News Wrap | Nifty Down 10% From Life Highs; Swiggy’s Market Debut; Trump's Efficiency Team

Good evening, and welcome to Business Hook’s daily news podcast, where we bring you a roundup of the day’s top business stories. I’m Avni Raja, and today is Wednesday, the thirteenth of November, 2024.

Let’s start with Indian equities, which saw a sharp sell-off in Wednesday’s trade, erasing eight lakh crore rupees from the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies. Both the Sensex and the Nifty ended the day down over a percent each. The Sensex slipped nearly 1,000 points to close just below 77,700, while the Nifty lost over 300 points to end the day above 23,500, marking a five-month low. With this drop, the Nifty is now down ten percent from the all-time highs it reached in the last week of September this year.

Staying with the Nifty—of the fifty constituents on the index, 44 declined while only six advanced. Leading the declines was two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp, down over four percent, followed by M&M, Hindalco, and Tata Steel, which each lost between three to three-and-a-half percent. On the other hand, FMCG major Britannia led the gainers with a modest uptick of less than half a percent. Notably, Britannia had dropped by seven percent in Tuesday's trade after posting disappointing Q2 results.

Amid the broader market gloom, there was some cheer in the listing space as food delivery major Swiggy made a stellar debut on Dalal Street. The stock listed at 420 rupees per share, marking a 7.7 percent premium over its issue price of 390 rupees. Shares of the company surged further during the session and closed at 464 rupees apiece, reflecting a 19 percent premium to the IPO price. This robust debut pushed the market capitalisation of Swiggy past one lakh crore rupees.

The big global story – Donald Trump, who has been re-elected as the President of the United States, has appointed world’s richest person Elon Musk and his fellow billionaire businessman Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency in his administration. President Trump has asked them to overhaul America’s massive federal bureaucracy, reducing waste and improving efficiency in the government’s 6.5 trillion dollar annual budget. And the duo have been set the deadline of July 4, 2026 – the day America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence - to deliver a leaner, more efficient government.

Shifting gears – Ace investor Mark Mobius has pitched for the Nobel Peace Prize for India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Speaking to IANS, the German investor described Prime Minister Modi as a great leader and "a very, very good person." He noted that PM Modi is "highly capable" and "a key mediator in the world today." Mobius added that when it comes to the Nobel Peace Prize, “PM Modi is deserving of such prestigious honour.” The founder of Mobius Capital Partners further expressed confidence that PM Modi’s role on the global stage will continue to "grow internationally" as he demonstrates an ability to "have a dialogue" with all sides of the political spectrum.

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.