Stocks in Asia rose Thursday after US shares touched a fresh peak as economic data supported the case for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

A gauge for equities in the region gained for a fifth straight session as Japan's Topix hit a record intraday high and shares in South Korea and Australia advanced.

The S&P 500 rose to new highs in Wednesday's shortened trading session as investors appeared to shrug off sluggish economic data.

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

Data Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 270 points higher and NSE Nifty is trading 79 points higher.

Tata Motors, Infosys, and Hindalco are among the top gainers today.

HDFC Bank, Cipla, and Eicher Motors the other hand are among the top losers today.

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

Sectoral indices are trading on a positive note today, with stocks in the IT sector, realty sector, and metal sector witnessing the most buying.

The rupee is trading at Rs 83.53 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading marginally higher at Rs 72,444 per 10 grams today.
 

Vedanta Reports Production Rise

Mining giant Vedanta Ltd on Wednesday reported a rise in production of aluminum, zinc, iron ore, and steel in the June quarter.

However, the production of mined metal overseas and oil and gas dropped during the quarter.

the company said the aluminum output grew 3% to 5,96,000 tonnes in the first quarter over the year-ago period.

At Zinc India, the saleable metal output grew to 2,62,000 tonnes over 2,60,000 tonnes.

While at Zinc International the mined metal output dropped to 38,000 tonnes, over 68,000 tonnes in the first quarter of FY24.

Meanwhile, oil and gas output dropped 17 percent to 112,400 average daily gross operated production (boepd) during the quarter from 134,900 boepd a year earlier.

The production of saleable iron ore rose to 1.3 million tonnes over 1.2 million tonnes in the year-ago period.

The total saleable steel production rose 10 percent to 3,56,000 tonnes and power sales rose 13% to 4,791 million units from 4,256 million units in the April-June period of the last financial year.
 

Bajaj Finance's AUM Rise

Leading non-banking finance company (NBFC) Bajaj Finance on Wednesday reported a 31% Year-on-Year (YoY) increase in Assets Under Management (AUM) in the quarter ended 30 June 2024.

The NBFC's AUM rose to Rs 3.5 trillion (tn) as of 30 June, up from Rs 2.7 tn in the year-ago period.

New loans booked during Q1 FY25 improved by 10% to 10.97 m compared to 9.9 m in the corresponding quarter of FY24.

Bajaj Finance resumed sanction and disbursal of loans under 'eCOM' and 'Insta EMI Card' and issuance of EMI cards after the RBI removed the restrictions on these businesses on 2 May 2024.

The deposit book of the company rose by 26% to Rs 627.5 bn from Rs 499.4 bn as of 30 June 2023.

The consolidated net liquidity surplus of the firm was nearly Rs 162 bn during the period under consideration.

Further, the customer franchise of the company rose to 88.1 m from 72.9 m as of 30 June 2023. It had increased by 4.47 million in Q4 FY24.

Bajaj Finance is one of the largest NBFCs with a customer base of 73 million (m).

The company is mainly engaged in the business of lending and has a diversified lending portfolio across retail, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending, rural, and commercial lending. It also accepts deposits from the public and corporates.

Marico Collaborates Kaya

FMCG major Marico Limited on Wednesday announced that it has collaborated with Kaya Limited, a dermatological solutions provider, which will give Marico exclusive rights to handle sales and marketing of Kaya's range of 75+ personal care products outside of Kaya's clinics.

This collaboration, it added, will leverage the established expertise and capabilities of both companies and unlock the untapped growth potential of the brand by enhancing its presence and accessibility across markets and channels.

Kaya offers a portfolio of dermatologist-recommended products, ranging from daily essentials to specialized solutions for acne, brightening, sun care, anti-ageing and hair care. Kaya's products are available across some leading e-commerce marketplaces and 70+ Kaya Skin Clinics across India.

The company is one of the leading global consumer goods companies operating in several categories, including hair care, skin care, edible oils, healthy foods, male grooming, and fabric care.

Some of its popular brands are Parachute, Saffola, Nihar, Livon, Set Wet, Beardo, Pure Sense, and Coco Soul.

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