Sensex ends above 50k for first time
MUMBAI: The BSE Sensex closed above the historic 50,000-mark for the first time ever on Wednesday as the postbudget euphoria continued for the third straight session amid a spurt in buying by foreign funds and positive global cues. Banking, finance and pharma counters hogged the limelight, while cement and FMCG stocks succumbed to profit-taking.
After touching a record intra-day high of 50,526.39, the 30-share BSE benchmark ended at 50,255.75, up 458.03 points or 0.92%.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 142.10 points or 0.97% to its fresh closing record of 14,789.95. It touched an all-time high of 14,868.85 during the day.
Indusind Bank topped the Sensex gainers’ chart, zooming 7.65 per cent, followed by Powergrid, Dr Reddy’s, Sun Pharma, NTPC and Axis Bank.
On the other hand, Ultratech Cement, Maruti, ITC, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, Nestle India and TCS were among the losers, slipping up to 0.90%.
“Domestic equities continued to remain in the grip of bulls and broader indices made fresh record highs today,” said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities.
Optimism created after the announcement of bold measures in the Union budget continued to attract investors. Favourable global cues also supported the market rally. Notably, market cap of Indian market is just fraction away from surpassing ₹200 lakh crore levels, he added. “Given sharp increase in capital expenditure along with a number of reforms to give impetus to investment activities, momentum in corporate earnings is expected to sustain in subsequent quarters. Further, higher fiscal stimulus in the US, persistent soft monetary policy stance of global bankers and weak dollar should continue to act as key tailwinds for FPIS flows.
“In the near term, monetary policy outcome will be a key focus area for market, which is broadly expected to remain favourable,” he noted. Sectorwise, BSE utilities, healthcare, power, metal, telecom and finance indices rose as much as 2.47%, while realty and FMCG finished with losses.
Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices rallied up to 1.47%. Global markets marched higher following renewed hopes for the passage of the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill in the US.
In rest of Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended with gains, while Shanghai was in the red.
Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in early deals.
Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.36% higher at $58.01 per barrel. The Indian rupee ended on a flat note and settled 1 paisa higher at 72.95 (provisional) against the US dollar. Stepping up their purchase of domestic shares, foreign institutional investors were net buyers to the tune of ₹6,181.56 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
DALLAS: Oil giants Exxon and BP reported staggering losses for 2020 on Tuesday as the pandemic crushed energy demand and undercut oil prices.
Exxon Mobil Corp. reported the largest losses in its history— nearly $20.1 billion for the fourth quarter, including more than $19 billion to write down the value of company assets. For the full year, it lost $22.4 billion.
BP PLC posted a profit of $825 million in the fourth quarter but still lost $18.1 billion in 2020. The results came after Chevron reported last week that it lost $5.5 billion last year.
Signs point to better results for the oil giants this year. Crude prices are up roughly 50% in the past three months, including a gain of more than 10% since Jan. 1, as major producers led by Saudi Arabia have cut output.
“Energy consumption collapsed as economies shut down, oil prices hit their lowest point in history, and refining margins fell well below their 10-year lows,” said Exxon CEO Darren Woods.
London-based BP last year announced it will seek to become a net zero producer of carbon emissions by 2050. However, the company is still bringing new oil and gas projects into operation.
BP is also cutting costs.
“We began reinventing BP, with nearly 10,000 people leaving the company,” chief executive Bernard Looney said in a statement.
“We strengthened our finances—taking out costs and closing major divestments.” Exxon shares rose 71 cents, or 1.6%, to close Tuesday at $45.63.
Ant Group Co. and Chinese regulators have agreed on a restructuring plan that will turn Jack Ma’s fintech giant into a financial holding company, making it subject to capital requirements similar to those for banks.
The plan calls for putting all of Ant’s businesses into the holding company, including its technology offerings in areas like blockchain and food-delivery, people familiar with the matter said. One of Ant’s early proposals to regulators had envisioned putting only financial operations into the new structure.
An official announcement on the overhaul could come before the start of China’s Lunar New Year holiday next week, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.
The agreement on a restructuring plan marks the first big step in what’s expected to be a lengthy overhaul process for Ant, as regulators draw up detailed capital requirements and other guidelines for companies that span multiple financial business lines.
China only introduced its framework for financial holding companies in September and many of the specifics are still being ironed out.
NEW YORK: Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon as an online bookseller nearly three decades ago, will step down as the CEO of the $1.7 trillion global e-commerce giant and will become the executive chairman, a move he said would give him “time and energy” to focus on his other ventures and passions.
Amazon, which announced on Wednesday that 2020 net sales increased 38% to $386.1 billion, compared with $280.5 billion in 2019, said Bezos will transition to the role of executive chair in the third quarter of 2021 and Andy Jassy, CEO of the company’s cloud business, Amazon Web Services, will become CEO at that time. Bezos has been Amazon’s CEO since its founding in 1995. He oversaw its growth from an online bookseller into a $1.7 trillion global retail and logistics giant, which has also made the 57-year-old into one of the world’s richest persons. “Amazon is what it is because of invention. We do crazy things together and then make them normal,” Bezos said, adding that the company pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalised recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the Climate Pledge, Kindle,
Alexa, marketplace, infrastructure cloud computing, Career Choice, and much more.
“If you do it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. That yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive. When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention. Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition,” he said in a statement.
In a letter to Amazonians, Bezos said he will transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board, a role in which he said he intends to focus his energies and attention on new products and early initiatives. Jassy, 53, who is “well known” inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as Bezos has, “will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.”