Asian share markets are trading rangebound amid relatively thin holiday trading after a rally in some of the world's largest tech companies boosted US benchmarks.

Nissan Motor Co. shares slid as much as 7% after the company confirmed it's in talks with Honda Motor Co. over a possible business integration. Honda shares, on the other hand, climbed as much as 14%.

In US markets, Wall Street's main indices all ended higher overnight, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq making it three straight wins.

The rally came following gains in the magnificent seven tech stocks on a holiday-thinned trading day.

Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Tesla all closed 2-4% higher, with Apple, Amazon.com, and Google parent Alphabet also ending in the positive territory.

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a flat note.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 79 points, while the NSE Nifty is trading around 23,730 levels, down 27 points.

Tata Motors, TCS, and Nestle are among the top gainers today.

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

Broader markets are trading on a negative note. The BSE Mid Cap index fell 0.4% while the BSE Small Cap index declined 0.2%.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the IT sector and energy sector witnessing most of the buying.

Realty stocks and financial stocks, on the other hand, are trading in red.

Shares of Websol Energy, Axis Capital, and Shakti Pumps hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at Rs 85.15 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading at Rs 76,225 per 10 grams today.
 

Share Swap Ratio for Coforge-Cigniti Merger

In the latest developments from the M&A space, Coforge and Cigniti Technologies are moving a step ahead towards their planned merger.

The two companies have appointed EY and Axis Capital to prepare merger terms, which they intend to propose to their respective shareholders within a fortnight, going by the media reports.

If this merger happens, Coforge will absorb Cigniti Technologies.

Shareholders of Cigniti Technologies will be issued shares of Coforge once the advisers come up with an acceptable swap ratio.

Coforge, formerly known as NIIT Technologies, already owns a 54% stake in Cigniti Technologies.

Earlier this year in May, Coforge had announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Cigniti and it launched an offer of its own shares later that month through the qualified institutional placement (QIP) route to raise Rs 22.4 billion (bn) to finance the acquisition.

Coforge is currently owned by public investors.
 

Big Acquisition in Electronics Sector

Moving on to news from the electronics sector, Hisense Group, China's largest television manufacturer and among its largest appliance makers, is planning to acquire a stake of up to 26% in Indian contract manufacturer Epack Durable's wholly owned subsidiary.

Epack is currently building a large manufacturing facility in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, to produce air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, and small domestic appliances under the Hisense brand.

The factory will be set up by the newly created subsidiary, Epack Manufacturing Technologies where Hisense will acquire the stake.

Note that this marks another Chinese companies' going down the acquisition route... carmaker MG Motor, smartphone maker Vivo and appliance manufacturer Haier are already in the process of partnering with Indian entities.

This move is smart by Hisense, which wants to bring its proprietary technologies, design, moulds and production capabilities from China for the Indian manufacturing venture.

Both partners signed the contract manufacturing agreement in October this year, and Hisense is now looking to reaffirm faith by acquiring the stake.

Epack Durable is India's second largest contract manufacturer for ACs, catering to brands like Daikin, Voltas, Panasonic, Haier, and Blue Star.

The company is currently converting one of its existing plants with a Rs 2.5 bn investment to kick-start AC production for Hisense, which is expected to get operational by June-July next year.

The company made a debut on the stock market in February 2024 and has been an investor's favorite since. It has rallied 119% since listing.

It has an established track record and market share in the RAC market and has long-standing relationships with its clients.

More By This Author: