LIC Housing Finance (LIC HF) plans to expand its branches in new geographies, increase focus on high-yielding loan against property (LAP) and intensify recovery efforts as it consolidates its position as the largest housing finance company after the merger of larger rival Housing Development Finance Corp with its banking arm. LIC HF CEO Y Viswanatha Gowd said the company expects to improve its net interest margin (NIM) and increase loan disbursements this fiscal.

FPIs registered with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) are often arms of offshore mother institutions. In such cases, the registration is typically in the name of the sub-fund or the branch of a bank. Thus, the parent organisation of an FPI is not readily identifiable.

Wipro is offering a buyback of 26.97 crore shares from its shareholders on a proportionate basis through a tender offer. The buyback price is Rs 445 per share, aggregating Rs 12,000 crore, which is 5.72% of its market capitalisation. On Wednesday, Wipro shares closed at Rs 383, which is 16.2% below the buyback price. About 15% or 4 crore shares in the buyback are reserved for retail investors.

VRL, headquartered in London, aims to borrow the money through its Zinc International unit. Following delays in securing funds from Farallon Capital Management, VRL has resumed discussions with banks to explore alternative financing options.

The Sensex ended at 61,560.64, down 371.83 points or 0.6% from the previous close. The Nifty declined 104.75 points or 0.57% to end at 18,181.75. Short covering in the later part of the day helped both the indices recoup some of their losses after falling nearly 1% earlier in the session.

Following the retreat, Goldman Sachs Asset Management's actively managed ESG fund exposure to Adani was limited to a stake of roughly 400,000 shares in Ambuja Cements, the data show.

The breakout from a bullish flag pattern on the daily charts of Housing & Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) has opened room for the stock to head above Rs 60 levels, which is also its recent 52-week high. Short-term traders can look to buy the stock now or on dips towards Rs 56.

The U.S. stock market rose modestly on Wednesday as investors looked past a dismal second-quarter outlook from Target Corp. and Home Depot Inc. Retail reports, from Target today and Home Depot yesterday, suggest consumers are slowing their spending down, and that's rippling through markets.

Wipro is offering a buyback of 26.97 crore shares from its shareholders on a proportionate basis through a tender offer. The buyback price is Rs 445 per share, aggregating Rs 12,000 crore, which is 5.72% of its market capitalisation. On Wednesday, Wipro shares closed at Rs 383, which is 16.2% below the buyback price. About 15% or 4 crore shares in the buyback are reserved for retail investors.

Jindal Steel and Power's stock price falls sharply after weak earnings for the March quarter. However, analysts maintain their positive view for the company, given its strong balance sheet and prospects of improvement in profitability over the medium term. The company plans to raise its production capacity to nearly 16 million tonne by 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) from 9 million tonne currently to strengthen its foothold in flat steel products. Multiple growth and margin accretion projects, which are scheduled to commission in the next

Geojit Financial Services launches FLIP, its latest mobile trading platform that seeks to provide a comprehensive and flexible trading experience. FLIP includes advanced order capabilities such as One Cancel Other Order, Bracket Orders, Basket Orders, Option Chain, Option Greeks, Single Click Multi-Leg Orders, and Exit All Positions in Just one click. It also features portfolio insights, technical and fundamental research, stock analysis page, advanced charting (TradingView), and dashboard that provides a summary of

"On the daily chart, HUDCO stock price has given a breakout from a bullish flag pattern indicating the probability of a continuation of the uptrend," Ruchit Jain, Lead Research, 5paisa.com, said.

The promoter of Vedant Fashions, Ravi Modi Family Trust, plans to sell 7% stake in the company through an OFS. The offer is being proposed with an option to sell an additional 2.88% stake in the event of oversubscription. The floor price is fixed at Rs 1,161 per share, which is nearly 7% discount to the last closed price. The offer is open for non-retail investors only and on May 19, which is the T

Broad-based selling continued for the second straight day on Wednesday as weak global sentiments weighed. Sector-wise, Media, Realty and IT packs saw the maximum cut of up to 2%. Top gainers from the Nifty pack were Hero MotoCorp, IndusInd Bank, ITC, UPL and BPCL, while laggards included Apollo Hospitals, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI Life Insurance and TCS.“Immediate support has been broken on the downside at 18250 levels and the Nifty is now sliding down to another crucial support of 20-day EMA around 18050 levels. The positive chart pattern like higher tops and bottoms continued as per the daily timeframe chart. The recent swing high of 18458 of 15th May could be considered as a new higher top of the sequence. The present weakness could be in line with another higher bottom formation at the lows. Immediate support is at 18050 levels,” said Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.Here are the stock recommendations for Thursday:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 80.34 points, or 0.24%, at the open to 33,092.48

In April, Indian equity experienced net selling from Mutual Funds amounting to around Rs 4,533 crore. Despite this, certain Mutual Funds have displayed optimism towards select stocks by including them in their portfolios. According to the latest MF Analysis by ETMarkets, more than 15 MF schemes have added 7 specific stocks in April, compared to March. It should be noted that these stocks have demonstrated a mixed performance in CY23 so far. Investors who consider increased MF exposure to a particular stock as a positive indicator may find it beneficial to monitor these 7 stocks (Data Source: ACE MF)

Wednesday witnessed a significant decline in the Sensex, with a loss of approximately 372 points, causing it to drop to the 61,560 mark. However, despite this notable market downturn, seven stocks within the BSE consumer discretionary index reached new 52-week highs. This is a critical technical indicator that holds significance for numerous traders and investors. The 52-week high serves as a reference point for assessing a stock's current value and predicting its future price fluctuations. It represents the highest price at which the stock has traded in the preceding year.

IndiGo is expected to post significant growth in earnings in the fourth quarter as compared to the previous year period. However, the sequential growth will likely be muted after a strong third quarter, albeit with a steady momentum. Net sales for the quarter could rise up to 75% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 14,164 crore, according to an average estimate of five brokerages, mainly driven by a sharp improvement in passenger levels and an increase in overall yields.

The central bank further informed SBI Funds Management to complete the said stake acquisition in bank within a period of six months by November 15, 2023.

In the overseas market, both gold and silver were trading lower at USD 1,992 per ounce and USD 23.82 per ounce, respectively.

ICICI Direct has identified two IT stocks that it believes will weather the current macroeconomic headwinds and deliver industry-leading growth in FY24. Persistent Systems and Happiest Minds are both expected to benefit from the digital transformation of enterprises, with Persistent Systems crossing the $1 billion-revenue threshold in FY23 and Happiest Minds being given a target price of Rs 1,038 by the brokerage. Despite the broader macro concern that discretionary digital spend is getting postponed

In 2023, the BSE Capital goods sector emerged as one of the top-performing sectors compared to other sectoral indices. It has witnessed an impressive growth of approximately 10.50%, while the benchmark index Sensex has only seen a marginal increase of 1.75% during the same period. Notably, the majority of stocks within this sector have displayed positive returns this year so far. Here are eight stocks that have achieved significant gains ranging from 20-45% and the stocks exhibit remarkable strength, as per Trendlyne's SWOT analysis.

Jindal Steel & Power shares plunged over 4% after the company reported a 70% year-on-year drop in net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. The stock closed at Rs 532 on the NSE and was down by Rs 29 or 5% from Tuesday's closing price.

Nifty on Wednesday formed a long negative candle with a lower shadow on the daily charts, indicating support-based buying despite pressure at high levels. Now, it has to hold above 18,181 zones to witness an up move towards 18,333 and 18,400 zones, while on the downside supports are placed at 18,081 and 18,018 marks. Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal said India VIX was down by 1.39% from 13.

Closing Bell: Sensex extends losses to 2nd day, ends 372 pts lower; Nifty below 18,200; LIC Housing falls 6%, Jubilant Food gains 4%

Brightcom Group stock shot up nearly 5% on Wednesday, extending gains to 12 consecutive sessions. The stock, held by ace investor Shankar Sharma, has gained nearly 75% since it hit its 52-week low of Rs 9.35 on May 2, 2023. Sharma held 25,000,000 shares in the company as of March 2023 quarter, which accounted for 1.24% stake. On the movement, technical analyst Nilesh Jain said the stock trades circuit-

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex declined 372 points or 0.60% to settle at 61,560. The broader NSE Nifty dropped 105 points or 0.57% to end at 18,182.

Bharti Airtel is estimated to deliver 16% revenue growth, compounded annually over FY23-25, driven by continued 2G to 4G/5G conversions, said analysts. They added that surprisingly sharp pace of Bharti’s 4G user adds (7.4 million) along with strong postpaid adds (the highest in the 9 quarters) in the January-March period is likely to translate into higher average revenue per user (ARPU) for India

Sebi has asked for a six-month extension to complete its probe into possible lapses of regulatory disclosures by billionaire Gautam Adani's eponymous group. The markets regulator had earlier sought a six-month extension into the probe, saying that incorrect or premature conclusion of its probe into possible lapses of regulatory disclosures by billionaire Gautam Adani's eponymous group will not serve the interest of justice and will be legally untenable. At 12.

Investors are hedging portfolios at a record pace amid the rising market volatility, with benchmark indices just 3% away from peaks. This is reflected in a record high open interest of the index put option contracts. The total open interest of the put options on the index reached 58.2 lakh on a twenty-day rolling basis while the total open interest on the index call options dropped by 20% from the peak of 66.2 lakh contracts according to the data from Bloomberg.

Kaynes Technology reported a 107% year-on-year growth in net profit at Rs 41.28 crore in Q4FY23, leading to a 14.95% rise in share prices on the NSE. The company is targeting Rs 1,700 crore in revenue for FY24, led by growth in domestic markets over exports. The top management of the company is sticking to FY24 revenue target of Rs 1,700 crore which will be led by domestic growth.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Indian equities for 14 straight days, the longest streak in 3 years. This positive trend is likely due to several factors, including the Reserve Bank of India's decision to pause rate hikes, the March quarter earnings of companies not bringing any big shocks to Dalal Street investors, and the US Federal Reserve's indication of a likely pause in interest rates. However, experts caution that the Fed's indications of a possible recession could impact FII flows

European shares slipped on Wednesday as investors remained concerned about whether the outcome of the U.S. debt ceiling negotiations would result in averting a default. Downbeat earnings, led by exchange operators, weighed on the mood. The continent-wide STOXX 600 was down 0.3% as of 0716 GMT, with financial services companies and real estate firms leading declines. Euronext dropped 4.2% after the exchange operator reported a fall in first-quarter revenue and income, while

The Japanese stock market rose on Wednesday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index gaining 0.84 percent, or 250.60 points, to end at 30,093.59. The broader Topix index added 0.30 percent, or 6.43 points, to 2,133.61. The dollar stood at 136.85 yen, against 136.37 yen in New York, and up from around 134 a week ago. Shortly before the opening bell, official data showed Japan

The overall market breadth was negative as laggards on the BSE outnumbered gainers. While weakness persisted in the market, the volatility gauge India VIX rose just 1% to 13.4600 points. This suggests that the risk-off mood hasn’t completely set into the market.​

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted markets regulator SEBI time till August 14 to submit its report on the investigation into the Adani Group-Hindenberg report issue. The apex court on Monday adjourned the hearing on the SEBI plea seeking a six-month extension to conclude the investigation in the Hindenburg Research's report.

Gone are the days, when a single company was considered a bellwether for IT sector stock. Today, whether it is a large or mid sized company, all have different focus areas and hence their quarterly results tend to differ from one another. Stock Reports Plus, powered by Refinitiv, is a comprehensive research report that evaluates five key components of 4,000+ listed stocks - earnings, fundamentals, relative valuation, risk and price momentum to generate standardized scores.

Nifty sneezes and small caps catch cold. But small investors love the cold, the reason, when they deliver returns, it is fast and big. ET screener powered by Refinitiv’s Stock Report Plus lists down stocks from small cap space with high upside potential over the next 12 months, having an average recommendation rating of “Buy” or "Strong Buy" and also meeting some parameters like net margins and return on equity.

Shares of electrical solutions provider Amber Enterprises India surged 17.5% to reach INR 2,210 ($29.40) on Bombay Stock Exchange after it reported Q4 2023 net profit of INR 108 crore, up 82% YoY, and Q4 2023 revenue of INR 3,003 crore, a 38% YoY increase. Full-year FY23 capex was INR 698 crore, with revenue for the year up 65% YoY to INR 6,927 crore. CEO of Amber Enterprises Jasbir Singh said the company had "transformed from an RAC player to a diversified B2B solution provider since the IPO launch in 2018".

For the purpose of this report, we have filtered out stocks wherein the count of analysts is less than 10 and upside potential is less than 20%. The list has been sorted based on potential upside estimated by these analysts.

LIC Housing Finance's net profit has witnessed a growth of 5.5% at INR 1,180.3 crores in Q4FY23 compared to the previous year. The company's NII also rose by 22.1% and stood at INR 1,990.3 crore in the March quarter. Even though LIC Housing Finance's Q4 revenue has increased by 21.04% at INR 6,415.11 crore, shares plunged by 7.2% to INR 366.8 on BSE intraday trade. According to analysts, LIC Housing Finance stock should be bought, and the company also suggested a dividend of INR 8.50 per equity share for FY23.

Indian mutual funds increased their holdings in midcap and smallcap stocks across various sectors following the recovery that the domestic equity market saw in April. The S&P BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices net gained 6% and 7.3%, respectively, outperforming the Sensex. Some of the top midcap buys included Star Health Allied Insurance, Poonawalla Fincorp, Dixon Technologies, GMR Airports and Piramal Enterprises, while the top smallcap buys included PNB Housing Finance, RHI Magnesita, Mastek and Eureka Forbes. Mutual funds have been increasing their ownership in these stocks consistently over the last few months.

Brokerage Nuvama is bullish on a few midcap stocks, which belong to different sectors such as FMEG, IT, and logistics. Nuvama's midcap stock ideas include Polycab, Coforge, Blue Dart and KEI Industries."Our ‘Winners, Warriors & Value (WWV)’ SMID model portfolio remains quite dynamic. Over the past 12 months, we fortified ‘Winners’. We now shift some focus to ‘Warriors’ and ‘Value’ as we include some of the interesting Buy ideas from Nuvama SMID coverage," Nuvama said.Here's a list of 7 midcap stock ideas for handsome returns:

"We believe that a constant improvement in contribution margin and operating leverage will continue to drive operating profitability. We thus estimate Paytm to achieve EBITDA breakeven by FY25. The 12-month target is placed at Rs 900," Sneha Poddar, Associate Vice President at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited, said.

The earnings of FMCG companies for the March quarter were lacklustre due to subdued domestic demand, reflecting a weak rural market that makes for 30-40% of sales for consumer staples firms. Volumes have taken a hit over the last few quarters as inflation has damaged consumption, leading to down-trading in certain categories. However, with the easing of commodity prices, companies saw a recovery in their profitability. El Nino weather phenomena could derail the recovery in rural FMCG, though most large and midcap FMCG stocks have outperformed benchmark Nifty 50 over the last year.

Bank of Baroda's shares increased after reporting strong Q4 earnings, with CLSA, Kotak Institutional Equities, and Motilal Oswal rating the lender as a 'Buy'. Meanwhile, Macquarie stood neutral after the Q4 report. The net interest income for the quarter rose by 33.8% to Rs 11,525 crore, with a YoY growth of 26.8% at Rs 41,355 crore for FY23. However, analysts have warned that RoEs are reliant on credit costs, and MOSL has cautioned that further ECL provisioning is required.

Brokerage firms CLSA, Jefferies, and Morgan Stanley have issued their latest ratings on LIC Housing Finance, Bank of Baroda, PVR, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), and Bharti Airtel. CLSA has maintained a buy rating on LIC Housing Finance, Bank of Baroda, and PVR, with target prices of Rs 550, Rs 225, and Rs 2015, respectively. Jefferies has retained its hold rating on IOC, while Morgan Stanley has continued its overweight stance on Bharti Airtel, with a target price of Rs 860.

Indian IT major Wipro has announced a buyback of up to around 26.97 crore shares at INR 445 ($6.05) per share as part of plans to extinguish about 4.91% of its total share issuance. The tender offer will be worth INR 12,000 crore ($1.62bn) and will be open from the end of June. Wipro is conducting a remote e-voting of shareholders to seek buyback deal approval, with the result set to be declared on 3 June, followed by the release of the buyback timeline.

Sensex drops over 50 points; Nifty below 18,300; Jindal Steel, Voda Idea fall 3% each; Trident, Future Consumer, Bank of Baroda are some of the top gainers in morning trade.

The BSE Sensex was trading 80 points or 0.13% lower at 61,853. Nifty50 was trading at 18,268, down 18 points or 0.10% at around 9.23 am.