Indigo’s market share dips, Axis Bank’s clarification, UPL Corporations rating downgrade and more

Opening Bell:

Gift Nifty is up by 51 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market.

Asian markets were trading higher in the early trade on Friday with Nikkei rising 1.2 percent, and Kospi gained 0.6 percent.

US stocks closed higher on Thursday as retail sales data declined more than expected, feeding hopes the Federal Reserve will soon start cutting interest rates in coming months.

The S&P 500 tab gained 29.05 points, or 0.58 percent, to end at 5,029.67 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 47.03 points, or 0.30 percent, to 15,906.17.

Stocks News:

👉 IndiGo, the airline with the largest market share, saw a slight dip at 60.2 percent in January 2024, from 61.8 percent in the previous month, as per data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on February 15 shows. The market share of SpiceJet remained unchanged at 5.6 percent during the same period. IndiGo’s passenger load factor stood at 88.4 percent in January 2024 against 90.7 percent in December 2023, and SpiceJet’s at 93.7 percent against 93.5 percent during the same period.

👉 Axis Bank has issued clarification on the transaction of shares with Max Life Insurance Company after the filing of a public interest writ petition by Subramanian Swamy against Union of India, Axis Bank, Axis Securities Limited, Axis Capital, and others before the High Court of Delhi.

👉 Global rating agency Fitch Ratings has downgraded UPL Corporation’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating to ‘BB+’, from ‘BBB-‘, citing the weak 9MFY24 EBITDA and lower global crop-protection industry demand due to prolonged destocking and production overcapacity in China.

👉 BPCL’s green hydrogen project is a pilot project for gaining experience in handling hydrogen for the automobile sector with an estimated capital investment of approximately Rs 25 crore. The project is planned in collaboration with Cochin International Airport (CIAL). Discussions were held with officials of CIAL, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed on February 14.

👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 3,064.15 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 2,276.93 crore worth of stocks on February 15, provisional data from the NSE showed.

Domestic and International Events

• US retail sales fell more than expected in January, pulled down by declines in receipts at auto dealerships and gasoline service stations.

• The government has revised its windfall gains tax on crude petroleum with effect from February 15. As per the revisions, Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on crude petroleum will increase to Rs 3,300 per tonne, from Rs 3,200 per tonne earlier; while tax on diesel will increase to Rs 1.50 a litre from zero. Further, SAED on petrol and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) will continue to be nil.

• Gold prices languished near a two-month trough on Thursday as traders lowered expectations of sooner and deeper rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, while markets await a slew of US economic data for further clarity.

• Oil prices rose over 1 percent on Thursday after U.S. retail data prompted a sell-off in the dollar, though investors eyed an International Energy Agency (IEA) report that flagged slowing demand growth this year.