Nifty uptrend to continue if it holds 16300, eyes on Fed meet, oil prices this week; Buy these two stocks By Rahul Shah Equity benchmark Indexposted their first weekly advance last week, since early February after a run of four weekly losses, buoyed by dip-buying in sectors such as software and healthcare. Sensex surged by 1216 (up 2.2%) to close at 55550 and Nifty advance 385 points (2.4%) to close at 16630.Russia-Ukraine crisis, higher energy price and rising USDINR kept the market highly volatile this week. USDINR surged to record high at $77, oil price has spiked to $140/bbl and Gold soared to a 19-month high at $2070/ounce during the week. However, investor focus remains on Ukraine, which continued to rattle markets in the past week, creating volatile swings in oil and sending stocks lower. The Fed’s rate hike is expected, but investors will be watching to see what the central bank has to say about inflation and the economy, as well as its projections for future rate hikes. On the domestic front, the ruling BJP has scored big in the assembly elections, winning four of the five states. The electoral wins will reassure markets about the central leadership maintaining a stable policy outlook. Even as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and inflationary pressures are weighing on investor sentiment. The government has enough strength to pursue reforms such as a privatization program which may reduce the fiscal burden. The US Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Bank of Japan will decide on interest rates. Stability in Indian equity market will depend on the stable oil price. Every $1/bbl increase in oil price will add a $2bn fiscal burden. Above $100/bbl likely to hit the economy as Finance Minister projected $70-75/bll during the budget. Nifty has completed one leg of a pullback rally, the possibility of higher intra-day volatility ahead of US Fed rate decision. 16,400 and 16,300 would be the key support areas and 20-day SMA or 16,800 to 17000 would act as an immediate hurdle for the bulls. Expect the uptrend formation will continue unless Nifty slips below 16,300. Nifty expected to be trading in a border rage of 16800-16200 level. Tata steel has retested the consolidation breakout level and has started the next leg on the upside. It has formed a bullish candle on the daily scale and has closed above its 200 DMA indicating strength in the counter. RSI oscillator is also positively placed on the daily and weekly scale. 3 Considering the current chart structure, we advise traders to buy the stock for an up move towards 1400 with a stop loss of 1270. BEL has given a breakout of the consolidation zone on the daily charts. It has formed a strong bullish candle which indicates buying interest in the counter. RSI oscillator is also positively placed on the daily and weekly scale. 3 Considering the current chart structure, we advise traders to buy the stock for an up move towards 235 with a stop loss of 208. (Rahul Shah is the Senior Vice President, Group Advisory Leader-PCG, Broking & Distribution, Motilal Oswal Financial Servcies. Views expressed are the author’s own. Please consult your financial advisor before investing.)
Services miss estimates; Software better than expected: Services business grew 0.6% q-o-q cc and missed HCLT’s Q3FY23 guidance, mainly due to a 3.8% q-o-q cc decline in the ER&D segment. Growth in the IT&BS segment moderated slightly to 1.6% q-o-qcc but was in line with estimates. BFSI and Life Sciences were the key growth drivers, while communications were the drag among verticals. Growth was led by the Americas region, while Europe and ROW posted declines.
Decline in bookings reflects delays in decision-making: HCLT won 10 large deals in services and three large deals in Software with net-new deal TCV of $2.1bn, down 8% y-o-y. Deal wins were driven by the services portfolio, were centered on cost optimisation and vendor consolidation and came mainly from BFSI, manufacturing and Life Sciences verticals. Management highlighted a ramp-down in discretionary spending in Hitech and communications verticals but pointed to a strong deal pipeline.
FY24 guidance in line with expectations: HCLT has guided for 6-8% y-o-y growth for overall business and 6.5-8.5% y-o-y cc growth in services segment and 18-19% margins in FY24—all in line with our assumptions. We maintain our FY24-25 cc revenue growth and margin estimates and expect HCLT to deliver 6.5% cc revenue growth and 18.4% margins in FY24. However, we lower our earnings forecasts by 2% to factor the higher tax rate indicated by the management.
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Raise PT: HCLT has fared better in Q4, particularly in North America and BFSI, unlike its peers. However, rising demand uncertainty as a US recession nears remains a concern. HCLT’s stock at CMP trades at 17x PE and offers a 5% yield, which in our view should limit downsides and derating. Hence, we raise our target PE to 17x (16x earlier) and raise our PT to Rs 1,125, offering 8% potential upside.