Business News at 5:30 pm on 8th January, 2024

“Let’s begin…DSP Mutual Fund has announced launch of DSP Multicap Fund, an open-ended scheme that offers investors the flexibility to invest across large cap, mid cap and small cap stocks, investment styles and industries. With dedicated market cap exposure to mid and small caps along with timely rebalancing, the multicap strategy offers investors better diversification and improvement in performance compared to the Nifty 500. The New Fund Offer for DSP Multicap Fund opened for subscription on January 8th, 2024, and will close on January 22nd, 2024. Despite investing in the same set of stocks, multicap strategy has outperformed the Nifty 500 almost 8 out of 10 times over 5 year rolling periods between April 1, 2005 – November 30, 2023.
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“Next up….In a recent circular, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced new regulations pertaining to short selling by institutional and retail investors. While most market observers explained that this is more of a clarification, these measures are however seen as steps to enhance transparency and provide timely information to both institutional and retail investors. According to current guidelines, institutional investors have to disclose if transaction is a short sale while placing the order and retail investors have the option to make this disclosure by the end of the trading day. SEBI mandates brokers to collect details on scrip-wise short sell positions, collate this data, and upload it to stock exchanges before the next trading day begins.
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“Additionally…In response to the recent incident involving an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India conducted emergency exit checks on Boeing 737-8 Max planes, ensuring the safety of passengers and aircraft operations. Aviation regulator on Monday announced that the inspections of emergency exits on Boeing 737-8 Max planes have been completed satisfactorily. These checks have been satisfactorily performed on the fleet of operational fleet of Boeing B737-8 Max aircraft by Air India Express (4), Spicejet (8) and Akasa (20), DGCA said in a statement. Moreover, Akasa Air also includes one B737-8200 aircraft with a mid-cabin door, and the operational check on this door was also completed satisfactorily.
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“In other news…India’s current direct tax policy is constantly evolving, driven by the government’s efforts to reform existing systems and processes, with a focus on improving efficiency and transparency. Significant measures, such as reduction in corporate tax rates, introduction of concessional tax regimes, and elimination of the minimum alternate tax regime, have been undertaken to attract investment and foster a favourable business friendly tax climate. While policymakers continue to focus on harmonising tax rates, incentives to attract investment, the tax policy landscape remains complex and challenging due to the impact of various judicial decisions and legislative amendments. The current tax environment in India presents significant opportunities for a more taxpayer friendly and investment-attractive system.
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“Let’s talk market…In a recent analysis of the Oil & Gas sector, Jefferies has downgraded five stocks, including GAIL, Gujarat Gas, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, and Petronet LNG, to ‘underperform.’ However, Mahanagar Gas continues to hold its position as Jefferies’ top pick. The brokerage firm also suggests a ‘hold’ rating for Indraprasth and Indian Oil. Jefferies anticipates a range-bound profitability scenario for Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) in Oil-to-Chemicals (O2C) segment throughout FY25. It may be noted that the forecast indicates a 13% consolidated Ebitda growth, primarily propelled by tariff hikes in Jio. The report notes that the valuation for GAIL is perceived as rich, marked by a deviation of +2 standard deviations, coupled with an anticipated flattish FY24-26E EPS.
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Moreover…Securitisation volume continued on its upward momentum, surging ~20 per cent on-year to ~Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the first nine months of this fiscal, said a report by CRISIL Ratings. This, it added, is despite the exit of one of the largest housing finance company (HFC) originators in the second quarter of the fiscal. If one were to adjust for the HFC volume and consider only securitisations by other originators, the market grew by 40 per cent on-year. The rise and spread of the market is expected to continue, given expected healthy credit growth among NBFCs, the retailisation agenda of banks that are the largest investors in the market, and the recent regulatory guidelines on risk weights by RBI.
“Lastly…Let’s take a look at how the stocks performed today. The benchmark equity indices closed in the negative territory. The NSE Nifty 50 fell 197.80 points or 0.91% to settle at 21,513, while the BSE Sensex closed 670.93 points lower or 0.93% to 71,355.22. The broader indices closed in the red, with midcap stocks dragging the most. Bank Nifty index closed lower at 708.75 points or 1.47% to settle at 47,450.25. Titan, Godrej Consumer Products, Marico, Nykaa, Adani Wilmar, ONGC, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank, TVS Motors, Tata Steel, Shyam Metalics, Cipla, JK Cement, Dynamic Technologies, MAS Financial Services, Narayana Hrudalaya, were among the stocks in focus today.
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