Asian shares held tight ranges on Wednesday as investors awaited results from tech darling Nvidia to see if the sector's lofty valuations can withstand a jump in bond yields, while still gloomy factory readings from Japan left sentiment fragile.

The Nikkei is trading 0.2% higher while the Hang Seng index is higher by 0.4%. The Shanghai Composite is trading 0.6% lower.

US stocks slipped on Tuesday on worries over interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.5% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite gained marginally.

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

Data Source: Equitymaster

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

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 82 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading marginally lower.

Hindalco and Tata Steel are among the top gainers today.

Sun Pharma and ITC on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading 0.6% higher and the BSE Small Cap index is trading 0.7%higher.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks in the metal sector and realty sector witnessing most buying.

Meanwhile stocks in the auto sector and FMCG sector witness selling.

Shares of Dixon Technologies and L&T hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at Rs 82.96 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading flat at Rs 58,568 per 10 grams today.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading 0.3% higher at Rs 72,212 per 1 kg.
 

Torrent Pharma to acquire a stake in Cipla

Drug firm Torrent Pharma has entered into the fray to acquire the Hamied family's stake in Cipla in what the biggest pharma deal since could be 2014.

According to media reports, Ahmedabad-headquartered Torrent wants to take control of the fourth-ranked pharmaceutical major that is more than double (2.3x) its FY23 consolidated revenue, 2.3 times its profit, and 1.46 times its present market value.

More importantly, the competition for buying out the Hamied family's stake in Cipla also includes Blackstone, the largest buyout fund, and Baring PE Asia-EQT. Torrent Pharma, with advisory support from JP Morgan, is exploring options of forming a consortium with private equity funds. Preliminary discussions in this regard have already taken place with a few potential partners.

If the Torrent deal comes to fruition, it would eventually lead to the creation of India's second-biggest pharmaceutical company after Sun Pharma by revenue.

Torrent has talked to multiple lenders for funding and is willing to make an all-cash offer.

Torrent Pharma is among the pharma companies in India that have solid growth in sales and profits and a high Return on Equity (ROE).
 

Piramal Enterprises approves NCDs

Piramal Enterprises on 22 August 2023, announced that its board has given the nod for the public issuance of secured, rated, listed, redeemable, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) worth up to Rs 30 billion (bn).

The company's regulatory filing did not provide information regarding the commencement date for subscription to the public issue.

The decision to issue NCDs comes three weeks after the company reported a sharp drop in pre-provisioning operating profit (PPOP), which excludes provision, exceptional items, and taxes - for the June 2023 quarter.

The company towards the end of July this year also announced a share buyback scheme worth Rs 17.5 bn at Rs 1,250 apiece. The board has fixed 25 August 2023 as the record date to determine the shareholders eligible to participate in the buyback.

Between January 2023 to June 2023, the stock rallied 15%.

Hindalco's Rs 20 billion investment

Hindalco Industries plans to invest around Rs 20 bn to bring new extrusion and fabrication technologies to India that are critical to building Vande Bharat trains in the country.

Citing Indian railway's goal of becoming net zero while concurrently doubling freight capacity.

The company plans to introduce three more designs of freight wagons in the coming months targeting specific end-use applications including bagged cement, and foodgrains.

The company is making another Rs 20 bn investment to establish the first-of-its-kind copper and E-wastes recycling facility.

Hindalco will also be looking to scale up EV manufacturing in India, as the company is working closely with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to co-develop and manufacture critical components like battery enclosures, motor housings, busbars, structural and safety components, lightweight load bodies, etc.

Hindalco Industries is an Indian aluminum and copper manufacturing company. The company is a subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group.

With a huge cash balance of Rs 116.3 bn, it is among the 5 Indian Companies with insane cash reserves to watch out for big dividends.

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