Stock Market Analysis Today – Stock Market Live: Sensex edges lower, Nifty below 14,200; RIL, HDFC top draggers

Buzzing | Larsen & Toubro shares gain over 2% after Q3 earnings

Shares of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) gained more than 2 percent in early trade on Wednesday after the company reported an operationally stronger than expected December quarter with order inflows beating street projections.

The engineering and construction conglomerate reported a net profit of Rs 2,466.7 crore in the third quarter of fiscal 2021, rising 4.9 percent from Rs 2,352 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Net profit beat CBC-TV18 estimates of Rs 2,110 crore. The revenue for the quarter, however, was down 1.8 percent at to Rs 35,596.4 crore from Rs 36,243 crore, YoY.

Doubling its order inflow, a rebound in its backlog, a slight pick-up in the infrastructure segment margin and a 79 percent rise in cash flow operations (CFO) to Rs 44 billion were the highlights from L&T’s 3Q results, CLSA said.

Rupee Opens | The Indian rupee opened marginally higher at 72.94 per dollar on Wednesday against Monday’s close of 72.95. The currency market was shut on Tuesday on account of Republic day.

Manish Hathiramani, Proprietary Index Trader And Technical Analyst, Deen Dayal Investments

14,250 was a medium term support for the index which was pierced on Monday. This makes the Nifty vulnerable and we can go down to 13,950 as a possible target. If we are unable to hold that level, we could fall further to 13,600. On the upside, the resistance is at 14,550-14,600 and until we do not close above that zone, we will continue to remain in the grip of the bears.

Market Watch: Chandan Taparia, Motilal Oswal Financial Services

> Buy Apollo Hospitals at Rs 2680.45 with a stop loss at Rs 2,620 for an upside target of Rs 2,820

> Buy TVS Motor at 540.75 with a stop loss of Rs 532 and expect it to 4-5 percent on the upside towards Rs 562.

> Sell IndusInd Bank for a downside target towards Rs 814 with a stop loss of Rs 870 on the counter.

Opening Bell: Sensex opens lower, Nifty below 14,200; RIL, HDFC top draggers

The Indian market opened lower on Wednesday dragged mainly by heavyweights RIL, HDFC, Infosys, TCS and ICICI Bank. Losses in metal, auto and energy indices contributed most to the losses, however the banking index outperformed. At 9:18 am, the Sensex was down 168 points at 48,179 while the Nifty50 lost 45 points to 14,194.

Petrol & Diesel prices increased by 25 paise each. 

Petrol price rises to Rs 86.30/L in Delhi & Rs 92.86/L in Mumbai. Diesel price is now at Rs 76.48/L in Delhi & Rs 83.30/L in Mumbai

2021 is the year for stock picking, says Max Life’s Mihir Vora

Mihir Vora, Director and CIO of Max Life Insurance, believes that 2021 could be a year for stock picking rather than taking a broad market call. “With largecaps trading at such valuations, there is a big gap that has opened up between the top 20 and everything else. So probably this year might be more of a stock picking year rather than taking a big market call because from largecaps the returns may be limited,” he said in an interview to CNBC-TV18. According to Vora, a lot of importance will be given to manufacturing and private sector investments. More here

L&T Q3FY21 operationally stronger than expectations but revenue down 1.8%

Engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has reported an operationally stronger than expected quarter with order inflows beating street projections. The net profit has risen by 12.6 percent to Rs 2,648 crore versus Rs 2,352 crore and against an estimation of Rs 2,110 crore. The revenue for the quarter, however, is down 1.8 percent at Rs 35,596 crore versus Rs 36,424 crore when compared to the same period in the last fiscal (YoY). The company reported its quarterly EBITDA up 4 percent at Rs 4,280 crore versus Rs 4,117 crore. The street was working with Rs 4,163 crore. Mroe here

Axis Bank Q3FY21 earnings: Here’s what to expect

Axis Bank will be reporting Q3 numbers on January 27. The street is expecting the lender to report its highest profit in the last 19 quarters and profit growth rate is expected to be the best in last six quarters. However, the key thing to watch out for is the pickup in loan momentum, especially on the retail side. One also needs to keep an eye out on the restructuring details. Net interest margin (NIM) and asset quality is expected to remain stable. Watch the video to know more.

Aadhar Housing Finance files Rs 7,300 crore IPO papers with Sebi

Blackstone-backed Aadhar Housing Finance has filed preliminary papers with markets regulator Sebi to raise Rs 7,300 crore through an initial public offering. The IPO comprises fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 1,500 crore and an offer of sale of up to 5,800 crore by the promoter. BCP Topco VII Pte Ltd, draft red herring prospectus filed with Sebi on Sunday showed. The company proposes to utilise the money raised through fresh issue towards augmenting its capital base to meet future capital requirements. Besides, the company expects to receive the benefits of listing the equity shares on the stock exchanges, including enhancing its brand name and creating a public market for its equity shares in India. More here

First up, here is quick catchup of what happened in the markets on Monday

The benchmark indices fell a percent on Monday, for the third consecutive session dragged by heavyweight Reliance Industries, which fell 5.5 percent after it missed estimates for the December quarter results. Losses in IT, auto and FMCG sectors also weighed on the sentiment. The Sensex ended 531 points lower at 48,347 while the Nifty lost 133 points to settle at 14,239. Broader markets were also lower with the midcap and smallcap indices down around 1 percent each. On the Nifty50 index, Grasim, UPL, Cipla, Hero Moto, and Axis Bank were the top gainers while Reliance, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech, Tata Motors, and Eicher Motors led the losses.

Welcome to CNBC-TV18’s Market Live Blog

Good morning, readers! I am Pranati Deva from the market’s desk of CNBC-TV18. Welcome to our market blog, where we provide rolling live news coverage of the latest events in the stock market, business and economy. We will also get you instant reactions and guests from our stellar lineup of TV guests and in-house editors, researchers, and reporters. If you are an investor, here is wishing you a great trading day. Good luck!