Get App
Indian benchmark indices snapped three weeks of downtrend as fears over the banking crisis contagion eased and investor risk appetite returned. The Sensex surged 2.55% to 58,991.52. The Nifty 50 index jumped 2.45% to settle at 17,359.05. The BSE Midcap index added 1.83% to 24,065.59. The BSE Smallcap index fell 0.71% to 26,957.01.
Top gainers among Nifty sectoral indices were PSU Bank [4.22%], Bank [3.08%], Private Bank [2.93%], IT [2.73%], and Financial Services [2.47%]. All other Nifty sectoral indices closed in the green. Top losers were BSE Utilities [-1.96%], Power [-1.63%] and BSE Telecom [-1.16%].
FIIs and DIIs were net buyers during the week in the cash segment. For the week, FIIs bought for Rs 2,243.8 crore and DIIs bought for Rs 4,955.8 crore. On a monthly basis, FIIs bought for Rs 1,997.70 crore and the DIIs bought for Rs 30,548.77 crore.
Indian rupee appreciated by 17 paise to 82.17 against the US dollar on Friday [March 31, 2023].
Spot gold in the international markets stood at $1969.28 per ounce on Friday.
Company News
Reliance Industries (RIL): The company has acquired 70% equity share capital of Sintex Industries, according to resolution plan by NCLT. Sintex Industries will be jointly controlled and managed by RIL and ACRE (Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise). Sintex has allotted equity shares worth Rs 600 crore and optionally fully convertible debentures worth Rs 900 crore to Reliance Industries. The acquisition of Sintex will help expand the textile business portfolio of Reliance.
Meanwhile, lenders and shareholders of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will meet on May 2 to demerge the firm’s financial services business.
Reliance Industries has appointed Srikanth Venkatachari as Chief Financial Officer with effect from June 1, 2023. Alok Agarwal, the incumbent CFO, will assume the role of Senior Advisor to RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani.
Solar PV Module Manufacturers: The Indian Government has allocated 39,600 MW Of domestic solar PV module manufacturing capacity under PLI (Tranche-II) to 11 companies with an outlay of Rs 14,007 crore under the production-linked incentive scheme, according to a press release by Ministry of Power. JSW, Reliance, ReNew, and Tata Power Solar are among the winning bidders. The Tranche-II is expected to bring in an investment of Rs 93,041 crore. It will also generate a total of 1,01,487 jobs with 35,010 getting direct employment and 66,477 being indirectly employed, the press release said.
Bharat Dynamics (BDL): The company said that it has signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, for production and supply of Akash Weapon System to the Indian Army for Rs 8,161 crore. The contract is for two regiments of the Indian Army and will be executed in three years. Further, the PSU company has also received an order of Rs 261 crore for counter measures dispensing system (CMDS) for MLH helicopters. The consolidated order book position of BDL has now reached Rs 24,021 crore approximately with signing of this new contract.
Bharat Electronics (BEL): The Ministry of Defence has signed 10 contracts worth Rs 5,498 crore with Bharat Electronics for Indian Armed Forces. A contract worth Rs 1,982 crore is for procurement of automated air defence control and reporting system ‘Project Akashteer’ for Indian Army. Another contract of Rs 412 is for acquisition of Sarang electronic support measure systems and associated engineering support package for Indian Navy. Further, the defence ministry has signed a Rs 3,000-crore contract with Bharat Electronics for the supply of integrated electronic warfare systems to the Indian Army. BEL has also received several contracts adding to Rs 1,300 crore in the last fortnight from the Indian Navy.
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC): The NBFC announced that its board has approved issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) aggregating Rs 57,000 crore, in various tranches, on a private placement basis. The board also announced an increase in the overall borrowing powers of the corporation from Rs. 6-lakh-crore to Rs. 6.50-lakh-crore
Punjab National Bank (PNB): The bank will raise Rs 12,000 crore through AT-1 bonds for Rs 7,000 crore and Tier-II bonds for Rs 5,000 crore in one or more tranches. The bank also sold its entire shareholding in Asset Reconstruction Company (India) to Avenue India Resurgence for an undisclosed cash consideration.
Adani Group: The conglomerate was seeking to renegotiate terms of outstanding loans worth $4 billion taken last year to buy cement firms ACC and Ambuja Cements, The Economic Times reported citing sources. The group is also reportedly seeking conversion of another $1 billion mezzanine loan tranche to senior secured debt. At present, this $1 billion mezzanine loan has a maturity of 24 months but the group wants to extend the repayment schedule up to five years.
VA Tech Wabag: The company with joint venture partner Metito Overseas has won a seawater reverse osmosis project from Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board. The project worth Rs 4,400-crore will be funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency. The design, build, and operate order entails the desalination of 400 million litres of seawater per day for an intake of 42 months followed by 20 years of operation and maintenance.
NTPC: The company said that its wholly-owned subsidiary — NTPC Renewable Energy — has signed term sheet with Greenko ZeroC to supply 1300 MW round the clock RE power for powering Greenko’s upcoming Green Ammonia Plant at Kakinada, India. The agreement between the two companies is one of the world’s single largest contract for supply of round-the-clock renewable supply for an industrial client.
Zee Entertainment (ZEEL) and IndusInd Bank: The media company on Wednesday informed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that it has settled the dispute over dues with the private sector bank. With this development, the bank’s plea objecting to the merger of ZEEL and Sony has been withdrawn. The dispute arose due to a default of Rs 89 crore by Siti Networks, a division of the Zee Group. ZEEL served as the loan guarantor for Siti Networks. The lender then filed an insolvency petition against Siti Networks.
Embassy Office Parks REIT: The company has agreed to buy Embassy Business Hub for Rs 334.8 crore. Embassy REIT will acquire the rights, title and interest of sellers in Embassy Construction Private, developer of Embassy Business Hub. It will also get exclusive ownership rights to approximately 1.4 million square feet of leasable area. Embassy REIT plans to primarily fund the acquisition through debt at 8.1% interest cost per annum.
Hero MotoCorp: The two-wheeler maker said it has elevated Niranjan Gupta as its new chief executive officer. Gupta, currently designated as chief financial officer, head-strategy and M&A, takes over as the CEO with effect from May 1, 2023, according to an exchange filing. Pawan Munjal will continue as executive chairman and whole-time director on the company’s board, it added. The company said it will announce a new CFO in due course of time.
Vedanta: The mining major said the board of directors has approved the fifth interim dividend of Rs 20.50 per equity share on face value of Re 1 per share for FY23, which amounted to Rs 7,621 crore. Meanwhile, Ajay Goel has resigned from the post of acting Chief Financial Officer of the company effective from April 9, to pursue career outside of the Group.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T): The infrastructure major issued 2 lakh non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to raise Rs 2,000 crore. The NCDs will mature on April 28, 2028. The said NCDs are proposed to be listed on the National Stock Exchange of India. The interest rate is set at 7.725% and the interest will be paid on an annual basis.
Jindal Stainless: The stainless steel manufacturing company has signed an agreement with New Yaking Pte Ltd for the investment in development, construction and operation of a nickel pig iron (NPI) smelter facility in Halmahera Islands, Indonesia. JSL will acquire a 49% equity interest in nickel pig iron company for $157 million.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries: The pharma major has entered into an agreement to acquire a 60% shareholding in Vivaldis Health and Foods for Rs 143.3 crore. The remaining 40% shareholding will be acquired in the future on certain terms and conditions.
Dalmia Bharat: The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Dalmia Cement, has inked a pact to sell its 42.36% stake in an associate firm to Sarvapriya Healthcare Solutions for Rs 800 crore, a regulatory filing said on March 26.
One97 Communications (OCL): The fintech company said its subsidiary Paytm Payments Services Ltd (PPSL) has received an extension from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to resubmit its application for a payment aggregator (PA) licence. The RBI had in November 2022 asked Paytm to reapply for the licence within 120 days and stopped it from signing up new online merchants for the platform.
Global Markets
The US markets ended higher as investor sentiments were boosted on signs of better-than-expected inflation data and also due to fears over the banking sector turmoil receded. For the week, the S&P 500 surged 3.5%, the Dow soared 3.2% and the Nasdaq jumped 3.4%.
The US core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index, which excludes food and energy prices, for February stood at 4.6% versus consensus expectations for 4.7%. The core PCE is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation. The Commerce Department released its final estimate of fourth-quarter 2022 gross domestic (GDP) product growth, which was revised slightly lower to 2.6%. The Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index rose to 104.2 in March from 103.4 in February. However, the index remains below the average level seen in 2022 at 104.5.
Oil prices increased which led to higher energy stocks, which make up a significant part of value indexes. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose more than 9% for the week, advancing above the $70 per barrel level.
Meanwhile, First Citizens Bank agreed to buy large parts of Silicon Valley Bank, the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said on Monday. The deal includes the purchase of approximately $72 billion of SVB assets at a discount of $16.5 billion, but around $90 billion in securities and other assets will remain “in receivership for disposition by the FDIC.” Moreover, the Biden administration on Monday released a set of proposed new regulations for mid-size banks with assets between $100 billion and $250 billion.
Chinese markets ended higher after strong economic data along with supportive comments from Beijing boosted confidence of market participants in the country’s economic growth outlook. The Shanghai Stock Exchange index rose 0.22%, the CSI 300 advanced 0.59%, and the Hang Seng index gained 2.43%.
China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to a better-than-expected 51.9 in March, while the non-manufacturing PMI rose to 58.2. A reading above 50 indicate expansion of the sector. Meanwhile, industrial profits fell 22.9% in the first two months of 2023 from a year earlier, following a 4% decline for all of 2022, according to the country’s statistics agency.
Japan’s stock markets rose over the week, with the Nikkei 225 index gaining 2.40% and the broader Topix index rising 2.46%. Investor optimism improved after recent positive developments regarding the US banking sector and fresh hopes of smaller rate hikes in the future. Core consumer prices in Japan, rose 3.2% in March from a year earlier. The consumer prices slowed down from a 3.3% gain in February and a nearly 42-year high of 4.3% hit in January, due to the effect of government subsidies to curb utility bills.