PremiumAll Asian indices gained on Friday despite persistent inflationary pressures and fears of further rate hikes in the future. Tokyo, Hang Seng and China made impressive gains on Friday and the European market was trading in the green in the morning session.
Indian indices, taking cues from the overnight rally at Wall Street, soared on Friday to finish with a gain of a per cent. Indices had climbed more than 1.5% intraday but trimmed the gains towards the end.
Sensex jumped 684 points to close at 57,920. Meanwhile, Nifty collected 170 points to close the week at 17,185.
Bank and IT led the rally and gained more than 1%. Metal, Media and Realty remained under pressure throughout the day, while Oil & Gas and Auto turned red towards the end.
Infosys' impressive quarterly earnings contributed to its surge today and the stock gained 4%. Other stocks that rallied included HDFC twins, UPL, HCL Tech and Kotak Bank. ONGC, Bajaj Auto, JSW Steel and M&M shed more than a per cent.
Asian stocks rose tracking a rebound in the US despite the likelihood of further Federal Reserve tightening to curb inflation.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped for the first time in five sessions by 3.3%, the most since March 17, with Fast Retailing Co boost after a stronger-than-expected earnings report.
China stocks clocked their biggest gains in five-and-a-half months on Friday after China's central bank chief promised stronger support for the real economy.
The blue-chip CSI 300 Index finished up 2.4%, while the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.8%. Both indexes logged their biggest daily rise since April 29. The Hang Seng Index ended 1.2% higher.
Europe's STOXX 600 climbed on Friday amid hopes of a reversal in some fiscal steps announced by the British government despite worries around corporate earnings.
Adani Group on Friday that they are not evaluating any proposal for acquiring Japyee Cement. Reports earlier stated that the Gautam Adani-backed Group is in discussion to buy Jaypee Group's debt-laden cement business for approximately $606 million. Adani has clarified on stock exchanges. (Read More)
Axis Capital report says, "Paytm continues to report strong traction in its financial services vertical driven by improved loan disbursal run-rate and higher average ticket size. Steady momentum inmonthly active users in payments vertical drove GMV up. In Q2FY23, Paytm originated ~ ₹73.1 bn of loans (~5.8x YoY, +32% QoQ) in value terms and ~9.2 mn loans (~3.2x YoY, +8.4% QoQ) in volume terms. GMV momentum was steady at +63% YoY/
+7.6% QoQ on higher MTUs (+6.6% QoQ). Company continues to add devices (POS + soundbox) at a healthy pace of ~1 mn per quarter, with overall devices at 4.8 mn. Strong traction in loan disbursement and faster growth in financial services revenue bode well for improvement in contribution margin. Maintain BUY with TP of ₹1,000.
Retail businesses across India reported a 21% jump in sales in September 2022 compared to September 2019 or pre-pandemic levels, according to the 32nd edition of the retail business survey conducted by the Retailers Association of India (RAI).
Sales across categories reported a steady increase in business with food and grocery indicating a strong performance followed by quick service restaurants, sport goods and consumer durables and electronics performing. (Read More)
The Reserve Bank of India's rate tightening alongside a weaker rupee could be the "optimal" policy response to restore the country's external balances, HSBC Securities said in a note on Friday.
"While the RBI started hiking rates in May 2022, it was only in September that it moved to a two-pronged strategy of higher rates and a weaker rupee," said Pranjul Bhandari, chief economist of at HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India).
"As such, we think India is now giving the optimal policy response. The challenge will be to continue on this path."
After remaining relatively stable for a couple of months, the rupee weakened 3.6% against the dollar since early September. (Reuters)
Apollo Micro Systems shares are one of those multibagger stocks that have given strong upside movement in post-Covid stock market rebound. The small-cap stock has announced issuance of warrants to the tune of ₹185 crore that attracted buying interest in the scrip leading to rise at new 52-week high in early morning deals. Continuing its uptrend on Friday trade session, this bulls' favourite stock surged to its 4-year high today when it hit intraday high of ₹247.80 apiece on NSE. This is third day in a row when the multibagger stock has climbed to 52-week high. (Read More)
Reacting to the decision of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said India will do all that is required to ensure its energy security and affordability.
He said if required, India will go for diversification of energy sources.
"This is their (OPEC's) sovereign right what they want to do but equally it is my job to point out that all actions have consequences, intended or unintended. India will be able to navigate through the situation with confidence," the petroleum and natural gas minister said at GEO India 2022 conference here. (PTI)
Extreme weather devastated both the winter-sown wheat and summer-sown rice harvests, pushing up retail food prices to a 22-month high. As a result, India's federally-owned cereal inventories, which offer subsidised grains to 80 crore people, have plummeted to a five-year low. India's federally-owned cereal inventories offer subsidised grains to 80 crore people. (Read More)
Maharashtra Seamless Ltd earlier this week informed that the company's board of directors will meet next week on Monday, 17th October, 2022 to consider the bonus issue of equity shares as well as sub division of shares or stock split.
“We have to inform that the Board of Directors at its meeting scheduled to be held on Monday, 17th October, 2022 will also discuss and consider inter-alia, a) issue of bonus shares, and b) sub division/stock split of the company’s existing equity shares of ₹5/- each," the company announced in an exchange filing on the BSE. (Read More)
Europe's STOXX 600 climbed on Friday amid hopes of a reversal in some fiscal steps announced by the British government, with investors buying beaten-down names despite worries around economic growth and its impact on corporate earnings.
The region-wide STOXX 600 index was up 1.8% by 0709 GMT, hitting its highest level since Oct 7. Shares in the region took cues from a positive finish on Wall Street overnight.
The sharp reversal in mood also put the STOXX 600 on pace for a weekly gain, erasing losses it suffered till Thursday's session on worries about a potential recession from central banks' aggressive monetary tightening actions.
Speculation of a U-turn in UK's fiscal plans aided sentiment further. British Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng cut short his trip to Washington for this week's global finance minister meetings and headed back to London. (Reuters)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology which already holds 5.04 per cent stake in Everest Industries in the June 2022 ended quarter, has bought some additional shares of the company during the period of 23rd June 2022 to 11th October 2022. As per the exchange communication available on BSE website, MIT has bought an additional 2.32 per cent stake in a small-cap building solution company. After the addition of these shares, MIT's net shareholding in the company has gone up to 7.36 per cent (5.04 per cent + 2.32 per cent). (Read More)
Federal Bank on Friday reported an about 53% rise in its standalone net profit for the second quarter ended September 2022 or Q2 FY23 to ₹703.7 crore as compared to ₹460.3 crore from the year-ago quarter. Shares of Federal Bank were trading more than 3% higher at ₹128 apiece on the BSE in afternoon deals.
Meanwhile, the lender's net income interest (NII), which is the difference between the interest earned and expended, rose about 19% to ₹1,762 crore from ₹1,479.4 crore year-on-year (YoY). On the other hand, its net interest margin (NIM) improved to 3.30%, higher by 10 bps YoY and 8 bps QoQ. (Read More)
The central government has received a total of ₹360 crore on a cumulative basis as dividends from five state-owned companies, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said on Friday.
Those companies are Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Engineers India Limited (EIL), Balmer Lawrie Investments, Indian Railway Construction Limited (IRCON), and Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited (RITES).
They paid ₹185 crore, ₹29 crore, ₹40 crore, ₹45 crore, and ₹61 crore, respectively, the DIPAM said.
A dividend is a reward that companies often provide to their owners from a portion of their earnings. (ANI)
Canara Bank shareholding pattern for July to September 2022 period is public now. In this shareholding pattern, late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's shareholding has dipped from 1.96 per cent to 1.48 per cent. As per the list of individual shareholders of the PSU bank, late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's holding in this state-owned bank haws come down at 1.48 per cent which was at 1.96 per cent in June 2022 ended quarter. The 'Big Bull' of the Indian stock market had kept his shareholding unchanged during April to June 2022 quarter. (Read More)
The wholesale price-based inflation declined for the fourth consecutive month to 10.7 per cent in September on softening in prices of food, fuel and manufactured items.
The Wholesale Price Index-based inflation was 12.41 per cent in August and 11.80 per cent in September last year. This year, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) touched a record high of 15.88 per cent in May.
September is the 18th consecutive month of double-digit WPI inflation.
"Inflation in September, 2022 is primarily contributed by rise in prices of mineral oils, food articles, crude petroleum & natural gas, chemicals & chemical products, basic metals, electricity, textiles etc. as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year," an official statement said. (PTI)
Oil prices reversed earlier losses and inched up in Asian trade on Friday, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and falling diesel inventories, while Saudi Arabia and Washington continued to clash over plans by OPEC+ to slash production.
Brent crude futures rose 31 cents, or 0.3%, to $94.88 per barrel at 0622 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 36 cents, or 0.4%, at $89.47 per barrel.
"The softened U.S. dollar and the strong rebound in risk assets lifted oil prices. The rebounding momentum may continue into today's Asian session," said Tina Teng, an analyst at CMC Markets, as a weaker dollar usually makes dollar-denominated commodities like oil cheaper for holders of other currencies. (Reuters)
Japanese stocks rose for the first time in five sessions, tracking a rebound in US peers despite the likelihood of further Federal Reserve tightening to curb inflation.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 3.3%, the most since March 17, with Fast Retailing Co. the largest boost after a stronger-than-expected earnings report. Exporters were among the top drivers of the Topix, which closed 2.4% higher, as the yen fell to its lowest level in more than 30 years.
US equities rebounded Thursday after the Labor Department reported that the core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, increased 6.6% from a year ago, the highest level since 1982. A gauge of Asia Pacific stocks gained as much as 2.9% on Friday. (Reuters)
After giant IT services companies, Infosys and Mindtree showcased better-than-expected yearly growth in profit on Thursday, investors are waiting for companies like Tata Elxsi, Federal Bank, Bajaj Auto, Shree Cement to announce their Q2 earnings results on Friday. Click here to check for live updates
Wednesday’s inflation print shows us, once again, just why central banks and governments, the world over, dread inflation. Once inflation takes root, it is almost impossible to root out; not without inflicting enormous suffering, especially on the poor, and entailing growth sacrifice. At 7.41%, year-on-year, India’s consumer price inflation (CPI) for September 2022 is sharply up from seven percent in August 22 and is also well above most estimates. (Full Report)
Direct-to-consumer beauty brand Earth Rhythm is expanding its sales to offline stores by opening kiosks in the country’s top cites, as intense competition in the beauty segment as well as increased cost of doing business online prompts brands to chase newer channels of growth.
Online-first brands are now eyeing offline channels as consumer mobility resumes. (Read More)
Startup funding in India during Q3 of 2022 hit a two-year low at USD 2.7 billion with a total of 205 deals, according to a PwC India report.
During Q2, the total funding in the startup space was USD 6.6 billion.
The funding winter continues in India's start-up ecosystem as well as globally, and it's uncertain when this will end. The average deal ticket size declined from USD 23 million in Q2 2022 to USD 13 million in Q3.
"Although it has been argued that there is substantial committed capital waiting to be deployed (dry powder) in the Indian start-up ecosystem, it is becoming clearer that selectivity in dealmaking will increase, with a focus on path-to-profitability, especially in growth- to late-stage companies," it said. (ANI)
The free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with India are no longer working towards a Diwali deadline, UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has confirmed.
During a visit to a Scotch whisky distillery on Thursday, the Cabinet minister in charge of the FTA negotiations at the Department for International Trade (DIT) said the deal being lined up with India would bring great wins for the industry as the steep tariffs of up to 150 per cent are set to be slashed.
However, while the negotiations are progressing well, signing a draft agreement by October 24 is no longer the goal.
"We are close. We're still working on a deal. One of the things that has changed is that we are no longer working to the Diwali deadline," Badenoch told the BBC. (PTI)
Sugar makers in India are signing deals with traders and exporters on optimism that the government will soon announce overseas sales quotas for the season that starts this month.
Mills in the South Asian country, which vies with Brazil as the world’s top sugar producer, have so far contracted to export about 1.2 million tons and aim to ship as much as 8 million tons in the 2022-23 year, according to Rahil Shaikh, managing director of trading company Meir Commodities India Pvt.
“The golden opportunity for us is to export between November and May amid a lower crop in Brazil," said Shaikh, whose company traded about 500,000 tons of sugar in the domestic and overseas markets in the 2021-22 season. “There is a shortage of white sugar and the market is tight globally." (Bloomberg)
The three-day initial public offering (IPO) of Tracxn Technologies was subscribed two times at the close of the offer on Wednesday. The ₹309-crore IPO received bids for 4.27 crore shares against 2.12 crore shares on offer, according to NSE data. The price band was fixed at ₹75-80 per share.
As per market observers, Tracxn Technologies shares have fallen from premium (GMP) and now available at a discount of ₹(-) 4 in the grey market today. The shares of the company are expected to list on stock exchanges BSE and NSE on Thursday, September 20, 2022. (Read More)
Indian government bond yields rose marginally in early trading on Friday, ahead of fresh supply of debt via a weekly auction, with the broader market awaiting minutes from the central bank's latest meeting that will be released later in the day.
The benchmark Indian 10-year government bond yield was trading at 7.4378% as of 0440 GMT, after ending at 7.4217% on Thursday.
"The volume is very low and hence the moves are a bit distorted. But, broadly speaking, yields should see an upmove as rate hike pressures from the U.S. are expected to stay," a trader with a state-run bank said. (Reuters)
India saw a slight drop in Covid cases with 2,678 infections reported in the last 24 hours, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The death toll due to the disease has gone up to 5,28,857 with 10 fatalities being recorded, including three reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am showed. (Read More)
The rupee after opening on a positive note, pared the gains and slipped 5 paise to 82.29 against the US dollar amid high volatility in early trade on Friday.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.26 against the dollar, then touched 82.12, registering a gain of 12 paise over its previous close. In initial trade, the rupee also touched 82.29 against the American currency.
On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 82.24 against the greenback. (PTI)
Indian consumers are lapping up everything from cars, houses and television sets to travel and jewellery in the festive season that began last month, according to early data, giving a fillip to growth prospects despite economic gloom elsewhere in the world.
Online and offline sales during the Hindu festival period starting in the last week of September and lasting until early November are estimated to cross $27 billion, almost double the amount in the same pre-COVID period in 2019, and nearly 25% higher than last year, according to industry estimates.
The sales would include nearly $15.2 billion offline sales, compared to about $8.5 billion in 2019, according to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). This year there will also be $11.8 billion worth of sales on online platforms like Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart, according to Redseer, a market consultancy. (Reuters)
Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel One Ltd: The cues from the US bourses yesterday morning were neutral to slightly on the positive side. Despite this, our markets had a weak opening and as the day progressed, we kept on shrinking like a slow poison. Fortunately, we witnessed some buying interest at lower levels and saw some recovery as we stepped into the last hour of the trade. With some wild swings at the end, Nifty concluded the session with over six-tenths of a percent loss.
Yesterday’s price action was slightly weird in our sense; because Dow Futures were trading firmly in the green and meanwhile, our markets continuously displayed a lack of strength. Fortunately, with the help of some recovery in the latter half, we managed to defend the 17000 mark on a closing basis. Taking a glance at the price action, we can see Nifty making identical lows since the last three sessions. This makes 16950 a key level for the coming trading session. Any sustainable move below this intraday support would lead to further weakness towards 16800 – 16750. As of now, we do not expect the possibility of this scenario, rather we remain hopeful of some sustainable relief rally in the US markets. This will trigger a strong up move in our markets towards 17200 – 17250 levels. In fact, if the market has to regain real strength, it needs to surpass 17250 with some authority. Let’s hope for the best as we are now placed at an interesting juncture.
Tirthankar Das, Technical & Derivative Analyst, Retail, Ashika Stock Broking Ltd: On the technical front, Nifty formed a small negative yesterday indicating underlying trend in the market continues to remain choppy however presence of strong demand zone around the crucial support level of 16950-16970 is likely to provide the necessary cushion for the market. Going ahead, it can be expected that the index to consolidate in the broader range of 17500-16700 amid stock specific action for a few sessions, while for the Index to end its prolonged correction, it needs to provide a decisive close above 17350. Presently a trader needs to show patience and need to avoid trading aggressively in the market as the risk of a bare minimum correction of 38.2% of the entire rally from 15,183 to 18,096 comes around 16990 followed by 50% correction at 16650 remains. However, amidst all the pessimism it can be expected that index is most likely to hold the key support of 16700 in the near term as it is confluence of 52 weeks EMA and the 50% retracement of June-August rally (15185-18070) at 16650 and the slower pace of retracement over the past few sessions is that the index shows inherent strength and a pullback is most likely. During the day index is likely to open on a positive note tracking positive global cues Hence, one can use intraday dip for creating long position for the target of 17400-17450.
Mizuho Financial Group Inc. has emerged as a suitor for at least part of Credit Suisse Group AG’s securitized products group as the Swiss bank moves closer to a final deal, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The Japanese bank is competing against parties including Apollo Global Management Inc., Centerbridge Partners, Pimco and Sixth Street, said the people, all of whom requested anonymity discussing private information.
Tokyo-based Mizuho, led by Chief Executive Officer Masahiro Kihara, recently said securitized products are a “core pillar" of its markets business in the Americas. The US is “a super-important market. It’s the second-biggest revenue and profit generator after Japan," Kihara said in an interview in April, adding that there’s more room for what the bank can do in America. (Bloomberg)
Poojawestern Metaliks shares are one of the multibagger stocks that Dalal Street has produced in the post-Covid rebound. In the last two years, this BSE-listed stock has surged from around ₹11 to ₹59.35 apiece levels, delivering more than 400 per cent return to its shareholders in this time. However, the uptrend in the stock is still on. The small-cap company has recently got an export order from the US that attracted buying interest in the stock and the stock hit the upper circuit in early morning deals on Friday. Poojawestern Metaliks share price opened upside on Friday and hit the 5% upper circuit within a few seconds of the stock market's opening bell today. (Read More)
Shares of Infosys Ltd surged nearly 5% to ₹1,487 apiece on the BSE in Friday's opening deals after India's second largest IT services company posted better-than-expected 11% year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit at ₹6,021 crore for the second quarter ended September 2022 and announced buyback of shares worth ₹9,300 crore via open market route, for a price of up to ₹1,850 per equity share. (Read More)
Japanese stocks rebounded on Friday, supported by a strong performance from Fast Retailing Co Ltd, while investors appeared to shrug off U.S. inflation print that fuelled bets for an oversized Federal Reserve rate hike next month.
The Nikkei share average jumped 3.44% to 27,141.18, and is on course to record its biggest day in nearly seven months if gains hold. The benchmark broke through the key 27,000 barrier for the first time in a week after four straight sessions of losses.
The broader Topix index gained 2.58%.
"The Nikkei fell by more than 1,000 in the previous four days of losses, so we can see buying towards a short-term rebound," said Maki Sawada, a strategist at Nomura Securities. (Reuters)
Atam Valves shares are one of the dividend-paying stocks on Dalal Street that is soon going to trade ex-bonus this month. However, the board of directors of the multibagger stock has revised the record date for bonus shares from 12th October 2022 to 24th October 2022. The small-cap company has already declared bonus shares in a 1:1 ratio, which means one bonus share will be issued to each share held by the shareholders on the bonus shares record date. (Read More)
STOCK IN FOCUS
Larsen & Toubro (CMP 1,876)
We have a BUY rating on L&T, with a SOTP-based Target Price of Rs2,125.
Intraday Picks
TATAMOTORS (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 399) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs397- 394 for the target of Rs412 with a strict stop loss of Rs390.
GNFC (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 663) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs652- 648 for the target of Rs673 with a strict stop loss of Rs638.
SHREECEM (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 21,076) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs20,900- 20,800 for the target of Rs21,450 with a strict stop loss of Rs20,500
Shares of Aries Agro are one of the beaten-down stock on Dalal Street. This agro stock has remained under sell-off heat throughout the year delivering zero YTD return for its positional investors. Such performance by this agriculture stock is astonishing for market observers because it belongs to the portfolio of Dolly Khanna who has a knack for betting on those stocks that tends to generate an alpha return over the passé of time. In fact, Dolly Khanna has also booked partial profit in Aries Agro stock. In Q2FY23, the ace investor trimmed her stake in the company from 1.25% to 1.10%. (Read More)
Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities: Nifty remained volatile as the investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of US inflation data. The Nifty breached the psychological 17000 multiple times before closing above it in the final hour. The index has found support at 200DMA for the third consecutive day. The daily RSI is in a bullish crossover. Over the short term, the index may remain within a band. On the lower end, 16950 may act as support; whereas, 17300 may act as resistance on the higher end.
Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services: Retail inflation persisting above the desired levels has been a major cause of concern for the Indian economy. This, coupled with declining industrial production in August may not be taken well by the market because Indian economy is anticipated to sustain its resilience. In this backdrop, the impending US inflation figures, which are forecasted to remain high, may cause volatility in the global market.
Sameet Chavan, chief analyst-technical and derivatives, Angel One Ltd: Today’s price action was slightly weird in our sense; because Dow Futures were trading firmly in the green and meanwhile, our markets continuously displayed a lack of strength. Fortunately, with the help of some recovery in the latter half, we managed to defend the 17000 mark on a closing basis. Taking a glance at the price action, we can see Nifty making identical lows since the last three sessions. This makes 16950 a key level for the coming trading session. Any sustainable move below this intraday support would lead to further weakness towards 16800 – 16750. As of now, we do not expect the possibility of this scenario, rather we remain hopeful of some sustainable relief rally in the US markets. This will trigger a strong up move in our markets towards 17100 – 17250 levels. In fact, if the market has to regain real strength, it needs to surpass 17250 with some authority. Let’s hope for the best as we are now placed at an interesting juncture.
Bajaj Auto, Shree Cements, Federal Bank, Tata Elxsi and Oberoi Realty will be in focus as they declare their September quarter earnings today. (Read More)
Bitcoin is in a bloodbath and the largest cryptocurrency in the world is currently at its lowest level since September 22. Broadly, the cryptocurrency market are in volatility tone due to US inflation which advanced to a 40-year high in September. Since May this year, the correlation between equities and Bitcoin has remained high.
Bitcoin has fallen to as low as $18,319.82 in the intraday trade on CoinMarketCap. The last lowest level of Bitcoin was at the $18,415 level witnessed on September 22 this year. (Read More)
Gold prices in the national capital rose by ₹42 to ₹51,255 per 10 grams on Thursday amid a rise in the prices of the precious metal in the international market, according to HDFC Securities.
In the previous trade, the yellow metal had touched ₹51,213 per 10 grams.
However, silver dropped by ₹493 to ₹57,717 per kilogram from ₹58,210 per kg.
In the international market, gold was trading in green at USD 1,672.2 per ounce while silver was down at USD 19.03 per ounce. (PTI)
A total of two stocks have been put under the ban for trade on Friday, October 14, 2022, under the futures and options (F&O) segment by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities have been put on ban under the F&O segment as they have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL), as per the NSE.
Delta Corp and Indiabulls Housing Finance stocks continue to be a part of the F&O ban list by the stock exchange for today. The NSE updates the list of securities in F&O ban for trade every day. (Read More)
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) — a globally-diversified sovereign wealth fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi — has bought stake in Ashish Kacholia portfolio stock Gravita India. As per the BSE bulk deals, ADAI has bought 5,56,493 Gravita India share in a bulk deal executed on 7th September 2022. The Abu Dhabi wealth fund bought these shares paying ₹332 apiece. This means the Ashish Kacholia portfolio stock has attracted foreign portfolio investment (FPI) to the tune of ₹18,47,55,676 or ₹18.47 crore. (Read More)
Insurance sector regulator Irdai has granted final approval to HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd (HDFC Life) to merge Exide Life into the company.
In January this year, HDFC Life acquired 100% stake in Exide Life Insurance Company from its parent firm Exide Industries for ₹6,687 crore in order to increase its presence in the south India market.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), vide its letter dated October 13, 2022, has given its final approval to the scheme of amalgamation and transfer of life insurance business, HDFC Life said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
With the transfer of its life insurance business to HDFC Life, Exide Industries acquired 4.12% stake in HDFC Life. (PTI)
An Adani Group company is expected to soon be rated above India's sovereign rating, the group's CFO Jugeshinder (Robbie) Singh told a select group of investors on 10 October in the national capital, according to a PTI report.
The Adani Group CFO further said that an announcement will soon be made of one of the group firms becoming the first Indian firm with all its business in the country, to be rated higher than the sovereign.
However, the company is yet to be named.
The move comes amid lower debt and rapid growth in business for the ports-to-energy conglomerate helmed by Gautam Adani, Asia's richest man.
Most firms including public sector giants are rated at par or below the sovereign rating. (Read More)
India's September oil product demand was flat month on month but up on the year by 334,000 b/d on a weak base in the previous year, driven by diesel and petrol consumption, which were up by 179,000 barrels per day (b/d) and 65,000 b/d, respectively, a report said.
Modest growth was also seen for other products such as LPG, kerosene/jet fuel, fuel oil and minor products, except naphtha which declined by 21,000 b/d, according to the research and analysis of S&P Global Commodity Insights.
The report said indicators of mobility remained robust in early October at 24 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels and 0.9 per cent over September's levels, based on Google data. As per AirNav Radar Box, India's domestic flight travel in early October was 7 per cent below pre-COVID-19 levels, improved by 3 percentage points from September. International travel was down 16 per cent from pre-pandemic levels in early October, unchanged from levels in September. (ANI)
Singapore International Airlines (SIA) on Thursday said it is in talks with the Tata group to explore a potential transaction related to full-service airlines Vistara and Air India, which may include an integration of the two airlines. Currently, Tata group holds a 51% stake in Vistara, while Singapore Airlines owns 49%. The discussions are in line with its multi-hub strategy to secure access to important sources that complement its strong Singapore hub, the airline said. (Read More)
Mid-cap IT services company Mindtree reported 27.5% rise in net profit for the September quarter, despite other income declining 35% to ₹508.7 crore from ₹398.9 crore in the year-ago quarter.
The company has registered 44% growth in its order book on a total contract value (TCV) basis to $518 million during the three-month period, taking its deal value for H1FY23 to over $1 billion for the first time.
Dollar revenue grew 20.6% to $422.1 million in Q2 versus $350.1 million in the year-ago. Rupee revenue was up 31.5% to ₹3,400.4 crore from ₹2,586.2 crore in the year earlier. (Read More)
India's second top IT company Infosys Ltd has announced its earnings for the second quarter ended September 2022 for the current fiscal or Q2 FY23 on Thursday, after market hours. The company has also announced share buyback worth ₹9,3000 crore along with an interim dividend of ₹16.5 per share. Infosys shares closed about 0.7% lower ahead of its Q2 announcement.
Infosys has hired 40,000 freshers, and the full-year target of 50,000 may go up, the IT services major said while announcing results for the quarter. (Read More)
The rupee traded in a narrow range and settled 5 paise lower at 82.38 against the US dollar on Thursday, tracking a muted trend in domestic equities amid weak domestic macroeconomic data.
Besides, risk aversion sentiment among investors weighed on the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee witnessed range-bound trading. It opened at 82.30 against the US dollar, then fell further to close at 82.38, registering a fall of 5 paise over the last close. It was moving in a tight range of 82.25 to 82.42.
On Wednesday, the rupee fell by 12 paise to close at 82.33 against the greenback. (PTI)
Wall Street stock indexes made a dramatic recovery, closing sharply higher after an earlier sell-off on Thursday while the dollar gave up earlier gains as investors poured back into riskier bets after digesting a red-hot U.S. inflation reading that fueled bets for a big Federal Reserve rate hike next month.
Traders reversed course after initially flipping to safety mode when the U.S. Labor Department's consumer prices index (CPI) report showed headline CPI gaining 8.2% annually as rents surged by the most since 1990 and food prices rose. Core CPI, which excludes food and fuel prices, beat forecasts at 6.6%.
The dollar fell against most currencies as investors ended up taking the opposite approach to the market's initial response to the data. The greenback had briefly hit a 32-year peak against the yen of 147.665 before paring gains. [FRX]
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed the session up 2.6% after declining 5.7% in the previous six sessions. Earlier Thursday it fell 2.3% to its lowest level since Nov. 2020. (Reuters)
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