Asian markets traded lower tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.6%, while the Topix declined 0.1%. South Korea's Kospi dropped 1% and the Kosdaq fell 0.6%.

The US stock market ended lower on Wednesday ahead of a quarterly earnings report from Nvidia.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.4% to 41,091.4, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.6% to end at 5,592.2 points.

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

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 18 points higher and NSE Nifty is trading 3 points higher.

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

Hindalco, HDFC Life Insurance, and Grasim industries the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on positive. The BSE Midcap index is trading 0.2% higher and the BSE Smallcap index is trading marginally higher.

Sectoral indices are trading positive today, with stocks in the telecom sector and healthcare sector witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the energy sector and the metal sector witnessing selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 83.89 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading 0.3% higher at Rs 71,920 per 10 grams today.
 

Tata Steel Acquires Stake in TSHP

Tata Steel on Wednesday said it had acquired about 1.8 billion (bn) additional equity shares of T Steel Holdings Pte Ltd for US$ 280 million (m), taking the total fund infusion into its Singapore-based arm to US$ 1,337 m.

After this acquisition, TSHP will continue to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.

On August 14, Tata Steel acquired 1,15,92,35,669 ordinary equity shares, aggregating to US$ 182 m in TSHP.

The company acquired 5,57,32,48,408 equity shares of TSHP on July 29 for US$ 875 m.

The Board of Directors of Tata Steel on 29 May approved the infusion of funds by way of subscription to equity shares of T Steel Holdings Pte Ltd (TSHP), a wholly-owned foreign subsidiary of the company in one or more tranches, during FY24-25.

IndiGo Block Deals

InterGlobe Aviation's promoter and co-founder Rakesh Gangwal is likely to sell up to US$ 850 million worth of his stake in the country's largest airline IndiGo through block deals.

The indicative price for the stake is set at Rs 4,593 per share, reflecting a 5.5% discount to the current market price.

This sale will be subject to a 150-day lock-in period for the next tranche of the sale.

IndiGo reported a 12% year-on-year (YoY) decline in net profit at Rs 27.3 bn for the first quarter that ended 30 June 2024. In the corresponding quarter, Interglobe Aviation posted a net profit of Rs 30.9 bn.
 

Reliance-Disney India Merger

India's competition watchdog has approved Reliance Industries Ltd's Rs 703.5 bn merger with Disney's Indian media assets, subject to certain voluntary modifications, setting the stage for a media powerhouse.

The voluntary modifications pledged by the parties will lead to swift regulatory approval, Dharmendra Kumar, former chairperson of the CCI.

Kumar said that the CCI was likely concerned about the formation of a dominant player in the cricket broadcasting space. He added that the proposed modifications were likely aimed at preventing any adverse impact on competition while ensuring broader access to cricket coverage across India.

Disney-Star holds exclusive digital and TV rights to ICC events from 2024 to 2027 and IPL broadcasting rights from 2023 to 2028), while Jio has secured IPL streaming rights.

In February, Viacom18, a unit of Reliance Industries, and Disney's Star India merged their media businesses to create India's largest TV and digital streaming entity. Under the terms of the agreement, Viacom18's media operations will be merged with Star India Pvt Ltd (SIPL) through a court-approved scheme of arrangement.

The joint venture, valued at Rs 703.5 bn ($8.5 billion) on a post-money basis, will see RIL injecting Rs 115 bn (US$ 1.4 bn) into the venture to support its growth strategy.

The Reliance-Disney combine will compete with Sony, Netflix, and Amazon, with 120 TV channels and two streaming services.

The new board will have 10 members, with RIL nominating five, Disney three, and two independent directors.

Nita Ambani will assume the role of Chairperson of the merged entity, with former Walt Disney executive Uday Shankar.

The merger is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2024 or the first quarter of 2025.

The joint venture's ownership structure will consist of RIL holding 16.3%, Viacom18 with 46.8%, and Disney at 36.8%, with RIL retaining control under the merger terms.

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