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Informist, Thursday, Jul. 16, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Brokerages mixed on HDFC Life Q1 results, cut growth estimates

 

MUMBAI--0859 IST--HDFC Life Insurance Co.'s June quarter results drew mixed reactions from brokerages. The company's new business value and annualised premium equivalent beat some analysts' expectations but were in line with others'. The loss of input tax credit under the revised goods and services tax norms impacted the company's margin in the new business. Brokerages were confident that the margin would stabilise in 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) and maintained their recommendations on the stock even as they cut growth estimates slightly.

 

The life insurance company's growth in annualised premium equivalent for the June quarter was subdued, while its margin in value of new business was flat on-year, according to Emkay Global Financial Services. The growth in value of new business is likely to track that of annualised premium equivalent as management focuses on maintaining a balanced product mix, the brokerage noted. Emkay Global tweaked its estimates for the company's annualised premium equivalent and value of new business, lower by 1-2%. "Growth revival and clarity on commission regulations will be key to a re-rating of the stock," the brokerage said. Emkay Global has a 'buy' recommendation on the stock with the target price unchanged at INR 750.

 

HDFC Life's annualised premium equivalent was weak due to a decline in contributions from its Bancassurance division, Nuvama Institutional Equities said. Retail protection, which was up 42% on year, and demand for unit-linked insurance plans were resilient, the brokerage said. Nuvama trimmed its estimates for the company's value of new business by 3.1% for FY27 and by 1.8% for FY28. It revised its target price lower to INR 790 from INR 850 earlier while retaining its 'buy' recommendation. Regulatory clarity and bancassurance recovery are key re-rating triggers, though current valuations offer a reasonable margin of safety at abount 5% value of new business growth, Nuvama said.

 

The insurer's annualised premium equivalent was in line with Motilal Oswal Financial Services' estimates. Going forward, protection as a percentage of annualised premium equivalent is expected to remain broadly range-bound at current levels while annuity contributions are likely to increase, the brokerage said. Its unit-linked plans are not expected to change meaningfully, the brokerage said in a report. The company's value of new business of INR 8.79 billion beat the brokerage's expectations.

 

The company's margin in new business is expected to remain stable, the sum assured is expected to increase, and policy riders are expected to improve, Motilal Oswal said. The loss of input tax credit is likely to be fully absorbed by the first half of FY27. The company's margin in the value of new business is expected to normalise by then, the brokerage said. Motilal Oswal expects the company's value of new business to increase to INR 47.7 billion in FY27, up from INR 46.7 billion. The margin in value of new business is estimated to be 50 basis points higher at 25% for the same period. The brokerage reaffirmed its 'buy' call on the stock and revised its target price to INR 690.

 

The life insurance company reported a net profit of INR 6.11 billion for the quarter ended Jun. 30, up nearly 12% on year. Its net premium income rose over 14% on year to INR 165.48 billion. Wednesday, shares of the company closed 2.4% higher at INR 568.75.  (Ruchira Kagita)

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Equity Alert: Indices seen opening flat; Wipro, Tech Mahindra results eyed

 

MUMBAI--0835 IST--Benchmark equity indices are expected to open flat and remain within a narrow range Thursday, with a focus on June-quarter earnings and developments in West Asia. The US launched a fresh round of strikes in the southern part of Iran, attacking the country for the fifth straight day. The crude oil prices have remained around $85 per barrel since Tuesday.

 

The US military completed a second wave of strikes on Iran on Wednesday that were aimed at degrading its ability to target vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, CNN reported. President Donald Trump is weighing options to expand the US military operation, sources told CNN.

 

In Asia, most indices fell amid a sell-off in semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks. South Korea's Kospi fell 7%. The Bank of Korea raised the interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.75% in the first hike in over three years. US indices ended higher as a better-than-expected US Producer Price Index lifted sentiment and eased concerns about a Federal Reserve rate hike. 

 

The Nifty 50 is expected to open flat on Thursday, likely between 24050 and 24085 points, Ashish Sherigar, senior technical and derivatives analyst at NVS Brokerage, said. The intraday support is at 24000-23800 points and the resistance at 24200-24250 points, he added. 

 

At 0722 IST, the July contract of GIFT NIFTY was at 24092, down 11 points or 0.1%. This was 14 points higher than the Nifty 50's close level on Wednesday. The 50-stock index settled at 24078.50 points, up 0.1%. Over the last several sessions, the index has been consolidating between 23800 and 24200 points broadly. The BSE Sensex closed at 77185.43 points, up by 130.49 points or 0.2%.  (Gopika Balasubramanium)

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Equity Alert: Asian markets fall, Kospi down 7% amid Bank of Korea rate hike

 

MUMBAI--0732 IST-—Asian markets opened lower as a sell-off in US chipmakers affected regional stocks. South Korea's Kospi fell sharply due to SK Hynix's volatility after its US listing last week. South Korea's Central Bank raised its benchmark interest rate for the first ‌time in three and a half years to 2.75% from 2.50%. Bank of Korea has raised its seven-day repurchase rate by 25 basis points, as estimated by all but one of 37 economists surveyed in a Reuters poll.

 

South Korea's Kospi fell 6.7% as shares of index heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics fell 11% and 7%, respectively. Shares of Seoul Semiconductor, LG Innotek, and Samsung SDI fell between 1% and 5%. Japan's Nikkei opened 3% lower. Japan's Advantest fell more than 6% while SoftBank Group fell nearly 7%. Among other stocks, Tokyo Electron fell over 5% and Renesas Electronics fell 4%. Overnight, Micron Technology, Intel, Lam Research, and Advanced Micro Devices fell between 3% and 8% in the US.  

 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng opened 1.6% higher and was the best performer. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was slightly down. 

 

Following are the levels of key indices in the region at 0732 IST:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Nikkei 225 Day	66562.18	(-)3.2
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	4048.2	(-)0.98
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8821.5	(-)0.2
KOSPI Index	6799.84	(-)6.7
Hang Seng Index	25064.61	1.6
CSI 300 Index	4740.56	(-)0.97
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	5543.23	(-)0.3

 

(Deesha Jadhav)

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Equity Alert: US mkts up due to better-than-expected PPI, higher earnings 

 

MUMBAI--0658 IST--US indices closed higher Wednesday as a better-than-expected US Producer Price Index lifted sentiment and gave relief that the Federal Reserve will not raise key interest rates. Major financial firms reported strong earnings for the June quarter, which gave investors comfort that growth sustained despite easing inflation. Lower Treasury yields boosted demand for mega-cap technology companies. 

 

In order for the market to broaden, rates need to either move sideways or decline, CNBC quoted Michael Kantrowitz, chief investment strategist and head of portfolio strategy at Piper Sandler, as saying. "The best backdrop for the equity market in today's regime would be employment that stays more or less sluggish because I think that can help keep a lid on interest rates and prevent any rate hikes."

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed slightly higher Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite closed marginally higher. The PHLX semiconductor sector index fell 3% and was pulled lower by falls in Micron Technology, Marvell Technology, Intel Corporation, and Advanced Micro Devices. Mega-cap companies Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Amazon.com all traded 3% or more higher.

 

Investors await retail sales and jobless claims data on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group and Netflix are both scheduled to report their results.

 

Following were the closing levels of major US indices on Wednesday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	52658.64	0.3
NASDAQ Composite	26269.23	0.6
S&P 500	7572.4	0.4

 

(Deesha Jadhav)

 

US$1 = INR 96.26

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

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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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