Market Bizzz

Insurance intermediaries can reach customers by increasing investments in data automation and AI, the regulator said.

But Pandey said the bank has excess bond investments of about ₹18,000 crore, which can be liquidated for lending purposes. – Our Bureau

​​Reliance contributed 272 points to the Nifty rally. Indian markets closed at record highs on Friday, with the Nifty closing at 18,826 and the Sensex at 63,385. Nifty 50 is now only 63 points away from an all-time high level, whereas Sensex closed just 198 points away from the record high hit on December 1, 2022.

Asian shares reached a near four-month high on Friday as positive U.S. economic data increased expectations that the Federal Reserve has nearly ended its rate-hike campaign. Investors have now shifted focus to the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan increased by 0.31% and is expected to gain 2.5% in the week, its best weekly performance since January. The BOJ is expected to stick with ultra-loose monetary policy despite inflation rising. The CSI 300 Index was 0.3% higher, and the Hang Seng Index gained 0.4%.

Equity benchmarks, the BSE Sensex and Nifty, ended lower on Thursday due to the Fed’s hawkish comments, which overshadowed the pause in rate hikes. L&T Finance rose 4.72%, RBL Bank dropped 3.78%, and Godrej Properties was up 4.15%. According to Amol Athawale, VP-Technical Research Analyst at Kotak Securities, investors should buy L&T Finance above Rs 113, buy RBL Bank above Rs 175 and buy Godrej Properties on dips.

Binance.US has reportedly laid off employees in its legal, compliance and risk departments following last week’s SEC charges, according to sources. One informant said that around 50 people were dismissed, but the exact figure remains unverified. The SEC accused Binance.US and its CEO of violating securities laws by misleading investors. It has also sought to freeze Binance.US’ assets of over $2.2bn, citing concerns that they might move offshore. Two Binance.US employees on LinkedIn referred to a “round of layoffs”. Binance says it will defend itself.

Promoters held 63.9 per cent stake in the company as of 31-Mar-2023, while FII and DII ownership stood at 26.0 per cent and 2.71 per cent, respectively.