Brokerages believe that the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) stronger-than-expected showing in state elections reduces political risks for the domestic markets going into 2024. However, after the short-term excitement, the focus will soon shift to earnings, global liquidity conditions, and the interest rate trajectory. "BJP's win in the three state elections is much better than what exit polls suggested and reinforces the consensus expectations of a Modi win in the 2024 national elections with a greater likelihood of 300+ seats for the BJP.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has received Rs 300 crore from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) following relief from the Supreme Court (SC), which is hearing an appeal by the market regulator in the colocation case. The court on March 20 asked Sebi to return Rs 300 crore to the NSE from the Rs 1,107 crore the exchange had deposited as part of the disgorgement in the case. The NSE had given an undertaking that it will return the entire amount to Sebi if the latter wins its appeal before the SC.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd on Wednesday said Culver Max Entertainment, formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India, has agreed to discuss extending the date required to make their merger scheme effective, a day ahead of the deadline. A day after Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) stated that it has not yet agreed to a deadline extension requested by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) for their proposed $10-billion merger, the Subhash Chandra family-promoted media firm said it has received a communication from Sony group for discussing an extension of the deal which was announced almost two years ago.
Leading stock exchange BSE on Tuesday postponed the removal of Jio Financial Services Ltd, the demerged non-banking financial services unit of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance group, from all the S&P BSE Indices to August 29. Earlier, the stock was scheduled to be removed from the indices on August 24. Jio Financial Services Ltd (JFSL) got listed on the bourses on Monday and hit the lower circuit for the second day in a row on Tuesday.
Following the sharp run in markets, valuations across the board have become elevated. The National Stock Exchange Nifty50 Index now trades at a 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 24.3 times, 18 per cent higher than this year's low of 20.5 times. The valuation expansion in the broader markets has been sharper.
CBI has made substantial progress in the investigation into the NSE co-location case where markets regulator Sebi has found violations of norms by the stock exchange as well as some of its former top level employees, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. The government and Sebi have received some complaints in the matter of NSE co-location. In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, the minister said that during the investigation into the matter, it was noticed that certain stock brokers got preferential access to the trading system.
Educational technology company Byju's chief financial officer Ajay Goel has quit after completing the audit process for the financial year 2022 and will return to Vedanta, the company said in a statement. The edtech major has roped in industry veteran Pradip Kanakia as senior advisor, and president (finance) Nitin Golani has been given additional responsibility as India chief finance officer (CFO) to handle the finance function of the company.
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.
Without naming Adani group specifically, the capital markets watchdog said in a statement that unusual price movement in the stocks of a business conglomerate has been observed in the past week.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday asked investors not to put their money in guaranteed returns investment schemes offered by three individuals. The advisory came after the exchange found that the three individuals -- Veena (associated with Algo Master), Ankita Mishra and Vishal -- were offering such schemes. In a statement, the bourse said that these persons are not registered either as members or authorised persons with any registered member of the NSE.
The companies on the list are from sectors including trading, finance, packaging, textile, realty, and others. Trading and finance companies account for half-a-dozen companies each.
In a major victory for Tatas, an arbitral tribunal has awarded Tata Motors a compensation of over Rs 766 crore for the losses incurred because of protests by Trinamool Congress that stalled its small car project at Singur in West Bengal. The tribunal asked the West Bengal government to pay Tata Motors the compensation, along with interest, according to a stock exchange filing by the Mumbai-based auto major on Monday. The company stated that the arbitral tribunal has asked the West Bengal Industrial Development Corp (WBIDC) to pay the company Rs 766 crore compensation, in connection with losses incurred on its manufacturing site in Singur.
With general elections on the horizon, the government's privatisation bandwagon has almost but stalled as a government wary of being accused of selling family silver opts for minority stake sales on stock exchanges over outright privatisation. The result -- the divestment target for current fiscal year is again likely to be missed. Big ticket privatisation plans such as that of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and CONCOR are already on the backburner and analysts feel meaningful privatisation can happen only after April/May general elections.
In the current calendar year, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have witnessed an impressive surge in initial public offerings (IPOs), surpassing the 2018 record. Over 150 SME IPOs have been introduced to the market, breaking the previous record of 141 set in 2018. According to data from PRIME Database, a primary market tracking firm, 147 companies successfully concluded their debut share sales by the end of October, raising a cumulative Rs 3,727 crore.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday warned investors not to fall prey to investment schemes with assured returns offered by Sameer Gulabrao Thite associated with Samsan Unitrade. The exchange pointed out that the person and the entity are not registered either as a member or authorised person of any registered member of the NSE. The cautionary statement comes after the NSE noticed that Sameer Gulabrao Thite associated with Samsan Unitrade was offering the service to handle trading accounts of investors by asking them to share their user identification (user ID) and password.
Following a more than 15 per cent surge in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 from this year's lows, the spread between the 10-year government security (G-sec) and the Nifty earnings has approached the danger zone of 2 percentage points (ppt). At present, the G-sec yield is roughly 7.09 per cent, while the Nifty earnings are 5.12 per cent. As a result, the spread works out to 1.98 ppt, ever so slightly below the danger mark of 2 ppt.
SIP top-ups are especially beneficial for young investors, who may start with a small SIP installment and grow it over their working careers, says Dwaipayan Bose.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday allowed the merger of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd and Culver Max Entertainment (earlier known as Sony Pictures Networks India). This order by the Mumbai bench, headed by H V Subba Rao and Madhu Sinha, will pave the way for the creation of a $10-billion media company, the biggest in the country. The tribunal also dismissed all objections regarding the merger.
SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited, one of the leading infrastructure project finance and infrastructure equipment finance company in India, got listed in the LSE on Thursday.
Equity markets rallied after softer-than-expected inflation data in the US and UK rekindled hopes of the end of the rate-hiking cycle by major central banks. The soft inflation reading drove down bond yields and the US dollar, whetting the appetite for risky assets. The 10-year US bond yield fell below 4.5 per cent after topping 5 per cent less than a month ago.
Artificial Intelligence-first business strategy adopted by Infosys is working well for the company despite unresolved ethical and IPR issues around the technology, Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani said on Wednesday. In his address at Infosys' 42nd Annual General Meeting, Nilekani said the company can be more efficient while nurturing readiness for growth, given its performance in challenging scenarios created by inflation, interest rates, geopolitics, demand volatility and supply chain dislocations. "Several practical, ethical and intellectual property-related issues, when it comes to AI remain unresolved.
The total number of unique investors directly investing in the stock market has surged to 80 million for the first time, with the latest 10 million additions taking place in just eight months, according to data shared by the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the country's largest bourse. "The 80 million unique PAN (permanent account number) investors correspond approximately to around 50 million unique households in India amounting to around 17 per cent households directly investing in the Indian stock market via NSE's extensive nationwide network of trading members," said the exchange. In 2021, the number of domestic households were pegged at 300 million.
IT services major Wipro is reconsidering a proposal of buy back of equity shares, said the company in a regulatory filing. A final decision on this will be taken during the board meeting to be held on April 26-27. The outcome of the board meeting will be communicated to the stock exchanges soon after conclusion on April 27.
Fund managers of large-cap and equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS) have demonstrated a marked improvement in their performance over the past year, according to the latest SPIVA (S&P Indices Versus Active) report released by S&P Dow Jones Indices. In the one-year period ending June 2023, 17 per cent of active large-cap schemes outperformed the S&P BSE 100, compared to just 9 per cent at the end of June 2022. In the case of ELSS, there was a sharp improvement in performance, with 66 per cent of active schemes delivering better returns than the benchmark S&P BSE 200.
The number of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in August that involved private equity (PE) funds was the lowest in nearly three years. There were 26 such deals last month, according to data from tracker Refinitiv (part of London Stock Exchange Group). The last time monthly deal numbers were so low in recent times was January 2021 when Covid cases were picking up during the second wave of the pandemic.
Leading stock exchange NSE's board has given its approval to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute its former MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna in the co-location scam case, sources said on Monday. The CBI was awaiting the go-ahead of the board of National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) to prosecute Ramkrishna following her arrest in March last year. She was arrested in the co-location scam nearly four years after an FIR was registered by the agency in May 2018.
tailwinds of a remarkable year and handsome investor returns, Indian equities are set for an eventful journey in 2024, with a slew of local and global cues -- varying from interest rates to Lok Sabha polls to geopolitical happenings. Analysts are of the view that the bull run in the domestic equity market will continue, and over the next 3-6 months, the benchmark indices -- Sensex and Nifty -- could climb up to 7 per cent. In 2023, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 11,399.52 points or 18.73 per cent, and the NSE Nifty climbed 3,626.1 points or 20 per cent.
In a memorable year for the equity market, Dalal Street investors added a whopping Rs 81.90 lakh crore to their wealth in 2023 as a raft of positive factors powered a stellar rally in stocks. Experts said India's strong macroeconomic fundamentals, political stability owing to the BJP's success in recent elections in three significant states, optimistic corporate earnings outlook, signals from the US Federal Reserve about three prospective rate cuts next year and heavy retail investors participation played a major role in fuelling the stock market rally in 2023. In the year 2023, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 11,399.52 points or 18.73 per cent.
The Rs 20,000 crore share sale of Adani group's flagship firm was fully subscribed on Tuesday after non-retail investors bid in big volumes, according to stock exchange data. As many as 4.62 crore shares were sought as against an offer of 4.55 crore.
We have millions of newbie investors who are clueless about how to handle sudden and severe adverse market reactions, which arrive from time to time, observes Debashis Basu.
Riding the wave of the equity market, the mutual fund (MF) industry experienced double-digit growth in Samvat 2079, concluding the Hindu calendar year close to the Rs 50 trillion assets under management milestone. After a subdued 6 per cent growth in Samvat 2078, the industry's assets surged over 18 per cent last year to Rs 46.7 trillion. Industry players anticipate that Samvat 2080 will also be a fruitful year for the asset management industry, given the strong inflows from retail investors, particularly through the systematic investment plan route.
The OCCRP report alleges that at one point, EIFF and EMRF held free-floating shares ranging from 8 per cent to nearly 14 per cent in the four Adani Group companies.
'Focus on 19,400/64,900 as the key resistance levels for the Nifty/Sensex.'
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday warned investors not to fall prey to investment plans with guaranteed returns offered by Suraj Mourya associated with "Aimers Trader". The exchange pointed out that these entities are not registered either as a member or authorised person of any registered member of the NSE. The cautionary statement comes after the NSE noticed that Suraj Mourya associated with Aimers Trader was offering to handle trading accounts of investors by asking them to share their user identification (user ID) and password.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday granted bail to former National Stock Exchange (NSE) head Chitra Ramkrishna and ex group operating officer Anand Subramanian in the co-location scam case being probed by the CBI. Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain said he was granting "statutory bail" to the two former officials of the NSE. A detailed copy of the order is awaited.
India on Thursday announced temporarily suspending issuance of visas to Canadian citizens in view of "security threats" faced by its high commission and consulates in Canada, amid an escalating diplomatic row over Ottawa's allegations relating to the killing of a Khalistani separatist on Canadian soil.
Fundraising via initial public offers (IPOs) dropped 52.2 per cent to $147.2 billion in the first eight months of calendar year 2023 (CY23), suggests a recent report by GlobalData, a London-based analytics and consulting company. At the country level, the report suggests, India topped the charts with 152 transactions worth $3.8 billion during this period, primarily due to a higher number of SME IPOs, followed by the US with 99 deals totaling $16 billion, while China ranked third with 88 transactions worth $32.3 billion. "An analysis of GlobalData's Deals Database reveals that there were 750 IPO listings registered with an aggregate deal value of $147.2 billion in the first eight months of 2023 on the stock exchanges worldwide.
The US market has been a standout performer this year, with the benchmark Standard and Poor's 500 (or simply the S&P 500) gaining over 16 per cent during the first half of calendar year 2023 (CY23) in what was its best first-half show since 2019. By comparison, India's National Stock Exchange Nifty 500 has gained 6.4 per cent. On the surface, it appears that the US markets have done exceedingly well. However, a deeper analysis reveals the gains in the domestic market to be more well-spread.
'Like all long-term bull markets, the Indian stock market will continue to climb the proverbial wall of worry.'
Adani Enterprises, the flagship firm of billionaire Gautam Adani's group, has bought a close to 30 per cent stake in Start Enterprises Pvt Ltd, which owns the online train ticket booking platform Trainman. Adani Enterprises last month announced that it has signed a pact to acquire 100 per cent of SEPL In a stock exchange filing on Saturday, Adani Enterprises said Adani Digital Labs Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, has bought a 29.81 per cent stake in SEPL for Rs 3.56 crore.