Business News Highlights: Insurance, Tax Offices To Remain Open On Weekend, PMI Figures, Jobless Data To Drive Markets Ahead
Business News Highlights: Please follow this space for all the breaking news and latest updates from the stock market, economy, and corporate world
Jaiprakash Associates said on Saturday that 92 per cent of its bondholders have permitted the restructuring of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCBs) worth $120 million. The bonds were issued by the firm, which controls cement and construction businesses, and were due for payments in 2020 and 2021. Earlier in February, the firm also announced plans to restructure the bonds, reported PTI.
Inventory of unsold houses fell 7 per cent in January-March period across 9 cities in India, data from real estate analytics firm PropEquity revealed. The number of unsold homes stood at nearly 4,81 lakh units as of March end, against 5,18,868 unsold units at December 2023 end.
Read More | Unsold Homes' Inventory Falls 7 Per Cent In Jan-March, Pune Sees Max Decline Of 13 Per Cent: PropEquity
Net leasing of office space gained 44 per cent annually in the January-March quarter in eight major cities, data from real estate consultant, Cushman & Wakefield revealed. The data showed that the net leasing of office space grew to 115.14 lakh square feet (sq ft) during the period under review, from 80.09 lakh sq ft in the corresponding quarter a year earlier. This marked the third-highest level seen in the last five years. The leasing capacity grew in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Chennai, but declined in Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad.
JSW Steel announced on Saturday that it is commissioning a hot strip mill at its steel plant in Vijayanagar, Karnataka. The firm issued a filing and said that it dispatched steel products from the mill with an annual capacity of 5 MT.
The Indian government on Friday instructed wheat wholesalers, retailers, and processors to declare their stock positions in an attempt to avoid hoarding and keep a tab on prices. The stock limit on the produce expires on Sunday. The government directed all stakeholders to declare their stocks on every Friday, effective April 1, 2024.
Read More | Govt Implements Weekly Wheat Stock Reporting To Curb Hoarding
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), in a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, raised concerns that the DGCA's delay in implementation of revised flight duty norms could pose risks to the health of the pilots. The federation stated that the aviation regulatory body is prioritising commercial gains over and risking pilot fatigue.
Read More | Federation Of Indian Pilots Raises Concerns To Aviation Minister On Delay In Implementation Of New Norms
India's forex reserves climbed by $140 million to reach a fresh all-time peak of $642.631 billion during the week ended March 22, official data from the Reserve Bank revealed. This marked the fifth straight weekly gain in the overall reserves. In the preceding week, the reserves reached $642.492 billion, gaining $6.396 billion.
Byju's parent company, Think and Learn, sought its miffed investors and urged them to take part in the edtech's fundraising process, reported PTI citing sources. The report said that founder and CEO, Byju Raveendran, shared a letter to the investors and said that the firm remained halfway through the postal ballot voting on a resolution to raise authorised share capital. "I am aware that some of our valued existing shareholders were unable to participate earlier in the rights issue. In good faith, the board is considering making an offer of renounced shares to existing shareholders to ensure that there is no more dilution to their shareholding. We will share more details with you shortly," the founder said via the letter.
Notably, the start-up recently closed the $200 million rights issue in February at a reduced valuation by 99 per cent against its peak valuation of $22 billion.
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.
The stock markets ended the last trading week of the 2023-24 fiscal year on a positive note. In the last trading session on Thursday, the domestic indices remained bullish on account of strong buying seen in power, auto, and banking stocks amidst positive global cues. The S&P BSE Sensex reached a fresh high of 74,190, however, settled in green at 73,651, higher by 655 points. The NSE Nifty50 also hit a new peak of 22,516 during the day and finally closed the session at 22,327, at a gain of more than 200 points.
The market remained closed on Friday to mark the festival of Good Friday. The Multi-Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) also shut shop in light of the festival.
In the coming week, macroeconomic data at the global and domestic level will shape investor sentiment in the market. The HSBC Services and Composite PMI numbers for March for India are expected to be released in the week ahead. Globally, the US will see the release of jobless data, PMI numbers, along with other macroeconomic indicators in the week.
As FY24 comes to a close, the insurance and financial firms will remain operative on March 30 and 31 to help make the transition to the next fiscal smooth. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) issued an advisory stating that insurance firms will remain open over the weekend to help avoid any inconveniences to the policyholders.
Additionally, banks in the country will also remain functional over the weekend following the order of the Reserve Bank of India. The regulator also instructed that any offices dealing with government business should be operational during regular working hours on March 30 and 31.
The Income Tax (I-T) department also said that the department will open its offices during the weekend to ensure an easy and hassle-free transition to the next fiscal year.
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