Except IT, all other sectoral indices ended in the green, with PSU bank, power, auto and banks rising 2-4 percent. BSE midcap and smallcap indices gained 0.8-1 percent
The benchmark indices made a smart recovery to close in the green after five days in a highly volatile session on January 25, supported by auto, power and banking names. The Sensex closed 366.64 points, or 0.64%, up at 57,858.15, and the Nifty gained 128.90 points, or 0.75%, at 17,278.
Maruti Suzuki | CMP: Rs 8,650.10 | The stock spiked over 7 percent on January 25 even after India’s largest automobile manufacturer reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 1,042 crore for the December quarter, down 48 percent from Rs 1,997 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s net profit stood at Rs 487 crore in the previous quarter. Consolidated revenue for the Gurgaon-based carmaker was at Rs 23,253 crore, down a percent from Rs 23,471 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue in the preceding quarter was Rs 20,551 crore.
Axis Bank | CMP: Rs 750.55 | The share price jumped over 6 percent after the bank reported a 224 percent year-on-year rise in its net profit at Rs 3,614 crore. The private sector lender also reported a 17 percent growth in the net interest income to Rs 8,653 crore. The bank posted a strong performance on the asset quality front, as gross non-performing asset ratio slipped 36 basis points sequentially to 3.17 percent. Net NPA ratio fell 17 basis points on-quarter to 0.91 percent. Goldman Sachs has kept a “buy” call on the stock with a target at Rs 927.
Lux Industries | CMP: Rs 2,813.70 | The stock tumbled 20 percent after the firm’s executive director was banned for insider trading, raising corporate governance concerns. On January 24, the market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India barred 14 entities for insider trading and ordered impounding of “ill-gotten gains” worth Rs 2.94 crore in the matter of Lux Industries.
Shriram Transport Finance | CMP: Rs 1,174.90 | The scrip ended in the green on January 25 after research firm CLSA has upgraded the stock to “buy” with a target at Rs 1,600 a share. The non-banking finance company reported a 6.4 percent fall in its December quarter net profit at Rs 680.62 crore against Rs 727.72 crore in the year-ago period. “There was an in line growth in AUM and the net interest income (NII), while profit was a miss,” CLSA said. Excluding RBI norms impact, NPAs fell 20 bps sequentially. As the merger with group companies is still in progress, have not accounted for this in estimates, it said. CLSA, however, cut FY22 estimates by 11 percent due to higher credit costs.
Bharti Airtel | CMP: Rs 367.10 | The stock gained over 6 percent on January 25. The company announced that the board will consider and evaluate the proposal for issuing equity shares through a preferential issue on January 28. Jefferies has a “buy: call on the stock, with the target price at Rs 925. The company’s announcement of equity issuance on a preferential basis has come as a surprise. The potential capital raise will be a near-term overhang, the brokerage said.
Sandip Das
