Stocks To Watch: Adani Enterprises, Adani Transmission, DLF, Vedanta, HPCL, Canara Bank Stocks to Watch: The SGX Nifty signaled that domestic benchmark indices NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex might open on a negative note, as Nifty futures traded 67.5 points lower at 18,256.5 on the Singaporean exchange. Nifty and Sensex closed Friday’s session flat. Nifty closed just above the 18,300 mark, up by 0.09% while Sensex reclaimed the 62,000 mark upon close. “A slew of weak economic data points from the US and China hinting towards a slower pace of economic growth disturbed the mood of the Asian market. The risk of a recession in the US escalated as US jobless claims rose to their highest level since October 2021 while producer prices rose at a modest pace. Consequently, US Treasury yields reacted, indicating a potential halt in central bank rate hikes. The domestic market recovered in the second half as investors back home awaited the release of Indian inflation data that is expected to cool down below 5%,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. Avenue Supermarts, which owns and operates the retail chain DMart, reported an increase of 7.81% in its consolidated net profit at Rs 460.10 crore for Q4FY23. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation reported a 79% jump in net profit at Rs 3,608.32 crore on a consolidated basis. The company had reported a profit of Rs 2,018.45 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 2.92 crore on Canara Bank for violation of various norms. The central bank conducted scrutiny of Canara Bank in July 2020 and it revealed that the bank had failed to link interest on floating rate retail loans and loans MSMEs to an external benchmark. Vedanta reported a 57% drop in March quarter net profit on weakness in aluminum business and write-offs.Consolidated net profit clocked in at Rs 3,132 crore in Q4FY23 compared to Rs 7,261 crore net earning in Q4FY22. DLF posted fiscal fourth quarter profit at Rs 569.60 crore, up 40.5% from Rs 405.54 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Logistics, good or bad, are driven by the states and the commerce ministry has a LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) report, based on perceptions. The 2023 version was released in December. Since states are heterogenous, in the reporting, they are divided into four groups—coastal, landlocked, north-east, and UTs. States that do well are called achievers. Nomenclature matters. Thus, states that are middling aren’t called average. They are called fast movers. States that are sub-par are called aspirers. Let me highlight coastal states, since 75% of export cargo is estimated to originate from them. Among coastal states, ones that do well are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The ones that lag are Goa, Odisha, and West Bengal. While India’s logistics performance may have improved over time, that’s not true of every state. Some have slipped. Most states have a state-level logistics policy, including Goa and Odisha. West Bengal, bottom of the pecking order in the coastal category, doesn’t have one. To quote from LEADS 2023, “Looking ahead, the State (West Bengal) could benefit from formulating a State Logistics Master Plan and State Logistics Policy to drive efficiency improvements and facilitate investments within the logistics sector and undertake consultation with the logistics stakeholders for educating and informing them about the initiatives State is undertaking for the development and improvement of logistics sector.”
Logistics has been talked about for a long time and India has also focused on improving performance. We are now getting some precise data on measurement and quantification. That helps.
Bibek Debroy, chairman, EAC-PM. Views are personal.