Stocks To Watch: Vedanta, Infosys, Wipro, SJVN, Samhi Hotels Stocks in focus: GIFT Nifty traded flat at 19,678, up by merely 16 points or 0.08% during Friday’s early trading session, indicating a flat opening for domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex. On Thursday, the NSE Nifty 50 closed below the 20,000 mark at 19,679, down almost a per cent. The Sensex too closed well below 67,000 at 66,230.24, down a whopping 500 plus points. “Technically, the Nifty has completed one leg of correction, and for the bulls now, 19,700 would be the key level to watch out for. If the index succeeds to trade above the same, then we could expect one relief rally, and above 19,700 the market could rally till 19,825 – 19,875. On the flip side, fresh selling is possible only after the dismissal of 19,700 and below the same, the index could slip till 19,650 – 19,600,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities. The company will issue secured NCDs of face value Rs 100,000 each totaling `2,500 crore in one or more tranches, VEDL said in a regulatory update but did not provide further details. Jatin Pravinchandra Dalal is stepping down as CFO to pursue other career opportunities. Wipro announced that it is appointing Aparna C Iyer as Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately, the company said in a regulatory filing. Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY), and Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), the banking subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, announced that Guaranty Trust Bank has selected the Finacle Digital Banking Suite for its multi-country digital transformation program. The company is scheduled to make its debut on the bourses today. It will be the second company to do so in the T+3 timeline after its IPO. The company is scheduled to make its debut on the bourses today. It will be the third company to do so in the T+3 timeline after its IPO.
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.