After opening the day on a strong footing, Indian share markets trimmed gains as the session progressed and ended marginally higher.

Benchmark indices ended on a positive note for the fourth straight session led by a fall in crude oil prices and an overnight rally on Wall Street.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 147 points (up 0.3%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 25 points (up 0.1%).

HDFC, Nestle, and ITC were among the top gainers today.

NTPC, JSW Steel, and SBI, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,498, up by 4 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index ended higher by 0.1% while the BSE SmallCap index ended on a flat note.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the realty sector, FMCG sector, and banking sector witnessing most of the buying.

On the other hand, stocks from the power sector, metal sector, and IT sector witnessed selling pressure.

Among the best banking stocks, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank gained more than 1%.

Shares of TVS Motors, Shoppers Stop, and Chalet Hotels hit their 52-week high today.

Outside the home ground, Asian share markets ended on a mixed note.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei ends up by 0.4%, while the Hang Seng dived by 2.4%. The Shanghai Composite ended lower by 1.2%.

US stock futures are trading on a positive note with Dow futures trading higher by 0.2%.

The rupee is trading at 82.9 against the US$. The rupee hits a new record low of 82.95 against the dollar today, reversing gains on more indications that high inflation will keep major central banks in rate-hike mode.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 50,414 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading higher by 0.1% at Rs 56,354 per kg.

Speaking of stock markets, the semiconductor industry has taken off with a bang lately.

Semiconductors are tiny circuits, known as chips, that power all our electronic devices and tech-enabled instruments. They are components needed for manufacturing cars, televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, personal computers, laptops, mobiles, etc.

No wonder semiconductors play an important role in a variety of fields.
 

Nestle Declares Second Interim Dividend

In news from the FMCG sector, Nestle today reported an 8.3% year-on-year (YoY) rise in its net profit for the quarter that ended September 2022 to Rs 6.7 bn.

It reported a profit of Rs 6.2 bn a year back. The growth in profit was due to eased raw material prices of oil and fuel post-Russia-Ukraine war.

The company's revenue rose to Rs 45.9 bn, an 18.3% YoY growth from Rs 38.8 bn in the same quarter last year. It was on the back of the double-digit growth across all categories.

Commenting on it, Chairman and Managing Director of Nestle India, Suresh Narayanan, said,

We have witnessed the highest sales growth during a quarter in the last five years. This achievement has been on continued strong volume and mixes evolution with broad-based double-digit growth across all categories.

For the said quarter, the company recorded total sales of Rs 45.7 bn, higher by 18.2% YoY. This is the highest sales growth in the last five years.

Export sales increased by 15.7% YoY. The growth was due to the strong growth across brands like Maggi, Milkmaid, Nescafe Classic, and Sunrise.

The company is also witnessing early signs of price stability in commodities such as edible oils and packaging materials.

The e-commerce channel also showed a strong acceleration in growth, fueled by new formats. These new formats contributed 7.2% to the quarterly sales.

Further, the company also declared its second interim dividend of Rs 120 per share, amounting to Rs 11.6 bn, to be recorded on 16 November 2022.

Apart from this, the company also launched the MyNestle platform. It is the firm's first-ever direct-to-consumer platform.

Speaking of Nestle, the company has given 330% return in the last ten years.

Nestle being a market leader (96.5% market share) in the baby food segment, is a classic example of a good monopoly stock. Nestle's shares have grown over 600% since 2010.
 

Hitachi Energy Bags Power Contract

Moving on to the news from the power sector, Hitachi Energy got a contract from NTPC Renewable Energy to supply power transformers for their upcoming 4.75 GW renewable energy park in Gujarat. It is part of India's largest solar park.

The solar park is spread over 72,600 hectares in Kutch. It supports the country's efforts towards a carbon-neutral future with its increasing green energy footprint.

As a part of this project, Hitachi Energy will provide 315 MVA 400/33/33 kV transformers manufactured in Vadodara.

It will be the largest rating of transformer used by solar power evacuation so far.

Hitachi Energy is the world's leading provider of grid connections and power quality solutions, with an installed base of more than 10,000 projects worldwide.
 

ITC Raises Stake in Mother Sparsh

Moving on to another piece of news from the FMCG sector, ITC's share price rose 2% today.

Multi conglomerate ITC has increased its stake in baby and mother care brand Mother Sparsh to 22% from 16%. It further invested Rs 135 m in the D2C brand, which is in advanced discussions with other investors to raise Rs 900-1000 m in Series B funding.

The acquisition is in line with the company's continued interest in the fast-growing D2C space in the personal care category.

In November 2021, ITC made its maiden investment in the brand after it picked up a 16% stake in Mother Sparsh for Rs 200 m.

Mother Sparsh is an ayurvedic and natural personal care start-up with a focus on mother and baby care segments. This acquisition will help the company to develop more digital-first fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands.

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