BackOpening Bell | HCL, Infosys in focus
Asian markets were trading mixed after People's Bank of China set the daily reference ratearound which the renminbi is allowed to tradeweaker by 0.16%
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China’s yuan fix sends chills across Asia
Asian markets were trading mixed after People’s Bank of China set the daily reference rate—around which the renminbi is allowed to trade—weaker by 0.16%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average slumped 0.7%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.8% and China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 0.4%. A deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia to freeze oil production failed to assuage anxiety over this year’s crude selloff.
US markets rally
Overnight, US stocks rallied to close at intra-day highs on Tuesday, providing a rare day of the recent trend of trading in lockstep with oil prices. The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were up around 2% each, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.4%.
Renewed concerns over retro-tax
In India, the Income-tax department said it may seize Vodafone Group Plc.’s assets in the country if the company doesn’t pay a disputed ₹ 14,200 crore tax bill that’s still under international arbitration proceedings. The development is likely to stir renewed concern among investors, read more.
SC asks RBI to furnish details of large defaulters
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Reserve Bank of India to furnish details of companies that have each defaulted on loans amounting to more than ₹ 500 crore, in sealed covers within six weeks. This comes as stressed assets are on the rise and amid concerns that banks have delayed recognizing large bad loans.
HCL Tech acquires Volvo Group’s external IT business
HCL Technologies Ltd shares will be in focus after it said that it has acquired the external IT (information technology) business of Sweden’s Volvo Group for SEK 1.1 billion or ($138 million) in cash. With the acquisition, HCL will add 40 new customers from the Nordics and France and acquire 2,500 people working for the Volvo Group, reports Mint.
Infosys confident of hitting $20 billion sales target
Infosys Ltd is confident of achieving its ambitious target of hitting $20 billion in sales by 2020 despite the pall of economic gloom hanging over the Indian information technology industry. The optimism comes days after rival Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. issued a weak sales growth forecast of 10-14% this year versus 21% last year. Nasscom, too, lowering the growth forecast to 10-12% for 2016-17.
FIA raises questions over Air Asia’s control
The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), a lobby group of five local carriers, is again up in arms against AirAsia India, raising questions over the airline’s control, following a management exodus and the likely exit of chief executive Mittu Chandilya. AirAsia India’s co-founder Arun Bhatia too had alleged that the low-cost airline was controlled by the foreign parent in contravention of Indian laws, reports Economic Times.
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