Informist, Wednesday, Jul. 30, 2025 Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Equity Alert: Nirmal Bang says Asian Paints earnings growth remains challenge

MUMBAI--0851 IST--Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities has cut Asian Paints target price to INR 2,210 from INR 2,545 earlier and retained its 'hold' rating on the stock. While the stock has corrected over 30% from its peak, earnings growth remains a challenge despite a weak base of 2024-25 (Apr-Mar), the broking firm said in its report.

Asian Paints' June quarter volume and operating profit were in line with the brokerage's estimates, but revenue was lower than expected due to continued weak mix, it said. Overall demand environment remained subdued due to macro-economic uncertainties and early monsoon, as per the research report.

For the reporting quarter, the paint making company reported a 6% on-year decline in its consolidated net profit to INR 11 billion and revenue fell 0.4% to INR 89.39 billion. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation were down over 4% from the year-ago period at INR 16.25 billion, slightly higher than Nirmal Bang estimate of INR 16.23 billion.

"We do not see consolidated EBITDA margins exceeding the management guidance of 18-20% in the current weak demand environment exacerbated by unprecedented competitive intensity," Nirmal Bang said. Weak earnings prospects despite a weak base mean that return on equity, even in FY27 at less than 23%, is substantially lower than the high 20s to early 30s levels between FY20 and FY24, it added.

Of the 20 research reports available about the company with Informist, seven have a 'buy' or equivalent rating with an average target price of INR 2,883 which is 20% higher than the stock's Tuesday closing price of INR 2,401.50. Another seven brokerages have a 'hold' rating and the remaining six have a 'sell' or equivalent view. (Anjana Therese Antony)

Equity Alert: Nuvama ups L&T price aim on strong earnings, deal visibility

MUMBAI--0830 IST--Nuvama Institutional Equities raised its target price on Larsen & Toubro by 5% to INR 4,200 from INR 4,000 after the engineering major reported a strong on-year growth on most parameters despite its bottom line coming in slightly lower than analysts estimates. The brokerage retained a 'buy' rating on the stock. Tuesday, the stock had ended at INR 3,495.60, up 2.1%.

"L&T reported strong results in Q1FY26 with core OI/revenue growing 41%/19% YoY...maintain 'BUY' as a growing backlog of INR 6.13 tln (3.3x FY25 sales; 46% international mix) coupled with a robust pipeline provide us comfort of a long runway for growth," the brokerage said in its report. The brokerage expects the company's operating profit margin to bottom out at current levels of 8.2%, and may move towards the 8.5-9.0% range in 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) and FY27 "given further projects reach margin recognition milestones by H2FY26/FY27."

Emkay Global Financial Services also maintained its 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of INR 4,000. "L&T began FY26 with a strong order inflow momentum, reflecting its well-diversified range of engineering and manufacturing capabilities as well as its exposure to multiple geographies and end-customers," the brokerage said. The brokerage said slowdown in order execution and delay in the conversion of order inflows due to geopolitical tensions are key concerns in the near term.

For the June quarter, the engineering major reported a consolidated net profit of INR 36.17 billion, up 30% on year but lower than the Street's estimate of INR 37.87 billion. Its top line grew nearly 16% to INR 636.79 billion, higher than the estimate of INR 630.7 billion. (Akash Mandal)

Equity Alert: Indices seen in range; mkt awaits US-tariff related news

MUMBAI--0810 IST--Benchmark indices are likely to start the session on a muted note Wednesday and move in a thin range after strong gains posted on Tuesday. Investors would continue to assess tariff-related information after US President Donald Trump revealed India may face tariffs as high as 25%, but reiterated that a final decision has not been made yet. Most analysts believe that tariffs in that range have already been priced in, and that the market is unlikely to react negatively to the statement. On Wednesday, the Nifty 50 is likely to move in a range of 24550-25000 points.

On Wednesday, the market looks likely to open on a cautious note. However, some analysts expect further short covering in the market ahead of the monthly expiry of the Nifty 50's derivatives contracts due Thursday, which may lead to some more gains for the market. "Going ahead, it is recommended to adopt a cautious approach and refrain from becoming complacent regarding a single day's momentum...given the current oversold conditions and the impending monthly contractual expiry, an increase in volatility is anticipated, thereby necessitating robust risk management strategies," brokerage Angel One said in a note.

The July contract of the GIFT Nifty also indicates a muted start to the market. At 0749 IST, the contract was flat at 24825 points. Tuesday, the Nifty 50 had ended 0.6% higher at 24821.10 points, up 140.20 points. The BSE Sensex had closed at 81337.95 points, up 446.93 points or 0.6%.

Overnight, indices in the US ended lower as earnings weighed on the market after the likes of UnitedHealth, Boeing, and Merck reported muted results for the quarter. "Earnings have been a bit of a mix. Economic data has been somewhat mixed too, but not enough to move the needle in terms of the Fed," Reuters reported Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder, as saying. Asian indices were mixed in early trade Wednesday. (Akash Mandal)

Equity Alert: Asian mkts mixed; Trump's call on US-China tariff truce awaited

MUMBAI--0805 IST--Asian equity indices were mixed on Wednesday, with South Korea's Kospi leading the gains. Indices in Hong Kong and Singapore were in negative territory in early trade. Investors in the region await a decision by US President Donald Trump on whether the tariff truce with China will be extended as the two-day talks between both the sides in Stockholm ended without a breakthrough.

At 0804 IST, China's CSI 300 was up 0.4%. US and Chinese officials had held trade talks as the deadline of Aug. 12 for the tariff truce approaches. Trump "has final say on all the trade deals" and the pending tariff truce, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was quoted as saying in a CNBC report. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.4%.

Meanwhile in Australia, headline inflation in Apr-Jun slipped to its lowest point since March 2021. Inflation for the quarter declined to 2.1% from 2.4% during year-ago quarter. This was lower than the 2.2% expected in a Reuters poll, and is almost near the lower band of the 2-3% target set by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The country's benchmark index S&P ASX 200 index was up 0.6%.

Among other indices, South Korea's Kospi was up 0.6%. Japan's Nikkei 225 was marginally lower while Topix was 0.3% higher. FTSE Singapore Straits Times was a tad down. The Monetary Authority of Singapore held interest rates steady, citing uncertainty on trade-related concerns around the Trump administration.

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0804 IST:

(Gopika Balasubramanium)

Equity Alert: US mkt ends down; FOMC outcome, Microsoft, Amazon results eyed

MUMBAI--0740 IST--US equity indices closed slightly lower Tuesday ahead of policy decision from the Federal Reserve, which is due late Wednesday. Sentiment was also weak due to some disappointing corporate earnings. S&P 500 snapped the six-day streak of ending at record highs.

Traders will also keep an eye on whether the US and China will come to a win-win conclusion with respective tariffs as talks between both in Stockholm ended without major announcement. US President Donald Trump is to take the final call on whether the tariff truce for China will be extended, various media reports said. The trade truce between both the countries will end on Aug. 12.

The S&P 500 index ended at 6370.86, down 18.91 points or 0.3%, and snapped six-day winning streak. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 21098.291, down 80.293 points or 0.4%. Both the indices have closed at record highs in several sessions recently. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.5% lower.

Among stocks, Boeing ended over 4% lower despite its net loss for the June quarter narrowing. UnitedHealth dropped 7.5?ter its profit guidance disappointed the Wall Street. Merck closed down 1.7?ter it said it was extending its pause on shipments of HPV vaccine Gardasil to China at least till 2025 due to persistent weakness in demand for the drug.

"Earnings have been a bit of a mix. Economic data has been somewhat mixed too, but not enough to move the needle in terms of the Fed," Reuters quoted Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York, as saying. "The next two days, you have Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Amazon - those are big companies, and they will move markets depending on how the earnings are and how the outlooks are."

Following are the closing levels of US indices Wednesday:

(Gopika Balasubramanium)

End

US$1 = INR 87.09

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

NSE: National Stock Exchange

NYSE: New York Stock Exchange

NYMEX: New York Mercantile Exchange

SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India

RBI: Reserve Bank of India

Internet links:

Securities and Exchange Board of India - http://www.sebi.gov.in

Bombay Stock Exchange - http://www.bseindia.com

National Stock Exchange of India - http://www.nseindia.com

Directory of Indian government websites - http://goidirectory.nic.in

Indian Ministry of Finance - http://www.finmin.nic.in

Reserve Bank of India - http://rbi.org.in

Controller General of Accounts, Government of India - http://www.cga.nic.in

Government's Press Information Bureau - http://www.pib.nic.in

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.