Starting with the top global story—just hours remain until the results of the 2024 United States presidential election, where more than 186 million Americans are eligible to vote to choose the country’s 47th president. The race is between Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump. Predictions by pollsters suggests an extremely close contest, with many polls indicating the result could go either way within the margin of error. This high-stakes election has significant implications for the US and the rest of the world, with both candidates offering sharply contrasting visions.
Counting down to the U.S. presidential election results, key Asian markets ended higher on Tuesday. China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng each gained more than two percent, possibly reflecting renewed optimism over potential stimulus from Beijing. Japan’s Nikkei also closed over a percent higher, driven by a rally in stocks with positive outlooks.
Back home, the Sensex and Nifty began the session in the red but rebounded in the second half to close with gains of around a percent each. The Sensex surged almost 700 points to 79,500, while the Nifty gained over 200 points to close above 24,200. Of the fifty constituents of the Nifty, 39 advanced, and 11 declined. Steel major JSW Steel was the top gainer on the index, up four and a half percent. Tata Group-owned retail company Trent was the main laggard, down almost two percent.
Talking of the Tatas – Noel Tata, the half-brother of late business tycoon Ratan Tata, has been appointed to the board of Tata Sons, the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate. This follows his appointment as Chairman of Tata Trusts after the passing of Ratan Tata last month. With this, Noel Tata has become the first member of the Tata family since 2011 to serve on both the boards. Remember, Tata Trusts holds a 66 percent stake in Tata Sons, making it the largest shareholder in the conglomerate, which is valued at around 165 billion dollars.
And for all the sports enthusiasts, here’s a major update: India has taken its first step toward hosting the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Reports indicate that the Indian Olympic Association has submitted a letter of intent to the International Olympic Committee’s Future Host Commission, signalling India’s interest in hosting the games. While there’s no formal announcement yet, Ahmedabad is emerging as the potential host city, should India win the bid over other competing nations.
With that, it’s a wrap on this edition of the Business Hook News Wrap podcast. We will be back tomorrow with the next edition of our podcast. You can also check out the Business Hook YouTube channel for the top business developments of the day.