LTIMindree, ONGC, TCS, Bajaj Finserv, and Wipro are the top gainers on NSE Nifty 50 index whereas the top laggards include Asian Paints, Coal India, Grasim, Hero MotoCorp, and Bajaj Auto.

India’s second-largest IT services firm, Infosys, is scheduled to report its financial results for the April to June 2024 quarter after market hours on July 18. According to analysts polled on Dala street, Infosys is expected to show higher constant currency revenue growth compared to its peers TCS and HCLTech. This growth is attributed to the ramp-up of previously won deals. Analysts also anticipate that Infosys will maintain its FY25 constant currency revenue guidance of 1-3% and margins of 20-22%.

Commenting on the Dollar and Rupee outlook Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas said that Indian Rupee declined by 0.05% on strong US Dollar today and overnight surge in crude oil prices. US Dollar strengthened on weak Pound amid disappointing labour market data from UK. However, positive domestic markets and FII inflows cushioned the downside. We expect Rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on strong US Dollar weak Asian and European currencies. A bounce back in crude oil prices may further pressurise the Rupee. However, record high domestic equities and fresh foreign inflows may support the Rupee at lower levels.

Choudhary also added Any intervention by the RBI may as the Rupee is trading near record-low levels may also support the local unit. Traders may take cues from weekly unemployment claims data from the US. ECB is also expected to announce monetary policy decision today. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83.40 to Rs 83.9

Infosys share price gains over 2% to intra-day high of Rs1765 on NSE as the country’s second-largest IT services company, will announce its first-quarter results on July 18 at 3:45 PM. These results pertain to the quarter that ended on June 30, 2024. As of July 18, Infosys’ market capitalization has surged to Rs 7.21 lakh crore.

The Nifty IT index gains over 2% to intra-day high of Rs 40,059.50 led by LTIMindree, TCS, Wipro, Coforge, Infosys, Persistent System, Tech Mahindra, Mphasis, and HCL Tech.

TCS, LTIMindree, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, and ONGC are the top gainers on NSE Nifty 50 index whereas top laggards include Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, Hero Moto Corp, Coal India, and Grasim.

Indian Benchmark indices gains hits all time high on Thursday’s trading session with Nifty 50 gaining over 150 points or 0.60% to hit fresh record highs 24,768.55 whereas the BSE Sensex gains over 500 points to first time trade over 81,000 mark led by IT and FMCG stocks .

According to Bloomberg estimates, a survey of 13 analysts forecasts that Reliance Industries will announce Q1 revenue of Rs 2.3 trillion, indicating an 11.8% increase from the previous fiscal quarter.

Six analysts expect a net profit of Rs 17,655 crore, reflecting a 10.3% year-on-year increase but a 6.8% decrease from the preceding quarter. EBITDA is projected at Rs 39,790 crore by 14 analysts, showing a 15.4% decline quarter-on-quarter.

India Cements shares surged during Thursday’s trading session after being lifted from the F&O ban. The stock reached a record high of Rs 343.65, marking a substantial 6% increase and continuing its upward trend for the fourth consecutive day.

TCS, LTIMindree, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, and ONGC are the top gainers on NSE Nifty 50 index whereas top laggards include Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, Hero Moto Corp, Coal India, and Grasim.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries saw its share price dip by over 1% to an intra-day low as investors awaited the company’s Q1 results. Analysts anticipate modest year-on-year growth in revenue and net profit for Q1FY25, but expect a sequential decline in EBITDA

Just Dial’s share price saw robust buying in early Thursday trading. Following the Q1 2024 results announcement on Tuesday and a stock market holiday on Wednesday, the share price opened today with an upward gap at Rs 1,100 per share. It reached an intraday high of Rs 1,195.95 on the NSE, marking an increase of approximately 15% during the day.

Investec’s latest report on LTI-Mindtree maintains a sell rating while raising the target price to Rs 5,370 from Rs 4,640. Highlighting LTI-Mindtree’s optimistic demand outlook, the report positions it favorably among its peers.

Investec has also adjusted the target CV multiple to 25x, up from 22x, anticipating a potential recovery in the company’s performance. Despite forecasting a slight decrease in EBIT margin from 15.9% to 15.4%, the report acknowledges this adjustment with cautious optimism.

Emphasizing the importance of improved revenue growth, Investec underscores that substantial growth in this area will be critical for achieving satisfactory returns at current levels.

Courtesy: BSE

The NSE Nifty 50 opened in the red dragged by Asian Paints, but however, rebounded as SBI and ICICI Bank lent support to the index.

Courtesy: NSE

Shares of LTIMindtree rose 3.5% to an intraday high of Rs 5,755 after it reported a sequential increase in its revenue and net profit for the quarter that ended June, driven by deal ramp-ups and a rise in digital spending by clients. However, while the topline exceeded estimates, the bottom line slightly missed Street expectations. The consolidated revenue rose nearly 3% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 9,142.6 crore in April-June. This is also higher than the Bloomberg estimate of Rs 9,075 crore.

The share price of Asian Paints fell by over 4% after the company reported a 24% drop in net profit for the first quarter of the financial year 2025. The company’s net profit stood at Rs 1,170 crore, down from Rs 1,550 crore in the same period last year.

LTIMindtree, ONGC, SunPharma, Apollo Hospitals, and Grasim Industries were the top gainers in the Nifty 50. While Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, Hero MotoCorp, Eicher Motors, and Hindustan Unilever were the major losers in the Nifty 50 on July 18.

The NSE Nifty 50 opened 0.28% lower at 24,543.05, while the BSE Sensex opened 0.25% lower at 80,514.25.

“MACD in hourly periodicity has registered a negative crossover but is yet to get confirmation from the daily chart. The reason for this is a weak ADX, which underscores that momentum is low. This prompts us not to extend our upside targets beyond 24720-800, which we have been eying for some time. The downside marker for this move may be placed at 24575, below which a dip towards 24440-24360, may be seen,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

“A dominant factor that has started influencing markets globally is the US presidential elections due in November. Opinion polls indicate that a Trump presidency appears increasingly probable now. The implications of a Trump presidency are higher tariffs on imports into the US, particularly from China. Also, Trump favours a weak dollar. The dollar has already started weakening and the dollar index is now at 103.68. This implies higher gold prices. The positive from the Indian stock market perspective is that expectations of a weakening dollar will increase foreign portfolio inflows, imparting resilience to the market,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

“The market will be influenced by this development and also by Budget expectations. The results of Infosys today will give greater clarity to the movement in IT stocks. Pharma and healthcare stocks are witnessing slow accumulation.”

Early indications at Gift Nifty suggest a bullish consolidation ahead for the benchmark Nifty, anticipating a strong start, particularly for momentum stocks. The recent impressive performance of the Dow Jones, which has surpassed the 41,000 mark, adds to the optimism. “Our analysis shows that Nifty’s all-time high is generating significant FOMO among investors, attracting more funds. For aggressive bullish traders, the strategy is to “raise stops to protect gains”. As the corporate earnings season progresses, key companies are set to report their results, adding further momentum to the market,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior Vice President of Research at Mehta Equities.

Considered among India’s most profitable retailers with a steady margin profile, Avenue Supermarts’ operating margins remained flat (8.7%) year-on-year in the June quarter (Q1FY25) because of rising operating costs. Employee expenditure and other expenses jumped 29.2% and 25.8%, respectively, in Q1 as the company added new and bigger stores. Consolidated revenue grew 18.6% YoY to Rs 14,069 crore in line with Street estimates.

Bajaj Electricals announced that its Managing Director and CEO, Anuj Poddar has resigned from the position to pursue an external opportunity. The Board has accepted his resignation while recognising and acknowledging his contributions in formulating the transformation and growth journey of the company over the past five and a half years.

L&T Finance reported a 29% increase in its consolidated net profit standing at Rs 686 crore for the first quarter that ended June 2024 on the back of healthy interest income. The company reported a net profit of Rs 531 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Net Interest Income (NII) rose 23% to Rs 2,020 crore in Q1 FY25 compared to Rs 1,644 crore in the year-ago period.

Balrampur Chini Mills, Piramal Enterprises, Vedanta, Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals, GMR Airports Infrastructure, GNFC, Hindustan Copper, and RBL Bank will be in the F&O Ban on July 18.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has received final approval by the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for Topiramate capsules. The approved drug is bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to Topamax capsules of Janssen Pharmaceuticals and will be distributed in the U.S. by Glenmark Therapeutics Inc., USA.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares net worth Rs 1,271.45 crore. However, domestic institutional investors (DII) sold shares net worth Rs 529.48 crore on July 16, 2024, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.

IREDA to invest Rs 290 crore in a 900 MW hydroelectric power project in Nepal. The Board of Directors gave in-principle approval for the equity investment at a meeting on Tuesday, the company said in an exchange filing. The company will pick up a 10 per cent stake in the Upper Karnali Hydro-Electric Power Project.