Business
Pine Labs, Groww & more: Top stocks to watch on April 16 – The Times of India
Citigroup initiated its coverage of Pine Labs with a buy rating and a target price of Rs 235. Analysts said that India’s payments fintech is on a monetization improvement trajectory, with leading players increasingly entrenched in respective core areas of leadership. While product, services and distribution build-outs into comprehensive plays will continue across the fintech ecosystem, large players don’t face significant disruption risks owing to: Across-the-board profitability push; rising regulatory costs and compliance requirements; and stickiness borne out of integration into enterprise business workflows. Further, while consumer payments have seen flux in competitive positioning in the past decade, there have been relatively fewer changes in positioning and leadership within segments in merchant payments.BoFA Securities has initiated its coverage of Groww (Billionbrains Garage Ventures) with a buy rating and a target price of Rs 235. Analysts said Groww is well positioned to capitalize on India’s retail investing tailwinds and they expect compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for revenue at 30% over FY26-FY28. The company produces best-in-class profitability with further upside from operating leverage. Analysts have valued Groww at 39x FY28E price-to-earnings. They, however, said that the near-term risks for the stock are a weak capital market performance and the expiry of the six-month lock-in of shares post-IPO.Elara Capital initiated its coverage of Jindal Saw with a buy rating and a target price of Rs 280. Analysts said earnings recovery is expected over FY27–FY28, driven by water, and oil & gas demand. The company’s order book is at an all-time high, indicating strong visibility. They also feel Jal Jeevan Mission spending revival to drive domestic pipe demand, while the global pipeline capex is supported by energy security concerns. Analysts also pointed out that exports are rising, with diversification reducing dependence on domestic capex. The company’s capacity expansion to support margins and operating leverage. They feel the stock’s valuations are attractive, with rerating potential driven by execution and growth.Jefferies has downgraded Indus Towers to underperform from buy with a target price cut to Rs 375 from Rs 530. Analysts downgrade the stock due to site-renewal risks bunched up over second half of 2026 (H2CY26) and first half of 2027 (H1CY27) which could impact revenues and growth. Elevated capex levels due to higher growth and maintenance capex which will impact earnings growth as well free cash flow and payouts. They cut Indus Towers’ revenue and profit after tax (PAT) estimates by 2-6% to factor renewal risks post which stock offers 3% EPS growth and a 4% yield. They said risks on growth outlook should weigh on re-rating potential too.Kotak Institutional Equities has a buy on Ujjivan SFB with a target price of Rs 72. Analysts said that the RBI has returned Ujjivan SFB’s application for a universal bank license, citing need for further loan portfolio diversification. While the outcome is clearly not favourable, the regulator has flagged no concerns relating to governance, compliance or operational soundness. Analysts said their investment thesis did not factor in any benefit from a potential transition to a universal bank. Hence, they maintained a buy but remained watchful of any sharp changes in asset mix strategy in response to RBI’s feedback.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)
Business
Oil prices plunge as Iran says Strait of Hormuz ‘open’ during ceasefire
Brent crude sinks by a tenth after Iran says the key waterway is open for commercial ships for the rest of the ceasefire.
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Business
Crude oil fall after reopening of Hormuz drains geopolitical risk from markets – SUCH TV
Oil prices tumbled on Friday after Iranian officials said they would allow commercial traffic to resume in the Strait of Hormuz. This lifted equity markets in Europe and New York, where major indices hit new records.
Citing the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would lift its blockade on shipping through the key Gulf energy trade route.
“In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire,” Araghchi said.
Traffic in the strategic waterway, through which one-fifth of the world’s crude oil normally flows, has been disrupted by Iran since the US-Israeli offensive began on Feb. 28. At one point, this sent oil prices to a peak of nearly $120 a barrel and roiled the global economy.
Both Brent, the benchmark international contract, and its US equivalent WTI fell below $90 per barrel following Tehran’s announcement. Brent later cut its losses and finished at $90.38 a barrel, down 9.1%.
‘Immediate impact’
“This news is having an immediate impact on markets,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
The move also sent a jolt through equity markets, extending a rally in New York. There, equities have pushed ever higher since late March in anticipation of a breakthrough in the Middle East crisis.
“We had seen a big move the last two weeks, and now it’s just really pricing completely out the worst-case scenario, said Angelo Kourkafas, from Edward Jones.
Kourkafas also pointed to underlying strength in the US economy that should get more attention in the coming period as geopolitical concerns ebb.
“Geopolitical developments are moving in the right direction, and at the same time, the earning strength is hard to ignore,” Kourkafas said.
The broad-based S&P 500 finished at 7,126.06, up 1.2% for the day and 4.5% for the week.
‘Good news’
Earlier, European stocks closed higher, with both Frankfurt and Paris gaining 2%.
US President Donald Trump cheered the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in an interview with AFP.
“We’re very close to having a deal,” Trump said in a brief telephone call with AFP from Las Vegas. He added there were “no sticking points at all” left with Tehran.
But Iran quickly pushed back on one key point.
Iran’s foreign ministry said Friday that its stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred “anywhere.” It rejected an earlier claim by Trump that the Islamic Republic had agreed to hand it over.
Shipping industry figures, meanwhile, gave a cautious welcome to Iran’s announcement.
A spokesman for German transportation giant Hapag-Lloyd, which has ships stuck in the Gulf, told AFP by phone that the reopening was “in general… good news.”
But he cautioned that shippers still needed details of what route vessels could take and in what order, citing fears of mines.
“One thousand ships cannot just go now to the entrance of the strait, that will be chaos. They (the Iranians) need to give clear orders,” said the spokesman, Nils Haupt.
“We would be ready to go very soon if some of these open questions can be solved within the weekend.”
Business
Iran war causing staycation spike – Suffolk holiday firms
One man says he cancelled his holiday to Spain due to the rising costs and uncertainty.
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