The week started with a jump in the BSE Sensex, tracking gains in US markets and buying in index majors Reliance Industries and HDFC. The 30-share index was trading 488 points higher at 53,281.93 points. The Nifty was trading at 15,921.75 points, up 140 points.
On Friday, the benchmark indices clocked sharp gains in a rebound following their worst single-day fall in two months on Thursday. All sectors saw strong buying interest, tracking positive trends from Asian peers. The BSE Sensex gained 1534.16 points and ended at ₹54,326.39. Similarly, the NSE Nifty 50 gained 456 points and reclaimed 16,266.15 levels.
Market Movers
Some of the top gainers this week were Dr Reddy’s Labs, Aurobindo Pharma, Bosch, Reliance Industries, Biocon, Zydus and JSW Steel. On the other hand, the top losers included Godrej Consumer, Adani Green Energy, PI Industries, Gland Pharma, Shree Cement and UPL.
Currencies
| Price | Change | %Change | |
| Dollar-Rupee | 77.5475 | -0.18 | -0.23% |
| Euro-Rupee | 82.0960 | +0.15 | -0.20% |
| Pound-Rupee | 96.8180 | +0.38 | -0.41% |
Commodities
| Price | Change | %Change | |
| GOLD | 50703.00 | +159.00 | +0.31% |
| SILVER | 61537.00 | -27.00 | -0.04% |
| CRUDEOIL | 8544.00 | +80.00 | +0.95% |
The Recap
The Adani Group Clinched A Deal to Acquire Holcim Ltd’s businesses in India
The Adani Group on Sunday, 15th May 2022, said that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Holcim India Limited businesses ACC and Ambuja Cements for USD 10.5 billion.
The group will acquire a 63.1% stake in Ambuja Cements Ltd along with related assets. ACC Limited is a subsidiary of Ambuja Limited and it is publicly traded.
This is the largest ever acquisition by the Adani Group and India’s largest-ever M&A transaction in the infrastructure & Materials space.
Jack Ma quit Paytm Mall as he sold a 43% stake for ₹42 crores
Jack Ma-led Alibaba and Ant Financials have exited Paytm E-commerce Pvt. Ltd, the parent entity of Paytm Mall.
The company bought the entire stake of Alibaba (28.34%) and Antfin (Netherlands) Holding (14.98%), a total of 43.32%, for ₹42 crores. Accordingly, the company’s valuation is a mere ₹100 crores compared to $3 billion during the last fundraising in 2020.
Despite investing significant amounts of capital in growing its business and expanding its market share, the company suffered operational losses. Further, the space is very competitive. Therefore, Alibaba and Ant Financial decided to exit.
Reliance Retail is planning to foray into the beauty & cosmetics space
Mukesh Ambani led Reliance retail is planning to open around 400 stores exclusively for selling beauty and cosmetics to take on the likes of Myntra and Nykaa, as per reports.
The company might open two formats of beauty and cosmetics outlets to tap the market: a multi-brand store that is modelled on LVMH’s Sephora and a chain of value products targeting the mass market.
Several malls in Delhi and Mumbai said Reliance had been scouting for 4,000-5,000 sq ft of retail space for its upmarket beauty and cosmetics business.
The Union cabinet advances ethanol blending target
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, to advance India’s ethanol blending target.
It has advanced the ethanol blending with petrol target of 20% by five years, i.e. from 2030 to 2025-26. Further, the amendment allows granting of permission for the export of biofuels in specific cases.
This decision will promote the production of biofuels in the country, under the Make in India programme.
Indonesia is going to lift the palm oil ban on Monday
President Joko Widodo announced on Thursday that Indonesia will lift its palm oil export ban from 23 May, following improvements in the domestic cooking oil supply situation.
The government considered the welfare of 17 million workers in the palm oil industry and lifted the ban though the price did not reach the targeted 14,000 rupiahs per litre price.
Hundreds of Indonesian smallholder farmers staged a protest in the capital Jakarta and in other parts of the country, as the ban slashed their income.
Partnership with Volkswagen will support M&M’s EV Plans
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) has partnered with Volkswagen. This has strengthened its presence in the electric vehicle (EV) industry.
It plans to use Volkswagen’s MEB (modular electric drive matrix) electric components such as battery system components, battery cells and electric motors, for its new Born Electric Platform.
Volkswagen’s MEB electric platform is currently being used by its group brands – Audi, Skoda, and SEAT/CUPRA.
The shares of Reliance Industries posted the biggest one day gain in 18 months
The shares of Reliance Industries have gained 9% in 2022 so far (year-to-date), in contrast to the BSE Sensex which lost 8%.
It posted its biggest one-day gain since September 2020 i.e., in 18 months as the index heavyweight rallied more than 6% to ₹2,632 apiece in Friday’s trading session on the BSE.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani has been profiting from a surge in global commodity prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Q4 Results
Hindustan Aeronautics
The shares of Hindustan Aeronautics hit a new record high of ₹1785.35 apiece after rallying 6% on Friday’s intraday trade. Its revenue from operations grew 6% year-on-year from ₹10,867 crores to ₹ 11561 crores. It reported a 90% jump in its net profit from ₹1628 crores to ₹ 3105 crores, year-on-year.
Reliance Industries
Reliance Industries reported an over 22% surge in its March quarter profits at ₹16,203 crores. Its revenue from operations rose 37% to ₹2.11 lakh crore during the quarter ended March 31, 2022. Moreover, it became the first Indian company to have crossed $100 billion in revenue in a year.
