Published By: Sayan Paul

The Buzz in Business: Top News of the Day (Dec 27)

Discover the top business headlines that are trending across the world today!

Sensex Up 300 Points In Early Trade, Nifty Goes Above 23,850

India's equity market opened on a positive note on Friday. At around 9:30 am, the BSE Sensex was trading 300 points higher at 78,775 and the NSE Nifty trading 100 points up at 23,853. 38 out of the 50 components in the NIFTY50 index were trading in the green and the remaining 12 in red. Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, NTPC, and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the top gainers, while HCLTech, Adani Ports, TCS, Hindalco Industries, and L&T were among the top losers.

Mamata Machinery Becomes Multibagger On Debut Trade

Mamata Machinery made its Dalal Street debut today, setting an example like no other. The shares were listed at Rs 600 on NSE in early trade, a premium of 146.91 percent over its issue price of Rs 243. And soon, it reached a 5% upper circuit limit on the exchanges.

Notably, Mamata Machinery Ltd is into manufacturing packaging machinery. It had its IPO set between ₹230 and ₹243 per share and secured a total of Rs 179.30 crore - entirely an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 73,82,340 equity shares.

(Credit: Stocktwits India)

It's worth noting that besides Mamata Machinery, other companies like DAM Capital Advisors, Transrail Lighting, Sanathan Textiles, and Concord Enviro also made their debut on Dalal Street today.

Trend and Progress: RBI Calls For Diversified Funding At NBFC

In its latest report (Trend and Progress), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) highlighted that non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) must diversify their sources of funding as a key risk mitigation strategy. It added that the "growth at any cost" approach could be harmful to the entire sector. Moreover, the RBI suggested that NBFCs strengthen their customer grievance redressal mechanisms and avoid excess interest rates. 

"With a decline in subscription to debentures by banks, overall banks’ exposure as a share of NBFCs’ borrowings moderated from 43.1 percent at end-March 2023 to 42.7 percent at the end-March 2024. The reduction in NBFCs’ reliance on banks for funds bodes well for overall financial stability," the RBI said.

(Credit: EquiNews India)

Rupee Hits New Low Due To Strong NDF Dollar Bids

Due to persistently strong dollar demand in the non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market, the Indian rupee hit an all-time low on Friday at 85.3950 to the dollar. The dollar index stood higher at 108.1, while Asian currencies were down between 0.1% to 1%. According to experts, the pressure on the Indian currency is likely to remain for quite some time now.

As Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex, explained in a media interaction, "The pressure on the currency is likely to persist, driven by month-end dollar demand from local oil companies. Thus, we anticipate the USD/INR pair to trade within the range of 85 to 85.50 in the near term."

Notably, the RBI has so far supported the rupee with its frequent dollar-selling interventions.