Rate hike worries drag Sensex by 900 pts, Nifty down 270 pts; all sectors in red

Indices tumble 1.5% on Wednesday with Sensex closing below 59,800 and Nifty at around 17,550

Indian markets extended losses on Wednesday and tanked 1.5% after strong economic data from the US kept investors worried that central banks would have to keep raising interest rates to tackle inflation.

S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities said, “Indian Equities opened gap down today on the back of weak global cues led by the Russian stance on the conflict and the likely stance by the FED & RBI on interest rates.”

The Nifty 50 index slipped by 272 pts to close at 17,554, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell almost 930 points and ended below 60,000, at 59,744.

Both the Fed and the Reserve Bank of India were due to release minutes of their latest policy meetings, giving investors a glimpse of their thinking on future rate-hike trajectories.

All sectoral indices ended in the red with Metal, Bank, Realty, and IT dragging the market the most. FMCG and Pharma escaped with minor losses.

Adani stocks topped the laggards with Adani Enterprises closing 11% down and Adani Ports shedding 7%. Grasim and Bajaj Finance also slipped around 3% each. ITC made reasonable gains.

Asian shares declined Wednesday after stocks tumbled on Wall Street as worries persist about higher interest rates and their tightening squeeze on the global economy.

Japan’s Nikkei share average ended at a one-month low on Wednesday under broad selling pressure piled on by rising global political tensions and worries that U.S. rate hikes will end up slowing down the world’s economy. The Nikkei lost 1.34% to close at 27,104.32, the lowest since Jan. 23.

China and Hong Kong stocks finished lower on Wednesday, as geopolitical tensions ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Wall Street selloff overnight dragged the markets.

China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index lost 0.90%, while the Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.47%. The Hang Seng Index was down 0.51%, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 1.33%.

European shares opened lower on Wednesday, weighed down by a decline in mining stocks as metal prices fell. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell as investors wait for the release of the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s last meeting, due later in the day.

London stocks fell on Wednesday, bogged down by downbeat corporate earnings and dented risk appetite. The blue-chip FTSE 100 shed in the morning session along with a domestically-focussed FTSE 250.

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India remains ‘bright spot’, to contribute 15% of global growth in 2023: IMF MD

India continues to remain a relative “bright spot” in the world economy, and will alone contribute 15 per cent of the global growth in 2023, International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva said.

While digitisation pulled out the world’s fifth-largest economy from pandemic lows, prudent fiscal policy and significant financing for capital investments provided in the next year’s budget will help sustain the growth momentum.

“India’s performance has been quite impressive. For this year, we expect India to retain a high growth rate, 6.8 per cent for the year that ends in March. For FY 2023/24 (April 2023 to March 2024) we project 6.1 per cent, a bit of slow down like the rest of the world economy, but way above the global average. And in that way, India is providing about 15 per cent of global growth in 2023,” Georgieva told PTI in an interview.

That is the fastest growth rate among major economies.

Crisil upgrades DB Power’s long-term rating as Adani Power calls off acquisition

Following Adani Power Ltd’s plans to acquire DBPL were called off, rating agency CRISIL has upgraded DB Power Ltd’s (DBPL) long-term rating from “A+” to “AA-“, reported Business Standard on 22 February.

The rating agency also removed the firm from “on watch status” and assigned a “stable” outlook.

Earlier on 30 August 2022, Crisil had placed DB Power’s rating on watch following Adani Power Ltd’s announcement to acquire DBPL. However, the acquisition state under the memorandum of understanding expired on 15 February 2023. (Read More)

Geojit Financial Services on Possible extension of Trading hours by NSE

A Balakrishnan, Executive Director at Geojit Financial Services: In today’s world, economies are highly connected and the integration of the global markets is gradually increasing. The Indian stock market reacts to the developments in other major economies and markets in the US and Europe. Therefore, markets which have longer trading hours can hedge the risk arising due to the global information flow in a more efficient way. Therefore, any move by NSE to increase the trading time for the equity segment will help the market participants and retail investors.

“Adani group has potential”: Israel’s ambassador to India backs Adani takeover of Haifa port

Israel Ambassador to India Naor Gilon on Wednesday said his country’s handing over of the strategic port of Haifa to the Adani Group is a reflection of the trust that it has on India.

“It was a very important move from our point of view because Haifa Port is our strategic asset. Adani Group has the potential to make the Haifa Port the port it needs to be and to increase trade between Israel and India,” Gilon said.

The Envoy also revealed that the Adani Group was looking to invest in more projects in Israel, adding that he hopes for success in the conglomerate’s ventures in his country.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Gilon said, “The fact that we are giving to an Indian company, I think from our point of view, it is a symbolic or sign of deep trust of handing the strategic asset in an Indian group.” (ANI)

Delhi govt to issue new rules for bike taxi operators, likely to include GPS, other features

The Delhi government will soon roll out its aggregator policy for two-, three- and four-wheelers, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said on Monday. Kailash Gahlot’s comment comes a day after the Transport department cautioned bike taxis against plying on the roads of Delhi, warning that it was a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, that would make aggregators liable for a fine of ₹1 lakh.

The Delhi government has proposed several measures to regulate the operation of bike taxis in the national capital which includes permits to police verification of drivers, commercial registration of vehicles to GPS-fitted two-wheelers, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday. According to the official the rules may soon be notified by the government. Currently, three cab aggregators — Ola, Uber and Rapido — offer bike taxis, which have steadily been increasing in popularity as they are more affordable and faster in traffic than four-wheeler taxis or auto-rickshaws. (Read More)

China and Hong Kong stocks lower as Ukraine woes, rate-hike fears weigh

China and Hong Kong stocks finished lower on Wednesday, as geopolitical tensions ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Wall Street selloff overnight dragged the markets.

** China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index lost 0.90%, while the Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.47%.

** The Hang Seng Index was down 0.51%, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 1.33%.

** Wider Asian share markets followed Wall Street into the red as surprising strength in global surveys of services stoked fears that central banks would have to lift rates further.

** U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been sparring verbally, presenting starkly different views of the world and the Ukraine war — Biden promising to defend democracies and Putin asserting the West was a threat to Russia. (Reuters)

Sugar mills likely to report 8-12% rise in revenues in FY23: Report

Indian sugar companies will likely see their revenues increase 8-12% in FY23, supported by addition in installed capacity along with an rise in ethanol blending target and price, CareEdge Ratings said in a report.

Domestic sugar production is estimated at 340 lakh tonne in sugar season 2022-23, which runs from October-September, compared to the peak of 358 lakh tonne output in 2021-22; with the highest ever diversion towards ethanol estimated at 45 lakh tonne (up 41% year-on-year), according to Indian Sugar Mills Association (Isma). (Read More)

All sectoral indices are in red but Realty is under more pressure than most others with it shedding almost 2%

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Adani Power calls off ₹70.2-billion coal plant acquisition, briefs stock exchanges

Adani Power has clarified the stock exchanges that it has called off its plan to acquire a coal plant project in central India and there is no further development in this matter.

In August 2022, Adani Power agreed to take control of DB Power at an enterprise value of ₹70.2 billion ($850 million). The acquisition was approved by the country’s competition regulator a month later.

Amid the media reports that Adani Power had cancelled the acquisition of the coal plant, Adani Power informed both the stocks exchanges — BSE and NSE — on Tuesday that it was not going ahead with the acquisition.

The Adani Group company and DB Power mutually agreed not to proceed with the transaction after a long-stop date expired on February 15. DB Power operates a 1.2-gigawatt coal power project in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. (ANI)

China urges state firms to drop big four auditors on data risk – Bloomberg News

Chinese authorities have urged state-owned firms to phase out using the four biggest international accounting firms, signaling continued concerns about data security, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

China’s Ministry of Finance is among government entities that gave window guidance to some state-owned enterprises as recently as last month, urging them to let contracts with the Big Four auditing firms expire, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Home decor industry stares at demand slowdown even as pipe firms shine in Q3

The December quarter earnings (Q3FY23) of home decor companies were a mixed bag on key parameters of volumes, realisations and margins.

Volume growth was unimpressive in the ceramic tiles and wood panels segment. “Volumes across tile players were muted with leader Kajaria reporting a slight dip year-on-year in volume growth,” said analysts at Nuvama Research. MDF segment, too, saw demand slowing, with the top three listed companies together reporting a flat year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in volumes as against double digit volume growth till Q1FY23, added the report. (Read More)

Nifty, Sensex down nearly 1% each: Factors pulling the market down

Here are a few factors dampening the investor sentiment:

Weak global market cues

Wall Street had their worst day this year after purchasing managers index data showed that the U.S. services sector is roaring back to life. Not one of the 18 economists polled by Reuters expected the services PMI to bounce back above the 50.0 threshold between contraction and expansion, and the shockwaves were felt across all asset classes. (Read More)

Crypto firm Polygon Labs lays off 20% of workforce as rout worsens

Polygon Labs, the operator of an eponymous protocol used by developers to make Ethereum transactions quicker and cheaper, on Tuesday said that it has laid off 20% of its workforce, or around 100 employees, making it the latest digital asset firm to execute job cuts.

Polygon has 500 full-time employees. In a blog post, the company said that the impacted employees will each receive three months of severance pay, regardless of their level or tenure at the company. (Read More)

Bajaj Finance drags in today’s sessions as it drops 2%

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Citigroup forecasts global growth at 2.2% this year

Citigroup economists on Wednesday raised their global growth forecast slightly but said they still expected the world’s economy to grow at the slowest pace in 40 years.

Economists at the Wall Street brokerage led by Nathan Sheets said that they now see global growth slowing this year to 2.2%, 25 basis points higher than their previous estimate due to improving macroeconomic trends. (Reuters)

Noon Update: Indices continue to tumble as Sensex sheds 600 pts and Nifty 170 pts; Adani stocks sink

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Ed-tech startup Camp K12 lays off 70% of its workforce

Ed-tech startup Camp K12 has reportedly laid off 70% of its workforce. According to a report by the Morning Context, the coding ed-tech firm has refused to pay dues to its staff.

Camp K12 was founded in 2010 by Anshul Bhagi, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Business School as a small-time coding boot camp. During the pandemic, he launched this ed-tech startup. (Read More)

IRB Infra shares trade ex-split of 1:10; stock rises

Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd surged more than 2% to ₹31 apiece on the BSE in Wednesday’s deals as the stock started trading ex-split, on the record date of the sub-division of the company’s equity shares or stock split in the ratio of 1:10.

The company last month had announced that its board “approved sub-division/split of existing equity share of the Company from 1 (one) equity share having face value of Rs. 10/- (Rupees Ten only) each, fully paid-up into 10 (ten) equity shares having face value of Re. 1 (Rupee One) each fully paid-up, subject to the approval of shareholders of the Company.” It fixed Wednesday, February 22, 2023 as the ‘Record Date’ for the purpose of determining the eligibility of Shareholders for the purpose of the stock split. (Read More)

Global Bonds Are Set to Erase 2023 Gains

Global bonds are poised to erase all of the gains they made in their best start to a year on record.

Fixed-income assets have gone into reverse as central banks around the world have stood by their intention to keep raising interest rates to tame inflation, defying bond bulls who piled into debt last month betting on a pivot. Treasuries tumbled Tuesday on further signs the world’s biggest economy is proving resilient despite almost a year of policy tightening.

“Global bonds can decline further in coming weeks due to the ongoing recalibration of the economic outlook and the Fed’s reaction function,” said Damien McColough, head of fixed-income research at Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney. The “higher for longer narrative” for central bank interest rates is the driver, he said.

A Bloomberg index of global bonds has dropped 2.9% this month through Tuesday, unwinding almost all of its 3.3% surge in January, which the best first month of a year since the gauge was introduced in 1990. (Bloomberg)

Metal Index struggles as it sheds 1.5% with almost all stocks trading in the red

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Rupee little changed as U.S. yields spike on Fed rate-hike jitters

The Indian rupee barely budged against the dollar on Wednesday, as U.S. yields jumped overnight on bets of multiple Federal Reserve rate hikes and weighed on sentiment.

The rupee was at 82.81 per dollar by 10:31 a.m. IST, against its previous close of 82.79.

Most Asian currencies declined, with the Chinese yuan at one point falling past 6.90 per dollar level, after U.S. data showed business activity sped to an eight-month high in February.

The data comes on the heels of robust jobs, inflation and retail sales print and has sparked a further revision of Fed terminal rate expectations.

U.S. 2-year Treasury yield rose to an over three-month peak overnight, while the 10-year yield hovered close to 4% after jumping 12 basis points. [US/] (Reuters)

How NSE’s extension of stock market trading hours will help retail investors

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has extended the market trading hours for interest rate derivatives to 5 pm, effective Thursday, February 23, the stock exchange said in a notice on Tuesday. Currently, the trading window is of six hours and 30 minutes which starts at 9 am in morning and ends at 3:30 pm. The move aims at converge the trading window of interest rate derivatives with underlying market timings, the NSE circular said.

There will be no change in trading hours for other interest rate derivative contracts. All existing expiry contracts with expiry day beyond 23 February 2023, and all new expiration contracts introduced thereafter will be available for trading till 5 pm on expiry day, as per the NSE statement. (Read More)

India says ‘era is not for war’ as G20 finance meet starts

India on Wednesday reiterated its stance on the war in Ukraine that it was time for dialogue and diplomacy, days ahead of the Feb. 24 anniversary of Russia’s invasion and as G20 finance officials started a meeting near Bengaluru.

“Today’s era is not for war. Democracy, dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward,” Anurag Thakur, India’s information minister, told a news conference after welcoming delegates to the meeting which ends on Saturday. (Reuters)

Bajaj Auto stock remains steady with a gain of around a per cent in an otherwise gloomy trade

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Delhivery share price today tanks on block deal buzz after rallying for 7 straight trading days

Shares of Delhivery tanked more than 3% to ₹334 apiece on the BSE in Wednesday’s opening trading session on buzz of large block deals. The stock rallied for seven straight days till Tuesday even as its Q3 net loss widened.

About 1.22 crore shares of Delhivery, i.e., 1.7% of equity, worth ₹410 crore changed hands at an average price of ₹338 per share on Wednesday, as per a report by CNBC-TV18. Mint could not independently verify the update. (Read More)

Oil & Gas index falls more than a per cent with Adani Total Gas hitting the lower circruit and most stocks in the red

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Geojit Financial Services on today’s market: These negative US equity market trends are impacting equity markets everywhere and India cannot be an exception to this trend, at least in the near term

Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services: The US macro data continues to dictate equity markets globally. The US markets reacted sharply negatively to the series of economic data indicating that the process of disinflation is slow and, therefore, the Fed will have to continue raising rates longer than expected earlier. This pushed up the 10-year bond yield sharply to 3.95% and stocks fell sharply. These negative US equity market trends are impacting equity markets everywhere and India cannot be an exception to this trend at least in the near term.

Investors should ignore these short-term gyrations and focus on slowly accumulating high-quality growth stocks which will bounce back smartly when the present near-term gyrations die down. Indian economic growth prospects continue to remain strong and all domestic demand-driven sectors will continue to do well, going forward.

Adani Enterprises sheds more than 3% in early trading, among the biggest laggards

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Oil Fluctuates After Run of Losses Ahead of Fed Meeting Minutes

Oil fluctuated after its longest run of losses this year ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve that may provide further clues on the path forward for monetary tightening in the US.

West Texas Intermediate traded near $76 a barrel after declining for a fifth session on Tuesday. The prospect of more aggressive interest-rate hikes from the Fed to quell inflation have kept a lid on prices, despite increasing evidence of a robust recovery in China following the end of Covid Zero.

See also: China’s Binge on Russian Oil Separating Winners From Losers

The market has endured a bumpy ride this year as traders juggle concerns over a US slowdown and China’s rebound from virus curbs to try and determine the direction for global energy demand. That’s trapped futures within a range of around $10 a barrel as the bullish and bearish narratives clash. (Bloomberg)

PSU Bank index continues its downward journey as it sheds a per cent in early trading

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Mahindra and Mahindra to transfer 4-wheeler EV assets to subsidiary

Mahindra and Mahindra on Tuesday announced that it has entered into an asset transfer agreement with its wholly owned subsidiary EV subsidiary for transfer of certain identified assets (capital work in progress) pertaining to the four-wheeler passenger electric vehicles. The wholly-owned subsidiary is Mahindra Electric Automobile Ltd. (MEAL) , was incorporated in October 2022.

Indices shed at open with Sensex tumbling 250 pts and Nifty more than 80 pts; Adani Enterprises, Wipro drag

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Macfos IPO: GMP steady after over 194 times subscription. Share allotment, listing date details

The initial public offering (IPO) of Macfos Ltd witnessed strong demand from retail investors and NIIs since its opening on Friday, February 17, 2023, and the three-day initial share sale concluded on Tuesday, February 21, 2023. The price band of the issue had been fixed at ₹96 to ₹102 per share. The IPO aimed to raise about ₹23.7 crore with an NII quota of 15%, QIB of 50%, and a retail quota of 35%.

As per market observers, Macfos shares are commanding a premium (GMP) of ₹82 in the grey market today. The shares of the company are expected to list on BSE SME on March 1, 2023. The SME platform of the exchanges is intended for small and medium-sized companies. (Read More)

Sensex preopens in the red; Adani Transmission, HDFC Bank, Paytm in focus in today’s session

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Reliance Securities Stock in Focus for Today: Astral

STOCK IN FOCUS

Astral (CMP 1,944): In view of the all these positive triggers of high growth and earning CAGR, we have our BUY rating on the stock, with a Target Price of Rs2,370.

Intraday Picks

INFOSYS (PREVIOUS CLOSE: RS1580) SELL

For today’s trade, short position can be initiated in the range of Rs1580-

1600 for the target of Rs1555 with a strict stop loss of Rs1615.

SBI (PREVIOUS CLOSE: RS523) BUY

For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs512-

517 for the target of Rs532 with a strict stop loss of Rs509.

M&M (PREVIOUS CLOSE: RS1352) SELL

For today’s trade, short position can be initiated in the range of Rs1355-

1365 for the target of Rs1333 with a strict stop loss of Rs1380.

Centre to sell 20 lakh tonnes of wheat in open market from buffer stock to cool prices of atta

The Centre on Tuesday announced sale of an additional 20 lakh tonnes of wheat in the open market to further bring down the retail prices of wheat and wheat flour (atta) and asked flour millers to cut rates with softening in wholesale price of grain.

On January 25, the Centre had announced sale of 30 lakh tonnes of wheat in the open market from its buffer stock to check rise in prices of wheat and wheat flour (atta).

According to an official statement, the government has decided that state-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) will offload an additional quantity of 20 lakh tonnes of wheat in open market under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS). The stocks will be sold through e-auction to flour mills/private traders/bulk buyers/manufactures of wheat products.

The proposal to sell stocks in the open market was taken by a group of ministers, sources said. (PTI)

Global market update: SGX Nifty, Asia follow weak cues from Wall Street

US market saw the worst day of 2023 on Tuesday as macro data points at higher rate scenario. The markets around the globe are keenly eyeing the US fed meeting minutes for hints on further monetary policy tightening. US Stocks extended last week’s fall on fears of higher rates for longer duration. Indices witnessed biggest daily fall on Wall Street since December 15. 10-year bond yield soared 10 bps to 3.95% and US Dollar Index went above 104. (Read More)

Stoxbox views on today’s market: Going ahead, index has an intermediate support around 17770-17650. On the other hand resistance is placed around 17900-18030

Rohan Shah, Head Technical analyst at Stoxbox: The U.S. equities posted a worst day decline of 2023 on Tuesday, as sentiments turned sour after the release of the S&P Global PMI data, S&P 500 and Nasdaq both ended in red with a loss of more than 2 percent, 2.00% and 2.50% respectively, while Dow Jones declined 2.06%. Yields on government bonds hits fresh three months high, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note jumped to 3.956%, from 3.842%.

Indian equities closed in red on Tuesday, Nifty fell 18 points or 0.10%. Nifty forms lower highs and lows, for the fourth consecutive session in a row. Index has closed beneath the 20 DEMA for the second consecutive session, failure to reclaim back above the same shall attract further bearish momentum. Going ahead, the index has intermediate support around 17770-17650. On the other hand, resistance is placed around 17900-18030. Nifty Bank closed marginally lower by 0.07%, Broader market, Nifty Mid Cap and Nifty Small closed lower by 0.36% and 0.36% respectively. Sectoral indices ended mixed. The NiftyFMCG and NiftyFinservice were the major gainers which were up 0.11% and 0.05%. NiftyPSUBank lost the most at 1.79% followed by NiftyRealty which plunged 1.20%.

The markets are likely to open in red; SGX Nifty trading lower by 85 points compared to the previous closing. Asian Markets are trading weak; Nikkei is trading lower by 1.40% while Hang Seng is down by 0.79%.

Usha International looks to close FY23 with around ₹3,800 crore revenue

Consumer durable product maker Usha International is looking to close the current financial year with a revenue of around ₹3,800 crore, said its CEO Dinesh Chhabra.

As part of its strategy, the company is pursuing “profitable growth” across its segments with quality and not chasing the market shares, he said.

“We would attempt to close to ₹3,700 crore to ₹3,800 crore in FY23,” Chhabra told PTI.

Usha International operates in the consumer durable space with a product portfolio, including fans, sewing machines, home appliances and power products.

Presently 45 per cent of Usha International’s business comes from the fan segment, while the rest is contributed by others.

When asked about growth, Chhabra said he expects growth from all the segments. (PTI)

Stocks to Watch: Adani Transmission, HDFC Bank, Zee, Paytm, IRB Infrastructure, New India Assurance, Advik Capital, HPCL, Lupin, and Coal India

Mahindra CIE Automotive India will be among the stocks in focus as it will declare its December quarter earnings today. (Read More)

Stiff Adani margins fail to deter day traders

Day traders with deep pockets aren’t deterred by stiff trading margins on Adani group stocks, the surge in traded volumes of group companies on exchanges shows. Earlier this month, stock exchanges imposed trading margins of 65-100% in several Adani group companies.

The high level of volatility in counters such as Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy and Adani Enterprises is attracting these traders who take intraday buy or sell bets and close out their positions before the end of the day’s trading. The group’s combined market value fell below the $100 billion mark on Tuesday. (Read More)

₹1.5 lakh cr to be invested for setting up data centres in next 6 years: Report

The data centres industry will witness investments of ₹1.5 lakh crore over the next six years, a report said on Tuesday.

This will result in addition of nearly 5,000 MW capacity, which is a six-fold increase as compared to the current installed capacity, domestic ratings agency Icra said in the report.

The agency attributed the increased interest in investments to data localisation and data explosion for what it termed as the data centre revolution, which is underway in the country.

It can be noted that last few years have seen a slew of announcements by companies, including those from the Adani Group, to invest in the data centres space.

“The key triggers for digital explosion in India are the increasing internet and mobile penetration, the government’s thrust on e-governance/digital India, adoption of new technologies (cloud computing, Internet of Things, 5G etc), growing userbase for social media, gaming, e-commerce and OTT platforms,” the agency’s co-group head for corporate sector ratings Anupama Reddy said. (PTI)

HDFC Bank to hit dollar bond market after gap of 2 years

HDFC Bank plans to sell dollar bonds to support its plans to expand lending outside India, joining other banks in tapping opportunities in overseas markets, according to two people aware of the matter.

The country’s largest private bank is expected to raise $500 million by selling five-year bonds, the people said, requesting anonymity. HDFC Bank has hired Citigroup, HSBC, JP Morgan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Societe Generale and Standard Chartered for the proposed Reg S transaction, which bars the securities from being sold to people in the US. (Read More)

Rupee falls 6 paise to close at 82.79 against US dollar

The rupee depreciated 6 paise to close at 82.79 against the US dollar on Tuesday as the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and a muted trend in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments.

Traders said the inflow of foreign funds in the domestic equities market, however, supported the Indian currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 82.76 against the greenback and finally settled for the day at 82.79, registering a fall of 6 paise over its previous close of 82.73.

During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 82.73 and a low of 82.83 against the American dollar.

“Rupee continued to trade in a narrow range and volatility remained low. Preliminary manufacturing and services PMI numbers released from the EZ and the UK came in better-than-estimates. Euro and pound gained after the release of robust data,” said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. (PTI)

Citigroup lifts CEO Fraser’s 2022 pay to $24.5 mln

Citigroup increased Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser’s compensation by nearly 9% to $24.5 million for 2022, the lender said in a filing on Tuesday.

Fraser’s total pay in 2021 was $22.5 million. She took over as the first female chief executive of a major Wall Street bank in February 2021.

Her pay is still below the $34.5 million of JPMorgan & Chase Co’s CEO Jamie Dimon, and Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman’s $31.5 million.

Fraser’s base salary was $1.5 million, her cash incentive was $3.45 million and her deferred incentives included $8.05 million in deferred stock and $11.5 million of performance share units, the filing showed. (Read More)

Chinese say projects awaiting India’s nod

China remains hopeful of securing investment approval for its firms looking to invest in India even as the two continue to share a testy political relationship due to border tensions, people aware of the development said. While Indian officials said in January that pending foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals from China are at their lowest, Chinese diplomats said many Chinese investment proposals in India await approval.

“There are still many applications for Chinese investment in India submitted for a long time, waiting for the approval of the Indian government,” these diplomats said on condition of anonymity. (Read More)

‘Angel Tax’ provisions in Finance Bill will not impact startups: DPIIT Secy

The ‘angel tax’ provision in the Finance Bill will not impact startups in India, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Startups which are registered with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade do not come under the purview, Anurag Jain, the secretary in the department said while speaking at the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) Conclave here.

“Let me put one thing very clearly. It doesn’t affect startups in the least,” he said, addressing the audience at the event organized by the venture capital industry lobby grouping. (Read More)

Vodafone Idea stock under F&O ban on NSE today. Details here

Only one stock has been put under the ban for trade on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 under the futures and options (F&O) segment by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The counter has been put on ban under the F&O segment as it has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL), as per the NSE.

Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) stock is one that is part of the F&O ban list ban by the stock exchange for today. The NSE updates the list of securities in F&O ban for trade every day. (Read More)

Centre likely to auction lithium reserves by June

The government is poised to invite bids for the auction of the newly discovered lithium reserves in Jammu as early as the June quarter, a move that will give India access to the strategic mineral that helps power everything from mobile phones to electric vehicles.

Earlier this month, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) reported the presence of significant lithium reserves totalling 5.9 million tonnes in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The find has catapulted India into the world’s seventh-largest holder of lithium reserves. (Read More)

Wall Street posts worst day of 2023 on Wednesday on higher-for-longer rate fears

Wall Street posted its worst performance of the year on Tuesday, with the main benchmarks ending down as investors interpreted a rebound in U.S. business activity in February to mean interest rates will need to stay higher for longer to control inflation.

For the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, it was their third session in a row closing lower, while the decline in the Dow Jones Industrial wiped out its gains for 2023.

The falls came after the S&P Global Purchasing Manufacturer’s index, which reflects business activity in the United States, returned to expansion for the first time in eight months in February. The 50.2 reading, up from 46.8 in January, was buoyed by a robust services sector, according to a survey.

The report added to a recent slew of economic data which has painted a picture of a resilient economy, which continues to perform against a backdrop of multiple rate-rises by the central bank in 2022 aimed at tamping down inflation.

With inflation still far from the Fed’s 2% target, and the economy retaining much of its vigor, money market participants have been revising upwards where they see the Fed fund rates peaking – currently at 5.35% in July and staying near those levels throughout the year.

“Today, the realization is that the Fed is not kidding around about higher for longer, and in fact it might be a little bit higher for a little-to-a-lot bit longer,” said Carol Schleif, chief investment officer at BMO Family Office. (Reuters)