Stock Market Live: Nifty, Sensex Pare Losses On HDFC Bank Gains But IT Stocks, RIL Weigh

Mamaearth parent Honasa Consumer Ltd.'s share price plunged 20% to fall below the listing price on Monday following multiple downgrades as the beauty and personal care company reported a surprise loss in the second quarter.

All constituents of the Nifty IT index were trading lower with Wipro and LTIMindtree falling the most by over 4%.

Nifty hit a low of 23,362.35 points and Sensex hit a low of 77,015.75 points, their lowest levels since June 24.

Shares of major city gas distribution companies, Indraprastha Gas Ltd. and Mahanagar Gas Ltd., saw significant declines on Friday after Jefferies downgraded both stocks, slashing their target prices in response to a recent reduction in domestic gas allocation.

At 9:33 a.m., India VIX or fear gauge index traded 6% higher at 15.63 level.

Benchmark equity indices came out of their losing streaks and opened higher on Monday as shares of HDFC Bank and Hindalco led the gains but investors are cautious about global factors including Trump policies and China's policy rates.

At pre-open, Nifty was at 23605.30, up 0.31% or 72.60 points and Sensex was at 77862.73, up 0.36% or 282.42 points. However, they slipped into losses as of 9:20 a.m.

In a report, Lovelesh Sharma, consultant at SAS Online said, "We maintain a "sell on rise" strategy as we have in the past, recommending traders to utilize the resistance levels at 23,750 - 23,900 for selling opportunities."

"On the downside, we see support at 23,410 - 23,225, which were significant price points on Election Day and could act as strong support," he said. "The range of 23,100 - 23,200 is an area where we see a confluence of support, potentially indicating a short- to mid-term dip."

Share prices of HDFC Bank Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., and Hero MotoCorp Ltd. contributed the most to the gainsin Nifty.

While those of Infosys Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., ITC Ltd., Dr Reddy's Labs Ltd., and Wipro Ltd. weighed on the Nifty.

Most sectoral indices were higher at open with Nifty Metal leading the gains.

At pre-open, Nifty was at 23605.30, up 0.31% or 72.60 points and Sensex was at 77862.73, up 0.36% or 282.42 points.

-The yield on the 10-year bond opened flat at 6.86%.

-It closed at 6.86% on Thursday.

Source: Bloomberg

Rupee opened flat at 84.40 against the US dollar.

It closed at 84.40 on Thursday.

Source: Bloomberg

Citi Research has retained 'buy' with lower target of Rs 6300 vs 6600 earlier implying upside of 36%. Management's outlook on demand is positive and it expects momentum to sustain during the upcoming festive season, said brokerage and added festive was slightly better in rural areas. Continued high expenditure on EVs could impact margins and it has slightly trimmed earnings over FY25-27E, resulting in TP being tweaked down.

Nomura has also retained 'buy' with a slightly higher target of Rs 5805 vs 5663 earlier. It said strong rural demand is a key catalyst for growth, supported by good monsoons and the brokerage is looking at new product launches with 3 new bikes & 3 ICE scooters in next 6 months.

Jefferies has cut its target price for shares of Delhivery to Rs. 515 from Rs 680 while maintaining buy rating as it believes weak industry growth is likely to weigh on the stock in near term. However, in medium term positive EBITDA momentum should be reflected. The brokerage has reduced its FY25-27 revenue estimates for the company by 5-10%.

Jefferies has downgraded Mahanagar Gas to 'underperform' from buy earlier and has cut its target to Rs 1130 implying 14% downside. Indraprastha Gas has been downgraded to 'underperform' from 'hold' earlier and has cut target to Rs 295, implying 26% downside.

Ratings & targets lowered on 2nd cut in domestic gas allocation in a row. The brokerage expects gas cos to see nil domestic gas allocation by mid 2025 as well as Rs 1-2.5 per unit cut in Ebitda margins. It has lowered FY26 EPS for MGL/IGL/GGl by 31%/27%/19%.

Citi Research has cut target price of Vodafone to Rs 13 from Rs 17 earlier while retaining a 'buy' rating. It said Q2 revenue growth was below expectations and average revenue per user was on expected lines. The brokerage also noted that company remains actively engaged with lenders for tying up debt funding. Discussions are continuing with the gov’t for waiver of bank guarantees and capex is set to increase sharply in H2, it said.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Q2 FY25 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 7.07% at Rs 3,434 crore versus Rs 3,207 crore (Estimate Rs 3,492 crore).

• Ebitda up 30.58% at Rs 602 crore versus Rs 461 crore (Estimate Rs 654 crore).

• Ebitda margin up 315 bps at 17.53% versus 14.37% (Estimate 18.7%).

• Net profit at Rs 354 crore versus loss of Rs 61 crore (Estimate Rs 352 crore).

Grasim Industries Q2 FY25 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 11.05% at Rs 33,563 crore versus Rs 30,221 crore.

• Ebitda down 0.57% at Rs 6,018 crore versus Rs 6,053 crore.

• Ebitda margin down 209 bps at 17.93% versus 20.02%.

• Net profit down 45.65% at Rs 1100 crore versus Rs 2024 crore.

Hero MotoCorp Q2 FY25 (Standalone, YoY)

• Revenue up 10.8% at Rs 10,463 crore versus Rs 9,445 crore (Estimate Rs 10,213 crore).

• Ebitda up 14.1% at Rs 1,516 crore versus Rs 1,328 crore (Estimate Rs 1,482 crore).

• Ebitda margin at 14.5% versus 14.1% (Estimate 14.5%).

• Net profit up 14.2% at Rs 1,204 crore versus Rs 1,054 crore (Estimate Rs 1,152 crore).

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Q2 FY25 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 6.39% at Rs 1,896 crore versus Rs 1,782 crore (Estimate Rs 1,917 crore).

• Ebitda up 16% at Rs 203 crore versus Rs 175 crore (Estimate Rs 195 crore).

• Ebitda margin up 88 bps at 10.7% versus 9.82% (Estimate 10.2%).

• Net profit up 26.73% at Rs 128 crore versus Rs 101 crore (Estimate Rs 125 crore).

Muthoot Finance Q2 FY25 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Total income up 36.5% at Rs 4,957 crore versus Rs 3,632 crore.

• Net profit up 20.6% at Rs 1,321 crore versus Rs 1,095 crore.

• Approved the additional infusion of Rs 500 crore in arm Muthoot Money.

Honasa Consumer Q2 FY25 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue down 6.86% at Rs 462 crore versus Rs 496 crore (Estimate Rs 510 crore).

• Ebitda loss at Rs 7 crore versus profit of Rs 1 crore (Estimate Rs 3.3 crore).

• Net loss at Rs 18.5 crore versus profit of Rs 29 crore (Estimate Rs 6 crore).

Avanti Feeds Q2 FY25 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 6.02% at Rs 1,355 crore versus Rs 1,278 crore.

• Ebitda up 45.54% at Rs 135.5 crore versus Rs 93 crore.

• Ebitda margin up 271 bps at 10% versus 7.28%.

• Net profit up 45.78% at Rs 121 crore versus Rs 83 crore.

Lemon Tree Hotels Q2 FY25 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 24.01% at Rs 284 crore versus Rs 229 crore.

• Ebitda  up 25% at Rs 130 crore versus Rs 104 crore.

• Ebitda margin up 35 bps at 45.77% versus 45.41%.

• Net profit up 34.61% at Rs 35 crore versus Rs 26 crore.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Q2 FY25 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue down 5.2% at Rs 174 crore versus Rs 184 crore.

• Ebitda loss of Rs 119 crore versus Ebitda loss of Rs 111 crore.

• Net loss of Rs 890 crore versus a loss of Rs 773 crore.

Dehlivery Q2 FY25 (Consolidated, QoQ)

• Revenue up 0.82% at Rs 2190 crore versus Rs 2172 crore.

• Ebitda down 40.62% at Rs 57 crore versus Rs 96 crore.

• Ebitda margin down 181 bps at 2.6% versus 4.41%.

• Net profit down 81.48% at Rs 10 crore versus Rs 54 crore.

Ahluwalia Contracts Q2 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 12.19% at Rs 1,011 crore versus Rs 902 crore.

• Ebitda down 18.16% at Rs 73 crore versus Rs 90 crore.

• Ebitda margin down 269 bps at 7.26% versus 9.95%.

• Net profit down 29.76% at Rs 39 crore versus Rs 55 crore.

Swan Energy Q2 FY25 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue down 15.62% at Rs 1,032 crore versus Rs 1,223 crore.

• Ebitda down 53.12% at Rs 120 crore versus Rs 256 crore.

• Ebitda margin down 930 bps at 11.62% versus 20.93%.

• Net profit down 59.63% at Rs 67 crore versus Rs 166 crore.

Ratnamani Metals & Tubes Q2 FY25 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue down 14.15% at Rs 971 crore versus Rs 1131 crore.

• Ebitda down 37.14% at Rs 154 crore versus Rs 245 crore.

• Ebitda margin down 580 bps at 15.85% versus 21.66%.

• Net profit down 39.63% at Rs 99 crore versus Rs 164 crore.

Ashapura Minechem Q2 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 9% at Rs 604 crore versus Rs 554 crore.

• Ebitda at Rs 64.1 crore versus Rs 30.4 crore.

• Ebitda margin at 10.6% versus 5.5%.

• Net profit down 26.7% at Rs 42.6 crore versus Rs 58.2 crore.

Balaji Amines Q2 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue down 9% at Rs 347 crore versus Rs 381 crore.

• Ebitda up 12.8% at Rs 60.7 crore versus Rs 53.8 crore.

• Ebitda margin at 17.5% versus 14.1%.

• Net profit up 14% at Rs 41.5 crore versus Rs 36.4 crore.

Samman Capital Q2 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Total income up 8.2% at Rs 2,425 crore versus Rs 2,242 crore.

• Net loss of Rs 2,761 crore versus a profit of Rs 298 crore.

Bombay Burmah Q2 (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue up 5.2% at Rs 4,761 crore versus Rs 4,524 crore.

• Ebitda down 15.7% at Rs 724 crore versus Rs 859 crore.

• Ebitda margin at 15.2% versus 19%.

• Net profit up 25.3% at Rs 516 crore versus Rs 412 crore.

As of 7:50 a.m., December futures contract of WTI Crude traded flat at $67.04 a barrel and January futures contract of Brent Crude was up 0.1% at $71.13 a barrel.

"World oil demand is forecast to expand by 920 kb/d this year and just shy of 1 mb/d in 2025, to 102.8 mb/d and 103.8 mb/d, respectively," International Energy Agency's report said. "The slowdown in growth from recent years reflect the end of the post-pandemic release of pent-up demand and below-par underlying global economic conditions, as well as clean energy technology deployment."

At 7:40 a.m., spot gold in US dollar terms rose 1.2% to $2,591.66 an ounce after recording its biggest weekly fall in more than three years.

The commodity had fallen on less aggressive interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve which lifted the dollar.

Gold prices in India have slipped to Rs 74,390 according to the India Bullion Association as of 6:55 a.m.

Led by Samsung Electronics' share price, South Korea's Kospi gained the most among indices in the Asia region on Monday while Japan's Nikkei fell.

Stocks in Japan will take centerstage on Monday as the Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will give a media briefing with the traders watchful for indications of the next policy move after the yen weakened sharply.

At 7:27 a.m., Kospi was up 2.4%, Australia's ASX 200 was flat, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.7% while Nikkei traded 0.5% lower.

Indices in the US ended lower Friday tracking Jerome Powell's comments on Thursday. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell Thursday said that the economy is not sending any signals to be in a hurry to lower rates.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.70% lower at 43,444.99. The S&P 500 ended 1.32% lower at 5,870.62. The Nasdaq Composite ended at 18,680.12, down 2.24%.

As of 6:44 a.m., GIFT Nifty was up 41 points, or 0.2%, at 23,478. Among others, share prices of Hero MotoCorp Ltd., Mamaearth-owner Honasa Consumer Ltd., and Muthoot Finance Ltd. are expected to react to their September quarter results and those of Reliance Industries Ltd. will react to the news of its joint venture with Disney.

On Thursday, the NSE Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex ended lower for a second consecutive week in a row as earnings from India Inc. continued to weigh on investors' sentiment.

The Nifty 50 closed lower for the sixth session in a row and recorded the worst declining streak since Oct. 7. It ended 26.35 points, or 0.11%, lower at 23,532.70. The Sensex closed 110.64 points, or 0.14%, down at 77,580.31.

Overseas investors remained net sellers of Indian equities for the 34th consecutive session on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors stayed net buyers.

Foreign portfolio investors sold stocks worth Rs 1,849.87 crore, while DIIs mopped up stocks worth approximately Rs 2,481.81 crore, according to provisional data shared by the National Stock Exchange.