Pawan Kumar Soni, a 55-year-old farmer based in Sri Ganganagar City in Rajasthan, became a victim of a cyber fraud when his 26-year-old son Harsh Vardhan opened a link from a phishing message that flashed on his mobile phone.
Investors' wealth fell by Rs 2.89 lakh crore in two days of market fall, with the BSE Sensex tumbling 796 points on Wednesday, amid weak global market trends ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. Fresh foreign fund outflows and caution ahead of a host of interest rate decisions from global central banks also added to the overall bearish trend. Besides, the US Fed meeting, the BoE (Bank of England) and the BoJ (Bank of Japan) are also scheduled to meet this week.
Shikha Sharma's contentious appointment as CEO of Axis Bank doesn't detract from her sound reputation in the financial world.
Benchmark equity indices continued their record-shattering spree on Tuesday, with the Sensex and Nifty hitting their fresh all-time high levels in early trade, amid persistent foreign fund inflows. Also, buying in Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC twins added to the positive market momentum. Rallying for the fifth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 381.55 points to hit its all-time peak of 65,586.60 in early trade.
The top three mutual funds (MFs) paid out 10-18 per cent higher commissions to distributors during the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) compared to FY22 as a sustained rise in flows from the systematic investment plan (SIP) route boosted distributors' share in the assets under management (AUM), according to an analysis of the disclosures by the top three fund houses. State Bank of India (SBI) MF saw its commission payout go up 18 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,675 crore. The payouts rose 10 per cent and 15 per cent for ICICI Prudential MF and HDFC MF, respectively.
Private life insurers experienced reasonable growth in the July-September quarter (second quarter, or Q2) of 2023-24 (FY24), and the October data is also encouraging. The individual weighted received premium (WRP) for private players grew by 19.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in October. However, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India had slower growth, pulling the industry growth rate down to 13 per cent Y-o-Y.
The Reserve Bank may go for a final 25 basis points increase in the current rate hike cycle next week and a reduction would come in only by the end of third quarter of FY24, economists at Axis Bank said on Wednesday. As per media reports, RBI officials met economists on Tuesday, and the latter have suggested the central bank to go for a 25 basis points hike in key rates. Since May 2022, the RBI has hiked rates by 250 basis points, hurting borrowers and some are already concerned about loan tenors extending beyond their working lives as a result of the hikes.
Investors may have to wait a little longer for Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based block mechanism in the secondary market even as the market regulator has set the effective launch date as January 1, 2024. Several brokerage firms said they may take a few months more to implement it. Investors will be able to register for this facility only if the stock broker has opted for the UPI block facility.
People are availing far more of certain kinds of unsecured loans than was the case before the pandemic. Bank lending for buying consumer durables and funding of credit cards and other personal loans have risen by Rs 6.9 trillion between August 2019 and August 2023, shows a Business Standard analysis of data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). These loans are typically unsecured, which means they are provided without collateral.
Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday raised the rating outlook for 18 Indian corporates and banks, including Reliance Industries, Infosys, SBI and Axis Bank, to 'stable' from 'negative'. This follows the upgrade by the US-based rating agency in India's sovereign rating outlook to 'stable' from 'negative' on Tuesday. The agency had affirmed the sovereign rating at 'Baa3'.
Reserve Bank of India on Friday said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 93 lakh on Axis Bank for various violations, including those related to KYC guidelines. The central bank has also slapped a fine of Rs 90 lakh on IDBI Bank. A monetary penalty of Rs 93 lakh has been imposed on Axis Bank for non-compliance of certain directions issued by RBI, the regulator said in a release.
WhatsApp's advantage is that it is the first app millions of Indian check first thing in the morning and innumerable times during the day and night.
Global funds, according to Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, are now beginning to pay more attention to India with the market now offering 30 companies with a market capitalisation over $25 billion.
Analysts say domestic banks' dependence on local depositors insulates them from the crisis.
Bajaj Finance led the Sensex gainers' chart, spurting up to 2.38 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserve rising 2.11 per cent and IndusInd Bank closing 1.66 per cent higher. Bharti Airtel, SBI and L&T increased by 1.60 per cent, 1.28 per cent and 0.92 per cent, respectively.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms reached an all-time high of Rs 299.90 lakh crore on Wednesday despite the Sensex falling marginally after a remarkable record-breaking rally in the last few trading sessions. The 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 33.01 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 65,446.04, after rallying in the past five trading straight sessions. During the day, the benchmark hit a low of 65,256.49 and a high of 65,584.33.
Equity benchmarks ended higher on Wednesday amid buying in banking counters and a firm trend in global markets. Continuing its previous day rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 91.62 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 61,510.58. During the day, it jumped 361.94 points or 0.58 per cent to 61,780.90. The broader NSE Nifty gained 23.05 points or 0.13 per cent to end at 18,267.25.
Citi Bank on Wednesday joined the list of foreign banks that have exited the retail banking business in India as the US-based banking giant announced selling its consumer banking portfolio to Axis Bank for an estimated Rs 12,325 crore. Global banking majors such as ANZ Grindlays, RBS, Commonwealth Bank of Australia have scaled down their operations in India. In a mega-deal announcement on Wednesday, Axis Bank and Citibank said their boards have approved acquisition of Citibank's consumer businesses in India by Axis Bank.
Credit card issuers saw significant erosion of their card base during the July-September quarter as the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) norms mandated deactivation of cards that have been inactive for a year. The second quarter of the current financial year saw outstanding cards-in-force decline by 2.55 million to 77.7 million. Prior to this, the industry, on an average, was witnessing a net addition of over 1.5 million credit cards a month as players became aggressive on the unsecured lending business after the pandemic.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed with losses in a choppy trade on Thursday as investors preferred a cautious approach ahead of inflation and industrial production data to be released later in the day. Unabated foreign fund outflows also hit the investor sentiment. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 147.47 points or 0.25 per cent to settle at 59,958.03.
Weakness in HDFC Bank's net interest margin (NIM) might have bottomed out in the July-September quarter (Q2-FY24), analysts said on Tuesday, as most of the merger-related one-time adjustments have been done. The bank, they believe, should be able to grow from here on, allowing the stock to reverse its underperformance. "The weak NIM print was not unexpected given the merger and regulatory impact caused by the incremental cash reserve ratio (ICRR; 5-10 bps for the quarter).
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd is the most valuable private company in the country, as per Hurun India's 2022 Burgundy Private Hurun India 500 list. The list, which was released on Tuesday, stated that with a value of Rs 16.4 lakh crore, Reliance is India's most valuable company, followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with Rs 11.8 lakh crore and HDFC Bank with Rs 9.4 lakh crore. Reliance is also the highest taxpayer with a payout of Rs 16,297 crore and the most profitable company with a bottomline of Rs 67,845 crore in 2022-23.
Axis Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 2 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Dr Reddy's and M&M. NSE Nifty fell by 100.55 points to 17,898.65.
The third-quarter financials didn't excite market watchers. But equity investors can still make money if they invest in the right stocks.
It won't be easy for the banking sector to better its performance every quarter, predicts Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Between March 2022 and September 2023, HDFC Bank added 56,310 employees.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd climbed eight spots to the 45th rank, the highest for an Indian company on Forbes' latest Global 2000 list of public companies worldwide.
Credit card spending has hit a record high of Rs 1.4 lakh crore in May, the latest data from Reserver Bank of India showed. The total spending or outstanding dues on credit cards, which remained rang-bound throughout the year in the previous fiscal, have been rising by 5 per cent month on month this year. Similarly, the number of cards in use has also jumped by more than 5 million since January and crossed 87.4 million in the reporting month, making this also an all-time high in May, according to the RBI data.
Banks looking to raise capital via bond sales to fund decade-high credit growth were compelled to put some of these debt issuances on hold amid a sharp rise in yields since late September, sources told Business Standard. A major private lender, Axis Bank, has not yet followed through with a planned issuance of infrastructure bonds worth around Rs 3,000 crore. This is because volatility in the bond market in late September led to investors seeking higher yields, sources said.
Ultratech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting nearly 5 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys and Bajaj Finance.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting over 5 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank and Axis Bank. NSE Nifty jumped 203.15 points to 17,780.00.
The country's most valuable lender HDFC Bank can perhaps no longer claim to be a favourite of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). Two data indicators, both somewhat interconnected, point to this - the diminishing premium of HDFC Bank's American depositary receipts (ADRs) compared to local shares, and the ample investment opportunities available to FPIs in the domestic market. The ADR premium has shrunk to below 5 per cent, down from over 30 per cent in March 2021, and even lower than recent levels.
Benchmark indices ended on a firm note on Friday, extending their previous day's gain, amid continuous foreign fund inflows and a positive trend in the global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 104.92 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at 59,793.14. During the day, it jumped 431.58 points or 0.72 per cent to 60,119.80.
'Just the amount of work which is there just to become more and more successful in banking. For this to happen you need to have leaders who understand technology.'
There has been a sharp recovery in the headline corporate earnings in the April-June 2023 quarter (Q1FY24), after a dismal showing by early bird companies. The combined net profit of the 983 listed companies that have declared their quarterly results, so far, was up 64.7 per cent year-on-year to record a high of Rs 2.68 trillion in the first quarter, but growth in earnings remained lopsided because most of the incremental gains came from a handful of companies. Moreover, the quarterly numbers showed a continued slowdown in revenue growth.
IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy's, NTPC, Maruti, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel and HDFC. NSE Nifty declined 76.15 points to 15,691.40.
Credit card spends jumped 57 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in September, aided by the festive season. According to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, in September, credit card spends totalled Rs 80,477.18 crore compared to Rs 77,981 crore in August, thereby registering a 3.2 per cent growth sequentially, despite the high base. In the corresponding period last year, credit card spend was to the tune of Rs 51,356.68 crore.
Investors became richer by over Rs 2.27 lakh crore on Monday as equities rebounded, with the BSE Sensex rallying over 1 per cent amid continuous foreign fund inflows and upbeat global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 709.96 points or 1.16 per cent to settle at 61,764.25. During the day, it zoomed 799.9 points or 1.31 per cent to 61,854.19. Following the rally, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms jumped by Rs 2,27,794.46 crore to Rs 2,76,06,443.06 crore.
'This segment has performed very well for us and this is reflected in our bounce rate which is about three to four per cent.'
SBI was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance and Axis Bank. Nifty fell 143.60 points to 17,873.60.
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