Business News

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.

Most technical indicators suggest a short-term bottom reversal for Indian indices. Analysts expect the Nifty to trend higher as follow-up buying may emerge above 22,180, with short positions potentially being challenged above 22,425. Reliance Industries, SBI, Hindalco, Eicher Motors, Maruti, HAL, and M&M, along with midcaps like Jindal Steel and Power, Delivery, Bharat Dynamics, Lemon Tree, Tata Steel, and Graphite India, are recommended by the analysts for short-term trading.RAHUL SHARMA HEAD- TECHNICAL & DERIVATIVE RESEARCH, JM FINANCIAL SERVICESWhere is the Nifty headed this week? US Markets are in oversold territory, and European indices have taken support near crucial moving averages, which mean a meaningful recovery can be expected from global equity markets. The ratio chart of the Nifty 500 vs S&P 500 has closed at the highest level since mid-January. Nifty and Nifty Bank formed hammer candles on weekly charts due to the recovery seen in Friday’s session which is a bullish development. Nifty 500 is relatively much stronger this time as it managed to form a relatively higher low as compared to the March correction. Nifty PCR has improved in the last two sessions, supplementing the bullish bias. Retail has lapped up longs in index futures. FIIs are decisively short on index futures. Expect Nifty to scale higher as follow-up buying can emerge above 22,180 and shorts can get challenged above 22,425. What should an investor do? One Look to add longs in Nifty above 22,180 for targets of 22,325 and 22,425 with a stop loss of 22,100. Relative strength studies indicate that Eicher Motors can outperform. Targets are seen at Rs 4,500/4,800. Stop loss should be at Rs 4,193. Maruti has seen a firm close on Friday above key resistance levels. Upside targets are seen at Rs 13,000/13,200. Stop loss should be at Rs 12,450. A higher-high and higher-low structure in HAL is intact inspite of market volatility. Expect the stock to test Rs 3,900/4,000. Stop loss should be at Rs 3,620. 109485297DHARMESH SHAH HEAD OF TECHNICALS, ICICI SECURITIESWhere is the Nifty headed this week? Nifty made a smart recovery on Friday to end the volatile week off lows, as buying emerged near key support and March lows of 21,700, despite weak sentiments, as prices approached oversold readings. This week, Nifty holding Friday’s panic low of 21,700 will keep pullback options open, followed by a gradual recovery towards last week’s high of 22,400, which remains an important resistance. Meanwhile, stock-specific action will be in focus amid the progression of Q4 earnings. A key observation has been that Nifty’s two corrections since January 2024 have been 5% each, and even last week the index maintained this price behaviour by recovering post 5% correction from life highs and held the lower band of the past three-month rising channel, despite geopolitical worries. What should an investor do? Bouts of volatility amid geopolitical tensions, earnings and elections could not be ruled out. However, investors should not panic and continue to invest in good companies during episodes of volatility. We reiterate our structurally positive stance, as we have seen in the past that once anxiety around such events settle down, markets tend to resume their primary up-trend. In large caps, we prefer Reliance Industries, SBI, Hindalco, Petronet LNG, Tata Power, HAL, and M&M; while in midcaps, Jindal Steel and Power, Delivery, Bharat Dynamics, Lemon Tree, and Graphite India are looking goodNAGARAJ SHETTI SENIOR TECHNICAL RESEARCH ANALYST, HDFC SECURITIESWhere is the Nifty headed this week? After showing a panic selloff from near the day’s high on Thursday, Nifty witnessed an excellent recovery on Friday and closed the day with handsome gains amidst high volatility. A long bull candle was formed on the daily chart after opening at the lows. The present chart pattern indicates the formation of a Bullish Piercing line-type candle pattern. This signals a short term bottom reversal for the market. Nifty held above the support around 21,750, which is near the previous swing low of March 20. This could be considered a double-bottom type formation. After breaking below the support of the lower end of the channel at 22,000, Nifty regained the lost ground and closed above the support on Friday. What should an investor do? The short-term trend of Nifty has reversed with the formation of a bullish reversal pattern. One may expect further upside towards the next resistance of 22,500 in the next few sessions. Immediate support is at 22,000. One may look to start accumulating index or stocks by placing appropriate stop losses. Stocks with positive bias include Tata Steel, SAIL, SBI, Central Bank, Motherson, M&M, Gujarat Fluorochemicals, Raymond, Chalet Hotel and Bajaj Finance.

Mumbai: Overseas fund managers raised their bearish derivative bets on India last week as a jump in crude oil prices in the wake of the Iran-Israel conflict and growing uncertainty about interest rate cuts in the US heightened risk aversion.The long-short ratio of foreign portfolio investors (or FPIs') Nifty futures bets fell to 35.4% on Friday, from about 56% a week ago. The long-short ratio in index futures is a measure of the number of bullish positions versus bearish. A low reading means foreign investors are bearish. The reading was 12.4% on February 28, 2020, when concerns over the spread of Covid had erupted.The build-up of bearish bets coincided with FPIs pulling ₹18,601 crore out of Indian equities last week. So far in April, these investors have been net sellers in Indian shares to the tune of ₹5,254 crore."We have seen aggressive build-up of short positions by FPIs in Nifty futures in the past week," said Ruchit Jain, lead research analyst at 5Paisa.com. "FPIs have been selling and unwinding their long positions after the escalation of Iran-Israel conflict,"Nifty futures have seen a total net short position of about one lakh units, which is often seen when the market is in a corrective phase, said Jain.Last week, Indian benchmarks fell 2.1-2.5% on concerns over the clash between Iran and Israel. Though the Sensex and Nifty rebounded on Friday after four straight days of losses on expectations that the conflict in West Asia would recede soon, the undertone is cautious. FPIs' Nifty futures long-short ratio on Friday rose from the previous day on liquidation of some bearish bets, helping the market to bounce back.“Market participants are displaying caution as the coming week is going to be results-heavy with many large-caps announcing their numbers,” said Sudeep Shah, head of technical & derivatives research at SBICAP Securities. “Given the tensions between Iran and Israel, traders are a bit apprehensive about taking leveraged positions.”Analysts said the recent selloff in the US markets, especially in the technology giants, is also keeping investors on the edge. On Friday, the Nasdaq tumbled over 2%, extending losses for the sixth straight day on growing fears that the US Federal Reserve may not be able to cut interest rates as anticipated earlier in the face of sticky inflation.In India, the IT sector, whose prospects are closely linked to the health of the US economy and monetary policy, has the highest build-up of short positions in equity derivatives.“Sectorally, IT has seen a lot of aggressive buildup in short positions since before Infosys results where there is no sign of short covering yet,” said Jain.“The trigger for short covering could be stronger results (by rest of the IT companies) or positive cues from Nasdaq.”