Latest Stock Market News

The total income increased to Rs 6,784 crore during the quarter against Rs 6,747 crore in the same period last year, LIC Housing Finance said in a regulatory filing.

Financial assets like shares or mutual funds are subject to different tax rates depending on the holding period. Gains from assets held over a year (long-term) are subject to long-term capital gains tax (LTCG), while those held less than a year (short-term) are subject to short-term capital gains tax (STCG). The recent Union Budget increased LTCG on gains exceeding ₹1.25 lakh to 12.5% (from 10%) and STCG to 20% (from 15%).

Gold prices dipped slightly on Friday but experienced a 2.30% weekly gain due to weak US economic data affecting yields and the Dollar Index. Central banks continued purchasing gold, and poor job reports increased expectations for potential rate cuts. Geopolitical tensions also supported gold prices, indicating market volatility.

Jefferies has given Muthoot Finance a "Buy" rating with a target price of Rs 2,200, suggesting a potential upside of approximately 17% from current market prices.

Brainbees Solution, the parent company of omnichannel kidswear brand FirstCry, will launch its initial public offering (IPO) on August 6th. The IPO, priced between Rs 440-465 per share, will consist of a fresh issue of Rs 1,666 crore and an offer for sale of up to 5.4 crore shares by existing shareholders including M&M and SoftBank.

BHEL, Eicher Motors, Bharti Airtel, and NTPC were among companies gearing up for attention due to upcoming record dates for dividends, bonus issues, and stock splits. Key dates ranged from August 5 to August 9, with major announcements anticipated from firms like Britannia, NTPC, and Rajoo Engineers concerning final dividends and bonus issues.

Amid signs of a cooling labor market, Wall Street banks have heightened their expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Economists from major banks such as Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase revised their forecasts, predicting more substantial rate reductions starting September 2023 and continuing through mid-2025.

Investors in FirstCry, Ola Electric, and Unicommerce experienced substantial gains when these startups went public. Early stakeholders, including SoftBank and Mahindra & Mahindra, saw returns between three and ten times their original investments. However, late investors in FirstCry and Ola Electric faced notional losses due to lower-than-expected IPO valuations.

Foreign investments in Indian government securities have surged past $9 billion in the first seven months of 2023, outperforming the whole of last year. This trend is driven by the inclusion of Indian bonds in the JP Morgan index and positive global sentiments due to anticipated US rate cuts and declining US bond yields.

U.S. stocks dropped notably for the second day as a soft jobs report heightened recession worries. Nonfarm payrolls rose by just 114,000, missing expectations. The unemployment rate increased to 4.3%, near a three-year high. Major indices, including the Nasdaq, saw substantial declines, with market sentiment turning bearish.