Business News Highlights: Stock Market Closes, Sensex Settles 655 Points Up; Nifty Above 22,300

Business News Highlights: Please follow this space for all the breaking news and latest updates from the Stock Market, economy, and corporate world

Background

Business News Highlights: Hello and welcome to ABP Live's Business LIVE blog. Please follow this space for all the breaking news and latest updates from the Stock Market, economy, and the corporate world.

Indian stock indices commenced trading on a positive trajectory on Thursday, with the Nifty opening at 22,200. At 10 am, the Sensex surged by 573.17 points, equivalent to a gain of 0.79 per cent, reaching 73,569.48, while the Nifty climbed by 172.80 points or 0.78 per cent, settling at 22,296.50. Among the actively traded stocks, 2161 witnessed gains, 821 experienced declines, and 101 remained unchanged.

In the previous trading session on Wednesday, the stock market rebounded from the losses incurred in the last session, buoyed by heightened purchasing in heavyweight stocks and sectors such as automotive, real estate, power, and capital goods. By the closing bell, the Sensex surged significantly by 526.01 points, marking a rise of 0.73 per cent, to reach 72,996.31. Likewise, the Nifty followed a positive trajectory, climbing by 119 points or 0.54 per cent and settling at 22,123.70.

Furthermost, Arvind Panagariya, Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, expressed that India possesses the capability to significantly boost its economic growth rate to around 9 per cent from the current level of approximately 7 per cent. He highlighted that the achievement of this growth target would necessitate the implementation of further reforms over the next five years. Panagariya underscored the diligent efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the past decade, which have notably enhanced India's business climate, thereby attracting heightened investment into the country.

"Today, the economy is open. In the next 2-3 decades, we can sustain a very rapid growth. India is currently growing in real rupees at about 7 per cent or so per year. Certainly, with a few more reforms in the next five years, we can realistically push it to close to 9 per cent, certainly somewhere at 8-9 per cent, and that can be sustained easily for a couple of decades," Panagariya said while speaking at the Times Now Summit in Delhi on Wednesday.

18:13 PM (IST)  •  28 Mar 2024

"HDFC Life Faces GST Demand Orders Of Over Rs 27 Crore

HDFC Life Insurance Company revealed on Thursday that it has been issued GST demand orders totalling over Rs 27 crore for purportedly insufficient tax payments. Through two separate filings with regulatory authorities, the insurer disclosed receiving demand orders amounting to over Rs 16.5 crore and Rs 10.5 crore from tax authorities, citing alleged shortfalls in GST payments and discrepancies in input tax credit claims.

These orders encompass interest and penalties as well. HDFC Life stated its intention to challenge the GST demand orders by filing appeals before the Appellate Authority. Despite these developments, HDFC Life's shares concluded the trading day 1.27 per cent higher at Rs 634.20 each on the BSE.

17:45 PM (IST)  •  28 Mar 2024

Schneider Electric Collaborates With NVIDIA To Enhance Data Center Infra

Schneider Electric announced a collaboration with NVIDIA aimed at optimising data centre infrastructure. Leveraging Schneider Electric's proficiency in data centre infrastructure alongside NVIDIA's advanced AI technologies, the partnership seeks to introduce the initial publicly accessible AI data centre reference designs, as stated in a press release on Thursday.

17:09 PM (IST)  •  28 Mar 2024

Domestic Drug Firms Expected To See 8-10% Revenue Growth In FY25: Study

The revenue growth of the top 25 domestic pharmaceutical firms is projected to slow down to 8-10 per cent in the upcoming fiscal year, according to Icra, a rating agency. These companies, constituting 60% of the total Indian pharmaceutical industry, experienced a revenue surge of 13-14 per cent in the current fiscal year.

16:38 PM (IST)  •  28 Mar 2024

Fiscal Deficit Reaches 86.5% of Full-Year Target By Feb: Govt

The government's fiscal deficit stood at Rs 15 lakh crore by the end of February, reaching 86.5 per cent of the revised annual target, according to official data released on Thursday. In comparison, during the same period last year, the fiscal deficit was 82.8 per cent of the Revised Estimates (RE) of the Union Budget 2022-23. The government has estimated a fiscal deficit of Rs 17.35 lakh crore or 5.8 per cent of the GDP for the fiscal year 2023-24.

16:15 PM (IST)  •  28 Mar 2024

Rupee Slips By 6 Paise, Closes At 83.39 Against US Dollar

The Indian rupee weakened by 6 paise to settle at 83.39 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, influenced by the US dollar's strengthening against other major currencies globally and escalating crude oil prices on international platforms. Despite these factors, the domestic currency received support from a positive trend in domestic equity markets and recent inflows of foreign funds, according to forex traders. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee commenced trading at 83.32, fluctuating between the day's high of 83.30 and the low of 83.40 against the US dollar.