Reliance-Disney Media Merger, Coal India’s Joint Venture, PB Fintech’s Insurance Approval

Opening Bell:

Gift Nifty is up by 19 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market.

On Thursday, Asian markets experienced a decline, influenced by the previous day’s losses on Wall Street. Investors are in anticipation of crucial economic data from both the US and China. Japan’s Nikkei 225 saw a 0.7% decrease, and the Topix witnessed a 0.3% drop. South Korea’s Kospi declined by 0.8%, and the Kosdaq fell by 0.6%. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures suggested a slightly higher opening.

On Wednesday, the US stock market indices closed slightly down, anticipating key inflation data scheduled for the following day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 23.39 points (0.06%) to 38,949.02, the S&P 500 fell by 8.42 points (0.17%) to reach 5,069.76, and the Nasdaq Composite concluded 87.56 points (0.55%) lower at 15,947.74. This movement is significant as investors await insights that may impact expectations regarding the Federal Reserve’s potential interest rate adjustments.

Stocks News:

👉 Reliance Industries: On February 28, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and global media giant Walt Disney, announced their decision to merge their media operations in India. This merger will create a media powerhouse valued at ₹70,352 crore. As part of this agreement, Viacom18’s media business will be integrated into Star India through a court-approved arrangement, the conglomerate said in an exchange filing. After completion of this deal, Reliance will hold a 16.34% stake in the joint venture, Viacom 46.82%, and Disney will hold 36.84%. Nita Mukesh Ambani will be the chairperson of the JV, with Uday Shankar as vice-chairperson.

👉 Vodafone Idea: The company is considering raising a portion of the ₹20,000 crore through a public sale of new equity shares. The rest of the funds may be contributed by the promoter, Aditya Birla Group, which would receive preference shares in return, according to insiders familiar with the telecom company’s fundraising efforts, reported CNBC-TV18. On February 28, Vodafone Idea’s shares dropped over 11% drop, following the company board’s approval of the fundraising proposal the previous day.

👉 Coal India: The state-owned coal mining company has signed a joint venture agreement (JVA) with BHEL to undertake the coal-to-chemicals business. Initially, they will set up a coal-to-2,000-TPD ammonium nitrate plant using BHEL’s in-house-developed PFBG (pressurised fluidised bed gasification) technology. Coal India will hold a 51% stake, and the remaining 49% stake will be owned by BHEL.

👉 PB Fintech: Policybazaar Insurance Brokers, a fully owned subsidiary of PB Fintech, has received a Certificate of Registration from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), authorizing it to operate as a composite insurance broker as of February 28. Consequently, Policybazaar’s classification has been updated from Direct Insurance Broker (Life & General) to Composite Insurance Broker.

👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,879.23 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 1,827.45 crore worth of stocks on February 28, provisional data from the NSE showed.

Domestic and International Events

• India is gaining market share in electronics exports, particularly in the UK and US. The government offers incentives to attract manufacturers, and companies like Samsung and Apple have manufacturing operations in India. This supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ plan.

• The US economy expanded at a slightly slower rate at the end of last year as the gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a revised 3.2% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, compared with a prior estimate of 3.3%. In the full year 2023, US GDP growth was 2.5%, marking an acceleration from 2022. Consumer spending advanced at a 3% rate, faster than initially estimated, Bureau of Economic Analysis figures showed.

• US crude oil futures closed lower on Wednesday due to the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates and increased US crude stockpiles. Brent crude settled slightly higher at $83.68 per barrel, up 0.04%, while US WTI futures settled lower at $78.54, down 0.42%. Both benchmarks had earlier dropped by $1. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a larger-than-expected 4.2-million-barrel increase in US crude inventories, exceeding analysts’ projections.

EMERGING	LATEST	% 1D
Hang Seng	16,556	(1.4) %
Shanghai Composite	2,958	(1.9) %

DEVELOPED	LATEST	% 1D
Dow Jones	38,949	(0.1) %
DAX	17,601	0.3 %
FTSE 100	7,625	(0.8) %
Nikkei	39,208	(0.1) %
Straits Times	3,139	(0.6) %