Asian markets eased on Wednesday in cautious trading, with Chinese stocks slipping as the lack of big stimulus measures from Beijing disappointed some investors, while gold and bitcoin eased after hitting record highs.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.2% lower.

Wall Street's three major indexes retreated more than 1 per cent, with weakness in megacap growth companies such as Apple and the chip sector weighing most on the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

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

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 103 points lower and NSE Nifty is trading 41 points lower.

Bajaj Auto, Nestle, and ICICI Bank are among the top gainers today.

ONGC, Tata Steel, and Bajaj Finance on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a negative note. The BSE Midcap index is trading 0.3% lower and the BSE Small Cap index is trading 0.6% lower.

Barring the banking sector, all other sectoral indices are trading on a negative note, with socks in the telecom sector and the power sector witnessing selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 82.9 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading 0.2% lower at Rs 64,700 per 10 grams today.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading 0.4% lower at Rs 73,087 per 1 kg.
 

Coal India's Capacity Expansion

Shares of Coal India may gain on 6 March after its Chhattisgarh-based subsidiary South Eastern Coalfield (SECL)-run Gevra mine secured the environmental clearance to expand production capacity to 70 million tonnes a year.

The expansion will position Gevra as the largest coal mine in Asia, overtaking Indonesia's Sangatta mine in terms of production.

The Gevra mine, stretching approximately 10km in length and 4km in breadth, can produce 52.5 million tonnes of coal every year, which makes it the largest in India.

SECL is a 'Miniratna' company, and one of the eight fully owned subsidiaries of Coal India. Headquartered in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, it runs more than 90 coal mines across Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

The company deploys environment-friendly, blast-free mining technology, including surface miners and ripper mining equipment, in addition to heavy earth-moving machinery such as 42-cubic-meter shovels and 240-tonne dumpers for overburden removal.

The expansion of the Gevra mine aligns with India's aim of achieving self-sufficiency in coal production and phasing out imports for power generation by FY26.

In FY23, the company produced 167 million tonnes (MT) of coal and aims to raise it to 200 MT in FY24 and to 260 MT by FY26. It also achieved its highest-ever mineral offtake last fiscal year at 160.05 million tonnes in FY23, with coal dispatch to the power sector reaching an all-time high of 139.92 MT.

Zomato Block Deal

China's Ant Group's arm Antfin Singapore Holdings Pte is likely to sell up to a 2% stake in Zomato for Rs 28 bn through a block deal.

The floor price for the block deal has been fixed at Rs 159.4 per share, which represents a 4% discount on the current market price of Zomato stock.

Shares of the food delivery platform hit a record high on Monday, as improving profitability paved the way for future growth, triggering a turnaround in investor sentiment.

Zomato is the most valuable new-age tech stock in India, with a market capitalization of Rs 1.4 tn.

Blinkit - Zomato's quick commerce business, which it acquired in 2022 - is expected to turn EBITDA-positive next fiscal year and is viewed by investors as the next lever of growth for the firm.

Last month, Zomato reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1.4 bn in the third quarter ended 31 December 2023, on the back of accelerated growth of quick commerce and steady performance of its core business.

The company posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 3.5 bn in the same quarter last fiscal.
 

Swiggy Partners IRCTC

Food delivery platform Swiggy and The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have signed an agreement for food delivery services to train passengers traveling through Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Visakhapatnam, and Vijayawada.

The partnership aims to extend the service to more than 59 stations in the next six months.

There are two kinds of order flows that will be made available to consumers: first, they can enter their PNR number on the Swiggy interface and continue to order.

In the second, they have to input the PNR on the IRCTC app, select the preferred station for food delivery, browse through an extensive list of restaurants on Swiggy, and choose a restaurant that is delivering at the specified location and time.

The food delivered to passengers will be packed in insulated Swiggy bags to keep the meal warm and fresh. Swiggy's delivery partner would reach the selected platform, hand over the food to the customer, and mark the food delivered. To ensure smooth operations, effective issue resolution, and maximum comfort for the passengers.

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