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India’s stock market opened in red on Thursday, with the Nifty 50 opening lower at 24,733.95 points and the BSE Sensex at 81,323 due to concerns over the US’s fiscal deficit and the 30-year US treasury bond yield rising to 5.09%.

For today, we have picked two stocks—one each from the housing finance sector and the auto ancillaries sector. We also take a closer look at Thursday’s market performance to identify trends that may shape the indices in the days ahead.

Current price: ₹227

Target price: ₹295 in 14-16 months

Stop-loss: ₹192

Why it’s recommended: HUDCO is the nodal agency for the government’s ‘Housing for All’ initiative and is also actively involved in federal schemes such as the Jal Jeevan Mission and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna. The company lends under these schemes and provides consultancy services for the appraisal of projects sanctioned under these. 

HUDCO recorded its highest ever sanctions and disbursement during FY25, with loan sanctions growing 55.31% to ₹1,27,952 crore from ₹82,387 crore in FY24. Loan disbursements increased 122.59% to ₹40,038 crore in FY25 from ₹17,987 crore in FY24, and interest income increased 33% to ₹10,200 crore in FY25 from ₹7,653 crore in FY24. 

Furthermore, HUDCO is targeting a ₹1.5 trillion loan book this financial year and ₹3 trillion by 2030.

Its net interest margin (NIM) remained stable at 3.22% in FY25 as against 3.18% in FY24. For the next 2 years, the management has guided for NIM of 3.25-3.3%. HUDCO’s interest spread improved to 2.06% in FY25 from 1.79% in FY24, resulting in a pre-tax profit of about ₹3,636 crore in FY25.

HUDCO maintained a comfortable debt/equity ratio of 5.72x in FY25 as against 4.05x in FY24. Its cost of funds improved by around 35 basis points to 6.75% in FY25 from 7.1% in the prior financial year. 

HUDCO’s asset quality is also enhancing, with its gross non-performing asset (GNPA) decreasing to 1.67% in FY25 from 2.71% in FY24, and its net NPA dropping to 0.25% in FY25 from 0.36% in FY24. Its provision coverage ratio remained at 85.44% in FY25. HUDCO is committed to resolving its NPAs in 18 months, and the management is optimistic that the company will recover ₹400-500 crore from NPA resolutions in FY26. 

Further, HUDCO’s board of directors has approved a final dividend of ₹1.05 per equity share for FY25, with a dividend yield of 1.81%. The final dividend is in addition to the first interim dividend of ₹2.05 per equity share and the second interim dividend of ₹1.05 per equity share already declared and paid for FY25.

Risk Factor: HUDCO is significantly exposed to certain state governments and public agencies. Although regulatory relaxations were granted, any failure to reduce exposures within the stipulated timelines or breach of Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM Act) conditions may lead to regulatory penalties and higher risk weights, impacting the company’s capital adequacy and financial stability. Additionally, the company faces stiff competition from other players such as banks and financial institutions, which have an edge over HUDCO in terms of cheap resource availability from current account and savings account (CASA) deposits.

Current price: ₹ 383

Target price: ₹440 in 16-24 months

Stop-loss: ₹354

Why it’s recommended: Exide Industries Ltd is a leading battery manufacturer offering a wide range of lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries for automotive, industrial, and renewable energy applications. The company supplies batteries for cars, two-wheelers, trucks, inverters, UPS systems, telecom infrastructure, railways, mining, and defense. 

With its diversified product portfolio, the company has battery capacities ranging from 2.5 Ah to 20,000 Ah. Exide operates in more than 60 countries and has 10 manufacturing plants in Bengaluru and Prantij. In FY25, the company added 14 distributors and reached 13 regions in the automotive segment. In the industrial segment, Exide onboarded 28 accounts, reaching more than 20 regions.

For FY25, Exide reported a revenue of ₹16,588 crore, up 3.5% year-on-year (YoY) and growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.4%. Profit after tax increased 2.2% to ₹1,441 crore in FY25, growing at a CAGR of 9.1% over the previous five years. 

Exide has low debt with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, and holds ₹14,442 crore in equity. It continues to generate strong positive cash flow from operations, which was ₹1,298 crore in FY25.

Further, Exide acquired 100% ownership in Exide Energy Solutions Ltd (EESL) to establish a 12 GWh greenfield project in two phases of 6 GWh capacity each to offer an end-to-end solution from cell to system—“molecule to megawatt"—by investing ₹3,602 crore. The company is also collaborating with SVOLT Tech Solutions, a leading Li-ion cell manufacturer. This synergy will help Exide set up a plant on a turnkey basis for Li-ion cell technology. The company also plans to increase its capacity by 6 GWh through four lines in Phase 1. With these latest developments, Exide is positioned to capitalize on emerging market opportunities in the battery segment.

India is one of the largest automobile markets globally. The Indian electrification demand is expected to be 120 GWh by 2030, driven by production-linked incentive schemes for the auto sector, state policies on electric vehicles, and subsidies. 

Rating agency ICRA expects EV penetration to be 25% for two-wheelers, 40% for three-wheelers, 30% for buses, 15% for passenger vehicles, and 12-16% for light commercial vehicles as a percentage of total sales by 2030. These favourable EV demand prospects are likely to benefit the company. 

Risk factor: Exide Industries is exposed to intense competition in its lead-acid battery business from organized players like Amara Raja and HBL Engineering, as well as players in the unorganized space. The company is also exposed to stricter pollution control regulations as a majority of its raw materials such as lead, sulfuric acid, and lithium are hazardous. Additionally, Exide is exposed to fluctuations in the prices of raw materials such as antimony and lead, which have spiked in the past six months, hurting the company’s margins. 

The Nifty 50 reached an intraday low at 24,462 points on Thursday, touching the 20-day EMA in the daily time frame. The Sensex’s low for the day was 80,489.92, also breaching the 20-day EMA. Nifty 50 closed at 24,609.70, losing 203.75 points or 0.82%, while the Sensex closed at 80,951.99, down 644.64 points or 0.79%.

Sectorally, only Nifty Media ended in the green at 1,674, up by 18.35 points or 1.11%, with index constituents Network 18, Tips Music, and ZEE Entertainment gaining up to 4%. Among the losers, Nifty FMCG fell the most and ended at 55,598, losing 815 points or 1.44%, with the major laggards being Colgate-Palmolive (-6.5%), Varun Beverages (-2%), and United Breweries (-1.78%). Nifty IT closed at 37,050, down 490 points or 1.31%, due to concerns over Moody’s downgrading the US’s credit rating as major Indian tech companies are exposed to the US market. 

Asian markets were also cautious amid weak global cues on Thursday, with the Hang Seng Index losing 283.47 points or 1.19% to close at 23,544.31 and the Nikkei 225 index also closing in the red at 36,985.87, down 313.11 points or 0.84%. Additionally, the India VIX fear gauge jumped around 3% to reach a high of 18.20 on 22 May, indicating heightened market volatility.

Trade Brains Portal is a stock analysis platform. Its trade name is Dailyraven Technologies Pvt. Ltd, and its Sebi-registered research analyst registration number is INH000015729.

Investments in securities are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing.

Registration granted by Sebi and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.

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