Asia-Pacific markets plunged on Thursday, after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed hefty reciprocal tariffs on over 180 countries and territories - several of which are in the region.

US stock market slumped on Thursday, with the Wall Street benchmark indices ending with the largest single-day percentage losses since 2020, after US President Donald Trump's sweeping trade tariffs stoked fears of an all-out trade war and fears of a global economic recession.

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

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 356 points lower, and the NSE Nifty is trading 147 points lower.

Zomato, Bajaj Finance, and Shriram Finance are among the top gainers today.

ONGC, TCS, and L&T, on the other hand, are among the top losers today.

The BSE Midcap index is trading 0.9% lower, and the BSE Smallcap index is trading 0.8% lower.

Barring the finance sector and telecom sector, all other sectoral indices are trading on a negative note today, with stocks in the metal sector, energy sector, and power sector witnessing selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 85.1 against the US dollar.
 

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Share Price in Focus

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders is back in focus after the government announced its decision to divest up to 4.83% stake in the defence public sector undertaking through an Offer for Sale (OFS).

The floor price for the OFS has been set at Rs 2,525 per share. The issue will open for institutional investors on Friday, 4 April, while retail investors will have their turn to bid on 7 April.

As part of the offer, the government plans to sell 1.14 crore equity shares of the company, with a greenshoe option to offload an additional 80 lakh shares, depending on investor demand. At the announced floor price, the total proceeds from the stake sale could amount to nearly Rs 50 billion.

This divestment is part of the government's ongoing efforts to meet its disinvestment targets for the financial year. The OFS is likely to see strong interest given Mazagon Dock's strong order book, strategic role in India's defence sector, and robust financial performance in recent quarters.

HDFC Bank Q4 Update

India's largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank, reported a steady rise in deposits for the March 2025 quarter, even as loan growth remained subdued.

As per the Q4 update, the bank's period-end deposits rose 14.1% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) and 5.9% sequentially to Rs 27.15 trillion. On the other hand, gross advances stood at Rs 26.44 trillion, reflecting a modest growth of 5.4% Y-o-Y and 4% over the previous quarter.

During FY25, HDFC Bank securitised loans worth Rs 570 bn, with Rs 107 bn securitised in the fourth quarter alone. Average deposits also posted healthy growth - up nearly 16% Y-o-Y and 3.1% sequentially to Rs 25.28 trillion. CASA deposits rose 5.7% Y-o-Y and 1.4% sequentially to Rs 8.29 trillion.

The bank has already indicated that loan growth will trail system-wide growth in FY25 as it prioritises bringing down its elevated credit-deposit (CD) ratio, which spiked post the HDFC Ltd merger. HDFC Bank aims to align its CD ratio with pre-merger levels before stepping up lending.

Looking ahead, the bank plans to match system-wide credit growth in FY26 and outpace it in FY27 as it returns to a more aggressive lending strategy.
 

Bajaj Finance Reports 26% AUM Growth in Q4

Bajaj Finance reported a robust performance in Q4 FY25, with its assets under management (AUM) rising 26% year-on-year to Rs 4.2 trillion as of 31 March 2025.

The company added approximately Rs 187 bn to its AUM during the quarter, reflecting steady demand for its financial products.

The non-bank lender's customer franchise expanded to 101.82 million, up from 83.64 million a year ago. In the quarter, it added 4.7 million new customers, highlighting sustained growth in its lending business.

Meanwhile, new loans booked jumped 36% year-on-year to 10.7 million, compared to 7.87 million in Q4 FY24.

Bajaj Finance's deposits book also showed strong momentum, increasing 19% year-on-year to Rs 714 bn from Rs 601.5 bn as of March 2024. The company's ability to grow its deposit base signals continued confidence among investors.
 

Zomato to Rebrand as Eternal

Food delivery giant Zomato, led by Deepinder Goyal, will officially change its name to Eternal Ltd on stock exchanges starting 9 April 2025. The company confirmed on March 20 that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) had approved the name change.

As part of this transition, Zomato's stock ticker on both the NSE and BSE will switch from ZOMATO to ETERNAL. The rebranding aligns with the company's expansion into multiple business verticals, including Zomato (food delivery), Blinkit (quick commerce), Hyperpure (B2B supplies), and District (dining out and restaurant services).

The name change applies only to the corporate entity and does not affect its brand or app identity.

Zomato will move its corporate website from zomato.com to eternal.com, and its stock ticker will be updated from ZOMATO to ETERNAL.

More By This Author: