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05^Th January 2019

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Nifty, Sensex May Rally If Global Markets Remain Steady – Weekly closing report-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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04 January 2019

I had mentioned in last week’s closing report that Nifty, Sensex might head higher. The major indices of the Indian stock markets were volatile during the week and suffered a correction to close on Friday with losses over last Friday’s close. The trends of the major indices in the course of the week’s trading are given in the table below:

The major indices of the Indian stock markets were range-bound on Monday and ended flat. On the NSE, there were 1,129 advances, 643 declines and 114 unchanged.

The last session of 2018's trade ended on a flat note with the Sensex declining 8 points and the Nifty adding just 2 points to its previous close. The indices however were in the green for the most part of Monday's trade session but were dragged by weakness in key stocks of sectors like realty, oil and gas and energy. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The indices advanced during the afternoon session of trade after opening higher in line with global markets on Monday over signs of progress in the US-China trade stand-off. The indices had, however, slipped in the red for a short while -- 12-1 p.m. -- as oil and gas and energy stocks witnessed selling pressure. Finally, by close of trading the major indices ended flat. Asian stocks also traded in the green after US President Donald Trump said: "Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China. Deal has been moving along very well. If made, it would be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute. Big progress being made!" he said. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Macro-economic data points, coupled with Indian rupee's performance against the US dollar would influence domestic equity market's trajectory during the week, pointed out market analysts. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The Central government has decided to infuse Rs10,086 crore into Bank of India. The bank informed the BSE in a regulatory filing on Saturday that the capital infusion in its equity will be done by way of preferential allotment. According to the filing, the bank's board will consider "by way of circular resolution on or after January 2, 2019 the proposal for raising capital by this infusion and further issue of equity shares or securities at an appropriate time and other incidental matters thereat". The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The major indices of the Indian stock markets made a minor rally on Tuesday and closed with gains over Monday’s close. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

A last hour pick-up in banking and realty stocks, along with positive global markets, buoyed the key Indian equity indices on Tuesday. The day's trade saw 30-scrip Sensex gaining over 180 points to regain the 36,000 points-mark. However, the two key indices traded mostly in the red throughout the day's session, but a sharp recovery in the last hour changed the overall scenario. Index-wise, the S&P BSE Sensex settled 186.24 points or 0.52% higher at 36,254.57 points after touching an intra-day high of 36,284.04 and a low of 35,888.62. The NSE Nifty50 closed at 10,910.10 points up 47.55 points or 0.44%. Expectations of weak monthly auto sales and slower industrial November data, concerned the market, observed market analysts. Apart from realty sector, finance stocks also edged higher, gaining close to 1%.

The major indices of the Indian stock markets suffered a correction on Wednesday, as premarket US futures traded deeply in the negative and the Hong Kong market fell more than 700 points, down 2.77%. The rupee fell sharply and there was a slowdown in the manufacturing PMI data. On the NSE, there were 549 advances, 1,134 declines and 381 unchanged.

Most sectoral indices traded in the negative, led by auto, metal and banking stocks. The S&P BSE auto index lost 534.70 points on weak December auto sale figures. Also, the decline in the Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index released during the day subdued the market sentiments. The index declined to 53.2 in December, from 54 in November.

The Indian currency slumped 45 paise on Tuesday to trade at 69.89 per dollar (around 1.20 p.m.), against the previous close of 69.45 per dollar.

Automobile major Maruti Suzuki India reported a decline of 1.3% in its total sales including exports for December 2018. According to the company, a total of 128,338 units were sold last month, compared to 130,066 units' off-take recorded during the corresponding period of the last financial year. The total sales were dragged down by heavy decline in export. It slumped 36.4% to 6,859 vehicles. However, the company's domestic sales rose 1.8% on a year-on-year basis to 121,479 units in December. The company's domestic passenger vehicles sales was up 1% to 1,19,804 units, while sales of light commercial vehicles in the country rose 130.7 per cent to 1,675 units. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) reported a meagre 1% rise in its total vehicle sales for December 2018, owing to tight liquidity and low buying sentiment in the domestic market. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The major indices of the Indian stock markets suffered a correction on Thursday and closed with significant losses over Wednesday’s close. On the NSE, there were 553 advances, 1,148 declines and 361 unchanged. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Amid weak factory data from China and India earlier in the week fuelling concerns of a slowdown in global growth and a sustained weakness in the domestic currency pulled the benchmark Sensex down on Thursday. Energy, oil and gas and capital goods came under selling pressure, while realty traded in the green on the expectation that the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Council at its January 10 meeting would bring down the tax rate on under-construction housing to 5% from 12%. FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) stocks managed to advance. 

The Indian currency weakened by 12 paise on Thursday to trade at 70.29 per dollar, against the previous close of 70.17 per dollar. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The HDFC's Board would consider raising Rs45,000 crore through issuance of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs). Accordingly, the company's Board would consider the issuance of NCDs on private placement basis in a meeting on January 29, 2019. "The board of directors of the corporation shall consider issuance of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures, in various tranches under Shelf Disclosure Document, aggregation Rs45,000 crore on a private placement basis in accordance with the approval granted by the shareholders of the corporation at the 41st Annual General Meeting held on July 30, 2018," the company said in a regulatory filing to the BSE.

Lending major Bank of Baroda (BoB) finalised the equity share exchange ratio for amalgamation of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank, subject to statutory regulatory approval.

On Friday, the major indices of the Indian stock markets were range-bound and closed with gains over Thursday’s close. On the NSE, there were 868 advances, 829 declines and 364 unchanged.

Sensex gained around 200 points on Friday as financial stocks rose. 

Earlier, Chinese factory data along with that of India's suggested a global growth slowdown, which was further magnified after a weak US factory data outcome. The latest addition to the worries was tech major Apple's announcement of cutting its financial forecast, partly blaming US trade tensions with China along with a slowdown in the Chinese economy. Apple is one of the world's largest companies by market value and it was the first time in years that it has sharply cut its growth forecast. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Public sector lender Union Bank of India plans to raise up to Rs600 crore through "Employee Share Purchase Scheme", subject to shareholders' approval. According to the bank, its Stakeholders Relationship Committee (SRC) has approved the scheme for raising the equity capital. "...The SRC at its meeting held on Thursday, 3 January, 2019, inter alia, discussed and approved the following - a scheme namely 'Union Bank of India - Employee Share Purchase Scheme' to raise equity capital aggregating up to Rs600 crore...," the bank said in a regulatory filing to the BSE. As per the filing, the bank will raise the equity capital by "...offering, issuing and allotting up to 8,00,00,000 new equity shares to the eligible employees of the bank". The bank added that it will seek shareholders' approval for the scheme through postal ballot and e-voting. The bank’s shares closed at Rs92.85, up 4.62% on the NSE.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Major Indices (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

Government mops up Rs 6.12 lakh crore indirect taxes in April-November, target for FY'19 at Rs 11.16 lakh crore -The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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04 January 2019

 

indirect tax (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

The government is targeting to mop up Rs 11.16 lakh crore as indirect tax collection from levy of Central and Integrated GST and compensation cess in 2018-19, Parliament was informed Friday.

During April-November of the ongoing fiscal, the total net indirect tax collection (inclusive of CGST, IGST and GST-Compensation Cess) is Rs 6,12,653.47 crore, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. "The Budget Estimate (BE) for indirect taxes revenue (inclusive of CGST, IGST and GSTCompensation Cess) for 2018-19 has been fixed at Rs 11.16 lakh crore," Shukla said.

The revenue target is set for the full financial year, the actual indirect tax collection for 2018-19 will be known after the end of the fiscal, he added. The minister said various administrative steps have been taken by the government to achieve the target for this financial year.

These include GST rate rationalisation to improve the tax compliance, mandatory e-filing and e-payment of taxes, penalty for delayed payment, extensive use of third party sources such as State VAT Department, Income Tax etc for compliance verification, he added. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Indian economy set to be bigger than UK’s this year-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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04 January 2019

India (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

India’s economy grew at a faster pace than most major nations in 2018, and this year, it’s poised to overtake the U.K. to become the world’s fifth-biggest. But that journey won’t be smooth. The outcome of a general election due by May is a potential pitfall for a nation already battered by emerging market turmoil and a currency rout last year. Also, any attempts by the government to undermine the central bank’s freedom and raid its surplus capital may spook investors and carry damaging consequences for the economy.

Here are the key themes to watch for in 2019:

Global Slowdown

Nomura Holdings Inc. estimates global growth will ease to around 2.8 percent in 2019 from 3.2 percent in 2018, led by a slowdown in China, and a moderation in the U.S. and euro-area toward long-term trends. “As cyclical impulses become less favorable, we expect exports, manufacturing and the investment cycle to weaken” in India, Nomura analysts said.

Monetary Policy

After raising interest rates twice last year, 2019 may see the Reserve Bank of India reverse course by giving up its hawkish monetary policy bias in favor of a neutral stance. With demand slowing and oil prices easing, inflation is expected to average toward the RBI’s medium-term target of 4 percent in the first quarter of 2019. The six-member monetary policy committee may even be in a position to lower interest rates in the first half of the year, according to some analysts.

Shaktikanta Das, the new central bank governor, is seen as more dovish on monetary policy, saying inflation is benign and supporting growth is part of the RBI’s focus. His predecessor, Urjit Patel, who unexpectedly quit last month, took a more cautious approach on price growth.

Interest-rate cuts could give a boost to lending and growth before the general election.

Election Risks

With the world’s biggest election around the corner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under pressure to boost spending, especially to help farmers, to shore up voter support and spur an economy that’s starting to slow. Data for the three months through September showed growth eased to 7.1 percent from the 8-plus percent pace seen in the previous quarter.

Spending pressures intensified last month following disappointing results for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in regional elections, and farm loan waivers announced by the opposition Indian National Congress party in three states it won from the BJP.

The government is said to be studying three options, including a cash handout for farmers, to ease the distress for farmers and to shore up popular support ahead of elections. It’s already slashed taxes on some goods and services and announced exemptions on pension withdrawals to appease voters.

These are in addition to programs for guaranteed crop prices and healthcare, the full impact of which will be known only in the budget, due to be delivered on Feb. 1.

With the government already exceeding its budget deficit targets in October, any additional measures will need to be balanced with possible reductions in spending to meet the fiscal goal of 3.3 percent of gross domestic product for the year through March.

A loss for Modi in the general election is a risk in terms of policy continuity, and investors are watching the events closely.

Sonal Varma, chief India economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Singapore, expects the government to be in limbo until a new administration is in place in May, posing a drag on spending growth in the first half of 2019.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Potato acreage rises due to higher farmer's remuneration, cheaper seed -The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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04 January 2019

 

Potato (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

Potato cultivation is set to gain acreage by 7-8 per cent in India, second largest producer in the world, as better remuneration in the previous season has exhorted farmers to grow more tubers this Rabi season. Prevailing low price of seed potato and price assistance schemes launched by various states to check distress sale have also driven farmers to increase tuber cultivation in the country. “Potato cultivation is likely to increase by 6-8 per cent in Uttar Pradesh as farmers had earned higher income in potato in 2018 than in the previous year,” president, Federation of Cold Storage Association of India (FCSAI) Mahendra Swarup told.

 He said most farmers have earned more in 2018 than in the previous two seasons. Higher potato cultivation is also attributed to rains in October that has replenished the water bodies and groundwater level in Northern states, a senior official of Uttar Pradesh Horticulture department said. Potato acreage has increased in two major potato growing states of West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh that produce around 55-60 per cent of potato output in India. The tuber sowing season begins in October and extends till December in Rabi season. “Potato area is up by more than 5 per cent compared to last year in West Bengal,” Patit Paban De, member of West Bengal Cold Storage Association (WBCSA), said. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

This year potato prices have remained steady for most part of the year but witnessed slide in the month of November and December. But the price fall as affected traders and cold store owners more than the farmers. Also, the price support schemes for potato launched by states to check distress sale has encouraged farmers to increase potato cultivation in the country. This season Haryana has announced to include potato under Bhawantar Bharpayee Scheme while Uttar Pradesh has bought potato at Rs 4.87 per kilogram in the last season to check losses to farmers. Lately, Punjab government has also announced to buy the crop for mid-day meal to check distress sale. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

But traders who are facing losses in potato trade see little succour in such schemes. Traders claim that loading cost (cost at potato at the time of storing including transportation, packaging and deterioration of stock) is much higher than the assistance offered by the government. “ Moreover governments buy selective crop consisting high quality specifications that curtail extent of compensation to farmers,” Swarup said.

“A higher retail price of potato in 2018 seemed to have suppressed the demand in domestic market and it has left surplus buffer stock with cold storeowners,” trader based in Madhya Pradesh said. Traders and cold store owners pay to farmers in advance for their stocks. It is not possible to recover cost of transportation, bags, deterioration, rentals and most of the loss fell on cold store owners. Rise in potato production has caused gluts in recent years in India. It has hurt business interest of stakeholders including traders, cold store owners and farmers in potato cultivation. “Ironically potato growers are hoping that output remains average as bumper crop will check prices in the ongoing potato season,” says Jang Bahadur Singh Sangha, leading potato growers in India. A likely rise in potato output is likely to supress the prices in coming season as traders are looking to cover up their losses. “Traders and cold store owners will curtail extent of advance payments against stocked potato to farmers in the current season,” a cold store owner based in Punjab said.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Stocks Bounce Back On US-China Hopes; Eyes On US Jobs Data-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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04 January 2019

Financial Markets (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

Global stocks rose Friday and Wall Street was set to open higher after heavy losses this week, as investors welcomed news of trade talks between the U.S. and China and braced for U.S. jobs data.

European shares recouped losses from a day earlier, with Germany's DAX gaining 1.8 percent to 10,604 and France's CAC 40 rising 1.3 percent to 4,672. Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 1.4 percent to 6,785.

U.S. indexes, which closed broadly lower on Thursday, were set to recover, too. The future contract for the broad S&P 500 index rose 1.4 percent while the Dow future contract climbed 1.3 percent.

"The tide appears to have turned with anticipation for the U.S.-China trade talks commencing next week," Jingyi Pan of IG said in an interview. "Across Asian markets and U.S. futures, there has been an uplifting effect."

China's Commerce Ministry said the talks will be held Monday and Tuesday in Beijing. Officials hope to cool a festering trade dispute that has shaken global financial markets.

Traders are meanwhile keeping an eye on U.S. jobs data and a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell later Friday.

Economists have forecast that the labor report will show employers added a solid 180,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate stayed at a five-decade low of 3.7 percent, according to the financial data firm FactSet. The U.S. jobs market has been one of the bright spots in the world economy in recent years, so investors will be alert to any signs that a global slowdown in growth is affecting the U.S. as well.

Markets fell this week on concerns that consumer spending is weakening in China on goods like iPhones and that trade tensions are hurting global growth.

The U.S. and China have raised tariffs on billions of dollars of each other's goods in a fight over Beijing's technology policy, which Washington alleges is predatory. Last month, President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to 90-day ceasefire as a step toward diffusing tensions.

Even though the two sides are talking, the global economy faces several stumbling blocks. Growth in China and the eurozone is slowing. Rising interest rates could also weigh on the U.S. economy.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.2 percent to 25,626.03. The Shanghai Composite rebounded 2.1 percent to 2,514.87. South Korea's Kospi added 0.8 percent to 2,010.25, while Australia's S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.3 percent to 5,619.40.

Traders cheered a private survey released Friday showing that China's services sector expanded in December at a six-month high. It came on the back of weak Chinese manufacturing data earlier in the week.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index started its first trading day of 2019 by falling more than 3 percent. It closed down 2.3 percent at 19,561.96.

Japanese technology and electronics makers slumped on Apple's report that Chinese iPhone sales were slipping. On Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook told shareholders in a letter that the company expects revenue of $84 billion in the last quarter of 2018, $7 billion less than analysts had forecast.

In other trading, U.S. crude oil added $1.04 to $48.13 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 55 cents on Thursday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was up $1.31 at $57.26 per barrel after gaining $1.04 the day before.

The dollar strengthened to 108.04 yen from 107.67 yen. The euro rose to $1.1407 from $1.1394.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Nifty, Sensex May Bounce Back a Bit – Weekly closing report -The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions Contact Your Financial Adviser Money Making MC http://moneymakingaimsee.blogspot.in https://www.facebook.com/moneymakingmc 03 January 2019 I had mentioned in Wednesday’s closing report that Nifty, Sensex were under pressure again due to global trends. The major indices of the Indian stock markets suffered a correction on Thursday and closed with significant losses over Wednesday’s close. On the NSE, there were 553 advances, 1,148 declines and 361 unchanged. The trends of the major indices in the course of Thursday’s trading are given in the table below: Amid weak factory data from China and India earlier in the week fuelling concerns of a slowdown in global growth and a sustained weakness in the domestic currency pulled the benchmark Sensex down on Thursday. Energy, oil and gas and capital goods came under selling pressure, while realty traded in the green on the expectation that the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Council at its January 10 meeting would bring down the tax rate on under-construction housing to 5% from 12%. FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) stocks managed to advance. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions The Indian currency weakened by 12 paise on Thursday to trade at 70.29 per dollar, against the previous close of 70.17 per dollar. The HDFC's Board will consider raising Rs45,000 crore through issuance of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs). Accordingly, the company's Board will consider the issuance of NCDs on private placement basis in a meeting on January 29, 2019. "The board of directors of the corporation shall consider issuance of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures, in various tranches under Shelf Disclosure Document, aggregation Rs45,000 crore on a private placement basis in accordance with the approval granted by the shareholders of the corporation at the 41st Annual General Meeting held on July 30, 2018," the company said in a regulatory filing to the BSE. HDFC shares closed at Rs1,937.00, down 2.20% on the NSE. Lending major Bank of Baroda (BoB) finalised the equity share exchange ratio for amalgamation of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank, subject to statutory regulatory approval. Bank of Baroda shares closed at Rs119.60, up 0.21% on the NSE. Dena Bank shares closed at Rs14.40, down 19.55% on the NSE. Vijaya Bank shares closed at Rs47.50, down 6.95% on the NSE. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions Rating agency ICRA has downgraded financially-troubled Jet Airways' short and long term credit facilities after the company on Tuesday reported a delay in paying interest and instalment due to banks. The downgrade comes at a time when India's airline sector faces heavy competition with low air fares. Accordingly, the airline's long term rating assigned to "Long term Loans" and "Non-Convertible Debentures" was revised to D (negative outlook) from C (negative outlook). "The ratings downgrade considers the delays by the company in the payment of the interest and principal instalment due on December 31, 2018 due to cash flow mismatches," ICRA said in a statement. "There have been delays in the implementation of the proposed liquidity initiatives by the management, which have aggravated its liquidity." According to the statement, the company has already been delaying its employee salary payments and lease rental payments to the aircraft lessors. "Furthermore, the company has large debt repayments due over December 2018 to March 2019 (Rs1,700 crore), FY2020 (Rs2,444.5 crore) and FY2021 (Rs2,167.9 crore)," the statement said. Jet Airways shares closed at Rs246.25, down 6.56% on the NSE. Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp reported a 3.96% decline in its sales for December 2018 on a year-on-year basis. According to the company, sales of two-wheelers decreased to 453,985 units, compared to 472,731 units sold in December 2017. In terms of calendar year 2018, the company sold 8,039,472 units of motorcycles and scooters. On Financial Year 2019 basis, the cumulative sales of the company in the nine month period (April-December 2018) have now risen to 6,037,901 units. "Year 2018 was a challenging year for the global economy. While the continuing volatility in currency and commodities slowed down the pace of growth, the global geopolitical and trade conflicts also affected sentiments in markets and industries across the world," said Pawan Munjal, Chairman, Hero MotoCorp. "The increased cost of two-wheeler insurance ahead of the Diwali festive season and the prevailing liquidity crunch in the market impacted the overall momentum of growth in the industry during the entire third quarter." Hero MotoCorp shares closed at Rs3,011.15, down 1.16% on the NSE. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions Telecom major Reliance Jio led the subscription race in October with an addition of around 1.05 crore subscribers, followed by BSNL, as all the other major players registered a decline in their subscriber base. The subscriber base of the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio increased to around 26.27 crore, from 25.22 crore subscribers reported in September, data released by the Telecom Regulators' Authority of India (TRAI) showed. Total wireless subscribers, including GSM, CDMA and LTE, increased by 0.6 per cent from 116.92 crore in September 2018 to 117 crore at the end of October, the statement from TRAI said. "The wireless subscription in urban areas increased from 647.70 million (64.77 crore) at the end of September 2018 to 648.24 million (64.82 crore) at the end of October 2018, and in rural areas also it increased from 521.59 million (52.15 crore) to 521.77 million (52.17 crore) during the month," it said. Reliance Industries shares closed at Rs1,090.30, down 1.46% on the NSE. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions Despite strong demand along with lower input costs, the growth of India's manufacturing sector eased in December, key economic data showed. According to the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), the composite indicator of manufacturing performance showed an index reading of 53.2 in December from 54 in November 2018. An index reading of above 50 indicates an overall increase in economic activity, or growth, and below 50 an overall decrease. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions The top gainers and top losers of the major indices are given in the table below: The closing values of the major Asian indices are given in the table below: The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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03 January 2019

I had mentioned in Wednesday’s closing report that Nifty, Sensex were under pressure again due to global trends. The major indices of the Indian stock markets suffered a correction on Thursday and closed with significant losses over Wednesday’s close. On the NSE, there were 553 advances, 1,148 declines and 361 unchanged. The trends of the major indices in the course of Thursday’s trading are given in the table below:

Amid weak factory data from China and India earlier in the week fuelling concerns of a slowdown in global growth and a sustained weakness in the domestic currency pulled the benchmark Sensex down on Thursday. Energy, oil and gas and capital goods came under selling pressure, while realty traded in the green on the expectation that the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Council at its January 10 meeting would bring down the tax rate on under-construction housing to 5% from 12%. FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) stocks managed to advance. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The Indian currency weakened by 12 paise on Thursday to trade at 70.29 per dollar, against the previous close of 70.17 per dollar.

The HDFC's Board will consider raising Rs45,000 crore through issuance of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs). Accordingly, the company's Board will consider the issuance of NCDs on private placement basis in a meeting on January 29, 2019. "The board of directors of the corporation shall consider issuance of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures, in various tranches under Shelf Disclosure Document, aggregation Rs45,000 crore on a private placement basis in accordance with the approval granted by the shareholders of the corporation at the 41st Annual General Meeting held on July 30, 2018," the company said in a regulatory filing to the BSE. HDFC shares closed at Rs1,937.00, down 2.20% on the NSE.

Lending major Bank of Baroda (BoB) finalised the equity share exchange ratio for amalgamation of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank, subject to statutory regulatory approval. Bank of Baroda shares closed at Rs119.60, up 0.21% on the NSE. Dena Bank shares closed at Rs14.40, down 19.55% on the NSE. Vijaya Bank shares closed at Rs47.50, down 6.95% on the NSE. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Rating agency ICRA has downgraded financially-troubled Jet Airways' short and long term credit facilities after the company on Tuesday reported a delay in paying interest and instalment due to banks. The downgrade comes at a time when India's airline sector faces heavy competition with low air fares. Accordingly, the airline's long term rating assigned to "Long term Loans" and "Non-Convertible Debentures" was revised to D (negative outlook) from C (negative outlook).  "The ratings downgrade considers the delays by the company in the payment of the interest and principal instalment due on December 31, 2018 due to cash flow mismatches," ICRA said in a statement.  "There have been delays in the implementation of the proposed liquidity initiatives by the management, which have aggravated its liquidity." According to the statement, the company has already been delaying its employee salary payments and lease rental payments to the aircraft lessors.  "Furthermore, the company has large debt repayments due over December 2018 to March 2019 (Rs1,700 crore), FY2020 (Rs2,444.5 crore) and FY2021 (Rs2,167.9 crore)," the statement said. Jet Airways shares closed at Rs246.25, down 6.56% on the NSE.

Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp reported a 3.96% decline in its sales for December 2018 on a year-on-year basis. According to the company, sales of two-wheelers decreased to 453,985 units, compared to 472,731 units sold in December 2017. In terms of calendar year 2018, the company sold 8,039,472 units of motorcycles and scooters. On Financial Year 2019 basis, the cumulative sales of the company in the nine month period (April-December 2018) have now risen to 6,037,901 units. "Year 2018 was a challenging year for the global economy. While the continuing volatility in currency and commodities slowed down the pace of growth, the global geopolitical and trade conflicts also affected sentiments in markets and industries across the world," said Pawan Munjal, Chairman, Hero MotoCorp. "The increased cost of two-wheeler insurance ahead of the Diwali festive season and the prevailing liquidity crunch in the market impacted the overall momentum of growth in the industry during the entire third quarter." Hero MotoCorp shares closed at Rs3,011.15, down 1.16% on the NSE. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Telecom major Reliance Jio led the subscription race in October with an addition of around 1.05 crore subscribers, followed by BSNL, as all the other major players registered a decline in their subscriber base. The subscriber base of the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio increased to around 26.27 crore, from 25.22 crore subscribers reported in September, data released by the Telecom Regulators' Authority of India (TRAI) showed. Total wireless subscribers, including GSM, CDMA and LTE, increased by 0.6 per cent from 116.92 crore in September 2018 to 117 crore at the end of October, the statement from TRAI said. "The wireless subscription in urban areas increased from 647.70 million (64.77 crore) at the end of September 2018 to 648.24 million (64.82 crore) at the end of October 2018, and in rural areas also it increased from 521.59 million (52.15 crore) to 521.77 million (52.17 crore) during the month," it said. Reliance Industries shares closed at Rs1,090.30, down 1.46% on the NSE. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Despite strong demand along with lower input costs, the growth of India's manufacturing sector eased in December, key economic data showed. According to the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), the composite indicator of manufacturing performance showed an index reading of 53.2 in December from 54 in November 2018. An index reading of above 50 indicates an overall increase in economic activity, or growth, and below 50 an overall decrease. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The top gainers and top losers of the major indices are given in the table below:

The closing values of the major Asian indices are given in the table below: The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Major Indices (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)