Asian share markets lost ground on Thursday, still hurting from China's slip into deflation, with investors particularly cautious ahead of a crucial US inflation report that will likely influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path.

The Nikkei is trading 0.6% higher while the Hang Seng index is down 1%. The Shanghai Composite is trading down by 0.3%.

US stocks ended closed lower on Wednesday, the day after a report showed Americans borrowed more than ever on their credit cards in the last quarter and a day ahead of US Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data that could influence Federal Reserve interest rate decisions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended lower by 0.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended 1.2% lower.

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

Source: Equitymaster

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a negative note following the trend on SGX Nifty.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 155 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 42 points.

ONGC and BPCL are among the top gainers today.

Asian Paints and Tata Motors on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading marginally higher, and the BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.6%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks in the power sector and metal sector witnessing most buying. While stocks in the FMCG sector and banking sector are witnessing selling pressure.

Shares of Natco Pharma and Praj Industries hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at Rs 81.8 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading marginally higher at Rs 59,004 per 10 grams today.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading marginally higher at Rs 70,025 per 1 kg.
 

Eicher Motors EV collaboration

Eicher Trucks and Buses, a division of VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), collaborated with Amazon for the electrification of the e-commerce firm's delivery operations in India.

Amazon will gradually deploy 50 Eicher electric trucks in Delhi, Manesar, Gurugram, and other places for its middle-mile and last-mile deliveries. The collaboration will introduce 1,000 zero-emission electric trucks across various payload categories into Amazon's delivery operations over the next five years.

The trucks will be deployed through Amazon's transport service partners.

Eicher's electric trucks have deck lengths ranging from eight to 24 feet and are equipped with customized cargo stacking configurations.

They have fast- and slow-charging options depending on the needs of specific operations.

Servicing the truck considers charging infrastructure, operational requirements, and battery capacity.

Note that the electric vehicle (EV) megatrend is a once-in-a-century revolution happening right in front of us.

The revolution has taken the auto sector by storm. All segments of the sector are ripe for disruption, and India's top EV stocks are set to benefit from this shift.

It remains to see how all this pans out.
 

IRCTC Q1 net profit falls 5.4%

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation reported a net profit of Rs 2.3 bn for the April-June quarter of FY24 on 9 August, registering a decline of 5.4% from Rs 2.5 bn in the same quarter of the previous financial year.

The total revenue of the company is Rs 10 bn, rising 17.4% from Rs 8.5 bn in the year-ago quarter.

Sequentially, post-tax profit dropped 17% from Rs 2.8 bn in the March quarter.

Revenues increased 4% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) from Rs 9.7 bn last quarter. The catering segment's revenue surged 35% YoY to Rs 4.7 bn in the reported first quarter.

Revenue from the internet ticketing business decreased slightly by 4% to Rs 2.9 bn in the April-June quarter, down from Rs 3 bn during the same period the previous year.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were at Rs 3.4 bn, growing by 6.9%. The EBITDA margin was 34.2%, down 3.4% from the year-ago quarter.

The company has approved investment in the procurement of Hardware and Software with a 24x7 helpdesk for ICT Infra refresh of the NGeT System, with three years of warranty support for Rs 780 m.

IRCTC has a dominant market share in the railway industry, making it the top monopoly stock in India.
 

Axis Bank to acquire a stake in Max Life Insurance

Axis Bank, along with its subsidiaries on Wednesday, announced to acquire the remaining 7% stake in Max Life Insurance. The bank's acquisitions, divestments, and merger committee has approved an infusion of Rs 16.1 bn in Max Life through preferential allotment.

The combined weight of Axis Bank, Axis Securities, and Axis Capital has already provided them with a significant 12% stake in Max Life.

With the acquisition of the additional 7% stake, the collective holdings of Axis Entities will surge to a slightly over 19% stake in Max Life.

Notably, this strategic move will also see an increase in Axis Bank's direct stake in Max Life to 16.2%.

The acquisition price has been fixed at Rs 113.06 per share for the balance stake, witnessing a substantial increase from the initial acquisition price of Rs 32% for the first 13% stake.

The development will cement the position of Axis Entities comprising Axis Bank, Axis Securities, and Axis Capital, as key stakeholders in the insurance giant.

However, this development has not been devoid of regulatory scrutiny.

With the economy recovering from the effects of the pandemic, the demand for credit is steadily going up.

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