Benchmark equity indices plunged nearly 1 per cent on Thursday after selling in banking and auto shares due to heightened uncertainty around the timing of interest rate cuts after the RBI’s monetary policy decision. The RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Thursday announced to keep policy rates unchanged for the sixth consecutive time in view of global uncertainty and the need to bring down retail inflation to 4 per cent.
The BSE Sensex fell by 723.57 points or 1 per cent to settle at 71,428.43. The NSE Nifty fell 212.55 points or 0.97 per cent to close at 21,717.95.
"Though the FY25 GDP growth forecast has improved, the RBI remains vigilant on inflation & banking liquidity. The incomplete transmission of the cumulative 250 bps and the inflation ruling above the target level add uncertainty about the timing of the interest rate reduction. The ripple effect was seen in the government 10 year yield, which inched higher. A large pocket of the market slid into red like FMCG, banks, and auto. FMCG got higher impacted by weak Q3 result and downgrade in volume growth, in the near-term, due to weak rural demand," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
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Here are the key stocks to watch on 9 February:
Life Insurance Corporation of India
The state-owned life insurance company reported a sharp 49.1 per cent YoY growth in December quarter standalone profit at Rs 9,444.4 crore. Net premium income for the previous quarter was Rs 1,17,017 crore, up 4.7 per cent from the year-ago period. The company’s net commission increased by 3.2 per cent YoY to Rs 6,520 crore. LIC has announced an interim dividend of Rs 4 per share.
Biocon
The biotechnology major recorded a net profit of Rs 660 crore for the third quarter of FY24, compared to a net loss of Rs 41.8 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s revenue from operations grew 34.4 per cent to Rs 3,953.7 crore as against Rs 2,941.1 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous financial year.
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Grasim Industries
The Aditya Birla Group company reported an 8.2 per cent YoY decline in net profit to Rs 236.3 crore for the December quarter, compared to Rs 257.4 crore in the year-ago quarter. The company’s revenue from operations jumped 3.3 per cent to Rs 6,400.3 crore as against Rs 6,195.6 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding financial year.
Patanjali Foods
The FMCG major on Thursday reported a 19.6 per cent year-on-year decline in net profit at Rs 216.5 crore for the third quarter, compared to Rs 269.2 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Revenue from operations fell 0.2 per cent to Rs 7,910.7 crore as compared to Rs 7,926.6 in the year-ago period.
Torrent Power
The power company reported a 46 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit to Rs 374 crore in the December quarter compared to Rs 695 crore in the year-ago period mainly due to lower revenues. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 6,366 crore in the reported quarter as against Rs 6,433 crore in Q3 of FY22-24.
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