Indian share markets ended on a negative note ahead of earnings reports from several large-cap companies, with investors also bracing for a likely sharp interest rate hike in the United States this week.

Benchmark indices ended lower in the volatile session as heavyweight technology stocks dragged.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 498 points (down 0.9%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 147 points (down 0.9%).

Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, and Bharti Airtel were among the top gainers today.

Infosys, HUL, and Axis Bank, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

Bajaj Finserv was the top buzzing stock today as it announced to consider a bonus issue and stock split this week.

Tata Steel was also in focus as it will undergo a stock split this week.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 16,476, down by 143 points, at the time of writing.

The broader markets ended on a weak note. Both, the BSE MidCap and the BSE SmallCap index ended lower by 1.2%.

All sectoral indices ended on a weak note today with stocks in the IT sector, auto sector, banking sector, and capital goods sector witnessing most of the selling.

Shares of ITC and Adani Enterprises hit their 52-week highs today.

Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, and Tata Steel were amongst the most active shares on the BSE today.

Asian share markets ended on a mixed note today.

The Nikkei ended the day down by 0.2%, while the Hang Seng inched higher by 1.7%. The Shanghai Composite ended 0.8% higher.

Restricting the fall in rupee, it is trading at 79.75 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 50,567 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.2% at Rs 54,537 per 1 kg.

Of late, gold prices are falling while silver isn't far behind. Silver price is also falling as industrial demand for silver is under pressure while a stronger US dollar is adding to worries.

In news from the paints sector, Asian Paints has posted a stellar financial performance for the June 2022 quarter.

Asian Paints reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 10.4 bn, up over 80% as compared to Rs 5.7 bn in the same quarter last year.

Its revenue surged more than 54% to Rs 86. 1 bn as against Rs 55.9 bn year-on-year (YoY).

The company said that its volume growth registered during the quarter is one of the highest in the last six quarters.

Amit Syngle, Managing Director & CEO of Asian Paints, said:

The international business also delivered a good double digit revenue growth for the quarter despite multiple headwinds across key geographies.

While the persistent inflationary environment continued to impact the gross margins, we delivered healthy operating margins with strong push on the premium & luxury offerings and driving further operational efficiencies across businesses.

Sales for bath fittings business grew by 120%, whereas, sales for kitchens business increased by 68.3% YoY.

Further, the paint company informed that the economic crisis in Sri Lanka led to currency devaluation resulting in the recognition of an exceptional item of Rs 242 m

This was towards exchange loss arising on foreign currency obligations of Causeway Paints Lanka for the quarter under review.

Asian Paints' share price ended 0.1% higher on the BSE today.

Note that Asian Paints shares were falling after Grasim announced an aggressive capex plan in the paints sector.

It increased the planned capex from Rs 50 bn to Rs 100 bn. The capacity it's aiming for is 1.33 bn liters. This is very close to Asian Paints, which currently leads the market.

Speaking of capex, the government has hiked its capex target by 35% to Rs 7.5 tn. There is a strong chance it will bring in private capex, triggering a virtuous cycle.

Government schemes like PLI have been set in motion.

Lead smallcap analyst Richa Agarwal believes the boost from this capex revival will not just be limited to the infra and capital goods sector.

So what could a capex revival mean for the stock market?

Let's look at the history for some answers.

India witnessed one of its strongest capex cycles in 2003-2007. And this is how the market rallied.

Those who capitalized on this opportunity potentially made some of the biggest gains in a decade.

Moving on to news from the auto sector, Bajaj Auto was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Two-wheeler and three-wheeler giant, Bajaj Auto registered a net profit of Rs 11.7 bn in the June 2022 quarter compared to Rs 10.6 bn of the same quarter last year, recording a growth of 11%.

However, sequentially net profit declined 20% from Rs 14.7 bn posted in the preceding quarter.

Meanwhile, standalone revenue stood at Rs 80.1 n in the quarter under review jumping by 8% from Rs 73.9 bn in the same quarter last year.

EBITDA margin rose 100 basis points to 16.6% in the June 2022 quarter versus 15.6% in June 2021 quarter.

More By This Author: