Tale of the Tape 

Hola Amigos. Welcome back to the Daily Rip! 👋

Nifty (-0.4%) and Sensex (-0.5%) snapped their three-day gaining streak. Midcaps (+1%) and Smallcaps (+0.4%) bucked the trend and had a good day. The advance-decline ratio was evenly split. 🤼

Check out the Stocktwits Sentiment meter:

It was a mixed-bag kinda day for sectors. Real estate (+1.6%) and Oil & Gas (+0.7%) saw strong buying. IT (-0.6%) and Banks (-0.5%) witnessed some selling pressure. 📉

The rupee hit a new all-time low recently. Read our top story below on what it means for India Inc. and the stock market. 🧐

Indus Tower (+4%) has been killing it lately. More details below on the positive triggers fuelling its rally. 🔥

IIFL Finance (-4%) and JM Financial (-3%) fell on reports that the RBI may conduct a special audit. 🔍

Mankind Pharma was in focus after 1.3 cr shares, or 3.2% equity, changed hands in a block deal; reports say private equity firm Beige was the likely seller. 🤝

Insurance stocks rallied 3%-6% intraday after the IRDAI scaled back its proposed surrender value hike. ✅

Dr Lal PathLabs (+6%) jumped after getting a DOUBLE upgrade from Kotak Equities; it sees +5% upside from current levels. 📈

Adani Ports (+2%) was in focus after acquiring an Odisha port from the SP Group for Rs 1,349 cr. 💰

SpiceJet was up +3% after reaching a Rs 755-cr settlement with a Canadian lender. ✈️

Ashok Leyland (+1%) declared an interim dividend of Rs 4.95 p/sh for FY24. 🤑

Uno Minda (+4%) gained after signing an EV charger supply contract with Starcharge Energy. ⚡

Paradeep Phosphate fell 5% intraday after the pollution board shut down its Odisha plant. 🚨

Here are the closing prints: 

Currency
Rupee Near All-Time Low vs USD

The Indian Rupee hit a new all-time low of 83.43 against the US Dollar last week. It recovered slightly today but experts warn the fall could’ve been much deeper if the RBI hadn’t taken any action. As we all know, a weak rupee is bad for multiple reasons. Here’s why you should be closely monitoring it: 🤓

1) Imports and Inflation: When the rupee weakens, imports become expensive. This is because Indian companies and the GOI buy things in dollars. Historically, a falling rupee has worried the GOI because petrol & diesel costs go up. FYI - India imports ~80% of its oil needs. This has a cascading effect on the rest of the economy. If the rupee falls more, this could throw up a red flag. Ultimately we can depend on the RBI to hold the line and not let it fall too much. ⚔️

2) Exports: A bunch of sectors benefit from a weak rupee when it comes to exports. These include textile, pharma and IT to name a few. This is because Indian companies can offer more discounts and global customers can buy more stuff for less money. That said, a falling rupee isn’t a golden ticket. If the global economy still sucks, people won’t buy stuff just because your currency is weak. 📉

3) FII inflows: Generally speaking, there’s a link between the performance of the rupee and the stock market. Foreign investors take money out when the rupee is weak due to a range of factors. In recent times though, this impact has been felt less because domestic investors help cushion the blow. In 2022, the rupee fell over 11% and FIIs were net sellers. But the Nifty still ended up +4% that year! 💪

Specials

Defense Stocks To Buy - By SEBI RAs

Defense stocks are never out of action. With the government increasing spending in the Defence sector, several stocks are poised to benefit. 🚀

Wondering which stocks to buy? Check out our latest video where we discuss 5 trade ideas on Defence stocks by SEBI RAs. 👇🏻

Stock

Tower(ing) Success!

Indus Tower hit a 52-week-high today! The stock is up nearly +90% over the last year, easily beating the Nifty’s gains in the same period. So, what’s going on and is it too late to join the party? Let’s get right into it. 😎

About the company: The firm is India’s second biggest telecom tower operator. It has nearly 212k towers across the country, hitting all of India’s 22 telecom circles. Indus has also been killing it in FY24 after a shaky FY23. ICYMI - the last three quarters have seen RECORD tower additions, led by Bharti Airtel’s huge 5G + rural expansion. 🛜

But what’s got everyone excited is the elephant in the room. Aka: Vodafone Idea. Experts say VI owes Rs 5,000 - 6,000 cr to Indus Towers. The only problem? VI doesn’t have money to pay. The situation has dragged on for over two years now, hurting Indus’s cash flow. 📊

But there may be some light at the end of the tunnel! One positive sign is that VI seems serious about fundraising. Last month, its board approved a plan for raising Rs 45,000 cr. But even if that doesn't work out, other debt reduction options are looking good. ICYMI -  American Towers chose to convert its debt into equity and picked up a stake in VI. This means Vodafone has more money on hand to pay vendor dues, which should help Indus! 👍

FYI  - Brokerage Citi feels the “risk to reward” ratio is pretty favourable for Indus right now. If VI pulls off a fundraise, Citi’s bull case target is Rs 400 p/sh; +42% from current levels. 💰

Stocktwits Spotlight

Bears beware! A lot of experts believe that the worst of the mid & smallcap fall is behind us. This means that the downside risk is limited at current levels. Bottom fishing in stocks that are near their key support levels is critical in such times. 🤑

One such stock according to Arpan Malu is PSU favorite IREDA. After a sharp correction from 215 to 120 the stock has steadily formed a base and showing signs of an early reversal. It may not live up to its earlier reputation of being a fast mover but there is scope for decent upside, he added 📈

Follow Arpan Malu for more awesome trading insights and add $IREDA.NSE to your watchlist and track the latest from the community. 💯

Links That Don’t Suck

💣 5 Defense Stocks to Buy Right Now | Defense Stocks for 2024 | Cochin Shipyard News | HAL Share News 

👑 Mumbai Dethrones Beijing As Asia's New ''Billionaire Capital'': Hurun Report

🛒 Flipkart, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto witness blockbuster Holi festival sales 

😂 12 People Tell The Weirdest Things They Did To Get Laid. And Well… We All Have Been There

🏏 Virat Kohli becomes first Indian to register 100 fifty-plus scores in T20s

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