Top news today, Sept 12: Sitaram Yechury passes away, stock market at life-time high, Microsoft layoffs, more

September 12, 2024, was far from an ordinary news day. The nation mourned the loss of a politician, Sitaram Yechury, who fought a long and difficult battle, while markets surged to new heights as the Nifty 50 and Sensex hit lifetime highs after a period of stagnation. Let's start with some top news events of the day.

Sitaram Yechury dies at 72 after prolonged illness

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury died at AIIMS Delhi on Thursday following a prolonged illness. He was 72 years old. Sitaram Yechury had been in a critical condition for the last few days and was on respiratory support. CPI(M) said in a post,  “It is with profound grief that we announce the passing away of CPI(M) general secretary, our beloved Comrade Sitaram Yechury, at 3.03 pm today, 12th September, at the AIIMS, New Delhi. He was suffering from a respiratory tract infection which developed complications.”

Nifty 50, Sensex hit life-time highs

Benchmark Sensex hit the historic 83,000 level for the first time on Thursday and the Nifty settled at a lifetime high in a late rally in blue-chip shares, surge in global markets and foreign fund inflows, soaring the investors' wealth to ₹6.59 lakh crore.

A sharp fag-end rally drove the 30-share BSE Sensex to the 83,000 level for the first time. The barometer surged 1,593.03 points or 1.95 per cent to hit its lifetime intra-day peak of 83,116.19. The index ended at a record high of 82,962.71, up by 1,439.55 points or 1.77 per cent.

Tracking a rally in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms surged ₹6,59,895.19 crore to ₹4,67,36,045.21 crore (USD 5.57 trillion).

India’s retail inflation rises marginally to 3.65% in August

India's retail inflation rose to 3.65% in August, slightly higher than 3.6% reported in July, according to data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). The inflation was within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) medium-term target of 2-6%. Food inflation, a persistent challenge, rose to 5.66% in August from 5.42% reported in July. This was the lowest since June 2023, when it was 4.55%. Food inflation had risen to 9.36% in June, to 8.69% in May and 8.70% in April. Click here to read more.

Microsoft to lay off 650 support employees in Xbox Games unit

Microsoft Corp. is laying off 650 employees in its Xbox unit, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, September 12. This marks the company's third round of job cuts this year as it seeks to control costs and integrate its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. Read here for more.

Paytm to focus on core business, profitability, to extend leadership into AI tech

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm, said in his annual general meeting that company will prioritize its core payments business and cross-sell financial services as it aims to achieve profitability in the near future. He said, “The past six months have taught us many lessons, giving us the opportunity to thoroughly examine our business processes, compliance, and the way we operate from the inside out. I can now confidently assure you that we have adopted a compliance-first approach, ensuring our business adheres to every regulation fully, both in letter and spirit.”

“With a commitment to the core payments business, we aim to deliver PAT profitability soon,” Sharma said.

(With agency inputs)