Reliance-Disney Merger Approved, Tencent to Sell PB Fintech Stake, Macrotech Acquires Two Firms, PnG Reports Profit Drop Amid Revenue Growth .

Opening Bell:             

Gift Nifty is down by 57 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market                         

Asian markets traded lower early Thursday, as tech stocks weighed on South Korean and Taiwanese indexes following chipmaker Nvidia’s second-quarter results. Japanese Nikkei was down 0.27 percent along with Taiwan and Kospi index that were down 1.12 and 0.78 percent respectively.

US stocks fell on Wednesday ahead of Nvidia’s highly anticipated quarterly report, which could significantly impact the AI-driven rally. Nvidia shares, down 2.1% ahead of the report, have gained 154% this year. The S&P 500 dropped 0.60% to 5,592.18, the Nasdaq fell 1.12% to 17,556.03, and the Dow Jones declined 0.39% to 41,091.42.

Stocks News:

👉 Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney Company have received approval from the Competition Commission of India for the Rs 70,350 crore merger of their Indian media assets. Additionally, Reliance’s 47th Annual General Meeting (post-IPO) will be held on August 29.

👉 Tencent Cloud Europe is reportedly planning to sell a 2.1% stake in PB Fintech, equivalent to 9.7 million shares, through block deals at a floor price of Rs 1,660.2 per share.

👉 Macrotech Developers has executed Share Purchase Agreements for the acquisition of a 100% stake in Opexefi Services for Rs 46.7 crore and One Box Warehouse for Rs 49.09 crore. Post-acquisition, both will become subsidiaries of Lodha.

👉 PnG reported a net profit of Rs 81.06 crore for the June 2024 quarter, a 46.4% decline from Rs 151.24 crore in the previous year, due to weak operating performance, higher advertising expenses, and impairment losses. Despite this, revenue grew 9.3% year-on-year to Rs 931.8 crore, and the board recommended a final dividend of Rs 95 per share.

👉 The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers on August 28 as they sold equities worth Rs 1,347 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 439 crore on the same day.

Domestic and International Events

• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced that 12 industrial cities will be ready within three years, provided states cooperate. Speaking after a Cabinet briefing on August 28, Goyal stated that environmental clearances have been obtained, allowing investors to begin work immediately. The projects are expected to create nearly a million direct jobs, 3-5 million indirect jobs, and attract at least Rs 1.5 lakh crore in investment.

• Nvidia and other tech giants declined late Wednesday, dampening investor hopes that a strong AI chip forecast would boost Wall Street’s top companies. Nasdaq futures dropped around 1% after Nvidia’s earnings report, indicating traders anticipate further losses in tech stocks on Thursday.

• Gold prices were up 0.3 percent at USD 2512.61, while Silver prices were up 0.5 percent at USD 29.28 in the early trade on Thursday.

• Oil prices held mostly steady on Thursday as a smaller-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories and continued worries over China demand countered supply disruptions out of Libya.

EMERGING	LATEST	% 1D
Hang Seng	17,692	(1.0) %
Shanghai Composite	2,837	(0.4) %

DEVELOPED	LATEST	% 1D
Dow Jones	41,091	(0.4) %
DAX	18,782	0.5 %
FTSE 100	8,343	(0.0) %
Nikkei	38,371	0.2 %
Straits Times	3,391	(0.2) %