>> Stock brokers dole out offers to lure investors
>> New dividend policy likely to boost Bajaj Auto
>> 14 stocks in for bonanza from FTSE rejig
>> Setback for Future Retail as HC upholds Singapore Arbitrator’s order
Hi there. Welcome to ETMarkets Morning, the show about money, business and markets. I am Sandeep Singh.
Let’s start with a quick glance on the state of the markets.
The domestic stock market looked in for more pain this Friday. Nifty futures on Singapore Exchange traded some 95 points lower, suggesting further weakness on Dalal Street. Equity benchmarks in other Asian markets also weakened, after US shares fell from a record high as the Fed’s tolerant stance on inflation unnerved investors. Crude oil prices extended losses to a sixth day, with
Brent near $63.27 per barrel mark. In currencies, the dollar held its gains from the prior day. And in metals, gold slipped nearly half a per cent to around $1,731 an ounce.
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That said, here’s what else is making news.
India’s stock brokerages are turning generous with offers of cash rewards, gift vouchers, hefty discounts, smartphones, exotic vacations, or gold in digital form, so that you trade on their platforms or get your friends to do likewise. As retail investors from Tokyo to Toronto take to stocks, India is taking a leaf out of the Robinhood playbook: The US digital trading platform is distributing stocks worth up to $200 for opening a new account, and comparable offers in Mumbai are helping in adding to the investor base.
Make hay while the sun shines, investor!
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About 14 Indian stocks including the likes of Mindtree, Varun Beverages, Hindustan Aeronautics, Honeywell Automation, Astral Poly Technik and Apollo Hospitals could be in for a bonanza as index provider FTSE is set to include some of them in its midcap index on Friday. Such an inclusion is likely to trigger inflows between $20 million and $80 million to these stocks. Indian equities could witness a total inflow of nearly $1 billion following the FTSE changes in its quarterly index review.
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Bajaj Auto’s decision to increase the dividend payout ratio will result in more efficient capital allocation, leading to an improvement of the return on equity. This is expected to increase the stock’s valuation multiple in the near term. The stock gained 2.5% despite an over 1% fall in the benchmark indices on Thursday. The country’s largest two-wheeler maker by market capitalisation on Thursday said it can declare a dividend of up to 90% of the standalone profit if the surplus cash is higher than Rs 15,000 crore.
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Kishore Biyani’s Future Retail has faced another setback. In a boost to Amazon, the Delhi High Court on Thursday upheld the Singapore Emergency Arbitrator’s order restraining Future Retail from executing the Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance Retail to sell its business, which has been opposed by the US e-commerce giant. Justice J R Midha held that the Biyani firm ‘wilfully violated’ the EA order and said it must face the consequences. The court slapped a cost of Rs 20 lakh, and ordered the debt-laden group against taking further action on the deal.
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LASTLY…
Potential central bank digital currencies would need to be integrated into existing payment systems alongside cash and other forms of money, says US Fed Chair Jerome Powell. “A recent report from the Bank for International Settlements and a group of seven central banks, which includes the Fed, assessed the feasibility of CBDCs in helping central banks deliver their public policy objectives,” Powell said on Thursday in pre-recorded video remarks delivered to a payments conference in Basel, Switzerland.
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NOW Before I go, here is a look at some of the stocks buzzing this morning…
· UBS has upgraded its ratings on steel stocks — Tata Steel and JSW Steel — from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’ as the domestic businesses of both reported their highest-ever operating profit for December quarter.
· Bharti Airtel has widened its lead over Reliance Jio in terms of active users’ market share, taking it to 34.3%, in January, helped by strong 4G user gains.
· Federal Bank MD & CEO Shyam Srinivasan has said the private lender is interested in acquiring a microfinance business as part of its focus on growing the retail high-margin category
· A dozen global banks are to bankroll the Gautam Adani-founded Adani Green Energy’s under-construction renewable power projects with over $1.3 billion revolving credit line, the company said on Thursday.
Do also check out over two dozen stock recommendations for today’s trade from top analysts on ETMarkets.com.
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That’s it for now. Stay put with us for all the market news through the day. Happy investing!
