Top gainers and losers on Nifty by mid-day: Bajaj Auto, LTIMindtree rise, Wipro, UPL down

At 12:06pm, the Sensex was down 107.83 points or 0.16 percent to 65,769.19, and the Nifty was down 26.40 points or 0.13 percent to 19,644.70.

Bajaj Auto Ltd: Shares of the two-wheeler and three-wheeler major rose nearly 5 percent to Rs 5,389, a day after its Q2 net profit rose 20 percent. However, brokerage firms seem unimpressed as several concerns still linger for the automobile major – muted exports and competition in electric vehicles.

LTIMindtree Ltd: Shares of the IT major jumped over 5 percent to Rs 5,433 after the company posted in-line revenue growth in the September quarter on strong deal wins despite a challenging demand environment. The positive commentary from the management buoyed the counter.

IndusInd Bank Ltd: Shares of the private lender edged up over 2 percent to Rs 1,453, a day after its Q2 results. At a time when banks are complaining of margin pressure, IndusInd Bank’s Q2 net interest margin (NIM) was steady at 4.29 percent on a sequential basis, despite a higher cost of funds. The company’s cost of funds was up 10 basis points (bps) QoQ to 5.4 percent in Q2FY24.

Hero Motocorp Ltd: Shares of the two-wheeler major gained over 2 percent to Rs 3,217 on October 19. Volumes were higher than yesterday as 5 lakh shares changed hands against 3 lakh shares on October 18.

Nestle Ltd: Shares of the FMCG giant gained over 1 percent to Rs 23,490 after its net profit surged 36 percent to Rs 908 crore. The board also approved a stock split in the ratio of 1:10 on October 19, the first such move by the FMCG major in the country. The record date for the sub-division of existing equity shares will be intimated in due course, the company said.

Wipro Ltd: Shares of the IT major tanked over 3 percent to Rs 395 a day after the company reported a disappointing set of numbers for the September quarter. Wipro clocked the weakest growth among peers. With the company’s profit and revenue declining and a weak Q3 guidance, analysts expect Wipro’s FY24 topline growth to be one of the lowest among Tier-1 IT services firms which include TCS and Infosys.

Hindalco Ltd: Shares of the Aditya Birla Group company fell just about 1 percent to Rs 480, snapping its three-day gainingg streak on the bourses on October 19. Volumes were lower as 36 lakh shares changed hands against yesterday’s 78 lakh shares.

UPL: The scrip fell 1 percent to Rs 614 on October 19, extending losses for the third day in a row on the bourses. About 13 lakh shares changed hands against the one-week average of 18 lakh shares.

Bharti Airtel Ltd: Shares of the telecom major fell 1 percent to Rs 944 on October 19. It is possible that the company could face potential tax demands exceeding Rs 14,000 crore due to the Supreme Court’s recent decision on licence fee categorisation, according to analysts, Mint reported.

Tata Steel Ltd: Shares of the company fell over a percent to Rs 125, extending gains for the second day in a row on the exchanges on October 19.