Sensex Trades Marginally Lower; Dow Futures Down by 11 Points

Share markets in India are presently trading marginally lower.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 157 points, down 0.3%, at 54,397 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 43 points

JSW Steel and Hindalco are among the top gainers today. Shree Cement and Bajaj Auto are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 1.2%.

The BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 1.9%.

On the sectoral front, stocks from the healthcare sector and consumer durables sector are witnessing most of the selling pressure.

On the other hand, stocks from the metal sector are witnessing most of the buying interest.

US stock futures are trading lower today, indicating a negative opening for Wall Street.

Nasdaq Futures are trading down by 8 points (down 0.1%) while Dow Futures are trading down by 11 points (down 0.03%)

The rupee is trading at 74.44 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading flat at Rs 45,978 per 10 grams.

Gold prices in India rose today following a positive trend seen in international spot prices. On MCX, October gold futures were trading 0.2% higher at Rs 46,045 per 10 grams.

Risk sentiment in wider financial markets remained subdued, as coronavirus cases in several Asian countries continued to surge, threatening the economic outlook and driving some investors towards safe-haven assets such as gold, said a Reuters report.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Among the buzzing stocks, today is Jindal Steel & Power.

Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) posted a staggering ten-fold rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 25.2 bn for the June 2021 quarter.  The company has posted a net profit of Rs 2.4 bn in the same period last year.

The company's revenue from operations rose 67% year on year (YoY) to Rs 117 bn, while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) expanded one and a half times to Rs 45.4 bn.

In a media statement, the company said,

• The quarter marked an exemplary performance by all businesses including steel and overseas mines and minerals businesses.

The quarter also witnessed a sharp rise in input cost, the impact of which was compounded by the exhaustion of low-cost iron ore inventory. Although the company's standalone EBITDA rose from a year earlier, it declined 7% sequentially due to a drop in sales volume and lower benefit accruing from iron ore compared to the prior quarter.

During the June 2021 quarter, the company produced 2 million tonnes (MT) of steel, up 20.3% YoY, and sold around 1.6 MT. While domestic demand was subdued during the quarter, buoyant export markets continued to provide support with exports accounting for 34% of the total revenue. The share of exports would have been higher in the absence of logistical challenges.

We will keep you posted on more updates from this space. Stay tuned.

At the time of writing, Jindal Steel & Power shares were trading up by 5% on the BSE.

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Moving on to news from the platform business space...

Zomato Shares Soar Over 5% Even as Loss Widens to Rs 3.6 bn

Shares of online food aggregator, Zomato rose over 5% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 3.6 bn for the June 2021 quarter as against a loss of Rs 998 m in the same period last year. The newly-listed company reported an adjusted sales growth of 26% year on year (YoY) to Rs 11.6 bn. Note that Zomato considers adjusted sales as a sum of revenue from operations plus customer delivery charges.

The online food aggregator said that the year-on-year growth in adjusted sales is irrelevant as the year-ago quarter was adversely affected by the national lockdown to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Indian food delivery business, however, showed strength during the quarter as the company recorded its highest-ever gross order value, number of orders, transacting users, and active delivery partners in its history. The gross order value of the Indian food delivery business grew more than four-fold to Rs 45.4 bn in the reported quarter. The sequential growth in gross order value was at 37%.

As was expected, the dining-out business suffered during the quarter because of the second wave of the pandemic and localized lockdowns.

At the same time, Zomato said that losses at Hyperpure expanded due to investment in the growth of the business. On the operating front, Zomato did not have much to write home about as adjusted EBITDA rose to around Rs 1.7 bn from Rs 1.2 bn in the previous quarter.

Zomato said that the reported net loss is higher than the adjusted EBITDA loss to account for the non-cash expenses on the employee stock option scheme, which rose sharply on account of significant ESOP grants made during the quarter.

How the company performs in the next quarter remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more updates from this space.

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