Experts Financial News

Taj Hotel Chennai, a Tata group property, has garnered raise on social media for a considerate gesture toward a guest who had to cut short his trip due to the flooding. The downpour has disrupted daily life, forcing schools and colleges to shut down, causing frequent power outages, and creating severe traffic jams on waterlogged streets. D Prasanth Nair shared his experience on the social media platform X, commending the Tata Group-owned Taj Hotels for their customer-first approach. Nair compared his experience at the Taj hotel with that of his colleague, who stayed at another prominent hotel chain. Nair and his colleague had planned to stay in Chennai until October 16. However, with the unpredictable weather worsening, they decided to leave on the evening of October 15 instead. Nair informed the Taj hotel of his early departure and was surprised when the staff chose not to charge him for the unused night, even though they were technically entitled to do so. The hotel cited their understanding of the situation, acknowledging the weather-related difficulties behind his change in plans.

Sourav Ganguly has been appointed as the Director of Cricket for JSW Sports. In this new role, Ganguly will oversee all cricketing operations for JSW Sports, including the Delhi Capitals men's IPL and women's WPL teams, as well as the Pretoria Capitals team in South Africa's SA20 League. Ganguly’s association with JSW Sports has grown over the years, having first joined the Delhi Capitals as an advisor in 2019, where he worked alongside head coach Ricky Ponting. He later took on the role of Director of Cricket for the franchise. His long-standing relationship with JSW Sports founder Parth Jindal has been key to this appointment. Parth Jindal expressed his excitement, saying, “Dada has always had a special place at JSW Sports. For us, he is family first and then the cricketing icon that he is. He has one of the sharpest minds in cricket, and we are thrilled to have him lead all our cricketing ventures.”

Congress digital media convenor Dr P Sarin, who raised a banner of protest against the party leadership over its candidate decision for the Palakkad assembly bypoll, was expelled from the primary membership of the party on Thursday. The KPCC made this decision simultaneously as Sarin announced a press conference in Palakkad, declaring his intention to work with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) moving forward. As Sarin was holding the press conference, making damaging allegations against Congress leaders, including opposition leader V D Satheeshan, Vadakara MP Shafi Parambil, and Palakkad by-election candidate Rahul Mamkootathil, the KPCC issued a press release announcing the decision of state party chief K Sudhakaran to expel Sarin from the party. The KPCC stated that the action was taken due to Sarin's serious anti-party activities and indiscipline.

Sino-India relations following the opening of another Taiwan de facto consulate in Mumbai. China opposes moves by any countries it has ties with to engage in official contacts with Taiwan, said Mao Ning, a foreign ministry spokesperson, at a regular news conference. The Taiwanese government opened its third representative office in India on Wednesday, Taiwan's official Central News Agency reported, adding to existing offices in New Delhi and Chennai.

Indian Railways has reduced the time window for advanced booking of seats in passenger trains. According to a circular issued by the Railway Board, time limit for Advance Reservations has been reduced from 120 to 60 days (excluding date of journey). This new diktat will be applicable from November 1 onwards so bookings can be made under the 120-day Advance Reservation Period (ARP) till then. Existing bookings under the earlier ARP will remain intact as well. This reverses a decision taken in March 2015 to increase the window of booking. There will be no change in the case of certain day time express trains like Taj Express, Gomti Express, among others where lower time limits for Advance Reservations are already in place. There will also be no change in the case of limit of 365 days for Foreign Tourists, the order said.

Stocks in Europe regained some lost ground on Thursday as investors eyed a dovish outlook on top of an expected European Central Bank interest rate cut during the day, while parsing a largely upbeat set of corporate earnings. The continent-wide STOXX 600 index gained 0.4% at 0820 GMT, following a two-day decline.

onion prices ahead of the festive season, the government will transport 1,600 tonnes of buffer stock via railways from Maharashtra to Delhi — the first such initiative using rail transport for the kitchen staple. The special rake, dubbed 'Kanda Express', will depart from Maharashtra's Lasalgaon Railway Station and reach Delhi's Kishanganj Railway Station on October 20, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare announced on Thursday. The government expects this bulk movement to help stabilise prices in the Delhi-NCR region, where buffer stock onions are currently being sold at a subsidised rate of Rs 35 per kg. Currently, retail prices are ruling high up to Rs 75 per kg in different cities. «This rail transport initiative marks a historic first,» Khare said, adding that similar arrangements will be extended to Lucknow, Varanasi and northeastern states including Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) Societe Generale, Tiger Pacific Master Fund and UBS Principal Capital Asia reduced their holdings in Paytm owner One 97 Communications below 1% in the September ended quarter. Societe Generale held a 1.98% stake in the Paytm parent in the April-June quarter while Tiger Pacific and UBS held 1.3% and 1.06% shares, respectively.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited has reached a significant milestone, with the Manesar facility crossing the 1 crore cumulative production mark. According to Maruti Suzuki, the vehicle to roll out from the plant was the popular compact SUV, Brezza, underscoring the automaker's growing presence in the SUV segment. The Manesar plant achieved this feat in just 18 years, making it the fastest among Suzuki's global automobile manufacturing facilities to reach the 1 crore production milestone.

Shriram Finance Ltd. fell 3.17 per cent to Rs 3281.0 at 01:38PM hours (IST) on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the stock saw a gap down start to the session. As per data available on BSE, total traded quantity on the counter stood at 6,321 shares with a turnover of Rs 2.09 crore till 01:38PM (IST). The stock traded at a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 16.02, while the price-to-book value ratio stood at 1.81.

Mphasis and Tech Mahindra on Thursday surged up to 5.5% on the NSE ahead of the second quarter results of major IT firms Infosys, Wipro and LTIMindtree, which are due later in the day. Mphasis shares gained the highest, rising 5.5% to the day’s high of Rs 3,072.10, followed by Infosys shares gaining 2% to an intraday high of Rs 1,958.35.

SRF Ltd. traded 2.34 per cent down at Rs 2249.2 at 01:34PM (IST) on Thursday, even as BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 481.03 points to 81020.33. The stock had settled at Rs 2303.3 in the previous session. The stock quoted a 52-week high and 52-week low of Rs 2697.45 and Rs 2081.25, respectively.

Nestle India tumbled 4% to the day’s low of 2,364.80 on BSE in Thursday’s trade after the company reported a marginal decline in its Q2 net profit to Rs 899 crore, slightly down from Rs 908 crore reported in the same period last year. This indicates a 1% year-on-year (YoY) decline in the PAT.

DLF Ltd. traded at Rs 861.95 on BSE at 01:44PM (IST) on Thursday, down 2.55 per cent. The stock quoted a 52-week low price of Rs 513.55 and a high of Rs 967.0. Earlier in the day, the stock saw a gap up opening.

«Going by the monthly put options on the Nifty seems like a good idea where we feel that these put options can double or even possibly triple from the current levels,» says Rahul Sharma, JM Financial Services. Third straight day of decline and today it is around 200 points down, that is what we are looking at the benchmark. Where do you see support levels to come in for the Nifty? Rahul Sharma: Clearly, this is another breakdown in the works and Nifty seems like the 24,700 low that we made on the 7th of October should be broken anytime soon. Well, the meaningful support is placed in the vicinity of 24,500, 25,400. So, another 300 to 400 points can be taken off from the current level. And we feel that there is still some time for the capitulation to happen.

Bharat Forge Ltd. dropped 0.79 per cent to Rs 1463.35 at 01:07PM (IST) in Thursday's trade. The counter has hit a high of Rs 1475.4 and low of Rs 1443.35 so far during the session. The stock had closed at Rs 1475.05 in the previous session. The counter has had a total traded volume of 8718 shares so far with a value of Rs 1.27 crore on the NSE. It traded at a price-to-earnings multiple of 73.12 and a price-to-book ratio of 7.33.

Time magazine owner Marc Benioff called out US Vice President Kamala Harris for denying multiple interview requests to the publication ahead of the November presidential election, tech mogul Elon Musk has backed Benioff. Tesla CEO has claimed Harris is avoiding any interviews that «won't post-edit her answers». «Kamala is avoiding any interviews that won’t post edit her answers to sound like they make sense,» he wrote on X. Marc Benioff wrote on X, formerly Twitter, «Despite multiple requests, TIME has not been granted an interview with Kamala Harris—unlike every other presidential candidate.

Tata Power Company Ltd. rose 1.61 per cent to Rs 452.9 in Thursday's trade. It hit an intraday high of Rs 462.7 and low of Rs 451.5, respectively, during the day. The stock quoted a 52-week high price of Rs 494.85 and low of Rs 230.75.

ZEE5, the streaming platform from Zee Entertainment, is prioritising family-friendly content, enhancing its technology, and optimising costs through efficient content production to expand its business while minimising losses, according to a senior executive. This strategy has enabled the platform to increase both advertising and subscription revenue while reducing expenses. It expects the advertising business to pick up once the ad rate correction occurs in the industry and Connected TV (CTV) numbers increase. On the subscription side, it has partnered with Vodafone Idea and is in advanced discussions with Bharti Airtel. In the quarter ending in June, ZEE5 reduced its operating loss by 48% to ₹177 crore, while revenue grew by 16% to ₹223 crore. Over the 12 months ending in March, revenue increased by 24% to ₹919 crore, although the operating loss remained steady at ₹1,105 crore.

Havells India Ltd. traded 1.89 per cent up at Rs 1902.7 at around 01:13PM (IST) on Thursday. The stock had closed at Rs 1939.55 in the previous session. Equity benchmark Sensex traded 436.62 points lower at 81064.74 around the same time.

Radisson Hotel Group has launched Braille menus in its hotels across South Asia. This initiative aims to make dining easier for guests who are visually impaired. The launch is part of a partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) Young Indians. With the introduction of Braille menus at its 125 hotels, Radisson Hotel Group allows visually-impaired guests to explore their meal options and make their own choices. This helps them feel more independent during their dining experience. Additionally, some hotels will use scannable audio QR codes, letting guests listen to the menu at their own pace. “Introducing Braille menus is an important step toward building inclusive dining experiences, ensuring that everyone—regardless of their abilities—feels valued,” Nikhil Sharma, Managing Director and Senior Area Vice President for South Asia at Radisson Hotel Group, said