Latest Stock Market News

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.

Friday saw a retreat in gold prices following a profit-taking session after a 1% jump earlier in the day, spurred by weak U.S. jobs data and anticipated rate cuts. Despite the drop, gold recorded a 1.8% weekly gain due to rising safe-haven demand and expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp saw a 4% increase in profit from its Indian operations during the first half of 2024, with earnings reaching $798 million. The global banking & markets division contributed $436 million, while the commercial banking sector brought in $224 million, both marking a 7% growth from the previous year.

Oil prices dropped on Friday to their lowest levels since January after the U.S. reported slower job growth and China released weak economic data. Brent crude fell to $76.81, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate to $73.52. The decline was fueled by concerns over global economic recovery and increased OPEC oil output.

The U.S. dollar reached a four-month low after weaker job data for July raised expectations of a significant Federal Reserve rate cut in September. Job additions were below forecasts, causing the unemployment rate to rise. Market sentiment has shifted, anticipating substantial rate cuts by year-end, leading to declines in both Treasury yields and the dollar index.

Unexpectedly weak U.S. employment data for July triggered recession concerns, leading to a sell-off in stocks and a surge in safe-haven bonds. The unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, and job growth slowed significantly. Investors reacted to these signs of economic vulnerability amid disappointing earnings from major tech companies like Amazon and Intel.

Wall Street faced turbulence as apprehensions rose over high-interest rates affecting U.S. growth. Recent data revealed slowed job growth and higher unemployment in July, sparking market selloffs. There are concerns that elevated borrowing costs are harming the economy, compounded by lackluster corporate earnings and heightened market volatility.

Sebi member Ananth Narayan compared index options trading near expiry to a slot machine, noting its appeal due to low premiums. He pointed out a twelvefold increase in annual turnover for index options from FY20 to FY24. Over 92 lakh individuals collectively lost Rs 51,869 crores in index derivatives during FY24.