Discover the top business headlines that are trending across the world today!
The stock market opened on a negative note on Monday, continuing its downward trend due to declines in IT and energy stocks. At 9:36 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex was down by 420.71 points at 77,159.60, and the NSE Nifty50 dropped 132.50 points to 23,400.25.
Dr. V K Vijayakumar of Geojit Financial Services noted that despite a 10.4% correction in Nifty from its peak, signs of sustained recovery remain elusive. IT stocks led the losses, with Wipro falling 3.22%, Infosys 2.90%, Tech Mahindra 2.73%, and HCL Technologies 2.27%.
Broader indices also faced selling pressure, with the Nifty Smallcap100 down 1.24% and the Nifty Midcap100 falling 0.62%. Market volatility spiked, as reflected by a 7.12% rise in India VIX. While most sectors saw declines, only three of 16 sectoral indices traded in positive territory, with Nifty IT down nearly 3% and Oil and Gas losing 2%.
Adani Green Energy is set to raise approximately $2 billion through a combination of international bonds and loans in the coming months, according to The Economic Times. The company plans to issue a $600 million bond shortly, following the postponement of a $1.2 billion bond sale last month due to geopolitical concerns and rising yield demands.
Previously, Adani Green proposed a 7% fixed coupon rate for a 20-year bond, but higher rates are now anticipated due to surging global yields, including the US 10-year Treasury rate hitting a peak. Funds will primarily support its Rajasthan-based subsidiaries engaged in wind and solar projects, while a private placement deal for another subsidiary is expected by early 2025.
Part of the capital will expand operations at the Khavda solar project, currently producing 2.2 GW of its planned 30 GW capacity. Adani Green, with 11.18 GW operational capacity, targets 50 GW by 2030, reporting a 20% revenue rise in Q2 FY24.
Amazon India plans to relocate its Bengaluru headquarters from the World Trade Centre (WTC) in Malleswaram to a new office near the city’s airport, according to a report by LiveMint. This strategic move aims to cut costs, vacating 500,000 square feet of premium office space at WTC, where rent is Rs 250 per square foot. The new location, owned by Sattva, is expected to cost less than one-third of the current rental expense.
The transition is set to begin in April 2025 and conclude by April 2026. While the new campus promises state-of-the-art facilities to boost employee collaboration, its distance from the city centre and lack of metro connectivity may pose commuting challenges.
This shift may reshape Bengaluru’s real estate dynamics. It could lower demand for residential rentals near WTC but enhance the airport corridor’s appeal as a commercial hub, already attracting major firms like Infosys and Boeing.
India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), plans to pilot a local cloud storage platform for financial firms in 2025, offering affordable solutions tailored to smaller firms, according to insider sources. The initiative, a first for any global central bank, aims to challenge the dominance of major players like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud in India’s burgeoning cloud services market, which was valued at $8.3 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $24.2 billion by 2028.
The RBI’s research arm, Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services, is leading initial development, with private tech firms to join later. Consultancy EY has been appointed as an advisor. The project will be funded by the RBI’s ₹229.74 billion asset development fund, with plans to invite financial firms to hold equity at a later stage. The rollout will be phased, starting with smaller-scale implementations.
