Sensex falls 135 points led by losses in HDFC Bank, Reliance
Equity benchmark Sensex dropped 135 points on Wednesday, weighed by losses in index majors HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Kotak Bank.
The 30-share BSE index ended 135.05 points or 0.26% lower at 52,443.71, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 37.05 points or 0.24% to 15,709.40.
Kotak Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2%, followed by Dr Reddy’s, M&M, PowerGrid, NTPC, Nestle India and HDFC Bank, PTI reported.
Separately, the rupee recovered by 9 paise to close at 74.38 (provisional) against the U.S. currency on Wednesday, snapping it two-day losing run ahead of the U.S. Fed policy decision.
Maruti Suzuki reports Q1 profit versus year-ago loss
India’s largesst automaker Maruti Suzuki reported first-quarter profit of ₹475 crore as compared to a loss of ₹268 crore a year ago, as it benefited from pandemic-fueled demand for personal vehicles and price hikes that offset raw material prices.
The company’s total revenue stood at ₹17,776 crore in the June-ended quarter compared to ₹4,111 crore in the year-ago period, Reuters reported.
Ola expands ESOP pool to ₹3,000 crore; adds stocks worth ₹400 crore
Electric mobility firm Ola on Wednesday expanded its ESOP (employee stock option plan) pool to ₹3,000 crore , by allocating additional stocks worth ₹400 crore to employees ahead of its proposed public float.
The new ESOP addition would also reinforce their sense of ownership and align their growth with that of the company as it continued to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable mobility, said Bhavish Aggarwal, founder of Ola.
Experts evaluating feasibility of introducing SPACs in India: Sebi chief
A panel of experts are evaluating the feasibility of introducting special purpose acquisition companies or SPACs in India, according to Sebi chief Ajay Tyagi.
The group, formed under Sebi’s Primary Market Advisory Committee, is yet to submit its report, Tyagi said in a conference.
SPACs are shell companies that list themes on the stock market and use the processed to buy other companies.
The Sebi chief further said the regulator, in consultation with stock exchanges, is looking into free float, PTI had reported.
Parliamentary panel finds govt's economic stimulus package "inadequate"
A Parliamentary panel report has found the stimulus package announced by the government for the revival of the pandemic-hit economy to be “inadequate”.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry curated the report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector and noted that the second wave of COVID-19 infections has more vigorously ripped the economy as compared to the first wave.
The Parliamentary panel has recommended that the government should immediately devise a larger economic package aimed at bolstering demand, investment, exports, and employment generation to revive the economy, especially MSMEs, PTI had reported.
Microsoft quarterly revenue rises fuelled by cloud growth
Microsoft reported its most profitable quarter on Tuesday with its revenue and earnings for the June ending quarter beating analyst estimates, driven by growth in its cloud business.
The company’s overall revenue surged 21% to $46.2 billion in the June ending quarter of 2021, compared to the previous year. The revenue surpassed analysts' consensus by about $2 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Microsoft’s net income was $16.5 billion, up 47% year over year. It reported earnings of $2.17 per share, above the consensus estimate of $1.92, a Reuters report noted.
The company’s revenue in Intelligent Cloud segment increased 30% to $17.4 billion year-on-year, while revenue in productivity and business processes, which includes office products, rose 25% to $14.7 billion year over year.
Gold prices rise driven by weaker dollar, stocks
Gold prices rose on Wednesday driven by weaker equity stocks and a subdued dollar ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s report on inflation and economic growth.
Fed’s policy announcement is due later in the day. Investors are likely to look for cues on when the central bank will begin to taper its monetary support amid rising prices and the looming threat from new coronavirus variants, Reuters had reported.
Investors rush to exit China's health sector expecting regulatory crackdown
Investors are rushing to exit China’s health sector this week, expecting the country’s regulators to clamp down on the medical industry following the scrutiny on the tech and education sectors.
China introduced new rules to private tutoring firms on Monday, triggering a massive sell-off in education sector shares.
Medical expenses are one of the key areas of living costs seen as Beijing’s targets for social change, heightening expectations that authorities will make healthcare their next focus for market reforms, Reuters had reported.
M&M to adopt solar plant to generate 100 million units of power annually
Automaker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) said on Wednesday it will adopt a 58 MWp captive solar plant that is expected to generate nearly 100 million units of power annually starting 2022.
The project is said to quadruple the auto giant’s power share from 12% to 56% across all its facilities in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Igatpuri and Pune, the company noted in a statement.
M&M started using renewable energy with its first project of 0.06 MW at its Igatpuri plant to mitigate carbon emissions across its manufacturing locations, PTI had reported.
Oil prices gain on industry data despite rising COVID-19 infections
Oil prices rose on Wednesday following data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) industry group which showed that U.S. crude and product stockpile dropped more than expected last week.
The industry data boosted expectations that demand will outpace supply growth despite a surge in COVID-19 infections, Reuters had reported.
Brent crude futures rose nearly 0.4% to $74.76 a barrel, while U.S. Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.5% at $71.98 a barrel.
API data showed U.S. crude stocks fell by 4.7 million barrels for the week ended July 23, gasoline inventories dropped by 6.2 million barrels and distillate stocks were down 1.9 million barrels, according to unnamed market sources.
Tata Motors plans to increase passenger vehicle prices from next week
Tata Motors is planning to hike prices of its entire line-up of passenger vehicles from next week to offset the sharp increase in procurement cost of essential materials, according to a top company official.
"We have seen a very steep increase in the prices of steel and precious metals over the last one year. The financial impact of the increase in commodity prices is in the range of 8-8.5 per cent of our revenues in the past one year," Shailesh Chandra, President Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors told PTI .
He also said that the firm has been able to pass on only a small percentage of the rise in input costs to the customers so far, and added that the company is currently in the process of working out the details of the increase in each model or trim, a PTI report noted.
Apple posts record June quarter revenue driven by iPhone sales
Apple reported its third-quarter financial results for the fiscal year 2021 on Tuesday with a record June quarter revenue, driven by iPhone sales.
The company posted revenue of $81.4 billion, up 36% year over year , surpassing analyst expectations of $73.30 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. iPhone sales surged to $39.5 billion from $26 billion, while services increased to $17.5 billion from $13.1 billion during the June ending quarter.
The firm reported a quarterly profit of $21.74 billion, or $1.30 per share. This was above analyst estimates of $1.01 per share, a Reuters report noted.
Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.22 per share of the company’s common stock.
Binance founder willing to go, as pressure mounts
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said he was willing to step down and pass control to someone who could do a "better job", amid pressure from regulators globally.
One of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges has come under scrutiny from regulators worried that it could be used for money laundering or that investors fall victim to scams and runaway bets.
“I'm a technology entrepreneur. We are doing this pivot to be a regulated financial institution and I would be very open to look for a leader with strong regulatory background,” Zhao said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Binance provides several services to users worldwide, including crypto spot and derivatives trading. Financial authorities in Britain, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Lithuania and Thailand have all recently raised concerns about the cryptocurrency exchange, a Reuters report noted.
Rupee opens slightly higher
Rupee opened at 74.43 against dollar on Wednesday, slightly higher than its Tuesday closing of 74.47.
According to Forex traders, the rupee is trading in a narrow range ahead of the monthly expiry and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision, PTI reported.
Earnings announcements expected today
Several companies are expected to release their earnings report on Wednesday, for the June ending quarter, including ABB India, Birlasoft, Central Bank of India, Century Textiles & Industries, Dhanlaxmi Bank, Heritage Foods, ICRA, IDBI Bank, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, Pfizer, Radico Khaitan, Sagar Cements, Tata Coffee, United Breweries, UTI Asset Management Company, and Welspun India.
On Tuesday, firms such as Canara Bank , Dr. Reddy’s , Granules India , InterGlobe Aviation , and Ramco Cements announced their first quarter earnings.
Benchmark Indian indices open higher
Indian indices opened higher on Wednesday. BSE Sensex opened at 52,673.69, up 94.93 points, while Nifty opened at 15, 761.55, up 15.10 points.
However, in early trading (at 9:38 A.M.), Sensex slipped 261.82 points or 0.50% to reach 52,316.94, while Nifty shed 73.15 points or 0.46% to reach 15,673.30.
Most Asian stock indices open in red
Major Asian stock indices opened in red on Wednesday, except Hang Seng, after the three main U.S. indices declined overnight. Japan’s Nikkei opened at 27,674.99, down 295.23 points, and Topix at 1,922.18, down 15.86 points, while South Korea’s Kospi opened at 3,226.06, down 6.47 points.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, opened at 25,356.74, up 270.31 points after closing at 25,086.43 on Tuesday. The stock index has slipped over 8% in the last two days as Chinese technology and education shares have plunged amid regulatory fears.
Investors in the Asian equity market would keep an eye on the Chinese stocks after the sell-off in the last few days, as well as the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.
On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE index ended 273.51 points or 0.52% lower at 52,578.76, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 78 points or 0.49% to 15,746.45.
Major U.S. indices decline, close in red
The three major U.S. indices declined on Tuesday and closed in red, after reaching new record highs in the previous day’s trading.
The S&P 500 closed at 4,401.46, down 20.84 points or 0.47%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 85.79 points or 0.24% to close at 35,058.52, and the Nasdaq Composite closed at 14,660.58, down 180.14 or 1.21%.
Apart from Alphabet, other major U.S. tech firms like Apple, and Microsoft, also announced their quarterly earnings after the market closed.
Google parent Alphabet posts record quarterly revenue driven by ad spending
Google parent Alphabet reported record quarterly revenue and profit in its second-quarter financial results for the fiscal year 2021 on Tuesday, driven by an increase in advertising spending.
The company posted a total revenue of $61.88 billion, up 61.6% year-over-year, surpassing estimates of $56.16 billion, as per IBES data from Refinitiv.
Alphabet said Google advertising revenue surged about 70% to $50.44 billion during the June ending quarter. YouTube’s ad revenue rose 83.7% from the year-ago quarter to $7 billion.
The firm reported a quarterly profit of $18.5 billion or $27.26 per share, beating expectations of $19.34 per share, a Reuters report noted.Indian shares end down as pharma stocks fall, Fed meeting in focus
