After opening the flat, Indian benchmark indices remained muted as the session progressed and ended the day on marginally low.Benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 ended Thursday’s trading session on a flat note, biased towards negative.At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 16 points.Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 36 points (down 0.2%).M&M, Titan, and Shriram Finance are among the top gainers today.HUL, Nestle, and Hindalco on the other hand, were among the top losers today.The GIFT Nifty was trading at 24,465 down by 24 points at the time of writing.The BSE MidCap index ended marginally lower and the BSE SmallCap index ended 0.7% lower.Sectoral indices were trading mixed today with stocks in the power sector and banking sector witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the realty sector and auto sector witnessing selling pressure.Coforge, Radico Khaitan, and Piramal Pharma hit their respective 52-week highs today.The rupee is trading at 84.07 against the US$.Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.7% higher at Rs 78,345 per 10 grams.Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 1.6% higher at Rs 98,487 per 1 kg.
ACC Q2 ResultsIn news from the cement sector, Adani Group’s cement unit ACC on 24 October reported a 49% fall in its consolidated net profit at Rs 2 bn in the September 2024 quarter, amid near-decade-low prices and continued demand inertia from multiple sectors.The cement maker had reported a net profit of Rs 3.9 bn during the July-September period of the preceding 2023-24 fiscal.ACC Ltd is one of India’s largest cement and building materials companies and part of the diversified Adani Group.Its revenue from operations was reported at Rs 46.1 bn in the September quarter of the current fiscal, up from Rs 44.3 bn in the year-ago period, driven by higher trade sales volume and premium products.The company’s trade sales were up 2% in the quarter and the share of premium products in the total trade sales increased to 36%, indicating that a larger portion of these sales were from higher-margin premium products.Trade sales refer to sales made through the company’s distribution network, which typically includes direct sales to retailers, dealers, or end customers in the market.During the quarter under review, the company’s expenses increased by 8% to Rs 44.5 bn as the cost of raw materials surged by Rs 1.2 bn. With cement price hikes failing to stick in the market.The cement maker remains optimistic about demand and expects cement consumption to grow by 4-5% in FY 2025, driven by steady infrastructure development and housing projects.
TCS Launches Nvidia Business UnitMoving on to news from the IT sector, Tata Consultancy Services has launched a new Nvidia business unit to speed up the industry-wide adoption of artificial intelligence by its customers.The new unit will help enterprises leverage insights from TCS’ global centers of excellence and NVIDIA’s AI platform to offer industry-specific solutions in manufacturing, BFSI, telecom, retail, and automotive businesses.NVIDIA said the fusion of TCS’ deep expertise with NVIDIA’s AI technology will transform to spawn a new era of ‘intelligent enterprise’.TCS has an ongoing collaboration with NVIDIA over the past five years, that brings together the complementary capabilities of both companies to offer tailored solutions for various industries.The new unit will design and deliver curated AI adoption strategies by leveraging global centers of excellence (CoEs), investments in the NVIDIA AI platform – including accelerated computing and AI software, and the Nvidia AI Enterprise and Nvidia Omniverse platforms – and skilled resources.TCS and Nvidia have collaborated to build solutions for industry verticals like manufacturing, BFSI, telecom, retail warehousing, and autonomous vehicles.
Escort Kubota Shares Tank 6%. Here’s why
Moving on to news from the auto sector, shares of Escorts Kubota sank over 6% in trade, after the tractor player announced it would sell its railway equipment business to Sona BLW Precision Forgings for Rs 16 bn.The firm said the decision was in line with its strategic focus on the agri- and construction equipment sector.The firm’s Railway Equipment Business Division (RED) is one of the railway component suppliers in India for products like brakes, couplers, suspension systems, and friction and rubber products.RED has also a few new products in the pipeline, which include HVAC systems, electrical control panels, vacuum evacuation systems, and automatic plug doors.The Railway Equipment Business Division aligns with the vision of Sona Comstar as they intend to expand into the broader mobility sector, and it will enhance their clean mobility product offerings by adding a railway components business.More By This Author:Sensex Today Trades Marginally Higher; Nifty Below 24,450
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