Helping You Build Wealth With Honest Research
Since 1996. Read On...

MEMBER'S LOGINX

     
Invalid Username / Password
   
     
   
     
 
Invalid Captcha
   
 
 
 
(Please do not use this option on a public machine)
 
     
 
 
 
  Sign Up | Forgot Password?  

Revealed
India's Third Giant Leap

This Could be One of the Biggest Opportunities for Investors




Important: We hate spam as much as you do. Check out our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.
By submitting your email address, you also sign up for Profit Hunter, a daily newsletter from Equitymaster
covering exciting investing ideas and opportunities in India.

AD

Indian Indices Trade on a Volatile Note; Healthcare and Banking Stocks Witness Buying
Tue, 22 Oct 12:30 pm

Share markets in India are presently trading marginally higher.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the metal sector and IT sector witnessing buying interest, while IT stocks are witnessing selling pressure.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 19 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 20 points.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.6%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.8%.

The rupee is trading at 70.85 against the US$.

Speaking of Indian stock markets, the markets have been witnessing volatility of late.

Amid such volatile times, Richa Agarwal reveals her investing strategy in the video below.

She also talks about the type of small cap stocks she is looking at during such times.

Tune in to find out more...

In the news from the IT sector, Infosys share price is in focus today. The stock of the company registered its biggest fall in over six years after a letter by anonymous employees surfaced, accusing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Salil Parekh and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Nilanjan Roy of unethical practices for several quarters.

The letter accused CEO Salil Parekh and CFO Nilanjan Roy of 'wilful misstatement' and 'accounting irregularities' to make the company's performance look good.

The employees said they have email and voice recordings of these issues to prove their claim which they intend to submit during the course of investigation.

In a clarification to exchanges, Infosys said the whistleblower complaint has been placed before the audit committee as per the company's practice, and it would be dealt with in accordance with the company's whistleblower policy.

Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani, in his statement, said the company was made aware of another letter (dated October 3) that was purportedly written to the office of whistleblower protection program, Washington DC. This letter referred to the September 20, 2019, complaint and to emails and voice recordings in support of the allegations.

How this development pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on all the developments from this space.

Moving on to the news from the telecom sector, Bharti Infratel share price is in focus today as the company reported a 61% year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit in the second quarter of FY20. The rise here was seen on the back of a change in accounting standard which lowered operating costs, and a higher net finance income.

India's sole listed telecom tower company's consolidated net profit for the July-September period came in at Rs 9.6 billion.

Quarterly consolidated revenue, though, fell 1% YoY to Rs 36.3 billion.

The company's consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation & amortisation (Ebitda) rose 25% YoY.

Operating free cash flow rose 8% YoY to Rs 10.8 billion, which was lower than the Rs 12 billion it clocked in the previous quarter.

Without the adoption the Ind AS 116 accounting standard, the company's revenue would be down 3% YoY, Ebitda would be lower by 1% and operating free cash flows would have fallen 1% as well.

The company reported 159 net on-quarter additions in co-locations, taking the total count to 1,73,406 as of September-end. The company though lost a whopping 1,106 co-locations on year.

The company's tower base rose 1,298 YoY and 789 sequentially to 93,421 in the fiscal second quarter.

Bharti Infratel's tower base includes units by virtue of its 42% stake in Indus Towers.

It would be interesting to see how these numbers move in the coming quarters. We will keep you updated on all the news from this space.

Speaking of quarterly results and corporate profits, economic growth (GDP) and corporate profit growth hardly go hand in hand.

Over the past few years, the share of corporate profits to GDP has steadily declined.

This is evident in the chart below:

Rebound in Corporate Profits May Not Immediately Reflect in GDP

As per Tanushree Banerjee, the revival of capex cycle may cause corporate profits to soar much faster than the GDP growth. Investors who stay focused on macro numbers may miss this bus.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

Read the latest Market Commentary


Equitymaster requests your view! Post a comment on "Indian Indices Trade on a Volatile Note; Healthcare and Banking Stocks Witness Buying". Click here!