News Wrap | Sensex & Nifty Slip; RIL 1:1 Bonus Issue; Zomato & EaseMyTrip Surge | September 5, 2024

Let's start with Asian equities – It was a mixed session for the Asian markets, with Japan’s Nikkei leading the losses. Investors reacted to July cash earnings growth in Japan, which slowed to 3.6 percent, versus 4.5 percent growth in June. So, the Nikkei slipped over a percent in Thursday’s trade. Korea’s Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also ended the day lower, while China’s Shanghai Composite was marginally higher.

In India, it was mixed session on Dalal Street. Broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices. While the Sensex and the Nifty were down two-tenths of a percent each, the Nifty Midcap index ended the day higher. Of the fifty constituents of Nifty, 33 declined while 17 advanced. Titan was the star of the trade gaining more than three percent. Pharma giant Cipla was the biggest laggard, down almost a percent and a half.

In stock specific action - Reliance Industries board has approved a one-is-to-one bonus issue. This means that if you hold one share of Reliance Industries on the record date fixed by the company, you will be eligible to receive an additional share for free. The record date for the bonus issues hasn’t been decided yet and the company will make that announcement separately. Shares of RIL slipped around a percent, closing below 3,000 rupees apiece.

On the other hand, Zomato surged five percent on Thursday, closing around 255 rupees per share. The company gained after brokerage firm JP Morgan raised its price target from 208 rupees to 340 rupees. That’s the second highest price target for the food delivery aggregator, which also has a target of 333 rupees per share from CLSA. In its note, JP Morgan gave a thumbs up to Zomato’s retail consumer transformation and retained the ‘overweight’ tag for the stock.

It's also been a busy day for India’s electric vehicles sector – Highways and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that Indian EV manufacturers don’t need further government support. Speaking at the Bloomberg NEF Summit in New Delhi, Gadkari said and I quote, “I feel we do not need subsidy. In the beginning the cost was very high and we needed to encourage the people. So, the best way was that. Now, today the demand is increasing, volume has increased, cost is reducing.” Government has been incentivising EV manufacturers through schemes such as FAME. Gadkari’s comments have come just days after Heavy Industries Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that work on the next phase of FAME was in the final stage.

Staying with EVs – Ola Electric’s Bhavish Aggarwal has said that his company will soon launch it electric three-wheelers. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Bhavish Aggarwal added that three-wheelers have been on the EV maker’s radar from the beginning and the company has showcased some technology focus on this. He went on to say that Ola Electric;s manufacturing technology strength built in two-wheelers will be easily transferable to three-wheelers as and when the company chooses to bring out its products. Shares of Ola Electric snapped their six-day losing streak to end higher.

More from the EV sector – shares of online travel company EaseMyTrip surged in trade as it announced its plan to manufacture electric buses. In a regulatory filing the company informed the stock exchanges that its board has approved the proposal to incorporate a wholly owned subsidiary for this. The company is now awaiting the government nod for its plans. Shares of EaseMyTrip surged ten percent on the news, closing at around 43 rupees.

With that, it’s a wrap on this edition of the Business Hook News Wrap podcast. We will be back tomorrow with more from the world of business and equities. You can also watch in-depth coverage of big business stories on the Business Hook YouTube channel.