RBI Halts Bajaj Finance’s Loans, ONGC’s Petrochemical Plant Investment

Opening Bell:

Gift Nifty is down by 16.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a negative opening for Indian stock market.

Asian markets traded mixed on Thursday following overnight gains on Wall Street and as investors watched for discussions between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was flat, while the Topix rose 0.16%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were higher at 18,379 compared with the HSI’s close of 18,079. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.19%.

US stock market indices extended rally to end higher on Wednesday as fresh inflation data reinforced investor hopes that the US Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.47%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.16%, The Nasdaq Composite ended 0.07% higher.

European markets closed higher on Wednesday as global markets digested data out of the U.S. and China. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 0.4%. Technology stocks added 2.2% to lead gains as the majority of sectors and major bourses ended the session in positive territory. A soft U.S. inflation reading on Tuesday boosted hopes of the Federal Reserve nearing the end of its interest rate-hiking cycle.

Stocks News:

👉 Bajaj Finance: The Reserve Bank on Wednesday directed Bajaj Finance to stop sanction and disbursal of loans under its two lending products eCOM and Insta EMI Card, with immediate effect. “This action is necessitated due to non-adherence of the company to the extant provisions of Digital lending guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India, particularly non-issuance of Key Fact Statements to the borrowers under these two lending product,” RBI said in a statement.         

👉 One 97 Communications: The Paytm operator has announced a partnership with global travel technology company Amadeus to redefine the travel experience with artificial intelligence. For the next three years, the company will integrate Amadeus’s expansive travel platform, enhancing travellers’ experiences from search to booking and payments.

👉 Vedanta: Malco Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, has incorporated a new wholly owned subsidiary, namely Vedanta Copper International VCI Company. The new subsidiary will set up a copper rod manufacturing unit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

👉 ONGC: India’s top oil and gas producer ONGC plans to invest about ₹1 lakh crore in setting up two petrochemical plants to convert crude oil directly into high-value chemical products as it prepares for energy transition, top company officials said on Wednesday.  

👉 Foreign institutional investors net bought shares worth Rs 550.19 crore, while domestic institutional investors purchased Rs 609.82 crore worth of stocks on November 15, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed.       

Domestic and International Events

• A senior government official emphasized on November 15 that while India’s headline retail inflation has slightly decreased, there is a need for further reduction in food inflation. The latest data, released on November 13, revealed a five-month low headline inflation rate of 4.87% in October, within the Reserve Bank of India’s tolerance range. However, food inflation remained relatively unchanged at 6.61%. The official, requesting anonymity, highlighted the importance of moderating food inflation, given the price increases in various food categories, including vegetables, onions, eggs, pulses, and cereals.

• India’s merchandise trade deficit in October was $31.46 billion, despite a 6.2% increase in exports to $33.57 billion. Imports rose to $65.03 billion, offset by the rise in exports. The spike in global crude oil prices led to an increase in imports. Gold imports also rose by 5.5% to $29.48 billion.

• Oil prices dipped on Wednesday amid signs the United States, the world’s biggest oil producer, is at peak production, offsetting positive crude demand signals from top consumer China. Brent futures were down 92 cents to $81.55 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.01 cents to $77.25. China’s economic activity perked up in October as industrial output increased at a faster pace and retail sales growth beat expectations, an encouraging sign for the world’s second-largest economy.

• Gold eased on Wednesday as the dollar ticked up, while expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may be done with its interest rate hikes capped bullion’s losses. Spot gold ticked down 0.1% at $1,960.49 per ounce, as of 1:08 a.m. ET. U.S. gold futures also dipped 0.1% to $1,963.90.   

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