Tale of the Tape 

Howdy folks. Happy Friday!

Markets ended flat after a choppy session, but the Nifty logged its best weekly gains since June! PS - it was also the third consecutive week of gains for the benchmark indices. Midcaps (+0.5%) and Smallcaps continued their red hot streak. The advance-decline ratio was in favour of the bulls (3:2).

It was a mixed-bag kinda day for sectors. Metals (+1.2%) and Auto (+0.9%) were the top gainers. IT (-0.2%) stocks saw minor cuts.

RBI left rates unchanged again, but gave us a liquidity boost. Read our top story on Shaktikanta Das’s assessment of the Indian economy.

Mishtann Foods got KO-ed after getting hit by the SEBI hammer. More details below on the rot behind the facade according to the regulator’s probe.

Maruti Suzuki (+1%) was in focus after announcing price hikes of up to 4% from January 2025.

MCX (+6%) gained to cross the Rs 7,000 p/sh mark intraday for the first time ever!

Samvardhana Motherson (+2%) will acquire Japan’s Atsumitec for $57 million.

Newgen Software was in focus after bullish comments by veteran investor Mark Mobius. PS - Jefferies sees another +10% upside from current levels. 

Paytm (+2%) will sell its entire stake in PayPay for $250 million to Softbank. 

Zen Technologies rallied +8% intraday after partnering with Florida-based AVT to tap into the US defence market. RITES rallied +4% intraday after bagging a Rs 148 cr campus construction order from IIM Raipur.

Here are the closing prints:

Economy
RBI Monetary Policy: Key Takeaways

The Reserve Bank of India kept interest rates unchanged at 6.5% for the ELEVENTH time in a row. FYI - this was expected, with inflation hitting a 14-month-high of 6.2% in October. But with GDP growth slowing down to a 7-quarter-low, a handful of experts wondered whether the central bank would give us a Christmas surprise. 

Alas, no such thing. Governor Shaktikanta Das said the MPC had taken note of the “recent slowdown” in growth momentum, but believes the outlook is “resilient”. Put simply: Das believes growth bottomed out in Q2 and we’ll start seeing a pick-up in H2FY25. That’s good, but the RBI also reduced its FY25 growth projection to 6.6% vs 7.2% earlier. Duh. The RBI’s inflation projection is also up a tad at 4.8% vs 4.5% earlier.

That said, Das didn’t leave us hanging. The RBI cut the cash reserve ratio to 4% vs 4.5% earlier. This means bank’s should have more money on hand to lend. It will inject overall liquidity of Rs 1.16 lakh cr into the system and basically paves the way for a February rate cut. PS - Citi says SBI, Bank of Baroda and PNB should see a boost to their net interest income as a result of this!

Big Picture: Shaktikanta Das is set to retire next week, barring a last-minute extension by the GOI which could happen. Most experts agree he’s done well for most of his tenure, although a final judgment is awaited on whether the RBI was behind the curve on rate cuts in FY25. PS - Das ended his speech quoting Subhas Chandra Bose (not Gandhi!): “...never lose your faith in the destiny of India”.

Stocktwits Specials
Stocks To Buy In This Fall

Markets have seen a healthy correction from their all-time highs. Experts say this may be one of the best times to build your portfolio. Here are 5 midcap & smallcap stocks that you must absolutely not miss according to market experts.