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Hoping to see a turnaround of fortunes in FY25, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) raised stakes in TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro, Coforge and Persistent Systems in the March quarter. But as the macro environment remains uncertain with further challenges in the short run, dollar money is now having second thoughts.In the first fortnight of April, FIIs sold IT stocks worth around Rs 4,700 crore to buy power and banks. This comes after March shareholding pattern revealed that FII stake went up by 24 bps to 12.7% in TCS, 26 bps to 6.96% in Wipro, 41 bps to 34.11% in Infosys, 23 bps in HCL Tech and 96 bps to 35% in case of Coforge.During the quarter, FIIs were net sellers in stocks like LTTS, LTIMindtree, Mphasis and Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, mutual funds took a more bearish stance on the Indian IT sector in Q4 by cutting stakes in 6 out of top 10 stocks - Coforge, HCL Tech, Infosys, LTIMindtree, Persistent Systems and Tech Mahindra.Also read | Iran-Israel war or election jitters? Why FIIs decamped with Rs 20,000 crore in 4 daysCommon buyings by both MFs and FIIs during the quarter were TCS and Wipro. In the case of LTIMindtree and Tech Mahindra, both the big boys of Dalal Street were on the sell side. <iframe title="FIIs raised stake in 6 IT stocks in Q4" aria-label="Table" id="datawrapper-chart-E87Z8" src="https://et-infographics.indiatimes.com/graphs/E87Z8/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="423" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();</script>However, after being a bull in Q4, FIIs were seen taking a U-turn in the first two weeks of April amid fading hopes of a recovery in FY25.While the names of IT stocks which FIIs sold this month are not known yet, experts believe it could be the Tier-I IT stocks. After falling 7.5% in March, the Nifty IT index is down about 4.4% so far in the month.Barring a small upside of 1% in TCS and 6% in Persistent, all 10 constituents of Nifty IT index have lost value so far in the year. LTIMindtree, Coforge and Mphasis have seen double-digit declines.What should investors do?While TCS management guided for FY25 revenue growth to outstrip FY24, Wipro guided for -1.5% to +0.5% IT Services revenue growth in Q1 FY25.Infosys' FY25 revenue guidance of 1-3% YoY in cc terms was so disappointing that Kotak Equities said it expects normalised growth only from FY26. Nomura lowered its FY25-26 EPS estimate by 2-3% driven by lower revenue and margin outlook.Many domestic investors are sounding bearish on the outlook for IT stocks for the next few months."We do not believe that they are at the end of the tunnel. It will take some more time, especially the BFSI segment which is the mainstay for most of our IT companies. Unless that picks up, I do not think they will have too much to talk about in terms of numbers. And there is so much change going on in the industry with generative AI and all of that. So, how these companies will play on those things, I think we will have to give some more time," said Daljeet Singh Kohli of Vasuki India Fund.Global brokerage BNP Paribas, however, believes that while discretionary demand remains slow, the sector appears to have bottomed, and valuations are already pricing in most of the risks.(Data inputs: Ritesh Presswala)(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Brokerage Citigroup maintained a sell rating on Wipro, Morgan Stanley recommended an Equal-Weight rating on HDFC AMC, Investec recommended a buy on Dixon Technologies and a hold on HDFC Bank post Q4 results.We have collated a list of recommendations from top brokerage firms from ETNow and other sources:Investec on HDFC Bank: Hold | Target Rs 1620Investec recommended a hold rating on HDFC Bank but slashed the target price to Rs 1620 from Rs 1625 earlier.The Q4 numbers were in line with estimates, but with several one-offs. Seasonality played a huge part. The numbers were adjusted for seasonality and one-offs.Creating floating provisions is a continuation of the larger changes to the capital allocation policy post-merger, said the note.UBS on Voltas: Buy| Target Rs 1800UBS upgraded Voltas to buy from neutral earlier and raised the target price to Rs 1800 from Rs 885 earlier.The company is claiming back its lost market share. The global investment bank believes that Voltas will surprise on the market share in near future.VoltBek JV should break even in FY26. The global investment bank believes that the Street is not pricing in a potential market share ramp up.UBS sees FY26 market share at 23% vs 19.5% factored in by the Street.Investec on Dixon Technologies: Buy| Target Rs 8650Investec recommended a buy on Dixon Technologies and raised the target price to Rs 8650 from Rs 8250 earlier.Another customer wins, another earnings upgrade. Longcheer is one of the largest mobile original design manufacturing (ODM) players globally.The brokerage firm is of the view that the new customer should add 3-5 mn smartphones to the mobile business.This will lead to an 8-9% upgrade to FY25-26 EPS. The global investment bank continues to see Dixon as an excellent play on electronics manufacturing.It sees the optionality of entry into new categories/ backward integration/ new customer wins.Citigroup on Wipro: Sell| Target Rs 430Citigroup maintained a sell rating on Wipro and slashed the target price to Rs 430 from Rs 440 earlier post Q4 results.The Q4 numbers were in line with estimates but the company gave a weak Q1 guidance. The global investment bank lowered EPS estimates by 2%, and now expects FY25 cc revenue growth to be flat on a YoY basis.Wipro's relative performance continues to be weak(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)

With the fourth quarter results ongoing, as many as 15 companies will announce their quarterly results today, with all eyes on Reliance Industries (RIL). The company will also consider paying a dividend for investors along with Q4 results later today.Other companies which will release their earnings on Monday include Hatsun Agro Products, Tejas Networks, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Epigral, Rallis India, Kesoram Industries among others.Here's what to track from RIL resultsOil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is expected to report healthy numbers for the quarter ended March 2024, driven by robust O2C business and healthy growth in the consumer-facing businesses of Jio and retail.The company will announce its quarterly numbers on April 22 and the Board will also consider approving a dividend for FY24.Revenue from operations for the fourth quarter are expected to grow up to 12% year-on-year, according to an average estimate of four brokerages.Consolidated EBITDA for the quarter is seen increasing 3% sequentially and 9% year-on-year to Rs 41900 crore. Net profit for the quarter, meanwhile, is likely to drop up to 7% year-on-year, while rising 2% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.ALSO READ | RIL Q4 Preview: Street eyes strong revenue, EBITDA growth despite likely fall in profitThe diversified conglomerate is likely to see a strong growth in its retail and telecom business. Retail EBITDA is likely to remain strong and show a growth of 28% year-on-year on higher footfalls. JIO's EBITDA is likely to surge 13% year-on-year.In the preceding December quarter, RIL reported a 9% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 17,265 crore, while revenue from operations jumped nearly 4% to Rs 2.28 lakh crore.For the O2C business, RIL is likely to see a strong quarter with an estimated $1/bbl QoQ improvement in GRMs (gross refined margins)."While Reliance Jio may see 2% rise in EBITDA quarter-on-quarter, the retail EBITDA is likely to grow just over 1% quarter-on-quarter. Consolidated EBITDA for the reporting quarter may rise 5% quarter-on-quarter," said ICICI Securities.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Washington: As many as 65,960 Indians officially became US citizens, making India the second-largest source country for new citizens in America after Mexico, according to a latest Congressional report. An estimated 46 million foreign-born persons resided in the United States in 2022, approximately 14 per cent of the total US population of 333 million, according to American Community Survey data from the US Census Bureau. Of these, 24.5 million, about 53 per cent, reported their status as naturalised citizens. In its latest "US Naturalisation Policy" report of April 15, the independent Congressional Research Service in the fiscal year 2022, 969,380 individuals became naturalised US citizens. "Individuals born in Mexico represented the largest number of naturalisations, followed by persons from India, Philippines, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic," it said. Based on the latest available data, CRS said in 2022, as many as 128,878, Mexican nationals became American citizens. They were followed by Indians (65,960), the Philippines (53,413), Cuba (46,913), Dominican Republic (34,525), Vietnam (33,246) and China (27.038). According to CRS as of 2023, 2,831,330 foreign born American nationals were from India, which is the second largest number after Mexico's 10,638,429. Mexico and India are followed by China with 2,225,447 foreign-born American nationals. However, as many as 42 per cent of the India-born foreign nationals living in the US are currently ineligible to become US citizens, CRS report said. As of 2023, as many as 290,000 India-born foreign nationals who were on Green Card or Legal Permanent Residency (LPR) were potentially eligible for naturalisation. CRS said in recent years, some observers have expressed concern over USCIS processing backlogs for naturalisation applications. Although there continues to be a backlog of naturalisation applications, since FY2020 the agency has reduced the number of applications pending completion by more than half. As of the end of FY2023, USCIS had approximately 408,000 pending naturalisation applications, down from 550,000 at the end of FY2022; 840,000 at the end of FY2021; and 943,000 at the end of FY2020. In FY2023, 823,702 LPRs submitted naturalisation applications. The number of individuals who have recently applied for citizenship remains well below the estimated population of 9 million LPRs who were eligible to naturalise in 2023. The percentage of foreign-born individuals who are naturalized varies by several factors, including country of origin. Immigrants from Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela, Mexico, El Salvador, and Brazil have the lowest percentages of naturalized foreign born, while those from Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia, Jamaica, and Pakistan have the highest. To be eligible for naturalisation, an applicant must fulfill certain eligibility requirements set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The requirements generally include being a lawful permanent resident (LPR) for at least five years.