Stocks in Asia were mixed after US equities pulled back from a rally that drove the S&P 500 Index to multiple records, spurring speculation the market has gone too far, too fast.

Japanese equities swung between gains and losses, while shares in Australia declined.

US stocks slipped on Monday to start a shortened trading week as the rally that brought Wall Street to record levels took a breather.

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

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 248 points lower and the NSE Nifty is trading 62 points lower.

Bajaj Finance, Coal India, and Adani Ports are among the top gainers today.

Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, and Britannia on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Midcap index is trading 0.3% lower and the BSE Small Cap index is trading 0.5% lower.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed, with stocks in the realty sector, and the telecom sector witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the IT sector, metal sector, and power sector witnessed selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 83.33 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading 0.2% lower at Rs 65,898 per 10 grams today.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading 0.3% lower at Rs 74,687 per 1 kg.
 

HAL's New Order Win

Hindustan Aeronautics on Friday inked a deal with Guyana Defence Force for the supply of two Hindustan-228 Commuter Aircraft.

The total value of the contract is nearly Rs 1.9 bn.

The development comes even as the firm is making efforts to deliver the first light combat aircraft (LCA) Mark1A fighter aircraft to the Indian Air Force by 13 March.

The delivery is part of a Rs 480 bn Defence Ministry's deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the procurement of 83 Tejas Mark 1A jets for the IAF. It was inked in February 2021.

Defense sources told India Today that many of the trials on the ground for the first LCA Mark 1A have been carried out already, and we are trying to see if it can be delivered by 31 March with all the necessary integrations in it.

HAL is an important player in building India's defense infrastructure. It is the only Indian company to have specialization in manufacturing and maintaining aircraft services.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have increased their stake in HAL by 6% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.

Should you consider Indian defense stocks now? 
 

Maruti Suzuki to Introduce First EV

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, which will launch its first electric vehicle in 2025, will be introducing the vehicle through its premium and luxury channel - NEXA.

eVX will be the carmaker's first electric vehicle in India. The EV will be powered by a 60kWh battery pack offering a range of up to 550 km.

The EV was designed and developed by Suzuki Motor Corporation in Japan. The company plans on exporting the Made in India electric vehicles to Europe and Japan.

NEXA is Maruti Suzuki's premium sales channel, which was introduced in 2015. The channel offers the company's flagship and premium vehicles. The channel has more than 1 million customers and is present in over 200 cities across the country.

The company through NEXA has also created a digital network that offers experiences and journeys to its customers.

Maruti Suzuki, which dominates the non-SUV segment in the domestic automobile market with a 65% market share, is expecting to grow its SUV market share to 50%.

Jimny, Fronx, Brezza, and Grand Vitara, which were launched in 2023, grew the company's market share to 22%.

The share in the SUV segment was 10.5% until last year, which is less than other segments such as hatchbacks, sedans, and MPVs. The SUV segment has been the fastest-growing, accounting for around 49% of the market share.

Paytm Denies Layoffs

One97 Communications, the parent company of fintech unicorn Paytm, has in an exchange filing on 24 March announced that Praveen Sharma, Senior Vice President - Business, formally resigned from his position on Saturday.

Before his tenure at Paytm, Sharma held leadership roles at Google for nine years, focusing on India and the APAC region, per an ANI report.

Meanwhile, amid recent job cut speculations, Paytm refuted reports suggesting a 25-50% reduction in its workforce in specific business segments.

The company labeled such reports, as baseless and inaccurately representing its operational and strategic planning.

Paytm clarified in its filing that it is currently engaged in its annual appraisal process, a routine organizational practice aimed at evaluating and enhancing team performance. The company stressed that this process, which focuses on performance evaluations and role alignments, is standard across industries and does not indicate layoffs.

The company asserted that its restructuring efforts and performance-related adjustments have been misconstrued as layoffs. Paytm reassured its commitment to growth and operational efficiency without compromising workforce stability.

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