Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is up by 2.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market.
Asian markets traded higher following overnight gains on Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.29% and the Topix was flat. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.82%, while the Kosdaq gained 0.66%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a weaker open.
On Monday, US equities made gains as investors anticipated a series of major earnings reports, economic indicators, and the Federal Reserve’s upcoming monetary policy meeting for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.59%, The S&P 500 saw a rise of 0.76%, while the Nasdaq Composite experienced an advance of 1.12%.
Stocks News:
👉 ITC: The company recorded 10.75% growth in standalone net profit at ₹5,572 crore for the December quarter despite weak operating numbers, thanks to more other income and a lower tax cost. Standalone revenue from operations increased by 1.6% to ₹16,483.3 crore, driven by the cigarette and FMCG segments.
👉 Vodafone Idea: The telecom operator has posted a net loss of Rs 6,986 crore for the quarter ended December FY24, narrowing from a loss of Rs 8,738 crore in the previous quarter, with an improvement in margin. Revenue during the quarter fell 0.4% sequentially to Rs 10,673.1 crore compared to the previous quarter. EBITDA grew by 1.58% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 4,350.4 crore with a margin expansion of 80 bps QoQ at 40.8% for the quarter.
👉 Mahindra Logistics: The company reported a net loss of ₹16.4 crore from ₹15.5 crore last year. Revenue was up 5.1% at ₹1,397.2 crore, Ebitda was down 17.1% to ₹52.2 crore, and margin dropped to 3.7% from 4.7% last year.
👉 Marico: The FMCG company reported consolidated net profit at ₹386 crore for the December quarter, up nearly 16% from a year ago despite a lower topline. Consolidated revenue from operations fell nearly 2% to ₹2,422 crore.
👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers in the cash segment after selling in the previous seven days, buying shares worth Rs 110.01 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased Rs 3,221.34 crore worth of stocks on January 29, provisional data from the NSE showed.
Domestic and International Events
- Before the Interim Budget announcement, the Finance Ministry outlined four challenges for the Indian economy, including the impact of artificial intelligence on the services sector, the trade-off between energy security and economic growth, and the need for a skilled workforce. The report, titled “The Indian Economy: A Review,” is distinct from the Economic Survey and will be released after the general elections in April-May 2024, following the vote-on-account budget. Despite aspirations for a $7 trillion economy by 2030, the ministry acknowledged existing economic challenges.
- Japan’s jobless rate fell to 2.4% in December from the previous month, government data showed. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate compared with economists’ median forecast of 2.5% in a Reuters poll. The jobs-to-applicants ratio slipped to 1.27 in December, matching the level seen in June 2022, and slightly lower than the median forecast of 1.28.
- Oil prices fell more than a dollar a barrel on Monday as China’s ailing property sector sparked demand worries, causing traders to reassess the supply risk premium from escalating tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude futures fell $1.15, or 1.4%, to settle at $82.40 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped by $1.23, or 1.6%, at $76.78 per barrel.
- Gold firmed on Monday as rising tensions in the Middle East lifted demand for the safe-haven asset, while markets awaited a Federal Reserve policy decision later this week for more clues on the timing of this year’s first U.S. interest rate cut. Spot gold was up 0.4% at $2,025.97 an ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.4% higher at $2025.4.
Key Equity Indices
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 16,077 | 0.8 % |
| Shanghai Composite | 2,883 | (0.9) % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 38,333 | 0.6 % |
| DAX | 16,942 | (0.1) % |
| FTSE 100 | 7,633 | (0.0) % |
| Nikkei | 36,027 | 0.8 % |
| Straits Times | 3,140 | (0.6) % |
