Equity benchmarks began the week on a downbeat note on Monday, weighed by heavy selling in market heavyweight Reliance Industries and persisting weakness in global bourses. The rupee plunged to its lifetime low against the US dollar amid unabated foreign fund outflows, underscoring the risk-off sentiment prevailing globally as central banks embark on policy tightening to tame soaring inflation. Slipping for the second straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex shed 364.91 points or 0.67 per cent to close at 54,470.67.
The further expansion and upgrade of the Chinese military does not augur well for India, which continues to confront an increasingly belligerent China on its borders, notes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
US media reports that Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, could be the latest technology giant to downsize its workforce have triggered trepidation among its 300-400 employees in India, according to people familiar with the matter. "We have not heard much about the impact (of downsizing) on India. "It's a wait-and-watch situation. Certainly, there is uncertainty," said a source.
Market benchmarks gave up intra-day gains to close in the red for the sixth session on the trot on Friday, capping a bruising week which saw a massive dash for safety amid rate hikes by global central banks and fears of slowing growth.
While Sensex and Nifty have gained 12.78 per cent and 14.16 per cent respectively since the beginning of 2012, the surge has been higher for a total of 38 equity funds of various fund houses, led by Reliance Mutual Fund.
Amid imminent phasing out of the fiscal stimulus by US Federal Reserve, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday called for an "orderly exit" from unconventional monetary policies being pursued by the developed world for the last few years to avoid damaging growth prospects of the developing world.
Its success script: Investing more in local content ecosystem; growing its partnership footprint.
Udaan - India's largest business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce company - has laid off about 180 employees, or 4-5 per cent of its workforce of 4,000, in a move to drive cost efficiency, revealed sources. They said the layoffs have happened across various department functions. The layoffs have happened at a time when the Bengaluru-based firm is trying to turn into a publicly listed entity in 18-24 months.
Reliance Industries Ltd, the nation's most valuable company, on Thursday said it has raised $4 billion (around Rs 30,000 crore) in debt through the largest ever foreign currency bond issuance by an Indian entity. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate plans to use the proceeds of the three tranche issues to retire existing borrowings. The issue was "nearly 3 times oversubscribed with a peak order book aggregating around $11.5 billion," the company said in a statement. This is the largest ever foreign currency bond transaction in India, eclipsing ONGC Videsh Ltd's $2.2 billion US dollar bonds issue of 2014.
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Reliance Industries was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 1 per cent, followed by M&M, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HUL. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Maruti, SBI, PowerGrid, NTPC and Tata Steel were among the laggards.
Reliance Industries raced to 52-week high on better than estimated earnings and announcement of bonus share.
With RIL's market capitalisation crossing the Rs 11-trillion mark on Friday, Ambani is ahead of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the 10th and 11th richest, respectively, and behind Zara founder Amancio Ortega on the Forbes Real-time Billionaires List.
Apart from signalling the shape of things to come, the stock markets are seen as an important source of funds for investment - so their health can be critical.
Ahead of the Union Budget 2023, insurers are hoping that the Centre will act on their recommendations, which includes increasing the limit for tax deduction under 80D of the Income Tax Act. Also among them are issuance of long-term bonds, tax incentives for home insurance premiums, and a separate section to claim deduction for term-insurance premium, among others. These suggestions would help improve the penetration of insurance in the country.
The handsome 25 per cent rise in corporate profits in the September quarter amid a sharp contraction in GDP was on the back of wage squeezes, leading to rise in inequalities in India, economist Nouriel Roubini said on Thursday. This rising inequality is "dangerous" politically and socially because only a few people in the economy are benefitting, the economics professor at New York's Stern School of Business said. Roubini said earnings of listed entities have risen 25 per cent in the September quarter, which means that wages and income are getting "squeezed, if not collapsed".
Tech Mahindra was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 3 per cent, followed by NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank and Reliance Industries. NSE Nifty fell 185.60 points to 17,671.65.
Currently, TCS is India's second most valuable firm after Reliance Industries, which has a market cap of nearly Rs 12.9 trillion.
Modi's irrigation push in the Budget is aimed at scoring on the political front along with achieving growth targets
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said banks need to focus more on being customer-friendly so that the process of availing credit becomes more hassle-free for borrowers. However, the minister made it clear that banks do not have to be lenient on credit underwriting standards by taking any adverse risks on a proposal. At a meeting between industry representatives and the finance minister, a startup founder in the baking business suggested for credit to be available hassle-free, to which largest lender SBI's chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said a startup's worries are more on the equity side and assured full support in lending if sufficient equity is on the table.
Walmart-owned Flipkart on Thursday said the company is in compliance with Indian laws, including FDI regulations, and will cooperate with the Enforcement Directorate on the notice sent to the e-commerce major. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a show cause notice of Rs 10,600 crore to Flipkart and its promoters for alleged violation of the foreign exchange law, official sources said on Thursday. When contacted, Flipkart said it is in compliance with Indian laws and regulations, including FDI regulations.
Titan was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 3 per cent, followed by M&M, HUL, Maruti, Asian Paints and IndusInd Bank. Nifty fell 91 points to 17,157.40.
From the enactment of the capital control Act to the recognition of the BSE as a stock exchange and the infamous Harshad Mehta scam, here are the 18 biggest events for stock markets from 1947 to 1993.
So far this month, another $4.5 billion (Rs 33,000 crore) has flown into domestic stocks.
Ambani is in good company. The likes of ultra-rich individuals like hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio and co-founder of Google Sergey Brin have chosen Singapore to establish their family offices. So have British inventor James Dyson, famous for his bladeless fans and hair dryers and vacuum cleaners, and Zhang Yong, founder of China's Haidilao hotpot restaurant chain, reports Lee Kah Whye.
Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 487 points on Monday to close at a fresh lifetime peak, tracking gains in Infosys, HDFC twins and HCL Tech amid massive foreign fund inflows.
In UK, France and Germany, the president and CEO of Edelweiss Securities, anticipates votes incrementally in favour of local protection and de-globalisation.
Most infra projects have hit a road block due to high cost of funds.
Even if the Paytm fiasco does not mark the end of the bull run, at least some sanity will return to the wild IPO market, observes Debashis Basu.
Equity markets began the new financial year with smart gains on Friday, with the Sensex rallying over 708 points to recapture the crucial 59,000-mark following gains in index majors HDFC twins and Reliance Industries, along with foreign fund inflows. On the first day of trading in the new financial year, the BSE barometer rallied 708.18 points or 1.21 per cent to settle at 59,276.69. During the day, it jumped 828.11 points or 1.41 per cent to 59,396.62. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 205.70 points or 1.18 per cent to settle at 17,670.45.
There are several discussions going around in the e-health sector for consolidation with key players being PharmEasy, 1mg, Medlife and Netmeds. According to reports, Reliance Jio is in talks with Netmeds to acquire the latter.
India Inc's cash pile was up 13.8 per cent last fiscal year, thanks to a combination of higher profits in sectors such as IT and fund raising by top companies such a Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors, among others.
For non-banks, the IL&FS crisis was nothing short of India's Lehman moment, which has for a foreseeable future reset the sector on multiple grounds.
Investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market rose to Rs 91,658 crore at February-end, making it the highest level in 33 months, suggesting growing confidence of overseas investors. P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly. They, however, need to go through a due diligence process. According to Sebi data, the value of P-note investments in Indian markets -- equity, debt and hybrid securities - increased to Rs 91,658 crore in February-end from Rs 84,916 crore at January-end.
Equity investments are fruitful over the very long 20-year term.
Singh made the remarks while addressing a "CEOs' Roundtable" at the 14th edition of Aero India at the Yelahanka Air Force station complex on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Food delivery company Zomato's Rs 9,375-crore initial public offering (IPO) will open for subscription on July 14, said investment banking sources on Wednesday. The company initially was looking to raise Rs 7,500 crore through the offering. Investment banking sources said the issue size has been increased because of the robust demand from investors.
Besides growing tech and digital enhancements, the firms are ramping up the hiring of more delivery partners and reinforcing existing Covid protocols.