Amazon.com's CFO Brian Olsavsky has told analysts that customers using its cloud services kept trying to slim down their bills during Q2 2021, meaning the company was helping them to do so to build long-term relationships. Consequently, revenue growth rates were about 5% points lower in April than in the first quarter. The news saw the entire gain in the stock rise vanish in just minutes of after-hours trading. The company's surprise gain and subsequent fall illustrates a potentially precarious moment for the firm, which is facing a nascent threat from Microsoft and Google, which are rolling out high-profile artificial intelligence tools.

Asian stocks rose on Friday buoyed by strong corporate earnings despite persistent concerns of economic weakness. The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan increased by 0.94%. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.51%, and the S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia rose 0.33%, while China shares slumped. Investors awaited a policy decision from the Bank of Japan, which is widely expected to maintain the short-term interest rate target of -0.1% and estimates for guiding the 10-year bond yield remain unchanged. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its meeting next week.

Amid market volatility and return to office, active user base shrinks for some major players

Private sector lender Axis Bank today reported a loss of Rs 5,728.42 crore in the March quarter on account of the acquisition of Citibank India's consumer business. Excluding the one-time hit due to the deal, the bank made a net profit of Rs 6,625 crore in Q4, a growth of 61% YoY.

About 65% of the Nifty futures contracts were rolled over to May series, according to the exchange data. This is far lower than the previous series of 74% as well as the three-month average of 75%.

Stock prices of listed Adani Group companies nosedived and yields on its bonds surged after the publication of the report, hurting investor confidence and making it difficult for the group to borrow fresh capital. The development halted the aggressive pace at which it was expanding.

The operating margin before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA margin) of the maker of Baleno and Brezza rose by 70 basis points sequentially to an 28-quarter high of 10.5% in the March quarter. This is the fourth quarter in a row when the margin has expanded sequentially. A mix of improved realization due to price increase, lower discount per car, better economies of scale on higher production, and cost control supported margin expansion for the company.

Although Reliance Capital's (RCap) lenders succeeded in concluding the second auction with an improved offer, they will have to cross several hurdles before completing the sale of the Anil Ambani financial services company as part of the insolvency process.

Shares of the Sanjiv Bajaj-led company advanced 2.38% on the NSE on Thursday to close at its two-month high of ₹6,200 per share. More than 29 lakh shares were traded on the BSE and NSE, up 2.6 times its combined average daily volume for the last one month.

Apollo Hospitals saw a 6% rally from its April lows and closed above the 50- and 200-day moving averages, indicating the bulls are trying to take control. The stock formed a bearish Death Cross earlier this week. It is now on the verge of a breakout from a falling trendline resistance on the daily charts, with Rs 4,450 being a crucial level traders should watch out for

Going by Sebi's order, Yogesh Garg is still professionally associated with LIC. Sebi has been informed by LIC that Yogesh Garg has been transferred from the investment department of the company to another department of the insurance firm.

The order came after Arihant Capital proposed to settle the instant proceedings initiated against it, "without admitting or denying the findings of facts and conclusions of law".

"Apollo Hospitals stock price is on the verge of a breakout above a falling trendline resistance which is placed around Rs. 4450. A breakout above this could then lead to a directional uptrend as the momentum readings have already given a positive crossover," Ruchit Jain, Lead Research, 5paisa.com, said.

Citibank has raised its target price for Indian fintech Paytm to INR1,103 ($14.60), signalling a potential upside of 71%. After breaking even last year, Citibank expects Paytm's growth to continue, partly thanks to recognition of annual UPI payouts from the Indian government, along with decent Q4 figures. Citibank believes Paytm's lending and monetisation focus help it to achieve ongoing growth, and has raised the estimates for FY24 and FY25 by 6% and 5% respectively, while revised the adjusted EBITDA upwards by 31% for FY24 and 7% for FY25.

Continuing their winning run for the sixth straight session, Nifty topped the 17,900 mark, with gains of around 0.6%. From the 50-share pack, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, BPCL, and Bharti Airtel were the top gainers, while losers included HDFC Life, HUL, Power Grid, Adani Ports, and Axis Bank“Nifty surpassed the hurdle at 17,850 and looks set to inch toward the 18,100+ zone. Though it is still a banking-led recovery, we are seeing a marginal improvement in participation from other sectors as well. Participants should continue with a stock-specific trading approach and align the positions according to the trend,” Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking, saidHere are stock recommendations for Friday:

Godrej Consumer Products has acquired the FMCG business of Raymond, which includes the brands Park Avenue and KamaSutra, for Rs 2,285 crore. The deal is expected to be finalised by May 10. Sudhir Sitapati, MD and CEO of Godrej Consumer, said the acquisition will enable the company to supplement its business portfolio with under-penetrated categories that offer significant growth potential. Raymond's sales amounted to Rs 522 crore last fiscal, making it one of the top five firms in the men's deodorant and third largest in the branded condom segments.

The operating margin before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA margin) of the maker of Baleno and Brezza rose by 70 basis points sequentially to an 28-quarter high of 10.5% in the March quarter. This is the fourth quarter in a row when the margin has expanded sequentially. A mix of improved realization due to price increase, lower discount per car, better economies of scale on higher production, and cost control supported margin expansion for the company.

Leased 5.1 msf across 100 deals at 16% leasing spreads, highest deal activity over last seven years

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79.79 points, or 0.24%, at the open to 33,381.66.

These properties include land parcels, single-storied buildings, a residential building and a flat located in West Bengal.Inviting bids for the sale of properties in the recovery proceedings against the three companies and their promoters and directors, Sebi said the auction will be conducted online on May 30 -- from 1030 hours to 1230 hours

Exchange-traded funds and mutual funds are quite popular among many investors. Both investment tools offer variety of options to the investors but are quite different from each other. From cost to management style, here is how ETFs are different from mutual funds. Take a look.

Options data suggests a broader trading range between 17500 to 18500 zones, while an immediate trading range between 17700 to 18200 zones.

Wipro will announce the process, record date, timelines, and other details of the share buyback scheme at a later date.

At a board meeting, the directors approved buyback of up to 269,662,921 equity shares, being 4.91% of total number of equity shares, from shareholders of the company on a proportionate basis.

In its November review, MSCI has included 6 Indian stocks in its standard index. ABB India, Bajaj Holdings & Investment, Indian Hotels, Tube Investment, TVS Motors, and Varun Beverages were the new entrants in the MSCI Standard Index last time.

Like every other industry, home building products like ceramic tiles and laminates witnessed headwinds when commodity prices including natural gas witnessed a sharp rise last year. Despite those pressures on margins, the topline numbers were much better than expected. Now with softening of some of the raw materials, the pressure on margins may come down, while the demand tailwind continues. For this report, we have selected stocks from the latest Stock Reports Plus report dated 27th April 2023 with an analyst count of at least 9 and a minimum average Stock Report Plus score of 6.

Louis Vuitton is the first European company to cross the $500 billion market cap. A name synonymous with luxury for many, it joined the ranks of the world's ten biggest companies, powered by a surge in first-quarter sales. This video tells you how LVMH or Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton achieved this milestone. Watch!(Source: TOI | Bloomberg)

Adani Group's list of lenders has reportedly increased to 25 from 18, and its debts amounted to INR 2.27tn ($30.6bn) at the end of fiscal year 2023. Majority of global banks have reaffirmed their confidence in the group, including Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Standard Chartered. Adani's debt structure consists of 39% bonds, 29% financed by global banks, and the remaining 32% is financed by NBFCs, PSU, and private banks.

Sera Investments and Finance shares will trade ex-split on 28 April, with a proposal approved for the splitting of shares in a 1:5 ratio. The record date for the split is set for 28 April with Sera intending to complete the stock split within two months from the board's approval date. The company approved alterations for a capital clause of the Memorandum of Association and the creation of a new subsidiary - Sera Invest Advisory. Shares were trading 2.26% higher at INR431.80 ($5.77) on Thursday in the previous year, returning 510% to investors.

Closing Bell: Sensex ends 349 pts higher; Nifty above 17,900 on F&O expiry; Bajaj twins jump 2%, Voltas tanks 6%

Benchmark equity indices were led by heavyweights Reliance, Infosys and Bajaj Finance amid positive global market cues. Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv were the top Sensex gainers, while HUL, Power Grid, Axis Bank, SBI, TCS and Asian Paints closed in the red.

The company has fixed May 10 as the record date for the purpose of ascertaining the eligibility of shareholders for the proposed buyback. The company will announce the process, and timelines for the same in due course.

Adani Group's list of lenders has reportedly increased to 25 from 18, and its debts amounted to INR 2.27tn ($30.6bn) at the end of fiscal year 2023. Majority of global banks have reaffirmed their confidence in the group, including Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Standard Chartered. Adani's debt structure consists of 39% bonds, 29% financed by global banks, and the remaining 32% is financed by NBFCs, PSU, and private banks. However, Aswath Damodaran, a valuation guru, suggests that Adani Group carries three times more debt than it should have. The combined value of all 10 Adani stocks has halved since the release of the Hindenburg report.

They, though, cautioned that Indus was still not out of the financial woods, reflected in the tower company's decision not to announce any dividend payment for FY23.

In March and April, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) earned the repute of being net buyers in Indian equity. But, since April 2022, covering a little over a year period, they were net sellers to the tune of approximately Rs 31,000 crore. Upon reviewing the overall selling trend, our analysis indicated that around 100 stocks experienced consistent reductions in FII stake in each of the last four quarters of FY23. Notably, about 75% of these stocks have delivered negative returns over the past year. After further examination, we identified 7 stocks that suffered a decline of over 50% in the same one-year period (Data Source: ACE Equity).

Gold prices rose on Thursday due to a weaker dollar and investor caution ahead of US economic data to assess the health of the economy. June gold futures were trading at Rs 60,201 per 10 gm on MCX, up by Rs 308 or 0.51%. The May Silver futures were trading at Rs 75,671 per kg, up by Rs 686 or 0.91%. Meanwhile, Comex gold futures rose by $14.4 per troy ounce or 0.72% to $2,010.4, while silver futures increased by $0.289 or 1.16% per troy ounce to $25.165.

The potential deal will give Godrej Consumer a bigger play in the men’s personal care and sexual wellness categories. The Singhania-family-owned Raymond group has been looking to divest its consumer care business for over two years now, since the group believes this is a non-core business in its portfolio, the report further stated.

Shares of Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) have fallen by almost 4% to Rs 101.7 after surging 54% in the last five days. Siemens, along with RVNL, was part of a consortium that recently won two separate orders from the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation. Independent analyst Anand Tandon said he sees a lot of order flow coming through from railway spending, but suppliers are better targets than consultants. CEO of GCL Broking, Ravi Singhal, said that the current railway infrastructure spending should help RVNL improve margin and growth.

On the lists is the financial services companies which has one being a biggest financial creator and second being from a company which has redefined profitability in the world of retail industry. These companies have come on the list because their scores have inched up and also their prices have moved up in the last one month. ET screener powered by Refinitiv’s Stock Report Plus applies different algorithms & filters to all BSE and NSE stocks, and lists down stocks which fulfill the various criteria as specified into the algorithms & filters.

Shares of Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) have fallen by almost 4% to Rs 101.7 after surging 54% in the last five days. Siemens, along with RVNL, was part of a consortium that recently won two separate orders from the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation. Independent analyst Anand Tandon said he sees a lot of order flow coming through from railway spending, but suppliers are better targets than consultants. CEO of GCL Broking, Ravi Singhal, said that the current railway infrastructure spending should help RVNL improve margin and growth.

On the lists is the financial services companies which has one being a biggest financial creator and second being from a company which has redefined profitability in the world of retail industry. These companies have come on the list because their scores have inched up and also their prices have moved up in the last one month. ET screener powered by Refinitiv’s Stock Report Plus applies different algorithms & filters to all BSE and NSE stocks, and lists down stocks which fulfill the various criteria as specified into the algorithms & filters.

Bajaj Finance shares rose 3% following the firm's announcement of its consolidated net profit of INR 3,158 crore for the quarter ended 31 March, a 30% YoY increase. Its net interest income surged 28% to INR 7,771 crore YoY, while its assets under management rose 29%. The firm recommended a dividend of INR 30 per share for the year ending March. Analysts largely suggest holding onto the stock while Jefferies maintained its 'buy' rating due to its potential to enter the credit card market and favourable risk-reward outlook.

If the Q4 results of Maruti and Bajaj Auto are anything to go by, it appears that headwinds which a big segment of the auto industry has been facing, in terms of rising input cost, stagnant demand and many others are becoming things of the past. 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.

In the NSE list of stocks with a market cap of over Rs 1,000 crore, five stocks crossed their previous five-year high value at the close on April 26, suggesting bullishness in counters, according to stockedge.com's technical scan data. Take a look.

Like every other industry, home building products like ceramic tiles and laminates witnessed headwinds when commodity prices including natural gas witnessed a sharp rise last year. Despite those pressures on margins, the topline numbers were much better than expected. Now with softening of some of the raw materials, the pressure on margins may come down, while the demand tailwind continues. For this report, we have selected stocks from the latest Stock Reports Plus report dated 27th April 2023 with an analyst count of at least 9 and a minimum average Stock Report Plus score of 6.

L&T Technology Services saw its shares rise nearly 6% following its report of a 22% rise in net profit at INR 1,170 crore for Q1 2023. Its revenue from operations also experienced a growth of 22% YoY. The company reported a 16% growth in constant currency (cc) terms, with EBIT margins at 18.5%. HDFC Securities maintained its Add rating on L&T Technology with a target price of INR 3,585 while YES Securities maintained its reduce rating with a target price of INR 3,678. Choice Broking downgraded its rating on the stock to Add with a target price of INR 3,738.

Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan have both maintained an overweight rating on Bajaj Finance after its March quarter results. The former predicts a target price of Rs 8,000 and the latter Rs 9,000, citing strong asset quality and growth potential. Goldman Sachs has suggested a buy rating on SBI Life Insurance, with a target price of Rs 1,510 due to the company's robust visible new business growth. Choice Broking maintained an outperform rating on Maruti Suzuki with a target of Rs 10,331, due to the automobile manufacturer's healthy Q4FY23 performance, high annual sales volume, and new launches.

Maruti Suzuki reported an all-time high profit figure, becoming the first passenger vehicle maker in India with an annual turnover of over Rs 1 lakh crore. However, the company's market share in the passenger vehicle segment slipped to 41% in FY23 from 51% in FY20, led by a demand shift to SUVs where it has a weaker presence. Most brokerages have maintained their bullish view on Maruti Suzuki's stock, with target prices going beyond the Rs 10,000 mark. However, Kotak analyst Rishi Vora has said that the company is expected to find it challenging to regain lost market share.

The Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) soared by 20% with high volumes, opening up the possibility of hitting Rs 200 in the next six months, according to experts. Traders and investors should keep an eye on the stock and consider buying on dips to Rs 135-140. The stock is part of the S&P BSE Smallcap index and has been trading above short and long-term moving averages. The technical indicator MACD is also in a buy mode providing support for bulls, while a clear break above Rs 160 levels will open up fresh investment opportunities.