- By Priyanka Payal
- Thu, 13 Jul 2023 10:09 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Indian equity market opened higher on Thursday (July 13) following strong cues from Wall Street indices where S&P 500, and Nasdaq closed at the highest levels since April 2022. In the first few minutes of trading, the benchmark index Sensex was up 0.56% at 65,757.15 points, while Nifty 50 was up 0.57% at 19,494.65 points at 9:30 am IST.
Domestic indices ended lower on Wednesday as Sensex fell 0.34% at 65,393.90, while the Nifty50 was down 0.28% at 19,384.30 points.
Today, the Indian rupee rose 29 paise higher against the US dollar on a weak greenback as there are speculations that the latest CPI data will allow the US central bank to press the pause button on interest rate hikes soon.
The rupee closed 12 paise higher at 82.25 against the US dollar as the greenback fell to a two-month low on Wednesday ahead of the key US inflation data.
The CPI data released Wednesday calmed investors' fear that the American economy is entering recession. The cooler-than-expected inflation report announced by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics has raised hope that the Federal Reserve can bring down inflation without tightening the monetary policy further.
The three major indices closed higher on Wednesday where the S&P 500 reached a new high for 2023 as it advanced 0.74% to close at 4,472.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.25% at 34,347.43, while Nasdaq Composite gained 1.15% to 13,918.96 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at their highest levels since April this year.
In the United States, annual inflation eased to 3% in June 2023, the lowest number since March 2021.
Stocks to watch: Patanjali Foods, SpiceJet, TCS, Vedanta
TCS
TCS shares remained in focus today after the IT major posted a 2.7% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) decline in net profit at Rs 11,074 crore for the June 2023 quarter compared to Rs 11,392 crore in the prior quarter. During this period, the company’s revenue rose merely 0.3% QoQ.
SpiceJet
SpiceJet shares were up 3.32% at Rs 32.20 per share at 9:52 am IST today. The promoter of the low-cost airline is expected to infuse Rs 500 crore into the airline by way of subscribing to fresh equity shares and/or convertible instruments.
Patanjali Foods
Baba Ramdev-led FMCG company Patanjali Foods has said that the promoters will offload up to 9% stake via an offer for sale (OFS) to fulfil the minimum public shareholding norm. The floor price for the OFS has been fixed at Rs 1,000 per share, at an 18.4% discount to the previous close. The stock was down 5% at one point in today’s early morning trade.
Vedanta
Vedanta shares remained in focus today as the Anil Agarwal-led company has reportedly lined up partners for semiconductor ventures and is expected to enter the market for the manufacturing of chips and displays this year. Earlier this week, Vedant’s joint-venture partner Foxconn pulled out of the $19.5 billion chipmaking project.
