Page Industries net profit declines, M&M expected to report robust growth in profits and revenue

Opening Bell:

SGX Nifty is down by 56.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market.

Asia-Pacific markets are mostly higher after Wall Street saw a tech rally led by Nvidia, and U.S. negotiators moved closer to a debt ceiling deal with just a week to go before the government faces a potential default. The Shanghai Composite is down 0.07% while the Nikkei 225 is down by 0.65%. The Hang Seng index is closed on account of holiday. Wall Street ended sharply higher on Thursday after a blowout forecast from Nvidia sent the chipmaker’s stock soaring and fueled a rally in AI-related companies, while investors watched for signs of progress in U.S. debt ceiling talks. The S&P 500 up by 0.88%. while the Nasdaq Composite is up by 1.71%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average down by 0.11%.

Stocks News:

👉Page Industries net profit fell 59% to Rs 78 crore for the quarter ended March. Revenue from operations, meanwhile, came in at Rs 969 crore during the March quarter under review, down 13%, compared with Rs 1,111 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year.

👉Zee Entertainment Enterprises has reported a net loss of Rs 196 crore for the three months ended March period. Total income during the quarter under review fell 8% to Rs 1,934 crore.

👉The company recorded a loss of Rs 6,563.1 crore in the year-ago period. The service revenue increased by about 3 per cent to Rs 10,506.5 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 10,228.9 crore in the March 2022 quarter, the company said in a regulatory filing. However, Vodafone Idea (VIL) reported a widening of loss to Rs 29,297.6 crore for the fiscal ended March 31, 2023.

👉Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is expected to see a 28 to 29 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in revenue, in the quarter ending March, according to analyst estimates. Forecast on its net profit growth varies widely, with brokerages expecting it to increase anywhere between 39 percent and 67 percent.

👉Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have net purchase shares worth Rs 589 crore on Thursday. DIIs, on the other hand, stock purchase worth Rs 338 crore.

Domestic and International Events

• India’s economy likely grew better than expected in the March quarter of FY23, which could push full fiscal year growth higher than January’s 7% first advance estimate. An ET poll of 20 economists pegged growth in the January-March period in the 4.1-5.7% range with the median at 5.1%, higher than the 4.4% recorded in the preceding quarter.
• The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has decided to expedite the proposed free trade agreement with India that would give Indian companies market access to resource-rich Eurasia where China is making deep inroads.
• Oil prices were roughly unchanged in early trading on Friday, as markets awaited clarity on OPEC and its allies’ next oil policy moves after conflicting messages made it hard to predict the outcome of the meeting next week.
• Gold prices held steady on Thursday after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s last meeting signalled a likely pause in the rate-hike campaign in June, while debt ceiling negotiations kept investors on the edge.

Key Equity Indices