News Wrap | Sensex & Nifty Snap Losing Streak; Bharti Reports Stellar Q2; Crude Oil Prices Crash

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 Monday, the 28th of October, 2024.

Let’s start with Asian equity markets. Most benchmark indices in the region ended the day higher, despite some negative news headlines. In Japan, the political situation became uncertain after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost its parliamentary majority, yet the Nikkei gained almost two percent. Similarly, in China, where industrial profit numbers fell to their lowest levels since the COVID-19 period, the Shanghai Composite closed higher.

Back home, Indian equities snapped their five-day losing streak to post some gains. The Sensex scaled the 80,000 mark, ending the day above it, while the Nifty added more than 150 points to close above 24,300. Among Nifty Fifty stocks, 36 advanced while 14 declined. Shriram Finance led the gainers, up over five percent, while Coal India saw the sharpest decline at around one percent.

In stock-specific action, Reliance Industries ended the day with a slight gain as its 1:1 bonus issue came into effect on Monday. The board of India’s largest company had approved this bonus issue in early September, with 28th October set as the record date. As a result, any shareholder holding Reliance shares on this date received an additional share. However, a bonus issue doesn’t increase the investment value proportionally; typically, the stock price adjusts downward to account for the increased share count. Reliance Industries' share price followed this pattern, adjusting from over 2,600 rupees to around 1,300 rupees per share.

In earnings news, telecom giant Bharti Airtel reported a stellar second-quarter performance. The company’s revenue from operations rose 12 percent year-on-year to nearly 41,500 crore rupees. Consolidated net profit surged an impressive 168 percent to 3,600 crore rupees, compared to 1,300 crore in the same period last year. The average revenue per user—a critical earnings metric for telecom companies—also rose from 203 rupees to 233, marking a 15 percent increase. The results were released after market close, with Bharti Airtel shares ending the day almost unchanged.

Shifting focus to the global commodity market – crude oil prices dropped by six percent in Monday’s session. This followed Iran’s downplaying of Israel’s recent retaliatory attack, which notably avoided targeting oil production facilities. For weeks, markets had been on edge, anticipating a potential escalation that could disrupt global crude supplies. However, with Israel opting for a limited response, those fears have eased, leading to a sharp decline in crude oil prices.

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. Have a great evening and check out our YouTube channel Business Hook for the top business developments of the day.