Today’s agenda:
India's gold demand could jump significantly in the fourth quarter as the release of pent-up demand is expected to lift jewellery sales during the peak festive season. The world's second-biggest gold consumer could help support spot prices after a near 5% correction so far this year. The higher demand in the Asian nation could lead to a rise in imports of the metal, which could widen India's trade deficit and weigh on the rupee.
Demand for the precious metal jumped 47% in the third quarter from a year earlier to 139.1 tonnes as jewellery demand surged 58% to 96.2 tonnes, according to a report by the World Gold Council.
In the U.S., the metal firmed up as investors looked forward to key central bank meetings for clues on whether they would consider tightening monetary policy earlier than thought. Market participants also await the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting on Nov. 3.
South Korean smartphone major Samsung posted a 28% jump in operating profit in the September-ending quarter. Rising memory chip prices and shipments, plus a jump in profitability at Samsung's chip-contract manufacturing business boosted the chip division's operating profit, while sales of Samsung's new foldable smartphones were tempered by marketing and component costs.
In India, Adani Enterprises Ltd. reported a 55.3% decline in consolidated profit at Rs 194.54 crore for the quarter ended September. And Airtel garnered over Rs 5,200 cr from first tranche of payment in rights issue. The applicants paid Rs 133.75 per share on application, with the balance sum to be paid in two more additional calls as may be decided by the board. – John Xavier
Our live blog will track important developments in the world business, markets and economy.
Oil prices falls
Oil prices fell with Brent hitting its lowest in two weeks after a rise in U.S. inventories of crude.
Brent crude plunged 1.6% to $83.22 a barrel, a two-week low. It tumbled 2.1% in its previous session.
U.S. oil also fell 1.6% to $81.38 a barrel.
Crude oil stocks rose by 4.3 million barrels last week as compare with the forecast of 1.9 million barrel gain.
Airtel garners over Rs 5,200 cr from first tranche of payment in rights issue
Bharti Airtel is estimated to have garnered over Rs 5,200 crore from the first round of payment in its recently-concluded rights issue, as the telco's special committee approved allotment of 39.2 crore equity shares to eligible applicants.
The applicants paid Rs 133.75 per share on application, with the balance sum to be paid in two more additional calls as may be decided by the board, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Nykaa raises Rs 2,396 cr from anchor investors
FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, which runs online marketplace for beauty and wellness products Nykaa, on Wednesday said it has raised Rs 2,396 crore from anchor investors ahead of its initial share-sale, which opens for public subscription on Thursday.
The company has decided to allocate a total of 21,296,397 equity shares to anchor investors at Rs 1,125 a share, aggregating to Rs 2,395.84 crore, according to a circular uploaded on the BSE website.
Asian shares update | Sensex falls
The Indian equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty opened lower today amid weak global cues.
At 9:16 IST, the Sensex was down 0.29% at 60964.43 and the Nifty was down 0.34% at 18149.90.
Asian stocks fell after corporate earnings reports indicated supply chain snags and with investors worried whether central banks may tighten monetary policy earlier than thought.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.1% while Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.1%.
Mainland Chinese shares also shed 0.2%.
Company earnings reports showed that US manufacturers are facing logistics issues and higher cost due to supply bottlenecks. The problems may drag into next year.