Business News Highlights: Stock Markets Close, Sensex Settles Over 71,000, Nifty Above 21,450
Business News Highlights: Please follow this space for all the breaking news and latest updates from the Stock Market, economy and corporate world.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Wednesday logged a sharp rise in its third quarter (Q3) net profit at Rs 8,063.39 crore in October-December 2023-24, against Rs 448.01 crore profit reported in the same period a year ago. However, this figure remained lower than Rs 12,967.32 crore earnings in the preceding three months ended September 30, 2023. The state-run oil marketing company credited the growth in profit to a boost in marketing margins as a freeze on petrol and diesel price revision despite a fall in input crude oil prices helped recover losses incurred when rates were high in 2022-23. The pre-tax earnings from the sale of petroleum products climbed to Rs 11,428.88 crore in Q3FY24, against Rs 1,541.95 crore in the same period last year.
Zee Entertainment informed on Wednesday that it has sought the National Company Law Tribunal against Sony's decision to call off the proposed merger deal. The company informed that it has also started appropriate legal action to fight Sony's claims of a termination fee worth $90 million. Meanwhile, Sony has approached the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) for the termination fee, reported PTI.
Businesses will need to submit valid bank account details to the GST authorities within 30 days of GST registration to avoid suspension, the GST Network informed. The authority shared an advisory to the GST-registered businesses, stating that all registered taxpayers under the tax regime would need to provide bank account details within 30 days of the grant of registration or before the due date of filing GSTR-1/IFF, whichever is earlier, reported PTI.
TVS Motor Company on Wednesday reported a 59 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit in the financial results released for the third quarter of the current fiscal year. The firm logged a consolidated net profit of Rs 479 crore in the quarter ended December 2023, against Rs 301 crore in the corresponding period a year earlier. It credited the growth to strong sales across markets. The revenue from operations also increased to Rs 10,114 crore in Q3FY24, against Rs 8,066 crore reported in the same quarter in the preceding fiscal year.
The Indian government on Wednesday allowed securities by domestic companies to be directly listed on international exchanges of GIFT IFSC to enhance foreign investments. The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in the finance ministry amended the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules and notified the 'Direct Listing of Equity Shares of Companies Incorporated in India on International Exchanges Scheme'. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) also issued Companies (Listing of Equity Shares in Permissible Jurisdictions) Rules, 2024, reported PTI.
Realty firm DLF Ltd reported a 27 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in the financial results for the third quarter of the current fiscal year (2023-24) released on Wednesday. The company posted a net profit of Rs 655.71 crore for the quarter ended December 2023, against Rs 517.94 crore logged in the same quarter a year earlier. The firm credited this growth to increased income and reduced expenses. The overall expenses of the company fell to Rs 1,131.97 crore in Q3FY24, against Rs 1,151.62 crore reported in the same period in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
The rupee appreciated 2 paise and settled at 83.13 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday. Forex traders noted that the domestic unit is trading in a narrow range due to the positive equities and a soft US dollar, which provided a cushion to the rupee, however, surging crude oil prices and foreign fund outflows restricted gains. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the Indian currency opened at 83.15 against the American dollar, and traded between 83.16 and 83.11, before settling at 83.13 against the greenback. In its previous session on Tuesday, the Indian rupee closed at 83.15 against the American currency.
Tech Mahindra reported a fall of 60 per cent in its net profit in the third quarter financial results released on Wednesday. The company posted a net profit of Rs 510.4 crore in the quarter ended December 2023, against a net profit of Rs 1,296.6 crore in the corresponding period a year earlier. The overall revenue from operations dipped 4.6 per cent to Rs 13,101 crore in Q3FY24, against Rs 13,734 crore registered in the same quarter in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
The stock markets on Wednesday displayed volatility in the trading session. After following the downward trend of the last trading session in the morning, the markets reversed and attempted a recovery rally in the afternoon. At the end of the session, the two key equity benchmarks managed to settle with some gains, however, weren't able to fully recover the losses. The S&P BSE Sensex climbed nearly 700 points to close above the 71,000 mark at 71,060.31, while the NSE Nifty50 gained over 200 points and breached 21,400 mark to touch 21,453.95 as trading ended.
The government intends to increase the share of scrap in steel making process to 50 per cent by 2047, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday. Speaking at the 11th International Material Recycling Conference in Kolkata, the minister said that the ministry aims to enhance the usage of scrap in steel making in the next 25 years as a step towards green steel initiative, reported PTI.
Indian Bank on Wednesday reported a 52 per cent increase in its net profit in the third quarter financial results. The public sector bank revealed that the net profit in the quarter ended December 2023 stood at Rs 2,119 crore, against Rs 1,396 crore reported in the corresponding quarter a year earlier. The bank credited this growth to an improvement in core income and reduction in bad loans. The total income of the bank increased to Rs 16,099 crore during the reviewing quarter, against Rs 13,551 crore on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.
State-owned Canara Bank posted a 29 per cent increase in its profit to Rs 3,656 crore in its third quarter financial results released on Wednesday. Comparatively, the bank logged a net profit of Rs 2,832 crore in the quarter ended December 2022. The asset quality of the bank also improved in the reviewing period. The gross non-performing assets (NPA) fell to 4.39 per cent in Q3FY24, against 5.89 per cent seen in the corresponding period a year ago. The net NPA also improved to 1.32 per cent in the reviewing period, agaisnt 1.96 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a penalty of Rs 1.10 crore on Air India for safety violations amidst a series of incidents of flight irregularities. Earlier in the month, the aviation regulator issued show-cause notices to Air India and SpiceJet for not deploying pilots trained to work in low visibility areas, after various flights were diverted amidst dense fog at the Delhi airport in late December, reported Business Standard.
Logistics company, Fship Logistics, announced on Wednesday that Mukund Hari has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the firm, and Raju Sinha has been named as the Chief Business Officer (CBO).
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has permitted four entities of Dabur India promoter, the Burman family, to acquire an additional stake of 31.27 per cent in Religare Enterprises, allowing them to become majority stakeholders in the financial services company.
The fair trade regulator allowed the entities to acquire a 5.27 per cent stake via stock market purchase and another 26 per cent through an open offer, reported PTI. The four entities include Puran Associates Pvt Ltd, M.B. Finmart Pvt Ltd, VIC Enterprises Pvt Ltd, and Milky Investment and Trading Company.
The government’s direct tax-to-GDP ratio touched a 23-year high of 6.11 per cent in the 2022-23 fiscal year, official data from the Central Board of Direct Taxes revealed on Tuesday.
The data showed that the government’s direct tax collections increased 17.8 per cent to Rs 16.6 trillion in FY23, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, while corporate tax collections during the period rose 16 per cent to Rs 8.26 trillion, and income tax collections gained 19.6 per cent to touch Rs 8.33 trillion, reported Financial Express.
The stock markets displayed volatility on Wednesday morning and reversed to attempt a recovery rally from the last trading session's losses. As of 10:20 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex climbed over 400 points to cross the 70,500 mark and was trading at 70,782.65, while the NSE Nifty50 gained over 100 points to trade above 21,300 at 21,369.70.
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 exhibited volatility on Wednesday. In early trade, the BSE Sensex fell 316.75 points to inch closer to the 70,000 mark and touched 70,053.80, while the NSE Nifty50 dipped over 50 points to fall below the 21,200 mark and reached 21,187.65 in the morning. However, after markets opened, they attempted a recovery and the two key equity benchmarks moved in an upward trend to manage the losses.
As of 9:50 AM, the Sensex was trading higher by over 200 points at 70,575.04, while the Nifty50 inched up nearly 70 points to stand at 21,309.60.
In the last trading session on Tuesday, the stock markets plunged to a one-month low after reversing their rally in the morning. The markets failed to recover and engaged in a free fall owing to drops in financial and FMCG stocks. As such, the S&P BSE Sensex crashed by over 1,000 points to settle at 70,371, while the NSE Nifty50 declined by 333 points to close at 21,239.
"Global sentiments turned cautious after Fitch Group statement that South Asian economies would be most affected, amid rising hostilities in the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks and India’s economic forecast faces a significant risk on account of a prolonged spell of disruptions," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Official data from the Reserve Bank of India revealed on Tuesday that the net foreign direct investment (FDI) in India registered a decline in the April-November 2023 period, owing to the fall in global inflows and a rise in the repatriation of equity capital.
The data showed that the net FDI during the period under review dipped to $13.54 billion, against $19.76 billion on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. Further, during the first eight months of the ongoing fiscal year, FDI in India remained at $21.39 billion, however, FDI by India touched $7.85 billion. Comparatively, FDI in India stood at $29.11 billion, while FDI by the nation touched $9.35 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier.
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