Asian stocks kept to a tight range on Wednesday amid persistent caution over higher-for-longer US interest rates, with Japanese indexes pulling back from record highs as a tech-driven rally cooled.

Japan's equity benchmark was unchanged at the open with stocks supported by the banking sector amid expectations the Bank of Japan may tweak policy in coming months.

US stock indices fell on Tuesday as investors awaited a crucial inflation and other economic data due this week.

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

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 45 points higher and NSE Nifty is trading 12 points higher.

Bharti Airtel, HDFC Life Insurance and Tata Motors are among the top gainers today.

Asian Paints, M&M and Wipro on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Midcap index is trading flat and the BSE Small Cap index is trading 0.2% higher.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed, with socks in the metal sector and the telecom sector witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the oil & gas sector and auto sector witnessed selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 82.91 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading 0.2% higher at Rs 62,201 per 10 grams today.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading flat at Rs 70,902 per 1 kg.
 

L&T Ventures into Semiconductor Chip Design

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is building a team for its semiconductor chip design business, as it looks to foray into fabless semiconductor chip design and product ownership.

L&T set up a wholly-owned subsidiary, L&T Semiconductor Technologies (LTST), in November 2023.

L&T Defence Business said LTST is building a 400-500-strong global team, purely focused on chip design and scouting for talent from the US, Europe, Japan, ASEAN and India.

While the chip manufacturing will be outsourced, the design will be done in-house.

The chip design would look at the automotive and industrial chip segments.

The challenge for chip designers working on chips specifically designed for India, especially the defence sector, is to design chips for equipment that can operate in the 55-degree to minus 40-degree range.

This combination isn't available anywhere in the world. The business is being incubated and will start showing up in the market in another three years.

The defence expo showcased defence equipment from L&T, DRDO, Tata Advanced Systems, Solar Industries, Bharat Forge and Nibe and included small arms weapon systems to diverse military vehicles and advanced air-defence and missile systems.

It stands among the five large-caps that have delivered the highest returns to investors in 2023.

L&T has been an investor's favourite stock for a long time and also a stock that makes it to the top 5 infrastructure stocks.

In line with its commitment to a sustainable future, L&T is poised to make significant strides in the green hydrogen landscape. 
 

Piramal Pharma Receives USFDA Observations

Piramal Pharma said that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) conducted a pre-approval inspection (PAI) at its Lexington facility, USA.

The inspection was conducted from 20 February to 23 February 2024 at Lexington facility, USA. At the end of the inspection, USFDA issued Form-483 with two observations.

The pharma major said that an observation does not pose any risk to the sites compliance standards or its business continuity. The company is preparing a detailed response to said observations, which will be submitted to the USFDA within stipulated timelines.

Piramal Pharma is a pharmaceutical company that manufactures and develops a wide range of pharmaceutical solutions to reduce diseases. Piramal Pharma serves customers worldwide.
 

Zee Forms Panel to Investigate Allegations

Zee Entertainment Enterprises, on 27 February 2024, constituted a panel to examine the allegations levelled against the company, its promoters and key managerial personnel by regulatory bodies.

The panel, named 'Independent Investigation Committee', would be headed by Justice (retired) Satish Chandra.

The panel, whose members include Zee's independent directors, Uttam Prakash Agarwal and PVR Murthy, will present a detailed report to the company's board advising it on the future course of action.

Based on the recommendations of the audit committee and after seeking inputs from Justice Chandra, an independent assessment and fact-checking of all allegations will be ensured. The board will also suggest the measures to be implemented in the interest of the company, once the detailed report is presented by the committee.

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