Target Financial News

Ethos, one of India’s leading luxury and premium watch retail players, are set to cross the ₹3,000 mark from their current market price of ₹2,370 apiece, according to projections by domestic brokerage firm Axis Securities. Axis Securities believes that Ethos is well-positioned, as the luxury market in India is expected to expand fivefold in the next decade. This growth is attributed to the increasing number of affluent consumers in the country with higher aspirations and disposable income.

“Policy making is dynamic in India and budget is not a limiting event. If an investor’s asset allocation permits to invest additional funds in equity then given the rich valuations currently, it could be deployed over 6 months,” says Rohit Sarin, Co Founder – Client Associates managing assets worth over $6 Bn. In an interview with ETMarkets, Sarin said: “As of now, all debt instruments including bonds attract marginal tax rate in India. We expect policy stability on this front. 10-Year Bond Yields, and Inflation—paints a compelling narrative,” Edited excerpts: Markets are trading near record highs as we approach the Interim Budget 2024 or the Vote on Account – what are your expectations? Rohit Sarin: Indian markets have been resilient in 2023 on account of the resilience of the domestic economy. With indications of an accommodative stance of the US Fed in 2024 markets are expected to remain strong in 2024 aided by the reallocation of global liquidity towards equity in general and growing economies like India in particular.

Nifty started the week on a positive note but witnessed selling at higher levels to end the week on a weak note. The Nifty50 closed at 21622 on 19th January with a loss of 272 points on a weekly basis. On the weekly chart, the index has formed a Bearish candle which engulfed its previous week's move, forming a «Bearish Engulfing» candlestick formation, indicating a bearish reversal. For confirmation of this formation, a break and close below the previous week's low are necessary, which could signal a change in the trend to the downside. The chart pattern suggests that if Nifty crosses and sustains above the 21700 level, it could witness buying, leading the index towards 21800-22000 levels.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) fell over 3% to the day's low of Rs 2,487 on Saturday following its December quarter earnings where the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector bellwether reported disappointing earnings on Friday. The commentary by a couple of brokerages was uninspiring for investors with CITI reiterating an 'Equal Weight' rating, while Nuvama trimmed EPS estimates even as it retained a buy stance. The company posted a net profit growth of a mere 0.6% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2,519 crore while missing the ETNow poll estimate of Rs 2,724 crore. Revenue from operations fell 0.3% YoY to Rs 15,188 crore and also trailed estimates of Rs 15,533 crore. Read More: HUL Q3 Results: PAT rises just 0.6% YoY to Rs 2,519 crore, trails estimate Here's what brokerages recommended:

Voltas Ltd. with a target price of Rs 1150.

Budget 2024 Expectations: Here's what CareEdge predicts for India's economy The government is aiming to narrow the fiscal deficit to 4.50% of GDP by the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year (FY) from 5.90% in the current year to end-March 2024. The January 10-19 Reuters poll of 41 economists showed the Feb.

IRCON International soared 15 percent in intra-day deals today to its new high of ₹261.35 followed by Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL), which has rallied 10 percent to its record high of 320.75. Meanwhile, IRFC (Indian Railway Finance Corp) surged 9.7 percent to its new peak of ₹176. RailTel jumped 8 percent to its all-time high of ₹417.80 and IRCTC advanced 4.7 percent to its 52-week high of ₹1,029.85.

Also Read: HUL share price drops over 2% after muted Q3 results; should you buy, sell or hold the stock? “We are of the opinion that the company is well-positioned to benefit from the robust capital expenditure cycle in the industries it operates, including petrochemicals, oil and gas, and green hydrogen initiatives. Also, the company is well positioned to take advantage of the export markets as well as diversification of its products," said Anand Rathi. The brokerage firm initiated a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock with a target price of ₹3,568 per share for a time horizon of 12 months.

Sensex jumped 496 points to settle at 71,683.23 and the Nifty climbed 160 points to end at 21,622. Stocks that were in focus included names like Metro Brands, which fell 3.84%, HUL, which rose 0.78%, and Titan, whose shares climbed 2.18% on Friday. Here's what Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst at Swastika Investmart, recommends investors should do with these stocks when the market resumes trading today.

Also Read: Budget 2024: Focus on rural schemes, infra investment likely, says veteran fund manager Mihir Vora Sitharaman's declaration that it will be a vote of account suggests that no significant policy announcements are likely expected in this interim budget. With the announcement of the election dates around mid-March, the model code of conduct (MCC) is expected to come into effect barring the government from announcing any policy decisions.

Microsoft reported that state-backed Russian hackers successfully infiltrated the company's corporate email system, AP reported. The breach affected accounts of key members of the leadership team, and employees in the cybersecurity and legal departments, it added. The intrusion commenced in late November 2022, with Microsoft detecting it on January 12.

Buy or sell stocks for today: Despite being Saturday today, dealing on Dalal Street will take place from 9 AM to 3:30 PM. The decision has come ahead of the Ram Temple ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony in Ayodhya on Monday, January 22. So, the stock market in India will remain closed on the following Sunday (21st January 2024) and Monday (22nd January 2024).

Buy or sell stocks for today: Generally, the Indian stock market remains closed on Saturday and Sunday but on 20th January 2024, dealing on Dalal Street will take place from 9 AM to 3:30 PM. The decision has come ahead of the Ram Temple ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony in Ayodhya on Monday, January 22. So, the stock market in India will remain closed on the following Sunday (21st January 2024) and Monday (22nd January 2024).

Microsoft said on Friday that a Russian state-sponsored group hacked into its corporate systems on Jan. 12 and stole some emails and documents from its staffs' accounts. A Russian hacking group known in the cybersecurity industry as Nobelium, or Midnight Blizzard, used a «password spray attack» starting in Nov. 2023 to breach a Microsoft platform, the company said in a blog. Hackers use this technique to infiltrate a company's systems by using the same password across multiple accounts.

Hezbollah on Friday warned Israel would «receive a real slap in the face» if it expanded the conflict along the Lebanon-Israel border. Since the surprise October 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel, there have been near daily exchanges of cross-border fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, an ally of the Palestinian militants. Israel has repeatedly bombarded border villages, with the violence killing more than 195 people in Lebanon, including at least 142 Hezbollah fighters, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, 15 people have been killed, of whom nine were soldiers and six civilians, according to the Israeli army. «If Israel decides to expand its aggression, it will receive a real slap in the face in response,» Hezbollah's number two, Naim Qassem, said in a statement. Any restoration of stability on the border is contingent on «the end of the aggression in Gaza», he added. «The enemy must know the party is ready, that we are preparing based on the principle that an endless aggression can happen, just like our will to push back the aggression is infinite.» His remarks came after Israeli air strikes «completely destroyed» at least three houses in southern Lebanon on Friday, the official Lebanese news agency NNA and the mayor of the affected border community said. The agency reported four houses were targeted «since this morning by the Israeli air force in Kfar Kila», a village near the Israel-Lebanon border, while three were «completely destroyed». A fifth home was also targeted by artillery fire, NNA said. The Israeli army said on Friday it had «conducted air strikes and carried out artillery and tank fire against Hezbollah observation posts and terrorist infrastructure» in the Kfar Kila

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly gives her outlook on the U.S. economy and discusses the Fed's interest rate plan on 'Making Money.'

Narendra Modi on Friday while pitching for his third term, said that he is a Prime Minister who has delivered on all the promises made. Invoking the 'Modi guarantee', the Prime Minister linked the economy of the country with that of his government coming to power, saying that in his third term, the country would become one of the top three economies in the world.

Palestinian lives and properties by Israel backed by the US, Iran sprung a surprise by launching missile and drone attacks in its neighbourhood. The Iranian strikes against, what it claimed to be, a «Mossad-affiliated spy base» in Erbil (Iraq) and a «terrorist-affiliated» headquarter in Idlib (Syria) were followed by similar attacks against «terrorists» of Jaish al Adl in Balochistan (Pakistan) on January 16-17.

ALSO READ: ‘Don't have any private conversations..,’ US on Pakistan consulting before retaliatory strikes on Iran "Understanding the close brotherly relations between Pakistan and Iran, the Foriegn Minister expressed Pakistan's desire to work with Iran based on spirit of mutual trust and cooperation. The Foreign Minister stressed that respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignity must underpin this cooperation," the statement said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma «the most corrupt Chief Minister of the country», Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the Assam CM can give guidance to other Chief Ministers of the BJP on how to carry out corruption in their respective states. Rahul Gandhi also stated that Chief Minister Sarma follows direct orders from the Centre and Assam is being directly run by the BJP-led Centre. Addressing the public in Lakhimpur, Rahul Gandhi said, «We say that Assam will not be run from Delhi, it will be run from here. Your (Assam) CM is the most corrupt CM in the country.

Crypto exchange HTX is back up and running after a DDoS attack saw the site overloaded for an estimated 15 minutes Friday morning, HTX advisor Justin Sun announced Friday.