Grasim Industries has started the trial run for three plants of its paints business - Birla Opus – and is on track to launch the operations in the current quarter.The Aditya Birla group company announced its foray into this business in 2021 with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore, and intends to be the second largest player in the country over the next few years.

Domestic benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to rebound from a two-day losing streak due to gains in banking stocks. However, experts believe that the markets will trade sideways in the near-term without immediate triggers. The fear gauge India VIX has cooled off while mid-and smallcaps may undergo bouts of profit-booking due to end of financial year.

AstraZeneca expects to boost 2024 revenue and profit on the back of its blockbuster cancer drugs, but lower than expected fourth-quarter profit dragged the London-listed drugmaker's shares down more than 5% on Thursday. In almost a decade since AstraZeneca fended off a takeover by U.S. rival Pfizer, CEO Pascal Soriot has rebuilt the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker's pipeline.

Skanska, one of the largest construction companies in the Nordics and the US, reported a significant decrease in fourth-quarter operating profit due to property value writedowns. They have proposed a reduced dividend and cited weak markets, particularly in US commercial real estate development, as the reason for 2 billion crowns worth of impairments.

India's foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 5.736 billion to USD 622.469 billion in the week of February 2, with foreign currency assets increasing by USD 5.186 billion and gold reserves by USD 608 million. The rise comes after a previous week's increase of USD 591 million, with October 2021 seeing an all-time high of USD 645 billion.

DB Realty has announced its plan to demerge its hospitality business into a separate unit, leading to a 2% increase in its stock price. The demerged entity will include notable assets like Goan Hotels & Realty Pvt Ltd and Bamboo Hotel And Global Centre (Delhi) Pvt Ltd. This move aims to unlock the value of the real estate and hospitality business for shareholders and attract investors focus.

Reported Standalone quarterly numbers for Chemtech Industrial Valves are: Net Sales at Rs 10.77 crore in December 2023 up 190.82% from Rs. 3.70 crore in December 2022. Quarterly Net Profit at Rs. 1.09 crore in December 2023 up 18111.67% from Rs. 0.01 crore in December 2022. EBITDA stands at Rs. 1.55 crore in December 2023 up 868.75% from Rs. 0.16 crore in December 2022.

Reported Standalone quarterly numbers for SVA India are: Net Sales at Rs 0.13 crore in December 2023 up 1.54% from Rs. 0.13 crore in December 2022. Quarterly Net Loss at Rs. 0.31 crore in December 2023 up 44.52% from Rs. 0.57 crore in December 2022. EBITDA stands negative at Rs. 0.20 crore in December 2023 up 33.33% from Rs. 0.30 crore in December 2022. SVA India shares closed at 8.13.

The Nifty 50 ended Friday's trading session in the negative territory with banks and healthcare stocks gaining the most. The broader indices closed in the red, while midcap, smallcap, and microcap stocks saw losses. The market rebounded from yesterday's sell-off aided by a surge in banking stocks. Analysts predict further upside towards key moving averages for Nifty.

Banks have seen good growth in the past few years and lending rates are expected to remain stable as they have peaked. The central bank has been urging banks to pass on rate cues to customers, but transmission of rate hikes is incomplete. RBI has hinted at a possible rate cut in mid-2025 and experts believe that this may be the start of a series of policy rate cuts over the next few months.

Reported Standalone quarterly numbers for Jetking Infotrain are: Net Sales at Rs 4.69 crore in December 2023 up 16.29% from Rs. 4.03 crore in December 2022. Quarterly Net Profit at Rs. 0.02 crore in December 2023 up 101.17% from Rs. 1.54 crore in December 2022. EBITDA stands at Rs. 0.63 crore in December 2023 up 166.32% from Rs. 0.95 crore in December 2022.

Reported Standalone quarterly numbers for Advance Metering Technology are: Net Sales at Rs 3.19 crore in December 2023 up 4.14% from Rs. 3.07 crore in December 2022. Quarterly Net Profit at Rs. 0.42 crore in December 2023 down 95.87% from Rs. 10.28 crore in December 2022. EBITDA stands at Rs. 1.80 crore in December 2023 up 295.65% from Rs. 0.92 crore in December 2022.

Reported Standalone quarterly numbers for Indigo Paints are: Net Sales at Rs 341.25 crore in December 2023 up 21.33% from Rs. 281.27 crore in December 2022. Quarterly Net Profit at Rs. 37.70 crore in December 2023 up 43.55% from Rs. 26.26 crore in December 2022. EBITDA stands at Rs. 63.80 crore in December 2023 up 43.92% from Rs. 44.33 crore in December 2022.

Reported Standalone quarterly numbers for Hubtown are: Net Sales at Rs 26.23 crore in December 2023 down 70.08% from Rs. 87.68 crore in December 2022. Quarterly Net Profit at Rs. 2.46 crore in December 2023 up 2633.33% from Rs. 0.09 crore in December 2022. EBITDA stands at Rs. 14.36 crore in December 2023 up 35.73% from Rs. 10.58 crore in December 2022.

German govt has reduced the tax relief package for small & medium-sized companies to 3.2 billion euros annually ($3.45 billion). The decision has been taken to stimulate investment amidst poor foreign demand. Although the Growth Opportunities Act previously promised a higher relief, it has been facing opposition from Bundesrat. The new relief package is about half of what was previously planned.