2 October, 2023 – 08 October, 2023 Week That Was

Markets in Focus
Global Markets
Wall Street indices managed to regain the losses recorded during the week after
initially falling on the stronger-than-expected jobs report and a rise in Treasury yields.
The Dow Jones index ended flat at 33407.58, whereas the S&P 500 index ended the
week up 0.48%, breaking a four-week negative streak. The Nasdaq also notched a
positive week, climbing 1.60%. The FTSE 100 was affected by the surge in bond yields,
propelled by expectations of higher interest rates, causing the market to end lower.

Domestic Market
Indian equity benchmarks ended logged weekly gains, snapping a two-week losing
streak. On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 483 points, or 0.73%, and closed at
65995.63 levels, while Nifty rose by 124.75 points, or 0.63%, and settled at 19653.50
levels. The advancement was led by rate-sensitive sectors like auto, financials, and
realty, after the RBI kept key interest rates steady. However, unabated foreign fund
outflows and weak trends in the US and Asian markets severely affected the metrics.

Sectors in Focus
Automobile
SUVs now drive half the sales in India's Automobile Market
SUVs now account for 50% of all passenger vehicle sales in India,
doubling their market share in five years. This shift in buyer preference
towards larger vehicles has come due to a wide range of models and
their higher road presence, which is seen as a sign of value.
Daimler aims to have a presence in 350 network locations by 2023
Daimler has opened five new dealerships in India as part of its plan to have outlets in
350 locations by the end of the year. The new dealerships will provide sales, service,
and spare parts for the company's BharatBenz range of vehicles. Daimler currently
has over 320 locations in its network and plans to reach 350 by the end of 2023.
BFSI
Bajaj Finance plans Rs 10,000-crore fundraise as Jio takes guard
Bajaj Finance, India’s biggest non-banking finance company (NBFC)
by market capitalisation, plans to raise Rs 10,000 crore in a restricted share sale
as it shores up its capital position amid the entry of Reliance Industries’ Jio
Financial into retail lending.
Reliance General Insurance gets Rs 922-cr show cause notice by GST authority
RGIC has received multiple show cause notices from the Directorate General of
GST Intelligence, amounting to Rs 922.58 crore. The notices are on revenue
generated from services like re-insurance and co-insurance.

Energy & Metal Telecom

Demerger of Vedanta Limited
Vedanta will demerge five businesses—aluminium, oil and gas, base
metals (mainly copper and zinc international), ferrous (steel and iron
ore mining) and power. This will unlock value for shareholders.
India developing taxonomy for green steel amid global ambiguity
India’s emission intensity, at 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of crude steel production
is higher than the global average of 1.9 tonnes. Solutions range from energy
efficiency, transitions to renewable energy, resource efficiency, and advanced
technologies like green hydrogen and carbon capture utilization and storage.
Jio, Airtel roll out special plans to woo cricket fans
Airtel has launched two plans, which include unlimited data for 2 days against a
payment of Rs 99 and 6GB of additional data with 1-day validity for Rs 49. On the
other hand, Jio has rolled out monthly, quarterly and annual plans bundled with
data, unlimited voice, and subscription to Disney+ Hotstar mobile.
31 million users in India seen upgrading to 5G phones in 2023: Ericsson survey
The government is considering a proposal to allow broadband-from-space players
such as Jio Satellite Communications, the satcom arm of Reliance Jio, and Bharti
Group-backed OneWeb, to provide wireless connectivity to consumers.

Healthcare & Pharma IT & E-Commerce

USFDA has accepted NDA for Sun Pharma’s dermatological drug
Sun Pharma stated that USFDA has approved the New Drug
Application for deuruxolitinib, an investigational oral drug for the
treatment of adults with moderate to severe alopecia areata on the
basis of phase 3 trials that included over 1200 patient
Haryana govt announces aid to patients suffering from 55 rare diseases
Khattar govt approved a proposal to provide monthly financial aid of Rs. 2750 to
patients suffering from 55 rare diseases. The beneficiaries will be included in the
Chirayu scheme under which they can avail treatment up to Rs. 5 Lakh
TCS wins Georgia department of labour deal
Tata Consultancy Services has won a deal from the Georgia
Department of Labor (GDOL) to replace its 1980s-era legacy
platform with a scalable cloud-based unemployment insurance
system that streamlines the claims process
E-commerce to grow to $300 bn by 2030: Redseer Report
The Indian e-commerce industry is predicted to grow five-fold to $300 billion
by 2030, with third-party logistics providers expected to handle 17 billion
shipments in the next seven years. Thr cost per shipment is projected to
decrease by 23% from Rs 60 in 2023 to Rs 47 in 2030.

Retail & Consumer Goods Infrastructure

ADIA to invest Rs 4,966 crore in Reliance Retail for 0.59 pc stake
This investment by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi
Investment Authority (ADIA) "will translate into an equity stake of
0.59 per cent" in Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) on a fully
diluted basis, it added.
India a priority market for Costa Coffee, to add around 50 stores every year
In India, Costa Coffee is operated through its franchise partner Devyani
International DIL), which has recently opened its 150th store here. DIL is
promoted by RJ Corp Ltd, which is also a promoter of Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL),
which is the bottling partner of PepsiCo.
JSW Infra ends 32% higher in trading debut at $4 bn valuation
Shares of JSW Infrastructure, India’s second largest commercial
port operator and provider of services such as cargo handling,
storage, and logistics, closed 32% higher on its first day of
trading. The company was valued at $4 billion (Rs. 330 billion).
National Investment & Infrastructure Fund posts $600 mn India-Japan fund
The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has entered into a
collaboration with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to unveil
$600 million India-Japan fund. It will focus on investing in environmental
sustainability and low carbon emission strategies.
*Click on the headlines to find the attached news articles