British American Tobacco to Sell 4% Stake in ITC, Mahindra’s Strong Feb Growth, InterGlobe’s Share Shift, Aditya Birla Capital’s Merger Move

Opening Bell:

Gift Nifty is up by 26.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market

Asian markets showed a mixed performance today, influenced by a varied trading session on Wall Street and Japan’s corporate inflation surpassing estimates. Japan’s Nikkei 225 experienced a 1.12% decline, with the Topix following suit with a 1.37% decrease. South Korea’s Kospi saw a modest gain of 0.18%, whereas the Kosdaq climbed by 0.55%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures suggested a positive start to the trading day.

On Monday, the US stock market indices closed with a mixed performance, as investors awaited consumer inflation data anticipated later in the week, which could offer insights into the Federal Reserve’s future interest rate adjustments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 46.97 points, or 0.12%, reaching 38,769.66, while the S&P 500 dipped by 5.75 points, or 0.11%, closing at 5,117.94. The Nasdaq Composite concluded the day down by 65.84 points, or 0.41%, at 16,019.27.

Stocks News:

👉 ITC: British American Tobacco is reportedly preparing to sell its stake in ITC within the next two weeks, aiming to divest a 4% share at a price range of ₹380-390. This proposed sale, at a 5-8% discount from Monday’s closing price of ₹409, involves about 499 million shares valued at approximately ₹20,000 crore (just over $2.4 billion). If finalized, this transaction would mark the largest block deal since 2021. Prospective buyers may include ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and O3 Securities, according to sources familiar with the matter.

👉 Mahindra and Mahindra: Production in February grew by 26.07 percent year-on-year to 73,380 units, and sales increased by 26.2 percent to 71,384 units, but exports fell 31.6 percent to 1,539 units compared to the previous month.

👉 InterGlobe Aviation: Promoter Rakesh Gangwal sold 2.25 crore equity shares (equivalent to 5.8 percent of paid-up equity) in the IndiGo operator via open market transactions, amounting to Rs 6,785.73 crore. However, foreign investor Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte bought 21 lakh shares in the company at an average price of Rs 3,015.1 crore, valued at Rs 633.17 crore.

👉 Aditya Birla Capital: Aditya Birla Capital announced on Monday its decision to merge with its subsidiary, Aditya Birla Finance. This move allows the unlisted subsidiary to bypass the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) directive for public listing. While Aditya Birla Capital is a listed entity, its fully-owned subsidiary, Aditya Birla Finance, is among the 15 top-tier non-bank lenders that the RBI has mandated to be publicly listed by September 2025. The merger with the parent company eliminates the need for separate listing of the subsidiary.

👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 4,212.76 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased Rs 3,238.39 crore worth of stocks on March 11, provisional data from the NSE showed.

Domestic and International Events

• India signed a significant trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) comprising Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland, committing to a $100 billion investment over 15 years. The Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) aims to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) in India and generate one million direct jobs. The deal, India’s first FTA with developed nations, focuses on innovation and collaboration, with investments expected to flow steadily, potentially exceeding estimates.

• Japan’s wholesale prices rose faster than expected in February as the Corporate Goods Price Index (CGPI) grew by 0.6% year-on-year, central bank data showed, accelerating from the previous month.

• Bitcoin price soared to a fresh record high above $72,000 led by a surge in inflows into new spot exchange-traded funds for the digital asset. Hopes that the US Fed will soon cut interest rates have also lifted bitcoin price, which was last up 6.24% at $72,321. Bitcoin prices hit a new high of $72,886.14.

• Gold traded steady on Monday, pausing after last week’s record rally, ahead of U.S. inflation data that could impact the Federal Reserve’s rate decisions. Spot gold hovered at $2,179.69 per ounce, with little change, while U.S. gold futures held at $2,186.20. Investors are awaiting Tuesday’s release of U.S. Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) data for February.

• Oil slipped on Monday, with global benchmark Brent dipping below $82 a barrel as concern faded about fighting in the Middle East disrupting supply and softening demand in China also weighed. Brent futures were down 58 cents at $81.50 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped 93 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $77.08.

EMERGING	LATEST	% 1D
Hang Seng	16,588	1.4 %
Shanghai Composite	3,068	0.7 %

DEVELOPED	LATEST	% 1D
Dow Jones	38,770	0.1 %
DAX	17,746	(0.4) %
FTSE 100	7,669	0.1 %
Nikkei	38,820	(2.2) %
Straits Times	3,138	(0.3) %