Milipol India: A Milestone in International Homeland Security Collaboration

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‘Milipol India’ made its debut as a new addition to the esteemed Milipol International Network, dedicated to the realm of Internal Security. The inauguration, a solemn affair, took place on a Thursday, in the presence of Sabrina AGRESTI-ROUBACHE, France’s Minister of State for Citizenship, who holds a vital role attached to the Minister of the Interior. She was accompanied by Atul Dulloo, Secretary (BM), and Chandraker Bharti, AS (CIS & PM), who were also present.

This three-day exhibition, a collaborative effort between InterAds Exhibition Pvt Ltd., India, and Comexposium, France, unfolded with strong support from the Ministry of the Interior of France, the Ministry of External Affairs, and Home Affairs in India. The participation at this event was remarkable, featuring more than 150 national and international exhibitors, alongside numerous sponsors.

She also noted the remarkable enthusiasm exhibited by the Indian business community, which represented a staggering 95% of the exhibitors at this three-day event. In her view, this demonstrated the strength and dynamism of India’s business ecosystem.Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France to India, echoed the sentiment of Indo-French cooperation in homeland security. He acknowledged the growth of this cooperation in recent years, based on mutual trust between the two nations. This partnership, he emphasized, played a pivotal role in combating terrorism and had now extended its influence to the Indo-Pacific region. ‘Milipol India’ was designed to be a flagship event, bringing together regional and international decision-makers, companies, and experts to devise solutions for the homeland security challenges of the future. It was envisioned as a biennial event in India, a testament to the enduring commitment of France and India in addressing security concerns.‘Milipol India’ created a global stage where international sellers and buyers converged to explore the latest technologies, present emerging trends, and engage in discussions to meet the industry’s evolving needs.Participating countries such as Canada, the USA, France, the UAE, Belgium, Brazil, Vietnam, and the Czech Republic showcased their latest trends, technologies, and innovations. The concurrent three-day conference covered a wide spectrum of security topics, featuring contributions from various law enforcement agencies, research institutions, and international organizations. It promised to provide valuable insights into current security challenges and potential solutions.

India’ emerged as a significant milestone in the field of internal security, uniting nations, experts, and businesses to address the pressing security concerns of our times. It was a testament to the enduring collaboration between India and France in the realm of homeland security and represented a powerful platform for the exchange of knowledge and solutions.

Maruti Suzuki Rating: Neutral

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Targeted at mid-size SUV segment, top four variants are priced Rs 1.5mn & Rs1.9mn

Aggressively pricedThe top-end (Neodrive) petrol variant of the Hyryder is priced at par with Hyundai’s Creta top-end petrol variant. The top-end hybrid Hyryder is priced at a `100k/ `200k premium to Creta diesel/ petrol top-end variants, and compared with the Honda City Hybrid, it is priced ~`90k lower. In comparison with its principal competitor Creta, the Hyryder has more fuel-efficient Hybrid options, brake assist, 360-degree parking assist camera, Arkamys surround sound system, but misses out on features such as a Bose sound system, bigger touch screen of 10.25” (vs 9” in the Hyryder), power-adjustable driver seat, electric parking brake and options for diesel and DCT variants with a much higher power/torque. Overall, the Hyryder hybrid looks aggressively priced and should result in market share gains but at narrow margins, we think.

Our viewPricing of the Hyryder hybrid is attractive and should lead to better than expected adoption. Pricing, compared with other SUV models, is competitive and profitability will be less. As hybrids have lesser boot space compared with ICE SUVs, the hybrid models will be more suitable for long-distance usage without much luggage – e.g. intra city or low occupancy. The very aggressive pricing for Hybrids suggests that Toyota wants a high Hybrid adoption. We maintain our view that the Hyryder model has potential for high volumes (~10-15k units per month, we estimate). With such aggressive pricing, we maintain our estimate that Toyota may be able to sell upto 40% of the volumes for this model. We currently factor in ~8k units per month for MSIL’s version of this model. We expect MM’s recently unveiled XUV400 (link ) to be priced close to the hybrid variants of the Hyryder, mainly due to the tax advantage enjoyed by EVs. We believe EVs like the XUV400 will be a more preferred option for customers who have access to a charging network.

Targeted at mid-size SUV segment, top four variants are priced Rs 1.5mn & Rs 1.9mn

Toyota announced prices for the top four variants of its upcoming Urban Cruiser Hyryder recently – the strong-hybrid variants and the top-spec mild-hybrid AT variant. The top four variants are priced between `1.5mn and `1.9mn (exshowroom).The pricing announcement comes almost two months after the car was unveiled. Bookings for the model are already underway with reports suggesting bookings to be at the 60k units mark, similar to the last reported 50k unit bookings number by Maruti Suzuki (MSIL IN, Neutral) for its Grand Vitara.The Hyryder targets the mid-size SUV segment, which has models like the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq, XUV 700, etc. This segment sells ~39k units per month and continues to see strong preference from consumers. The SUV has been jointly developed by Toyota and Suzuki (7269 JP, Neutral), with production for the vehicle commencing in Aug-22 at Toyota’s plants.

Also read: Wall Street hits more than two-week high on energy, tech gains

Aggressively priced

The top-end (Neodrive) petrol variant of the Hyryder is priced at par with Hyundai’s Creta top-end petrol variant. The top-end hybrid Hyryder is priced at a `100k/ `200k premium to Creta diesel/ petrol top-end variants, and compared with the Honda City Hybrid, it is priced ~`90k lower. In comparison with its principal competitor Creta, the Hyryder has more fuel-efficient Hybrid options, brake assist, 360-degree parking assist camera, Arkamys surround sound system, but misses out on features such as a Bose sound system, bigger touch screen of 10.25” (vs 9” in the Hyryder), power-adjustable driver seat, electric parking brake and options for diesel and DCT variants with a much higher power/torque. Overall, the Hyryder hybrid looks aggressively priced and should result in market share gains but at narrow margins, we think.

Also read: Wall Street hits more than two-week high on energy, tech gains

Our view

Pricing of the Hyryder hybrid is attractive and should lead to better-than-expected adoption. Pricing, compared with other SUV models, is competitive and profitability will be less. As hybrids have lesser boot space compared with ICE SUVs, the hybrid models will be more suitable for long-distance usage without much luggage – e.g. intra city or low occupancy. The very aggressive pricing for Hybrids suggests that Toyota wants a high Hybrid adoption. We maintain our view that the Hyryder model has potential for high volumes (~10-15k units per month, we estimate). With such aggressive pricing, we maintain our estimate that Toyota may be able to sell upto 40% of the volumes for this model. We currently factor in ~8k units per month for MSIL’s version of this model. We expect MM’s recently unveiled XUV400 (link ) to be priced close to the hybrid variants of the Hyryder, mainly due to the tax advantage enjoyed by EVs. We believe EVs like the XUV400 will be a more preferred option for customers who have access to a charging network.

RIL-Sebi dispute: New SC bench to hear Sebi’s plea for review

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The Supreme Court on Friday said it will form a bench to hear Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) petition, seeking review of its earlier judgment that had directed the market regulator to share certain documents with Reliance Industries.

The company claims these documents will exonerate it and its promoters from criminal prosecution initiated by the regulator in a case related to the alleged irregularities in acquisition of its own shares between 1994 and 2000.

Sebi had sought urgent listing of its review petition against the August 5 judgment. Even RIL’s contempt petition against Sebi is yet to be taken up for hearing.

Also read: Rupee likely to fall further, dollar index may rise to 114 if US Fed hikes rate by 75 bps in November

So far, Sebi has not shared the three documents — the two legal opinions by former SC judge BN Srikrishna and the former ICAI president YH Malegam’s report which examined the irregularities — that the SC had asked it to share “forthwith”, thus prompting RIL to file a contempt petition against the market watchdog and its authorised representative Vijayan A.

The Ambani firm said that Sebi had obviously “misadvised itself” in assuming that its compliance with the judgment is a matter of discretion and on which it can see advice.

While asking Sebi to furnish “forthwith” the documents to RIL, the SC had, in its August 5 judgment, said that “the duty to act fairly by Sebi, is inextricably tied with the principles of natural justice, wherein a party cannot be condemned without having been given an adequate opportunity to defend itself.”

Sebi had, in January 2019, rejected RIL’s request for the “privileged” documents on the grounds that under the Sebi (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, the accused company had no right to seek information from it.

Chartered accountant S Gurumurthy had filed a complaint with Sebi in 2002, alleging fraud and irregularities by RIL, its associate companies and their directors/promoters, including Mukesh Ambani and his wife, Nita; Anil Ambani and his wife, Tina; and 98 others in the issue of two preferential placement of non-convertible debentures in 1994. Sebi had alleged that RIL, along with Reliance Petroleum, had “circuitously funded the acquisition of its own shares” in violation of the Sections 77 and 77A of the Companies Act, 1956 and the market regulator’s then takeover code, among various other regulations.

Also read: Nifty turns negative for 2022, Sensex falls 1.5%, Bank Nifty tumbles 3%; what is dragging markets today?

Earlier, the Bombay High Court, had on March 28, refused to grant any relief for production of material gathered by the regulator, saying it would hear Sebi’s appeal against a special court decision along with RIL’s objections to the criminal case.

Sebi had sought restoration of the case before the HC after the special court had on September 30, 2020 dismissed its July 10, 2020 complaint related to RIL transactions.

The special court had dismissed Sebi plea for being barred by limitation as there was a delay of more than 15 years.

OVL may hold Russia assets via new arm in GIFT City

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State-run ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) may incorporate a subsidiary in the GIFT International Financial Services Centre in Gujarat soon to hold its Russian oil assets.

The move follows the inability of OVL’s Singapore holding arm to receive dividends from the oil assets due to the sanctions on Russia. Including Russia, OVL owns Participating Interests in 32 oil and gas assets in 15 countries.

The outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war last year created a fresh round of headwinds for OVL, which a section of the government feels has not been able to reap the benefits of its substantial holdings in oil assets overseas.

With Russia nationalising oil output from the Sakhalin-I oil field after the Ukraine war, OVL is just a dividend-receiving shareholder compared to the earlier practice of getting a share in oil output equivalent to its shareholding (equity oil), an official said. Even then, it would receive fresh dividends only after meeting some conditions.

Around $100 million in dividends from the previous year are held up in Russia as Singapore did not permit the remittance of the money to OVL’s Singapore firm, which holds the Russian assets.

OVL set up the Singapore arm due to tax arbitrage as taxes are high in India (15-30% plus cess and surcharge depending on equity holding in overseas company). In Singapore, the tax on dividend income could be zero.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Thursday that ONGC hopes to recover over $500 million in dividends pending since 2014 for its stake in Venezuelan projects held through OVL as sanctions on the nation were eased. The Biden administration on Wednesday eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector after the government and opposition parties reached a deal for the 2024 election, in the most extensive rollback of Trump-era restrictions on Caracas.

With GIFT IFSC, India’s answer to global financial centres such as Singapore, officials said OVL is looking at setting up a company in the IFSC to manage overseas assets, especially Russian assets. GIFT IFC, which is treated as a foreign jurisdiction for taxation purposes, offers a host of direct and indirect tax incentives to companies set up there, an official said.

Sakhalin-I, OVL acquired 20% stake in the project in July 2001. Other partners were operator Exxon Nefteggas Limited (ENL) with 30% stake, SODECO, a consortium of Japanese companies 30% and Subsidiaries of Rosneft, the Russian National Oil Company 20%. Sakhalin-1 started 2022-23 by producing about 2,10,000 BOPD in accordance with the planned production profile. However, following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Operator ENL started significant production curtailment and declared Force Majeure on April 21, 2022. Production became close to zero in September 2022. Russia issued a Presidential Decree on October 07, 2022 transferring all rights & obligations of Sakhalin-1 Consortium to a newly formed entity; Sakhalin-1 Limited Liability Company (Sakhalin-LLC).

Sensex, Nifty end marginally up; Nifty to remain strong above 17500; CPI, WPI inflation, IIP data in focus

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BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 ended marginally higher in a volatile trade on Friday. BSE Sensex gained 105 points or 0.2 per cent at 59,793, while NSE Nifty 50 index added 35 points or 0.2 per cent to settle at 17833. Stocks of index heavyweights such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), State Bank of India (SBI), Tech Mahindra, and Maruti Suzuki India, among others, helped the index to cap losses. Broader market indices too performed in line with equity frontliners. S&P BSE MidCap gained 0.2 per cent or 42 points to settle at 25,937, while S&P BSE SmallCap index added 0.2 per cent to finish trade at 29,529.

Also read: Tamilnad Mercantile IPO share allotment: Check status via BSE, grey market premium; listing on 15 Sep

Both Sensex & Nifty Index gained 1.7% over the past week. The Indian markets were buoyed by falling crude prices and a decline in domestic bond yields. On the economy front, August exports, at US$33 bn, contracted by 1.1% yoy, while August imports, at US$61.7 bn, increased by 37% yoy. FPI outflows stood at US$190 mn in the past five trading sessions, while DII outflows stood at US$164 mn in the same period. Given the lack of major domestic events, Indian markets’ sentiment will be influenced by its global counterparts to determine its movement. Across the globe, investors will be keeping a close watch on China’s Inflation numbers. The volatility in oil prices and USDINR will be other important factors that may affect the market. Investors need to watch out for stock-specific news.

Palak Kothari, Senior Technical Analyst, Choice Broking

On the technical front, the Nifty is trading with higher high & higher low formations on daily charts suggesting strength in the counter. Nifty has been trading with the support of 21-HMA on an hourly chart which suggests strength to the upside. On the OI Data, On the call side, the highest was witnessed at 18000 while on the put side was at 17600 level. The momentum indicator Stochastic is trading with a positive crossover on an hourly time frame which suggests strength in the counter. The support for nifty has shifted around 17600 levels while on the upside 18000 may act as an immediate hurdle. On the other hand, Bank nifty has support at 39500 levels while resistance at 40900 levels. 

Also read: Harsha Engineers IPO opens on September 14: Check price band, GMP, lot size, other bidding details

Overall, till the time Nifty holds the 17500 level, it’s looking strong on charts crossing above 18000 marks will show an upside rally in the counter. The sector-specific moment has been seen, IT stocks have bottom-up and can show good rally in the upcoming week. One can add on dips.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services

Domestic bourses kicked off the trading session on a strong footing, backed by positive sentiments across global markets. However, it succumbed to profit booking after surpassing the psychological 60,000 mark. Global indices edged higher as investors reassessed the outlook for monetary policy following ultra-hawkish remarks from the Fed chair and 75bps rate hikes by ECB. Banking and consumer-facing stocks continued to be top picks in the domestic market.

Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking

Markets ended marginally higher in a volatile session, in extension to the recent up move. Firm global cues triggered an upbeat start in Nifty however profit taking at the higher levels capped the upside. Meanwhile, sectoral indices traded mixed wherein rebound in IT and buying in banking and auto kept the tone positive. The broader indices traded in line with the benchmark and closed marginally higher. We maintain our bullish view on markets and suggest continuing with the “buy on dips” approach. The recent rebound in the US markets is further adding to the comfort. As we’re seeing buying interest across the board, the focus should be more on the best-performing sectors viz. banking, financials, auto and FMCG, and remain selective in the others.

Will Sensex, Nifty repeat Nov rally this month? Share market at all-time high; rebalance portfolio | INTERVIEW

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With BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 riding at all-time high levels, investors have an opportunity to get out of the stocks with weak fundamentals and invest in companies of high quality, said Hiren Ved — Director, CEO and CIO, Alchemy Capital Management. In an interaction with Surbhi Jain of Financial Express Online, Ved said that investors put in a lot of effort to time the market, which in his opinion should be utilised for identifying companies with strong fundamentals. For the upcoming initial public offers, Ved advised investors to evaluate each company on its merit rather than investing for short-term listing gains. Here are edited excerpts from the interview.

Equities are at all-time highs, should investors rebalance their portfolio?

Over half a dozen companies plan to launch IPO this month, what should be investors’ strategy?

In a bull market, there tends to be a frenzy for IPOs as the stock can give handsome returns on the day of listing itself. Our advice to investors would be to evaluate each company on its merit rather than just invest in an IPO for short-term listing gains.

What are your underweight and overweight sectors?

In the current environment, we are balanced across domestically correlated sectors like Financials, Consumer Discretionary and Autos but we also have exposure to global facing sectors like Pharma and IT. We are underweight on metals and commodity oriented sectors as we don’t invest in them but we expect these sectors to do well in short to medium term.

Post auto sales number for November, what trends do you see?

 Passenger vehicles and two-wheelers have been doing well ever since the economy started opening up due to increased demand for personal mobility. However, what is heartening is that we are seeing some signs of recovery in the commercial vehicles segment. This is important as MHCV sales are a good barometer of underlying economic activity.

With so much developments on COVID-19 vaccine, is it time to hold pharma stocks?

What one needs to appreciate is that Pharma by nature is a counter cyclical industry. The Pharma companies in India cater to a large domestic market of USD20bn+. They also have a large presence in the USD60bn+ generic market in the US. In fact in volume terms Indian companies cater to 40% of the US generic market. A few Indian pharma companies also have good exposure to Europe as well as emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia & China. Many large pharma companies are in the process of transitioning from pure generic plays to Speciality plays in the important generic market of the US. For this leading Indian generic pharma companies have invested a lot in research & development at around 8-10% of sales in the last 5 years. Along with it one has a large domestic market which tends to grow at 10% pa.

Another great opportunity for Indian Pharma companies is in the Global (Custom Development & Manufacturing) CDMO space. The CDMO market is expected to be USD 158bn by 2025 from USD 100bn in 2019 and is estimated to grow at 7%, with certain sub-segments such as biologics expected to continue growing in the low teens. To summarize, pharma is an industry with a steady base demand and lots of avenues for growth as far as leading Indian pharma companies are concerned.

Sensex, Nifty rallied 12% in November, what do you expect from Indian share market in December?

In November, we saw that FIIs pumped in US$8bn in Indian equities. This is the highest ever flow which India has received in a month and largely explains the rally which we saw in November. In fact, the Nifty is up 80% from the lows which we saw in March. After such a sharp rally, it is quite possible we could have a small correction. However, one should not be overly puttered by such intermittent correction although some correction in the short-term is very much possible. However, one should not miss the forest for the trees. Although nascent, there are some large macro shifts taking place both globally and in India. After a long time, we are seeing the dollar weakening, and the US current account deficit widening. Which bodes well for EM equities. If EMs do well, India will continue to get its share of passive flows. Moreover, it does seem that our country is at the cusp of a new growth cycle.

There is a clear impetus by the government on manufacturing, cost of capital has come down significantly and the health of the financial system looks far better than what it has been in the last five years. Notwithstanding the near-term gyrations, we continue to remain positive on markets from a medium to long term horizon.

Sensex, Nifty snap 4-day gaining streak, Bank Nifty hits record closing high; check support for F&O expiry day

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BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 snapped a 4-day gaining streak on Wednesday, one day before weekly F&O expiry. BSE Sensex settled 224 points or 0.4 per cent down at 60,347, while NSE Nifty 50 fell 66 points or 0.4 per cent to finish trade at 18004. Nifty Bank index ended at record closing high of 41405.40. Stocks of index heavyweights such as Infosys, Reliance Industries (RIL), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), L&T, and HCL Technology, among others contributed the most to the indices’ fall. Broader market too fell in today’s trade. S&P BSE MidCap index fell 27 points to settle at 26,225, while S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 29,892. India VIX, the volatility index, surged 4.6 per cent to 18.28 levels.

Also read: Why ArcelorMittal, other metal giants are shutting factories amid Europe energy crisis; here’s what lies ahead

Following the weak cues from the US markets, Nifty opened gap down on Sept 14, but showed remarkable recovery to wipe off all losses by 1335 Hrs. Late profit taking pulled down the Nifty from intra day highs. At close, Nifty was down 0.37% or 66.3 points at 18003.8. Indian markets fell the least in the Asian region. India’s wholesale inflation fell to the lowest since September last year, led by a broad-based decline in prices of most commodities. Inflation—as measured by the Wholesale Price Index—stood at 12.4% in August compared with 13.9% in July 2022 and 11.64% in August 2021. Nifty recovered very well from the morning lows but succumbed to afternoon selling. It faced resistance from the high of the previous day. Now 18088-18092 could be the resistance for the near term while 17765 could be the support. Broader market is showing the first signs of distribution.

Also read: India’s WPI inflation eases to 12.41% in Aug, wholesale price remains in double digits for 17-months straight

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities

Nifty remained above its previous consolidation as the global sell-off failed to pull the Indian equities down. On the lower end, the falling trend line has acted as crucial support for the Nifty. Besides, the index has been sustaining above the 50 exponential moving average on the daily timeframe, confirming an uptrend. Going forward, the trend will likely remain positive as long as it remains above 17700. On the higher end, the index may move towards 18600 once it provides a decisive breakout above 18100.

Bank Nifty continued to remain strong as it settled 1.3% on the day of global sell off. On the daily chart, the index remained above the previous swing high. The momentum indicator RSI is in bullish crossover. Going forward, the trend is likely to remain positive as long as it remains above 41000. On the higher end, the index may move towards 42000.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services

Although the opening hours of the domestic market mirrored the sharp sell-off in the global market, it steadily recovered as investors gained the confidence to bottom fish, thanks to the brighter prospects for the home economy. The expectation that the Fed would become less hawkish, which had spurred the most recent global rally, was dashed by worse than anticipated US inflation figures. Additionally, India’s easing WPI inflation numbers added more optimism with banking stocks leading the recovery, while the IT sector’s performance was bleak due to recession fears in western markets

Rupee declines by 42 paise to 81.82 against dollar on spike in crude oil 

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The rupee fell by 42 paise to close at 81.82 against the US dollar on Monday, snapping its two-session gaining streak as heavy selling in domestic equities and a spike in crude oil prices weighed on the local unit.Besides, a stronger greenback against key rivals and weak macro data put pressure on the domestic currency, forex dealers said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened weak at 81.65, fell further to 81.98 against the American currency. It finally ended at 81.82, down 42 paise over its previous close. In the previous session, the rupee settled at 81.40 against the greenback.

“Indian rupee depreciated by 0.51% today on weak domestic markets and surge in crude oil prices. Disappointing macroeconomic data also weighed on Rupee,” Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said.India’s Manufacturing PMI slipped to 55.1 in September, trailing estimates of 55.80 and previous month’s reading of 56.2.The rupee started the month on the back foot following higher crude oil prices and sour risk sentiments. However, the volatility and volumes remained lower amid the holiday truncated week.

ALSO READ Rupee likely to consolidate in near-term, may fall to 83 level, if 82 breached amid global uncertainty

In the near term, spot USD/INR is expected to trade in the range of 82.30 to 81.10 with bias remaining on the bullish side, Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said.On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 638.11 points or 1.11 per cent to end at 56,788.81, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 207 points or 1.21 per cent to 16,887.35.Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.30 per cent to 112.45.Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures surged 4.12 per cent to USD 88.65 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Monday as they bought shares worth Rs 590.58 crore, as per exchange data.After infusing funds in the last two months, foreign investors turned sellers again in September and pulled out Rs 7,600 crore from the Indian equity markets amid a hawkish stance by the US Fed and sharp depreciation in the rupee.

India’s procurement of crude oil from Russia not under govt-to-govt framework: Foreign secretary

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India’s procurement of Russian crude oil is not under any government-to-government framework and Indian entities make the purchase from the market to respond to the country’s energy security requirement, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Thursday.

Kwatra also chose not to comment on the proposed price cap on Russian oil, a move initiated by the G7 countries to choke Moscow’s oil revenue.

The comments by Kwatra came at a media briefing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Uzbekistan to attend the SCO summit.

Also Read: Saudi overtakes Russia to be India’s No. 2 oil supplier in August

Modi is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). India’s procurement of discounted crude oil from Russia has seen a significant jump in the last few months notwithstanding an increasing disquiet over it by the Western countries.

“India is not a member of the G7. Deeper discounts, market pricing.. look, we have said this several times that when the Indian entities go out and try to respond to India’s needs of the energy security and procure oil, they essentially procure it from the market,” Kwatra said.

He was responding to a question on the issue.

“These are not government-to-government purchases that we do. On the price cap coalition, what form it takes, what shape it evolves into, something I think the countries that floated that idea perhaps can better answer to it,” he said.India’s crude oil imports from Russia have jumped over 50 times since April and now it makes up for 10 per cent of all crude bought from overseas.

Russian oil made up for just 0.2 per cent of all oil imported by India prior to the Ukraine war.

The Western countries are gradually bringing down their energy purchases from Russia following its attack on Ukraine.

The G7 comprised Japan, the UK, the US, Canada, France, Germany and Italy.

Two stocks to buy for near-term gains; charts signal upside potential as Sensex, Nifty fall

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By Nagaraj Shetti

After showing consistent upmove over the last ten sessions, Nifty halted its upside momentum on Wednesday and shifted into a profit booking mode amidst a volatility and closed the day lower by 53 points.  After opening on a slightly positive note on Wednesday, the market has shifted into a range move with weak bias in the early to mid-part of the session. The weakness got intensified in the mid part on the volatile global cues and Nifty shifted into a firm upside recovery in the mid to later part of the session.

A reasonable negative candle was formed with lower shadow on the daily chart, beside the positive candle of Tuesday. Technically, this pattern indicate minor profit booking at the new swing highs. Though, Nifty declined on Wednesday, the uptrend status of the market remains intact and there is no formation of any significant reversal pattern at the highs.

The Nifty has been sustaining above the immediate support of 10 period EMA for the last 50 sessions, except two days of high volatility (21st and 22nd Dec 20) as per daily timeframe chart. Presently, this moving average is offering support at 13970 levels and this area is going to be crucial for the short term trend reversal.

Conclusion: Wednesday’s decline with volatility could be a minor profit booking in the market at the new highs. The underlying short term uptrend remains intact and we are likely to see buying emerging in the coming sessions. Important lower supports to be watched at 13970 and the next upside resistance is at 14310.

Stock Picks:

Buy Bata India Ltd – (CMP Rs 1658.95) After showing sideways range movement in the last few weeks, the stock price (Bata India Ltd) has witnessed upmove above the upper range at Rs 1620 levels on Wednesday and closed higher. This pattern could be considered as a crucial upside breakout of the range and this could have sharp positive impact on the stock price in near term. We observe positive chart pattern like higher highs and lows, which signal a strength of an uptrend. Volume and weekly RSI indicate further upside potential for the stock price ahead.

Buying can be initiated in Bata India Ltd at CMP (1658.95), add more on dips down to Rs 1600, wait for the upside target of Rs 1830 in the next 3-4 weeks. Place a stoploss of Rs 1570.

Buy Ajanta Pharma Ltd – (CMP Rs 1695) The stock price has been moving in a larger consolidation pattern over the last few months. We observe a formation of symmetrical triangle pattern and the stock price is making attempt to break above this triangle pattern at Rs 1725 levels. Hence, a sustainable move above this area could open a sharp upside for the near term. Weekly 14 period RSI has sustained above 60 levels and the volume has started to expand during upmove in the stock price. This is positive indication and signal more upside in the coming weeks.

Buying can be initiated in Ajanta Pharma Ltd at CMP (1695), add more on dips down to Rs 1625, wait for the upside target of Rs 1875 in the next 3-4 weeks. Place a stoploss of Rs 1595.

(Nagaraj Shetti is a Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities. Views expressed are the author’s own. Please consult your financial advisor before investing.)