Equity benchmark indices settled lower and extended their losing streak for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday amid heavy volatility triggered by selling in banking stocks and persistent foreign fund outflows.
The BSE Sensex tanked 454.69 points or 0.62 per cent to settle at 72,488.99. The NSE Nifty declined 152.05 points or 0.69 per cent to 21,995.85. Except for IT, Metals & PSU Banks, all sectors ended in red including mid-cap and small-cap.
“The market saw some relief at the start of the session on the back of a healthy outlook by the IMF on the Indian Economy. However, it failed to sustain at higher levels amid volatility and declined for the fourth consecutive day. Strong selling by FIIs of Rs 15,763 crore in the last three days due to the uncertain global environment also dampened the sentiments. Overall, we expect volatility to continue in the market in the absence of any major positive trigger, while the focus will continue on stock-specific action amid earning season. On the global front investors will watch out for US Existing home sales data,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Here are the key stocks to watch on April 19:
1) Infosys: The country’s second-largest IT company reported a consolidated profit of Rs 7,969 crore for the March 2024 quarter, up 30.5 per cent compared to the previous quarter. Revenue from operations fell 2.3 per cent QoQ to Rs 37,923 crore. EBIT fell 4.3 per cent sequentially to Rs 7,621 crore, with a margin down 40 basis points to 20.1 per cent for the reported quarter. Infosys has announced a final dividend of Rs 20 per equity share for FY24 and a special dividend of Rs 8 per equity share.
2) Bajaj Auto: The two-and-three-wheeler maker reported a standalone net profit of Rs 1,936 crore for the March 2024 quarter, up 35 per cent compared to the year-ago period. Revenue from operations for the reported quarter jumped 29 per cent to Rs 11,485 crore. Sales volume increased 24 per cent to 10.62 lakh units. EBITDA for the quarter grew 34.4 per cent YoY to Rs 2,306 crore, with a margin expansion of 80 basis points at 20.1 per cent. The company has announced a dividend of Rs 80 per share.
3) Rail Vikas Nigam: The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turkish engineering consulting and contracting firm TUMAS India to collaborate on public transportation and infrastructure projects in India.
4) ITC: Infotech India, a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC, has entered into a share purchase agreement for the acquisition of 100 per cent of the share capital of cloud services provider Blazeclan Technologies for Rs 485 crore. The proposed acquisition will be completed within 6-8 weeks.
5) ICICI Securities: The company has reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 536.5 crore for the March quarter of FY24, increasing 104.3 per cent compared to the year-ago quarter on the back of strong topline and operating performance. Revenue from operations jumped 74.4 per cent to Rs 1,543.2 crore compared to the year-ago period. ICICI Securities has announced a final dividend of Rs 17 per share.
