Business News at 05:30 pm on 15th January, 2024

Let’s begin…the sectoral-indice Nifty IT rose almost 4% today to 37,929.30 points. Shares of Wipro led the gains and rose 10% to hit the upper circuit of Rs 511.95. Shares of HCL Technologies rose around 5% to hit a new 52-week high of Rs 1,619.80. Here are some of the brokerage firms’ views on the stocks – Motilal Oswal expects Wipro’s revenue growth to be the slowest among Tier-1 IT Services peers and also believes the margin to be below the management’s expectation of a medium-term range of 17% to 17.5%. For HCL Technologies, the brokerage house kept the rating unchanged at “Buy” on the stock of HCL Technologies, with a target price of Rs 1,880.

Next up….Here are 6 things to know before taking a loan against fixed deposit. There are many options to borrow money provided your credit score is good and your income remains stable. A loan against fixed deposits is a type of secured loan where an FD holder can avail of a loan against their fixed deposits. This type of loan is easily available at most banks or financial institutions which offer FDs and has become a rather popular form of availing credit in today’s times. ‘MoneyMood’, an annual report published by BankBazaar on credit trends, reflects this trend and notes that Loans against FDs have grown by 16.47% year-on-year, rising from Rs 97.5 crore in 2022 to Rs 113.9 crore in 2023.

Let’s talk market…the highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) of Medi Assist Healthcare Services is set to kick off on Monday, January 15, with shares currently commanding a robust premium of Rs 32 in the unlisted market. The subscription window for the IPO will run until January 17. Ahead of the IPO launch, Medi Assist, a Bengaluru-based health insurance third-party administrator, successfully raised Rs 351.5 crore through its anchor book, attracting marquee investors such as Nomura Trust, Goldman Sachs, Ashoka Whiteoak, Pinebridge Global Funds, Troo Capital, and HSBC. Market analysts have largely endorsed the IPO with a ‘Subscribe’ rating, citing the company’s dominant position in the third-party administrator (TPA) market, consistent financial performance, and robust cash flow generation.

Additionally…the broking firm Jefferies said Avenue Supermart’s store addition and mix remained low for many quarters, “worst” is still yet to come. The brokerage house has kept the rating unchanged at Hold on the stock. It has a price target of Rs 4,200 on the stock, an upside of 9%. Jefferies said that the company’s third-quarter operating margin was below its estimates due to lower gross margin and marginally higher costs. According to the brokerage house, festive season sales of high-margin GM&A was softer, and weighed on GM. However, signs of recovery are there as the release shows that the mix has stabilised and trends are encouraging post-Diwali. But, the company’s management highlighted that the Diwali sales were lower for non-FMCG this year.

In other news…The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rose in December at 0.73 per cent mainly due to a sharp rise in food prices. The WPI inflation was in the negative zone from April to October and had turned positive in November at 0.26 per cent. Food inflation rose to 9.38 per cent in December from 8.18 per cent in November 2023. Inflation in vegetables was 26.30 per cent, while in pulses it was 19.60 per cent in December. Retail or consumer price based inflation (CPI) print for December rose to a 4-month high of 5.69 per cent, as per data released last week. RBI in its bi-monthly monetary policy last month held interest rates steady and flagged risks of rising food inflation.

Moreover…Capital markets regulator on Monday put in place guidelines for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) pertaining to holding their investments in dematerialised form along with the appointment of custodian. Under the latest guidelines, AIFs are required to hold their investments in dematerialised form, unless exempted by Sebi. The new framework, effective from October 1, 2024, mandates that any investment made by an AIF after this date must be held in dematerialised form, Sebi said in a circular. However, investments made before this date have been exempted except in cases where the investee company is legally required to facilitate dematerialisation or when the AIF, alone or with other Sebi registered entities, has control over the investee company.

Lastly…Let’s take a look at how the stocks performed today. The benchmark equity indices opened in the positive territory. The NSE Nifty 50 opened 158.60 points or 0.72% higher to settle at 22,053.15, while the BSE Sensex soared 481.41 points or 0.66% to 73,049.87 in the opening trade. The broader indices opened in the green, with gains led by Large-cap and Small-cap stocks. Bank Nifty index opened higher by 181.25 points or 0.38% to settle at 47,891.05. Among sectors, except metal all other sectoral indices ended in the green with the Information Technology, PSU Bank, Oil & Gas up 1 percent each. Wipro, ONGC, HCL Technologies and Bharti Airtel were among the top gainers on Nifty, while losers included HDFC Life, Bajaj Finance and more.