Indian shares drop ahead of US Fed meeting
12:27, 20 September 2021
Indian stocks dropped the most in a month to finish lower on Monday, dragged down by metal and banking counters, amid thin trade in Asia. The Japanese, Chinese and South Korean bourses were closed for holidays.
The correction followed cautious trade, with investors waiting to hear from several central banks this week, including the US Federal Reserve, which could inform the markets about when it will start trimming its massive stimulus programme.
The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty50 index closed 1.07% lower at 17,396.90 points. The S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.89% at 58,490.93 points.
The Nifty Metal index, a basket of 15 stocks including Coal India, the world’s leading miner of the fossil fuel, dropped 6.6%.
Meanwhile, the Nifty PSU Bank index, a basket of 13 state-run lenders including Central Bank of India, fell 4.18%.
Gainers/losers
The Indian rupee was trading 0.010% higher to the US dollar, to INR73.69 at 17:20 hours Indian time (UTC+5:30).
On the NIFTY, shares of consumer goods giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL), insurance provider Bajaj Finserv, and cigarette maker ITC were the top gainers, adding 2.88%, 1.06% and 0.78%.
However, Tata Group firm Tata Steel, rival JSW Steel, and aluminium manufacturer Hindalco Industries were the top losers, shedding 10%, 7.69% and 6.14% respectively.
On the SENSEX, shares in HUL, Bajaj Finserv and ITC were the biggest gainers, adding 2.84%, 1.10% and 1.08% respectively.
But, Tata Steel, the nation’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI), and IndusInd Bank were the biggest losers, shedding 9.53%, 3.69% and 3.5% respectively.
Eureka Forbes
Private equity firm Advent International agreed to buy a majority interest in consumer durables maker Eureka Forbes at a consideration of INR44bn ($597m), subject to statutory and regulatory approvals. Eureka is the largest seller of water purification products in India.
KMB acquisition
The sub-continent's third-largest lender by market capitalisation, Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) informed stock exchanges it will initially buy almost 10% of local fintech firm KFin Technologies, an investor-and-issuer-servicing platform provider.
CARS24 Services
Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group and Chinese internet giant Tencent are among several venture capitalists investing in India’s largest online marketplace for second-hand automobiles, CARS24 Services.
The $450m (INR33.14bn) funding round, the largest-ever injection into the seller of used-cars, was led by DST Global, Tiger Global Management offshoot Falcon Edge, and SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. Tencent and existing investors Moore Strategic Ventures and Exor Seeds also participated, Cars24 said on its official blog.
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