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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2025                                        Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Equity Alert: March auto sales above view but no sign of turnaround - Nomura

MUMBAI--1405 IST--Nomura, the brokerage, said that automobile sales volume in March exceeded expectations, but they do not see this as an indication of a 'turnaround' in the sector. In fact, the brokerage anticipates much weaker sales in April.

In its report released on Wednesday, Nomura stated that key demand factors, such as the early start of festivals, discounts offered by companies, and pre-buying incentives from dealers in anticipation of price hikes this month, led to a 'pull-forward' of demand in March. Additionally, the brokerage noted that discounts were higher across most original equipment manufacturers in Jan-Mar, except for commercial vehicles and tractors.

For March, sales volumes of six players--Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai Motor India, TVS Motor, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, and Eicher Motors--beat Nomura's estimates. Meanwhile, Maruti Suzuki India fell short of expectations. Citing VAHAN data, the report said retail volume of passenger vehicles rose 5% on year in March while that of two-wheelers was down 1%, and that of medium and heavy commercial vehicles fell 2%. 

For 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), Nomura has forecast a 5% annual uptick in passenger vehicle sales volume, much higher than the 1.0-1.5% growth estimated by industry leaders at an event by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. "Although we expect demand to improve, led by lower income tax and reduced interest rates, the increased demand might be evident only by 2HCY25F (Jul-Dec)," it said.

Nomura's Commodity Index has increased by nearly 50 basis points and the brokerage is of the view that discounts may also rise further. This could impact margins for original equipment manufacturers, it said.

Nomura has recommended a 'buy' rating for five automotive industry stocks--Mahindra & Mahindra, TVS Motors, UNO Minda, Sansera Engineering, and Cartrade Tech--at target prices entailing an upside of 10-40% from Tuesday's closing. (Shakshi Jain)

Equity Alert: Indices off highs but still up on gains in banking, IT stocks

MUMBAI--1335 IST--Benchmark indices came slightly off highs but remained in the green. Select heavyweight banking and information technology stocks contributed most to the Nifty 50's gain Wednesday after dragging it lower Tuesday.

The Nifty 50 recovered some of its decline from Tuesday, when it closed down 1.5%. At 1319 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23293.15 points, up 129.45 points or 0.6%, and the BSE Sensex was at 76507.53 points, up 488.02 points or 0.6%. The domestic equity market outperformed its US and Asian peers Wednesday with 72% of the stocks trading on the National Stock Exchange in the green.

All sectoral indices rose Wednesday and were up 0.1-3%. However, Nifty Oil & Gas swung between gains and losses and was flat at 1319 IST. Among the broader indices, Nifty mid- and small-cap indices were up 0.7-1.3%, outperforming the benchmark ones.

Among specific stocks, Bharat Electronics was down nearly 4%. The company missed its order inflow guidance of INR 250 billion for 2024-25 (Apr-Mar). Bharat Electronics reported a provisional turnover of INR 230 billion for FY25, up 16% on year. Shares of most state-owned banks fell. Central Bank of India and Punjab & Sind Bank's stocks were down 7% and 9%, respectively. On the other hand, shares of Valor Estate rose over 11% and were the top gainer in the Nifty 500.  (Simran Rede)

Equity Alert: Asian indices end mixed ahead of tariff rollout by Trump

MUMBAI--1330 IST--Asian markets ended mixed Wednesday ahead of the likely announcement of reciprocal tariffs by US President Donald Trump at a "Make America Wealthy Again" event at the White House Rose Garden.

According to a report by Reuters, China might take a big hit after the imposition of tariffs as the US' goods trade deficit with China is the highest than any other country. China's CSI 300 has been weak since the start of the year, falling 1% in this period. Wednesday, the index was down 0.1%.

Japan's Nikkei closed 0.1% higher. Reuters reported Bank of Japan's Governor Kazuo Ueda as saying Wednesday that "...US tariffs could have a big impact on each country's trade activity". Japanese automakers are expected to be the worst hit because of the fresh import tariffs on cars which will come into effective Thursday, according to a report by CNBC.

As the world gears to tackle the impact of reciprocal tariffs along with other tariffs on aluminium, steel and automobiles imports, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a recent interview to Fox Business how the US is focusing specifically on the "dirty 15", which refers to the group of 15 countries that have large trade deficits with the US, and includes most of the Asian markets.

South Korea's benchmark index Kospi closed 0.6% down. Taiwan's TAIEX closed 0.1% higher and it was up for the second straight session. Among others, Indonesia's IDX composite rose 0.5%.

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 1305 IST:

(P Madhu Kumar)

Equity Alert: Mkt holds gains; real estate stocks bounce back post losses Tue

MUMBAI--1324 IST--Benchmark indices remained steady, maintaining gains made earlier in the session. Banking and select heavyweight stocks such as Infosys, Bharti Airtel, and Zomato remained among the top contributors to the rise in the Nifty 50. On other hand, Bharat Electronics and UltraTech Cement were the biggest drags on the index and were down 1% and 4%, respectively.

At 1322 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23299.05 points, up 133.35 points or 0.6%, and the BSE Sensex was at 76502.33 points, up 477.82 points or 0.6%. Broader market indices slightly extended their gains, with the Nifty small- and mid-cap indices trading around 1% higher each. Nearly 70% of the stocks currently trading on the NSE were in the green. Barring Nifty India Defence, all other sectoral indices were in the green. 

Despite the recent rally, valuations of large-caps remain at a reasonable level, though many pockets within the mid- and small-cap segments are still considered frothy, IDBI Capital Markets & Securities said in a strategy report. "While Q4FY25 (Jan-Mar) earnings are expected to be better than those of the past 2 quarters, they may not be strong enough to push the market to new highs," the report said.

Among stocks, shares of Nestle India came off-lows but were still down over 1% after BofA Securities downgraded the stock to "underperform" from "neutral" with a target price of INR 2,140. This target price implies a downside of over 2% to the stock's spot price. BofA Securities also cut its forecast for Nestle's earnings by 3-5%, factoring in the recent trends and elevated raw material prices, ET Now said in a post on X, citing BofA.

Real estate stocks were among the best performers, with the Nifty Realty rising 3% and leading the gains among sectoral indices. The index was the worst-hit Tuesday after the Maharashtra government Monday raised the ready reckoner rate by 4.39 per cent across the state for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), various reports said. These new rates came into effect from Tuesday.  (Akash Mandal)

Equity Alert: Nestle India falls; BofA Sec downgrades rtg to 'underperform'

MUMBAI--1140 IST--Shares of Nestle India fell as much as 4% Wednesday to a near-one-month low of INR 2,148 after BofA Securities downgraded the stock to "underperform" from "neutral" with a target price of INR 2,140. This target price implies a downside of over 2% to the stock's spot price.

At 1140 IST, shares of the company were off the intraday low to trade at INR 2,198.20 on the National Stock Exchange, down 1.6%. The stock was the worst-hit constituent of Nifty FMCG and the second-worst performer in the Nifty 50.

BofA Securities also cut its forecast for Nestle's earnings by 3-5% factoring in the recent trends and elevated raw material prices, ET Now said in a post on X, citing BofA.

However, moving ahead, the brokerage expects some volume recovery on a low base, but added that overall growth remains modest. BofA Securities believes the valuation of the stock is elevated in terms of the growth outlook and among its peers. The global brokerage expects material changes in the company's portfolio over the next three-five years. It said Nestle India needs to address its portfolio gaps and evolving consumer habits.

Of the 17 brokerage reports available on the stock with Informist, nine have a "buy" or equivalent rating on the stock and seven have a "hold" or equivalent rating. Emkay Global Financial Services has a "reduce" rating with a target price of INR 2,300 on the stock, which implies a nearly 5% upside to the spot price. The stock is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.6 for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) and 53.2 for FY27. So far Wednesday, 690,320 shares of the company have changed hands on the NSE, higher than 623,867 shares traded during the same period on Tuesday. (Simran Rede)

Equity Alert: Mkt remains higher; select heavyweights lead gains in Nifty 50

MUMBAI--1134 IST--Benchmark indices sustained the gains made earlier in the session, with heavyweights ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank key gainers in the Nifty 50. Bharti Airtel, Infosys, and Tata Consumer Products also pushed the 50-stock index higher and were up 1-7%.

At 1132 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23268.30 points, up 102.60 points or 0.4%, and the BSE Sensex was at 76421.16 points, up 396.65 points or 0.5%. The Nifty 50 may take support at 23100-22900 points and may face resistance at 23400-23650, Vipin Kumar, assistant vice president of technical and derivatives research at Globe Capital Market, said.

Broader market indices are also 0.5-0.8% higher. Kumar said he is positive on mid- and small-cap stocks till the Nifty Midcap 50 is holding above 14000 points on closing and the Nifty Smallcap 100 is above 15400 points. These indices are currently at 14519.90 points and 16031.25 points, respectively.

Most sectoral indices were in the green, with Nifty Realty being the top gainer. This index had ended as the worst-hit among the indices Tuesday. Prestige Estates Projects, Godrej Properties, and Macrotech Developers were up 3-4%. Nifty Consumer Durables also rose after two straight sessions of declines, with Kalyan Jewellers India up over 5%. Only Nifty India Defence and Nifty Oil & Gas were in the red.

Among other stocks, Valor Estate, Lloyds Metals and Energy, and Shyam Metalics and Energy were among the top gainers in the Nifty 500 and were up 5-11%. On the other hand, Central Bank of India plunged 10% and was the worst hit in the Nifty 500.  (Akash Mandal)

Equity Alert: Indices rise more; heavyweights ICICI Bk, HDFC Bk, Infosys up

MUMBAI--1058 IST--Benchmark indices extended gains due to a rise in select financial services stocks. The rise in few index heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys, and Bharti Airtel, coupled with a sharp rise in shares of Tata Consumer Products, pushed the Nifty 50 higher. On the other hand, losses in select capital goods stocks slightly capped the gains. Investors will focus on the announcements on reciprocal tariffs announcements by US President Donald Trump post midnight.

"We are expecting a sideways session with volatile moves in intraday ahead of US President's announcement on impositions of reciprocal tax," Vipin Kumar, assistant vice-president of technical and derivatives research at Globe Capital Market, said. The support for the 50-stock index intraday is seen at 23150-23100 points and the resistance is pegged at 23300-23400 points, Kumar said. 

At 1036 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23268 points, up 102.30 points, or 0.4% and the BSE Sensex was at 76465.03 points, up 440.52 points, or 0.6%. Broader market indices were also in the green. Nifty mid-cap indices were up 0.1-0.3% and the small-cap indices were up nearly 0.1%.

Index heavyweight private banks HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank were up over 1% each. The intraday support for Nifty Bank is placed at 50750-50650 points and resistance is pegged at 51400 points, Kumar said. Shares of fast-moving consumer goods company Tata Consumer Products rose over 7% and was the top performer in the 50-stock index.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki India were up nearly 2%, snapping a five-day losing streak. The automaker Tuesday said it produced a total of 194,901 vehicles in March, up 17% from 166,730 units a year ago. Shares of Eicher Motors and TVS Motor Company were up 1% and 3%, respectively.

On the other hand, shares of another FMCG major Nestle India was down nearly 2%. Shares of Bharat Electronics were down over 4% after the company missed its order inflow guidance for 2024-25 (Apr-Mar), CNBC-TV18 reported. The company has received orders worth INR 187.15 billion during the financial year, lower than the company's projections of INR 250 billion, the report said.  (Akshita Kumar)

Equity Alert: Tata Consumer hits 1-mo high; Goldman Sachs ups rtg to 'buy'

MUMBAI--1031 IST--Shares of Tata Consumer Products rose over 8% to a one-month high of INR 1,073.15 after global brokerage Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the stock to 'buy' from 'neutral', and raised its target price to INR 1,200 from INR 1,040. The new target price implies a potential upside of 12.5% from the stock's price of INR 1,066.30 at 1028 IST. The stock was up 7.5%.

Tata Consumer Products' earnings per share is poised for strong growth over 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) and FY27, CNBC-TV18 reported, citing Goldman Sachs. The global brokerage also expects the company's margins in its tea business to recover on the back of price hikes. Tata Consumer Products is undertaking strong innovation and is seeing distribution expansion in its growth businesses, Goldman Sachs said. 

The company's net interest cost is lower as acquisition debt is paid down, the report said. While competitive intensity remains a concern for the company, Goldman Sachs said it believes the worst is behind for the stock.

All 14 brokerage reports on the company available with Informist have a 'buy' or equivalent rating on the stock. Of these, Religare Broking has the highest target price of INR 1,360. At 1025 IST, 4.29 million shares of the company were traded on the NSE, sharply higher than the 271,480 shares traded till the same time Tuesday.  (Akash Mandal)

Equity Alert: Mkt opens higher; Tata Consumer up 6%, top gainer in Nifty 50

MUMBAI--0945 IST--Headline indices opened slightly higher Wednesday as investors await the final round of announcements from US President Donald Trump on reciprocal tariffs post midnight. Indices in the US were largely up, with the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat. Indices in China, Hong Kong, and Australia were largely flat, while those in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore were in the red. 

At 0945 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 23229.80 points, up 64.10 points, or 0.3%, and the BSE Sensex was at 76323.71 points, up 299.20 points, or 0.4%. Gains in financial services and information technnology stocks helped the indices to rise further. Financial services stocks such as HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, which together have a 22% weightage on the 50-stock index, were up 1.2% each. Some information technology stocks such as Tech Mahindra and Infosys rose, and were up 1% and 0.8%, respectively. Overnight, the Nasdaq Composite had snapped a three-session losing streak. Capital goods stocks were the biggest drag in the Nifty 50, with Bharat Electronics down over 4%. 

In contrast to benchmark indices, broader market indices faced selling pressure, with mid- and small-cap indices down. Most sectoral indices were in the green, with Nifty Realty leading the gains. The index was the worst hit among sectoral indices Tuesday.

Most fast-moving consumer goods stocks such as Nestle India and Hindustan Unilever were down 2.4% and 1.2%, respectively. Bucking the trend, Tata Consumer Products traded sharply higher, gaining over 5%, and was the top gainer in the Nifty 50. Shares of the company rose after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to 'buy' and raised the target price to INR 1,200. 

Automobile stocks such as Maruti Suzuki and Eicher Motors were the other top gainers in the Nifty 50. During market hours Tuesday, Maruti Suzuki reported a 27% rise in exports even as its passenger vehicles sales weakened. Eicher Motors was up 1.4%. There was a robust growth in Eicher Motors' motorcycle sales, while sales of its commercial vehicles hit three-month low.   (Gopika Balasubramanium)

Equity Alert: Indices may open higher tracking GIFT Nifty; volatility likely

MUMBAI--0830 IST--Benchmark indices may open slightly higher tracking gains in GIFT Nifty futures, but analysts said Wednesday's trade is likely to be rangebound as investors still await more clarity over tariffs by the US. XPresident Donald Trump is expected to announce reciprocal tariffs post midnight as per Indian time.

Indices may also gain slightly after these fell sharply Tuesday as investors likely took out money from the market ahead of the US tariff announcement. Sentiment may improve as India and China have reportedly agreed to terms of the deal and talks over an agreement may begin soon. According to a report by The Indian Express, both governments have agreed to the Terms of Reference for the Bilateral Trade Agreement.

Some analysts said India and the US may reach a trade deal in about six months. Hopes of a trade deal are likely to keep losses limited in the market, analysts said. Further, analysts said a conservative approach on tariffs by the US is already priced in by the market, but there is still uncertainty around the exact quantum, which may lead to volatility.

On Tuesday, market trade was extremely volatile with the Nifty 50 seeing slight gains in early trade before falling nearly 2% from its intraday high. Amid this volatility, the market's fear gauge, India VIX, rose over 8% to 13.78 on Tuesday. The Nifty 50 closed at 23165.70 points, down 1.5%.

GIFT Nifty futures pointed to gains at market open. At 0806 IST, GIFT Nifty's April contracts were trading slightly up at 23328.50 points, around 160 points higher than the Nifty 50's close on Tuesday. If the markets open higher, analysts expected the Nifty 50 to face resistance at 23400 points. They expect the index to find support at 23000 if investors choose to further sell equities ahead of tariff announcement.

Global markets were largely positive with two out of three indices in the US posting gains on Tuesday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed 0.4-0.9% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was marginally down. Most of the Asian indices were up ahead of the tariff announcement but gains were limited. Indices in China, Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia were up, those in South Korea and Singapore were down, while indices in Japan were mixed. (Anshul Choudhary)

Equity Alert: Asian mkts open mixed ahead of Trump's tariff announcement

MUMBAI--0815 IST--Asian equity indices opened mixed ahead of US President Doanld Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs for "all countries" on Wednesday. The White House said President Trump will deliver a speech at a 'Make America Wealthy Again' event at the White house Rose Garden at 0130 IST.

Mainland China's CSI 300 index was trading 0.3% higher. The Hong Kong's Hang Seng index opened up and was trading 0.4% higher. South Korea's Kospi was down 0.1% after the country's inflation came in at 2.1% on year in March, higher than 2% in February, and also slightly abover a Reuters estimate of 2%. Construction stocks fell in early trade, with Samsung E&A and Taeyoung Engineering & Construction down 3.1% and 3.0%, respectively.

Indonesia's IDX composite and Australia's SP/ ASX 200 index were trading up 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively. The Reserve Bank of Australia Tuesday held its interest rates steady at 4.1% despite inflation falling at a faster rate than expected. Singapore's FTSE Singapore Strait Times was down 0.40%. Japan's Nikkei 225 was slightly lower, while the Topix was down 0.7%.

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0752 IST

(P Madhu Kumar)

Equity Alert: US indices end largely up ahead of Trump's tariff announcements

MUMBAI--0802 IST--Equity indices in the US closed largely higher on Tuesday ahead of US President Donald Trump's tariff announcement on Wednesday, in a session that saw wild swings. Indices briefly recovered after falling almost 1% in early trade, but slipped into the red later in the session. After another push in the final hour of trade, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 managed to close higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat.

The S&P 500 ended up 0.4% and gained for the second straight session, wile the Nasdaq Composite broke a four-day losing streak to gain 0.9%. Airline stocks on the S&P fell 500 after Jefferies downgraded stocks in the sector amid concerns that economic uncertainty could disrupt both business and retail travel demand, Reuters reported. Johnson & Johnson fell nearly 8% after a US bankruptcy judge rejected the company's $10-billion proposal to end tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that its baby powder and other talc products caused ovarian cancer. Tesla rose 4% ahead of its first-quarter vehicle deliveries report on Wednesday.

Investors await Trump's speech at a 'Make America Wealthy Again' event at the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday. The White House on Tuesday announced that tariffs would come into effect immedialtely after these are announced by President Trump. Uncertainty around the tariffs has left the market in a volatile state, with the S&P 500 touching a six-month low before closing higher on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite also endured its worst first quarter performance, falling 10%.

Following are the closing levels of US indices overnight:

(P Madhu Kumar)

End

US$1 = INR 85.57

Edited by Subhojit Sarkar

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

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