Tata Consumer Revenue up & profits down; ICICI Prudential insurance Profit slide in Q4, Tata Elxsi Stable revenue & slight profit dip, MCX India Strong profit growth in Q4

Opening Bell: 

Gift Nifty is up by 69.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market

Asian markets saw an upward trend on Wednesday, buoyed by a rally on Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 in Japan surged by 1.27%, with the Topix also experiencing gains of 0.71%. South Korea’s Kospi rallied significantly by 1.85%, while the Kosdaq rose by 1.25%. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index pointed towards a robust opening.

On Tuesday, US stocks ended on a high note, propelled by upbeat earnings reports from major companies and investor attention cantered on the quarterly performances of the “Magnificent Seven” and other large-cap growth stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 263.71 points, or 0.69 percent, reaching 38,503.69. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 surged by 59.95 points, or 1.20 percent, closing at 5,070.55, and the Nasdaq Composite experienced a notable gain of 245.34 points, or 1.59 percent, finishing at 15,696.64.

Stocks News:

👉 Tata Consumer Products: Despite robust operational performance and revenue growth, the FMCG company recorded a consolidated net profit of Rs 268 crore for the quarter ended March FY24, marking a substantial decline of 23 percent compared to the same period last fiscal. This decrease was attributed to an exceptional loss of Rs 216 crore. Revenue from operations witnessed a healthy growth of 9 percent year over year, reaching Rs 3,927 crore for the quarter. EBITDA surged by 22 percent year-on-year to Rs 631 crore, accompanied by a margin expansion of 180 basis points to 16.1 percent for the quarter. The company has proposed a dividend of Rs. 7.75 per share.

👉 ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company: Profit after tax for the March FY24 quarter stood at Rs 174 crore for the life insurance company, reflecting a decline of 26 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. The value of new business (VNB) saw a decrease of 26.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 776 crore during the quarter, with the VNB margin declining by 1,050 basis points to 21.5 percent in the same period. New business received premiums grew by 16.3 percent YoY to Rs 6,553 crore for the quarter, while annual premium equivalent (APE) increased by 9.5 percent year over year to Rs 3,615 crore in Q4 FY24.      

👉 Tata Elxsi: The Tata Group company reported a 4.6 percent year-on-year decline in net profit, amounting to Rs 196.9 crore for the quarter ended March FY24, attributed to lower topline and weak operating numbers. Revenue from operations also witnessed a slight decrease of 0.9 percent year-on-year, totaling Rs 905.9 crore during the quarter. The board has declared a dividend of Rs. 70 per share.

👉 Multi Commodity Exchange of India: The commodity exchange posted a net profit of Rs 87.87 crore for the March FY24 quarter, marking a significant increase from Rs 5.45 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Revenue from operations experienced robust growth of 35.4 percent year-on-year, reaching Rs 181.1 crore during the quarter. The board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 7.64 per equity share for FY24.

👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 3,044.54 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 2,918.94 crore worth of stocks on April 23, provisional data from the NSE showed.

Domestic and International Events

• According to the latest bulletin from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released on Tuesday, the Indian economy must maintain an annual growth rate of 8-10% over the next decade to fully capitalize on its demographic dividend. The central bank emphasized the need for a developmental strategy focused on maximizing the contribution of India’s young and growing labor force to the Gross Value Added (GVA) growth.

• Reuters reported that US business activity slowed in April to a four-month low due to weakened demand. S&P Global’s flash US Composite PMI Output Index, tracking both the manufacturing and services sectors, declined to 50.9 this month from 52.1 in March.

• Gold prices stabilized on Tuesday after reaching a more than two-week low, as concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East eased. Investors awaited key economic data for clarity on the timeline for potential US interest rate cuts.

• Oil prices climbed in early trading on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session, following industry data indicating an unexpected decrease in US crude stocks last week, a positive indicator for demand. Attention shifted away from tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude futures rose by 9 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $88.51 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 10 cents, or 0.11 percent, reaching $83.45 a barrel.