Except pharma and bank, all sectoral indices ended in the green, with auto, power and realty adding 1-2 percent. BSE midcap and smallcap indices, too, ended higher
The Indian benchmark indices ended marginally higher in a choppy session on January 17, supported by the auto, realty and power names. At close, the Sensex was up 85.88 points, or 0.14%, at 61,308.91, and the Nifty was up 52.30 points, or 0.29%, at 18,308.10.
UltraTech Cement | CMP: Rs 7,870 | The share was up over 2 percent after the cement maker reported a higher than expected consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 1,708 crore for the quarter ended December 2021, up 7.8 percent from Rs 1,584 crore in the year-ago period. PAT during the previous quarter was Rs 1,314 crore. Consolidated revenue met expectations and came in higher by 6 percent at Rs 12,985 crore against Rs 12,254 crore in December 2020 quarter and Rs 12,017 crore in the previous three-month period.
Maruti Suzuki | CMP: Rs 8,261 | The scrip added over 2 percent after the country’s largest carmaker said it increased prices of its models by up to 4.3 percent with immediate effect to partially offset the impact of the rise in input costs. The company has enhanced prices across its models in the range of 0.1 percent to 4.3 percent owing to an increase in various input costs.
HCL Technologies | CMP: Rs 1,260.55 | The stock price was down over 5 percent after the company reported lower-than-expected earnings before interest and taxes and reduced lower-end margins guidance by its management. The management reiterated its double-digit dollar revenue growth guidance (including P&P growth of 0-1 percent YoY) but reduced its margin guidance to the lower end of 19-21 percent band (with a 10-20bp downside buffer). Its attrition rate for the quarter increased to 19.8 percent from 15.7 percent a quarter ago.
HDFC Bank | CMP: Rs 1,523.50 | The share price slipped over a percent on January 17. The bank on January 15 reported a standalone net profit of Rs 10,342 crore for the December quarter, up 18 percent year-on-year, backed by decline in bad loan provisions. Net interest income climbed 13 percent to Rs 18,444 crore, with net interest margin at 4.1 percent, and credit growth clocking a healthy 16.4 percent gain. Macquarie has kept an “outperform” call with a target of Rs 2,005 as the numbers were in line, driven by lower provisions. Nomura has maintained a “buy” call on the stock, with a target of Rs 1,955.
Hero MotoCorp | CMP: Rs 2,701 | The scrip jumped more than 5 percent after the company announced an investment of up to Rs 420 crore in Ather Energy. The Hero MotoCorp board has approved the investment in one or more tranches in Ather Energy, the company said in a release.
Bhansali Engineering Polymers | CMP: Rs 161.90 | The stock tanked over 9 percent after the company posted a 44.4 percent drop in its Q3 consolidated net profit at Rs 75.7 crore versus Rs 136.3 crore in the year-ago quarter. Revenue was down 17 percent at Rs 341.5 crore versus Rs 411.3 crore. Consolidated EBITDA was down 47% at Rs 97.7 crore and margin was down at 28.6 percent, YoY.
KEC International | CMP: Rs 505.05 | The share price ended in the red on January 17. The company secured new orders of Rs 1,112 crore across its various businesses. Transmission & Distribution (T&D) business has secured orders for T&D projects in CIS, Middle East, and Americas. The civil business has secured orders for infra works in the water pipeline and urban infra segments in India. The cables business secured orders for various types of cables in India and overseas.
Ajmera Realty | CMP: Rs 428.10 | The scrip jumped 5 percent after the firm said it was developing the next phase of its residential project in Wadala, a part of the 100 acres master layout for Ajmera i-land in Mumbai. The project has approximately 5,00,000 sq ft carpet area for sale, with funding coming in from a mix of internal accruals, construction finance loan from HDFC limited, and sales advances, the company said in a release.
VA Tech Wabag | CMP: Rs 338.05 | The share price ended in the green on January 17. The company said it won an order worth nearly $ 100 million in the United Arab Emirates. The order pertains to engineering and procurement activities related to the 120-million gallons per day Hassyan Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO). The order is the first such won by VA Tech Wabag in UAE, which further consolidates the company’s position in the West Asian region, it said.
Capacite Infraprojects: CMP: Rs 168.90 | The share ended in the red on January 17 even though the firm has bagged a Rs 231-crore work order from Raymond Realty in Mumbai. With the latest order, the company’s order book has reached Rs 9,000 crore, the Mumbai-based company said in a statement.
Sandip Das
