Tata Motors approves demerger, IIFL Finance halts gold loans, Jindal Stainless goes green, NTPC’s NGEL signs UP JV

Opening Bell:

Gift Nifty is down by 27.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market

Asian markets experienced a decline in trading as China commenced its “Two Sessions” meeting. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped by 0.34%, slipping below the 40,000 mark, and the Topix witnessed a 0.3% decline. South Korea’s Kospi saw a dip of 0.26%, while the Kosdaq registered a 0.52% decrease. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong signaled a weaker opening.

On Monday, the US stock market indices retreated from their record highs, influenced by a rise in US Treasury yields in anticipation of crucial job data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming congressional testimony. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 97.55 points, or 0.25%, concluding at 38,989.83, while the S&P 500 saw a decline of 6.13 points, or 0.12%, closing at 5,130.95. The Nasdaq Composite ended 67.43 points, or 0.41%, lower at 16,207.51.

Stocks News:

👉 Tata Motors: The Tata Group company said its board of directors has given the approval for its demerger into two separate listed companies – the commercial vehicles business and its related investments in one entity, and the passenger vehicles business, including EVs and JLR, and its related investments in another entity. The demerger will be implemented through an NCLT scheme of arrangement, and all shareholders of Tata Motors will continue to have identical shareholding in both the listed entities.

👉 IIFL Finance: On Monday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) instructed IIFL Finance to cease the distribution of gold loans due to “significant supervisory concerns” identified in the non-banking financial company’s gold loan portfolio. The central bank highlighted that these lapses, which include regulatory breaches, negatively affect customer interests. The RBI had conducted an examination of the company’s financial status as of 31 March 2023. The RBI discovered “grave discrepancies” in the evaluation and certification of gold used as security for loans and during auctions in case of default during this inspection.

👉 Jindal Stainless: The stainless steel manufacturer commenced the usage of green hydrogen in its stainless steel plant in Hisar, Haryana, in association with Hygenco Green Energies, a global leader in deploying green hydrogen solutions. Meanwhile, promoter Virtuous Tradecorp picked up a 0.77 percent stake in the company via open market transactions on February 29 and March 1, increasing its stake to 7.38 percent from 6.61 percent earlier.

👉 NTPC: NTPC Green Energy (NGEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC, has signed a Joint Venture Agreement (JVC) with Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (UPRVUNL) for the development of renewable power parks and projects in Uttar Pradesh. The RE power generated from the proposed JVC will meet the Renewable Generation Obligation (RGO) of the UPRVUNL.

👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 564.06 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 3,542.87 crore worth of stocks on March 4, provisional data from the NSE showed.

Domestic and International Events

• India’s move to block a China-led investment facilitation pact at the WTO ministerial meeting promotes multilateral agreements. The agreement aimed to create legally binding provisions for investment flows but compromised member countries’ sovereignty. India’s principled stand safeguards sovereignty and global peace, opposing the push for a multilateral framework on investment facilitation.

• China will set a gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of around 5% for the year, one of its lowest in decades and in line with last year, according to a copy of the government’s annual work report seen by Bloomberg News. Premier Li Qiang will officially unveil the annual GDP target while delivering his first work report to the national parliament, which kicks off Tuesday.

• US Treasury yields rose on Monday ahead of US Fed Chair Powell’s testimony and jobs data for February. The benchmark 10-year yields were up 4 basis points (bps) on the day at 4.217%. Two-year yields rose 7 bps to 4.604%.

• Crude oil prices held a decline amid signs of macroeconomic weakness in China. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down 0.07% at $82.74 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.23% to $78.56 a barrel after slipping 1.5% on Monday, the biggest loss in more than a week.

EMERGING	LATEST	% 1D
Hang Seng	16,582	(0.0) %
Shanghai Composite	3,039	0.4 %

DEVELOPED	LATEST	% 1D
Dow Jones	38,990	(0.3) %
DAX	17,716	(0.1) %
FTSE 100	7,640	(0.6) %
Nikkei	40,109	0.5 %
Straits Times	3,122	(0.4) %