The benchmark stock indices have opened the day with significant gains as hopes of a vaccine for Covid-19 helped boost stocks across the world.

Former Reserve Bank of India Governor has warned that there could be an unprecedented rise in NPAs in the Indian banking system over the next 6 months due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Join us as we follow the top business news through the day.

Most S&P 500 stocks now pay more dividends than Treasuries

Sensex, Nifty close flat as market loses steam on fag-end RIL selloff

The bullish mood in stocks this morning didn't last through the day.

PTI reports: "Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty surrendered most of the day’s gains to end marginally higher on Wednesday following an intense selloff in heavyweight Reliance Industries at the fag-end of the session.

During the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 777 points, driven by positive sentiment across global markets on hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The index, however, made a U-turn in the last hour of trade and settled just 18.75 points, or 0.05 per cent, higher at 36,051.81. On similar lines, the NSE Nifty closed 10.85 points, or 0.10 per cent, up at 10,618.20. It had soared 220 points during the session.

Reliance Industries (RIL) plunged around 4 per cent after scaling its life-time high of Rs 1,978.50 (intra-day) as investors rushed to book profits after the company’s annual general meeting.

RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani announced that Google will invest Rs 33,737 crore to buy a 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, completing RIL’s capital-raising target for the digital arm.

Bharti Airtel, ONGC, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and SBI were also among the laggards.

On the other hand, shares of Infosys rallied around 6 per cent ahead of its quarterly earnings. HCL Tech, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank and HUL too ended with robust gains.

According to traders, during majority of the session, domestic investors were enthused by hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine as two contenders began human trials in India and one US-based candidate successfully completed the initial phase of human trials.

However, the fag-end selloff in RIL halted the rally, they said."

Ambani says received strong interest from strategic investors for Reliance Retail

More suitors seem to be wanting a share of the Reiance Group.

PTI reports: "Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday said his group’s retail venture has received strong interest from strategic and financial investors.

“We will induct global partners and investors in Reliance Retail in the next few quarters,” he said at Reliance Industries annual general meeting.

Reliance Retail has already started pilots of its ecommerce venture.

“We have successfully piloted JioMart grocery model with kirana partners. The beta version of JioMart grocery platform is being piloted in 200 cities. Daily orders have crossed 2.5 lakh, and the number is growing each day,” Ambani said.

Connecting farmers and delivering their fresh produce directly to homes is a key part of the firm’s grocery strategy. “This will significantly improve farmer income and incentivise higher productivity,” he said.

More than two-thirds of Reliance Retails’ nearly 12,000 stores are operated in Tier II, Tier III and Tier IV towns. “It sources over 80 per cent of fruits and vegetable directly from farmers,” he said."

Rupee jumps 27 paise to close at 75.15 against US dollar

It was a bullish day for rupee backers with strong demand for the currency amid the rally in domestic equities.

PTI reports: "The rupee appreciated 27 paise to settle at 75.15 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday tracking weakness in the greenback and gains in the domestic equity market.

Forex traders said investor sentiment strengthened after the human clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine were initiated in India.

The rupee opened at 75.35 against the US dollar, then gained further ground and finally settled at 75.15 against the US dollar, up 27 paise over its previous close.

It had settled at 75.42 against the greenback on Tuesday.

During the four-hour trading session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 75.14 and a low of 75.36 against the US dollar.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Tuesday said human clinical trials for a potential vaccine for COVID-19 had been initiated in the country with approximately 1,000 volunteers participating in the exercise for each of the two indigenously developed vaccine candidates.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has permitted two vaccines -- one developed by Bharat Biotech International Limited in collaboration with ICMR and another one by Zydus Cadila Healthcare Ltd -- to go in for the first and second phase of human clinical trials.

Meanwhile, the number of cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed 1.33 crore and the death toll has topped 5.78 lakh."

Google to pick 7.7% stake in Jio for Rs 33,737 crore

Another big investment deal between Reliance and a foreign buyer.

PTI reports: "Google will pick up 7.7 per cent stake in Reliance Industries’ technology venture for Rs 33,737 crore, richest Indian Mukesh Ambani said on Wednesday.

“We are delighted to welcome Google as a strategic investor in Jio Platforms. We have signed a binding partnership and an investment agreement under which Google will invest Rs 33,737 crores for a 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms,” Ambani said at the company’s annual general meeting.

This takes the cumulative fund raising by Reliance in less than three months to Rs 2,12,809 crore, he said.

This includes investments by Facebook and other investors in Jio Platforms and Rs 53,124 crore Rights Issue, and investment by BP in fuel retailing venture.

“It is in excess of our net debt of Rs 1,61,035 crore at the end of FY19-20,” he said. “Reliance is now truly a zero net debt company, well ahead of my goal of March 2021. It has an extremely strong Balance Sheet that will support growth plans for its three Hyper-Growth Engines — Jio, Retail and O2C.”

Reliance has concluded its JV with BP in the existing fuel retailing business. “BP has invested Rs 7,629 crore for their 49 per cent stake in the JV,” he said."

Hetero Healthcare Ltd starts supply of generic Remdesivir

Hetero Healthcare Ltd is supplying 60,000 vials of Covifor, generic version of Remdesivir injection in the country from July 13 to 20, the company website said.

Covifor is the first generic brand of Remdesivir, which is meant for treatment of COVID-19 patients that are adults and children, hospitalised with severe symptoms of the disease.

The drug is available in 100 mg vial (Injectable).

It needs to be administered intravenously in a hospital, critical care setting, under the supervision of a registered medical practitioner.

PSBs buy Rs 14,667 crore of bonds, CPs of 67 NBFCs under credit scheme

Some relief at last for the country's non-bank financial institutions.

PTI reports: "Public sector banks (PSBs) have purchased bonds and commercial papers worth Rs 14,667 crore issued by 67 NBFCs under the revamped Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday.

As part of the nearly Rs 21 lakh crore special economic package amid the COVID-19 crisis, Sitharaman announced Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS) 2.0 worth Rs 45,000 crore for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and micro finance institutions (MFIs).

“As of 10 July 2020, under the extended PCGS, #PSBs have approved for purchase Bonds/Commercial Papers issued by 67 NBFCs amounting to Rs 14,667 crore, of which Rs 6,845 crore is for Bonds/CPs rated below AA, providing liquidity support to NBFCs with lower rated Bonds/CPs,” Sitharaman said in a tweet.

The purchase of bonds/commercial papers of Rs 6,125 crore, including Rs 5,550 crore of bonds/commercial papers (CP) rated below AA, is currently under various stages of approval/at negotiation stage, she added.

“The Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS) was revamped under the #AatmanirbharBharat Package to support the liability side of NBFCs by providing a 20% portfolio guarantee to public sector banks for the purchase of Bonds/Commercial Papers rated AA and below issued by NBFCs,” she said.

Taking the lead, 23 NBFCs from the southern region sold bonds and or CP worth Rs 5,710 crore. It was followed by the western region with 29 NBFCs issuing papers to the tune of Rs 4,540 crore as of July 10.

The Union Cabinet on May 20 approved the sovereign portfolio guarantee of up to 20 per cent of the first loss for purchase of Bonds or Commercial Papers with a rating of AA and below including unrated paper with original or initial maturity of up to one year issued by NBFCs/HFCs/MFIs by public sector banks through an extension of PCGS.

The Cabinet also extended the time period of the scheme from June 30, 2020, to March 31, 2021, for purchase of pooled assets of the distressed entities."

Flipkart raises $1.2 bn in Walmart-led funding

Flipkart Group on Tuesday said it had raised $1.2 billion equity, led by its majority shareholder Walmart.

In a statement, Flipkart said the fresh equity will “support continued development of its e-commerce marketplace” as India emerges from the COVID-19 crisis.

The fresh equity, which values Flipkart at $24.9 billion, comes amid potential competition from Reliance Industries’ JioMart, while rival Amazon had earlier this year committed $1 billion investment to help digitise small and medium businesses.

Wipro shares rally over 19% after Q1 earnings

Wipro's results surprised the Street, leading to a massive intra-day rally.

PTI reports: "Shares of Wipro on Wednesday jumped over 19 per cent after the company posted an increase in consolidated profit to Rs 2,390.4 crore for the quarter ended on June 30, 2020.

The stock zoomed 17.70 per cent to Rs 264.90 on the BSE.

On the NSE, it jumped 19.42 per cent to Rs 268.70.

The company had posted a consolidated profit, attributable to equity holders, of Rs 2,387.6 crore in the same period a year ago.

Total income of Wipro was almost flat at Rs 15,571.4 crore at the end of the first quarter of 2020-21 compared to Rs 15,566.6 crore in the corresponding quarter of the fiscal year 2019-20.

The marginal increase in Wipro’s performance surprised the market as the country’s largest software services firm TCS on Thursday reported a 13.8 per cent decline in June quarter consolidated net profit at Rs 7,008 crore on revenues being impacted by the coronavirus crisis.

“Margins surprise positively, still appears circumspect of growth recovery unlike TCS. The company avoids providing a formal revenue outlook for the September quarter and unlike TCS, remains circumspect about seeing a recovery in the near term,” Emkay Global Services said.

According to a report by Motilal Oswal Institutional Equities, while full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pricing and working capital cycle is yet to play out, Wipro’s outlook on managing margin stability and healthy cash conversions are impressive."

Maruti recalls 1,34,885 units of WagonR, Baleno to fix faulty fuel pumps

The financial impact of the recall is not yet clear.

PTI reports: "The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Wednesday said it is recalling 1,34,885 units of WagonR and Baleno models to inspect and replace faulty fuel pumps.

The company is voluntarily undertaking a recall for WagonR (1 litre) manufactured between November 15, 2018, and October 15, 2019, and Baleno (petrol) manufactured between January 8, 2019, and November 4, 2019, MSI said in a regulatory filing.

The recall will cover 1,34,885 vehicles of both these models, it added.

“The company will inspect 56,663 units of WagonR and 78,222 units of Baleno for a possible issue with the fuel pump. Faulty part will be replaced, free of cost,” the auto major said.

Owners of the suspected vehicles under this recall campaign will be contacted by the company authorised dealers in due course of time, it added."

US real interest rates drop below zero

Oil climbs after sharp drop in U.S. crude stocks; OPEC committee meeting in focus

The oil rally resumes as supply concerns overwhelm worries about the virus.

Reuters reports: "Oil prices rose on Wednesday following a sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories, with the market waiting for next steps from a meeting later in the day on the future level of output cuts by OPEC and its allies.

Brent crude futures were up 19 cents, or 0.4%, at $43.09 a barrel as of 0343 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.4%, to $40.46 a barrel.

Reflecting a recovery in fuel demand despite the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. crude inventories fell by 8.3 million barrels in the week to July 10, beating analysts' expectations for a decline of 2.1 million barrels, according to data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute.

Official numbers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) are due on Wednesday.

“API numbers released overnight, have provided some support to the market in early morning trading today,” ING Economics said in a note.

On supply, the market will be closely watching for news from a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) later on Wednesday.

“The market will be eager to see if deeper cuts will be rolled over for an additional month, or whether the group will stick to the original plan, and start trimming cuts,” according to ING Economics.

“Most indications suggest that it will be the latter, with more focus on compliance and compensatory cuts.”

Key members of OPEC and allies including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, are set to decide whether to extend output cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) that end in July or ease them to 7.7 million bpd.

“Oil prices are likely to be traded in a range of $40, with the market paying close attention to today's JMMC results,” said Kim Kwang-rae, commodity analyst at Samsung Securities in Seoul."

Rupee surges 14 paise to 75.28 against US dollar in early trade

The bullish sentiment in domestic equities has helped the rupee this morning.

PTI reports: "The rupee appreciated 14 paise to 75.28 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday tracking weakness in the greenback and gains in the domestic equity market.

Forex traders said, investor sentiment strengthened after the human clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine were initiated in India.

The rupee opened at 75.35 against the US dollar, then gained further ground and touched 75.28 against the US dollar, up 14 paise over its previous close.

It had settled at 75.42 against the greenback on Tuesday.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Tuesday said human clinical trials for a potential vaccine for COVID-19 had been initiated in the country with approximately 1,000 volunteers participating in the exercise for each of the two indigenously developed vaccine candidates.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has permitted two vaccines -- one developed by Bharat Biotech International Limited in collaboration with ICMR and another one by Zydus Cadila Healthcare Ltd -- to go in for the first and second phase of human clinical trials.

The number of cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed 1.32 crore and the death toll has topped 5.77 lakh.

In India, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 24,309 and the number of infections spiked to 9,36,181, according to the health ministry.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.05 per cent to 96.21.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 516.58 points higher at 36,549.64 and broader NSE Nifty rose 148.65 points to 10,756.00."

NPAs may witness unprecedented increase in 6 months: Rajan

Insights from a wide-ranging interaction with the former RBI Governor.

PTI reports: "Sounding a note of caution, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said non-performing assets of the banking sector are likely to witness unprecedented increase in the next six months and the sooner the problem is recognised the better it would be.

The outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown to curb the spread of disease has hit businesses hard and many of them are facing difficulty in servicing debt.

“The level of the NPAs is going to be unprecedented in six months from now if we really recognise the true level of NPAs...We are in trouble and sooner we recognise it, better it is because we really need to deal with the problem, Rajan said during a session at the India Policy Forum 2020 organised by NCAER.

Referring to the article titled Bold decisions, strong political will: Economic reforms are sustained, deep and pronounced under PM Modi by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman published on Tuesday, he said it talks about Jan Dhan success but some economists have contrary views on this.

“We have difficulty in targeting transfers to people. We are still talking about universality because we can’t target. (as highlighted by Vijay Joshi, Oxford University) Jan Dhan does not really work as advertised,” Rajan said.

He, however, said one positive factor for Indian economy is that the agriculture sector is doing well.

“Certainly, the government has come up with reforms. These are reforms which have been talked about for a long time. They certainly can be beneficial for a significant portion of our economy if implemented,” Rajan said.

As part of the reform process for the farm sector, the government amended the six-and-a-half-decade-old Essential Commodities Act to deregulate food items, including cereals, edible oil, oilseeds, pulses, onion and potato.

The amendment, besides deregulating production and sale of food products, will provide for no stock limit to be imposed on any produce.

Last month, the government approved an ordinance to allow barrier-free trade in agriculture produce outside the notified APMC mandis."

Sensex rallies over 400 points in early trade; Nifty tops 10,700

Domestic equities have opened with gains in line with global stocks.

PTI reports: "Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 400 points in early trade on Wednesday led by gains in index-heavyweights Infosys, Reliance Industries and TCS amid largely positive trend in global markets.

After touching a high of 36,465.34, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 423.11 points, or 1.17 per cent, higher at 36,456.17.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty surged 120.15 points, or 1.13 per cent, to 10,727.50.

Shares of Infosys rallied around 3 per cent ahead of its quarterly earnings. Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, HCL Tech and IndusInd Bank were among the other gainers.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, ITC and Kotak Bank were the laggards.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer ended 660.63 points or 1.80 per cent lower at 36,033.06; while the NSE Nifty closed 195.35 points or 1.81 per cent down at 10,607.35.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday, offloading equities worth Rs 1,565.62 crore, provisional exchange data showed.

According to traders, domestic benchmarks followed US equities which rallied on hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine."

Mukesh Ambani to detail post-COVID business plan at AGM; focus on leveraging tech partnerships

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani is likely to announce plans of leveraging recent partnerships with global technology giants such as Facebook as well as a vision to maximise oil to chemical conversion at his flagship Reliance Industries’ annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, analysts said.

Mr. Ambani, 63, may at the company’s first online AGM also give a sneak preview of his vision for decarbonisation of energy molecules to create value-added products with almost no carbon emissions.

Strategic direction post-COVID-19 and further details on asset monetisation are key expectations from the 43rd AGM of RIL, analysts said.

The AGM is “expected to report on progress on asset monetisation (INViTs and stake sale in O2C business), more details on strategic partnerships in digital business, growth plans on financial vertical, oil to chemical integration progress and new technologies,” Morgan Stanley said.