Sensex Today Live : 1 pm Market update
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices were up on Friday.
At 1 pm, Sensex was up 174.71 points, or 0.24%, at 72,815.90, and Nifty was up 82.20 points, or 0.37%, at 22,094.15.
Sensex Today Live : L&T receives NCLT approval for amalgamation of L&T Innovation Campus (Chennai) and L&T Seawoods
Sensex Today Live : L&T today informed the exchanges that it has received the approval of NCLT for the amalgamation of L&T Innovation Campus (Chennai) and L&T Seawoods.
In an exchange filing, the company said, “This is with reference to our letter dated July 20, 2023, intimating the approval granted by the Board of Directors of LTICCL and LTSL for the Scheme of Arrangement for merger of LTICCL with LTSL (wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company).
We wish to inform you that the Hon’ble National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench (NCLT) vide its order dated March 14, 2024 had approved the said Scheme of Amalgamation.”
The appointed date for Scheme is April 1, 2023, it added.
Sensex Today Live : A2Z Infra Engineering receives tax demand order or ₹8.90 crore from Siliguri CGST & CX Commissionerate
Sensex Today Live : A2Z Infra Engineering today informed the exchanges that it has received a tax demand order of ₹8.90 crores from the GST Department.
In an exchange filing, the company said, “We hereby submit the disclosure regarding the demand notice dated 29 February, 2024 for the Financial Year 2018-19 and 2019-20 received by the company from the Goods and Services Tax Department (GST) on 21s March, 2024 for an amount of INR 8,90,22,512, including penalties for the FY 2018-19 and 2019-20 and interest for the F.Y. 2019-20.”
The company revealed that the penalty was imposed due to disallowance of input tax credit by the GST Department under Section 16 (4) of CGST Act 2017 in relation to filing of GSTR3B returns beyond time period specified.
Sensex Today Live : Accenture secures $1.1 billion GenAI projects in Sep-Feb
Sensex Today Live : In the three months leading up to February, Accenture Plc, a provider of IT services, successfully landed GenAI (Generative Artificial Intelligence) projects worth $600 million. This follows the $450 million in similar deals they secured in the first quarter.
The management at Accenture has stated that GenAI is the quickest technology to exceed $1 billion in sales.
Accenture, whose financial year runs from September to August, has secured $1.1 billion in GenAI projects in the first half of this fiscal year. This comes after they first reported the deal value in this new technology in June of the previous year, when they announced that they had secured $100 million in standalone GenAI projects from February to May. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : 1 pm Market update
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices were up on Friday.
At 1 pm, Sensex was up 208.14 points, or 0.29%, at 72,849.33, and Nifty was up 87.50 points, or 0.4%, at 22,099.45.
Sensex Today Live : ICICI Securities gives update on Grasim Industries and Birla Opus after hosting its senior management
Sensex Today Live : ICICI Securities hosted Grasim Industries’ senior management including Rakshit Hargave, CEO – Birla Opus Paints (BOP).
Key statements include: (1) Its primary objective is ‘aggressive market share gains’
(2) We are a start-up rather than a traditional paint company
(3) BOP (overall) pricing is ~15-18% lower than peers
(4) aggressive focus on Projects (B2B)
(5) BOP has introduced first-ever offer of 10% extra volume
(6) BOP has a team of 2,800 employees and 30% is from paints industry. 70% has worked in consumer staples, durables and other industries.
We reckon incumbents may have to choose between market shares or margins.
We reckon [comfortable] competitive equilibrium in Paints is likely broken. Retain underweight on large cap paints.
Contrarian investors may consider owning Akzo Nobel / Indigo Paints/Kansai Nerolac.
Sensex Today Live : Shree Cement launches Bangur Concrete, enters the ready mix concrete segment
Sensex Today Live : Shree Cement today informed the exchanges that it has launched Bangur Concrete with the commissioning of its first Greenfield Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) plant in Hyderabad.
The plant has a capacity of 90 cubic meters per hour. The commissioning of the state-of-the-art unit aligns with the company’s vision to emerge as a multi-product player in the core cement business.
As part of this strategy, Shree Cements had acquired five operational plants of StarCrete LLP in Mumbai earlier this month for a consideration of ₹33.5 crore. The company’s combined RMC capacity now stands at 512 cubic meters per hour.
Speaking on the occasion, Neeraj Akhoury, Managing Director of Shree Cement Ltd, said, “This venture into Ready Mix Concrete marks our entry into a promising new line of business. We recognise the vast potential of RMC business, which is being driven by India’s growth momentum… We’re committed to aggressively expand our presence in this market by building new units as well as acquiring plants.”
Sensex Today Live : KEC International wins new orders worth a total of ₹1,004 crores
Sensex Today Live : KEC International a global infrastructure EPC major from RPG Group, today informed the exchanges that it has secured new orders of ₹1,004 crores across its various businesses:
Transmission & Distribution (T&D):
The business has secured orders for T&D projects in India and Americas:
• Composite order for construction of transmission lines, substations and underground cabling in India
• Supply of towers, hardware and poles in Americas
Civil:
The business has secured an order for a residential project from a renowned real estate developer in India.
Railways:
The business has secured an order for 2 x 25 kV Overhead Electrification (OHE) and associated works for speed upgradation in India.
Cables:
The business has secured orders for supply of conductors and cables in India:
• Maiden order for supply of power transmission conductors (ACSR and AL-59) from a reputed government utility
• Supply of various types of cables
Sensex Today Live : Kotak Institutional Equities gives update on crop sector and price trends
Sensex Today Live : US futures prices of corn and soybeans ticked up 3-5% sequentially amid short covering and some uncertainty regarding weather, but are still lower 17-30% yoy.
In general, farm economics have weakened in recent months, and that is a worry for agrochemical demand.
In India, vegetable prices are significantly higher yoy, while palm oil prices have also perked up amid weather-related concerns. Rainfall remained deficient across the country in March, and reservoir levels remain low in southern India.
Fertilizer prices remain generally weak, although urea has perked up recently in the US. On the agrochemical 9(3) registration front, while there were new registrations obtained by several companies including Sumitomo, Dhanuka, Rallis and Best Agro, the most interesting seems to be pydiflumetofen, a patented fungicide from Syngenta.
Sensex Today Live : Kotak Institutional Equities gives update on chemical sector, says there’s a surprise jump in exports
Sensex Today Live : India’s exports of organic and inorganic chemicals jumped 23%/33% mom/yoy in February 2024 for reasons that are not yet apparent—the leading specialty chemical companies do not seem to have experienced a pickup.
The demand environment generally remains subdued, with crop prices under pressure and chemical prices also generally soft. We continue to expect sluggish performances in general for another quarter or two.
India’s exports of organic and inorganic chemicals jumped 23%/33% mom/yoy in February 2024, while imports also picked up 9% mom but fell 12% yoy. The reason for the spike in monthly exports is not yet apparent, as a category-wise breakdown is not yet available. Besides, the softness in imports may indicate weak domestic demand. US chemical production for February 2024 was lower by 1.3%/0.2% mom/yoy, while chemical railcar holdings—a measure of volumes—increased 4.9% yoy on a 13-week moving average basis for the week ending March 9. US data indicates continued softness in pricing, with chemicals producer prices down 4.9% yoy and import prices down 0.2%/18.1% mom/yoy. Commentary from global companies suggests that a demand recovery is not apparent for the near future and, besides, Chinese overcapacity is an overhang.
While chemical prices remain soft in general, a few points worth highlighting include:
(1) prices of BOPP film increased 10% mom—potentially a positive sign for SRF’s Packaging Films Business, although raw material polypropylene prices have also risen in recent months;
(2) HFC refrigerant prices have perked up in China YTD, as highlighted in our recent note;
(3) there may be some pricing pressure on certain contract-manufactured products, e.g., topramezone and DFPA for SRF and Solstice 1233zd for NFIL;
(4) Astec has started shipments of pyroxasulfone—a sign of looming competition for PI and its customer Kumiai;
(5) market reports suggest there might be a shortage of nitric acid (a key raw material for Deepak Nitrite and Aarti Industries) amid a plant shutdown by a key producer. Soda ash prices remain under pressure, as do phenol spreads.
Sensex Today Live : Sector Indices Heat Map
Sensex Today Live : Across sectors, IT was the only index in the red, down 1.97%. Among the top gainers were Media, up 1.54%, followed by Auto, up 1.36%. Other heavyweight indices like Pharma, Healthcare, FMCG, Bank and Oil & Gas were also in the green.
Sensex Today Live : Broader market indices heat map
Sensex Today Live : The broader market was in the green, with the BSE MidCap index up 0.22%, and the BSE SmallCap index surging 1.01%.
Sensex Today Live : Gainers and Losers on Nifty
Sensex Today Live : UPL, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma, and Tata Motors, were the top gainers on the Nifty 50, while HCLTech, Wipro, Infosys, LTIMindtree, and TCS, were the top drags.
Sensex Today Live : Gainers and Losers on Sensex
Sensex Today Live : Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki India, Titan, and Tata Steel, were the top gainers on the Sensex, while HCLTech, Wipro, Infosys, TCS, and Tech Mahindra, were the top drags.
Sensex Today Live : 12 pm Market update
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices were up on Friday.
At 11 am, Sensex was up 219.72 points, or 0.30%, at 72,860.91, and Nifty was up 86.05 points, or 0.39%, at 22,098.
Sensex Today Live : Kotal Institutional Equities gives update on battery electric vehicles versus hybrid vehicles, says battle to intensify
Sensex Today Live : Nitin Gadkari, the Minister of Road, Transport & Highways, proposed a tax reduction for hybrid vehicles to 12% from 28%/43% for sub-4m and above-4m hybrid vehicles, respectively.
If the proposed policy is implemented, the ex-showroom prices of the hybrids are likely to come down by 21% and TCO will become favorable for hybrids as compared to pure EVs.
Incrementally, OEMs (especially Japanese) may accelerate product introductions with strong hybrid technologies, which may hamper EV adoption in the near term.
If the proposed policy on hybrid vehicles is implemented, ex-showroom prices of hybrids are likely to come down by 21%. There are five hybrid models on road, which include Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara & Invicto, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder & Innova Hycross and Honda City. For instance, the price of Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara Alpha (AT), which is currently sold at an ex-showroom price of ₹1.7 mn, which is likely to come down to ₹1.34 mn. Also, ex-showroom price of Maruti Suzuki Invicto will come down to ₹2 mn from ₹2.5 mn.
TCO of hybrid vehicles with proposed tax policy will be lower than EV vehicles
Also, we believe that there can be more launches of strong hybrids across segments, which may impact adoption of EVs in the near term given favorable TCO and no charging requirements unlike EVs.
Globally, Japanese and Korean OEMs have hybrid electric (HEV) offerings, while in India, Japanese OEMs have a few hybrid offerings, placing them in a sweet spot to capitalize on the proposed policy change.
If the proposed taxation structure is implemented, we believe hybrid adoption can increase in other segments as well (SUVs, sedan and hatchback).
We also expect customers delaying their EV/hybrid purchases as OEMs may progressively prioritize the introduction of hybrid variants for current models and potentially unveiling new models in the coming years.
This will definitely impact pure electric vehicle sales in the near term and there can be increase in competitive intensity as Tata Motors and M&M (focusing on pure EVs) may resort to further price cuts (including passing on the benefits of PLI to end-consumers) to drive sales for pure EVs.
Sensex Today Live : Kotak Institutional Equities gives update on Accenture
Sensex Today Live : Accenture reported a weak quarter and cut FY2024 revenue growth (August year-ends) guidance to 1-3% from 2-5% earlier. The cut in organic guidance is sharper noting enhanced M&A contribution to FY2024E revenues. The guidance cut captures deterioration in discretionary spending and further cut in short-cycle programs. Read-through is negative for the rest of the IT services sector and indicates higher-than-expected weakness in spending.
Key Highlights:
Demand environment. Clients continue to prioritize invest large-scale transformations that convert to revenue more slowly, while further limiting discretionary spending, particularly in smaller projects. Continued delays in decision-making and a slower pace of spending.
Growth composition. Revenue growth hit mid-single digit or higher in public services, life sciences, health, utilities, energy and hi-tech. In North America, growth in public services was offset by declines in banking capital markets, software and platforms and communications and media. In EMEA, growth in public services was offset by declines in communications and media and banking capital markets. Revenue growth in Italy was offset by declines in the United Kingdom, France and Ireland. In growth markets, revenue growth was led by banking capital markets, industrial, public service and chemicals and natural resources. Revenue growth was driven by Japan and Argentina, partially offset by declines in Australia and Brazil.
Guidance composition. Consulting will be flat at midpoint of guidance. Managed services will grow in mid-single digit in FY2024.
Technology opportunities. Cloud, data, AI, security, modern platforms such as ERP and security continue to present elevated opportunities for Accenture. As client spending increases, Accenture can benefit from pent-up demand.
2HFY24. Revenue growth will increase on yoy basis in 2HFY24 due to higher contribution from inorganic growth and ramp-up of large deals.
Other highlights. Clients can reduce spending on services quickly compared to software. Client spending is tied to tech budgets and macro. 39 clients signed quarterly bookings greater than US$100 mn.
Sensex Today Live : IDFC First Bank share price in focus after MD & CEO gifts 7 lakh equity shares to 5 people not related to him
Sensex Today Live : IDFC First Bank shares are in focus today due to an act of generosity by the company’s Managing Director. He has given away 7 lakh equity shares to five individuals who have no relation to him.
The bank disclosed in a stock exchange filing that its Managing Director & CEO, V. Vaidyanathan, presented 7,00,000 of the company’s equity shares that he owned to five individuals on March 21, without any exchange of value.
IDFC First Bank clarified that the beneficiaries of this gift have no connection to V. Vaidyanathan as per the definitions of related parties in the Companies Act or SEBI Regulations. The bank emphasized that these transactions were carried out without any consideration. (Read the full story here.)
Sensex Today Live : Mahindra Lifespace Developers received order to pay ₹10.63 crore in penalty in Bhiwandi
Sensex Today Live : Mahindra Lifespace Developers informed the exchanges today that it has been ordered by the Executive Magistrate, Bhiwandi, to make a payment of ₹10.63 crores for alleged non-adherence to certain provisions of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966.
In the exchange filing, the company, said, “The Company has received an Order from the Office of Tahsildar and Executive Magistrate, Bhiwandi to make payment of Rs.10,62,69,108/- (Rupees Ten Crore Sixty -Two Lakh Sixty Nine Thousand One Hundred and Eight only) for alleged non-adherence to certain applicable provisions of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966. “
The order alleges that the Company has carried out certain activities which are not in compliance with the applicable provisions of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code,1966.
However, the company said that it believes it has a strong case on merits and is pursuing suitable legal avenues, including contesting the Order with the competent authority.
Sensex Today Live : 11 am Market update
Sensex Today Live : Indian benchmark indices had pared some of their losses, but were still in the red on Friday, led by mixed cues from global peers.
At 11 am, Sensex was up 58.53 points, or 0.08%, at 72,699.72, and Nifty was up 25.50 points, or 0.12%, at 22,037.45.
Sensex Today Live : NITCO received show cause notice from Sebi for various violations
Sensex Today Live : NITCO Ltd., informed the exchanges today that it has been served a show cause notice by markets regulator Sebi.
In an exchange filing, the company said, “We hereby inform you that the Company has received Show Cause Notice (SCN) dated March 20, 2024, issued by Securities and Exchange Board of India.”
The exchange filing said, “The SCN alleges that:
1. The Company has not complied with the provisions of IND- AS 36, 109 and 24.
2. CMD has violated few clauses of provisions of Regulations 4, 17 r/w Regulations 33, 34 and 48 of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 and Section 27 of the SEBI Act, 1992.
The Noticees have been directed to reply to SCN within the stipulated timelines”
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