Asian shares opened higher on Friday, awaiting the US payrolls report due later in the day.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.7%. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.1% and Hang Seng surged 1.9%.

US stocks ended just slightly lower after bouncing off session lows on Thursday as investors awaited Friday's monthly jobs report.

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

Source: Equitymaster

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

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading higher by 210 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 63 points.

ITC and Titan are among the top gainers today.

ONGC and HUL on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading higher. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading 0.4% higher and the BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.3%.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed today with stocks in the realty sector, auto sector, and FMCG sector witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the energy and oil & gas sectors are witnessing selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 83.21 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading 0.2% at Rs 56,728 per 10 grams today.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading 0.3% higher at Rs 66,961 per 1 kg.
 

Indigo Introduces Fuel Charge

Biggest domestic carrier IndiGo on 5 October said that it is introducing a fuel charge on domestic and international routes, effective 6 October to check rising ATF prices.

The decision follows the significant increase in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices, which have surged in the last three months with consecutive price hikes every month.

ATF accounts for a substantial portion of an airline's operating expenses, necessitating fare adjustment to address such a cost surge.

Under this pricing structure, passengers booking IndiGo flights will incur a fuel charge, per sector, based on the sector distance.

On 1 October, the government jet fuel or ATF price by 5%, the fourth straight monthly increase since July.

The increase comes on the back of the steepest-ever 14.1% increase (Rs 13,911.07 per kl) effected on September 1 and an 8.5% or Rs 7,728.38 per kl increase on 1 August.

The fourth straight increase in prices of jet fuel, which makes up for 40 percent of an airline's operating cost, will increase the burden on already financially-strained airlines.

Indian airlines are known for their mischiefs and managing an airline business is not so easy. How has IndiGo managed to take off in recent months then? 

From June 2022 to June 2023, the stock has rallied 52%.
 

Policybazzar Stake Sell plan

Japanese tech giant SoftBank is planning to offload an additional 2.5% stake in PB Fintech, the parent company of leading online insurance platform Policybazaar, via the block deal route.

The offer price range is Rs 752 to Rs 767 per share, which represents a 0-2% discount to the previous closing price of Rs 767 per share.

Two other persons confirmed the launch and added that the deal size ( at the top end of the range) is likely to be around US$ 105 m or Rs 8.8 bn Kotak Mahindra Capital is the i-banker working on the share sale.

SoftBank and Kotak Mahindra Capital could not be reached for an immediate comment.

The stock price of PB Fintech has risen by nearly 28% in the last six months.
 

Tata Steel Arm Gets Tax Penalty

The Tinplate Company of India, a subsidiary of Tata Steel, on Thursday (5 October) said the Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Jamshedpur Circle, has imposed a penalty of Rs 399 m on the company.

This penalty is in connection with a prior demand order issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Jamshedpur, relating to the fiscal year 2016-17.

The initial demand order is currently under appeal before the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes in Ranchi.

The disclosure provided by TCIL includes details of an ongoing commercial tax dispute, specifically the appeal against the demand order of Rs 1,33.1 m issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Tax, Jamshedpur, about the fiscal year 2016-17.

In response to the recent penalty order, TCIL has announced its intention to file an appeal on merit against the imposed penalty with the appropriate authority. The company is taking all necessary steps to address this issue through the established legal channels.

Tata Steel is Asia's first integrated private steel company. In the past year, Tata Steel has surged 22%.

Tata Steel is among the top 5 stocks trading at a discount that could potentially harm you. 

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