After opening the day weak, Indian share markets pared losses as the session progressed and ended the day higher.

Indian benchmark indices -- S&P BSE Sensex, and Nifty50 -- rebounded into the positive zone in the latter half of Monday's trading session led by renewed buying interest in HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, and other key index heavyweights.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 112 points.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 65 points (up 0.3%).

Cipla, Asian Paints, and Adani ports were among the top gainers today.

Tata Motors, BPCL, and NTPC on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at 22,209, up by 80 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index ended 0.3% higher and the BSE SmallCap index ended 0.2% lower.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with socks in the capital goods sector, realty sector, and power sector witnessing the most buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the auto sector and energy sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of ABB India, Eicher Motors, and Tejas Networks hit their respective 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 83.53 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 1% lower at Rs 71,945 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 0.3% lower at Rs 84,690 per 1 kg.
 

Varun Beverages Jumps 25%

In news from the food & tobacco sector, Varun Beverages on 13 May reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 5.5 bn for the March quarter, a growth of 24.9% from the same quarter of the previous financial year.

PepsiCo bottler's revenue came in at Rs 43.9 bn, rising 11.2%.

Varun Beverages, which is a key player in the beverage industry and one of the largest franchisees of PepsiCo in the world outside the US, follows the January-December financial year.

Net realization per case increased by 3.5% in Q1 CY2024 to Rs. 179.7 on account of improving product mix in India and higher contribution of international markets, which have higher realization per case.

EBITDA increased by 23.9% to Rs. 9.9 bn YoY and EBITDA margin improved by 240 bps to 22.9% in Q1 CY2024, led by higher gross margins and increased realization. This improvement is despite the rise in fixed costs associated with the acquisition of new territories and commissioning of new greenfield plants for the season.

The company's new factory in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should be up and running next quarter.

One big achievement this past quarter was buying The Beverage Company in South Africa. This has made the business bigger and stronger in several African markets.

Also, the company in Morocco has signed a deal to make and pack Cheetos starting in May 2025. This adds to the snacks the company already distribute from PepsiCo.

The company is the largest franchisee of PepsiCo in the world.

It manufactures and distributes a wide range of carbonated and non-carbonated drinks, which are sold under the PepsiCo trademark.

BEML Skyrockets 12%

Moving on to the news from the engineering sector shares of BEML Ltd rose over 12% on 13 May as the company reported 62.9% year-on-year growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 2.6 bn for the quarter ended March 2024, led by healthy operating numbers. Its revenue from operations grew by 9% YoY to Rs 15.1 bn.

The company's EBITDA surged 29.2% to Rs 3.7 bn, with an improvement in margins to 24.5% from 20.7% YoY.

BEML is a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defence, which serves sectors like defense, power, and infrastructure. The company manufactures a variety of heavy equipment, such as those used for earth moving, railways, transport, and mining.

The company's board also recommended a final dividend of Rs 15.5 per equity share.

For the full year (FY24), BEML's net profit rose 78.5% YoY to Rs 2.8 bn against Rs 1.6 bn during the previous fiscal ended March 2023. The PSU firm's sales rose 3.9% year-on-year to Rs 40.5 bn as against Rs 38.9 bn in the year-ago period.

BEML is a Public Sector Undertaking for manufacture of rail coaches and spare parts and mining equipment at its Bangalore Complex.

The company has emerged in the forefront of heavy engineering industry with a track record of growth and revenues for over four decades.

The stock has climbed around 48% in the last six months.

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