Stocks to watch- ITC, JSW Steel, Baja Auto, Wipro, Indigo

Stocks to watch: ITC, JSW Steel, Baja Auto, Wipro, Indigo

Stocks in Focus: GIFT Nifty traded at 19,570.5, down 23 points, or 0.12%, indicating a negative opening for domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex on Thursday. Previously on Wednesday, the NSE Nifty 50 fell 140.40 points or 0.71% to settle at 19,671.10, while the BSE Sensex shed as much as 551.07 points to 65,877.02.

“Profit booking ensued in Indian markets, spurred by weak global sentiments and escalating Middle East tensions. A sudden rise in the tension has led to instability in energy prices; Brent prices rapidly rose above $92.5 by the day’s closing time. While the US bond yields was cautiously placed, awaiting the FED chair’s speech,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Stocks to Watch on October 19, 2023ITC

The key bluechip ITC will be announcing second quarter earnings today. Robus cigarette, FMCG and hotels business growth is likely to help the company deliver a healthy bottomline growth.

Anushi Vakharia, Research Analyst, StoxBox expects ITC to report volume growth in the mid-single-digit range for its cigarette business on the back of the segment reporting market share gains and innovation. “However, considering the overall weak monsoon evidenced in August, we expect this growth rate to be subdued. Meanwhile, we expect GP and EBITDA margins to expand in the 100-150bps range with key raw material prices falling off from their earlier levels and higher focus on premiumization. A key development to remain watchful is the company’s outlook on its agribusiness which is under pressure and hampering the overall growth of the company after the government’s decision to place restrictions on wheat and rice exports,” Vakharia added.

HUL

FMCG major HUL too will be announcing its numbers- Price hits affecting margins and inflation impact on sales are the key focus areas as the market awaits Q2 numbers.

JSW Steel

The Q2 numbers will be in focus. The company’s realisations and margins will be something that the market will focus on given the commodity price moves in recent times.

Bajaj Auto

Bajaj Auto is planning six new upgrades and launches over the next six months and iot reported a 20% profit and a 6% revenue growth in Q2. The two-wheeler major crossed the Rs 2,000 crore EBITDA mark for the first time this quarter. The margins were up 260 bps year-on-year and this covered the drag arising from investments in growing electric scooters business. Focus on premium brands and new launches in that space was a key driver. The company delivered 8,000 units of the Triumph bikes during the second quarter and will start exporting the bikes from October end and both the Speed 400 and Scrambler 400X have a significant waiting list.

Wipro

Wipro saw its attrition falling to 15.5% in the September quarter, from 17.3% in the June quarter. Utilisation for Wipro has improved to 84.5% in the September quarter. The company said it is paying a standard 80% variable pay to its employees in Q2. It also indicated that they might not go for campus hiring this year.

Apollo Hospital, SAIL

Chennai-headquartered Apollo Hospitals on Wednesday announced the launch of its first multi-super specialty hospital in Rourkela under a partnership with Steel Authority of India (SAIL).

Indigo

All airline stocks, especially IndiGo and Spicejet would be in focus as Air India Express says that it aims to double its market share in the domestic market to around 15% from the current 7-8%, which is primarily comprising AirAsia India since Air India Express is mostly into international flights.

Shriram Finance

In an interaction with FE, Shriram Finance Executive Vice Chairman Umesh Revankar has told that Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have written to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking clarity on norms to issue credit cards on their books. In April 2022, the RBI said that NBFCs can only get into the credit card business with prior approval.