Among sectors, metal, PSU Bank, oil and gas and power indices were down 1-5 percent. However, Information Technology index gained 1 percent.
Benchmark indices ended on a mixed note in the highly volatile session on February 1. At close, the Sensex was up 158.18 points or 0.27 percent at 59,708.08, and the Nifty was down 45.90 points or 0.26 percent at 17,616.30.
Fertiliser stocks | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 set aside Rs 1.75 lakh crore for fertiliser subsidies in the budget for the financial year 2023-24, which was 22 percent lower than Rs 2.25 lakh crore for FY23. Share prices of Chambal Fertilisers, National Fertilisers, GSFC and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers fell 3-8 percent after the budget documents were released on the completion of the minister’s speech.
Cigarette stocks end mixed | ITC shares rebounded sharply from the day’s low to end with 2 percent gains at close on February 1 while that of Godfrey Phillips tumbled over 5 percent, after analysts assessed that the tax hike announced by the Finance Minister on cigarettes is not very high and can be easily passed on to customers. The finance minister said the National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) on specified cigarettes is proposed to be revised upwards by about 16 percent. The NCCD on specified cigarettes was last revised three years ago, the FM said while addressing the Parliament.
Insurance stocks | The shares of insurance companies took a knock following Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s renewed thrust for the new tax regime, where deductions are not allowed, in Budget 2023-24. The government also announced that it will disallow deductions in certain cases. “(A) proposal…is to limit income tax exemption from proceeds of insurance policies with very high value,” Sitharaman said. The budget explained that where the aggregate of premium for life insurance policies (other than ULIP) issued on or after April 1, 2023, is above Rs 5 lakh, income from only those policies with an aggregate premium of up to Rs 5 lakh shall be exempt. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) fell 8 percent, SBI Life Insurance was down 8 percent, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance 11 percent, and HDFC Life Insurance was down nearly 11 percent.
Jubilant Foodworks | CMP: Rs 455.95 | The share price declined over 6 percent after the firm posted a 39.6 percent fall in its Q3 net profit at Rs 80.4 crore versus Rs 133.2 crore and revenue was up 10 percent at Rs 1,332 crore versus Rs 1,210.8 crore, YoY.
Whirlpool Of India | CMP: Rs 1,347.90 | The scrip shed over 3 percent after the company reported a 74 percent drop in quarterly earnings on February 1. The stock closed at Rs 1,344.5 per share on the National Stock Exchange. The electronics and kitchen appliances maker has recorded a standalone profit of Rs 10.7 crore for the December FY23 quarter, down 74 percent from the year-ago period, impacted by negative operating performance as well as a lower topline. Standalone revenue from operations declined 18.3 percent on year to Rs 1,172.4 crore for the quarter.
Ramco Systems | CMP: Rs 235.35 | The stock ended in the red on February 1 after the company posted a loss of Rs 50.2 crore versus a loss of Rs 60.3 crore and revenue was up 7.5 percent at Rs 127.5 crore versus Rs 118.6 crore, YoY.
Telecom equipment stocks | The share price of GTL Infra hit 20 percent upper circuit after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech, announced that the government has decided to increase focus on 5G by setting up 100 labs to develop 5G applications.
RailTel Corporation of India | CMP: Rs 115.65 | The stock price fell over 7 percent after the company recorded a 52 percent year-on-year decline in consolidated profit at Rs 31.95 crore for the quarter ended December FY23 on a high base. The year-ago period included higher other income, which fell from Rs 56.46 crore in Q3FY22 to Rs 7.85 crore in Q3FY23. Revenue from operations grew by 9 percent YoY to Rs 454.32 crore for the quarter.
Cholamandalam Investment | CMP: Rs 752 | The scrip jumped over 6 percent after strong set of earnings for the quarter ended December cheered investors. The company managed to post 31 percent year-on-year growth in its consolidated net profit for the December quarter despite high inflation and rising interest rates. The jump in the bottomline was supported by strong festive sales, a robust housing market, and market share gain across product segments in vehicle finance and other business units. Net income jumped 22 percent on year to Rs 1,832 crore, and disbursements also rose 68 percent to Rs 17,559 crore during the Oct-Dec quarter.
Indian Hotels Company | CMP: Rs 325 | The stock surged 8 percent after the Tata-group hospitality firm reported an over four-fold year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 383 crore for the quarter ended December 2022. In the quarter, Indian Hotel’s revenue rose 24 percent from the year-ago period to Rs 1,744 crore. While occupancy fell from 73.3 percent in pre-COVID era to 72.1 percent, the average room rate jumped 25 percent to Rs 15,456.