News Time

  The Centre is learnt to have set the price band for the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) at Rs 902-949 a share, and may offer a discount of Rs 60 to the policyholders. Retail investors and the employees of LIC, on the other hand, may get a discount of Rs 45 on subscribing to the shares of India’s largest insurer, a senior government official said. The board of LIC has approved the discount to be offered to the three categories, reservations for policyholders and employees, and the issue dates, the official added. The government may sell 221.3 million shares, or 3.5 per cent stake, in LIC through the offering. This would help the government garner Rs 21,000 crore, valuing the insurer at Rs 6 trillion. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has approved the reduction in the issue size, the official said. An exemption on lowering the issue size was required from the market regulator as the existing guidelines mandate a minimum offering o...

Shares of  Reliance Industries  (RIL) gained 4 per cent to Rs 1,475 on the BSE on Monday in the early morning deal. The stock has surged 19 per cent in the past four trading days after the company announced $5.7 billion equity deal with  Facebook.  In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex has gained 4.1 per cent during the same period. RIL on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 announced that  Facebook  would invest Rs 43,547 crore ($5.7 billion) in the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Jio Platforms to expand its presence in India.   A sharp rally in stock price has seen the market captialisation (market-cap) of RIL increase by Rs 1.5 trillion in four trading days. The company’s market-cap stood at Rs 9.35 trillion in the intra-day trade today, from Rs 7.83 trillion on April 21, 2020, the exchange data shows. The stock hit a two-month high today and has recovered 68 per cent from its last month low of Rs 876 touched on March 23, in an intra...

With barely a few days left for the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government to present the  Union Budget  proposals for financial year 2020-21 (FY21), most domestic and foreign brokerages look forward to credible steps to prop-up growth and provide some relief to the individual income-tax payers in terms of a cut in tax rates. Here are some of the key things on the wish list of leading brokerages. Morgan Stanley We expect the budget to: (a) focus on credible fiscal numbers and gradual consolidation, (b) continue to favour investment-driven growth with redistributive spending likely to remain in line with nominal GDP growth, (c) provide strong intent to raise additional resources through strategic divestment and asset monetization, and (d) provide a credible medium-term fiscal consolidation plan and improve the health of the public sector balance sheet. Here you can also read Budget2020 News

Apple has announced its all-new Night Mode photo challenge, inviting users around the world to share their best Night Mode photos captured with the iPhone 11 , 11 Pro, or 11 Pro Max. "Beginning today through January 29, Apple is in search of the most stunning Night mode shots from users around the world. A panel of select judges will evaluate submissions to reveal five winning photos on March 4," the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Winners will be selected by a panel of judges, including Apple executives and photographers Malin Fezehai, Tyler Mitchell, Sarah Lee, Alexvi Li and Darren Soh. The winning photos will be celebrated in a gallery on Apple Newsroom, apple.com and Apple Instagram (@apple). They may also appear in digital campaigns, at Apple Stores, on billboards, or in a third-party photo exhibition. Read Complete Article

An upswing in the global markets is likely to impact the investors back home today who will also track corporate results, macro data and stock-specific action for further cues. All eyes will be on Infosys today which is scheduled to announce its December quarter numbers later in the day. The IT service provider is expected to post revenue growth of 0.9 per cent to 2.1 per cent on a sequential basis for the quarter ended December 31. This could mainly be on account of the company’s cross-currency gains and business transfer of Eishtec in Ireland. On the macroeconomic front, the industrial production data for November will be announced today. In stock-specific action, Bharti Airtel's fundraising exercise was subscribed by more than three times, garnering pledges of over $10 billion. YES Bank will also be in focus ahead of today's board meet to consider and approve the right issue of equity shares, issue of warrants and the preferential issue of shares.   Read Comp...

The news overnight on the US-Iran front is set to push the domestic indices higher today as oil prices recede to their cheapest level since mid-December. The United States and Iran backed away from the brink of further conflict in the Middle east as US President Donald Trump said Iran’s missile strikes had not harmed any Americans and that Tehran appeared to be "standing down". On its part, Iran has offered no immediate signal it would retaliate further to the January 3 strike. Oil reversed its gains and now sits cheaper than it was before the killing of the Iranian commander, Qassem Soleimani. Brent futures nursed overnight losses of 4 per cent to trade at $65.44 per barrel. Besides this, investors will now shift their focus to the December quarter results and pre-Budget newsflow. Stock-specific development, the Rupee's trajectory, and foreign fund flows will also affect sentiment. Shares of Bharti Airtel will be in focus today as the wireless telephony m...

Podcast News : A huge sell-off in the equity markets yesterday and a recovery in global markets overnight may prompt a rebound in domestic indices today. However, short-term risk from any new aggression on the US-Iran front remains intact. A reports by Reuters that the government is likely to cut spending for the current fiscal year to curb deficit as it faces one of the biggest tax shortfalls in recent years is also expected to weigh on investor sentiment. Apart from this, market participants will continue to follow the trajectory of the Rupee which plunged 13 paise on Monday to settle at 71.93 against the US currency. They will also be on the lookout for on any news flow regarding the upcoming Budget. Besides, investors will track stock-specific action, foreign fund flows, and global developments throughout the day for further cues. Among individual stocks, TCS will remain in focus as the IT bellwether is set to postpone the announcement of its Q3 results from the earlier ...

Podcast News : Geopolitical developments in the Middle East, crude oil prices, and December quarter results will be the major driving factors for the Indian equity indices this week. Global markets were thrown into fresh turmoil on Friday after top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq. The risk of possible retaliation from Iran is expected to keep the crude prices and the Rupee's level volatile which will have a direct bearing on the equity markets. The earnings season kicks off this week with Infosys announcing its December quarter numbers on Friday and Avenue Supermarts on Saturday. On the macroeconomic front, PMI data for the services sector for December will be released today and industrial production data for November will be announced on Friday. Read Complete Article

Podcast News : Surging global indices and some positive data points back home may help perk up investor sentiment in today's session. Market participants, though, will also look at stock-specific developments and any pre-budget news flow for further clues. In stock-specific news, the government is unlikely to complete the strategic sale of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Container Corporation of India (Concor), and Air India by March-end, according to a Business Standard report. The stocks of the first two companies will react to the development. Besides, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) walked away with all the seven oil and gas blocks on offer in the fourth round of Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP). In another development, the Reserve Bank will carry out another round of special simultaneous open market operation to buy and sell government bonds of Rs 10,000 crore each on Monday.   Read Complete Article

Podcast News : Investors will look at macro data, auto sales numbers, and global factors for cues today. The overall trading volume in the markets is set to pick up as most global markets reopen from holiday closures Stocks of automobile companies will react to sales data for the month of December. Yesterday, Tata Motors reported a 12 per cent decline in total vehicle sales in domestic market to 44,254 units in December. The company had sold 50,440 units in the same month in 2018. The stock will react to the sales numbers today. Besides this, shares of channels and operators will also react to the new Trai order according to which cable operators will have to provide 200 channels for Rs 153. Trai has also reviewed the pricing of channel bouquets compared to a la carte ones. Market participants will also await the release of Markit Manufacturing PMI for December which will be released later in the day. They will further track the oil and Rupee's trajectory, stock-specific...

Podcast News : Investors' concern over fiscal slippage and contraction in core sector is likely to dominate today's session while the progress in the US-China trade deal might offer some relief. Fiscal deficit of the Union government rose to 114.8 per cent of the target in the first eight months of the fiscal year, data released by the Controller General of Accounts showed. The gap between the government’s revenue and spending stood at Rs 8.07 trillion at the end of November — 13 per cent more than the full-year target. Secondly, the output of eight core sectors of the economy fell for a third straight month in November, contracting by 1.5 per cent as key sectors like refinery products and electricity continued to see slow growth or contraction. In today's session, infra stocks will be in focus after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman yesterday announced plan to provide Rs 102 trillion infra-push over the next five years Automobile companies will also react to...

Shares of  Vodafone  Idea hit a new record low of Rs 5.13, down 9 per cent on the BSE on Wednesday after CRISIL downgraded its rating on non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of Rs 3,500 crore to 'CRISIL A/Negative' from 'CRISIL A+/Negative'. The ratings agency noted that the rating revision is on account of deterioration in the company's business and financial risk profile over the medium-term due to lower profitability than expected, although significant synergy benefits were accrued ahead of the earlier plan. Despite the company’s deleveraging plans, net debt may continue to exceed Rs 1 trillion by the end of March 31, 2020, CRISIL said in rating rationale. Vodafone Idea plans to monetise its 11.15 per cent stake in Indus Towers, post completion of the Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers merger. The proceeds from this transaction is estimated at about Rs 5,630 crore as on June 30, 2019. Besides, the company is also looking to sell its fibre assets. Read Com...