Top Nifty gainers and losers at mid-day: Kotak Mahindra Bank up, ITC tumbles

The Indian equity benchmarks traded lower at mid-day on October 20 as US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s comment on interest rates staying higher for longer weighed on sentiment already dampened by mixed earnings. At 12.05 pm, the Sensex was down 247.53 points or 0.38 percent at 65,381.71, and the Nifty was down 92.40 points or 0.47 percent at 19,532.30. About 1,344 shares advanced, 1,728 declined and 103 shares were unchanged.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd: Shares of the private lender rose over 1 percent to Rs 1,756, snapping its two-day losing streak. About 21 lakh shares exchanged hands, higher than 20 lakh on October 19.

IndusInd Bank Ltd: The share was up a percent to Rs 1,463, extending gains for the second day in a row. The renewed momentum comes 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.

Nestle India Ltd: Shares of the Maggi-maker rose above a percent to Rs 24,392 for a second day. In Q2, the company reported a 36 percent surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 908 crore for the September quarter of FY24 as against Rs 668.3 crore a year ago. The total revenue of the company stood at Rs 5,036 crore, rising 9.6 percent from Rs 4,591 crore a year ago, the FMCG major said in a regulatory filing.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd: The IT major was up a percent at Rs 3,492 after trading in the red for four consecutive sessions. In Q2, it reported a net profit of Rs 11,342 crore for the September quarter of the current financial year, driven by a strong order book, especially in the BFSI segment, despite a tough business environment.

SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd: Shares rose almost a percent to Rs 1,359. The volumes were low as only 2 lakh shares changed hands against the one-week average of 7 lakh shares.

ITC Ltd: Shares of India’s largest cigarette maker tanked over 2 percent to Rs 438. The drop comes after the hotels-to-tobacco maker reported its lowest cigarette volume growth in the September quarter, its biggest source of revenue. It was also after nine straight quarters of double-digit EBITDA growth that ITC reported mid-single-digit growth in the July-September period which also dampened investor sentiment.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd: Shares of the FMCG bellwether plunged over 2 percent to Rs 2,497 as the impact of weak rural demand, a delayed festive season, and increased competition affected its results. Brokerages maintained their cautious calls on Hindustan Unilever as weak rural demand, increased competitive intensity in its core segment, slowdown in the high-margin BPC segment, and front-ended rise in royalty rates were factored in.

Power Grid Corp Ltd: Shares of the company fell over a percent to Rs 202, extending losses for the third day. Volumes were low on the bourses as 99 lakh shares changed hands against the one-week average of 2 crore.

JSW Steel Ltd: Shares of the steel major fell over almost 2 percent to Rs 766 ahead of its Q2 results later in the day. JSW is likely to report a stable revenue but a drop in net profit. While its Indian operations are expected to perform well, the steel maker may report weaker results from subsidiaries. According to estimates put up by 10 brokerages Moneycontrol reviewed, the company’s revenue is projected to inch up 1 percent to Rs 42,428 crore both sequentially as well as annually.

Divi’s Laboratories Ltd: Shares of the pharma major fell over a percent to Rs 3,582 extending losses for the sixth day in a row.