Asia-Pacific markets largely fell on Tuesday morning, despite the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching new highs.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.4%, the broad-based Topix was flat, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4%, and the small-cap Kosdaq saw a larger loss of 1.1%.

The US stock market ended higher on Friday after dovish remarks from the US Fed Chair Jerome Powell cemented expectations of interest rate cuts by the central bank in September.

Here's a table showing how US stocks performed on Monday:

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 7 points lower and NSE Nifty is trading 6 points lower.

HCL Tech, L&T, and Bajaj Fisnerv are among the top gainers today.

BPCL, Bajaj Auto, and HDFC Life the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on positive. The BSE Midcap index is trading 0.2% higher and the BSE Smallcap index is trading 0.4% higher.

Sectoral indices are trading positive today, with stocks in the metal sector and banking sector witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the auto sector and banking sector witnessing selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 83.94 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading 0.3% lower at Rs 71,801 per 10 grams today.
 

HCL Tech Extends Xerox Agreement

IT services company HCLTech on Monday (26 August) said it has extended its strategic AI-driven engineering services and digital process operations (DPO) partnership with Xerox.

HCLTech will assist Xerox with its "reinvention," which is the fundamental and structural redesign of Xerox to position the company for long-term profitable and sustainable growth.

The company based in Noida will use automation and a range of engineering and process operation services, such as order to cash, sales and marketing operations, supply chain, and procurement.

They will also utilize their advanced full-stack GenAI platform, HCLTech AI Force, to create a unified interface that will change the way employees and clients interact with Xerox.

HCLTech will support the newly-formed Xerox Global Business Services (GBS) organization (GBS) to drive key business metrics, such as working capital, device connectivity, sales efficiency, and the effectiveness of remote problem-solving. The work will allow the GBS organization to integrate innovative capabilities, further advancing the company's digital transformation roadmap.

The partnership between Xerox and HCLTech started in 2009 with a focus on product engineering and IT and process support services.

HCLTech leverages its extensive global delivery network across India, Guatemala, Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka to support the digital transformation journey of Xerox.
 

UltraTech Cement Raises Funds

UltraTech Cement on Monday said it has successfully raised US$ 500 million through a sustainability-linked loan with participation from six banks.

The transaction marks the second sustainability-linked financing raised by UltraTech, after its inaugural sustainability-linked bond issuance in 2021.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) acted as the sole sustainability coordinator for this transaction and served as the sole advisor on UltraTech's Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework. Lenders for the transaction include SMBC, SBI, BNP Paribas, DBS, MUFG and Mizuho.

The Sustainability Performance Targets (SPTs) include the reduction of scope 1 emissions, measured in kgCO2 per tonne of cementitious material (kgCO2/t.cem), by 27 percent by 31 March 2032, from an FY17 baseline.

Further, it involves, an increase in the share of green energy from waste heat recovery system (WHRS), solar, and wind power in its total energy mix to 85 percent by FY30 and 100 percent in FY50.

Paytm directors Face SEBI Notice

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has issued show-cause notices to Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of One 97 Communications Ltd (Paytm's parent), and board members who served during its initial public offering in November 2021 for alleged misrepresentation of facts.

The notices pertain to Sharma's alleged non-compliance with promoter classification norms. The probe was initiated based on inputs from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which had examined Paytm Payments Bank earlier this year.

At the heart of the matter is whether Sharma should have been classified as a promoter, given that he had management control rather than an employee while filing the IPO documents. Consequently, Sebi also issued show-cause notices to the company's directors at that time, questioning them for endorsing Sharma's stance.

Sharma would have been ineligible for employee stock options (ESOPs) after the listing as Sebi regulations prohibit promoters from receiving ESOPs post-IPO.

Unless a company classifies itself as 'professionally managed', all listed companies are normally assumed to be promoter-driven.

For a company to be eligible for being categorized as professionally managed, none of its shareholders should have more than a 10% stake, and no single shareholder should be wielding control.

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