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Chemicals company Alkyl Amines Chemicals has seen its shares increase 7,500% over the past decade, with a 366% rise in the past three years alone. The company, which has a market cap of about INR124.8bn ($1.68bn) manufactures amines and amine-based chemicals, used in pharmaceutical, agrochemical, rubber chemical and water treatment industries. Its shares currently have a price-to-earnings ratio of 55. However, technical analysts suggest the shares are currently underperforming, are indicating a downtrend, and advise refraining from fresh buying positions and setting a stop loss at INR2,260.

Indian stock indices saw gains with the Sensex closing up by 118.57 points at 62,547.11 and the Nifty settling at 18,534.10, amid concerns that the market may have run up too soon, with US jobs growth accelerating in May. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net sellers for the second session in a row, with overseas funds selling shares in the cash segment worth a net Rs658.88 crore while domestic institutions purchased them to the tune of Rs581.85 crore, according to provisional stock exchange data.

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The Indian regulator, Irdai, has directed SBI Life Insurance to take over the liabilities of approximately 200,000 policies alongside the assets of Sahara India Life Insurance with immediate effect, due to the deteriorating financial health of SILIC. The Irdai has set up a committee to ensure smooth policyholder transition. SBI Life has been asked to set up a dedicated cell to service policyholders and provide details of the takeover on its website, and will be required to ensure it complies with regulatory requirements.

The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corp (DICGC) is suspected to have made substantial purchases at a primary debt auction on Friday, say participants in the Indian government bond market. While the national reserve bank sold 140 billion rupees of the 7.26% 2033 bond and 80 billion rupees of the 7.06% 2028 bonds, some participants suspect DICGC may have bought bonds worth between 30 billion and 50 billion rupees. A senior treasury official at a state-run bank said DICGC typically invests its May funds into the government securities market in June.

Despite 339,000 jobs being added in May, a drop in wage growth and a higher unemployment rate are likely to keep the Federal Reserve on hold this month whilst it considers a rate hike later this summer. With the federal-funds rate in the 5% to 5.25% range following a quarter-point increase in early May, policymakers are expected to skip a rate hike this month, but continue to monitor data. US Treasuries rose by 10 basis points to 4.46% following the jobs report release; the odds of a June rate hike rose to 31%, up from 24% on the previous day.

Gold prices fell on Friday due to higher-than-expected US jobs data which led to an increase in Treasury yields. However, gold still experienced a weekly gain due to high unemployment rates indicating that the Federal Reserve may pause interest rate hikes. Currently, traders anticipate that there is a 70% chance of the Fed leaving rates unchanged later this month. The rise in interest rates lifts Treasury yields, making gold less attractive since gold has zero-interest yield. Silver prices also fell, while platinum and palladium experienced weekly losses.

Dow rises 126.01 points; S&P 500 opens higher by 19.99 points and Nasdaq Composite gains 89.50 points at the opening bell

After continuous buying in May, FPIs turned marginal net sellers at Rs 71 crore on Thursday. DIIs, meanwhile, bought shares worth Rs 489 crore.

Gold price jumped Rs 350 to Rs 60,600 per 10 gram in the national capital on Friday amid a rally in precious metals prices overseas, according to HDFC Securities. The yellow metal had closed at Rs 60,250 per 10 gram in the previous trade.