Top economy and business news of the day| Sensex cracks 1,159 pts; Maruti Suzuki plans to widen CNG portfolio; Global Q3 gold demand down and more

5:09 P.M.

Sensex cracks 1,159 pts, Nifty slumps below 17,900

Sensex plunged 1,159 points on Thursday following an across-the-board selloff as monthly derivatives expired amid a weak trend in global markets.

The 30-share index tanked 1,158.63 points or 1.89% to close at 59,984.70. NSE Nifty plummeted 353.70 points or 1.94% to 17,857.25.

ITC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, followed by ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, SBI and HDFC Bank. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, L&T, UltraTech Cement and Asian Paints were among the gainers.

4:57 P.M.

L&T’s construction arm bags ‘large’ order from CPWD

Engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Thursday said its construction arm has bagged a ‘large’ order for its buildings and factories business from the Central Public Works Department (CPWD). 

Though the company did not mention the exact value of the contracts, as per its specification the contract ranges between ₹2,500 crore and ₹5,000 crore.

4:55 P.M.

Huawei spin-off brand Honor enters top three in China shipment ranking, research says

Honor, the Chinese smartphone brand spun out of Huawei Technologies saw shipments soar in the latest quarter to become the country’s third-ranked brand, said research firm Counterpoint. 

Honor sold 96% more phones in the September-ended quarter from the same period a year earlier, to grab a share of 15% of the market in China. It now ranks after Vivo and Oppo.

4:54 P.M.

Sitharaman to attend G-20 joint finance, health ministers meet in Rome

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will attend the G-20 joint Finance and Health Ministers meeting in Rome on October 29, which among other things will discuss COVID pandemic prevention and response. 

Finance and health ministers will discuss how to keep momentum on response to pandemic and build on further coordination arrangements between health and finance ministries.

4:52 P.M.

Maruti Suzuki plans to widen CNG portfolio

India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India plans to widen its CNG portfolio by offering the fuel option in four more models. Rising petrol and diesel prices have driven up the demand for CNG vehicles. Out of the company’s total current pending order of 2.8 lakh units, 1.1 lakh orders are for CNG models. 

The company, which plans to launch an electric vehicle (EV) in the Indian market by 2025, is also keeping a close watch on the country’s EV ecosystem.

3:27 P.M.

Sensex nosedives over 1,000 points

India’s benchmark index nosedives, extending its intra-day losses. The BSE Sensex is hovering at the day’s low at 59,987.33 after shedding 1.87% at 15:17 IST. The broader market is also trading weak, with the BSE 100 down nearly 1.97% at 18,069.51. 

Stocks of Reliance Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., ITC and Titan are trading in red. Shares of Punjab National Bank and IndusInd Bank tumbled earlier in the day after the lenders reported a fall in their quarterly income.

2:50 P.M.

IndusInd Bank shares surge around 9%

Shares of IndusInd Bank on Thursday jumped around 9% after the company’s net profit surged 73% in the September-ended quarter. The Bank’s shares jumped 8.70% to a one year high of ₹1,242 on the NSE. 

The lender’s consolidated net profit rose to ₹1,146.73 crore in the September-ended quarter from ₹663.08 crore during the same period in the previous year.

2:49 P.M.

Future Retail moves Delhi High Court against SIAC order

Future Retail has moved to the Delhi High Court requesting to stay and set aside the order passed by the Singapore-based arbitration tribunal SIAC on October 21, putting its ₹24,713-crore deal with Reliance Retail on hold.

The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) on October 21, had rejected the plea of Future Retail Ltd (FRL) to lift the interim stay granted by its Emergency Arbitrator on October 25 last year, over the deal with Reliance by observing that “the Award were correctly granted”.

2:48 P.M.

Punjab National Bank shares tumble 

Shares of Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Thursday dropped around 10% after the company reported a fall in income in the September-ended quarter. The stock tanked 9.93% to ₹41.70 on both BSE and NSE.

The bank’s total income during the September-ended quarter slid to ₹21,262.32 crore from ₹23,279.79 crore during the same period last year.

1:26 P.M.

Sony and Panasonic’s Q2 earnings rise

Japan’s Sony Group Corp’s operating profit in the September-ended quarter rose 1% to 318.5 billion yen ($2.8 billion) from 315.2 billion in the same period a year earlier. Costs from growing sales of its PlayStation 5 (PS5) console pressed on margins.

Japan’s Panasonic Corp’s operating profit in the September-ended quarter rose 4% to 96.8 billion yen ($852.6 million) from a profit of 92.8 billion yen in the same period a year ago.

1:25 P.M.

China’s winter natural gas demand to rise

China’s demand for natural gas is expected to rise to 180 billion cubic meters (bcm) this winter, up 10% from the previous year, according to an official at Petro China, the country’s top oil and gas producer.

Meteorological experts in the country have predicted lower temperatures in northern China and less rainfall in southern China which could lead to stronger gas demand for heating and power generation. The central government has urged energy firms to step up efforts to boost gas supply before winter.

12:30 P.M.

Global Q3 gold demand down

Global gold demand fell by 7% during the July-September quarter to 831 tonnes compared to the same period of 2020. The drop is primarily due to outflows from gold-backed exchange-traded funds (gold ETFs), according to a World Gold Council (WGC) report.

12:25 P.M.

India rejects net zero carbon emissions target

The world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases rejected calls to announce a net zero carbon emissions target. India said it was more important for the world to lay out a pathway to reduce such emissions and avert a dangerous rise in global temperatures.

The United States, Britain and the European Union have set a target date of 2050 to reach net zero, by which point they will only emit an amount of greenhouse gases that can be absorbed by forests, crops, soils and still-embryonic “carbon capture” technology.

12:23 P.M.

Rupee rises against U.S. dollar

The domestic unit surged 16 paise to 74.87 against the greenback in opening trade amid easing crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened strong at 74.92 against the U.S. dollar and gained further to touch 74.87 in early deals, a rise of 16 paise over its previous close.

Oil prices falls

Oil prices fell with Brent hitting its lowest in two weeks after a rise in U.S. inventories of crude.

Brent crude plunged 1.6% to $83.22 a barrel, a two-week low. It tumbled 2.1% in its previous session.

U.S. oil also fell 1.6% to $81.38 a barrel.

Crude oil stocks rose by 4.3 million barrels last week as compare with the forecast of 1.9 million barrel gain.

Airtel garners over Rs 5,200 cr from first tranche of payment in rights issue

Bharti Airtel is estimated to have garnered over Rs 5,200 crore from the first round of payment in its recently-concluded rights issue, as the telco’s special committee approved allotment of 39.2 crore equity shares to eligible applicants.

The applicants paid Rs 133.75 per share on application, with the balance sum to be paid in two more additional calls as may be decided by the board, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Nykaa raises Rs 2,396 cr from anchor investors

FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, which runs online marketplace for beauty and wellness products Nykaa, on Wednesday said it has raised Rs 2,396 crore from anchor investors ahead of its initial share-sale, which opens for public subscription on Thursday.        

The company has decided to allocate a total of 21,296,397 equity shares to anchor investors at Rs 1,125 a share, aggregating to Rs 2,395.84 crore, according to a circular uploaded on the BSE website.

Asian shares update | Sensex falls

The Indian equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty opened lower today amid weak global cues.

At 9:16 IST, the Sensex was down 0.29% at 60964.43 and the Nifty was down 0.34% at 18149.90.

Asian stocks fell after corporate earnings reports indicated supply chain snags and with investors worried whether central banks may tighten monetary policy earlier than thought.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.1% while Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.1%.

Mainland Chinese shares also shed 0.2%.

Company earnings reports showed that US manufacturers are facing logistics issues and higher cost due to supply bottlenecks. The problems may drag into next year.

Morning Note:

India’s gold demand could jump significantly in the fourth quarter as the release of pent-up demand is expected to lift jewellery sales during the peak festive season. The world’s second-biggest gold consumer could help support spot prices after a near 5% correction so far this year. The higher demand in the Asian nation could lead to a rise in imports of the metal, which could widen India’s trade deficit and weigh on the rupee.

Demand for the precious metal jumped 47% in the third quarter from a year earlier to 139.1 tonnes as jewellery demand surged 58% to 96.2 tonnes, according to a report by the World Gold Council.

Also Read | Global Q3 gold demand down by 7% at 831 tonnes ETF outflows: WGC

In the U.S., the metal firmed up as investors looked forward to key central bank meetings for clues on whether they would consider tightening monetary policy earlier than thought. Market participants also await the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting on Nov. 3.

South Korean smartphone major Samsung posted a 28% jump in operating profit in the September-ending quarter. Rising memory chip prices and shipments, plus a jump in profitability at Samsung’s chip-contract manufacturing business boosted the chip division’s operating profit, while sales of Samsung’s new foldable smartphones were tempered by marketing and component costs.

In India, Adani Enterprises Ltd. reported a 55.3% decline in consolidated profit at Rs 194.54 crore for the quarter ended September. And Airtel garnered over Rs 5,200 cr from first tranche of payment in rights issue. The applicants paid Rs 133.75 per share on application, with the balance sum to be paid in two more additional calls as may be decided by the board. – John Xavier

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