Moneycontrol Pro highlights today: What to expect from US Fed meet? Right time to buy cement stocks?

Finally, some great news! India’s fastest-growing financial subscriptions service, Moneycontrol Pro, is available both on our website and mobile apps.Moneycontrol Pro offers curated markets data, independent equity analysis, insights into investment styles and exclusive trading recommendations. In sum, all the information you need for wealth creation.Independence Day Offer: Pay Rs 289 for 3 months and get Moneycontrol Pro for 1 year.Use code “FREEDOM” For more information, check out the Moneycontrol website or mobile app.How do you play consumer goods stocks during a consumption slowdown?It’s official. There is a consumption slowdown and it’s evident in varying degrees in the June quarter earnings of consumer goods companies ranging from staples sellers to motorcycle makers. Management commentary post earnings and their guidance is none the too optimistic. But while that does not mean an investor should shun these stocks, neither should they be bought blindly as well. Investors have to be choosy and selective in picking consumer stocks.

Today, our in-house research team decodes the June quarter earnings of two companies—Havells India Ltd and Bajaj Auto Ltd. As expected, they were none too spectacular. Havells’ top-line growth was muted, the sharp increase in operating and other expenses turned out to be a major drag on margins and profitability. Bajaj’s revenue growth was in single digit. Operating margins shrunk owing to higher raw material prices, negative operating leverages and price cuts in the entry-level motorcycle segment. But given their strong positioning, what are the growth prospects of these two companies, how do valuations look and is this right time for investors to get into these stocks?Click to read more: Havells and Bajaj What to expect from the US Fed meetThe US Federal Reserve will release the outcome of its two-day meet on 31 July, and investors worldwide are all ears, quite understandably so. It could, after all, be the announcement of the first-rate cut by the US central bank in 11 years. What makes this even more of an “event” is that barely six months back, the Fed was on a hawkish rate-hike trajectory, moving swiftly and determinedly towards strengthening its debt-laden economy. The question that remains is whether it is justified? Will a rate cut do more harm than good at this juncture? Click here to read more.Learn with Moneycontrol Pro—A checklist to buy cement stocksCement is seen as the bedrock of an economy, and the production and consumption of the commodity is a vital indicator of an emerging country’s progress. Buying a cement stock enables an investor to achieve two goals: contribute to nation-building and capture a share of the profits. But how does one go about choosing the right cement stock to pick? MC Pro shows you how.INDEPENDENCE OFFER: Get MC PRO for 1 year at a price of 3 months. Use code “FREEDOM”Get Moneycontrol Pro annual subscription at the price of 3 months. Now at Rs 289 only instead of Rs 999. Use code “FREEDOM”