Top Headlines: LIC IPO likely after Oct; HDFC Q3 net profit declines 65%

Here are all the top economy and markets headlines of today

All parties in Amazon-Future dispute should maintain status quo: Delhi HC

India's Future Group needs to maintain status quo with respect to its $3.4 billion retail assets deal, the Delhi High Court said on Tuesday, giving interim relief to Amazon.com Inc as it battles to foil Future Group's asset sales to a rival. Amazon, locked in protracted legal disputes with Future, alleges the Indian firm violated contracts by agreeing to sell its retail assets to rival Reliance Industries last year. Future denies any wrongdoing. Read more

LIC IPO post Oct; BPCL, Air India stake sale by Sept: Divestment official

The initial public offering (IPO) of India's largest insurance company LIC is likely after October this year, a top official said on Tuesday laying out the government's divestment calendar that includes completing the sale of flag carrier Air India and oil firm BPCL within the first half of the next fiscal.

Targeting to raise Rs 1.75 lakh crore from the asset sale to finance projects aimed at reviving the pandemic battered economy, the government is also looking to sell Shipping Corp of India (SCI), IDBI Bank Ltd and two other public sector lenders in the fiscal year beginning April 1.  Read more

India's massive borrowing puts RBI under pressure to keep yields in check

India’s central bank is under pressure to step in to keep yields in check after the government surprised bond markets with a bigger-than-expected borrowing plan. That puts the burden on Governor Shaktikanta Das to calm the bond traders when he meets to decide policy on Friday. He’s already had to assuage them that a recent measure to mop up excess liquidity isn’t a step toward changing the RBI’s accommodative policy and the central bank has rejected bids at two auctions of benchmark debt after investors sought higher yields.  Read more

HDFC Q3 standalone profit slips 65% YoY to Rs 2,926 cr, revenue tanks 42.2%

Country’s largest mortgage lender HDFC reported a net profit of Rs 2,925.83 crore in October–December quarter (Q3) of FY21, down 65 per cent from a profit of Rs 8,372.49 crore in the corresponding period of FY20. However, the profit figures are not comparable because in Q3FY20, it booked a fair value gain of over Rs 9,000 crore due to merger of Gruh Finance with Bandhan Bank. Read more

Morgan Stanley ups Sensex target to 55,000; bullish on cyclicals, midcaps

Buoyed by Budget proposals presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, the S&P BSE Sensex surged over 3,300 points in two sessions to reclaim the 50,000 mark. If analysts at Morgan Stanley are to be believed, the index is on course to hit 55,000 mark by December 2021 – an upside of around 10 per cent from the current levels. Read more