Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is down by 24.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market.
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on the final trading day, following Wall Street trends. Traders focused on key Japanese economic data, including Tokyo’s September inflation rate, a leading indicator for the country. Tokyo’s consumer price index increased 2.8% YoY in September, slightly down from August’s 2.9%. Core inflation, excluding fresh food prices, was 2.5%, below the expected 2.6%. Japan reported unemployment, industrial output, and retail sales data for August. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.1%, while the Topix slipped 0.2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.31%, recovering from a three-day decline. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a stronger start. South Korean and mainland Chinese markets were closed for a holiday.
Stock futures edged up as September ended. Dow Jones futures added 0.1%, S&P 500 futures increased by 0.09%, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.1%. In regular trading, stocks had a slight uptick, with the S&P 500 up 0.59%, the Dow up 0.35%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.83%. Despite the day’s gains, equities still suffered substantial monthly and quarterly losses, with the S&P 500 down 4.6% for the month and 3.4% for the quarter. The Nasdaq Composite fared even worse, dropping nearly 6% in September and 4.3% for the quarter, making it the worst month of 2023 for both indices. The Dow was set for a 3% monthly decline and a 2.2% quarterly fall. For the week, the S&P 500 was down 0.5%, the Dow down 0.9%, and the Nasdaq down 0.1%.
Stocks News:
👉 Sun Pharmaceutical: The drug major will buy out local partner Indi Pharma from its Mexican arm for over ₹75 crore. The company has signed a binding letter of intent to acquire the balance 25% outstanding shares of Sun Pharma de Mexico, SA de CV, a subsidiary where it currently holds 75%.
👉 Adani Green & Adani Energy: Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company on Thursday said it will sell its stake in two of India’s Adani Group companies, a move that comes as billionaire Gautam Adani’s business continues its battle against fraud allegations, Reuters reported. The IHC held over 1% stakes in two Adani group companies. The value of its holdings in these two firms stood at ₹3,327 crore.
👉 Emami: The personal care and healthcare company has announced its foray into juice category with AloFrut through strategic investment in Axiom Ayurveda and its subsidiaries/associates by acquiring 26% equity stake for an undisclosed amount. Axiom markets beverage products under the brand AloFrut, a proprietary fusion of aloevera pulp with fruit blend.
👉 Uno Minda: The manufacturer and provider of automotive solutions and systems to OEMs said its board has approved an increase in its ownership stake in Minda Westport Technologies from 50% to 76%. The agreed purchase price for this 26% stake amounts to approximately ₹14.81 crores.
👉 Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 3,364.22 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) bought Rs 2,711.48 crore worth of stocks on September 28, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.
Domestic and International Events
- India’s current account deficit (CAD) surged to $9.2 billion in the first quarter of 2023-24, more than seven times what it was in the preceding quarter. According to data released on September 28 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), CAD in April-June amounted to 1.1% of GDP. “The widening of CAD on a quarter-on-quarter basis was primarily on account of a higher trade deficit coupled with a lower surplus in net services and decline in private transfer receipts,” the RBI said. The CAD in January-March was $1.3 billion, or 0.2% of GDP. In April-June 2022, it stood at $17.9 billion, or 2.1% of GDP.
- The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) chairman, Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, has stated that the goods and services tax (GST) notices issued to online gaming companies are in accordance with legal provisions and will not be immediately reviewed. The government is prepared to implement the 28% GST regime for online gaming, horse racing, and casinos once all states amend their laws. The CBIC will review the tax regime in six months. Many online gaming companies have received tax demand notices running into thousands of crores, with a total tax liability estimated at around ₹55,000 crore.
- Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Thursday after surging to the highest settlement in 2023 in the previous session as a steep drop in US crude stocks added to worries of tight global supplies. Brent crude futures climbed 16 cents to $96.71 a barrel by 0001 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 20 cents to $93.88. US crude stocks fell by 2.2 million barrels last week to 416.3 million barrels, government data showed, far exceeding the 320,000-barrel drop analysts expected in a Reuters poll.
- Gold stabilized near a six-month low as the dollar and Treasury yields remained high. Spot gold held at $1,874.49 per ounce after a 1.4% drop on Wednesday, while US gold futures were unchanged at $1,891.30. Investors are awaiting U.S. economic data to gauge the Federal Reserve’s interest rate plans. On Wednesday, data indicated increased orders for durable U.S. goods in August and a resurgence in business equipment spending.
Key Equity Indices
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 17,373 | (1.4) % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,110 | 0.1 % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 33,666 | 0.4 % |
| DAX | 15,324 | 0.7 % |
| FTSE 100 | 7,602 | 0.1 % |
| Nikkei | 31,873 | (1.5) % |
| Straits Times | 3,207 | 0.2 % |
