Business News Highlights: Stock Market Closes In Red; Sensex Tanks 454 Points; Nifty Below 22,000

Stock Market 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.

Trends from GIFT Nifty suggest a muted beginning for the broader Indian index, showing a modest gain of 11 points. Nifty futures were observed trading near the 22,164.50 mark.

The last trading session was on Tuesday, as the Indian stock market was closed on the occasion of Ram Navami on Wednesday. The markets remained trading with a bearish sentiment on Tuesday as well, extending the trend from the previous three trading sessions. The BSE Sensex concluded the session at 72,944, marking a decrease of over 450 points, while the NSE Nifty50 settled at 22,148, experiencing a decline of nearly 125 points.

On Wednesday, Media reports suggested that India's pulses imports could see a further rise in the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25), following a nearly twofold increase in the previous fiscal year. ANI reported, citing sources, that the government is currently engaged in discussions with new markets like Brazil and Argentina to establish long-term contracts for pulse imports. Despite various incentives provided to farmers, India continues to rely on imports to meet domestic demand for pulses.

Furthermore, on Wednesday, Ambuja Cements Ltd (Ambuja), the cement and building materials company under the Adani portfolio, unveiled a significant step in its growth journey. The company's promoters, the Adani family, have fully subscribed to the warrants program in Ambuja Cements, injecting an additional Rs 8,339 crore. This brings the total infusion in the company to Rs 20,000 crore to date.

"We are thrilled to announce completion of Adani family's primary infusion of Rs 20,000 crore in Ambuja. This infusion of funds provides Ambuja, capital flexibility for fast-tracked growth, capital management initiatives and best-in-class balance sheet strength. It is not only testament to steadfast belief in our vision and business model but also reinforces our commitment to delivering long-term sustainable value creation to our stakeholders, and this shall propel us towards setting new benchmarks accelerating our growth and continue to deliver on operational excellence, business synergies and cost leadership,” said Ajay Kapur, Whole Time Director and CEO, Ambuja Cements Ltd. 

17:15 PM (IST)  •  18 Apr 2024

Infosys Q4 Result: Firm Records Net Profit Of Rs 7,969 Crore

Infosys reported a net profit of Rs 7,969 crore for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24. As per an exchange filing on Thursday, the company disclosed a revenue of Rs 37,923 crore for the three months ended March 31. Previously, analysts, based on an average of 13 brokerage estimates, projected a profit of Rs 6,128 crore on revenue of Rs 38,413 crore.

16:53 PM (IST)  •  18 Apr 2024

HDFC Life Reports Rs 1,569 Crore PAT, Declares Rs 2 Final Dividend

HDFC Life Insurance Company concluded FY24 with a net profit of Rs 1,569 crore, registering a total premium of approximately Rs 63,076 crore. This marks a significant increase from FY23, when the net profit stood at Rs 1,360 crore, with a total premium of Rs 57,533 crore. Despite budgetary changes affecting high-ticket business this year, MD and CEO Vibha Padalkar stated that the company achieved a robust 20 per cent growth for Q4 after adjusting for the one-off business of Rs 1,000 crore in March 2023.

16:33 PM (IST)  •  18 Apr 2024

Nestle India Makes 30% Reduction In Added Sugar In Baby Food Products Over 5 Years

Nestle India announced on Thursday that it has decreased the amount of added sugar in its baby food products across various variants by more than 30 per cent over the past 5 years. This initiative comes amidst reports suggesting that the global FMCG giant has been selling products with higher sugar content in less developed countries.

15:54 PM (IST)  •  18 Apr 2024

Stock Market: Sensex Fell 454 Points; Nifty Below 22,000

The Indian Stock Market continued the downward trend on Thursday for the fourth consecutive session. The BSE Sensex concluded the session at 72,488.99, marking a decrease of over 454.69 points or 0.62 per cent. Similarly, the NSE Nifty50 closed at 21,995.85, recording a decline of 150.05 points or 0.69 per cent.

14:52 PM (IST)  •  18 Apr 2024

India's DPI Poised To Shape Global Future, Says Kant, Not Big Tech

India's G-20 sherpa, Amitabh Kant, emphasised on Thursday that the global future won't be shaped by major technology firms but rather by locally developed digital public infrastructure platforms. Kant highlighted India's intention to share its digital public infrastructure (DPI) with the world, noting the growing interest from other countries in adopting similar models. He was speaking at the 'We Made in India' event.