ICICI Bank reports 23.6% YoY net profit , CLSA downgrades Zee Entertainment

Opening Bell:

Gift Nifty is up by 196.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market.

Asian markets generally saw upward movement, following the positive performance on Wall Street overnight and in anticipation of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy announcement. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan climbed 0.66%, reaching a new 33-year high, and the Topix rose by 0.72%. South Korea’s Kospi registered a 0.3% increase, although the Kosdaq experienced a slight dip of 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures suggested a higher opening for the market.

The S&P 500 achieved its second consecutive record high close on Monday, boosted by continued gains in tech stocks, while investors eagerly awaited upcoming corporate reports for insights into this year’s profit outlook. According to a widely used measure, Friday’s closing confirmed that the S&P 500 has been in a bull market since it hit its low on October 12, 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.36%, the S&P 500 saw a gain 0.22%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.32%.

Stocks News:

👉 ICICI Bank: The private sector lender has recorded a 23.6% on-year growth in standalone net profit at Rs 10,271.54 crore for the quarter ended December FY24, despite higher provisions. Net interest income grew by 13.4% YoY to Rs 18,678.55 crore for the quarter, while the net interest margin dropped to 4.43% in Q3 FY24, from 4.53% in Q2 FY24 and 4.65% in Q3 FY23. On the asset quality front, gross NPA dropped 18 basis points sequentially to 2.3%, and net NPA increased 1 basis point to 0.44% during the quarter.

👉 Global brokerage firm CLSA has downgraded Zee Entertainment Enterprises from ‘buy’ to ‘sell’ following the termination of the $10-billion merger with Sony Pictures Network. The firm predicts a slump in Zee’s PE to pre-merger levels and has reduced the target stock price by 34% to ₹198. Sony has formally requested a halt to the merger and is seeking a $90 million termination fee, alleging breaches by Zee Entertainment Enterprises.

👉 Cipla: The pharmaceutical company has registered 31.8% on-year growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,056 crore for the quarter ended December FY24, backed by double-digit growth in topline as well as operating numbers. Revenue from operations grew by 13.7% YoY to Rs 6,604 crore, and EBITDA increased by 24.2% to Rs 1,748 crore in Q3 FY24.

👉 Coforge: The IT firm recorded a 31% jump in its quarter-on-quarter net profit at ₹238 crore in Q3FY24, from ₹181 crore during the quarter ending September 2023, and a 4.2% rise from ₹228.2 crore in Q3FY3. The revenue from operations of the company rose 16% to ₹6,820.5 crore during the period under review, from ₹5,844.6 crore in December 2022.

👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to be net sellers for four days in a row, selling shares worth Rs 545.58 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded Rs 719.31 crore worth of stocks on January 20, provisional data from the NSE showed.

Domestic and International Events

• In the upcoming interim budget for FY25, the Indian government is expected to allocate around ₹88,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), compared to the budgeted ₹60,000 crore for the current fiscal year. The allocation may increase if demand exceeds initial expectations.

• In the Interim Budget, India is reshaping its manufacturing sector to align with the goal of becoming a $10 trillion economy. The Production Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme has been instrumental in enhancing India’s manufacturing capabilities and attracting global companies, with notable success in electronics, pharmaceuticals, and telecom. To foster innovation, it is suggested that the government extend PLI benefits to Research and Development (R&D) investments. Introducing a dedicated PLI scheme for the chemicals sector could amplify its growth and position India as a key global player. Additionally, a PLI scheme tailored for the space sector could propel India to a leadership position in space technology.

• Oil prices settled slightly lower on Friday but recorded a weekly gain as Middle East tensions and disruptions to oil output offset concerns about the Chinese and global economies. Brent futures settled 54 cents lower at $78.56 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 67 cents to settle at $73.41.

Key Equity Indices

EMERGING	LATEST	% 1D
Hang Seng	14,961	(2.3) %
Shanghai Composite	2,756	(2.7) %

DEVELOPED	LATEST	% 1D
Dow Jones	38,002	0.4 %
DAX	16,683	0.8 %
FTSE 100	7,488	0.4 %
Nikkei	36,547	1.6 %
Straits Times	3,149	(0.1) %