06:43 PM
Adani Stock Rout: LIC staring at loss in Rs 30,000-crore bet
Market data shows that the value of LIC’s investment in Adani stocks has come down to Rs 33,149 crore from Rs 81,268 crore on January 24 — just before the release of the damaging Hindenburg report on the conglomerate.
06:01 PM
Dollar index hits seven-week high on higher-for-longer U.S. rates
The index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers touched 104.68, its highest since Jan. 6, in late morning in Europe, before trading just below that level steady on the day.
The euro, the largest component of the index, briefly touched $1.0586, also its lowest since early Jan, largely unaffected by euro zone inflation data that came in a touch higher in January than earlier estimated, confirming that price growth is now well past its peak.
Underlying price pressures still show no signs of abating however.
05:50 PM
Ant Group quarterly net profit plunges 82.7%
China’s Ant Group on Thursday made net profit of 3.05 billion yuan ($442.13 million) in the three months to September 30, down 82.7% from a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations from Alibaba Group Holding’s earnings report. The e-commerce giant reports profit from Ant one quarter in arrears.
05:47 PM
Bharat Forge approves transfer of co’s stake in Aeron Systems To Kalyani Strategic
Company has decided to house all its defense related investments under unit Kalyan Strategic Systems
04:47 PM
Tech View: Nifty ends Feb series with a red candle. What should traders do on Friday
Now till it remains below 17620 zones, weakness could continue towards 17442 and 17350 zones whereas hurdles are shifting lower at 17620 then 17777 zones, said Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal.
Fear gauge index India VIX moved down by 3.30% from 15.59 to 15.07 levels. Volatility slightly fell for the day but overall has been rising from the last four sessions.
Option data suggests a broader trading range in between 17200 to 18000 zones and an immediate trading range in between 17350 to 17850 zones.
The BANK NIFTY index after 5 days of brutal selling witnessed some buying from the lower level and formed a long-legged doji candle. The index if it manages to hold today’s low can witness a recovery towards 40500 levels. The index immediate hurdle is at 40,200 above which can witness a short covering move. The index downside support stands at 39500 and if breached will aggravate the selling pressure.
– Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities
Nifty traded sideways for most part of the session amid mixed global cues and F&O monthly expiry. The index closed with marginal loss of 43 points at 17511. Sectorially, PSU bank were major gainer – up 0.50%, while Realty declined by more than 1%. Globally, sentiments were cautious post the FOMC minutes release. Though the quarter-point hike was unanimously approved, few members favoured 50bps rate hike. In-spite global uncertainty, Nifty has corrected by 7% from its all-time high of 18,888 touched on Dec 1, 2022, while global markets have rallied 5-10% in recent months. This underperformance of Nifty to global equities presents a buying opportunity into companies that have corrected meaningfully from their high but have strong earnings outlook.
– Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services
04:14 PM
Oil prices stabilise, but rise in US inventories looms
Brent crude futures rose 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $80.85 a barrel by 1004 GMT, compared with about $98 a barrel on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) advanced 26 cents, or 0.4%, to $74.21 after six sessions of losses.
Lending support to prices, Russia plans to cut oil exports from its western ports by up to 25% in March, exceeding its announced production cuts of 500,000 barrels per day.
03:13 PM
Bank of England’s rate-setter Mann says it’s too soon to stop raising rates
The BoE raised interest rates to 4% earlier this month but signalled it was close to ending a run of increases which began in December 2021.
03:05 PM
Biotech firms Redx Pharma and Jounce Therapeutics to merge in $425 million deal
Redx shareholders will receive 0.2105 Jounce share in exchange for each Redx share, the companies said on Thursday, adding that the combined company would be called Redx Inc and will be listed on Nasdaq.
Redx shareholders will own about 63%, while Jounce shareholders will own 37% of the combined group, the statement added.
Jounce said it intends to conduct a reverse stock split of its shares in line with the combination, with a ratio of one new share for every five outstanding stocks of Jounce.
The all-share merger is expected to be completed by the second quarter.
03:04 PM
At G20 meeting, Yellen steps up calls for increased economic aid to Ukraine
Yellen, speaking in remarks prepared for delivery to a news conference as G20 finance leaders gathered on the outskirts of the Indian technology hub of Bengaluru, said it was critical for the International Monetary Fund to “move swiftly” towards a fully financed loan programme for Ukraine.
“As President Biden has said, we will stand with Ukraine in its fight – for as long as it takes,” she said. “Continued, robust support for Ukraine will be a major topic of discussion during my time here in India.”
Ukraine is seeking a $15 billion multi-year IMF programme, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Monday after meeting IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Kyiv.
02:55 PM
Need to pause rate hikes as risks to India’s growth significant: Jayant Varma of monetary policy panel
The Reserve Bank of India has raised rates by a total of 250 basis points since May last year as it tackles stubbornly high prices.
Those rate hikes would work their way through the economy and choke demand, Varma, who along with a second external member Ashima Goyal voted against the latest quarter-point increase earlier this month, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
“Just the fact that we see big numbers (on inflation) in January and February … doesn’t mean that we ought to tighten now,” he said.
Varma said government spending support to the economy was going to reduce in the next fiscal year as New Delhi announced a significant reduction in the fiscal deficit in its budget on Feb. 1.
Exports have been ticking down as well, he added.
01:49 PM
European shares open higher as Nvidia forecast boosts chip stocks
ASM International, BE Semiconductor and Aixtron rose between 1.6% and 3.2%, boosting the European technology sector by 0.9%.
Nvidia Corp forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, noting the strong boost it saw from the use of its chips in artificial intelligence (AI) services like chatbots.
The broader Europe STOXX 600 index rose 0.1% by 0806 GMT, after two straight sessions of declines on worries of central banks raising interest rates for longer.
01:29 PM
NSE gets final nod from Sebi to launch Social Stock Exchange
Leading bourse NSE on Thursday said it has received final approval from markets regulator Sebi to set up a Social Stock Exchange (SSE) as a separate segment on its platform. The final clearance was received on February 22, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) said in a statement.The Social Stock Exchange segment will provide new avenue for social enterprises to finance social initiatives, provide them visibility and bring in increased transparency in fund mobilisation and utilisation by social enterprises.
12:30 PM
Crypto Price Today: Bitcoin holds above $24,400; Shiba Inu, Polygon rise up to 5%
“The crypto market was a little jittery after FOMC meeting minutes showed that inflation and recession threats are still real. BTC and other digital assets were in red after the discouraging minutes of the FOMC meeting but the market quickly digested the impact and recovered. It will be interesting to see if central banks will continue their hawkish stance or relax monetary policies in the coming weeks,” Shivam Thakral, CEO of BuyUcoin, said.
With the modernisation of our Airport Infrastructure across the country, we are witnessing a value migration in the Aviation Sector as India Today has emerged as the largest buyer of Aircrafts globally and in a capital intensive tough business like Aviation, the profit pool going forward could indeed consolidate in the hands of a few players.
– S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities on quote on Aviation Sector.
10:23 AM
Market Live Updates: Zee Entertainment sinks over 14% on insolvency admission
Shares of Indian media company Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd sunk as much as 14.4% on Thursday after the national company law tribunal (NCLT) admitted the firm under insolvency proceedings over a petition filed by IndusInd Bank Ltd against a default of 830.80 million rupees ($10.04 million).
The downside momentum turned out to be so strong yesterday that the Nifty had to slip all the way to 17580,which we had marked down yesterday to prompt a pause. We are back again with only the 200 DMA at 17362 separating us from a collapse. This fear, and a rise in VIX, along with sharply oversold oscillators may ease the downside momentum a bit. A close above 17660 may encourage us to abandon downside plays for the day, though a vertical bounce is not expected. Deep down, first major support beyond the 200DMA is at 17050, but we feel that range expansion on the downside may have to wait.
– Anand James – Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
09:35 AM
Market Commentary by Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services
The market which has been trading within the range of 17750 -18150 has taken a turn for the worse by breaking the lower band decisively. Yesterday’s sharp cut of 927 points on the Sensex was caused by a combination of factors: weak US cues, the continuing rout in Adani stocks and concerns of the Adani crisis impacting the banking system. The US/global factor stems from concerns that the Fed will have to raise interest rates perhaps by 25bp thrice to weaken the economy and contain inflation. FOMC minutes reveal the fact that some have even argued for a 50 bp rate hike. This is the biggest near-term negative for equity markets globally. The situation can change if the disinflation trend in the US accelerates. The fact that Bank Nifty is down by 7% this year indicates the fears of the market regarding the impact of the Adani crisis on the banking system and also the concerns that the margins of the banks will be impacted by the rising deposit rates. Investors may wait for the current turbulence to settle before taking a view. Of course, for long-term investors, corrections are opportunities to slowly accumulate high quality stocks. Stocks remaining firm amidst the sharp correction like Bajaj Auto, ITC and Divi’s Labs indicate buying interest.
08:31 AM
Asian stocks struggle to make headway as rate rises loom
Asian stock markets were pinned near seven-week lows on Thursday while the dollar stood at multi-week peaks, as a run of strong economic data had investors worrying interest rates will need to keep rising and stay high to put the brakes on inflation.
07:33 AM
SGX Nifty signals a positive start
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 43.5 points, or 0.25 per cent, higher at 17,679.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Thursday.
07:33 AM
Tech View: Nifty support shifts to Budget day low
Headline index Nifty formed a long bearish candle on the daily chart and a lower top on the intraday chart, indicating further weakness from the current levels.
07:33 AM
S&P ends down as Fed minutes fail to halt losing run
The S&P 500 extended its losing streak to four sessions as Wall Street ended broadly lower on Wednesday, with investors cautious despite the latest guidance on rate policy from the U.S. central bank showing few surprises.
07:33 AM
Oil prices edge higher, pause from six-day losing streak
Oil prices rose slightly in thin Asian trade on Thursday, pausing from a six-day losing streak fed by mounting concerns that more aggressive interest rate increases by central banks could pressure economic growth and fuel demand.
07:32 AM
Rupee falls 9 paise to close at 82.88 against US dollar on forex outflows
The rupee depreciated by 9 paise to settle at 82.88 against the US dollar on Wednesday, as intense selling pressure in domestic equities and a strong greenback overseas dented the sentiment.
07:32 AM
Sensex, Nifty on Wednesday
Headline equity indices Sensex and Nifty fell for the fourth consecutive session, with investors left poorer by about Rs 7 lakh crore in four days amid worries over higher-for-longer interest rates and rising geopolitical tensions. Sensex crashed over 900 points while Nifty ended the day just above the 17,550-mark.
