Business News: Axis Securities' Budget 2024 Stock Picks, Just Dial's Profit Surge, Microsoft Layoffs, Indian Real Estate Boom, and Key Financial Updates

In such a situation, the next budget would do good if it strikes a fine balance between fiscal consolidation, growth, and rural welfare as supported by the dividend transfer from RBI. Market participants are expecting a larger capital expenditure, especially toward infrastructure, rural challenges, and potentially changes in capital gains tax. Sector-specific positives have been for the BFSI, infrastructure, auto, power, FMCG, and metals. Some more beneficiaries among companies are Hero MotoCorp, Ultratech Cement, NTP, and M&M. "In many ways, the overall flavor of the budget is to spur growth and job creation, with an eye toward stability by supporting the vision of "Viksit Bharat" for 2047.

Just Dial is up at a 9-year high, spiking 15% to Rs 1,189.95, while the net profit in Q1FY25 grew 69% YoY to Rs 141.2 crore. The revenue is up by 13.6% YoY to Rs 280.5 crore, the total traffic is up 5.7% YoY with the company witnessing not only significant margin expansion in operating profit but also in EBITDA. ICICI Securities and JM Financial have said that Just Dial should resume its outperformance rally, with very high growth in revenue and margin improvements, and could also see the company rewarding shareholders once the bandwidth expands with the valuation correction done.

In response to what it called "changing business needs," Microsoft recently announced it would disband an internally focused diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) team, retroactively to July 1. The move is part of Microsoft's annual, routine reorganization of the workforce—not without controversy, given its supposed prior commitments to increase diversity. What Microsoft has said, however, is that despite the layoffs, its commitments to DEI remain top-of-mind. This dovetails with a general cooling in tech diversity, after companies from Zoom to Google to Meta trimmed the sails of their broad diversity initiatives in recent times.

Grant Thornton Bharat in a statement said that the country has seen real estate transactions totalling to $1.56 billion during the Q2 2024 which is close to eight times more than last quarter. The economy visible on recovery and the confidence of the investor started to rise again with the fuel of four high-value deals. There were private equity deals totaling $1,439 million this period, with the largest transaction being $723 million—Brookfield India Real Estate Trust for Bharti Enterprises' assets. Warehousing also led PE investment in both cycles for H1 2024 in the residential and office segments.

The path to privatize IDBI Bank has been cleared as the Reserve Bank of India gave the long-awaited stamp of approval, barring a foreign bidder for allegedly failing to provide all the needed information. Notably, shares of IDBI Bank jumped 6% after the RBI governance. The government seeks to complete a sale of 60.7% in ownership that also includes the shares belonging to LIC. The revenue this disinvestment will fetch could be over Rs 29,000 crore, given the market capitalisation of IDBI. What has been the most awaited disinvestment policy, which in the last 18 months has been lowered twice, is likely to have more details coming through the Finance Minister's upcoming budget.

According to DGCA, 2,364 passengers were denied boarding in June after 2,719 in May, the highest in 2024. Airlines spent Rs 2.5 crore on compensation. At the top of the list was Air India, with 1,920 passengers, followed by Vistara with 188 and SpiceJet with 159. In another case, after the cooling system failed and the delay resulted in inconvenience and even a case of someone fainting, Air India faced a show-cause notice for serious violations of regulatory provisions concerning passenger care during delays on a Delhi-San Francisco flight.

Shares of Hindustan Aeronautics tumbled nearly 7% on Thursday, extending the fall from Tuesday on selling in the defense sector ahead of the budget. Additionally not helping matters was a negative comment from brokerage InCred over the valuations. Even post the recent losses, HAL shares have surged 80% in 2024 and gained 163% in the last one year. The valuation concerns, with regard to the stock, lie with the very high enterprise value, compared to global peers like Dassault Aviation. Both domestic mutual funds and foreign portfolio investors reduced their stakes in HAL.

In another report, the consulting firm Entitled Solutions posited large financial distress among cab drivers in India, with 70% maintaining that this is their experience even after working for over 60 hours every week. Other issues include health-related problems, exploitation by the platform companies, and high fuel costs leading to income instability due to the notion of competitiveness. It has advocated for reforms on compensation, standardized rates, transparent contracts, health insurance, and mechanisms for grievance in improving conditions for cab drivers.