The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty halted a two-day winning streak on Friday. The markets tracked five-week lows in other Asian markets, which were in turn affected by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s remark the US central bank will move aggressively to curb inflation bringing back fears of steep hikes in pandemic-era interest rates. Financial, IT and metal sectors dragged and the broader markets weakened amid news regarding the Russia Ukraine war and the increasing number of COVID cases in various parts of the world.
The 30 share index (Sensex) closed at 57,197.15 points, down 714.53 points or 1.23% while the 50 share index closed at 17,171.95 points, down 220.65 points or 1.27%. Nifty Bank closed at 36,044.75 points, down 771.35 points or 2.10%
Market Movers
The top gainers at the closing bell on Friday were Adani Ports, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki and ITC. Some of the top losers were Hindalco, Cipla, SBI, HUL, and IndusInd Bank.
Currencies
| Price | Change / %Change | |
| Dollar-Rupee | 76.4825 | +0.34 / +0.44% |
| Euro-Rupee | 82.4760 | -0.14 / -0.17% |
| Pound-Rupee | 98.2640 | -1.05 / -1.05% |
Commodities
| Price | Change / %Change | |||
| MCX GOLD | 52264.00 | -149.00 / -0.28% | ||
| MCX SILVER | 66588.00 | -537.00 / -0.80% | ||
| MCX CRUDEOIL | 7838.00 | -27.00 / -0.34% |
The Recap
In this week’s recap, we shall talk about what is going on with Twitter and Netflix. In the Indian context, we shall know about the Reliance- Future Group deal, the LIC IPO, pharma stocks and more.
Twitter’s shares surged 27% in a single session
The shares of the company were trading below $40 before Elon Musk disclosed his position, and jumped 27% in a single session on the news. Twitter is using the poison pill to avoid a possible hostile takeover attempt from Elon Musk who has been buying the shares of the company since January. Twitter is using the poison pill or the “shareholders-rights-plan” to keep diluting Elon Musk’s ownership every time he buys more shares.
Pharma and healthcare stocks that top mutual fund houses have invested in
The number of covid cases is rising and mutual funds have been investing in them. Some of the top healthcare and pharma stocks that they have invested in March are Biocon, Laurus Labs, Zydus Lifesciences, Max Healthcare, Granules India, and Apollo Hospitals.
Here’s why the share price of Netflix plummeted 37% in a single day
Shares of Netflix Inc, one of the FAANG stocks, lost more than one-third of their value on Wednesday after the company reported its first drop in subscribers in a decade. The shares were trading at $220.40 and we’re headed for their worst day in nearly 18 years if the losses hold. The company is conducting trials to stop password sharing among multiple users. Users might be able to set sub-accounts instead at $3 per month.
An Update on the LIC IPO
The government is planning to sell only a 3.5% stake in the insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), through an IPO which might hit the markets in the first week of the next month. The issue size is expected to be worth Rs 21,000 crores. The LIC is likely to file a red herring prospectus with the Sebi by Wednesday. Information regarding discounts, issue dates, issue price and reservations for policyholders and employees, will be known by Wednesday, as per reports.
FIIs ownership in NSE 500 drops to three year lows in March 2022
FII’s ownership in the NSE 500 fell to 19.5% in March 2022. As per BofA data, the FIIs in March were at $5.4 billion, which is the most severe since March 2020. This has happened mainly due to continued geopolitical risks, sustained elevated inflation, supply-side issues, and soaring commodity costs. The pace of the outflow has slowed down in April, hinting toward a potential turnaround in the FIIs going forward. So far in 2022, the outflows stand at $ 15.7 billion.
Reliance called off the ₹ 24,713 crore deal with Future group
There was a tussle between Reliance and Amazon regarding the deal with Future Group. Reliance on Saturday had to call off the ₹ 24,713 crore deal to acquire Future Group’s assets after secured creditors of the group voted against the proposal. The Future Group has defaulted on repayment of ₹ 2911.51 crores, Its chairperson and independent director Shailesh Haribhakti has resigned and the company is facing a plea to initiate insolvency proceedings before the NCLT.
FPIs withdraw Rs 12,300 cr from equities in Apr on US Fed rate hike fears
Fears of an aggressive rate hike by the US Fed continue to dent investor sentiments with foreign investors pulling out nearly Rs 12,300 crore from the Indian equity market so far this month.
Going forward, foreign flows into Indian equities could continue to be under pressure due to an imminent rate hike by the US Fed, uncertainty surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war, volatile crude prices, high domestic inflation numbers and weak quarterly results, experts said.
ICICI Bank Q4 Results: Standalone net profit surges by 59% to Rs 7,019 cr
ICICI Bank on Saturday reported a 58 per cent jump in its March quarter consolidated net to Rs 7,719 crore, helped by a sharp decrease in the money set aside for bad debts. On a standalone basis, the second-largest private sector lender reported a 59 per cent jump to Rs 7,019 crore for the January-March quarter of 2021-22. It ended the fiscal year FY22 with a 44 per cent growth in the bottom line at Rs 23,339 crore.
The total income of the bank on a standalone basis rose to Rs 27,412 crore in the January-March period from Rs 23,953 crore in the year-ago quarter, ICICI Bank said in a regulatory filing.
