Asian share markets fell today after Wall Street indices witnessed heavy selling last week as investors forecasted higher interest rates.

The Nikkei is down 0.2% while the Hang Seng is trading down by 0.8%. The Shanghai Composite is trading lower by 0.1%.

Wall Street's main indices posted their biggest weekly drop of 2023 after sharp losses on Friday, as investors braced for the possibility of more aggressive rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve as US economic data pointed to resilient consumers.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1% lower while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid down 1.7%.

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

Source: Equitymaster

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a negative note taking cues from SGX Nifty and amid weak global cues.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 421 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 137 points.

NTPC and Power Grid are among the top gainers today.

Infosys and Bharti Airtel are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a negative note. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading lower by 1.2% and the BSE Small Cap index is trading lower by 1.1%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a negative note with stocks in the IT sector and auto sector witnessing heavy selling.

The rupee is trading at Rs 82.94 against the US dollar.

In the commodity markets, gold prices are trading up or down Rs 103 at Rs 55,329 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading lower by 0.9% at Rs 62,810 per 1 kg.

Also, now track the biggest movers of the stock market using the stocks to watch today section. This should help you keep updated with the latest developments...

Speaking of stock markets, just like everything else in the world, stock markets are also filled with the good and the bad. It is filled with sin stocks and saint stocks.

Sin stocks are shares of companies that some people consider "unethical" but what exactly is the definition of a "sin stock?"

The idea that avoiding "unethical" stocks makes the world a better place is even more questionable.
 

Adani to raise more debt

Reportedly, the Adani Group has begun discussions with global credit funds to raise up to US$ 400 million (m) (about Rs 33,161 m) in debt against assets of a key coal port that makes up a large portion of the conglomerate's Australian exports of the solid fossil fuel from the controversial Carmichael mine.

Adani family trust-controlled North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT) is now being considered to help raise funds for the Adani Group, which has lost nearly US $ 150 bn (about Rs 12,435.4 bn) in market value since US short-seller Hindenburg Research published a report late last month.

Recent disclosures show that the Adani group promoters own 100% equity in the Australian port asset. Reportedly, the group has begun talks with several large high-yield global credit funds and has so far received two indicative term sheets from potential lenders.

Lenders engaged with the group include hedge fund Farallon Capital, among others.

How this pans out remains to be seen.
 

Pain ahead for this sector?

Chartist Brijesh Bhatia says that last week's turbulence on D-street resulted in a trend reversal in many of the sectors and stocks.

According to him, one such sector is Breweries and Distilleries which is showing the sign of reversal on the charts.

(Click on image to enlarge)

 Here's what he shared on his telegram channel:

We created Market-Cap Weighted Breweries & Distilleries Index to analyze the sector trend. On the daily chart, the chart depicts:

1. The trendline breakdown.

2. Death-Cross moving average.

3. The probable double-top pattern.
 

Mixed signals for Paytm investors

Billionaire Sunil Mittal - the CEO of Bharti Airtel has sought a stake in Paytm. According to agency reports, Sunil Mittal has sought to fold Airtel Payments Bank into Paytm Payments Bank in a stock deal.

It is learned that the telecom sector tycoon and founder of Bharti Airtel are eyeing Paytm stocks owned by other shareholders in the market.

Ant Group is also considering selling some of its shares in the operator of Indian financial technology firm Paytm to keep its holding within a required threshold.

The Chinese fintech giant has been discussing options to reduce its stake in One 97 Communications after its share percentage increased passively due to share buybacks.

Speaking of Paytm, did you know that Paytm is one of the top 5 stocks mutual funds bought in January 2023?

Paytm, Nykaa, Tata Motors, and Apollo Hospitals witnessed massive inflows from the large cap space. One of the best defense stocks in India Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) also witnessed buying.

By the way, January 2023 was the 23rd straight month of inflows.

Spicejet board to consider raising funds

SpiceJet said the company has rescheduled its board meeting to Monday, 27 February to consider raising fresh capital through the issue of eligible securities to qualified institutional buyers.

Board will also discuss the issuance of equity shares on a preferential basis for the conversion of outstanding liabilities into equity shares of the company.

For the third quarter that ended 31 December 2022, SpiceJet's passenger revenue surged 33% as yields, a proxy for airfares, rose 21%.

That helped offset a sharp decline in revenue from its freight and logistics business. Overall revenue was up 2% at Rs 23.2 bn.

Profit rose to Rs 1,100 m for the quarter under review. The results come as the cash-strapped airline looks to raise capital with competition heating up in the industry.

Last year, SpiceJet suffered a string of mid-air safety lapses that drove the aviation regulator to halve its approved fleet in July 2022. The curb was removed on 30 October.

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