Tag: India

  • Today’s gold price is Rs 50,450 per 10 gramme; silver is Rs 59,400 per kilogramme

    Gold, SIlver, Price, India,

    On Monday, the price of a gramme of 24 carat gold remained steady at Rs 50,450. Silver remained constant as well, selling for Rs 59,400 per kilogramme.

    On Monday, the price of 10 kilos of 22 carat gold remained steady, with the precious metal selling for Rs 46,250 per gramme.

    The price of 10 grammes of 24 carat gold in Delhi and Mumbai is the same as the price of 10 grammes of 24 carat gold in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, at Rs 50,450 each.

    On Monday, however, 10 kilos of 24 carat gold in Chennai was selling for Rs 51,670.
    The price of 10 grammes of 22 carat gold in Delhi and Mumbai is Rs 46,250, which is the same as the price of 10 grammes of 22 carat gold in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Kerala.

    While 10 grammes of 22 carat gold costs Rs 47,370 in Chennai.

    The gold rates in India are influenced by a variety of factors, including international gold prices, local levies, and currency fluctuations.

    The price of gold varies by area due to numerous factors such as making costs, excise duty, state taxes, and so on.

    One kilogramme of silver costs Rs 59,400 in Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata, and Rs 59,400 in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai is Rs 63,700

  • To protect the rupee, the RBI may be cautious about spending FX reserves

     Reserve Bank of India

    When the Federal Reserve tightens, the Reserve Bank of India tries to defend its currency once more.

    Analysts expect it to launch a more limited defense this time, geared at fighting off the worst of speculative attacks rather than drawing a line in the sand when global capital flows are shifting and the Fed is expected to increase throughout the year.

    To save ammunition amid a broad dollar surge spurred by expectations of aggressive monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve, the RBI may choose a limited intervention policy. According to analysts, the RBI’s stated goal is to reduce excessive currency volatility, and reserves have declined in recent weeks, indicating market involvement.

    On Monday, the rupee fell to a new low of 77.53 per dollar as the dollar rose further and amid rising petroleum prices, threatening to extend the trade gap to uncharted heights. Foreign funds have been fleeing the country’s equities at an unprecedented rate, and a central bank that delayed tightening policy until last week hasn’t helped matters.

    When compared to its emerging Asian peers, the rupee’s movements have been orderly during the last month. This year, the currency has lost about 4% of its value and sits in the middle of the Asian pack.

    India’s central bank is intervening in all foreign exchange markets, including offshore markets, and will continue to do so to defend the rupee, which fell to a record low on Monday. A spokeswoman for the central bank was not immediately available for comment.

    According to the most recent data, the country’s foreign reserves were $598 billion. Although this is down 7% from a record high of over $640 billion in September due to a combination of intervention and valuation revisions, it still performs well on key metrics such as import coverage and short-term debt obligations, according to Radhika Rao, the senior economist at DBS Bank Ltd.

  • The selling of a private bond to Apollo Global nets the Mumbai airport $750 million

    Mumbai International Airport

    After delaying a scheduled note offering, Mumbai International Airport Ltd. has raised $750 million through a private bond sale to Apollo Global Management Inc.

    According to a stock exchange notification, the operator of India’s No. 2 airport, which is controlled by the country’s richest man, issued 7.25-year dollar notes to Apollo-managed funds to refinance current debt and fund new capital investment. The deal’s terms were not specified in the statement.

    Several Asian firms have revised their dent sale plans as a result of a worldwide bond market rout. Last month, Kalyan Jewellers India Ltd. announced the cancellation of a dollar bond offering, and India’s local currency debt market has experienced a slew of cancellations in recent months.

  • ZEPTO HAS RAISED $200 MN TO DEVELOP ITS 10-MINUTE DELIVERY SERVICE THROUGHOUT INDIA

    Zepto, a rapid commerce startup founded by two 19-year-old Stanford dropouts nine months ago, has raised $200 million in a Series D funding round, valuing the company at about $900 million. Zepto intends to use the funds to expand 10-minute grocery delivery across the country and continue to grow responsibly.

    Y Combinator Continuity doubled in and spearheaded rapid commerce Zepto’s Series D, with Kaiser Permanente joining the company as a new investor. All of the company’s previous investors have upped their stakes, including Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital, and Lachy Groom, signaling yet another vote of confidence in the company’s prospects.

    The funding would also help Zepto compete with companies like Dunzo, Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon, and Flipkart, which are all spending big on the country’s quickly rising online food sector.

    “The core of what we’re doing is delivering groceries in 10 minutes,” said Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha in an interview. “The way we do that is through a network of highly optimized delivery centers. We have scaled to millions of customers across the country. Today, we’re doing hundreds of thousands of orders a day. We have achieved a scale that took food delivery players years to achieve and we did that in a few months. The business continues to grow at a very fast pace.”

    According to Palicha, Zepto’s revenue increased by 800% QoQ (quarter-over-quarter), but burn decreased by 5X on a per-order basis. He claimed that at scale, the company had an 88-point NPS (net promoter score) and 60% Month-1 Buyer Retention.

    The company has secured $360 million in total from well-known investors in Silicon Valley and India. In just a few months, the company claims to have established an all-star bench of executive talent and expanded its team to over 1,000 individuals. The funds will allow it to continue hiring across all departments, including engineering, analytics, operations, marketing, finance, and human resources.

    What sets Zepto apart, according to the company, is its capacity to regularly supply over 3,000 products in under 10 minutes. The goal is to establish 10-minute delivery as the new standard.

  • Reliance Industries has become the first Indian business to have a market capitalization of Rs 19 trillion

    After reaching a new high, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) became the first Indian listed firm to have a market capitalization of Rs 19 trillion. In an otherwise sluggish market, the stock set a record high of Rs 2,827.10, up 2% on the BSE in intraday trade on Wednesday.

    RIL’s market capitalization was Rs 19.02 trillion at 09:33 a.m., according to BSE data, with the stock up 1.3 percent at Rs 2,811.85. The S&P BSE Sensex, on the other hand, was down 0.61 percent at 56,977.

    RIL’s stock price has increased by 11% in the last seven trading days, from a low of Rs 2,544 on April 18, 2022. The stock has gained 20% in the last three months, compared to a 0.42 percent fall in the S&P BSE Sensex.

    “Reliance industries is firing on all cylinders because its petchem business is doing extremely well on the back of a surge in Oil and Gas prices where Singapore gross refining margin (GRM) is at an all-time high. Its telecom business is unaffected by geopolitical tension and inflation whereas it is exploring synergies in its retail business. It is continuously expanding its path in the renewable energy business that opening more opportunities for the company,” said Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart.

    RIL is a well-diversified commercial entity with a presence in refining or marketing petrochemicals (O2C), oil and gas exploration, retail, digital services, and media, making it one of India’s largest conglomerates. O2C and oil and gas contributed 50% of EBITDA in the 9MFY22 period, whereas retail, digital, and others contributed 10%, 34%, and 6%, respectively.

    On Tuesday, RIL and Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company RSC (TA’ZIZ) inked a shareholder agreement for a chemical project in Abu Dhabi’s Ruwais. The development is significant because it will concentrate on the manufacturing of chlor-alkali, ethylene dichloride (EDC), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which are all used in a variety of industrial applications.

  • In early trade, the rupee fell 23 paise to 76.65 against the US dollar.

    Rupee advances 23 paise to 75.93

    The rupee fell 23 paise to 76.65 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, reflecting the dollar’s surge in the international market.

    The rupee opened at 76.58 against the dollar on the interbank foreign exchange, then plummeted to an early low of 76.65 in early trades, a drop of 23 paise from its previous close.

    The rupee fell 25 paise versus the US dollar on Friday, closing at 76.42.

    According to Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, the rupee began down against the US dollar, pressured down by hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week.

    Meanwhile, Brent crude futures sank 2.85% to USD 103.61 per barrel, the global benchmark.

    The dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against a basket of six currencies, increased by 0.02 percent to 101.23.

    On the domestic stock market, the 30-share Sensex was down 645.45 points, or 1.13 percent, at 56,551.70, while the broader NSE Nifty was down 189.05 points, or 1.1%, at 16,982.90.

    According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday, offloading shares worth Rs 2,461.72 crore.

  • ONGC, Oil India gain 3% in tandem with crude oil prices

    Shares of state-owned oil exploration & production companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India gained 3 per cent on the BSE in Wednesday’s intra-day trade in an otherwise subdued market after oil prices surged. Crude oil prices increased around 6 per cent on Tuesday amid reports of lower supply by oil producers and easing of lockdown curbs in parts of China.

    At 10:47 AM, ONGC and Oil India were up 3 per cent at Rs 173.85 and Rs 237.20, respectively, on the back of heavy volumes. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.04 per cent at 58,597 points. Upstream companies like ONGC and Oil India are expected to witness strong earnings on higher oil prices. Oil prices saw a sharp increase amid concern over supply disruption due to the geopolitical conflict in Europe in the quarter that ended March 2022 (Q4FY22). Brent prices have averaged nearly $100/bbl in Q4FY22 with nearly $30/bbl being added during the quarter end due to the Ukraine war.

    Analysts at HDFC Securities expect Brent crude price to remain elevated as Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) supply growth is likely to lag behind global demand due to ongoing geopolitical tensions.

    “The average Brent crude price in FY22 stood at USD 80/bbl, up 79 per cent YoY, driven by recovery in global demand with opening up of economies. However, the OPEC supply is lagging behind demand growth due to Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite the fact that no restrictions were imposed on crude oil import from Russia currently, some off-takers have shunned Russian oil due to uncertainties around insurance, shipping, etc. because of sanctions,” the brokerage firm added.

    The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) also estimates that the growth in global crude oil supply will suffer in 2022.

  • SBI Cards dips 5% as over 3% of equity changes hands via block deals on NSE

    Shares of SBI Cards and Payment Services dipped 5 per cent to Rs 836 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Tuesday’s intra-day trade after over 3 per cent equity of the company changed hands at the counter via block deals.

    Till 09:21 am; around 31.9 million equity shares representing 3.37 per cent equity of SBI Cards changed hands on the NSE, the exchange data shows. The names of the buyers and sellers were not ascertained immediately.

    As per reports, private equity firm Carlyle Group was to sell its entire stake in the company for as much as Rs 2,558 crore via block trade. CA Rover Holdings, a Carlyle entity, as of December 2021 quarter, held 29.20 million shares or 3.09 percent stake in SBI Cards. The shares were to be offered at Rs 851.50-876.75 a piece, representing around 3 percent discount to Monday’s closing price.

    Earlier on September 21, 2021, CA Rover Holdings sold 32 million equity shares or 3.4 per cent stake of SBI Cards at an average price of Rs 1,021 per share on the NSE, data shows.

    Meanwhile, SBI Cards has underperformed the market by falling 23 per cent in the past six months, as compared to a 1.5 per cent rise othe Nifty50 index. However, in the last one month, the stock has outperformed by gaining 14 per cent as against a 12 per cent surge in the benchmark index. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 712.25 on March 7, 2022.

    At 09:35 am; SBI Cards traded 3 per cent lower at Rs 847.85, as compared to a 0.2 per cent decline on the Nifty50 index.

  • Rupee advances 23 paise to 75.67 against the US dollar in early trade

    The rupee advanced 23 paise to 75.67 against the US dollar in the opening trade on Thursday, supported by positive domestic equities and a fall in crude oil prices.

    At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.67 against the US dollar, registering a rise of 23 paise from the previous close.

    On Wednesday, the rupee dropped by 17 paise to close at 75.90 against the US dollar.

    The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.14 per cent to 97.92.

    Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 4.54 per cent to USD 108.30 per barrel after reports surfaced that US President Joe Biden is preparing to order the release of up to 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve to control energy prices.

    Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday said that India has received a record number of foreign direct investments during the last few years despite the COVID-19 crisis, and has quite a few safeguards in place to mitigate the risks from capital flows.

    On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 152.24 points or 0.26 per cent higher at 58,836.23, while the broader NSE Nifty surged 44.40 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 17,542.65.

    Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market on Wednesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,357.47 crore, according to stock exchange data.

  • Game-streaming platform Loco raises Rs 330 cr in Hashed-led funding round

    India’s leading game-streaming platform Loco said it had secured Rs 330 crore ($42 million) in an investment round led by Hashed. Besides Makers Fund, Catamaran Ventures, and Korea Investment Partners, all investors from the company’s seed round, including Krafton, Lumikai, and Hiro Capital, also participated in this round. The new investment will cement Loco’s current leadership position in game streaming and further accelerate its streaming technology and content initiatives. With this new fundraising, Loco will “continue investing in the development of the Indian gaming ecosystem and nurturing the Indian gaming community”.

    “We started Loco with a mission to democratise gaming and this investment will help us make significant progress towards our end goal,” said Anirudh Pandita and Ashwin Suresh, founders of Loco. “Today, we are the platform where gamers go from being newbies to becoming gaming superstars. Loco is actively transforming the entertainment experience for Indian users and we are excited about the new investors joining us in building the future of entertainment.”

    Loco has been a pioneer in the live game streaming and esports sector in India, paving the way for gaming to go from a niche hobby to the mainstream national interest. The platform is home to India’s most popular streamers such as Sc0ut, Mavi, Godlike’s Jonathan, Villager Esports, and 8Bit-Thug. Loco has built highly engaged communities across various games including BGMI, Call of Duty Mobile, Clash of Clans, Grand Theft Auto (GTA), and Valiant. The platform houses India’s top esports teams like Godlike, XO, Revenant Esports, and Hyderabad Hydras. It has hosted the country’s largest tournaments in partnership with global publishers like Krafton, Activision, Ubisoft, and Riot Games.

    Loco has grown rapidly over the last year, with daily active viewers scaling by 15x, monthly active viewers scaling by 8x, monthly active streamers scaling by 5x, and live watch hours scaling by 78x since Jan 2021. Today, highly active users spend over 1 hour daily on Loco, making it the gaming community’s platform of choice for a seamless streaming and highly engaging fan experience.

    The company believes that gaming will define the customer entertainment experience over the next decade. Powered by 5G, gaming will make entertainment more immersive, providing users with immensely enjoyable social experiences in virtual worlds. In addition, Web3 will transform the nature of ownership of virtual goods, allowing fans to participate in the entertainment process in a more meaningful manner than has ever been possible before. With these tailwinds driving consumer behaviour, Loco wants to build the social experience platform for the virtual world, serving the over 700 million Indians who will experience these virtual worlds in the coming years.