2022 Let’s Go!!

Tale of the Tape

Good evening everyone. Markets started the new year with a bang! 🤩

Nifty and Sensex rallied +1.6% on strong economic data. GST collections rose 13% YoY to Rs 1.3 lakh cr in Dec. Manufacturing activity expanded for a sixth straight month but eased from November highs. Midcaps and Smallcaps were equally pumped, gaining 1.2% each. ❤️

Except for Pharma, all the other sectors ended in the green. Banks (+2.7%) and NBFCs (+2.5%) killed it. Auto (+1.8%) stocks rose for a fifth time in the last six days. 💪

Q3 update. Avenue Supermarts (+1%) and Federal Bank’s (+5%) solid business updates set the tone for the upcoming earnings season. Read more below. 📊

Zomato (+3%) received 25 lakh+ orders on new year’s eve, the highest ever. 🍔

Real Estate broke out in trade. Ajmera Realty, Indiabulls Real Estate, and Mahindra Life Spaces jumped between 3%-6%. Check out their charts below. 📈

Eicher Motors (+5%) and Tata Motors (+3%) saw healthy gains on strong December sales. Here’s ET Auto with the complete lowdown. 🏍️

Likhita Infra (+5%) won new orders worth Rs 250 cr. 💸

Fino Payments Bank (+3%) received the RBI approval for cross-border remittances. ✅

Cryptos were mostly quiet. Bitcoin was down 1% while Ethereum rose 1%. Solana, Cardano, and Doge were down between 1%-2% each. 🙃

Here are the closing prints:

Nifty	17,625	+1.6%
Sensex	59,183	+1.6%
Bank Nifty	36,421	+2.7%

This Is Business

It’s that time of the year again. Earnings season is around the corner (again) and companies are giving previews of what to expect. 📊

Federal Bank’s (+5%) Q3 update blew past expectations. The private lender reported a 12% YoY growth in loans as businesses returned to normalcy. Federal Bank’s Current Account Savings Account (CASA) ratio hit a 26 quarter high of 36.7%. FYI – a high CASA ratio means that a large portion of the deposits in the bank belongs to the current and savings deposit. Banks tend to pay low interest on these deposits (3%-4%). This results in better margins and overall efficiency. 💸

Avenue Supermarts (+1%) topline hit an all-time high in Q3. Revenues rose 22% over the previous year to Rs 9,065 cr led by strong festive demand and fewer restrictions. However, revenue per store grew just 6% indicating higher sales of low-margin value products. They also opened a record 17 new stores last quarter. 🛒

Overall, Q3 updates have been fairly positive. Investors are expecting accelerating earnings growth in the seasonally strong quarter. We kick off the earnings season from Jan 5. Mark your calendar. 📅

Chartbusters

Real Estate stocks rose big time. The Maharashtra Government gave a big gift to home buyers over the weekend. All homes of up to 500 sq ft will not be liable for property tax starting Jan. The waiver of property tax will help boost sales in the region, said experts.📊

Ajmera Realty, Indiabulls Real Estate, and Mahindra Life Spaces jumped between 3%-6%. Check out their charts below: 📈

Speaking of charts, check out @chartmojo’s latest trade idea on $ISEC.NSE. FYI – Chartmojo shares his trading calls and top picks exclusively on Stocktwits. So go ahead and follow him now. Here’s the link: https://stocktwits.com/chartmojo

Costly Error

WazirX was fined Rs 49 cr for tax evasion by the GST department. Ouch! ⚖️

What’s the matter? Crypto exchanges charge a commission on all transactions like trading, deposit, and withdrawal. WazirX allows users to transact in both rupee and its native token, WRX. But, while paying taxes it only considered transactions in the good old INR. Meanwhile, to boost WRX adoption, it even charges a lower commission rate. Not cool. 🤦

Authorities claim that crypto exchanges are liable to pay 18% GST for providing trading services. But, it does not specify whether the same applies to crypto transactions as well. Meanwhile, taxmen are also investigating other crypto exchanges like CoinSwitch Kuber, and CoinDCX for similar irregularities. The industry may blame unclear regulations but the damage has already been done. 🤕