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Informist, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Nuvama cuts Avenue Supermarts target price on slow growth view

 

MUMBAI--0850 IST--Nuvama Institutional Equities has cut its target price for Avenue Supermarts by 5% to INR 4,351 from INR 4,580 due to a slower growth run-rate and increasing pressure on the company's margins. Avenue Supermarts, which retails products under the D-Mart brand of stores, reported nearly 18% higher net profit for the December quarter at INR 9.2 billion, a seven-quarter high. The higher growth in profit was primarily because of higher gross margin, brokerage Nuvama said in a research report. Reduced discounting amid goods and services rate cuts aided the company's gross margins, the brokerage said.

 

The brokerage has also altered its 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) and FY27 revenue and net profit estimates for the company due to slower growth and margin pressure. The company's revenue estimate for FY26 was reduced 0.6% and the FY27 bottom line growth expectation was cut 3.5%. Nuvama cut its revenue estimate for the company by 3.7% for FY27.

 

Gross margin for the company improved by 50 basis points on year to 14.6%, according to the report. This growth is attributable to increasing margins on fast-moving consumer goods products due to reduced sales promotion on the back of GST cuts, the brokerage said. Costs for the company rose due to a surge in wages for entry-level positions, following a demand-supply mismatch of the skilled workforce, according to the report. Other expenses per square foot contracted 6% on year, which the brokerage said was "encouraging." The management's increased thrust on rental properties is resulting in higher interest and depreciation costs, Nuvama said. 

 

The company's standalone revenue growth of 13.2% on year was primarily hit by deflation in staples, the brokerage said. The company's like-for-like growth for the quarter was 5.6% on year, as against 8.3% in the year-ago quarter. Revenue per square foot decreased slightly on year and bills cut per store contracted 2.1%, while DMart's average bill size grew 1% on year. Like-for-like growth measures the revenue growth from sales of the same stores which have been operational for at least 24 months at the end of the reporting period. 

DMart added 10 stores in the December quarter, taking the total store count to 442. The current addition of 27 stores in the nine months ended December implies an asking rate of 33 store additions in the March quarter, compared to 28 in the same quarter a year ago, which the brokerage said was manageable for the company. 

 

Widening loss in the company's subsidiary, calculated by taking the difference between consolidated and standalone figures, likely stems from a higher proportion of delivery sales as opposed to pick-up orders. The company's management has increased focus on larger metro towns for DMart Ready, its online grocery and home essentials platform. The city count for DMart Ready was unchanged sequentially at 19 as of December, as compared to 25 cities in December 2024. 

 

On Friday, shares of the company ended slightly higher at INR 3,801.30 on the NSE.  (Eshitva Prakash)

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Equity Alert: Indices seen opening slightly higher on positive global cues

 

MUMBAI--0840 IST--Benchmark indices are seen opening marginally higher Monday, taking positive cues from tjeir Asian peers. They are seen moving in a thin range and selling pressure is expected to persist in the markets in the near term amid uncertainty about US tariffs on countries importing Russian oil. Investors will track the December quarter results of information technology majors Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies, due later in the day. 

 

GIFT Nifty contracts suggest a slightly higher opening for the Nifty 50 index on Monday. At 0836 IST, the GIFT Nifty's January contract was at 25790 points, over 100 points higher than the Nifty 50's close of 25683.30 points on Friday. The Nifty 50 is seen facing resistance at 25940-26000 points and finding support at 25550–25000 points, Vipin Kumaar, derivatives and technical analyst at Globe Capital Market, said.

 

Tata Consultancy Services is likely to post subdued earnings for the December quarter while HCL Technologies is expected to turn in a sector-beating performance in the December quarter with a double-digit sequential rise in its consolidated bottom line. HCL Tech's performance is likely to be driven by higher contribution from the more profitable software business and the depreciation of the rupee.

 

In the US, benchmark indices had closed higher on Friday, with S&P 500 index rising to a record high. The rise in indices was after a weaker-than-expected jobs report. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell regarding the $2.5-billion renovation to the central bank's headquarters in Washington, and his related testimony to Congress, CNBC reported, quoting Powell as saying. The probe was the result of the Fed "setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of" President Donald Trump, CNBC reported, quoting Powell as saying. Most Asian indices were trading with gains in early trade, with Japan's Nikkei 225 leading the pack of gainers.  (Arundathi A R)

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Equity Alert: Indices in Asia rise tracking gains on Wall Street

 

MUMBAI--0826 IST--Markets in Asia rose in early trade Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street after data showed that the unemployment rate in the US fell last month. Investors are keeping an eye on oil prices as Iran enters into its third week of protests.

 

Protests in Iran have seen the death of over 500 people, CNBC reported citing a US-based rights group. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is weighing options for an intervention in the country, the report added. Investors will continue to monitor oil prices and await developments pertaining to Iran.

 

Shares of South Korean logistics company Hyundai Glovis Co. were up nearly 8%. The stock rose after analysts raised their target price on the company, CNBC said. US-based Boston Dynamics, in which Hyundai Glovis has an 80% stake, last Monday said it was partnering with Google DeepMind to integrate artificial intelligence into humanoid robots. The KOSPI was trading over 1% higher during the session.

 

Japanese markets were closed for a holiday, CNBC said. Hirofumi Yoshimura, the coalition partner of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, said the prime minister may call an early general election. The comments came after local media citing government sources said Takaichi was contemplating a snap election in February, CNBC said. 

 

Taiwan's exports in December rose 43.4% to $62.48 billion, slightly below expectations, Reuters reported. December marks the 26th consecutive month of rise in the country's exports, according to the finance ministry of the country. The country's exports rose on the back of high demand for its chips and AI-related technology, Reuters said. The growth came in despite a 20% tariff on exports to the US. However, the exports of semiconductors are currently excluded from the tariffs. In January, the finance ministry expects exports to rise between 50% and 56% from the previous year. 

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0821 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
CSI 300 Index	4752.51	(-)0.13
Hang Seng Index	26278.01	0.18
KOSPI	4639.68	1.16
Nikkei 225 Day	51939.89	1.61
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3514.11	0.85
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4770.83	0.55
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8750.2	0.37

 

(Akshat Saksena)

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Equity Alert: S&P 500 hits fresh high; futures dn after Powell investigation

MUMBAI---0748 IST--Indices in the US ended higher Friday, with the S&P 500 reaching a fresh new high of 6978.36 points. This high came after the release of the December jobs report. Futures on Wall Street fell late Sunday after reports said the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

 

Data showed that US non-farm payrolls increased by 50,000, below the 73,000 increase estimated by economists polled by Dow Jones, according to a report from CNBC. Even though the data was weaker than expected, it showed that the country's economy is still persevering with the unemployment rate inching down to 4.4% against an estimation of 4.5% by economists. Investors saw this as a sign that the economy may improve soon, according to CNBC. The December data was the first since October that was not affected by the record government shutdown, with the October data not released and the one for November being delayed, CNBC said. 

 

Mortgage lenders rose after US President Donald Trump said he ordered his representatives to acquire mortgage bonds worth $200 billion to bring down housing costs, according to a Reuters report. Shares of Loandepot jumped over 19% while those of Opendoor Technologies and Rocket Companies rose over 13% and nearly 10%, respectively. Among other stocks, shares of General Motors fell over 2?ter the company said it would take a charge of $6 billion to undo some of the investments it made in the electric-vehicle segment, Reuters said. 

 

The US Supreme Court on Friday said it would not issue a ruling on the legality of Trump's tariffs, leaving investors waiting for clarity on the issue. Investors expect higher-than-usual volatility if the courts decide to strike down Trump's tariffs, a Reuters report said. 

 

Meanwhile, futures on the Wall Street fell after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he was under criminal investigation, according to a report from CNBC-TV18. In an post on the Federal Reserve's official handle on X, Powell claimed that the investigation was a result of the central bank making their decisions on interest rates based on their "best assessment of what will serve the public," rather than following Trump's preferences, CNBC-TV18 said. "On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June," Powell was quoted as saying by CNBC-TV18. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 200 points and those of S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 30 and 150 points respectively, the report said. 

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Friday:  

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6966.28	0.65
NASDAQ Composite	23671.35	0.81
Dow Jones Industrial Average	49504.07	0.48

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 90.16

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Nishant Maher

 

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.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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NYSE: New York Stock Exchange
NYMEX: New York Mercantile Exchange
SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India
RBI: Reserve Bank of India

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