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Asian stocks rose Friday, tracking Wall Street gains, with the S&P 500 notching a fresh record high.

Shares in Australia, Japan, and South Korea and futures for Hong Kong all advanced. The Nikkei index is trading 0.9% higher, while Hang Seng was trading 0.4% higher.

US stocks ended trading session in positive territory after clawing back the steep losses suffered earlier in the week.

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

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 188 points higher and NSE Nifty is trading 66 points higher.

Bajaj Auto, BPCL, and Cipla are among the top gainers today.

ONGC, ITC, and Axis Bank on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid is trading 0.5% higher and the BSE Small Cap index is trading 0.7% higher.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed, with socks in the healthcare sector and the auto sector witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the power sector and FMCG sector witnessed selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 83.02 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading flat at Rs 61,609 per 10 grams today.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading 0.2% lower at Rs 71,260 per 1 kg.
 

BPCL to Set up Green Hydrogen Plant

State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) to establish an integrated green hydrogen plant and a fuelling station within the premises of Kochi Airport.

Under the agreement, BPCL would oversee the establishment of the green hydrogen plant and fuelling station at Kochi Airport, providing technology and managing operations. The initial plant output will be harnessed to power vehicles within the airport.

BPCL clarified that the initiative is a pilot project aimed at gaining experience in managing hydrogen for the automobile sector. The pilot project, with an approximate capital investment of Rs 25 crore, involved discussions with Cochin International Airport (CIAL).

The oil marketing company added that the collaboration marks the establishment of India's first fuel station with green hydrogen in Southern India.

BPCL has outperformed the market by giving a 74% return in the last year.

Oil demand in India is expected to double by 2045. And this OMC stock has a competitive advantage compared to its listed peers. 
 

Indigo to minimize Mumbai Airport Cancellations

IndiGo is in talks with the government to reduce cancellations to and from Mumbai airport.

This comes after the Union Civil Aviation Ministry on 12 February said that flight restrictions have been imposed at the Mumbai airport to ease congestion, caused by various factors, including non-scheduled flight operations during peak hours.

The airport is operated by Mumbai International Airport.

The ministry said the airport operator should have proactively taken steps to streamline and regulate the air traffic movements to address the congestion issue.

However, since no such action was initiated by the airport operator, the ministry said it has had to step in.

While Mumbai airport is running at its full capacity, the ministry said it was found that the persistent congestion was caused due to excessive slot distribution with limited time margins on behalf of the airport operator, non-adherence of the slots on behalf of the airlines, and non-scheduled operations during peak hours.

On 2 January, the Airport Authority of India (AAI), being the air navigation service provider, issued directives to the airport operator to restrict air traffic movements during the HIRO (High-Intensity Runway Operations) period from 46 to 44 per hour.

The ministry noted that the action has been taken in the larger public interest from the perspective of airspace safety, efficiency of operations, and passenger satisfaction.

According to the statement, Mumbai Airport suffers from congestion and excess capacity on its runways, which inadvertently leads to air space congestion, whereby flights are forced to hover over the city for a long duration of around 40-60 minutes.

Further, the statement said the government realizes that it needs to step in to strike a balance between the needs of both the airport operators and airlines while ensuring that passengers have a fulfilling experience while flying from Mumbai airport.

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