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Tuesday,04-November-2025
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Markets precariously poised 

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Markets gained during the week after losing ground for the previous two consecutive weeks. BSESENSEX was up 989.85 points or 1.68 per cent to close at 51,793.18 points. NIFTY gained 293.90 points or 1.68 per cent to close at 17,833.35 points. The broader indices saw BSE100, BSE200 and BSE500 gain 1.60 per cent, 1.67 per cent and 1.73 per centrespectively. BSEMIDCAP was up 1.86 per cent while BSESMALLCAP was up 2.53 per cent.

Indian Rupee gained 22 paisa or 0.28 per cent to close at Rs 79.58. Dow Jones lost on the first two days and then gained on the remaining three days to end the week with gains of 833.27 points or 2.66 per cent to close at 32,151.71 points.

In primary news, there was one listing, one issue which had opened for subscription and also closed and a third which had its roadshow. The issue from Dreamfolks Services Limited listed on Tuesday and fared well on expected lines. Shares which were issued at Rs 326, saw a discovered price of Rs 505 on BSE, a high of Rs 550 and closed at Rs 462.65. By Friday, shares lost some ground and closed lower at Rs 430.80.

The issue from Tamilnad Mercantile Bank had tapped the markets with its fresh issue in a price band of Rs 500-525. The issue was subscribed 2.85 times with QIB portion subscribed 1.62 times, HNI portion was subscribed 2.94 times and Retail portion was subscribed 6.43 times. There were 1.33 lakh applications. Considering the issue, the response from QIB’s could at best be said as tepid.

The issue from Harsha Engineers Limited opens on Wednesday the 14th of September and closes on Friday the 16th of September. The price band is Rs 314-330. The company makes bearing cages as its key product and supplies to leading bearing manufacturers not only in India but also globally. Japanese manufacturers have begun to buy from Harsha and this could be a big boost in revenues going forward.

The company reported revenues of Rs 1,321.48 crore for the year ended March 2022 and a profit after tax of Rs 91.94 crore. The PE at the top end of the band is 27.73 times. The company has undergone a restructuring exercise and has amalgamated all its businesses under one name. This has diluted the equity to some extent and while the basic EPS for the year ended March 22 was 16.06, on a diluted basis it works out to Rs 11.09. The share and the business look attractive.

Coming to the markets in the week ahead, our markets would find strong resistance at the 17,750-800 levels and 59,450-59,550 levels. While we have almost closed at the above levels, we need to break out of them and sustain at higher levels. In case they do manage to break these levels for any reason, the previous tops made at 18,000 and 60,400 would be very strong resistances in the period coming up. Strong support exists at 17,350 and 58,200. If these break then the next level would be 17,000-17,050 and 57,250-57,350. For a clear trend to emerge, 17,000 and 57,250 on the lower side and 18,000 and 59,550 on the upper side need to be decisively broken. Currently we have no news or momentum in the markets to break these levels.

The strategy would be to buy on dips and sell on rallies. One interesting development that has taken place in the last week, was that shorts in the futures were squared off to a large extent and to that effect markets have become hollow. In case there is any bad news and markets take a beating, the fall could become sharper than expected. Trade cautiously.

Business

Indian Hotels clocks 48.6 pc drop in Q2 net profit to Rs 285 crore

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Mumbai, Nov 4: Tata Group’s hospitality arm, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), on Tuesday reported a 48.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) drop in net profit to Rs 285 crore for the quarter ended September 2025 (Q2 FY26).

The company had posted a profit of Rs 555 crore in the same quarter last financial year (Q2 FY25), according to its stock exchange filing.

Despite the fall in profit, IHCL’s revenue from operations rose 11.8 per cent to Rs 2,040.8 crore, compared with Rs 1,826 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) also showed improvement, rising 14.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 572 crore from Rs 501 crore a year ago.

The EBITDA margin improved slightly to 28 per cent, compared with 27.4 per cent in the same quarter last financial year.

On the market front, IHCL shares ended at Rs 743.75 on the BSE, down Rs 3.30 or 0.44 per cent on Tuesday.

Over the last five days, the stock gained Rs 2.35 or 0.32 per cent, while in the past month, it rose Rs 20.65 or 2.85 per cent.

However, over a longer period, the stock has faced some pressure. In the last six months, IHCL shares fell Rs 57.60 or 7.18 per cent, and on a year-to-date (YTD) basis, they are down Rs 129.40 or 14.81 per cent.

Still, over the past one year, the stock has gained Rs 77.65 or 11.65 per cent.

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) is South Asia’s biggest hospitality group. It was founded in 1903 by Jamsetji Tata, who started it with the opening of The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai.

The company is best known for its Taj hotels and its unique culture called “Tajness,” which combines Indian tradition with modern hospitality.

Today, IHCL runs more than 550 hotels across four continents and focuses on being both innovative and sustainable.

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Business

Centre to launch third round of PLI scheme for specialty steel

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New Delhi, Nov 4: The government was set to launch the third round of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for Specialty Steel on Tuesday, which is one of the key initiatives under the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.

The PLI 1.2 launch will be presided over by Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, in the presence of senior officials, and other stakeholders from the sector, according to Ministry of Steel.

The ministry said that the PLI Scheme for Specialty Steel, approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2021 with an overall outlay of Rs 6,322 crore, aims to transform India into a global hub for production of high-value and advanced steel grades.

The PLI scheme has attracted a committed investment of Rs 43,874 crore so far, with Rs 22,973 crore already invested and over 13,000 jobs created under the first two rounds.

The scheme covers 22 product sub-categories including super alloys, CRGO, alloy forgings, stainless steel (long and flat), titanium alloys, and coated steels.

Incentive rates range from 4 per cent to 15 per cent, applicable for five years starting FY 2025–26, with disbursal beginning in FY 2026–27.

The base year for pricing has also been updated to FY 2024–25 to better reflect current trends.

The PLI scheme incentivises incremental production and investment in identified product categories, thereby enhancing value addition within the country and reducing import dependence in critical sectors such as defence, power, aerospace and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the country aims to achieve 300 million tonnes of crude steel production capacity by 2030. Notably, India’s domestic steel demand is growing at an impressive 11-13 per cent, fuelled by large-scale infrastructure projects, while global demand faces a slowdown, according to Steel Ministry.

Steel production surged by a robust 14.1 per cent in September compared to the same month of the previous year on the back of increased demand from big-ticket infrastructure projects being carried out by the government.

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Business

Indian stock markets end higher after two days of losses

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Mumbai, Nov 3: Indian equity markets ended a volatile session on a positive note on Monday, snapping a two-day losing streak.

Gains in real estate and state-owned bank stocks helped lift the indices despite early weakness.

After opening lower, the Sensex recovered to touch an intra-day high of 84,127 before closing 39.78 points, or 0.05 per cent, higher at 83,978.49.

The Nifty also gained 41.25 points, or 0.16 per cent, to end at 25,763.35.

“The Nifty oscillated between 25,700 and 25,800 through the day, showing resilience after briefly dipping below the October 24 low of 25,718,” analysts said.

“The zone between 25,660–25,700 once again acted as a strong demand pocket, helping the index recover intraday losses and maintain a constructive tone ahead of key global data releases,” they added.

Among the Sensex stocks, Maruti Suzuki fell over 3 per cent and was among the top losers along with Titan Company, BEL, TCS, ITC, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel and tech Mahindra.

On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, and HCL Tech were the major gainers.

In the broader markets, the Nifty MidCap index rose 0.77 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index advanced 0.72 per cent, showing strength beyond the frontline stocks.

Among sectoral indices, PSU bank shares led the rally, with the Nifty PSU Bank index climbing 1.92 per cent.

Bank of Baroda surged 5 per cent, while Canara Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of India, and Indian Bank also gained.

The Nifty Metal and Realty indices also added up to 2 per cent each.

Meanwhile, the FMCG, Private Bank, and IT indices slipped up to 0.4 per cent, capping the market’s overall gains.

Analysts said that despite mixed global cues and cautious investor sentiment, buying in select sectors helped the markets end the day in the green.

“The domestic market ended on a marginal positive note as profit booking was visible at the higher levels due to the absence of fresh domestic triggers,” market watchers said.

“While the broader market outperformed since the quarterly earnings are steering investors’ preference to take a short- to medium-term view,” they mentioned.

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