Asian stocks advanced as upbeat US growth data suggested the Federal Reserve is engineering a so-called soft landing for the economy.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index headed for a fourth month of gains as traders awaited a key US inflation report due Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to a record Thursday, as Wall Street tried to resume its comeback from a steep sell-off earlier this month.

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

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 210 points higher and NSE Nifty is trading 75 points higher.

BPCL, NTPC, and Titan are among the top gainers today.

Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, and Hindalco, on the other hand, are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on positive. The BSE Midcap index is trading 0.4% higher and the BSE Smallcap index is trading 0.3% higher.

Sectoral indices are trading positive today, with stocks in the realty sector, energy sector, and oil & gas sector witnessing buying.

The rupee is trading at Rs 83.86 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading 0.4% lower at Rs 71,900 per 10 grams today.
 

NTPC's New Nuclear Subsidiary

State-owned NTPC plans to set up a new subsidiary to undertake nuclear projects.

NTPC is on the verge of commencing work on the 2.8-gigawatt (GW) Mahi Banswara nuclear project in Rajasthan through its joint venture with Nuclear Power Corporation of India - Anushakti Vidhyut Nigam (ASHVINI) - with an estimated investment of Rs 500 bn.

Earlier, NTPC had signed a supplementary joint venture agreement with Nuclear Power Corporation for the development of the Mahi Banswara project and another nuclear plant in Chutka in Madhya Pradesh with a capacity of 1.4 GW. However, the Chutka project will now be undertaken by NPCIL independently.

The company is also looking to develop nuclear power plants in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat, among other states, and is in the process of identifying potential sites and getting requisite approvals.

Additionally, the company is in the process of fast-tracking various projects with an aggregate capacity of 12 gigawatts (GW) by the financial year 2029-30, with firm plans to achieve a capital expenditure of Rs 7 tn by FY32.

The company's focus has shifted from the traditional engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) model to sourcing the components and aggregating resources such as solar PV modules, land passes, and connectivity.

NTPC has also collaborated with leading energy players like IOCL, ONGC, Nalco, and HPCL on various projects.

MSCI Rejig

India's MSCI August rejig will take place on 30 August, expected to receive a net passive FII inflow of over US$ 4-4.5 bn. Around 7 stocks will be included in the MSCI India index, namely Dixon Tech, Vodafone Idea, and Oil India among others.

According to Nuvama estimates, out of the 7 stocks - Dixon Tech will see the maximum inflows worth US$ 313 m, followed by Vodafone Idea at US$ 285 m, Oil India at US$ 258 m, Zydus Lifesciences at US$ 222 m, Rail Vikas Nigam at US$ 212 m, Prestige Estates at US$ 178 m, and Oracle Financial at US$ 172 m.

However, Bandhan Bank will be excluded from the MSCI India index, seeing an outflow of US$ 117 m.

On the other hand, HDFC Bank shares will see an increase in its weightage in the MSCI indices but that will take place in two tranches. The first one will happen after the current August review, while the second will take place after the November review, provided the foreign headroom remains at least 20%.

The first round weightage is expected to attract inflows worth US$ 1.5 bn.

Meanwhile, around 27 stocks will be included in the MSCI Smallcap August rejig.

Some of the stocks being excluded from the MSCI Smallcap August rejig will be Dixon Tech, IREDA, Cochin Shipyard, HUDCO, Network18, Jaiprakash Associates.
 

LIC Receives GST Demand Order

Life Insurance Corporation of India on 29 August received a notice for GST demand, interest & penalty order worth Rs 6.1 bn, from the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Mumbai.

Incidentally, LIC received another GST demand order on Wednesday, which was from the Deputy Commissioner, DGSTO-5, Bengaluru, Karnataka, for an amount of Rs 380.9 m. This amount was split into GST of Rs 1,83,32,790; interest of Rs 1,79,19,690 and penalty of Rs 18,33,280.

In July, LIC said it had filed an appeal before before Joint Commissioner of State Tax, Mumbai against the order issued by Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Mumbai, for a GST order of Rs 794 crore, for FY19.

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