RailTel Secures Rs 186.81 Crore Project, Oil India Drilling Deal, Zensar’s Mixed Q1, Hindustan Unilever’s Premium Focus

Opening Bell:             

Gift Nifty is up by 131.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market                          

Asian markets traded higher on Tuesday following overnight gains on Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose by 0.63% and the Topix gained 0.49%. South Korea’s Kospi rallied 1.01%, while the Kosdaq surged 1.22%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures also indicated a higher opening.

The U.S. stock market ended higher on Monday, led by gains in megacap growth stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 127.91 points, or 0.32%, to 34,415.44, while the S&P 500 gained 59.41 points, or 1.38%, to 4,564.41. The Nasdaq Composite ended 280.63 points, or 1.58%, higher at 18,007.57.

Stocks News:

👉 RailTel Corporation of India has received a work order from the Ministry of Railways for the design, development, implementation, operations, and maintenance of HMIS and an integrated empanelled hospital referral portal for Indian Railways. The total value of this project is Rs 186.81 crore.

👉 Oil India has signed a contract with Dolphin Drilling, Norway, for the hiring of the anchor-moored semi-submersible drilling unit Blackford Dolphin.

👉 Zensar Technologies reported its consolidated Q1 results, showing a decline in profit and an increase in revenue compared to the previous quarter. The company’s profit fell by 8.9% to Rs 157.9 crore, down from Rs 173.3 crore. However, revenue rose by 4.7% to Rs 1,288.1 crore, compared to Rs 1,229.7 crore in the previous quarter.

👉 Hindustan Unilever has increased its focus on premiumization, which now comprises 25 percent of its entire turnover. As a result, other rural-focused FMCG companies are expected to perform better if the Union Budget announces measures to boost the rural economy.

👉 The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,444 crore, while domestic institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 1,652 crore, on July 22.

Domestic and International Events

• The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament today. The budget is expected to outline the government’s roadmap for ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047, with a focus on the rural economy, infrastructure, housing, and defence sectors. On Monday, the Indian stock market benchmark indices ended the volatile session lower amid cautiousness ahead of the Union Budget 2024.

• China’s central bank reduced benchmark lending rates in its monthly fixing after earlier lowering a key short-term policy rate. The People’s Bank of China cut the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 10 basis points to 3.35% from 3.45%. Similarly, the five-year LPR was lowered by 10 basis points to 3.85% from 3.95%.

• Gold prices were steady on Tuesday ahead of U.S. economic data due this week. Spot gold was flat at $1,958.29 per ounce, after falling to a more than one-week low in the previous session. U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,957.70.

• Crude oil prices traded lower for a third consecutive session amid weak demand. Brent crude futures for September fell 0.16% to $82.27 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for September declined 0.44% to $79.78 per barrel.