Business News Highlights: Stock Markets End In Red, Sensex Settles At 73,502, Nifty Closes 150 Points Lower
Business News Highlights: Please follow this space for all the breaking news and latest updates from the Stock Market, economy and corporate world
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The stock market opened the trading week on a low sentiment. During early trade, the BSE Sensex slipped nearly 50 points to touch 74,071.33, while the NSE Nifty50 fell marginally to 22,486.55.
As the trading session continued, markets maintained a downward trajectory and the benchmark indices remained in red. As of 10:02 AM, the BSE Sensex declined over 150 points to fall below the 74K mark and traded at 73,960.01. At the same time, the NSE Nifty50 slipped almost 40 points and stood at 22,454.95.
In the last trading session on Thursday, the markets settled on a muted note after clocking fresh peaks during the opening session. The Sensex settled at 74,119.39, while the Nifty closed trading at 22,493.50.
India signed a free trade agreement with the European bloc, EFTA, on Sunday, culminating the years of negotiations for the trade pact into a concrete deal for the nations. The trade deal is formally known as the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA). Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the trade pact a ‘win-win’ situation for all parties involved. Commenting on behalf of the EFTA bloc, made up of Singapore, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, Guy Parmelin, Federal Councillor, said, “Our companies strive to diversify their supply chains while rendering them more resilient. India, in return, will attract more foreign investment from EFTA, which will ultimately translate into an increase in good jobs...All in all, the TEPA will allow us to make better use of our economic potential and create additional opportunities for both India and the EFTA States.”
Indian edtech start-up Byju’s also released the full salary of 25 per cent of its employees, sources revealed. The employees who received the whole salary belonged to the lower pay scale. The firm also made a partial payment to the remaining workforce.
The firm’s management sent two sets of letters to employees, sharing information about salary payment via alternate fund arrangements amidst the company’s financial crisis.
The management, in the letter sent to employees who received full salary, said, “We processed your salary for February late at night on Friday. However, due to yesterday being a second Saturday and on account of the long weekend, we expect the salaries to be reflected in your accounts on Monday. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by this delay and are grateful for your understanding.”
Exporters Body FIEO Elects Ashwani Kumar As President
The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) announced on Monday that Ashwani Kumar has been elected unanimously as the new President of the body. Kumar replaced A Sakthivel, the body informed.
Powerlook Apparels To Invest Rs 50 Crore To Open 50 Outlets In India By 2027
Powerlook Apparels said on Monday that it will open two new offline stores in Mumbai and further announced that it plans to invest Rs 50 crore to open 50 such outlets in India by 2027. Raghav Pawar, Co-founder, Powerlook Apparels, noted, "Our expansion journey begins with the opening of these two offline stores in Mumbai. While e-commerce remains pivotal, we believe in the significance of physical stores, allowing customers to engage with our products," reported PTI.
AstraZeneca Pharma, Mankind Ink Pact To Distribute Asthma Medicine In India
AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd and Mankind Pharma Ltd signed an agreement to exclusively distribute the Symbicort brand, an asthma medicine, in India. The joint statement shared by AstraZeneca revealed that the firm will keep the intellectual property rights of Symbicort (owned by AstraZeneca) and will remain the marketing authorisation holder (MAH) and import license as part of the agreement.
Commenting on the deal, Sanjeev Panchal, MD and Country President, AstraZeneca India, said, "The partnership with Mankind Pharma presents an opportunity to accelerate access and maximise the potential of our asthma drug as well as the turbuhaler which is a simple device, efficient in consistently delivering a higher proportion of respirable particles than the other devices," reported PTI.
Stock Market: Sensex Ends Over 600 Points Lower, Nifty Breaches 22,350
The stock markets ended Monday trading in red after opening the day on a downward trajectory. The BSE Sensex closed over 600 points lower at 73,502.64, while the NSE Nifty50 settled the session at 22,332.65, down more than 150 points.
Signs Of Price Manipulation Visible In SME Segments, Cautions SEBI Chair Madhabi Buch
Madhabi Puri Buch, Chairperson, SEBI, said that the regulator is seeing certain indications of price manipulation in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) segment. The SEBI head advised investors to exercise caution and said that this manipulation is being noticed in initial public offering (IPO) and in trading. "We do see the signs (of price manipulation), we have the technology to do it. We are able to see certain patterns. I'd say it is still on the kitchen table, it's not yet gone into the oven," Buch said.