Semiconductor Industry Seeks Clarity on PLI Scheme, Govt. Rolls Back Proposals in Draft Electricity Bill and Buzzing Stocks Today

Mon, 20 Dec Pre-Open

   Previous Close   

   SGX Nifty   

   10:30 am   

   01:30 pm   

   Closing   

Indian share markets ended on a negative note yesterday.

Benchmark indices fell over a percent each with investors keeping a wary eye on the impact of omicron.

At the closing bell yesterday, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 889 points (down 1.5%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 263 points (down 1.5%).

Wipro and Infosys were among the top gainers.

IndusInd Bank and Tata Motors, on the other hand, were among the top losers.

The BSE Mid Cap index ended down by 2.4% while the BSE Small Cap index ended lower by 2.1%

Barring the software sector, all sectoral indices ended on a negative note with stocks from the real estate sector and banking sector witnessing most of the selling pressure.

Shares of Persistent Systems and Tech Mahindra hit their respective 52-week highs.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX were trading up by 0.1% at Rs 48,707 per 10 grams at the time of closing stock market hours yesterday.

Top Stocks in Focus Today

Among the buzzing stocks today will be Wipro.

Global information technology company Wipro announced that it signed an agreement to acquire US-based LeanSwift Solutions.

The acquisition is in line with Wipro's strategy to invest and expand its cloud transformation business through Wipro FullStride Cloud Services.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close before the end of the quarter ending 31 March 2022.

With its capabilities in both consulting and implementation space, LeanSwift will establish Wipro's position in cloud services.

The combined entity will enable Wipro in key transformation deals, especially in the manufacturing and distribution industry.

LeanSwift has development offices across the US, Sweden and India with clients spanning across manufacturing, distribution, chemicals, fashion, and food & beverages.

Headquartered in Florida, LeanSwift offers services in ERP, e-commerce, digital transformation, supply chain, warehouse management systems, business intelligence and integrations.

India bulls Housing Finance share price will also be in focus today.

Indiabulls Housing Finance on Thursday said its promoter Sameer Gehlaut has sold 11.9% stake in the company, and has decided to resign from its board by March end.

In a mail sent by Sameer Gehlaut to the Board of Directors, he said he has sold 11.9% in the company, to make it a "fully professionally managed and run company".

After the stake sale, he and his promoter companies now own 9.8% share in the housing finance company.

Here's what he said in a letter via email.

• About 2 years ago, we set a vision for Indiabulls Housing of making it a best in class, professionally run and innovative financial institution with a fortress balance sheet, strong liquidity and masterclass corporate governance. We have made significant progress.

Gehlaut added that he remains excited for the growth prospects of Dhani Services (a company that was demerged from Indiabulls Housing).

Indiabulls Housing Finance recently announced to raise Rs 10 bn via public issue of bonds.

The money will be utilised to fund its business growth. The issue that opened on 9 December will close on 20 December 2021, with an option of early closure.

When Gehlaut sold shares, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Invesco Mutual Fund, GMO, HSBC Global Investment Fund, BREP Asia II Indian Holdings, Morgan Stanley Asia, IMF and Prusik Umbrella UCITS Fund PLC were the major buyers through multiple block deals.

Speaking of the stock markets, India's #1 trader, Vijay Bhambwani, talks about how you can gain from the rally in the US dollar, in his latest video for Fast Profits Daily.

Tune in to the video below to find out more:

Semiconductor Industry Seeks Clarity on Rs 760 bn PLI Scheme

The semiconductor industry has sought greater clarity on the recent incentives being offered under the government's Rs 760-bn production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the sector.

Stakeholders want to know whether states can offer incentives to the semiconductor ecosystem that is over and above the Centre's grants and how fast approvals will come through for fabs, or fabrication units, to be set up.

Chipmakers said that the nearly US$10 bn package will start showing results only in about three-five years and around 30% of the 300,000 engineers graduating every year could get absorbed in this industry.

However, they cautioned that component shortages will continue to plague the sector over the next 6-9 months.

Chipmakers sought clarity on whether the Rs 760-bn is purely a cash incentive, or whether the land subsidy, duty subsidy, and all of those incentives are also included in that.

Another aspect that they seemed confused about was whether this is just the Centre's funds and if states can top up this.

For instance, industry experts said certain states have 25% capex exemption, while others have different policies in place.

Note that this relief package for the sector comes at a time when India has been facing a component shortage that has handicapped automotive, consumer electronics and handset makers.

The usage of semiconductors in the auto industry has gone up recently with technological advancements and new models coming.

Rating agency ICRA has said that the Indian passenger vehicles industry will lose about 500,000 units of sales in fiscal 2022 on account of the semiconductor shortage.

The new incentives package is aimed at creating a comprehensive ecosystem for semiconductor chip design, packaging and manufacturing that can attract global investment. The funding, which will be provided over a period of six years, is expected to bring in investment of up to Rs 1.7 lakh crore.

Government Rolls Back Proposals In Draft Electricity Bill, 2020

The Central government has decided to roll back several proposals introduced in the draft Electricity Bill, 2020. The Bill will no longer have a provision on abolition of electricity subsidies.

This would impact the Centre's commitment to introduce Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in the electricity sector.

In the latest round of changes in the Bill, the proposal of DBT has been dropped too.

The Centre, which is pushing reforms in the power distribution segment, had proposed to remove the term 'subsidy' in the first draft of the over-arching Electricity Bill last year.

It had instead proposed DBT in electricity, like in LPG.

Many states have been critical of the move to end subsidised power rates. Even farmer bodies, during their recent agitation, had come down heavily on the proposal.

While a large number of states provide subsidy on electricity bills to agriculture consumers, some offer it to a select set of users or like in the case of Delhi, up to a certain amount of electricity consumption.

First made public in April 2020, the Bill is yet to get the Union Cabinet's approval.

In February, the Centre had amended the Bill abolishing the concept of power "distribution licence", thereby opening doors for any company to supply electricity to an area, after necessary regulatory approval.

It also seeks to allow two or more discoms to register and distribute electricity in the same areas.

We will keep you posted on more updates from this space. Stay tuned.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

Read the latest Market Commentary

Top Gainers TodayTop Gainers over 1-WeekTop Gainers over 1-MonthTop Gainers over 1-YearTop Gainers over 3-YrsTop Gainers over 5-YrsTop Losers TodayTop Losers over 1-WeekTop Losers over 1-MonthTop Losers over 1-YearTop Losers over 3-YrsTop Losers over 5-YrsOnly BuyersOnly SellersMost Active StocksMost Popular Stocks52 Week High Stocks52 Week Low Stocks

INDICESBSE (Rs 0 to 1)BSE (Rs 1 to 2)BSE (Rs 2 to 4)BSE (Rs 4 to 10)BSE (Rs 10 to 20)BSE (Above Rs 20)BSE - AllBSE-30BSE-100BSE-200BSE-500BSE AutoBSE BankexBSE Capital GoodsBSE Consumer DurablesBSE FMCGBSE HealthcareBSE ITBSE MetalBSE Oil & GasBSE PSUBSE TeckBSE RealtyBSE PowerBSE A GroupBSE B GroupBSE Mid-CapBSE Small-CapBSE Basic MaterialsBSE Consumer DiscretionaryBSE IndustrialsBSE UtilitiesBSE Sensex 50BSE Sensex Next 50BSE Bharat 22BSE 150 MidCapBSE 250 SmallCapBSE 250 LargeMidCapBSE 400 MidSmallCapBSE AllCapBSE LargeCapBSE SmallCap SelectBSE 100 LargeCap TMCBSE InfraBSE ManufacturingBSE CPSEBSE Private BankBSE Diversified FinancialsBSE MomentumBSE Low VolatilityBSE QualityBSE Enhanced ValueBSE Divident StabilityS&P BSE IPOBSE SMEIPOBSE 100 ESGBSE CarbonexBSE GreenexNSE (Rs 0 to 10)NSE (Rs 10 to 20)NSE (Above Rs 20)NSE - AllNSE-50NSE ITNSE Nifty Midcap 50NSE JR. NiftyNSE Bank NiftyNIFTY Next 50NIFTY 100NIFTY 200NIFTY 500NIFTY MidCap 100NIFTY SmallCap 250NIFTY SmallCap 50NIFTY SmallCap 100NIFTY LargeMidCap 250NIFTY MidSmallCap 400NIFTY AutoNIFTY Consumer DurablesNIFTY FinanceNIFTY FMCGNIFTY MediaNIFTY MetalNIFTY PharmaNIFTY Private BankNIFTY PSU BankNIFTY RealtyNIFTY Oil & GasNIFTY SME EmergeNIFTY CommoditiesNIFTY CPSENIFTY EnergyNIFTY India ConsumptionNIFTY InfraNIFTY MNCNIFTY PSENIFTY Serv SectorNIFTY100 Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap 150 Quality 50NIFTY50 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Low Volatility 30NIFTY100 Alpha 30NIFTY Alpha 50NIFTY Dividend Opportunities 50NIFTY High Beta 50NIFTY Low Volatility 50NIFTY200 Quality 30NIFTY 500 Value 50NIFTY 100 Quality 30SECTORSAgricultureAirlinesAluminiumAsset Management CompaniesAutomobilesAuto AncillariesBanks (Private)Banks (PSU)BankingCementChemicalsDefenceDiagnosticsDronesEngineeringElectric VehicleElectric Vehicle BatteryEnergy SourcesESGEthanolFertilizersFintechFMCGFoodGreen HydrogenHotelsInfrastructureInsuranceInvestment and FinanceInvITIT (Large)IT (Others)LogisticsMediaMetalMiningIndia's Big Tech StocksIndian PharmaMNC PharmaPSUPaintPaperPlasticPowerRating AgenciesReal EstateREITsRenewable EnergyRetailingSemiconductorShippingSteelSugarSupply ChainTelecomTextilesTravel Support Services

10 results 25 results 50 results 100 results All results

Indian Share Market Update: Top Gainers and Losers