Bajaj Auto Leads Growth, ICICI Securities Soars, TV18 Broadcast Expands, Network18 Media Reports Revenue Surge

Opening Bell: 

Gift Nifty is down by 290.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market

Asian markets saw a downtrend on Friday, following the overnight downturn on Wall Street and inflation figures from Japan. The Nikkei 225 in Japan experienced a 1.88% decrease, with the Topix also sliding by 1.3%. Similarly, South Korea’s Kospi witnessed a drop of 1.8%, while the Kosdaq declined by 1.34%. Expectations pointed towards a weaker start for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures.

On Thursday, the US stock market closed with a mixed performance as investors turned their attention to the latest corporate earnings. Notably, the S&P 500 registered its fifth consecutive session of declines, marking its longest streak since October. The S&P 500 concluded the day down by 12.02 points, or 0.24%, closing at 5,010.19 points, while the Nasdaq Composite fell by 82.35 points, or 0.52%, to 15,601.02. Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by 23.87 points, or 0.06%, reaching 37,777.18 points.

Stocks News:

👉 Bajaj Auto, a Pune-based manufacturer of two-and-three-wheelers, reported a standalone net profit of Rs 1,936 crore for the March FY24 quarter, marking a significant 35 percent increase over the previous year. Revenue from operations during the same period rose by 29 percent to Rs 11,485 crore, with sales volume increasing by 24 percent to 10.62 lakh units. The EBITDA for the quarter reached Rs 2,306 crore, reflecting a growth of 34.4 percent over the corresponding period last fiscal year, resulting in a margin expansion of 80 basis points to 20.1 percent. Additionally, Bajaj Auto declared a dividend of Rs 80 per share.

👉 ICICI Securities reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 536.5 crore for the quarter ending in March FY24, marking a significant 104.3 percent increase over the same period last year, driven by strong performance in both topline and operating metrics. Revenue from operations grew by 74.4 percent to Rs 1,543.2 crore compared to the corresponding period last year. The company also announced a final dividend of Rs. 17 per share and received board approval for the re-appointment of Vijay Chandok as Managing Director and CEO, along with the appointment of TK Srirang as Joint Managing Director.  

👉 TV18 Broadcast recorded consolidated revenue of Rs 2,330 crore for the March FY24 quarter, showing a notable 66 percent growth over the corresponding period last fiscal year, driven primarily by the sports and movie segments. TV News segment exhibited a growth of 28 percent, reaching Rs 461 crore, while the Entertainment segment surged by 79 percent to Rs 1,868 crore. However, the operating EBITDA incurred a loss of Rs 161 crore, compared to an EBITDA of Rs 77 crore over a year ago, mainly due to operating losses from sports and digital segments.

👉 Network18 Media and Investments reported a 63 percent year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue to Rs 2,419 crore for the quarter ended March FY24, primarily driven by the sports and movie segments. Nevertheless, its consolidated operating EBITDA suffered a loss of Rs 190 crore against an EBITDA of Rs 57 crore during the same period, primarily impacted by operating losses from sports and digital segments.

👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 4,260.33 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 2,285.52 crore worth of stocks on April 18, provisional data from the NSE showed.

Domestic and International Events

• Starting April 24, 2024, NSE will introduce derivatives on its popular Nifty Next 50 index, following approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The derivatives will include three serial monthly index futures and index options contracts, all cash-settled and expiring on the last Friday of the month. Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer at NSE, highlighted that this move will complement the existing index derivatives product suite. He emphasized that the Nifty Next 50 index fills the space between the Nifty 50 index and the Nifty Midcap Select index, encompassing top large and liquid stocks as well as mid-capitalized ones.

• According to government data, Japan’s core inflation decelerated in March, though it remained above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target. The core consumer price index (CPI), excluding fresh food items, increased by 2.6% in March compared to the previous year, down from a 2.8% rise in February.

• Following robust economic data and hawkish remarks from US Federal Reserve officials, the US dollar and Treasury yields advanced, fueling speculation of prolonged higher interest rates. The dollar index, gauging the US currency against six major counterparts, climbed 0.2% to 106.15, marking a 4.5% increase since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, the two-year treasury yields neared the 5% threshold, and the Treasury 10-year yields surged by six basis points to 4.64%.

• Oil prices slipped in early trade on Friday as US jobs data pointed to higher interest rates for longer and easing tensions in the Middle East dampened supply concerns. The market largely shrugged off sanctions on Venezuela and Iran. Brent futures fell 23 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $86.88 a barrel. U.S. crude fell 25 cents to $82.48 per barrel, also down 0.3 percent.