Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is down by 124.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market
Asian markets fell on Monday, following declines in U.S. stocks as tensions escalated in the Middle East. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell by 1.28%, and the Topix index was down 0.97%. In South Korea, the Kospi decreased by 0.92% and the Kosdaq tumbled 1.58%. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index pointed to a lower start.
US stocks fell on Friday amid mixed early earnings reports and rising concerns over potential escalations in Middle East tensions, leading investors to seek safer investment options. The S&P 500 dropped 1.5 percent, marking its worst week since a major rally began in October on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 475 points, or 1.2 percent, and the Nasdaq composite declined 1.6 percent, reversing gains from its record high the previous day. Specifically, the S&P 500 fell by 75.65 points to 5,123.41, the Dow dropped 475.84 points to 37,983.24, and the Nasdaq composite decreased by 267.10 points to 16,175.09.
Stocks News:
👉 Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced a consolidated net profit of ₹12,434 crore for the fourth quarter of FY24, marking a 9% increase from ₹11,392 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The company’s revenue for Q4FY24 grew by 3.5% year-on-year to ₹61,237 crore.
👉 Anand Rathi Wealth reported a near 33% year-on-year rise in net profit, reaching Rs 56.6 crore for the quarter ending March FY24, despite a weak operating margin performance. Revenue from operations for the quarter increased by 29% to Rs 184.3 crore compared to the same period last year. The company’s board has approved a final dividend of Rs 9 per share for FY24 and proposed a buyback of equity shares worth up to Rs 164.65 crore.
👉 Wipro: Changes occurred at FPEL Ujwal, where new equity shares were issued to off-takers and existing optionally convertible debentures (OCDs) were converted into equity shares. Consequently, Wipro’s stake in FPEL Ujwal decreased from 9.95% to 7.07% as of April 11. Wipro had initially signed an agreement in September 2023 to acquire a 9.95% stake in FPEL Ujwal, with the transaction concluding on October 10, 2023.
👉 Adani Enterprises: Adani Global, Mauritius, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, has signed a shareholders’ agreement to acquire a 49% stake in Adani Easysoft Smart Solutions, Abu Dhabi, from Easysoft Holding, UAE. Following this agreement, Adani and Easysoft Holding will own 49% and 51% of the venture, respectively, with equal representation on the board of directors.
👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sell shares worth Rs 8,027.00 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased Rs 6341.53 crore worth of stocks on April 12, provisional data from the NSE showed.
Domestic and International Events
- India’s retail inflation cooled to a 10-month low of 4.85% year-on-year in March, down from 5.09% in February. Meanwhile, India’s industrial output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), picked up pace with a growth of 5.7% in February, an increase from 3.8% in January 2024, signalling expansion in the country’s manufacturing sector.
- Tensions in the Middle East intensified after Iran launched over 300 drones and missiles at military targets in Israel on Saturday night, a reaction to what is believed to be an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1. The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran confirmed the strike, stating it targeted specific locations. In response, Israel is expected to retaliate against Iran.
- Gold prices saw an increase on Monday, driven by demand for safe-haven assets. The price of gold rose by 0.7% to $2,359.92 an ounce, after reaching a record high of $2,431.29 on Friday. So far this year, gold has appreciated approximately 14%.
- Crude oil prices showed little change following the drone and missile attacks by Iran on Israel. Brent crude futures edged up by 0.07% to $90.51 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contracts slightly declined by 0.07% to $85.60 per barrel.
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 16,722 | (2.2) % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,019 | (0.5) % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 37,983 | (1.2) % |
| DAX | 17,930 | (0.1) % |
| FTSE 100 | 7,996 | 0.9 % |
| Nikkei | 39,524 | 0.2 % |
| Straits Times | 3,217 | (0.3) % |
