25th October 2024 – 01st November 2024 | Another week in the markets
| S&P 500 | Nasdaq | VIX | DJIA | Russell 1000 | NYSE |
| 5,728.80 | 18,239.92 | 21.88 | 42,052.19 | 3,132.88 | 19,253.54 |
| -1.37% | -1.50% | 7.62% | -0.15% | -1.22% | -1.04% |
| Nifty 50 | Gold | Silver | Brent crude | USD-INR | EUR-INR |
| 24,205.35 | $2,746.2 | $32.57 | $72.96 | 84.09 | 91.10 |
| -0.80% | 0.53% | -3.85% | -3.34% | -0.01% | 0.34% |
Source: MarketWatch
Hello Saturday,
This week, Boeing strike and hurricanes pockmark the US October jobs report, BOJ likely to hold its rates stable at the upcoming meet on Thursday and Marico bucks the slowdown trend amidst slumping FMCG volume growth.
- The US economy added only 12,000 jobs in October compared to 223,000 jobs added in September. The figure was way below the most muted expectations of 100,000.
- The Bank of Japan is likely to hold its policy rate steady at 0.25% in the upcoming two-day meeting slated to end on Thursday.
- Nifty50 ends Samvat 2080 with a 25% gain, the highest in three years.
- MaricoтАЩs outlook looks positive on strong future guidance and healthy market share gains
Taking stock | October jobs report shocker | BOJ keeps fiscal tremors at bay | The gift that was Samvat 2080 | MaricoтАЩs market share gains | Invest wisely | Another week in the markets
Taking stock
US markets shrugged off the disappointing October jobs report and latched on to the stellar earnings of Amazon. Tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.8%, while the S&P 500 jumped by 0.4% to end Friday on a positive note. The Dow Jones ended Friday higher by roughly 0.7%.
October jobs report shocker!
The US economy added only 12,000 new jobs underperforming even the most muted economistsтАЩ expectation of 100,000. Compared to the September jobs addition of 223,000, the jobs added figure tumbled by a whopping 94%.
Economists believe that the fall in total jobs added can be attributed to the corrosive impact of the Boeing strikes and Hurricane Helene and Milton.
Despite the fall in new jobs added, the US unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%. The figure was in line with the expectations of economists.
The October jobs report adds to economistsтАЩ complications. Job growth has been slowing down in the US for the past few months. However, the September jobs report was an outlier on the positive side suggesting larger-than-anticipated jobs growth whereas the October report has been a negative outlier.
Because of the two back-to-back disruptive readings, economists are now in a fix as to which monthтАЩs report is a signal, and which one is the noise. Further, the unusually low report coming in the run-up to the US Presidential election will frame the narrative on employment and economic growth, nudging voters towards the Republican party.
BOJ keeps fiscal tremors at bay!
Bank of Japan is likely to keep its policy rate unchanged at the end of its two-day meeting on Thursday.
The bank will also be releasing its quarterly outlook on growth and inflation. Experts believe that the central bank will hold the view that inflation will hover around 2% levels through 2027.
In the past, the BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda has warned about the uncertainties looming over the global economic scene, and the risk-riddled market conditions, especially in the US. The governor has said that the central bank can examine all these risks in detail, emphasising that the Japanese central bank is in no hurry to raise interest rates.
The BOJ will be deciding on the interest rate hike even as political disruptions play out in Japan. The ruling coalition of the country failed to secure a majority in the lower house, which means that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will need to take support from the Opposition on fiscal policies that are keen on maintaining an easy accommodative stance.
The YenтАЩs weakness is one of the major reasons why the interest rate was hiked to an unprecedented 0.25% earlier this year.
The gift that was Samvat 2080!
The recent FII pullback from the market did not dim the Nifty 50 returns in Samvat 2080 as the benchmark delivered a cool 25% return. This has been the best performance by the benchmark in the last three Samvat. Nifty 50 outperformed this SamvatтАЩs return by delivering an impressive 38% return in Samvat 2077.
Samvat 2078 and 2079, however, were marked with ho-hum returns of 9.4% and 10.5% respectively.
Besides the Nifty 50, the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 also made investors happy securing a 37% return.
In this Samvat, India prevailed over other emerging markets and Asian counterparts like China, Brazil, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia.
However, the dampener came at th fag end of the Samvat as the recent $10 billion pullout by foreign investors forced the market to give up a fourth of the gains.
Source: Google Finance
MaricoтАЩs market share gains!
Marico is set for growth as the company has reported strong sales growth figures in the second quarter, while giving a favourable commentary for the coming quarters.
The company reported consolidated revenue growth of 8% in Q2FY25 on a YoY basis. Its domestic revenue growth has also jumped 8% on a YoY basis accompanied by a volume growth of 5%.
International revenue growth stood at 6%. MaricoтАЩs Parachute coconut oil posted a 10% YoY growth with a 4% growth in volume. The coconut oil brand also managed to expand its market share by 4 bps.
The companyтАЩs gross margin expanded by 30 bps to 50.8%. The operating profit margin shrunk by 50 bps to 19.6% whereas the operating profit grew by 5%.
Marico is projecting a double-digit sales growth in H2FY25.
Invest wisely
A critical part of investing is to buy stocks at a cheap valuation, when the market is riddled with overwhelming fear and panic, and to sell them when the markets are saturated with irrational exuberance. Learning to read the signs and signals of the market is truly important. This is where the Appreciate app can be of great help to diligent investors. With our deep research capabilities and macroeconomic indicators, you will always be ahead of the market in decoding the market signals, and ensure that you stay one step ahead of the curve.
Warm regards,
Another week
in the markets
