Trade Financial News

On Monday, the National Company Law Tribunal deferred a class-action case filed by some shareholders of ICICI Securities (I-Sec) who are up in arms over the company’s move to delist itself and merge with parent ICICI Bank under a plan that won shareholder approval on 28 March. As investors, they were offered 67 shares of ICICI Bank for every 100 of I-Sec, a brokerage business owned nearly three-fourths by ICICI Bank and the rest by the public. As disgruntled minority owners saw it, that share-swap ratio implied their company had been valued at only about half its earnings multiple than at the time it was listed for trading six years ago.

Trading conditions were broadly bearish on Tuesday as traders focused on a hotter-than-expected US PPI report and commentary from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, with traders having to turn to the on-chain meme coin markets in the hunt for top crypto gainers today.

dollar traded near a one-month low versus the euro on Wednesday amid lower Treasury yields as traders braced for a key U.S. inflation report later in the day that could dictate the path of Federal Reserve policy. The yen languished near a two-week low, as a still-gaping yield gap between local bonds and U.S. peers continued to encourage selling of the Japanese currency.

Myanmar ruling junta’s decision to opt for Russia for building a Dawei deep seaport on the country’s east coast has riled China which was also eyeing to construct the port located close to the Thailand border. The Myanmar junta is keen for Russians to invest in the port project along with a special economic zone including an oil refinery, ET has learnt.

Oil prices rose in early trade on Wednesday as large wildfires were threatening Canada's oil sands and as the market expected U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories to show a drawdown later in the day. Brent crude futures were up 34 cents, or 0.4% at $82.71 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) rose 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $78.39 a barrel by 0016 GMT.

Indian stock market: The Indian stock market indices, Sensex and the Nifty 50, closed higher for the third consecutive session, despite varying signals from global markets, on Tuesday, May 14. Following a nearly 2 percent decline last week, market benchmarks rebounded this week, buoyed by improved valuations. The medium- to long-term prospects for the Indian stock market remain optimistic, supported by the nation's promising economic growth outlook.

Mint takes a closer look at what it means for India. India and Iran signed a long-term contract for the development of Chabahar Port during shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s visit to Iran. Signed by Indian Ports Global Limited (IPGL) and the Port & Maritime Organisation of Iran, the agreement allows the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar Port to operate for 10 years.

F&O ban list: Nine stocks have been banned for trade on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, under the futures and options (F&O) segment by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities have been put on ban under the F&O segment as they crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL), according to the NSE.

Dividend stocks: Shares of Hindustan Zinc Ltd, IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd, Coforge Ltd, Ador Welding Ltd, Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd, Canara Bank, Solara Active Pharma Sciences Ltd, and Viji Finance Ltd will be in focus when the stock market opens on May 15 (Wednesday). The Board of Directors of these companies have declared interim dividend, stock split, and rights issue of equity shares for their eligible shareholders. The record date by the eight companies to ascertain the eligibility of shareholders for their respective issues has been fixed on May 15.

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India, a prominent steel manufacturer with an integrated steel plant at Hazira in Gujarat. “The apprehension is that other mills from FTA countries and China may also get a renewal of their licences for exporting to India," analysts at market intelligence & consulting firm BigMint said, adding that this was a worrisome factor for Indian mills. AM/NS’s Dhar added that with India now available as an option, Vietnamese steelmakers will see the country as a lucrative avenue to dump excess production.

Aadhar Housing Finance IPO: The listing date of the initial public offering (IPO) of Aadhar Housing Finance Limited has been fixed on May 15 2024, i.e. today.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $61,500, with a 24-hour trading volume of $28.28 billion. The cryptocurrency has dropped about 2.25% in the past day. Ranked first on Cryptonews, Bitcoin boasts a market cap of $1.21 trillion, with a circulating supply of 19,698,325 BTC and a maximum supply of 21,000,000 BTC.

Paxos, a leading regulated blockchain and tokenization infrastructure platform, appointed Christopher Giancarlo, the former Chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to its board of directors on May 14.

Stefano Sollima, known for «Without Remorse» and «Sicario: Day of the Soldado», is set to direct action thriller "Sugar Bandits" starring Will Smith. According to entertainment news outlet Variety, the movie is based on Chuck Hogan's novel "Devils In Exile". "Sugar Bandits" will see Smith play the role of a former special forces soldier who runs an elite vigilante squad working to wipe out the drug trade in Boston. He will also pull a double duty as a producer along with Jon Mone through Westbrook Studios with Ryan Shimazaki overseeing.

The days of noncompete agreements might be numbered, and that bodes well for advisors seeking to jump from broker-dealers to RIAs.

Deutsche Bank, a German multinational investment bank, joined Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Project Guardian on asset tokenization Tuesday in a press release.

palm oil imports registered a 34.11 per cent jump on-year in April to 6,84,000 tonnes, buoyed by a fall in global prices, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said on Tuesday. Palm oil accounted for 52 per cent of India's total edible oil imports of 13,04,409 tonnes in April, the trade body said in a statement, adding that sunflower and soybean oils import stood at 6,20,315 tonnes. Including non-edible oils, overall vegetable oil imports rose 26 per cent in April to 13,18,528 tonnes compared to 10,50,189 tonnes a year ago, it said. Bearish global prices encouraged higher imports of refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palmolein and crude palm oil (CPO), which declined by nearly USD 100 a tonne last month, SEA said.

Anglo American Plc will exit diamond, platinum and coal mining in a massive restructuring designed to fend off a £34 billion ($43 billion) takeover approach from rival BHP Group and turn the miner into a copper giant. Anglo's hand was forced by BHP's bid — which it has twice rejected — but the move also responds to pressure from shareholders to shed less profitable businesses and focus on the copper assets that are the envy of the industry. It leaves a much simpler company — though also a potentially more attractive one to suitors.

consumer goods companies such as Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Dabur, Adani Wilmar and Parle Products have said the contribution of quick commerce to overall ecommerce sales rose as high as 35% in FY24, almost doubling in a year. Quick commerce drove overall ecommerce for these companies as well as the broader fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, executives said. The contribution of quick commerce was 15-18% in FY23.

demand in the European Union, West Asia and the US has boosted export order books by at least 10% from six months before, companies said, signalling a possible recovery from last year. Leather goods, footwear, and apparel are driving demand but engineering goods shipments for new projects are facing a challenge due to geopolitical tensions, exporters said. «Overall, compared to the last six months, the order position has improved 15-20% for leather footwear especially from the US and partially Europe,» said Rafeeq Ahmed, chairman, Farida Group, one of India's largest shoe manufacturers and exporters. «The demand for non-leather footwear is also coming up.» India's total goods exports in FY24 fell 3.1% to $437 billion from $451 billion in the previous fiscal. Apparel exporters cited an increase of over 10% in orders starting February, mostly from the UK, US and the EU. «The decline in demand has slowed and there are obvious signs of improvement. Industry has an ambitious target of $20 billion apparel exports in FY25,» said Mithileshwar Thakur, secretary general, Apparel Export Promotion Council.

President Joe Biden says in defending his new tariffs on Chinese products that China's government subsidies ensure its companies don’t have to turn a profit, giving them an unfair advantage in global trade