Hero MotoCorp's New Brand for Electric Mobility, India's Ethanol Storage Capacity, and Buzzing Stocks Today

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Indian share markets ended on a weak note on Friday.

Benchmark indices extended losses for the third straight day as investors piled into government bonds and gold for cover while scrutinising the latest twists in Russia's escalating invasion of Ukraine.

At the closing bell on Friday, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 769 points (down 1.4%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 253 points (down 1.5%).

Dr Reddy's Lab and ITC were among the top gainers.

Titan and Maruti Suzuki, on the other hand, were among the top losers.

The BSE MidCap index and the BSE SmallCap index ended down by 2.4% and 1.7%, respectively.

Sectoral indices ended on a negative note with stocks in the metal sector, auto sector and consumer durables sector witnessing selling pressure.

Shares of Gujarat Narmada and Nalco hit their respective 52-week highs.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX were trading up by 0.6% at Rs 52,062 per 10 grams at the time of closing stock market hours on Friday.

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Top Stocks in Focus Today

Among the buzzing stocks today will be Axis Bank.

Citibank's retail business in India is set to be acquired by Axis Bank and a closure of the deal is expected to be finalised this week.

It also reported that the size of the deal is between US$2 and US$2.5 bn. As part of the deal, Citibank will continue to service the customers during the integration period so that the transition is seamless and no one is inconvenienced.

Axis Bank will also acquire Citibank's credit card division in India, according to the report. Citi has a lucrative customer base of 2.6 million credit card holders.

The global bank has 35 branches in India and close to 4,000 employees. Its customer base is about 2.5 million account holders with 1.2 million loan accounts.

Earlier, it was announced that Axis Bank is most likely to strike an all-cash deal for Citi's India retail assets.

Axis Bank emerged as the lead buyer after beating rivals like Kotak, another private lender which was reportedly 'more aggressive' and had submitted a bid lower than that of Axis.

Other factors like job security for current Citigroup employees, competition concerns, and more were also considered before taking the final call.

Hero MotoCorp share price will also be in focus today.

Vida will make its debut in India later this month and the release of its first electric two-wheeler on 1 July 2022 will coincide with the birth anniversary of Dr Brijmohan Lall, chairman emeritus of the company.

Deliveries are expected to begin in the second half of 2022. The vehicles will be manufactured at Hero MotoCorp's 'green' facility at Chittoor.

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The company has already partnered with Taiwanese battery-giant Gogoro to introduce a battery-swapping network in India along with other strategic considerations for e-scooters.

Dr Munjal also announced a US$100-on Global Sustainability Fund to establish global partnerships. The fund will be spearheaded by the BML Munjal University (BMU) and Hero MotoCorp to support over 10,000 entrepreneurs on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) solutions.

The vehicles will be manufactured at Hero MotoCorp's 'green' facility at Chittoor. The company has already partnered with Taiwanese battery-giant Gogoro to introduce a battery-swapping network in India along with other strategic considerations for e-scooters.

FADA Cautions on Car Sales as Semiconductor Supply Look Shaky

As Russia and Ukraine are the major suppliers of key components for chips, their conflict could have a negative impact on semiconductor output, said Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) President Vinkesh Gulati, on a day when the auto body has changed its outlook on vehicle retail sales to 'negative' from 'neutral', owing to fears of supply disruption.

The FADA president also hinted if the conflict throws automakers into the supply-chain crisis, the restrictions may halt production of cars in the country at least for some time.

To a question whether original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have already been reeling from a shortage of raw materials, the FADA president said India will definitely feel the impact in 15 to 30 days from now if production activity at factories does not pick up momentum.

India Increasing Ethanol Storage, Targets 20% Blended Petrol By 2025

India's state-run fuel retailers are increasing their ethanol storage capacity by 51% as the nation targets to double the biofuel's blending with gasoline to 20% by 2025, a director at the country's top refiner Indian Oil said on Friday.

India is the world's third biggest oil importer and relies on foreign suppliers to meet more than 80% of its demand.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emission by 2070, and is encouraging industries to switch to cleaner options including renewable and biofuels to cut carbon footprint.

India is close to achieving its target of 10% ethanol blended gasoline in this fiscal year ending 31 March, SSV Ramakumar said in an energy conference.

Last year, India brought forward its target of selling 20% ethanol blended fuel across the country by five years to 2025, with sales beginning in some parts of the country from April 2023.

India's federal finance ministry has proposed a tax of Rs 2 a liter on unblended petrol from October.

State-run companies Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) own storage to hold 178 m litres of ethanol.

'With current capacity, about 4.3 billion litres of ethanol can be handled annually considering 15 days of coverage period. With tankage of 446.4 million litres by 2025, about 10.6 billion liters of ethanol can be handled annually,' Ramakumar said.

How this pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more updates from this space.

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

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