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Indian benchmark indices finished the first week of the New Year with marginal losses even after hitting fresh record highs in the first session of the year 2024.
On January 1, the Sensex and Nifty touched fresh record highs of 72,561.91 and 21,834.35. For the week, BSE Sensex shed 0.29 percent or 214.11 points to finish at 72,026.15, while Nifty50 fell 20.6 points to end at 21,710.80
The BSE Small-cap index rose 2.6 percent and hit a fresh record high of 43,957.62.
BSE Mid-cap Index climbed to a new record high of 37,892.11
The BSE Large-cap Index touched a fresh record high but ended flat for the week.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers this week, as they bought equities worth Rs 3,290.23 crore, while Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities worth Rs 7,296.50 crore.
The Indian rupee had marginal gains against the US dollar, as the domestic unit closed at 83.16 on the weekend
COMPANY NEWS
Suzlon Energy Limited: Suzlon Group has secured a new 225 MW wind energy order from Everrenew Energy. Suzlon will install 75 wind turbine generators (WTGs) with a Hybrid Lattice Tubular (HLT) tower and a rated capacity of 3 MW each at Everrenew Energy’s sites at Vengaimandalam, Trichy district and Ottapidaram, Tuticorin district in Tamil Nadu, a company statement said.
Bandhan Bank: The company reported a growth of 18.6 percent in its loans and advances during the third quarter ending December 31 at Rs 1,15,964 crore. While retail deposits, including CASA (current account savings account), rose by 19 percent to Rs 84,563 crore, bulk deposits grew by 5.2 percent to Rs 32,859 crore. The total collection efficiency ratio of the bank at the end of the quarter stood at 98 percent.
Power Finance Corporation (PFC): Power Finance Corporation has signed an MoU with the Gujarat government to provide comprehensive financial backing for the state’s generation, transmission, and distribution projects. The terms of the MoU envisaged financial assistance of Rs 25,000 crore dedicated to powering up various projects across Gujarat. Apart from facilitating the expansion of power infrastructure, the MoU shall also help create employment generation of up to 10,000 in Gujarat.
Torrent Power Ltd: The company has inked four initial pacts with the Gujarat government to invest Rs 47,350 crore in renewable energy, green hydrogen, and electricity distribution and is expected to contribute significantly towards the development of the state and creation of large-scale employment opportunities.
Vedanta Ltd: Vedanta Ltd on January 3 released its business update for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023-24, which showed that the company’s mined metal production was up 7 percent year-on-year (YoY) and saleable silver output went up by 22 percent YoY.
Titan: The company said that it has registered revenue of 22 percent year-on-year in the quarter ended December 30, 2023, while releasing its business update. The jewelry and watch-making company added a total of 90 stores in the October-December period, taking the group’s retail presence to 2,949 stores, Titan said in a regulatory filing.
Ashok Leyland: Commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland on Tuesday reported a 10 percent decline in total sales at 16,324 units in December 2023. Sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles in the domestic market were at 10,102 units as against 11,399 units in the year-ago month, down 11 percent, it added. Light commercial vehicle sales in the domestic market last month stood at 5,221 units as against 5,713 units in the year-ago period, a decline of 9 percent, the company said.
ECONOMY
US crude futures rose $2
US crude futures rose more than $2 on January 5 as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to visit the Middle East in an attempt to contain flaring regional tensions as the Israel-Hamas conflict rages. Both benchmarks are on track to end the first week of the year higher, rebounding from losses on January 4 triggered by hefty increases in US gasoline and distillate stocks.
Govt pegs FY24 GDP growth at 7.3%
India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to grow by 7.3 percent in 2023-24, up from 7.2 percent in 2022-23, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said on January 5. The government’s first advance estimate for the current financial year’s GDP comes ahead of the February 1 presentation of the interim Budget for 2024-25. The finance ministry will use the first advanced estimate of the GDP while making its Budget numbers
India’s forex reserves
India’s forex reserves jumped by USD 2.759 billion to USD 623.2 billion. Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound, and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. Gold reserves were up by USD 853 million to USD 48.328 billion during the week, the RBI said.
GLOBAL NEWS
All three US benchmark indices recorded their first weekly declines for ten weeks: the S&P 500 dropped 1.54%, while the Nasdaq Composite slumped 3.26%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.59%.
US employers hired more workers than expected in December while raising wages at a solid clip, which prompted markets to dial back expectations the US central bank would start cutting interest rates in March and thereafter stocks on Wall Street rebounded, helping lift MSCI’s all-country world index 0.42% and prices of Treasuries, which move inversely to their yields, also rebounded.
Japanese manufacturers rushed to resume production four days after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake killed at least 94 and disrupted infrastructures in the country’s west coast, as businesses were returning from gloomy New Year holidays.
About 80% of 200 companies with plants in the quake-hit areas, including makers of machines, semiconductors, and textiles, have resumed production or would resume soon following the quake, Industry Minister Ken Saito said on Friday.
Asian equities attracted their biggest inflows in seven years in 2023, encouraged by major central banks’ deceleration in rate hikes to prioritize economic stimulation amid diminishing inflation worries. According to stock exchange data from Taiwan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, foreign investors bought a net $26.62 billion worth of stocks last year, the most since 2016.