII) improved 35% on-year to Rs 16,465 crore, while net interest margin (NIM) expanded by 69 bps to 4.65%.
Adani group: The Gautam Adani-led group plans to spin off businesses like hydrogen, airports and data centre between 2025 and 2028 after they achieve a certain investment profile, it’s Chief Financial Officer (VFO) Jugeshinder Singh said. Adani Enterprises Ltd, which is looking to raise Rs 20,000 crore in a follow-on share sale, is the business incubator for the group. Over the years, businesses such as ports, power and city gas were first incubated in AEL before being spun off or demerged into separate listed companies.
Kotak Mahindra Bank: The private sector lender reported a 31% on-year growth in profit at Rs 2,792 crore for the quarter ended December 2022 despite higher provisions, backed by healthy operating profit, other income and NII growth, with an improvement in asset quality. Net interest income for the quarter jumped 30.4% to Rs 5,653 crore, with 85 bps on-year expansion in net interest margin at 5.47%. Deposits for the quarter grew by 13% and advances increased by 23% from the year-ago period.
UltraTech Cement: The Aditya Birla Group-owned cement company reported a 38% on-year decline in consolidated profit at Rs 1,058.2 crore for the December quarter, hit by weak operating margin. It reported an increase in raw material cost, power & fuel cost and freight & forwarding expenses on-year. Consolidated revenue from operations increased 19.5% on-year to Rs 15,521 crore for the quarter.
IDFC First Bank: The bank clocked a 115% on-year growth in profit at Rs 604.6 crore for the December FY23 quarter despite higher provisions, supported by strong other income, operating profit and NII and asset quality improvement. Net interest income at Rs 3,285.3 crore grew 27.3% compared to the year-ago quarter.
Yes Bank: The private sector lender saw an 80.7% on-year decline in profit at Rs 51.5 crore for the quarter impacted by ageing related provisions but supported by higher other income and operating profit with improvement in asset quality. Net interest income grew 11.7% to Rs 1,970.6 crore for the quarter, with net interest margin rising 10 bps on-year to 2.5%. Advances for the quarter grew by 10% and deposits growth stood at 16% compared to the corresponding period of the last fiscal.
Bandhan Bank: The private sector lender’s profit declined 66% on-year to Rs 290.6 crore in the December quarter, dented by higher provisions and lower growth in net interest income. Net interest income fell 2% on-year to Rs 2,080.4 crore, with 130 bps drop in net interest margin at 6.5%. The loan book grew by 11.1% and deposits rose by 21% on-year.
Q3 Results on 23 January: Axis Bank, IDBI Bank, Canara Bank, Container Corporation of India, Amber Enterprises India, Craftsman Automation, Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances, Gland Pharma, Gravita India, HFCL, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Jindal Stainless, Poonawalla Fincorp, Route Mobile, Shoppers Stop, Syngene International, Tata Communications, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, and Zensar Technologies will be in focus ahead of quarterly earnings on 23 January.
