JSW Steel reports highest ever steel production, PNB reports multifold profit growth.

Opening Bell:

SGX Nifty is down by 18.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market.

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Monday after the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima concluded and talks on the debt ceiling are slated to resume in the US. The Hang Seng is up 0.33% while the Nikkei 225 gains 0.11%. The Shanghai Composite is off 0.18%. US stocks ended lower and the dollar lost ground on Friday as negotiations to raise the US debt ceiling were put on hold, jarring market participants as they headed into the weekend and the United States moved closer to the deadline to avoid default. US stock indexes ended the session modestly in the red, they all notched gains for the week, which was marked by solid economic data and the tail end of a better-than-expected earnings season. The S&P 500 down by 0.14%. while the Nasdaq Composite is down by 0.24%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average down by 0.33%.

Stocks News:

👉Pharmaceutical major Divi’s Laboratories’ net profit for the quarter ended March 2023 slumped 63.89 percent on year to Rs 318.79 crore, bogged down by the high base of Covid-19 sales of Molnupiravir and elevated input costs. The standalone net profit for the fourth quarter plunged from Rs 882.96 crore seen in the corresponding quarter a year ago, and lagged the Street’s estimate of Rs 373.30 crore.

👉Power generation major NTPC Ltd consolidated net profit fell 6% to Rs 4,871 crore for the quarter ended March. Revenue from operations rose 19% to Rs 44,253 crore during the fourth quarter under review.

👉Steel major JSW Steel has reported 13% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,664 crore for the quarter ended March. Revenue from operations during the reporting quarter was flat at Rs 46,962 crore. The company said it recorded highest ever crude steel production and highest ever saleable steel sales during the quarter.

👉State-owned lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has reported multifold growth in standalone net profit at Rs 1,159 crore during the fourth quarter. Net interest income (NII) for the reporting quarter came in at Rs 9,499 crore, up 30%, compared with year-ago period.

👉Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have net sold shares worth Rs 113 crore on Friday. DIIs, on the other hand, stock purchase worth Rs 1,071 crore.

Domestic and International Events

• India’s foreign exchange reserves experienced a continuous increase for the third week in a row, reaching $599.53 billion as of May 12. This level represents the highest amount since early June, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s statistical supplement released on Friday. The reserves saw a rise of $3.55 billion compared to the previous week, following a total increase of $11.7 billion over the preceding two weeks.
• Former finance secretary, Subhash Chandra Garg, stated that the RBI’s move to withdraw Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation will not affect the operation of India’s economic or financial systems. The Reserve Bank of India has given the public until September 30 to either deposit such notes in accounts or exchange them at banks.
• Oil prices edged up on Monday on a softer dollar and supply cuts from Canada and OPEC+ producers, while investors waited to see if a pledge by the Group of Seven (G7) nations to strictly enforce price caps on Russian energy it would impact exports.
• Gold prices on Friday were on course for their biggest weekly drop in 3-1/2 months as recent strong U.S. economic data and hopes for a resolution in the debt debate took some shine off bullion. The fundamentals include strong U.S. job growth numbers and hopes for a resolution in the debt debate, but these factors are likely to be overshadowed by the dollar’s strengthening against other currencies.

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