Market Bizzz

Major US banks are experiencing their longest weekly losing streak since the 2008 financial crisis, driven by mixed quarterly earnings and rising inflation. The KBW Bank Index has fallen about 13% since its August peak, continuing a trend of losses. Concerns about artificial intelligence disrupting financial services contribute to the negative sentiment toward the sector. Analysts highlight challenges involving elevated interest rates potentially slowing economic growth.

A significant selloff in semiconductor stocks affected major US indexes amid rising concerns regarding AI investment returns. The Nasdaq 100 dropped by 1.8%, continuing its longest losing streak since 2008. Market participants are questioning if AI infrastructure investments will yield profitable returns despite strong demand for chips. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh maintained a neutral stance on interest rates during discussions at the IMF meetings.

Jio Platforms has set an IPO price band of ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 per share. The company plans to raise around ₹30,000 crore during its initial public offering. Isha Ambani emphasized pricing the IPO accessibly for ensuring long-term shareholder value. Funds from the IPO will be used to reduce debt and support future growth initiatives. Jio’s listing is expected to make RIL Group India’s largest conglomerate by market capitalization.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has implemented an updated framework for closing auction sessions and derivatives settlement. Under the new guidelines, volume-weighted average prices will be used during the last half-hour of normal trading. Trading for stocks will now last until 3:30 pm, while closing auction sessions will continue until 3:40 pm.

As the name suggests, it is exactly the opposite of what a stock split does. While a stock split divides shares into multiple shares, a reverse stock split consolidates multiple shares into fewer shares.

The company has fixed the price band for its IPO at Rs 170–179 per share. The lot size is 800 shares. At the upper end of the price band, the minimum investment required for a retail investor applying for two lots, or 1,600 shares, is Rs 2,86,400.

The Rs 5,012.33-crore IPO comprises a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2,830 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of 14.45 crore shares valued at approximately Rs 2,182 crore.

In an interview with Kshitij Anand of ETMarkets, Chandraprakash Padiyar, Senior Fund Manager at Tata Asset Management, says investors should focus on bottom-up stock selection rather than making investment decisions based solely on market capitalisation. He also highlights manufacturing as a promising wealth-creation theme, backed by improving cost competitiveness, strong balance sheets and ambitions to scale up globally.