Business News Live: Airtel Payments Bank Q1 net profit rises 41%

The income tax department on Friday said dispute resolution committees (DRCs) have been set up in all the 18 principal commissionerates under the electronic dispute resolution scheme.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had notified the e-Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2022 with the aim to reduce litigation and provide relief to eligible taxpayers.
 

The all-India House Price Index (HPI) moderated to 3.3 per cent in the June quarter of 2024-25 from 5.1 per cent in the year-ago period, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday.

Essar Shipping on Thursday reported a consolidated loss of Rs 34.53 crore in the first quarter ended June 2024.

The company had clocked a profit of Rs 26.13 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing to the BSE.
 

 British multinational Standard Chartered Bank has exited its investment in Protean eGov Technologies by selling its entire 3.09 per cent stake for Rs 225 crore through an open market transaction on Thursday.

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In a decisive move to combat spam calls, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) announced on Thursday that telecom operators will disconnect the services of entities found misusing bulk connections for spam calls. Additionally, such entities will face blacklisting by all telecom operators for up to two years.

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AstraZeneca Pharma India on Thursday said its net loss stood at Rs 12 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2024.

The drug maker had reported a net profit of Rs 54 crore in the April-June quarter of last fiscal.

Coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday said that critical minerals have emerged as drivers of the modern economy and the Centre has ensured the country taps into this global opportunity through the launch of the National Critical Mineral Mission.

Union Budget 2024-25 has proposed launching Critical Mineral Mission for domestic production, recycling of critical minerals, and overseas acquisition of critical mineral assets.

India's logistics cost will come down to 9 per cent of GDP by April next year, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.

Addressing an event here, Gadkari further said the country's exports will also increase when the logistics cost comes down to single digit.

ABB India, a leading engineering services firm, reported a stronger-than-anticipated profit for the second quarter, bolstered by robust demand for its electrification products. The Indian subsidiary of Switzerland's ABB saw its profit surge by 50 per cent year-over-year to Rs 443 crore for the quarter ending June 30, exceeding analysts' expectations of Rs 407 crore, according to LSEG data.

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The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Thursday that it has initiated an investigation into Amazon’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic, raising concerns about potential anti-competitive practices in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence (AI) sector. This comes just days after the regulator began a similar inquiry into Alphabet's collaboration with the same startup.

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Shares of Bumble Inc. plummeted 35 per cent in premarket trading on Thursday after the women-centric dating app slashed its annual revenue growth forecast, igniting fears over the company’s ability to successfully turn around its business.

Bumble now anticipates full-year revenue growth of just 1 per cent to 2 per cent, a sharp reduction from its previous forecast of 8 per cent to 11 per cent. The company also reported lower-than-expected revenue for the second quarter, further unsettling investors.

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Shares of infrastructure company Ceigall India Ltd on Thursday ended with a discount of nearly 4 per cent, giving up all initial gains amid profit-taking in the broader equity market.

The stock listed with a premium of nearly 2.99 per cent at Rs 413 per share on BSE against the issue price of Rs 401 per share. During the day, it jumped 5.98 per cent to Rs 425. However, it pared all early gains and declined 3.72 per cent to settle at Rs 386.05.

The Reserve Bank's decision to keep interest rate unchanged will provide it an elbow room to continue focus on moderating inflation for resilient and sustained economic growth, said industry experts.

For the ninth time in a row, the central bank decided to continue the status quo and kept the benchmark repo rate at 6.5 per cent.

Airtel Payments Bank on Thursday said its net profit for the June quarter rose 41 per cent year-on-year to Rs 7.2 crore, amid uptick in digital savings bank accounts alongside other digital offerings.

Announcing its consolidated report card for the first quarter ended on June 30, 2024, Airtel Payments Bank said it has hit a significant milestone and that, in a first, the bank's quarterly revenue grew to Rs 610 crore, up by 52 per cent on-year.

Bharat Forge said on Thursday that its consolidated net profit declined 18 percent to Rs 175 crore in the June 2024 quarter.

The diversified firm reported a net profit of Rs 214 crore during the April-June quarter of the last fiscal.

The domestic stock markets reversed yesterday’s gains as they tumbled severely on Thursday, pulled down by crucial losses in Information & Technology (IT), Metal, Realty, and Oil & Gas stocks. 

The Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share Sensitive Index settled 537.5 points or 0.68 per cent lower at 78,930.54 while the National Stock Exchange’s broader Nifty 50 ended 180 points or 0.74 per cent lower at 24,117.00 in Thursday’s trading session. 

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Bhavesh Aggarwal-led Ola Electric Mobility is set for its stock market debut on August 9 with over 4.45 times of oversubscription. However, right before hitting the Dalal Street, the grey market premium of Ola Electric tumbled approximately 4 per cent, indicating a muted start for the share on Friday. 

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Ceigall India Ltd. made a lackluster debut on the stock exchanges on Thursday, August 8, with its shares listing at Rs 419 on the NSE, representing a 4.49 per cent premium over the issue price of Rs 401. On the BSE, the stock began trading at Rs 413, a 3 per cent premium. Despite the initial optimism, the shares fell by 6.64 per cent in intraday trading.

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Britain's Persimmon PSN.L expects to build at the top end of its annual housebuilding target in 2024 as easing mortgage rates and a UK rate cut spur recovery hopes in the sector, it said on Thursday after posting a 3% drop in interim pre-tax profit.

A tsunami warning has been issued for Japan after a powerful earthquake struck the region. The tremor, recorded at a magnitude of seven on the Richter scale, has prompted authorities to warn of a potential rise in sea levels around southern Japan, with waves expected to reach up to one metre in height.

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Gold prices on Thursday rose Rs 117 to Rs 69,082 per 10 grams in futures trade as speculators created fresh positions on a firm spot demand.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold contracts for October delivery traded higher Rs 117 or 0.17 per cent at Rs 69,082 per 10 grams in a business turnover of 17,967 lots.

Silver prices on Thursday marginally rose Rs 4 to Rs 78,904 per kilogram in futures trade as participants widened their bets on a firm spot demand.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, silver contracts for September delivery increased Rs 4 or 0.01 per cent to Rs 78,904 per kg in 29,727 lots.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to keep its growth and inflation projections for the current fiscal year at 7.2 per cent  and 4.5 per cent, respectively, amid expectations of a normal monsoon.

We will be watchful of all incoming data domestically and external sources. Today India has improved its resilience vis-à-vis external shocks. Agencies like IMF, OECD and other have projected world trade to grow this year. This would support overall external demand, said Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das during post MPC press conference.
 

It is true that US unemployment data led to some speculations. But overall economy growth in US is doing quite well. Unemployment is just a month's data. Based on this, you cannot rush to a conclusion about the possibility of a recession, said Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das.
 

The RBI Monetary Policy Committee headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has said that UPI tax payment limit is being increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per transaction. 

India's foreign exchange reserves hit a record high of $675 billion as of August 2, Shaktikanta Das, the governor of the central bank, said on Thursday. The reserves rose by $7.6 billion in the reporting week, as per Reuters' calculations. They had fallen by $3.5 billion in the prior week, the biggest in over three months.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its key interest rate unchanged on Thursday, as widely expected, as it continued its efforts to sustainably lower inflation towards its 4% target.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which consists of three RBI and three external members, kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.50% for a ninth straight policy meeting.

Government bond yields remained virtually unchanged in early Thursday trading as investors awaited insights from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on liquidity management and its upcoming monetary policy decision.

At 9:40 am IST, the benchmark 10-year bond yield stood at 6.8624%, slightly down from its previous close of 6.8632%.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will announce the Monetary Policy Committee's decision on Thursday, August 8 at 10 am while the policy press conference will be telecasted at 12 noon.

 

Government bond yields are expected to remain stable in early trading on Thursday as market participants await the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy decision. The focus will be on the central bank’s stance and its guidance on liquidity.

The benchmark 10-year bond yield is anticipated to range between 6.85 per cent and 6.87 per cent until the policy announcement, compared to its previous closing rate of 6.8632 per cent, according to a trader at a private bank.

Japanese shares faced renewed pressure on Thursday, with the Nikkei index tracking declines from Wall Street and reacting to recent hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan (BOJ).

The UK's job market showed continued signs of deceleration last month, with a slowdown in permanent hiring and more modest pay increases, according to the latest survey. This data will contribute to the Bank of England's deliberations on potential future interest rate cuts.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) reported that the decline in permanent hiring has persisted for nearly two years, although the drop was less pronounced compared to the previous month.

Britain's housing market looks set for a sales bounce in the coming months after the Bank of England cut interest rates and the new government turned its focus to the sector, a survey showed on Thursday.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its measure of expected sales over the next three months was the strongest since January 2020, immediately before the coronavirus pandemic struck Britain.
 

On Wednesday, Jennifer Homendy, Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), criticised Boeing for failing to address unauthorised production work on its 737 MAX 9 aircraft long before a recent emergency. Speaking at a hearing about the January 5 incident, Homendy asserted that the mid-air emergency, which involved an Alaska Airlines flight that had to return to Portland, Oregon, should have been preventable.

Bumble's announcement on Wednesday of a reduced annual revenue growth forecast led to a 30% drop in its share price after trading hours. This has heightened investor anxiety about the dating app operator's future growth strategy.
The company failed to meet Wall Street's expectations for its second-quarter revenue, in contrast to its larger competitor, Match Group. Match Group reported strong second-quarter revenue last week, buoyed by stable trends at Tinder and significant growth at Hinge.