The broking firm Jefferies has raised the target price on the stock of Apollo Hospitals to Rs 7,500 from 6,630, earlier, an increase of 13%. The brokerage has kept the rating unchanged to “Buy”. It believes that the company has remained committed to increasing occupancy in hospitals to 70%. 

Also, it has raised the operating profit estimated by 6% for FY26 on 24/7 breakeven. However, cut the FY25 operating margin by 1% on the back of the “lower hospital margin assumptions.” The company reported an operating margin of Rs 610 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year, an increase of 21% year-on-year.

Also Read: Jefferies bullish on Apollo Hospitals, raises target price to Rs 7,500 on increased occupancy; read to know more

Nifty PSU Bank stocks rise by 2.92%, trading at 6,912.45. Major gainers among Nifty PSU stocks include: Indian Bank (6.94%), SBI (4.79%), PSB (4.48%), UCO Bank (3.80%)

BPCL, State Bank of India, ONGC, Coal India, and Axis Banks are the top gainers on NSE Nifty 50 index.

USDINR CMP- 83.07 (spot) “Indian Rupee depreciated by 0.1% on Wednesday on surge in US Dollar and weak domestic markets. Surge in crude oil prices also put downside pressure on Rupee. However, softening WPI cushioned the downside. India’s WPI inflation increased 0.27% in January 2024, at a slower pace vs forecast of 0.53%. US Dollar bounced back on hotter than expected inflation. US CPI rose 3.1% y-o-y in January 2024 vs forecast of 2.9% Core CPI rose 3.9% y-o-y in January 2024 vs forecast of 3.7%. this led to a decline in expectations of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in March and May 2024. Markets now expect three rate cuts by Fed in 2024, down from earlier expectations of five rate cuts. We expect Rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on strong US Dollar and risk aversion in global markets. Rising crude oil prices may also pressurise Rupee. We may see some FII outflows on expectations of a no rate cut by Fed and surge in US treasury yields. However, any bounce back in domestic markets may support Rupee at lower levels. Traders may remain cautious ahead of India’s trade balance and US retails sales data tomorrow. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 82.80 to Rs 83.40,” said Anuj Choudhary Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Shares of IREDA fell 5% to hit the lower circuit at Rs 154.05. The stock opened at Rs 154.05.

Shares of Bharat Petroleum Corporation rose 5.8% to Rs 618.45, becoming the top gainer in the Nifty 50.

Rashi Peripheral lists at Rs 339.50, a premium of 9% to its issue price. The company kept the price band of the issue at Rs 295 – 311 and offered 19.3 million shares to raise Rs 600 crore.  

The company’s shares were changing hands at a premium of 13.8% to the issue price in the grey market. It is an unofficial market where shares of the companies trade illegally before listing.

BPCL, ONGC, SBI, Coal India, and Bajaj Auto were the top gainers in the Nifty 50 today. While Tech Mahindra, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Infosys, and LTIMindtree were the kry losers in the Nifty 50.

The sectoral-index Nifty IT fell 2.6% to the intraday low of 37,200.05. The sectoral index fell the most among its peers.

“We believe that the investors who have been allotted shares to hold it for the long term and not be worried about it opening at a discount as the bank has over 16 years of experience in operating as a local area bank and has a deep understanding of growing its deposit base,” said Shreyansh V.Shah, Research Analyst,at StoxBox.

Shah also added that, additionally, the lender’s gross NPA acts as a testament to its streamlined underwriting processes, credit assessment, efficient collections, and risk management. This makes us believe the lender has strong fundamentals and should hold it for the long term.

Capital Small Finance Bank made a muted market debut on Wednesday, February 14, following a tepid response to its public offering. The stock, opened at Rs 430.25 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), marking an 8.07% discount to the IPO issue price of Rs 468. Simultaneously, on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the stock was listed at Rs 435.

Also Read: Capital Small Finance Bank lists at a discount of 8%; Should you buy now?

The NSE Nifty 50 was down 124.35 points or 0.57% to 21,618.90. While the BSE Sensex slipped 449.27 or 0.63% to 71,105.92.

Shares of Tech Mahindra fell 3.2% to Rs 1,286. The stock was the key loser in the Nifty 50.

Moody’s Investor Group announced on February 13 that it has revised the outlook on debt papers for four Adani Group companies, shifting from negative to stable. Simultaneously, the rating agency maintained a stable outlook for the remaining four companies and affirmed the ratings for all eight entities within the conglomerate.

This move by Moody’s follows weeks after S&P Global Ratings upgraded the credit outlook for Adani Ports and Adani Electricity to ‘stable’ from ‘negative.’ In February 2023, Moody’s initially revised the outlook on four Adani Group companies to negative due to concerns over their access to capital and potential increases in capital costs following a report by Hindenburg Research, a short seller, highlighting governance concerns within the Adani Group.

Also Read: Moody’s revises outlook on Adani Group companies to ‘Stable’ from ‘Negative’

Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, Coal India, BPCL, and Adani Enterprises were the top gainers in the Nifty 50 on February 14. While Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, LTIMindtree, and Sun Pharma were the key losers in the Nifty 50.

“The Nifty exhibited volatility throughout the day, mostly fluctuating within the range of 21650 and 21750. The prevailing sentiment is expected to persist in a sideways to bearish direction as long as the index stays below 21850. On the downside, a short-term support level is identified at 21500. A significant decline below 21500 could potentially initiate a correction towards 21270/21000. Conversely, on the upside, a decisive breakthrough above 21850 might trigger a rally towards 22200,” said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities.

The NSE Nifty 50 opened 165.10 points or 0.76% lower at 21,578.15. While the 30-stock BSE Sensex opened 519.94 points or 0.73% lower at 71,035.25.

Wipro, Infosys, LTI Mindtree, IndusInd Bank, and Eicher Motors are the top losers on NSE Nifty 50 index.

Aditya Birla Fashion, Ashok Leyland, Aurobindo Pharma, Balrampur Chini Mills, Bandhan Bank, Biocon, Delta Corp, India Cements, Indus Tower, National Aluminium, PNB, Sail, Zee Entertainment Enterprise.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares net worth Rs 376.32 crore. While, domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares net worth Rs 273.94 crore on February 13, 2024, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.

WTI crude prices are trading at $77.61 down by 0.33%, while Brent crude prices are trading at $82.43 down by 0.41%, on Wednesday morning.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar’s value against a basket of six foreign currencies, traded lower, 0.08% at 104.88.

The major equity indices in the US closed in the red after the January inflation data came higher than expectations worrying the investors about rate cuts in the current financial year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 524.63 points, or 1.35% to 38,272.75. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.8% at 15,655.60. While the S&P 500 fell 1.37% to 4,953.17.