Indices pare losses as Sensex ends 300 pts down; Bajaj twins tank; FMCG shines

Indian indices tumbled on today's trading but pared around half of the intraday losses to close 0.5% lower on Thursday.

The indices were mainly dragged by Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv which shed more than 5% each after the company's asset under management numbers for the quarter ended December 31 came in below market expectations.

Sensex closed 300 points down at 60,353. Sensex had dropped below 60,100 intraday. Nifty ended below 18,000, at 17,992, a drop of 50 points.

Bajaj Finance tanked 7% and Bajaj Finserv 5% followed by ICICI Bank which shed more than 2% in today's trading. Cipla, Bajaj Auto and ITC meanwhile gained 2% followed by Hindustan Lever and JSW Steel in today's session.

Finance and Bank indices remained under tremendous pressure throughout the session. IT and Consumer Durable indices also ended in the red. FMCG and Oil & Gas jumped by around 1.5% each followed by Auto, Pharma and Metal.

Other Asian indices mostly made gains on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting showed the central bank was committed to tame inflation but investors believe that markets have already factored in any possibility of a recession.

Japan's Nikkei share average rebounded from a three-month low as chip-related stocks rallied but gains were capped as hawkishness from global central banks clouded the outlook. The Nikkei ended the day up 0.4% after going much higher only to give back most of those gains an hour before the break.

Hong Kong and Mainland China stocks extended their 2023 rally on Thursday as traders grew optimistic about the reopening of China's economy. The Hang Seng Index gained 1.25%. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.01% while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange rose 1.59%.

European shares slipped ahead of euro zone inflation data. The pan-European STOXX slipped in the morning session after gaining more than 3% in its first three sessions of 2023.

For the first time, foreign universities will be able to set up their campuses in India with the UGC on Thursday unveiling draft norms for their establishment and operations in the country, under which these varsities can also decide admission process, fee structure and repatriate its funds back home.

Noting that foreign universities with campuses in the country can only offer full-time programmes in offline mode and not online or distance learning, UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said the foreign universities and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will need a nod from the UGC to set up their campuses in India.

The initial approval will be for 10 years and will be renewed in the ninth year subject to the meeting of certain conditions, he added and clarified that these institutions shall not offer any such study programme which jeopardises the national interest of India or the standards of higher education here. (PTI)

Details of the discussion from the central bank's December policy meeting, released on Wednesday, showed policymakers remain focused on curbing inflation and do not envisage interest rate cuts in 2023. Analysts said the minutes were broadly in line with expectations, explaining the relatively muted reaction in markets.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against major peers, was last flat at 104.2 on Thursday, after rising earlier in the session.

It was well below September's 20-year high of 114.78, but above the six-month low of 103.38 touched in late December. (Read More)

Hong Kong will start to reopen its border with mainland China on Sunday and allow tens of thousands of people to cross from each side every day without quarantine, the city's leader said.

The city's land and sea border checkpoints with the mainland have been largely closed for almost three years under China's “zero-COVID” strategy, which has restricted entry to the country, isolated infected people and locked down areas with outbreaks. The reopening is expected to provide a much-needed boost to Hong Kong’s economy.

Thursday's announcement came as China is easing some of the world’s toughest anti-virus controls. From Sunday, China will also gradually increase the number of flights between Hong Kong and the mainland and scrap the limit on passenger numbers for flights from the city, the Chinese government said in a statement. (AP)

Credit Suisse AG joined the stampede of high-grade issuers rushing to the US bond market to raise debt in the new year.

The embattled Swiss lender sold $3.75 billion of bonds in two parts. Both the two-year and five-year notes will yield 370 basis points over Treasuries, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, much higher than average risk premiums across investment grade.

Dutch lender Rabobank, for example, issued two-year debt, but at a spread of 65 basis points over Treasuries. (Bloomberg)

The World Health Organization received data from China on new COVID-19 hospitalisations after a reporting gap, with figures on Thursday showing a nearly 50% increase in the week to Jan. 1.

The U.N. health agency received no data from China in the weeks after Beijing lifted its zero-COVID policy in early December, prompting some health experts to question whether it might be hiding information on the extent of its outbreak.

The WHO's latest report showed 22,416 new hospitalisations for mainland China in the week to Jan. 1 versus 15,161 the previous week. This was still below the all-time peak of nearly 29,000 admissions in early December.

Over the same week, the report showed China had 218,019 new cases and 648 new deaths, although these figures typically include Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau as well as mainland China. During the same period, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported nine deaths.

The WHO did not release a report last week due to end of year holidays. (Reuters)

Housing sales in India’s top seven cities--Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, and Pune--in 2022 hit 215,000 units, a decadal high, real estate consultancy JLL said in a report released on Thursday. In 2010, sales were at 216,762 units.

According to the report, sales across the said cities in 2022 were up 68% year-on-year, with more than 50,000 units sold in each of the four quarters of 2022. High sales numbers are significant given the rise in mortgage rates, property prices, and global headwinds during the year.

Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune achieved the highest sales since 2008, while Delhi NCR and Kolkata recorded the highest sales since 2014. (Read More)

Corporate India is indicating cautious hiring in the March quarter of 2023 as concerns rise over possible recession and steady inflation, a survey said on Thursday.

According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, based on interviews with nearly 3,030 public and private employers, hiring intentions will decrease in the quarter both on year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter basis.

During the quarter, 48 per cent employers expect to increase their staffing levels, 16 per cent anticipate a decrease in hiring intent and 34 per cent do not anticipate any change in hiring, resulting in a net employment outlook of 32 per cent.

When compared to the same period last year (January-March 2022), hiring sentiments have weakened by 17 percentage points and by 22 percentage points when compared to the previous quarter. (PTI)

Walmart Inc late on Wednesday confirmed that it had already paid the Indian government most of the nearly $1 billion in tax owed after digital payments company PhonePe, which the U.S. retailer owns through Flipkart, shifted its headquarters from Singapore to India.

Walmart bought a controlling stake in Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart in 2018, giving it ownership of PhonePe. The company said last month it had completed the separation of PhonePe from Flipkart, adding that it would remain a majority stakeholder in both the companies.

"Walmart has already paid most of the 78 billion rupees ($943.01 million)that was incurred as a capital gains tax after PhonePe investors sold their stake in the Singapore entity and invested in the Indian entity following the domicile change," a source with direct knowledge of the matter had told Reuters. (Reuters)

State-owned BSNL will start 5G services in 2024, Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.

BSNL has shortlisted a TCS and C-DOT led consortium for rolling out 4G network, which will be upgraded to 5G in about a year of placing the order under the contract.

"BSNL will start 5G services in 2024," Vaishnaw said while speaking to reporters here.

He was speaking on the sidelines of an event to launch 5G services of Jio and Airtel in Odisha. Vaishnaw along with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the services.

"Entire Odisha will be covered by 5G services in 2 years. Today, 5G services have been launched in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack," the telecom minister said. (PTI)

Shares of BF Investment Ltd (BFIL) tanked to hit the lower circuit level of 10% on the BSE to ₹413 apiece in Thursday's trading session as the company informed that its board at its meeting held on Wednesday did not approve the proposal for the delisting of the equity shares of the company from the stock exchanges.

The stock has gained over 44% in the five trading sessions, pushed by the company's announcement last week on December 30, that its board would meet on January 4, 2023, to consider a delisting proposal. (Read More)

The All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) on Thursday said its members have elected Saiyam Mehra as Chairman and Rajesh Rokde as Vice Chairman of the industry body for a period of two years (2023-24).

GJC represents over 6,00,000 industry players comprising manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, laboratories, gemologists, designers and allied services providers.

"We will try to follow up with the government on all our industry issues pending and liaison with them to make things suitable for us to work under. We will make our best efforts to bring the entire industry on one platform to discuss various policy matters," Mehra said in a statement. (PTI)

The finalisation of the basis of share allotment of Anlon Technology's public issue is expected to take place on Thursday, January 5, 2023. If allotted, the shares will be credited to the demat account on January 9, 2023. Link Intime India Private Ltd is the registrar of the share sale. As per market observers, Anlon Technology shares are commanding a premium (GMP) of ₹80 in the grey market today.

The company's shares are expected to list next week on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 on the SME platform of National Stock Exchange (NSE). NIFTY SME EMERGE Index is designed to reflect the performance of a portfolio of eligible small and medium enterprises that are listed on NSE EMERGE platform. (Read More)

Software-as-a-services (SaaS) company RateGain Travel Technologies Ltd recently announced the acquisition of the assets of Adara Inc., for a cash consideration of $16.1 mn. The management expects to turn the US-based travel data exchange platform profitable within three months of the acquisition, through cost rationalisation, highlighted domestic brokerage and research firm IIFL Securities which sees a sharp upside on the stock.

“Organic growth for the asset is likely to be ~15% in FY24ii, driven by cross-selling opportunities, as per management. This, prima facie, looks like an attractive price paid for an asset that has the potential to scale as well as improve profitability; however risks around revenue leakage would need to be watched. We incorporate the acquisition and consequently raise FY24ii-25ii EPS estimates by 6%. We now forecast 39%/72% revenue and EPS Cagr over FY23ii-25ii," the note stated. (Read More)

Bank and Finance indices drag the market while FMCG index shines

China stocks rose on Thursday as investor hopes for a strong economic recovery in 2023 dwarfed worries over COVID spike, with authorities vowing to support growth.

** China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index was up 1.7% by the end of the morning session, and set to log its best day in one month, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.9%.

** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1%, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 1.2%.

** Other Asian shares also advanced on investor hopes for China's emergence from the pandemic, while the dollar stayed under pressure even as the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed the Fed warning against market bets on interest rate cuts this year.

** "China's abrupt reopening from Covid restrictions has led to a public health mess ... None of this will derail a robust economic recovery, aided by government policy that is now firmly focused on supporting growth," Gavekal Dragonomics analysts said in a note. (Reuters)