Asian share markets traded mostly lower on Friday following losses on Wall Street and ahead of the Bank of Japan's interest rate decision.

The Bank of Japan is expected to keep its benchmark policy rate unchanged at -0.1%, while any signs of a shift in stance towards its yield curve control policy will be watched.

The Nikkei is trading 2.5% lower, and the Hang Seng index is trading 0.9% higher. While Shanghai Index is trading 1.4% higher.

US stocks ended lower on Thursday after news that the Bank of Japan will allow long-term interest rates to rise sent US yields higher, snapping the longest winning streak for the Dow since 1987.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.6% lower, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended 0.5% lower.

Here's a table showing how US stocks performed on Thursday:

Source: Equitymaster

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a negative note today.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading higher by 209 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 48 points.

Reliance Industries and M&M are among the top gainers today.

TCS, and ICICI Bank on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading 0.3% higher.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note today with stocks in the power sector, and the realty sector witnessing the most buying.

While the stocks in the metal sector and banking sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Colgate and Torrent Pharma hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at Rs 82.33 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading higher by 0.3% at Rs 59,598 per 10 grams today.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading 0.2% higher at Rs 73,838 per 1 kg.
 

Bharat Electronics Q1 net profit jumps 23%

Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has achieved a turnover of Rs 34.5 bn, registering a growth of 12.51% during the first quarter of 2023-24 over the Rs 30.6 bn recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Profit before tax during the period stood at Rs 7 bn, a growth of 21.7% over Rs 5.8 bn recorded in the first quarter of the previous financial year.

Profit after tax (PAT) during the first quarter of 2023-24 stood at Rs 5.3 bn, up 23.02% over Rs 4.3 bn recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.

EBITDA margin expanded to 18.9% in the June quarter from 16.5% in the year-ago period. This was supported by a decline in the cost of materials consumed and consumption of stock-in-trade.

The order book position of the company as on 1 July 2023 stood at Rs 653.6 bn.

Speaking of the defense sector, note that the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan has emphasized the need for self-reliance in security space.

Given the increasing focus on self-reliance, the Ministry of Defense (MoD), has set a target of doubling the defense production to US$ 25 bn by 2025.

We believe the defense sector could produce the next set of multibagger stocks over the long run.

With the highest revenue and profit growth, Bharat Electronics is among the top 5 PSU companies in India by growth.

Shares of this defense company are on a roll.
 

Indus Tower Q1 results

India's largest mobile tower company Indus Towers on Thursday reported a nearly three-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 13.5 bn for the June 2023 quarter.

The company posted a net profit of Rs 4.8 bn in the same period a year ago.

Its revenue grew three percent during the reported quarter to Rs 70.8 bn compared to Rs 68.9 bn in the year-ago quarter.

The company said strong tower additions on account of 5G rollouts and collections drive performance led to its growth during the June 2023 quarter, even after making a doubtful debt provision of Rs 12.3 bn.

With the 5G rollouts by operators and network expansion of a major customer progressing at speed, Indus Towers is also keeping pace to capture the growth opportunity and create long-term value.

The company added 11,810 new towers on a year-on-year basis, taking the total count of installed tower base to 1,98,284 at the end of the June 2023 quarter.

Indus Towers is one of the largest telecom tower companies in the world.

The company's primary business is to set up, operate and maintain wireless communication towers. A few of its customers are Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea.

It is among the top 5 stocks that meet Peter Lynch style, making it to the top 5 stock picks of Peter Lynch in India.

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