Business News at 05:30 pm on 20th February, 2024

Let’s begin…In early trading on Tuesday, shares of Federal Bank Ltd. experienced a 6% drop following a recent top-level reshuffle at its private counterpart, Kotak Mahindra Bank, on Monday evening. Kotak Mahindra Bank officially announced to the exchanges that KVS Manian, the current Whole-time Director at the bank, has been promoted to Joint Managing Director. Additionally, Shanti Ekambaram, also a Whole-time Director, has been elevated to the position of Deputy MD within the bank. The impact on Federal Bank’s shares is attributed to the fact that KVS Manian was shortlisted as one of the potential MD & CEO candidates for Federal Bank, a list set to be submitted to RBI. Federal Bank shares are trading 4.9% lower at Rs 155.

Next up…Entertainment segment leasing across 7 Indian cities reported a 179 per cent YoY surge in 2023, said a report by CBRE South Asia Pvt Ltd. Total leasing in 2023 in the entertainment sector stood at 0.66 million sqft, recording a 179 per cent on-year increase. This uptick in leasing reflects the evolving leisure preferences post the COVID-19 pandemic, it said. The entertainment segment comprises various facilities, including movie theaters, gaming arcades, and kids’ play areas. The entertainment segment posted a good growth, with a 9 per cent share of overall retail leasing in 2023, up from 5 per cent in 2022, indicating growing consumer demand for entertainment experiences with retail spaces, potentially indicating a shift in people spending leisure time and money.

Additionally…Forging a new chapter in the development of Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over Rs 32,000 crore at the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu. The slew of projects are from several sectors including railways, healthcare, education, aviation, petroleum, and civic infrastructure, among others. PM Modi laid the foundation stone for a new terminal building at Jammu Airport. The new terminal will be spread over a 40,000 sqm area and it will be equipped with modern facilities catering to about 2,000 passengers. Prime Minister dedicated the new rail line between Banihal-Khari-Sumber-Sangaldan (48 Km) and the newly electrified Baramulla-Sringar-Banihal-Sangaldan section (185.66 Km). Prime also flagged-off the first electric train in the valley.

Let’s talk market…In a strategic move to enhance India’s defence capabilities and infrastructure, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) authorized contracts on Friday, February 16, totaling over Rs 84,560 crore. A report from brokerage house Nuvama Institutional Equities highlighted that the Ministry of Defence took a tactical approach based on valuable lessons learned. The report emphasized that private players across the defence value chain are poised to benefit by becoming tier 2/3 component suppliers, with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), and Bharat Dynamics Ltd emerging as the main beneficiaries. Nuvama’s report revealed that India has been closely studying and adapting strategies employed in recent conflicts in Russia, Israel, and Armenia. These strategies underline the significance of large defence systems.

In other news…After the successful launch of two Amrit Bharat trains running between Darbhanga-Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Amrit Bharat Express and Malda Town-Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminus (Bengaluru) Amrit Bharat Express, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that 50 new such trains have been approved by the government. The Union Railway Minister wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), and announced that 50 new Amrit Bharat trains have been approved based on the positive feedback received for the first two trains that had been flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30. Amrit Bharat Express trains are superfast passenger trains are Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) push-pull train with non-air-conditioned coaches. The Amrit Bharat Express trains have improved facilities for rail passengers.

Moreover…Geopolitical developments and consequent realignment of global supply chains will double the net export volume of Indian carbon black next fiscal as compared with that in fiscal 2023, said a report by CRISIL. Driven by the growing export demand, it added, India’s carbon black capacity surged ~36 per cent over the past two fiscals to ~2,000 kilo tonnes per annum (ktpa). Despite the capital expenditure (capex) for capacity addition, the credit risk profiles will remain stable as majority of the capex shall be funded by internal accruals. CRISIL Ratings analysis of four players that command ~75 per cent of the domestic capacity indicated as much. Carbon black is primarily used in rubber products (especially automotive tyres) as a reinforcing agent and colourant.

Lastly…Let’s take a look how the stocks performed today. he benchmark equity indices closed in positive territory. The NSE Nifty 50 closed 74.70 points or 0.34% higher to settle at 22,196.95, while the BSE Sensex gained 350 points or 0.48% to settle at 73,057.40. The broader indices closed in the green, with largecap and midcap stocks gaining the most. Bank Nifty index gained 558.70 points or 1.20% to settle at 47,094.20. Power Grid Corp, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, NTPC, and SBI Life Insurance were the top gainers in the Nifty 50. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, TCS, Coal India, and Eicher Motor were the key laggards in the Nifty 50 on February 20 during later hours.