Business News: Sensex Nears 80K, Nifty Record, Kotak Controversy, IPO Surge

The benchmark indices touched all-time highs with the Nifty50 leaping 95 points to 24,236 and the BSE Sensex going by 364 points to levels of 79,840. Gainers included HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, others, while Titan and JSW Steel were losers at the aperture. In Asian markets, the Nikkei 225 and Topix had mixed moves, while that of South Korea, the Kospi dropped. Back home, US markets closed higher, with Nasdaq and Dow Jones recording a gain, while S&P 500 advanced by a slight change overnight.

Indian markets opened flat but saw gains as the week began. Stocks in discussion through the day include Patanjali Foods, CSB Bank, Hero MotoCorp, among others. Patanjali Foods: Acquired the non-food business of Patanjali Ayurved for Rs 1,100 cr. CSB Bank: Advances at the bank grew, while deposits improved sequentially. Hero MotoCorp: Firm posted a 15 per cent rise in June sales, plans to expand EV portfolio. DCX Systems: Company bags an order worth Rs 1,250 crore from L&T. IOL Chemicals gets China nod for Fenofibrate. Mixed June sales for Eicher Motors, Tata Motors, and TVS Motor launches QIP.

Hindenburg Research has accused Kotak Mahindra Bank of creating and managing an offshore fund structure for the shorting of Adani stocks. While SEBI has issued a notice to Hindenburg over its Adani Report, regulator did not mention Kotak Bank directly, raising allegation of protectionism. Hindenburg had revealed a short position against Adani shares and mentioned the transparency while SEBI is probing broader issues relating to the financial practices of Adani Group and alleged stock manipulation.

The government increased the windfall tax on domestically produced crude oil from Rs 3,250 to Rs 6,000 per tonne, with effect from July 2. This is through a Special Additional Excise Duty. However, the SAED on the export of diesel, petrol and jet fuel remained nil. Just lastly, on 1 July 2022, India introduced a windfall profit tax that will apply to crude oil to rein in private refiners who were looking to reap a bonanza from refining or selling fuel abroad to capture strong refining margins instead of selling it locally. This will be in line with the global taxing of super-normal profits that energy companies have been garnering.

The IPO of Nephro Care India Ltd, which closes today, has seen a massive subscription of 194.47 times. It opened on the 28th of June, and it is non-institutional investors who have grabbed them along with retail individual investors. The Rs 41.26-crore IPO, priced at Rs 85-90 per share, is likely to finalise allotment on July 3 and list on the NSE SME on July 5, officials said. Nephro Care India Limited intends to deploy the proceeds for setting up a multi-speciality hospital at Kolkata and general corporate purposes. Grey market premium indicated a listing gain of 172.22 per cent.

Given below is the calendar of key dates for the month of July 2024, which every taxpayer needs to keep in mind. July 7 is the last date for the deposit of TDS, STT, and the Equalisation Levy for the month of June 2024. July 15 will cover the filing of Form 24G, TDS certificates, quarterly statements of TCS. The last date for issuing TDS challans and quarterly TCS certificates will be July 30. July 31 shall be the last day with regard to filing of ITR for A.Y. 2024-25, payment of self-assessment tax, furnishing various quarterly statements. Keeping track of these dates will help in compliance and hence better tax planning.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla clarified that he cannot turn off members' microphones, responding to Rahul Gandhi's claim that his mic was switched off during House proceedings. Birla emphasized the dignity of the Chair, stating that mics are controlled from a central room and only activated when a member is permitted to speak. The controversy began when Gandhi claimed his mic was off during discussions on NEET irregularities, echoing past grievances about the government suppressing opposition voices in Parliament.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra targeted the BJP government over her expulsion during the last Lok Sabha session by attributing their defeat of 63 MPs to her silencing. She spoke on a Motion of Thanks and slammed the installation of Sengol in Parliament as monarchical. She questioned the government about women's empowerment and infrastructural projects. She had also charged bias upon the Election Commission, challenged the removal of Article 370 in Kashmir, and brought forth the role of peoples in keeping accountability within the government. She asserted her personal sacrifices that she had to part with for her political stance.