Tag: Financial Market

  • Indian stock markets can fall another 10%

    Budget euphoria is slowly fading away on Dalal Street as global headwinds stare in the eye. Geopolitical tensions involving Ukraine and Russia, coupled with fear of easy money drying up amid soaring inflation, are giving a rude reality check to stock market investors. Yesterday, the BSE Sensex plunged over 1,300 points in intra-day trade while the Nifty50 slipped below the 17,150 level. The Nifty 50 and BSE-Sensex tumbled for a third straight day and moved below the highs made on Budget-day.

    The indices ended nearly 2% lower at 17,214 and 57,621, respectively. With this, the markets have turned negative for the year, and are down 1 percent YTD.U R Bhat, who is co-founder & director at Alphaniti Fintech, believes markets can fall another 3-5% from here on as an actual clash on the Russian border is not priced in at all. Brent crude prices are already up 16% in a month amid simmering tensions between Russia and NATO over Ukraine. Brent is above $93 per barrel mark but a full-scale war can take it past the $100 per barrel mark, analysts worry. Most analysts, including those at Rabobank International and BofA Securities, see Brent hitting the $125 mark by June 2022. On their part, the benchmark indices – the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 – have slipped around 3% each in the past month. On the contrary, the Nifty Energy index that comprises upstream players like Reliance Industries and ONGC has outperformed with a rise of nearly 6% as oil prices rose during this period. Going forward, market mavens suggest investors stay stock-specific and tread cautiously in the markets. These global factors will continue to dictate market trends on Tuesday as well. Domestically, investors will track the three-day RBI policy meeting, which will begin later today. That apart, the December quarter result of prominent companies, including Bharti Airtel, Escorts, Indraprastha Gas, IRCTC, and Godrej Consumer products will be on investor radar. Moreover, shares of Adani Wilmar will also debut on the bourses today.

  • Tube Investment Consolidated December 2021 Net Sales at Rs 3,410.10 crore, up 100.6% Y-o-Y

    Net Sales at Rs 3,410.10 crore in December 2021 up 100.6% from Rs. 1,699.99 crore in December 2020.

    Quarterly Net Profit at Rs. 278.88 crore in December 2021 up 159.79% from Rs. 107.35 crore in December 2020.

    EBITDA stands at Rs. 466.45 crore in December 2021 up 92.06% from Rs. 242.87 crore in December 2020.

    Tube Investment EPS has increased to Rs. 14.46 in December 2021 from Rs. 5.71 in December 2020.

    Tube Investment shares closed at 1,796.50 on February 04, 2022 (NSE)

  • IPO-bound Delhivery announces investment in Falcon Autotech

    IPO-bound logistics service Delhivery has announced its investment in Falcon Autotech, a logistics automation solutions provider. This is in line with Delhivery’s stated objective of sustained investments in future-ready hardware solutions in its operations.

    The amount invested is undisclosed by both the firms.

    With this partnership, Delhivery expects to work closely with Falcon Autotech to design and implement new automation solutions for transportation and warehousing operations.

    The partnership will also enable the bundling of the hardware automated solutions along with Delhivery’s SaaS platform, one of the proposed growth verticals for Delhivery in the national and international market.

    Delhivery (including Spoton) already operates 20 automated sortation centres, 124 gateways, and 83 fulfillment centres across India as of June 30, 2021.

    Commenting on the investment, Ajith Pai, Chief Operating Officer, Delhivery, said, “The collaboration with Falcon Autotech strengthens our ability to drive greater speed, precision, and efficiency across our business lines.”

    Naman Jain, Chief Executive Officer, Falcon Autotech, added, “We are delighted to welcome Delhivery as a partner to Falcon. This investment is a testimony to Falcon’s commitment to our customers, our design, technology, and delivery capabilities, and the product roadmap ahead.”

    A month ago in December, Delhivery had acquired Transition Robotics Inc, a California-based company focused on developing unmanned aerial system platforms.  The deal would help strengthen its capabilities in a wide range of applications, including aerial photography, remote sensing, inspection and surveys.

    Delhivery on November 2 filed its documents with the market regulator, seeking to raise a billion dollars in an initial public offering.Delhivery IPO will consist of primary issuance of Rs 5,000 crores which the end-to-end supply chain unicorn will raise via public issue. The offer for sale by the existing investors will be to the tune of Rs 2,460 crores. It will mark a lucrative exit for many of its investors.

  • Reliance Retail picks 25.8% stake in Dunzo for $200 million

    Reliance Industries Ltd’s retail arm has invested $200 million (around ₹1,488 crore) in Bengaluru-headquartered Dunzo as it looks to get a foothold in the country’s rapidly growing market of quick delivery.

    With the investment of $200 million, Reliance Retail will own 25.8% stake in the online delivery platform on a fully diluted basis.

    Existing investors Lightbox, Ligthrock, 3L Capital and Alteria Capital also participated in the latest funding round that was led by Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.

    “With an investment of USD 200 million, Reliance Retail will own 25.8% stake,” the statement said.

    In addition to the funding, Dunzo and Reliance Retail will also enter into certain business partnerships. Dunzo will enable hyperlocal logistics for the retail stores operated by RRVL, further adding onto Reliance Retail’s omni-channel capabilities.

    Dunzo will also facilitate last mile deliveries for JioMart’s merchant network.

    The capital will be used to further Dunzo’s vision to be the largest quick commerce business in the country, enabling instant delivery of essentials from a network of micro warehouses while also expanding its B2B business vertical to enable logistics for local merchants in cities across the country, the statement said.

    “We are seeing a shift in consumption patterns to online and have been highly impressed with how Dunzo has disrupted the space. Dunzo is the pioneer of Quick Commerce in India and we want to support them in furthering their ambitions of becoming a prominent local commerce enabler in the country,” RRVL Director Isha Ambani said.

    She added that through the partnership with Dunzo, the company will be able to provide increased convenience to Reliance Retail’s consumers and differentiated customer experience through rapid delivery of products from Reliance Retail stores.

    “Our merchants will get access to the hyperlocal delivery network of Dunzo to support their growth as they move their business online through JioMart,” she said.

    Dunzo is a leading player in the quick commerce category which has an addressable market opportunity of over USD 50 billion.

    At present, Dunzo is available across seven metro cities in India and the additional capital will be used to expand the quick commerce business to 15 cities, the statement said.

    Dunzo launched its instant delivery model ‘Dunzo Daily’ in Bengaluru earlier this year, which is seeing over 20% week-on- week growth.

    The Dunzo Daily model delivers daily and weekly essentials within 15-20 minutes, with a focus on providing high quality fruits and vegetables.

    While traditional e-commerce deliveries take a day or longer, quick commerce (or q-commerce)

    enables customers to get small quantities of goods to customers in a shorter period of time.

    According to a RedSeer report, the quick commerce sector in India is expected to grow to USD 5 billion by 2025 from the current USD 0.3 billion.

    The report said quick commerce is growing in India on the back of trends like a shift in consumer behaviour, entry of big players like BigBasket and Blinkit , and rise of instant delivery platforms.

    Last month, food delivery platform Swiggy announced an investment of USD 700 million (about ₹5,250 crore) in its express grocery delivery service, Instamart.

    Previously, Ola had also started piloting a quick delivery service for items like groceries in Bengaluru.

  • Stick to your investment plan even if market is volatile, says Ajay Tyagi of UTI AMC

    Ajay Tyagi, Head of Equity at UTI AMC has advised that new age investors have to avoid timing the market, have an asset allocation plan, follow this plan systematically and stick with it even when things look volatile in the short run.

    Investors trying to change their investment strategy every now and then to make quick money or chase momentum will never be able to create sustainable wealth, says Tyagi who has more than two decades of experience. He manages UTI’s flagship equity scheme in India and is also the Investment Advisor to UTI International’s range of India dedicated offshore funds.

    He expects India to continue trading at a premium to other emerging markets. “The reason for this is India’s long term structural growth, strong demographics, thriving democracy and a very vibrant stock market.”

  • AI firm Fractal becomes second unicorn in 2022 with $360 million investment from TPG

    Fractal, a US-based artificial intelligence firm, becomes the second unicorn in 2022 with the latest investment of $360 million from the private equity firm TPG Capital Asia. The funding will close by the first quarter of 2022.

    With the latest investment, the company’s valuation has exceeded $1 billion, according to industry sources. Mamaearth, valued at $1.2 billion, was the first unicorn in 2022.

    After Mu Sigma, this is the second firm in India in the pure-play analytics space to reach the unicorn status. This also comes at a time when the analytics space is gaining huge interest from investors. For instance, Chennai-based LatentView Analytics saw a huge response for its IPO last year.

    Fractal was founded in 2000 in Mumbai and established its base in the US in 2005 by five people including group CEO Srikanth Velamakanni and Pranay Agrawal, CEO. It employs 3,500 people across 16 global locations, including the United States, the UK, Ukraine, India, Singapore, and Australia. Fractal’s products include Qure.ai to assist radiologists in making better diagnostic decisions.

    As part of the transaction, TPG’s Puneet Bhatia and Vivek Mohan will join Fractal’s board of directors. All current directors including Gavin Patterson, Rohan Haldea, Shashank Singh, and Gulu Mirchandani will continue to serve on the company’s board.

    Pranay Agrawal, Co-founder & CEO, Fractal, said in a statement, “The demand for AI is surging across the enterprise. Our AI solutions and products, along with our globally recognised team of experts, empower these organisations to realise and maximise their full potential. As we continue to build upon this foundation, the investment from TPG will accelerate our ability to scale and meet this rising demand globally.”

    Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-founder and Group CEO, Fractal, said in the statement, “TPG capabilities across all our markets and their proven success in building and supporting top AI providers is the perfect complement to the partnership we have enjoyed with Apax, whose insight and expertise have been instrumental in accelerating our growth.”

  • State Bank of India invests $20 million in Pine Labs

    Bengaluru: India’s largest lender, the State Bank of India NSE 0.90 %, has invested $20 million in Pine Labs, the fintech startup said Tuesday without sharing any further details of the deal.

    The IPO-bound online payments and merchant solutions platform raised around $700 million in multiple tranches last year and was last valued at $3.5 billion. ET reported in December that it was in advanced stages of talks to raise at least $100 million from Falcon Edge and that the total funding round could increase to $200 million.

    Pine Labs, best known for its offline merchant payments tool, is also looking to list in the United States in the first half of 2022, ET reported last month.

    “In the past year, several marquee investors have placed their trust in our business model and growth momentum, and that is a gratifying feeling,” Pine Labs CEO Amrish Rau said Tuesday. “This association with SBI is a personally satisfying experience as I had started my career selling financial services technology to SBI.” In a statement, Pine Labs said it would invest in scaling its new product Plural, a payments gateway.

  • Top sectors to invest in 2022

    After ending the calendar year 2021 with a gain of 22 per cent on the Sensex and 24 per cent on the Nifty, red flags are now up on the Street with analysts suggesting investors tread carefully as the markets face multiple headwinds – both from domestic and global factors – which can keep them choppy in the year ahead. What could cap the market upside at least in the short-term is the fast-spreading Covid variant – Omicron – that has already seen several states adopt a precautionary approach. That said, analysts at Morgan Stanley, for instance, expect the emerging markets, including India, to muddle through most part of 2022 amid rich valuations.

    Despite downgrading India, the global research and brokerage house remains ‘structurally bullish’ on Indian equities and is looking for stock-level opportunities to hold exposure.Jonathan F Garner, chief Asia and emerging market strategist at Morgan Stanley says, EM equities will continue to struggle next year, with only 3 per cent upside to their December 2022 target.According to Credit Suisse, earnings will be the key driver for equity returns. Sectors that lagged the global recovery from the pandemic shock to emerge as bright spots alongside industries that benefit from secular growth trends.Other analysts, too, echo the same view and suggest stock selection will be key for investors to beat index returns.So which sectors are likely to do well in 2022?A similar sentiment is echoed by those at ICICI Securities, who expect the IT sector to lead the rally, supported by cyclicals like capital goods and BFSI.Herald van der Linde, head of equity strategy for Asia Pacific at HSBC, however, suggests staying away from real estate, auto components and sectors that have regulatory uncertainty like PSU banks and utilities.Over the medium-term, however, the market direction will be guided by a slew of domestic factors such as the upcoming result season for the quarter ended December 2021, expectations from the Union Budget that is likely to be presented on February 1.

  • Stocks to Watch: HP Adhesives, RBL Bank, Adani Trans, HUL, Lupin, CBI

    The key benchmark indices are likely to start trade on a quiet note owing to lack of any major directional cues from the overseas market. As of 08:00 AM, the SGX Nifty futures were quoted at 17040, up 14 points. Meanwhile, here the top stocks to focus in trade today.

    HP Adhesives: The stock will make its debut on the bourses today. The IPO was subscribed 20.96. The GMP (Grey Market Premium) indicates a likely listing gain of 20-25 per cent as against the issue price of Rs 274 per share.

    RBL Bank: According to CNBC TV reports, ace investors Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and D-Mart’s founder RK Damani have approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to buy a 10 per cent stake in RBL Bank.

    Financials: Corporate houses, which are not allowed to own a bank, can now pick up 15 per cent stake in commercial banks through their non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). This is because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed non-promoters to hold up to 15 per cent in private sector banks, following the recommendation of an internal working group (IWG) that was set up to review the existing guidelines on ownership and corporate structure for these entities.

    M&M, Tata Motors: Riding on the success of their recent model launches, homegrown auto majors Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors are looking to further strengthen their product portfolios in 2022. Both companies are also looking at ways to handle the semiconductor shortage in a better way next year so that the impact on the production is minimal.

    Lupin: Homegrown pharmaceuticals major said it has received tentative approval from the US health regulator for its generic Azilsartan Medoxomil tablets used to treat high blood pressure.

    Central Bank of India (CBI): The last remaining public sector lender under the Reserve Bank of India’s prompt corrective action (PCA) framework, may see such restrictions being lifted in 2-3 months. Central Bank of India meets all the parameters for exiting the PCA framework and the RBI will remove it from PCA as soon as the end of this fiscal year, said an official.

    Canara Bank: The state-run bank has raised Rs 2,500 crore by issuing Basel-III compliant bonds to a total of 10 allottees.

    Kabra ExtrusionTechnik: The company has approved capex plan of Rs 100 crore for its battery division.

    Orchid Pharma: The company informed BSE, that CARE had revised its ratings on long-term and short-term bank facilities from CARE BBB -; Stable CARE A3 to CARE BBB- (CWD) and CARE A3 (CWD, respectively. The ratings agency has placed it on Credit Watch with developing implications.

    Stocks in F&O ban: Escorts, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Vodafone Idea are the only stocks in the F&O ban period today.

  • Turkey: Stock trading halted again due to rapid losses

    Turkish stocks extended their losses following Friday’s rout, prompting a fresh automatic trading halt after the lira slid to a record low.

    The Borsa Istanbul 100 Index tumbled 5%, after climbing as much as 3.1% earlier. Trading was set to restart at 4:23 p.m. Istanbul time, according to the bourse’s statement.

    This is the second session in a row that Turkish equities’ trading is halted due to rapid losses. The benchmark plunged as much as 9.1% on Friday, triggering automatic circuit breakers during the second-steepest selloff of the year. The slump was made worse by high levels of margin trading among local investors who have borrowed funds to join a recent rally in stocks.

    Calls on margins “led to snowballing losses” on Friday, turning a price correction into “panic selling,” said Tuna Cetinkaya, assistant general manager at the Info Yatirim brokerage.

    The lira’s 58% decline this year in the wake of 500 basis points of central bank rate cuts has sent local investors flocking to stocks to shield their savings, making Istanbul among the best-performing markets of 2021 in local currency terms, but the worst when measured in U.S. dollars.

    The lira tumbled to another record low on Monday after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to continue cutting interest rates, referring to Islamic proscriptions on usury as a basis for his policy.

    Discount grocer BIM Birlesik Magazalar AS underperformed, while telecom operator Turk Telekom was among the only four stocks that gained.