Thursday Tussle

Nifty50: 17,222 ▼ 22 (-0.1%)  
Sensex: 57,595 ▼ 89 (-0.1%)

• Despite a gap-down opening, the markets were able to pare some losses on the back of a rise in Reliance Industries and IT stocks. 
• In the Nifty50 pack, 27 ended in the red.
• After a sharp upward move last week, the markets are moving sideways this week amid lack of any major domestic triggers.

Among the Nifty sectoral indices, Media (+5.9%) and Metal (+1.5%) were the top gainers, while Bank (-1.7%) and Financial services (-1.5%) were the top losers. 

Did you know? You can now place Good-Till-Triggered (GTT) orders on the  new Upstox app. To know more about GTT orders, click here.

For more updates on F&O, click here.

Here are the top stories of the day.

Zee surges as Invesco backs down

Shares of Zee Entertainment soared nearly 20% intraday in a subdued market after US investment firm Invesco decided to withdraw its requisition notice, and reiterated its support for the merger of Zee with Sony. Invesco, which owns a nearly 18% stake in Zee, was engaged in a legal battle to call for a shareholder meeting and shake up its top management.

The move came after Invesco won its appeal allowing it to call a shareholder meeting, but it has now decided not to pursue the matter. As per a media report, Invesco will keep an eye on the merger’s process, and if it fails, they could again request a shareholder meeting at Zee.

Oil prices rise amid supply disruption

After reports of supply disruptions due to damage by storm at a major export terminal system on the Black Sea, Brent crude prices rose to $123 per barrel.

On Wednesday, oil prices rose 5% as crude exports from Kazakhstan's Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal stopped after damage due to the storm. Russia’s deputy PM has said that the supply of oil might stop for two months.

High-Five for Nelco

Satellite services provider Nelco’s shares hit the 5% upper circuit after the company announced an agreement with Omnispace for distribution and enabling of 5G direct-to-device satellite services. The agreement will expand the reach of 5G services across India and Southeast Asia.

Tata Group’s power generation arm Tata Power held 48.6% stake in Nelco.

IPO corner

Shares of Ruchi Soya declined by 2.7% today as the company’s follow-on offer (FPO) received lukewarm response from investors. The FPO was subscribed around 11% on day 1. The public issue is open for subscription till 28 March 2022. Click here to apply for the Ruchi Soya FPO. 

Good to know

What is a merger?

A merger is a joining of two firms into one new company. Mergers are usually done to broaden a company’s reach, expand in new segments or to gain market share. Such transactions usually happen between two companies that see advantages the other firm offers in terms of profit, sales, efficiency, growth, etc. The terms of a merger are often fair and friendly. The Vodafone-Idea merger is a recent example. As per reports, the combined entity was worth nearly $23 billion.

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