US stocks lost ground on Monday, with the major indexes closing out a strong month of gains on a weaker foot, as investor focus turned to the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week.

The Dow Jones ended lower by 0.4% while the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite ended lower by 1%.

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a strong note.

Benchmark indices staged a gap up opening today following the trend on SGX Nifty. And as the session progressed, gains were extended.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading higher by 492 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 143 points.

NTPC and Power Grid are among thetop gainers today. Tata Steel and Axis Bank are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index is up by 0.7% and the BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.3%.

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Sectoral indices are trading on a positive note. Stocks in the power sector, and healthcare sector witness buying. Among the best pharma stocks, Divi’s Lab and Natco Pharma are trading 4% higher.

Shares of Torrent Pharma and Eicher Motors hit their 52-week high today.

In the commodity markets, gold prices trade higher by ₹8 at ₹50,330 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading lower at ₹58,130 per 1 kg.

The rupee is trading at 82.7 against the US dollar.

ICICI Prudential share price under pressure

Shares of ICICI Prudential have fallen 4% in the last month after the company reported results for the September 2022 quarter.

Shares of insurance companieshave underperformed the market in 2022 due to expensive valuations and the multiple business challenges they faced during the pandemic.

The stock of ICICI Prudential has also taken a hit.

The stock is one of thetop insurance stocks in India.Yet, it was not immune to the impact of the pandemic and the volatility in the market.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance shares have declined over 4% in the last month. The stock is also down 11% in 2022 and 20% over the last year.

Tata Steel quarterly results

Homegrown steel major Tata Steel on Monday reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) ofRs 15.1 bn for the quarter ended September 2022 on the back of higher costs and weak operational performance amid a global economic slowdown.

The PAT was lower by 87% compared to a profit ofRs 119.2 bn recorded during the same quarter last year.

On a sequential basis, the PAT witnessed a decline of 80% fromRs 77.6 bn achieved during the April – June quarter.

The country’s leading steelmaker’s revenue from operations declined 0.8% toRs 598.8 bn for the period under review as compared toRs 603.9 bn in the year-ago period.

The company’s consolidated adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dipped 62% on year toRs 60.6 bn.

Bharti Airtel’s quarterly scorecard

Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Monday posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit, flagging a headwind for the telco operator, as it begins to roll out 5G services across India.

Airtel reported a consolidated net profit ofRs 21.5 bn for the quarter ending 30 September 2022. This is an increase of 89% when compared withRs 11.3 bn in corresponding quarter of last year.

On sequential basis, Airtel reported a 33.5% rise in consolidated net profit for the quarter.

The company’s revenue from operations rose 21.9% year-on-year (YoY) toRs 345.3 bn in the quarter under review, backed by strong and consistent performance delivery across the portfolio and crossing 500 million customers globally.

It had reported a revenue ofRs 283.3 bn in the same period last year.

Bharti Airtel’s average revenue per user (ARPU) increased toRs 190 in Q2 of the financial year 2022-23 fromRs 183 in Q1.

The company missed theRs 25.4 bn average profit estimated by analysts in aBloombergsurvey.

Consolidated EBITDA jumped 6.7% for the quarter toRs 177.2 bn, while the operating margin improved to 51.3% from 50.6% on QoQ basis.

Disclaimer:This article is for information purposes only. It is not a stock recommendation and should not be treated as such.


This article is syndicated from Equitymaster.com