NIFTY50: 19,355 ▲ 24 (+0.1%)
SENSEX: 65,344 ▲ 63 (+0.1%)
Namaste, friends!
In a South African game reserve by the Sand riverbed, a pride of 20 lions huddled together to drink water. Does this lining up of royal felines sound roaringly relatable to the water shortages we’re also currently facing? Pawsitive! Meanwhile, the markets found oasis by ending in the green. More on that later.
- Benchmark indices traded in a narrow range, starting off the week on a tentative note
- In all, 33 of the NIFTY50 stocks closed in the red
- Investors look forward to domestic inflation numbers to be announced later this week
Among the NIFTY sectoral indices, Metal (+1.6%) and Oil & Gas (+0.5%) were the top gainers, while IT (-1.2%) and Media (-0.9%) were the top losers.
| Top gainers | Today's change |
| Reliance | 2,735 ▲ 101 (+3.8%) |
| Tata Steel | 115 ▲ 3.6 (+3.2%) |
| JSW Steel | 811 ▲ 22 (+2.9%) |
| Top losers | Today's change |
| HCL Tech | 1,122 ▼ 35 (-3.0%) |
| Power Grid | 3,052 ▼ 92 (-2.9%) |
| Titan | 250 ▼ 5.1 (-2.0%) |
What’s trending
⭐ Bajaj Auto zooms after new motorbike bookings
Bajaj Auto’s shares rose by almost 2% at ₹4,900 after the company announced that bookings for its newly launched motorbikes Triumph Speed 400 and Scrambler 400X have crossed the 10,000 mark in India, within 10 days of the global launch. Last week, the two-wheeler maker had launched two premium bikes in collaboration with UK-based Triumph Motorcycles.
⭐ IRB Infrastructure Developers rises after Q1 update
Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers were up by almost 1% at ₹27 after the integrated private toll and highways infrastructure developer, along with its InvIT (infrastructure investment trust) IRB Infrastructure Trust, registered a toll revenue growth of 16% YoY at ₹383 crore in Q1. The aggregate toll revenue of both companies in Q1 FY24 was up by 18% YoY to ₹1,183 crore.
⭐ EaseMyTrip soars after agreement with SpiceJet
Shares for Easy Trip Planners (EaseMyTrip) soared by over 4% to ₹43, after the travel-booking platform signed an agreement with SpiceJet to enhance the promotion and sale of SpiceJet's products and services. Meanwhile, the board of SpiceJet will meet on Wednesday to consider a fundraise. Following this announcement, SpiceJet shares rose by over 2% on the BSE.
⭐ Crude oil trades lower
International crude oil prices traded lower after weak economic data from China, which is one of the world’s top oil consumers. China’s consumer prices slipped 0.2% in June, while prices at producer level slid deeper into negative territory. This data indicates challenges in the Chinese economy, which could negatively impact crude oil demand.
In Focus
Is Jio set to disrupt the financial services sector?
After the approval from the NCLT last week, Reliance Industries (RIL) has fixed 20 July as the record date to demerge its financial services arm Reliance Strategic Investments (RSIL). This paves the way for the long-awaited listing of Jio Financial Services on the exchanges. Following this, shares of Reliance Industries jumped over 4% intraday, and the stock crossed ₹18 lakh crore in market capitalisation. Here’s why this demerger is a big deal:
What’s happening?
Under the demerger scheme, existing shareholders will get one share of RSIL for every share held in RIL as of 20 July 2023. Meanwhile, Jio Financial Services will be listed as a separate entity in the coming months.
Jio Financial Services: A potential disruptor
As per industry experts, the entry of Jio Financial Services into the non-banking finance industry is expected to increase competition intensity within the sector. Upon listing, Jio Financial Services is expected to become one of the largest NBFCs in India in terms of capital.
Jio Financial Services can be a strong competitor to existing NBFCs due to its well-capitalised balance sheet, strong promoter backing, large distribution footprint and robust credit rating.
Other NBFCs under pressure
Following the demerger announcement, shares of major NBFCs like Bajaj Finance (-0.8%), Paytm (-3.5%), Cholamandalam Investment (-2.0%) traded lower as Jio Financial could disrupt the retail financing business of existing players.
Meanwhile, Reliance Industries shares hit a new 52-week high as investors rushed to buy RIL shares before the record date. Will the entry of Jio Financial change the dynamics of the financial services industry? We’ll find out soon!
Powerful buying made simple!
Markets often see sharp price movements triggered by positive news or technical patterns. In such situations, you may want to double down on certain high-conviction trades. However, having limited capital could be an obstacle in leveraging such opportunities. With Margin Trading Facility (MTF) on Upstox, you can increase your trading capacity instantly. Click here to know more about MTF.
Benefits of MTF:
🔹 Get 2X leverage on equity delivery orders
🔹 Borrow up to ₹25,00,000 at a time
🔹 Hold stocks bought via MTF for up to 365 days.