1. Dow Falls 3% as US Stocks Sell-Off Deepens on Coronavirus Fears
Wall Street stocks sank deeper into the red Tuesday, 25 February, afternoon on mounting fears over the coronavirus and its potential to derail global growth. Near 1930 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.1% at 27,102.78.
The broad-based S&P 500 tumbled 3.0% to 3,130.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 2.7% to 8,972.40. After losing more than 3% Monday, US stocks started the session with an attempt to rebound, but were quickly rebuffed as investors, focused on the potential economic impact of the outbreak, noted it had spread to new countries including Spain and Romania.
(Source: Livemint)
2. Indigo Shares Plunge
The differences between co-founders and co-promoters Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia came to the fore in July 2019 after Gangwal sought market regulator SEBI's intervention to address alleged corporate governance lapses at the company.
A preliminary probe by markets regulator SEBI has suggested prima-facie violations of corporate governance and listing disclosure norms in certain related party transactions involving budget carrier IndiGo’s parent firm InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, sources said. While the company said it has not received any communication from Sebi in this regard, shares plunged sharply in afternoon trade on Tuesday, 25 February.
IndiGo has been facing a probe by the Securities and Exchange Board of India ever since a public spat came to light between two founders of the airline, including over certain related party transactions involving one of the warring promoters.
(Source: Financial Express)
3. Gopikishan Damani Buys 2.75% Stake in India Cements
Gopikishan S Damani, the brother of ace investor Radhakishan Damani, bought 2.75 percent stake in India Cements on 25 February.
As per the bulk deals available on the National Stock Exchange, Gopikishan S Damani purchased 85,22,428 equity shares of the cement company at Rs 82.7 per share.
Billionaire Radhakishan Damani already held a 4.73 percent stake in India Cements as of December 2019, which he increased from the 1.3 percent stake he held in September 2019. Among others, promoter Tata Sons continued to increase its shareholding in Tata Chemicals. It acquired 16,21,075 shares of the company at Rs 749.62 per share on 25 February.
(Source: Money Control)
4. US President Plays the Piper to Woo Corporate India
US President Donald Trump assured Indian industry leaders on Tuesday, 25 February that he would ease regulations to attract more investments even as the two countries worked towards a broader trade deal.
Trump congratulated the industrialists for their investments in the US, which have led to the creation of jobs, and urged them to continue their alliance. He said that his administration was ready to help businesses grow and flourish in the US.
On his government’s pro-business approach, the US president said that the stock market will jump if he is re-elected later this year. However, “if I don’t win, you’re going to see a crash like you’ve never seen before", he said. Trump said his government planned to announce tax cuts soon for the middle class.
(Source: Livemint)
5. Adani Mulls Bidding for Air India
Billionaire Gautam Adani's energy and infrastructure conglomerate is considering bidding to buy Air India and is pouring into bid documents before finalising a plan, sources said.
The government is offering to sell its entire holding in the loss-making carrier along with its entire interest in its low-cost arm and 50 percent in the ground handling unit.
Sources with knowledge of the development said the mergers and acquisition (M&A) team of Adani Group is scrutinising Air India bid documents and the interest was at a preliminary stage. Bidding, they insisted, would depend on the due diligence.
If Adani bids, it will join likes of Tata Group, Hindujas, IndiGo and New York-based fund Interups who are said to be considering putting in an expression of interest (EoI) at the close of the bid deadline next month.
(Source: PTI)
6. SBI, Tata Motors, JP Associates Top the Chart; Metals Beaten Black & Blue
Tracking weakness in global markets, Indian equity markets witnessed a kneejerk reaction that pushed the benchmark indices below crucial support levels.
Both equity benchmarks saw the biggest single-day fall since 1 February 2020, the Budget day. The S&P BSE Sensex sank way below its crucial psychological support of 41,000, down 806.89 points to 40,363.23 while the Nifty dropped below 12,000 levels, down 251.50 points to 11,829.40.
The top metal losers included JSW Steel which tanked over 8 percent followed by Tata Steel which fell 6 percent. Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Hindalco Industries and ONGC were the other losers.
(Source: Money Control)
7. AGR Dues: Tata Sons Chairman Meets Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
The DoT is seeking legal opinion from the solicitor general whether it can encash the bank guarantees of the companies which have not paid the full amount till now. At a time when the department of telecommunications (DoT) is preparing to issue notice to Tata Teleservices, seeking explanation regarding the assessment of dues, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran met telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and secretary Anshu Prakash.
As per sources, DoT is not convinced by the self-assessment done by Tata Teleservices regarding the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues and that is why the company will be asked to explain.
The company has deposited Rs 2,197 crore to the government, which it claims is the full and final amount. The DoT, however, has calculated the dues to the tune of Rs 13,823 crore for the company.
(Source: Financial Express)
8. India Sees a 4-Year Decline in the Number of New Start-Ups
The country has the third-largest number of unicorns in the world. Yet, the number of new entrants into the ecosystem has been declining since 2016.
According to data from Tracxn, a firm that tracks investments and financials of private companies and start-ups, the number of companies founded in 2019 was only 5,462 – 35 percent down from 2018 – the lowest since 2011.
Furthermore, this number has been falling since 2016, the year the government launched the Startup India scheme, an initiative to catalyse and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in India. The drop in the number of new entrants is observed across sectors, ranging from fintech to retail to enterprise applications.
(Source: BusinessLine)
9. BSE Equity Derivatives Turnover Touches Record High of Rs 7,591 CR
Turnover of S&P BSE Sensex futures and options touched a record high of Rs 7,591 crore on Tuesday, according to a release. The previous high of Rs 5,251 crore was recorded on 20 February.
"The implementation of interoperability clubbed with active participation from the members have led to increase in equity derivatives turnover on BSE. We thank all the members and look forward to constantly receiving their support," BSE Chief Business Officer Sameer Patil was quoted as saying in the release.
(Source: Money Control)
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