Stock Market LIVE: Sensex crosses 55,000, Nifty above 16,500; RIL, TechM shine

Share Market LIVE Update: Sensex and Nifty opened in green with a gain of more than 1%. Asian shares also surged on Wednesday with Nikkei and Hang Seng up by around 2%, whereas Wall Street had its best day in more than three weeks on Tuesday.

Wall Street had its best day in more than three weeks on Tuesday as more companies reported their spring earnings. The dollar's value eased a bit against other currencies Tuesday, which allayed some fears for the market. The value of rupee still remains a concern but Asian markets have hinted that the indices will have a positive opening on Wednesday.

India sees big jump in daily Covid cases with more than 20,000 cases

India logged 20,557 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 43,803,619, while the active cases dipped to 1,43,091, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. Yesterday, India reported 15,528 new coronavirus infections. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.13% and the weekly positivity rate at 4.64%, according to the ministry.

HUL shares: Brokerages bullish post strong Q1 beat, raise target price

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Tuesday reported a 13.8% rise in its consolidated net profit to ₹2,391 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, mainly driven by higher product prices. The company had posted a net profit of ₹2,100 crore in the April-June quarter of the previous fiscal.

Elecon Engineering to TD Power: Why capital goods stocks are skyrocketing

Shares of consumer durable segment in Indian stock market have delivered stellar return to its shareholders in last 3 months. In last three months, shares of Elecon Engineer have risen from around ₹190 to ₹334 apiece levels, Voltamp share price has risen from around ₹1850 to ₹3215 levels whereas Rolex Rings share price ha ascended from ₹1265 top ₹1743 apiece levels.

Rupee falls 4 paise to 79.96 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee depreciated 4 paise to 79.96 against the US dollar in opening trade on Wednesday amid demand for dollar from oil importers and firm crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 79.91 against the US dollar, then fell to quote at 79.96, registering a decline of 4 paise over the last close.

Yes Securities recommendations: BUY on ICICI Lombard; NEUTRAL on Ambuja Cements, HUL

For Polycab, the report said "The stock is currently trading at 25.4x FY24E P/E and 16.9x EV/EBITDA. We remain positive on the stock with BUY rating with TP of Rs3,061. Given the strength in the balance sheet and faster growth in the B2C businesses, the stock should continue its re-rating journey."

Gold rates at one-month low in India

Gold prices in India struggled near one-month lows amid global weakness in the precious metal. Gold MCX futures were at ₹50,369 per 10 gram while silver contracts rose 0.2% to ₹55,834 per kg. Gold rates, according to analysts at Kotak Securities, have weakened lately also as selloffs in commodities have intensified on the back of demand concerns and a firmer US dollar

Oil and Gas Indices up 2% following windfall tax cut on fuel

India eliminated a levy on gasoline exports and cut windfall taxes on other fuels less than three weeks after they were imposed, offering relief for the nation’s No. 1 fuel exporter Reliance Industries Ltd. and top crude explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp.

New Delhi reduced the windfall tax on diesel and aviation fuel shipments by 2 rupees (3 cents) a litre, and scrapped a 6-rupee-per-litre levy on gasoline exports, according to a government notification.

Sensex and Nifty surge. Reliance up 2.5% 

Sensex added 600 points at open on Wednesday and Nifty 170 points, which is a rise of more than 1%. Reliance Industries is up 2.5%.

Government says intervention helped cool off prices of onion, tomato

The all-India retail price of tomato has registered a 29 per cent decline over the last month as arrivals of the staple vegetable into the mandis improved with the onset of monsoon rains, a Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution statement said. Besides, the retail prices of onions are also largely under control, trading at 9 per cent below last year's level.

Sri Lankan Parliament set to elect new president in three-cornered contest

The Sri Lankan Parliament is all set to elect the successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a three-way presidential contest on Wednesday, following a high-voltage political drama which saw the former president fleeing the country and resigning after a popular uprising against his government for mismanaging the economy.

Parliament is scheduled to convene at 10:00 am to elect the new president.

Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Dullas Alahapperuma, a dissident ruling party MP backed by the main opposition, and leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake were proposed by lawmakers on Tuesday as the three candidates for the presidential election.

Oil Edges Lower as Traders Assess Stockpiles, Outlook for Dollar

Crude has fluctuated around $100 a barrel this month as traders weigh the impact on demand from a potential recession, as well as broad appetite for risk and wider market moves. After hitting a record last week, the dollar weakened, making commodities including oil more attractive.

Stocks to Watch: HUL, ONGC, RIL, L&T, Ambuja Cement, ICICI Lombard

Havells India, IndusInd Bank, Century Plyboards, Mastek, Ceat, and Hathway will be in focus as they declare their June quarter earnings today.

Here's why Omicron variant is highly transmissible, New study finds out

A study was conducted comparing the four variants of SARS-CoV-2 showed how the Omicron variant is adept at entering cells and escaping neutralization from existing vaccines or prior infection, potentially contributing to the variant's high transmissibility.

The study published in the journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' (PNAS) on July 19, suggests that Omicron mutations increase the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles and decrease antibody neutralisation.

Export duty cut on Diesel and Petrol

The government scrapped a Rs-6-a-litre tax on export of petrol and reduced the same on ATF from ₹6 a litre to ₹4. Besides, the tax on diesel has been reduced to ₹11 from ₹13 per litre, according to finance ministry notifications.

Over 13 lakh electric vehicles in use in India: Government

India has a total of 13.34 lakh electric vehicles while the number of non-electric vehicles stood at 27.81 crore, Minister of State for Heavy Industries Krishan Pal Gurjar said on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Gurjar said the centre is taking a number of steps to promote the use of electric vehicles in India.

India's bioeconomy likely to touch USD 300 billion by 2030

India's bioeconomy is likely to touch USD 150 billion by 2025 and over USD 300 billion by 2030, a report said on Tuesday. The India BioEconomy Report 2022, based on the data on biotech sector's contribution to the economy, has been brought out by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). The report said the country's bioeconomy has reached over USD 80 billion in 2021, registering a 14.1 per cent growth over USD 70.2 billion in 2020. It said that India generated USD 219 million of bioeconomy daily, adding USD 80.12 billion in 2021l.

Trade deficit with China widens despite move to cut dependency

Just over two years after issuing a clarion call for building a self-reliant nation, India’s trade deficit with China is on the rise. From electrical machinery and spectacles to cars, railway parts, headphones, memory cards, inorganic chemicals and petroleum products, imports from China have reported a sharp spike in the first two months of the current fiscal. Imports from China grew by 12.75% in the first two months of the current fiscal; exports to China dropped 31%.

China reports more than 1,000 new COVID cases

China reported 1,012 new coronavirus cases for July 19, of which 150 were symptomatic and 862 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday. It was the first time the cases breached 1,000 since May 20. That compared with 776 new cases a day earlier - 237 symptomatic and 539 asymptomatic, which China counts separately.

Future Retail investors contest RIL rebranding stores

A section of minority shareholders of Future Retail Ltd (FRL) has written to the government and the markets regulator opposing the rebranding of former Big Bazaar stores to ‘Smart Bazaar’ by Reliance Retail. They alleged that the move was an attempt to appropriate FRL’s brand value.

Netflix subscriber numbers drop two quarters in a row

Netflix reported losing subscribers for the second quarter in a row Tuesday as the streaming giant battles fierce competition and viewer belt-tightening, but the company assured investors of better days ahead. The loss of 970,000 paying customers in the most recent quarter was not as big as expected, and left Netflix with just shy of 221 million subscribers.

The company said in its earnings report that it had expected to gain a million paid subscribers in the current quarter.

India cuts windfall tax on diesel, aviation fuel shipments

India has cut a windfall tax on diesel and aviation fuel shipments by 2 rupees a liter, according to a government notification. New Delhi also cut the tax on domestically produced crude to 17,000 rupees a tonne, effective July 20.

On July 1, India had imposed the windfall tax on oil producers and refiners who boosted product exports to gain from higher overseas margins.

Dollar loses steam

The U.S. dollar retreated on Wednesday as the euro extended its overnight bounce on relief Europe might be able to avoid the worst fears concerning energy shortages, and on the chance the European Central Bank may deliver a more aggressive rate hike.

Hong Kong, Shanghai surge at open

Hong Kong stocks rallied at the open Wednesday on hopes that the current corporate earnings season will suggest companies are withstanding the impact of higher inflation and rising interest rates. The Hang Seng Index climbed 1.49%, or 307.36 points, to 20,968.42. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.37%, or 12.12 points, to 3,291.55

Wall Street ended in green 

Wall Street had its best day in more than three weeks on Tuesday as more companies reported their spring earnings. The S&P 500 climbed 2.8% after a powerful tide carried 99% of the stocks in the index higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.4% and the Nasdaq composite roared 3.1% higher.

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