Business News Live: Experts divided on impact of US Fed rate cut for emerging markets like India

A spokesperson for Hershey said on Thursday the chocolate maker laid off a small number of its employees this week as part of organizational changes the company announced earlier this year when cocoa prices reached record highs.

This week's layoffs, which have not been previously reported, affected less than 1% of the roughly 20,000 employees at the maker of Hershey's candy bars and Reese's peanut butter cups, a company spokesperson said told Reuters.

In a statement related to the layoffs, Hershey said it remains focused on transforming its business.

"As part of that transformation, we are making meaningful changes to evolve our capabilities, systems and ways of working to become a leading snacking powerhouse," the Kisses manufacturer said. Hershey also sells Dot's pretzels and Pirate's Booty popcorn.

The Hershey, Pennsylvania-based company announced in February that it would be cutting jobs and incurring costs related to a productivity initiative aimed at generating $300 million in savings by 2026. The initiative also aims to improve supply chain and manufacturing-related spending.

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JPMorgan Chase announced on Thursday leadership changes in a push to strengthen its healthcare and technology investment banking, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

Ben Carpenter and Jeremy Meilman would be the global co-heads of healthcare investment banking, while Chris Grose and Greg Mendelson have been named global co-heads of the technology investment banking, according to the memo.

Investment banking has been a bright spot for the major Wall Street firms, as more companies look to raise capital through debt or equity offerings and engage in takeover deals driven by growing confidence in the U.S. economic outlook.

JPMorgan beat estimates for second-quarter profit in July, helped by a resurgence in dealmaking and strong capital markets.

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Big global investors are on alert for wild market swings after a jumbo U.S. rate cut sparked confusion over whether the world's dominant economy is set to boom or face recession, muddling prospects for stocks, bonds and currencies worldwide.

Global stocks hit records on Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve lowered borrowing costs by 50 basis points from a 23-year high while the euro, sterling and currencies from Norway to Australia firmed against the dollar. U.S. stocks surged after an initial muted reaction to the Fed cut.

But in one sign the Fed's cut is making policymakers outside the U.S. edgy, the Bank of England held interest rates steady on Thursday, citing uncertainty about inflation and global demand.

Traders dialed back their UK rate cut forecasts and some money managers warned the Fed might be adding too much support to an already robust U.S. economy, lifting global growth but potentially also prices of commodities and consumer goods.

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The Bank of Japan is set to keep monetary policy steady on Friday, but signal its confidence that solid wage growth and consumption will allow the central bank to raise interest rates again in coming months.

Such hawkish communication would contrast with many other central banks that are now shifting to a rate-cut cycle, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, which delivered an oversized reduction in borrowing costs on Wednesday.

The divergence may cause more turbulence in markets with expectations of narrowing U.S.-Japan interest rate differentials already helping the yen rebound to around 143 versus the dollar, off the nearly three-decade low of 161.99 hit in early July.

Markets are focusing on any hints from Governor Kazuo Ueda on the timing and pace of future rate hikes at his post-meeting news conference.

"Having just raised rates in July, the BOJ will likely prefer to scrutinise market developments for the time being," said former BOJ official Nobuyasu Atago.

"It's natural to think the next rate hike will come in December" so the BOJ can gauge the impact of the Fed's rate cut as well as political events such as Japan's ruling party leadership race and the U.S. presidential election, he said.

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Nike said on Thursday that former senior executive Elliott Hill will rejoin the company to succeed John Donahoe as president and CEO, as the sportswear giant shakes up its top rank amid efforts to revive sales and battle rising competition.

The company's shares rose 8% in after-hours trading.

Hill was at Nike for 32 years and held senior leadership positions across Europe and North America and was responsible for helping expand the business to more than $39 billion, the company said.

He was previously Nike's president, consumer marketplace, leading all commercial and market operations for the Nike and Jordan brands before retiring in 2020.

Nike said in a regulatory filing that Hill's compensation as president and CEO will include an annual base salary of $1.5 million. Hill will take over as CEO on Oct. 14.

Analysts cheered the move. The CEO change "gives a positive signal because it is someone that knows the brand and knows the company very well," said Jessica Ramirez of Jane Hali & Associates.

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Obesity-focused biotech BioAge Labs said on Wednesday it was seeking a valuation of as much as $587 million in its initial public offering in the United States, according to a regulatory filing.

Healthcare firms have done comparatively well in an otherwise subdued U.S. IPO market in 2024, which analysts touted as a comeback year for public offerings.

The Richmond, California-based company will join several biotech firms listing their shares this year. The trend comes as anti-obesity drug developers have attracted Wall Street interest and secured the support of several venture capital heavyweights. Shares of MBX Biosciences, which is developing therapies that target conditions such as diabetes and obesity, jumped nearly 44% in their Nasdaq debut last week.

Bioage's experimental drug, azelaprag, is being developed to treat obesity, in combination with GLP-1 agonists such as Eli Lilly's Zepbound and Novo Nordisk's Wegovy.

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A Macquarie Group investment adviser has agreed to pay $79.8 million to settle charges in connection with overvaluing collateralized mortgage obligations (CMO) held in advisory accounts, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said.

The regulator found that Macquarie Investment Management Business Trust, which is a part of Macquarie Asset Management, overvalued about 4,900 largely illiquid CMOs in 20 advisory accounts, including 11 retail funds and also executed hundreds of cross trades that favored certain clients over others.

From January 2017 through April 2021, the firm, which managed a fixed-income investment strategy primarily focused on mortgage-backed securities, CMOs and Treasury futures, assigned the wrong prices to certain products and thus overstated the performance of client accounts, the SEC said.

Regulators found Macquarie attempted to minimize losses to redeeming investors by arranging cross trades with affiliated accounts, rather than selling the overvalued products into the market.

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The European Commission and China agreed to intensify efforts to avert EU import tariffs on China-built electric vehicles and could re-examine a minimum-price deal previously rejected by the EU, the Commission said on Thursday.

EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao spoke on Thursday as EU countries prepare to vote on tariffs of up to 35.3%, on top of the EU's standard 10% import duty for cars.

The two held a "frank and constructive" discussion on EV tariffs, a Commission spokesperson said, with Dombrovskis stressing the EU anti-subsidy investigation was based on facts and designed to allow competition and a level playing field.

"Both sides reaffirmed their political will to pursue and intensify efforts in finding a mutually agreeable solution, which would need to be effective in addressing the problem, enforceable, monitorable, as well as WTO-compatible," the spokesperson said.

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The World Bank Group said on Thursday it delivered a record $42.6 billion in climate finance during fiscal 2024, a 10% increase over the $38.6 billion the prior year and close to its target of a 45% share of total financing devoted to climate projects. The $4 billion increase in climate financing during the fiscal year ended June 30 shows progress towards the bank's goals, but is well short of the trillions of dollars in additional resources needed annually to finance the clean energy transition in emerging market and developing countries.

World Bank President Ajay Banga has increased balance sheet leverage and taken other capital adequacy measures to squeeze out an additional $10 billion to $12 billion in annual lending capacity over 10 years to help tackle climate change and other global crises including pandemics in addition to its traditional anti-poverty and development mission.

The bank in December committed to devoting 45% of its total lending for fiscal 2025, which started on July 1, to support climate adaptation and mitigation.

The fiscal 2025 climate finance total comes from all parts of the World Bank Group, supporting projects from cyclone shelters in Bangladesh to new electric bus rapid transit systems in Cairo, Egypt and Dakar, Senegal, the World Bank said.

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Germany's government is considering ways to support Volkswagen , German economy minister and vice chancellor Robert Habeck said on Thursday, when asked about the threat of job cuts at the country's largest carmaker.

Volkswagen said this month it needed to cut costs significantly at its namesake brand in Germany, citing high costs, low productivity and fierce competition.

"VW is of central importance to Germany," Habeck told reporters in the city of Papenburg in Lower Saxony. The minister will visit a VW plant in Emden on Friday.

The economic ministry is considering how to address weak electric-vehicle sales, government sources said.

On Monday, automobile association VDA, union IG Metall, car manufacturers and suppliers will take part in a German car summit, the economic ministry said.

Habeck declined to comment on a report in German monthly "Manager Magazin," which said that some within the company estimate the group's German workforce would have to drop by 30,000 jobs over the mid-term, or about 10% of Volkswagen Group's German workforce. It did not cite sources.

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The Federal Reserve's big bang start on Wednesday to what's expected to be more interest-rate cuts this year and next may have had the full support of only a slim majority of the central bank's 19 policymakers, a look at their rate-path projections suggests.

That's a closer call than the lone formal dissent, cast by Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, suggests. As many as nine of the Fed's 19 policymakers may also have raised objections to some degree, or gone along only reluctantly, according to analysts who have parsed the decision over the 24 hours since.

A fuller readout of the meeting won't be available for another three weeks, when the Fed will publish minutes of its Sept. 17-18 meeting at which it cut the policy rate by a half-of-a-percentage point to 4.75%-5.00%.

Most analysts had expected just a quarter-point rate cut.

But already there were clues that this week's decision was unlike the one at the Fed's last meeting in July, where Fed Chair Jerome Powell said "all 19" participants supported holding the policy rate steady.

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FedEx reported a drop in first-quarter profit on Thursday and lowered the top end of its annual profit forecast as demand in the package industry remained muted, especially for priority services.

The company's shares fell about 11% to $268.21 after the bell.

FedEx and other transportation firms expanded operations during the pandemic-fueled online shipping boom. After demand normalized, package delivery firms have been laying off workers, shuttering offices and sorting facilities, and parking trucks and planes to shelter margins from excess overhead costs.

The company did away with $1.8 billion in structural costs in fiscal 2024 ended May, and plans to take out another $2.2 billion in costs in fiscal 2025.

However, ongoing cost cuts failed to offset the drag from weak demand for the lucrative priority services in the United States and one fewer operating day in the quarter, FedEx said.

The company now expects adjusted operating income for fiscal 2025 to be in the range of $20 to $21 per share, compared with its prior forecast of $20 to $22 per share.

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U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday he expects the Federal Reserve to continue cutting interest rates and vowed that his administration would keep working to lower costs for Americans.

Biden used an Economic Club of Washington event with 500 guests to promote his administration's policies to bring down inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, issues that have driven voters' anxiety.

"Interest rates are going to be coming down and they're expected to go down further. That's a good place for us to be," the president said.

Inflation is much closer to the Fed's 2% target, Biden said, calling the U.S. central bank's half-percentage-point cut in interest rates on Wednesday "good news for consumers."

"I'm not here to take a victory lap ... We do have more work to do," Biden added.

Many economists had predicted a recession would be needed to lower high inflation, but have so far been proven wrong as Biden's policies aimed at expanding domestic manufacturing, investing in clean energy and other infrastructure, and capping drug costs for seniors helped create 16 million jobs and raised wages, Jeff Zients, the president's chief of staff, told reporters in a call.

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The S&P 500 surged to a record high close on Thursday, the day after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points and indicated more rate cuts were on the horizon.

The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average also registered a record closing high, ending the session above 42,000 for the first time.

Heavyweight stocks that have enjoyed much of this year's stock market rally made fresh gains, with Tesla surging over 7%, and Apple and Meta Platforms each up almost 4%.

AI powerhouse Nvidia jumped 4%, helping lift the PHLX semiconductor index surge 4.3%.

Better-than-expected jobless claims data further stoked global risk appetite.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced a rate cut at the high end of expectations, and said it had greater confidence inflation was under control. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy remained strong and the central bank would decide on the appropriate pace of future rate cuts.

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US stocks surged to record highs after the Federal Reserve delivered a major 50-basis-point interest rate cut, its first in four years. This decision has bolstered investor confidence, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.9 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 1.7 per cent, and the NYSE Composite Index hitting new intraday highs.

Initially, the markets responded with caution, showing only muted changes following the Fed’s announcement. However, the mood shifted as investors processed the broader implications of easing monetary policy. The stock rally marks a sharp contrast to Wednesday's performance, where the S&P 500 had dipped 0.3 per cent.

While the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite surged 2.99 per cent to an intraday high of 18,099.93, the S&P 500 surged 2.05 per cent to a lifetime high of 5,733.57. Similarly, NYSE Composite rose 1.43 per cent to hit a record high of 19,471.24.

Market analysts attributed this shift to growing optimism about the Fed’s efforts to manage inflation while supporting economic growth. Michael Purves, CEO of Tallbacken Capital Advisors, remarked, “If stocks are rallying, it’s more about the fact that the Fed meeting is behind us.”

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SpaceX said on Thursday it "forcefully rejects" the Federal Aviation Administration's conclusion that Elon Musk's company failed to follow U.S. regulations during two rocket launches - alleged violations that led the agency this week to propose $633,000 in fines.

The FAA on Tuesday faulted SpaceX's actions ahead of launches in June and July of 2023 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, prompting Musk to call the fines politically motivated and threaten to sue to contest them. Musk has chafed for years at what he sees as government inefficiency and has battled with federal regulators. SpaceX must obtain FAA signoffs for rocket launches and new technology.

David Harris, SpaceX vice president for legal, sent a letter on Thursday to the leaders of two congressional committees that oversee the FAA, expanding on the company's objections and asserting its commitment to safety.

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Germany's government was considering ways to support Volkswagen VOWG_p.DE, German economy minister and vice-chancellor Robert Habeck said on Thursday when asked about the threat of job cuts at the country's largest carmaker.  Volkswagen said this month it needed to cut costs significantly at its namesake brand in Germany, citing high costs, low productivity and fierce competition.  "VW is of central importance to Germany," Habeck told reporters.

The minister will visit a VW plant in the city of Emden on Friday.  Habeck declined to comment on a report in German monthly "manager magazin," which said that some within the company reckon the group's German workforce would have to come down by 30,000 over the mid-term, or about 10% of the Volkswagen Group's total German workforce. It did not cite sources.

(With Reuters inputs.)

Real change, and not condolences, is what is needed and India Inc must take steps, including setting clear work-life 'boundaries' and holding leaders responsible for toxic work environments, to foster a healthier workplace culture, RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka said on Thursday.

Reacting to the death of a 26-year-old chartered accountant, who worked with Ernst & Young, allegedly due to extreme work pressure at the firm, Goenka listed six actions, in a post on X, for India Inc to take urgently “following Anna Sebastian Perayil's of EYs tragic death to foster a healthier workplace culture.” He called for implementation of mental health programmes, manageable workloads, and wellness initiatives to prioritise well-being, while also recommending support to new hires by offering mentorship to help employees adjust to new roles and environments. 
 

AU Small Finance Bank on Thursday said it has joined hands with Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company to prioritise the health of its one crore-plus customers.

"AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB), India's largest small finance bank...announced its partnership with Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited to offer health insurance products to AU SFB's customers," the bank said in a regulatory filing. "Our partnership with AU Small Finance Bank will help us expand our distribution reach and offer comprehensive health insurance solutions to their customer base," Krishnan Ramachandran, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Ltd, said.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday slammed the Karnataka government for its apathy towards India's Silicon Valley in Bengaluru that is leading to many investors shifting away from the state.

In response to a post on social media platform X by Karnataka's Minister for Commerce and Industries and Infrastructure M B Patil, Goyal also said the central government continues to support the state even in developing an industrial township in Tumakuru under the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. "In fact, Hon'ble Minister @MBPatil ji and his Congress Govt should try to make Tumakuru industrial township into a Silicon Valley rather than deriding India's progress," Goyal said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
 

IT firm Infosys on Thursday said it will invest up to Rs 17 crore in space tech startup GalaxEye Space Solutions as part of Infosys Innovation Fund. The investment will be made in equity and series A compulsory convertible preference shares allotment, a regulatory filing said. "Infosys Ltd has agreed to invest in SpaceTech startup, GalaxEye up to INR 17 Crores (approximately USD 2 million) as part of Infosys Innovation Fund," it said. The all-cash deal is expected to be completed on or before September 30, 2024. Infosys will undertake a "minority holding" in GalaxEye, not more than 20 per cent of the outstanding share capital of the company, the filing said.
 

Samsung Electronics' Indian unit has sued members of a labour union that has led a strike for 11 days at its only India home appliances plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, escalating tensions with its workers, legal papers show. Samsung's lawsuit dated September 12, which Reuters is the first to report, asks a district court in the state for a temporary injunction to restrain the union and its members from agitating, sloganeering and making speeches in and around the factory located near Chennai. Lawyers were gathered in a court, near Chennai, in Kancheepuram district, where the case was expected to be heard on Thursday.

The EU competition enforcer said the first proceeding targets iOS connectivity features and functionalities for smartwatches, headphones, virtual reality headsets and other internet-connected devices. "The Commission intends to specify how Apple will provide effective interoperability with functionalities such as notifications, device pairing and connectivity," it said. The second proceeding concerns how Apple addresses interoperability requests submitted by developers and third parties for iOS and iPadOS. Both processes will be wrapped up within six months. "It is crucial that the request process is transparent, timely, and fair so that all developers have an effective and predictable path to interoperability and are enabled to innovate," the Commission said.

BMW launched the Signature Edition of its flagship SUV, X7 at Rs 1.33 crore (ex-showroom) in India. BMW has given cosmetic upgrades to the X7 and the mechanicals of the SUV remain the same. The X7 facelift was launched in January 2023, and it competes with the Mercedes-Benz GLS. The Signature Edition is a limited edition model and only a few units will be sold in India. This edition is based on the xDrive40i variant and comes at a premium of Rs 3 lakh over the stock variant. The BMW X7 Signature edition will be manufactured at the Chennai facility.

An AI advisory body at the United Nations on Thursday released its final report proposing seven recommendations to address AI-related risks. The advisory body called for the establishment of a panel to provide impartial and reliable scientific knowledge about AI.

That said, Apple Intelligence will not be available as any other feature on iOS when the update rolls out next month. Instead, eligible device owners will have to join a wait list in order to be able to access Apple Intelligence-powered features on their iPhones, iPads and Macs. 
 

US retail sales are expected to rise 3.2% in the holiday season as companies look to deals to attract thrifty shoppers during a shorter-than-usual shopping window this year, a Mastercard forecast showed on Thursday.

In comparison, retail sales rose 3.1% between November 1 and Dec. 24 of 2023, the report said. Mastercard SpendingPulse measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment, excluding automotive sales.

The Bank of England held interest rates at 5.0% on Thursday and voted to run down its stock of British government bonds by another 100 billion pounds ($133 billion) over the coming 12 months, a move that could weigh on the government's finances.

The Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 to keep rates on hold. Only external member Swati Dhingra voted for a further quarter-point rate cut after the BoE last month delivered its first reduction to borrowing costs since 2020.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 7-2 vote to keep rates on hold after last month's tight 5-4 decision to cut rates from their previous 16-year high.
 

The country's ready-made garment exports (RMG) in August rose by about 12 per cent to USD 1.26 billion despite global headwinds and challenges such as high logistic cost, according to the commerce ministry data.

Cumulatively, RMG exports during the April-August period of 2024-25 grew by 7.12 per cent to USD 6.39 billion.

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Sudhir Sekhri said that exports are keeping the growth momentum despite global headwinds, persisting Red Sea crisis and other challenges such as high logistic costs.

"Growing at an average of 7.12 per cent in the last five months (April to August 2024-25), the RMG exports have bucked the trend of falling merchandise exports which touched a 13-month low in August," he said.

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday announced that the government will soon release the report of the committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, which was established following the withdrawal of the three controversial farm laws. The minister also unveiled new initiatives aimed at modernizing agriculture and improving farmer engagement during a press briefing on the achievements of the Modi 3.0 government's first 100 days. 'Adhunik Krishi Choupal', a new programme featuring scientists sharing agricultural innovations with farmers, will be aired on Doordarshan and All India Radio from October. The minister will hold weekly interactions with farmers and agricultural leaders at the agriculture ministry, in an initiative dubbed "Kisan Samvad."

Indian IT services company Infosys on Thursday announced it is extending strategic collaboration with Posti to enable the delivery and logistics services provider in Finland, Sweden and the Baltics to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency. Infosys will adopt an AI-driven approach powered by Topaz, its AI-first offering using generative AI technologies, to empower Posti with operational efficiencies and service quality. Infosys Cobalt will leverage its Live Enterprise Application Management Platform (LEAP), a cloud-enabled platform, to provide NextGen Application Management Services for enterprises to drive their cloud journey, and enhance business productivity

Central European currencies were little changed on Thursday, remaining in their recent ranges after the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to start its easing cycle with a larger than usual interest rate cut.

The Fed lowered its window for the benchmark policy rate by 50 basis points to 4.75%-5%, as expected by many traders.

"The most important storyline for CEE is definitely yesterday's jumbo-sized rate cut from the Fed," said Peter Virovacz, senior economist at ING in Hungary.

"Altogether it seems markets don't necessarily believe the Fed dot plot, which suggests only 50 basis points of easing in total for the remainder of the year, the market is pricing in rather 70ish basis points, as a result the dollar is weakening a bit... and it gives CEE a kind of stability."

Apple has confirmed that Apple Intelligence will support more languages such as Chinese, English (India), English (Singapore), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese in 2025.

Emerging Asian markets gained on Thursday following the US Federal Reserve's oversized rate cut, while Indonesian stocks hit a record high and the rupiah strengthened a day after the country's central bank trimmed the benchmark interest rate.

Indonesia's benchmark index climbed as much as 1 per cent to an all-time peak of 7,903.325 points, while the rupiah advanced 0.6 per cent to its highest level since September 2023.

The Bank Indonesia (BI) unexpectedly cut interest rate on Wednesday by 25 basis points to 6.00 per cent, just hours ahead of the Fed rate decision as it moved to bolster economic growth amid rupiah stability. "The surprise cut looks to have sent a positive signal to markets that BI may be increasingly confident that the global macro environment is becoming more supportive of the IDR," Maybank analysts said in a note.

Shares of Vodafone Idea and Indus Towers came under heavy selling pressure after the Supreme Court rejected a plea by telecom companies - Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea which sought recalculation of how much they owe the government in licence fees.

Shares of Vodafone Idea fell as much as 20 per cent to hit fresh 52-week low of Rs 10.33 and Indus Towers dropped as much as 10 per cent to hit an intraday low of Rs 384.80 while Bharti Airtel shares were trading 0.72 per cent higher at Rs 1,664.60.

The telecom companies had in their argument stated that the Department of Telecommunications made major errors in calculating the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. AGR is the basis for license fee calculation owed to the government.

Close Brothers Group CBRO.L has agreed to sell its wealth management unit, Close Brothers Asset Management (CBAM), to private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management for up to 200 million pounds ($265 million).

The lender, fresh from a strategic review aimed at bolstering its capital, said on Thursday the deal would boost its common equity tier 1 capital ratio by about 100 basis points and help it manage an uncertain business environment.

Wealth management is one of the most competitive segments of Britain's financial industry, with banks jostling with traditional investment firms to serve clients from pension savers to billionaires.

Such businesses are tightly regulated and can be costly to run, particularly following a recent crackdown by watchdogs on fees and value for money.

South Korean shares ended higher on Thursday as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend, fuelled by bets of a resilient US economy after traders found comfort in the Federal Reserve's half-percentage-point interest rate cut.

The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark KOSPI closed up 5.39 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 2,580.80.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 2.02 per cent and peer SK Hynix ended 6.14 per cent lower while battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 2 per cent.

Earlier in the session, traders had turned cautious after a report released on Sept. 15 cited that Morgan Stanley halved the target price of chipmaker SK Hynix to 120,000 won due to potential oversupply of chips.

The US Fed lowered its window for the benchmark policy rate by 50 basis points to 4.75 per cent-5 per cent, where markets had been leaning before the decision. 
 

Supreme Court on Thursday turned down a request by telecom companies including Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel to recalculate the amount they owe the government in licence fees. This has come to the fore in a court order.

Accenture Plc has planned to defer promotions for its maximum staff by six months, moving the promotion schedule from December to June as economic uncertainties loom large in the consulting industry. 
 

An artificial-intelligence advisory body at the United Nations on Thursday released its final report proposing seven recommendations to address AI-related risks and gaps in governance.

As the strike by the employees at Korean electronics giant Samsung entered its 10th day on Wednesday, the CITU demanded the government's intervention to resolve the issue amicably. The protests led by the employees of Samsung's factory near here got more support on Wednesday, with trade unions affiliated to CITU extending their support to the indefinite strike by the workers.

The Indian equity benchmarks surged to new record highs on Thursday after the US central bank, US Federal Reserve, delivered bigger than expected rate cut for the first time in four years triggering a much-awaited rate easing cycle. The Sensex rose as much as 735 points to hit record high of 83,684.18 and Nifty 50 index touched an all-time high of 25,587.10.

As of 9:32 am, the Sensex climbed 625 points to 83,576 and Nifty 50 index advanced 185 points or 0.73 per cent to 25,562.

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half of a percentage point on Wednesday, kicking off what is expected to be a steady easing of monetary policy with a larger-than-usual reduction in borrowing costs that followed growing unease about the health of the job market.

Bitcoin inched higher after the Federal Reserve  announced a rate cut for the first time after four years ever since the Covid pandemic paralysed the economy more than four years ago and helped cryptocurrencies break into the mainstream. The US central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by a half percentage point.
 

China shares rebounded from modest early losses on Thursday, led by gains in real estate developers and liquor makers, on hopes that the start of long-awaited US rate cuts will give Beijing policymakers more room to stimulate the ailing Chinese economy.

China's blue-chip CSI300 and Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.

Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng climbed 1.3 per cent, while Hang Seng Tech Index jumped more than 2 per cent.

The US central bank on Wednesday kicked off an anticipated series of interest rate cuts with a larger than usual half-percentage-point reduction.

Investor sentiment perked up as the US rate cut provides more room for easing by Beijing with less risk of pressuring the yuan.

The CSI Liquor Index and CSI Real state Index both jumped 4 per cent.

The Indian rupee's recovery on Thursday will have to contend with a broadly higher US dollar despite the Federal Reserve delivering a 50-basis-point rate cut.

The 1-month dollar/rupee non-deliverable forward (NDF) declined to 83.66 following the Fed rate cut. Economists had expected a smaller 25-bp rate cut, per a Reuters poll. The 1-month NDF of 83.66 is equivalent to 83.56-83.58 on spot.

The dip in the NDF, however, did not sustain and the rupee is expected to open largely unchanged to marginally higher from 83.75 on Tuesday. Indian forex and money markets were shut on Wednesday.

A turnaround in the US dollar and Treasury yields stalled the decline in the NDF. The drop in the dollar and bond yields following the Fed's rate decision reversed during Powell's presser.

Japan's Nikkei share average rose more than 2 per cent on Thursday, led by exporters as the Yen weakened against the Dollar on prospects of slower-than-expected future rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. Against the Yen, the greenback gained nearly 1 per cent to 143.56 in Asia trade. 

Gold witnessed a rise to a fresh record above $2,600 an ounce after the US Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark interest rate by a half percentage point. 
 

Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the producer of hit survival adventure game "Palworld" 
 

The U.S. dollar rose broadly on Thursday, recovering from an earlier tumble in the immediate aftermath of the Federal Reserve's outsized interest rate cut that had been largely priced in by markets.

The U.S. central bank on Wednesday kicked off its monetary easing cycle with a larger-than-usual half-percentage-point reduction that Chair Jerome Powell said was meant to show policymakers' commitment to sustaining a low unemployment rate now that inflation has eased.

While the size of the move had been anticipated by investors in part due to a slew of media reports pointing in that direction ahead of the decision, it defied the expectations of economists polled by Reuters, who were leaning toward a 25-basis-point cut.

Still, markets reacted in a typical "buy the rumour, sell the fact" fashion that kept the dollar on the front foot in early Asian trade. It rebounded from a more than one-year low against a basket of currencies in the previous session and was last marginally higher at 101.03.

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U.S. consumers got an immediate reprieve on borrowing costs from banks after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday for the first time in more than four years. Lenders tightened lending standards last year as the commercial real estate market deteriorated and investors became broadly concerned about the potential for a U.S. recession. Echoing the Fed's move, banks including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo reduced their prime rates.

"Borrowing rates are more competitive than deposit rates and they are more likely to move with the market," said Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors. "We would expect both deposit and lending rates to come down pretty quickly," as banks compete to attract deposits and seek profits from loans, he said. U.S. lenders' net charge-off rates for credit cards, or the amount banks did not expect to collect on the loans, rose to 4.82% in the second quarter, the highest since 2011.

But banking executives have noted that U.S. consumers' late payments on credit cards and other loans are starting to level off after rising earlier in the year. “Today's reduction in interest rates could ultimately allow for consumers to see lower monthly payments" or refinance their higher-interest debt, said Michele Raneri, head of U.S. research and consulting at credit reporting bureau TransUnion in Chicago.

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Social-media platform X became accessible to many users in Brazil on Wednesday as an update to its communications network circumvented a block order by the country's Supreme Court.

The X update used cloud services offered by third parties, allowing some Brazilian users to take a route outside of the country to reach X, even without a virtual private network, according to Abrint, the Brazilian Association of Internet and Telecommunications Providers.

The number of Brazilians accessing X is unknown, according to Abrint.

X did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

“I believe the change was probably intentional. Why would X use a third-party service that ends up being slower than its own?” Basilio Perez, a board member at Abrint, told Reuters.

Last month, after a months-long dispute between X owner Elon Musk and Brazilian Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court ordered Brazil's mobile and internet service providers to block the platform.

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The U.S. Treasury yield curve on Wednesday touched its steepest level since July 2022 after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points, a larger-than-usual rate reduction as the central bank grappled with a weakening labor market.

The widely tracked spread between U.S. two- and 10-year yields hit as wide as 10.2 bps and was last at 8.6 bps . A steeper curve suggests more easing is on the way.

The Fed in a statement said it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward its 2% goal and that the risks between prices and employment are roughly in balance. It slashed the benchmark overnight rate to a range of 4.75% to 5%.

Before the rate decision, futures on the fed funds rate, which measures the cost of unsecured overnight loans between banks, had been betting on a 50-bp cut, even as a majority of Wall Street economists were anticipating a 25-bp move.

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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday still strong levels of liquidity in the financial system will allow the central bank to press forward with shrinking its balance sheet even as it has begun cutting rates.

"Reserves are still abundant and are expected to remain so for some time," Powell said at a press conference that followed a monetary policy meeting where the central bank kicked off a rate cutting cycle with a relatively large half percentage point easing, amid expectations more rate cuts loom as inflation ebbs.

Powell was addressing the process of what's called quantitative tightening, or QT. That entails the Fed drawing down liquidity it added via bond purchases during the pandemic, a process which has thus far shrunk overall holdings from a peak of $9 trillion in the summer of 2022 to the current size of $7.2 trillion.

The drawdown, which the Fed slowed earlier this year, currently entails allowing up to $60 billion per month in Treasury and mortgage bonds to expire and not be replaced. The QT process began amid aggressive Fed rate rises aimed at quelling inflation pressures.

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The United Auto Workers union is eying multiple U.S. strikes against French-Italian carmaker Stellantis about a year after a national walkout cost the Detroit Three automakers billions of dollars and idled 50,000 workers. Accusing Stellantis of breaking its contract promises, UAW President Shawn Fain on Tuesday night warned that several union local chapters were laying the groundwork for strikes that could collectively shut down the automaker.

The latest UAW threats follow last year's six-week strike that cost Stellantis about 750 million euros ($834.08 million) in profit. The union also hit General Motors and Ford during the historic 2023 walkout, and drew U.S. President Joe Biden to the picket line to show his support for the striking workers.

Stellantis' North American operations have been struggling, and the strike threat looms as the race for the White House between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump heats up. Harris, who is currently the U.S. vice president, has been endorsed by the UAW.

Union strikes outside the four-year contract negotiations are unusual, and a large walkout at Stellantis just one year after its labor deal was penned, in an election year, would be unprecedented.

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Wall Street's top regulator on Wednesday unanimously voted to allow stock exchanges to price many shares in increments of half a penny, rather than the current minimum size of 1 cent, aiming to promote more competitive pricing and reduce investor costs on the $55 trillion U.S. equities markets.

The new rule should also help stock exchanges compete with off-exchange trading venues, which represent nearly half of trading volume and can already offer smaller price increments, officials at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said.

After the vote by the commission's five members, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said the new rules would promote transparency, fairness and efficiency. "That goes to the heart of the SEC's mission. The reforms are pro-investors. They are pro-capital formation," he said in a statement.

The new rule marks another step in the SEC's plans to adopt what would be the most important market structure reforms in nearly 20 years. However, the SEC faces election-year headwinds in completing all the changes unveiled in 2022.

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Alphabet's Google took a major step this year to end an EU antitrust investigation with an offer to sell its advertising marketplace AdX but European publishers rejected the proposal as insufficient, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

Google 's lucrative ad tech business attracted EU regulatory scrutiny last year following a complaint from the European Publishers Council. The European Commission subsequently charged Google with favouring its own advertising services, opening its fourth case against the world's most-popular search engine.

Google has never before offered to sell an asset in an antitrust case, according to three lawyers involved in antitrust cases who did not have permission to speak publicly.

The company is on trial in the U.S., fighting claims by antitrust authorities who seek to make Google sell its Ad Manager product, which contains AdX and Google's publisher ad server, known as DFP. Publishers rejected Google 's proposal because they want it to divest more than just AdX to address conflicts of interest due to its presence in almost all levels of the ad tech supply chain, the people said. They said the EU antitrust enforcer was aware of the offer.

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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said that the AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning) search tool will help clear trade mark applications at a faster pace and with greater efficiency and accuracy.

Launching the tool in New Delhi, the minister also said that AI will have to be accepted by all as it would help further promote ease of doing business in every field.

"It (AI/ML search tool) will help clear trade mark applications much faster, efficiently and accurately," Goyal said adding AI is an existential tool and its faster adoption would improve the outcome of work.

He added that the search tool and IP (intellectual property) chat bot would further strengthen the IPR ecosystem of the country. The chatbot will help process queries faster.

He also informed about expansion of the Delhi IP office and hiring of about 600 people.

The new tools makes India one of the few countries besides the US, EU, and Norway to have systems. India is the third largest trade mark and sixth largest patent filer in the world.

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The Competition Commission can now appoint agencies to monitor the implementation of its orders, with the notification of amended regulations.

The move comes amid instances of some entities flagging concerns about non-compliance with certain orders of the regulator, which works to ensure fair competition in the marketplace.

The Competition Commission of India (General) Regulations, 2024 were notified on Tuesday.

Now, agencies can be appointed by CCI to monitor the implementation of its orders. The agencies can be accounting firms, management consultancy or any other professional organisation or chartered accountants, company secretaries or cost accountants.

"Where the Commission is of the opinion that the implementation of its orders passed under Section 31 or Section 48A or Section 48B or any other provisions of the Act and regulations made thereunder, needs monitoring, it may appoint agencies to oversee such implementation, on such terms and conditions as deemed fit by the Commission," as per the new regulations.

Section 48A and 48B pertain to commitment and settlement, respectively, Section 31 refers to orders on mergers and acquisitions.

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Online food delivery aggregator Zomato on Wednesday said it has received a GST demand order along with interest and penalty amounting to Rs 17.7 crore from the Assistant Commissioner of Revenue, West Bengal. The demand order, received by the company on Tuesday, is with respect to non- payment of GST on delivery charges and interest, penalty thereon. 

"We believe that we have a strong case on merits and the Company will be filing an appeal against the order before the appropriate authority," Zomato said in a regulatory filing. The order is for the period April 2021 to March 2022 passed by Assistant Commissioner of Revenue, Government of West Bengal confirming demand of GST of Rs 11,12,79,712 with interest of Rs 5,46,81,021 and penalty of Rs 1,11,27,971. 

"The Company in its response to the show cause notice had clarified on the issue along with relevant documents and judicial precedents, which appears to not have been appreciated by the authorities while passing the order," Zomato said. The Company believes that it has a strong case to defend the matter before the relevant appellate authority and does not expect any financial impact on the Company, it added.

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Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday inaugurated Maharashtra's first semiconductor manufacturing facility, which he described as a revolutionary step.

Addressing attendees at the project site in Navi Mumbai, Shinde said Maharashtra is an industry-friendly state, and emphasised the importance of semiconductor chips in everyday life.

This cutting-edge semiconductor project is being developed at Mahape by RRP Electronics in two phases.

Shinde said investments exceeding Rs 36,000 crore have been secured by the semiconductor unit and products manufactured in this unit are expected to hit the markets as early as 2026.

"Industries do not come or go in one day," Shinde said in a veiled attack on the opposition parties that had claimed flight of industries from Maharashtra under the Mahayuti government.

He alleged the lack of support and cooperation from previous administrations forced industries to look outside Maharashtra.

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NTPC Green Energy, the renewable energy arm of NTPC, on Wednesday filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise Rs 10,000 crore through an initial public offering.

The initial share-sale is entirely a fresh issuance of equity shares with no offer-for-sale (OFS) component, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).

The renewable energy firm said proceeds of the issue to the tune of Rs 7,500 crore will be used to repay or prepay part or all of its subsidiary NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd's (NREL) outstanding loans, while a portion will be utilised for general corporate purposes.

The filing comes at a time when the country's IPO market is thriving, with around 60 main board companies having launched their initial share-sales this year so far.

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The dollar dropped after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates by half a percentage point, citing greater confidence that inflation will continue to recede to the U.S. central bank's 2% annual target. The Fed cut the overnight rate to the 4.75%-5.00% range and policymakers see the Fed's benchmark rate falling by another half of a percentage point by the end of this year, another full percentage point in 2025, and by a final half of a percentage point in 2026 to end in a 2.75%-3.00% range.

The dollar index was last down 0.53% on the day at 100.37, the lowest since July 2023. The euro gained 0.55% to $1.117575. The greenback weakened 1.07% to 140.825 Japanese yen. "It's a more dovish cut. It certainly wasn't a hawkish cut," said Vassili Serebriakov, FX & macro strategist at UBS in New York.

“The way we thought about it before the announcement is that you know a 50-basis point cut is dollar negative. If they had cut by 25 bps, there were different scenarios where the dollar could perform. But a 50-basis point cut is unambiguously dollar negative.”

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US stocks surged on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by 50 basis points, marking its first rate cut in more than four years. The decision came as the central bank expressed growing confidence that inflation was moving closer to its 2 per cent target, shifting its focus towards maintaining a healthy labour market.

Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, highlighted the significance of the move: "The Fed ended the pause with a bang. Cutting by 50 basis points sends a strong signal, and they anticipate another 50 basis points of cuts this year. The strategy is to front-load the cuts, aiming to stabilise unemployment at 4.4 per cent while bringing inflation down to target quickly."

The Fed's decision reflects market expectations that had fluctuated in recent days. According to the CME's FedWatch Tool, there was a 65 per cent probability of a 25 basis point cut last week, but this shifted to a 57 per cent chance for the more substantial 50 basis point cut earlier on Wednesday.

The central bank had maintained borrowing costs at their highest levels in over two decades since July 2023, when it raised interest rates by 25 basis points to a range of 5.25 per cent to 5.50 per cent in its fight against inflation.

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Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman on Wednesday became the first Fed governor to vote against an interest-rate decision by the U.S. central bank since 2005, denying Fed Chair Jerome Powell a clear consensus at a pivotal moment. The Fed's other 11 voting members all cast their ballots in support of reducing the Fed's policy rate by half a percentage point. Bowman, the Fed said, preferred a quarter-point rate cut. Of the Fed's 19 policymakers who take part in each two-day rate-setting meeting, only 12 cast a vote on the decision.

Those include eight permanent voters, including all seven members of the Fed Board and the president of the New York Fed, with the remaining 11 Fed presidents trading off one-year turns at the ballot box in groups of four. Before 1995 dissents from Fed governors were not infrequent, but since then it has been Fed presidents who have cast the overwhelming majority of the 90-plus dissents in that time period. Fed chairs typically seek consensus on decisions, sometimes reaching compromises to avert open disagreement that could be seen as undercutting their credibility.

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The dollar dropped after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates by half a percentage point, citing greater confidence that inflation will continue to recede to the U.S. central bank's 2% annual target.  The Fed cut the overnight rate to the 4.75%-5.00% range and policymakers see the Fed's benchmark rate falling by another half of a percentage point by the end of this year, another full percentage point in 2025, and by a final half of a percentage point in 2026 to end in a 2.75%-3.00% range.  The dollar index =USD was last down 0.46% on the day at 100.45, the lowest since July 2023. The euro EUR=EBS gained 0.46% to $1.1164. The greenback weakened 0.86% to 141.17 Japanese yen JPY=EBS.

Amazon.com is raising the pay of its fulfillment and transportation staff in the United States by at least $1.50 an hour and handing out free Prime memberships as benefits, it said on Wednesday.

The company will spend over $2.2 billion on the hikes that will take the base salaries of hourly workers to more than $22 an hour, and more than $29 an hour including benefits

Amazon's decision comes as one of the biggest employers in the U.S. faces pressure from warehouse staff for better contracts and improved working conditions.

In June, the Amazon Labor Union - the first group of company workers to organize at a U.S. warehouse - voted to affiliate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the largest U.S. labor unions. The hikes will roll out starting this month and could help Amazon hire and retain staff as it heads into the key holiday season, typically the busiest shopping period of the year.

The Prime membership will be added to the benefits package early next year.

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Net direct tax collection grew 16.12 per cent to over Rs 9.95 lakh crore so far this fiscal on higher advance tax mop up.

Refunds worth over Rs 2.05 lakh crore were issued, a 56.49 per cent jump over the same period last fiscal.

The net personal income tax (PIT) collection grew 19 per cent to Rs 5.15 lakh crore between April 1 and September 17. Corporate tax collection went up 10.55 per cent to over Rs 4.52 lakh crore.

Revenues from Securities Transaction Tax (STT) stood at Rs 26,154 crore.

After taking into account refunds, net collection from PIT and corporate taxes stood at Rs 9,95,766 crore so far this fiscal, a growth of 16.12 per cent over the year-ago period.

Advance tax collection grew 22.61 per cent to Rs 4.36 lakh crore. The growth in PIT advance tax mop up was 39.22 per cent while for corporate tax, it was 18.17 per cent.

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British stock indexes dropped on Wednesday as investors reined in bets on interest rate cuts by the Bank of England, while global risk sentiment was fragile ahead of a policy decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day.  The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE ended 0.7% lower, racking up the steepest losses among European peers, while an index of midcap stocks .FTMC was down 0.5%.

Both the indexes closed at their highest since early September on Tuesday.  UK annual consumer price inflation was steady at 2.2% in August, in line with forecasts, data showed. However, services inflation - a figure closely watched by the Bank of England - rose to 5.6%, slightly more than forecast.

The British pound GBP=D3 rose against the dollar following the inflation data, which further pressured the FTSE 100's export-focused companies.  Evidence of persistent inflationary pressures led traders to trim bets on the BoE cutting rates at its Thursday meeting, where policymakers are expected to keep rates on hold.  "The surge in services prices is more pronounced in the UK than in the other major economies, which explains why we think that UK interest rates will only be lowered gradually," said Andrew Wishart, senior UK economist at Berenberg.

Meanwhile, U.S. stocks edged lower as investors remained cautious ahead of a policy announcement from the Federal Reserve, which is expected to begin its policy easing cycle later in the day though the size of the rate cut is still not clear.  Futures prices show the chance of a 50-basis-point rate cut has leapt to 55% from around 14% a week ago, as per CME's FedWatch tool, even as most major brokerages still forecast a 25-bp reduction.

Euro zone bond yields inched higher on Wednesday but investors were cautious ahead of the long-awaited Federal Reserve interest rate decision due later in the day, which is likely to generate a significant market reaction. Germany's 10-year bond yield was up 4.5 basis points at 2.19%, its highest since September 9, though the benchmark for the euro zone bloc has broadly been trending lower in recent months as rate cuts by global central banks gather pace. 
Moves on Wednesday were kept in check by the Federal Reserve meeting, the outcome of which will be announced at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). The Fed is all but certain to begin its rate cutting cycle, though traders are uncertain about whether they will cut rates by 25 or 50 basis points. Markets currently see around a 61% chance that they will start with a 50 bp move, according to CME FedWatch.
 

The interest rate for the most popular U.S. home loan fell last week to its lowest level in two years, on anticipation the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates on Wednesday, potentially by as much as a half of a percentage point.

The average contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped 14 basis points in the week ended Sept. 13, to 6.15%, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday. That was the lowest rate since Sept 2022, and followed a 14-basis-point drop the previous week.

A proposal by Indian Institute of Technology alumni to invest Rs 700 crore to introduce electric buses for Goa's public transport system has been approved by the cabinet, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said.

State-run Kadamba Transport Corporation chairman Ulhas Tuenkar said the proposal is a welcome one and will go a long way in reviving the transport undertaking.

"IIT Alumni has agreed to spend Rs 700 crore for the revival of mass public transport in the state. It has been approved by the cabinet. The state government plans to roll out 500 EV buses under this initiative," the chief minister told PTI.

The Union Government plans to overhaul India Post into a major logistics player, with ambitions to boost its revenue by 50-60% within the next 3-4 years, announced Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday.

Addressing a Public Affairs Forum of India event in the capital, Scindia said that the government aims to connect about 25,000 villages without mobile network coverage by next year.

"The postal department is undergoing significant changes. Currently, our annual revenue is approximately Rs 12,000 crore. Our goal is to enhance this by 50-60% over the next few years," said Scindia.

The Franco-Japanese automotive alliance Renault Nissan, has plans to roll out six new products which will include two electric vehicles under at a total outlay of Rs 5,300 crore has been progressing and is on schedule. A top official of French car major Renault India announced the plans of the company on Wednesday. In February 2023, Renault-Nissan declared about their investments of $600 million (about Rs 5,300 crore) in India. These investments will help to bring in six new products, including two EVs, and an upgrade of their Chennai manufacturing plant. Venkatram Mamillapalle, Country CEO and Managing Director at Renault India said that about 70 to 80 per cent of the total investments have been invested so far. "We have announced investments of Rs 5,300 crore to introduce six new products. It (the project) is on schedule. You will be hearing from us hereafter, very soon (on the launch of new models)," he said. Renault has recently introduced new editions in its lineup. Now, Kwid, Kiger, and Triber get Night and Day Limited Edition variants across India. All three vehicles, Kwid, Kiger, and Triber are produced from the Renault-Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd manufacturing facility at Oragadam. However, Mamillapalle declined to comment anything on the timeline of when the new products would be rolled out.
 

The commercial vehicle segment witnessed a decline in sales in August 2024. As per the latest data released by FADA, there was a decent dip of 6.05 per cent on a year-on-year basis and 8.50 per cent on a month-on-month basis. The sales of commercial vehicles were lower in urban areas by 0.16 per cent on a year-on-year basis and 1.36 per cent on a month-on-month basis while the demand in rural areas surged by  0.17 per cent on a year-on-year basis and 1.43 per cent on a month-on-month basis.

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Support from the Centre and state governments will help the country to achieve $1 billion worth of alcoholic beverages exports in the coming years, the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) said on Wednesday. CIABC Director General Anant S Iyer also said that promoting ease of doing business for the sector is key at both the Central and state government levels.

Reliance Power has settled Rs 3,872 crore guarantor obligations for its subsidiary Vidarbha Industries Power, the firm said in a stock exchange filing. Reliance Power Ltd said, “The entire obligations of the company as a guarantor on behalf of Vidarbha Industries Power Ltd (VIPL) stands fully settled resulting in release and discharge of corporate guarantee, understandings and all obligations and claims thereby in relation to the outstanding debt of VIPL amount to Rs 3,872.04 crore.” The firm said it has settled all disputes with CFM Asset Reconstruction Private Limited (CFM). "100 per cent shares of VIPL have been pledged in favour of CFM against the release and discharge of corporate guarantee given by Reliance Power."

India's diamond sector is facing a severe crisis as both imports and exports have sharply declined in the past three years, which has triggered defaults, factory closures, and widespread job losses, think tank GTRI said on Wednesday. It said that while export returns have surged, a large inventory of unprocessed rough diamonds is piling up due to reduced orders and growing competition from lab-grown diamonds. "This has triggered defaults, factory closures, and widespread job losses.  Tragically, more than 60 people in Gujarat's diamond sector have committed suicide, reflecting the severe financial and emotional strain India's diamond sector is facing," Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) Founder Ajay Srivastava said.
 

Anil Ambani's Reliance Infrastructure Ltd has slashed its standalone debt by 87 per cent to Rs 475 crore after it cleared outstanding dues of Life Insurance Corporation of India, ICICI Bank and other lenders, the firm said on Wednesday. In stock exchange filings and press statements, Reliance Infrastructure said its standalone external debt has reduced from Rs 3,831 crore to Rs 475 crore. “Consequently, the net worth of the company will stand at Rs 9,041 crore.” "Reliance Infra has cleared its funded outstanding dues to Life Insurance Corporation of India, Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company Limited, ICICI Bank, Union Bank, and other lenders," it said.

Japan's Nikkei share average rebounded on Wednesday, helped by a softer yen and a recovery in chip-related stocks, although moves were subdued ahead of the Federal Reserve's long-awaited policy decision.

The Nikkei closed 0.5 per cent higher at 36,380.17, after a two-session slide on a stronger yen, while the broader Topix rose 0.4 per cent to 2,565.37.

In a boost to exporters, the yen began the session near 142 per dollar after it strengthened to below 140 in a holiday-thinned Asia session on Monday.
 

The Indian equity benchmarks staged a strong recovery in late morning deals on Wednesday led by gains in banking and financial shares like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India and Axis Bank, data from the stock exchange showed. The Sensex rose as much as 360 points from day's lowest level to hit record high of 83,310.32 and Nifty 50 index touched an all-time high of 25,478.60 ahead of US Federal Reserve policy meeting.

As of 11:38 am, the Sensex was up 169 points at 83,248 and Nifty 50 index advanced 42 points to 25,460.

While the Fed is widely expected to lower rates, the size of the cut, whether 25 basis points or 50 bps, was still not clear. The odds of a 50-bps cut climbed to 65 per cent from 34 per cent last week.

Revolt Electric launched the RV1, and the RV1+ at a starting price of Rs 84,999 and Rs 99,999 respectively. This new electric motorcycle will mainly rival the Ola Electric Roadster in this segment. It is the most affordable electric bike offered by Revolt in its lineup. Revolt also launched the updated RV400 which comes with decent upgrades. Now the 2024 RV400 supports fast charging and takes 90 minutes to charge completely, comes with a reverse mode and enhanced digital display.

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Farmers' body FAIFA on Wednesday said the government's initiatives for digital revolution in agriculture will go a long way in arresting the exodus of youth from agriculture. Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA), which claims to represent farmers and farm workers of commercial crops across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat, said the recently announced seven schemes totalling Rs 14,000 crore will play a key role in stopping the movement of the youth from rural to urban and from farming to other professions. "These new schemes are not just about technological integration. This will help in relieving agrarian distress caused by climate variations and market uncertainties that have made agriculture unlucrative for our youth," FAIFA President Javare Gowda said in a statement.
 

After curtains came down on microblogging platform Koo and probable acquisition talks did not materialise, its founder Mayank Bidawatka has announced launch of a new venture, Billion Hearts Software Technologies.  

The venture is aimed to build consumer products for global users. “Billion Hearts as a name represents the dreams of many. And hopefully the usage of billions of users around the world for whom this startup will build beautiful digital products,” Bidawatka told Linkedin.

The new venture at present is operating in stealth mode and is scheduled for a roll out in the next few months.

In a post, Bidawatka had recently said that the new venture has already secured angel funding from several founder friends in the marquee consumer tech space.

Shares of Anil Ambani-backed Reliance Infrastructure rose as much as 7.95 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 254.40 after the company on Wednesday said that its has reduced its standalone external debt to Rs 475 crore from Rs 3,831 crore.

Reliance Infrastructure Limited (Reliance Infra) announced that Invent Assets Securitisation and Reconstruction Private Limited, a key lender, has novated certain charged securities, reducing its entire fund-based outstanding amount to zero.

The Indian equity benchmarks edged lower on Wednesday dragged down by losses in Infosys , Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank , HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Bharti Airtel. The Sensex fell as much as 130 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday low of 25,402.40 amid stable cues from other Asian markets. Losses in the markets were capped owing to buying interest in HDFC Bank , Bajaj Finance, ITC, Tata Motors and State Bank of India.

As of 9:20 am, the Sensex was down 59 points at 83,021 and Nifty 50 index declined 16 points to 25,402

Asian markets saw a positive shift on Wednesday, as investors anticipated the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy decision. With traders divided on the expected magnitude of an interest rate cut, regional stock indices experienced notable gains, driven in part by a weaker yen which benefited Japanese exporters.

The Japanese Nikkei 225 led the regional gains, buoyed by the yen’s slide, which had a favourable impact on the nation’s export-driven companies. The yen weakened over 1 per cent against the dollar on Tuesday, reversing a five-day rally, and slightly adjusted on Wednesday as market attention turned to the Fed's decision. In contrast, Hong Kong remained closed for a holiday, and mainland Chinese stocks were set to resume trading after a break.

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Indian stocks to keep an eye on this Monday, September 18, include some key developments in energy, infrastructure, IT, and healthcare. Here’s a detailed look at the companies making headlines:

REC

REC has signed a non-binding financial commitment to significantly expand its renewables loan portfolio, aiming to surpass Rs 3 lakh crore by 2030. This would raise the share of renewables in its loan book from 8% to 30%, contributing to India’s green energy push. Additionally, REC received a Letter of Intent from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. for a 1,500 MW energy storage capacity procurement from a pumped hydro storage project, which will run for 40 years. The company’s robust long-term strategy places it as a key player in India’s renewable energy sector.

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The dollar steadied on Wednesday as stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales had traders slightly trimming bets that the U.S. easing cycle will begin with an outsized interest rate cut.

The Federal Reserve is expected to make its first interest rate cut in more than four years at 1800 GMT, which will be followed by a news conference half an hour later.

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The U.S. Transportation Department said on Tuesday it had agreed to allow Alaska Airlines to close on its $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, after the carriers agreed to maintain key Hawaiian routes and adopt consumer protections.

The Justice Department in August opted not to block the deal that was announced in December by Alaska, the fifth-largest domestic U.S. airline, to Hawaiian, the 10th-largest carrier. The carriers said that they expect to close the deal on Wednesday.

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BlackRock and Microsoft plan to launch a more than $30 billion fund to invest in artificial intelligence infrastructure to build data centers and energy projects, the companies said on Tuesday.

AI models, especially those used for deep learning and large-scale data processing, require substantial computational power, leading to higher energy consumption.

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The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it proposing to fine Elon Musk's SpaceX $633,000 for allegedly failing to follow license requirements and not getting approval for changes during two launches in 2023.

The FAA said SpaceX failed to get approval to revise its communications plan related to its license to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida including adding a new launch control room at Hangar X and removing the T-2 hour readiness poll from its procedures before a June 2023 launch. SpaceX used the unapproved launch control room for the PSN SATRIA mission and did not conduct the required poll, the FAA said.

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