Asian shares are trading on a negative note today after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell stuck to his recent hawkish tone as investors assess the future rate policy path from the Fed.

The Nikkei is trading marginally lower, and the Hang Seng index is trading lower by 1.9%. The Shanghai Composite is trading 1.3% lower.

US stocks ended lower on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.3% lower, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended 1.3% lower.

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

Source: Equitymaster

Back home, Indian share markets are trading Flat.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 13 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 10 points.

ICICI Bank and Eicher Motors are among the top gainers today.

Tata Steel and Infosys on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a mixed note. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading 0.2% lower and the BSE Small Cap index is trading marginally higher.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks in the auto sector and oil & gas sector witnessing most buying. While stocks in the IT sector and power sector are witnessing selling pressure.

Shares of MRF and Apollo Tyres hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at Rs 81.93 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading lower by 0.2% at Rs 58,600 per 10 grams today.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading 0.7% lower at Rs 68,743 per 1 kg.

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, have you ever wondered how advertising technology has grown by leaps and bounds, in recent years?
 

TCS extends ties with UK's Nest

India's top IT services provider Tata Consultancy Services, on Wednesday, signed a new contract worth 840 million pounds (US$ 1.1 billion) with British pension scheme Nest for an initial tenure of 10 years.

The total maximum estimated value of the contract, if extended to the entirety of its 18-year tenure, will be 1.5 bn pounds (around US$ 1.9 billion).

This contract was earlier with French IT services firm Atos which was canceled in early 2023, just two years into a potential 18-year team.

This is TCS' fourth large deal from the region in 2023, following the US$ 723 million deal from insurer Phoenix Group, the Marks & Spencer deal and the 10-year contract with the Teacher's Pension Scheme in England and Wales, amidst a challenging macro environment in the region.

Nest and TCS have worked closely since 2011, when the digital, auto-enrolment pension scheme was first launched. Nest currently has more than 12 m members, and by the end of the next decade, it expects to have around £100bn assets under management.

The deal comes at a time when Indian IT services companies are facing demand challenges in their key markets, the United States and Europe, where clients have cut spending amid worries about recession.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is a bright shining star in the galaxy of Tata Group companies.

TCS has been one of the favorite stocks of investors because of the performance it has delivered since its listing.

If you had invested Rs 1 lakh in TCS shares at the issue price of Rs 850 in the IPO in 2004, the value of that investment today would be around Rs 3,176,000, a return of almost 3,000% by August 2022.

With strong fundamentals, it stands among the 5 best long-term companies of 2023.
 

LIC trims stake in NMDC

The state-run insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India, has reduced its stake in NMDC Ltd by 2 percent between 14 March 2023 and 20 June 2023.

LIC's ownership in NMDC has decreased from 11.69% to 9.62%, which amounts to an estimated value of Rs 6.5 billion (bn) based on the closing price on Monday.

During this period, LIC sold approximately 60 m shares in NMDC. Consequently, LIC's total holding in the company went down from 34,25,97,574 to 28,19,33,850 equity shares.

Since listing, shares of LIC have been following one trend - going down. 
 

Zee Entertainment settles insider trading breach case

Zee Entertainment on Wednesday settled with the market's regulator for a case of an alleged violation of regulatory norms and has paid Rs 700,000 towards the same.

The case pertained to delayed disclosure of the invocation of pledged shares to the exchanges, which meant the company violated the prohibition of insider trading norms.

Sebi conducted a probe into the shares of Zee Entertainment in the period between January and December 2019 to ascertain any possible violation of regulations.

The market regulator observed that the applicant had delayed disclosure to exchanges concerning the invocation of pledged shares of promoters.

The regulator then initiated adjudication proceedings against the company and appointed an adjudicating officer to conduct proceedings and impose penalties if deemed fit.

However, Zee Entertainment proposed to settle the pending proceedings without admitting or denying the findings of fact through a settlement order.

In April, the regulatory committee agreed and approved the payment made by the company and subsequently disposed of the proceedings.

The settlement is among a series of proceedings settled by the company in recent months.

While Zee has managed to close one case with the market regulator, its founders are battling another major case with the regulator, which may decide the fate of the company's merger deal with Sony Pictures.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises is one of India's leading media and entertainment companies.

The share price of the company took a beating in January 2022, declining 12% in a month, and has been falling since then, down 28% in 2023. 

More By This Author: