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Sensex, Nifty slide over 1 pc amid weak global cues, US trade uncertainties

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Mumbai, Jan 27: Indian equity markets witnessed a sharp decline on Monday amid weak global cues and uncertainties over US trade policies which dampened domestic investors’ sentiment.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex shed 824 points or 1.08 per cent at 75,366, while the NSE Nifty50 slipped 263 points or 1.14 per cent at 22,829.

On the 30-stock Sensex, only six stocks managed to stay in the green. ICICI Bank led the gainers with a 1.75 per cent rise, followed by the SBI, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, and Maruti Suzuki India.

However, the majority of stocks faced losses like Zomato, Tech Mahindra, HCLTech and Tata Motors.

Similarly, on the Nifty50, 10 stocks traded higher. Britannia Industries emerged as the top gainer, rising 1.93 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro and Nestle India.

On the losing side, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) dropped 2.68 per cent, followed by HCLTech, JSW Steel and Trent.

Sectoral performance was largely negative. The Media index led the losses, falling 3.83 per cent, followed by the Pharma index, which declined 2.35 per cent, and the IT index, which shed 2.19 per cent.

The only exception was the PSU Bank index, which ended the day by showing a marginal gain of 0.12 per cent.

Broader markets experienced even sharper losses. The Nifty Midcap 100 fell 2.25 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 tumbled 3.51 per cent.

According to Rupak De of LKP Securities, the index slipped from its recent consolidation on the daily chart, heightening pessimism across the Indian equity market.

“Sentiment is likely to favour bearish trades in the short term, particularly as long as the index remains below 23,000. On the lower side, the prevailing weakness could potentially lead to a decline toward 22,500,” he mentioned.

Meanwhile, Asian markets saw mixed reactions. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech Index rose 2 per cent, but Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures dropped 0.6 per cent.

India’s volatility index, the India VIX, climbed 7.36 per cent to 17.98.

Gold experienced volatile trading as the first session of the week saw profit booking, with Comex gold encountering resistance near $2,770 but maintaining strong support around $2,750, showcasing resilience to break below that level.

Business

India red-flags $800 million ADB aid package to Pakistan

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New Delhi, June 4: India has expressed deep concerns over the potential misuse of the $800 million ADB aid package to Pakistan as the country is increasing its defence expenditure, despite the poor fiscal position, with the army exercising de facto control over the government in Islamabad.

The army top brass now leads the Special Investment Facilitation Council, which gives it more control over the economic policy. India has warned that this entrenched military role poses serious risks of policy reversal and poor reform implementation, according to reliable sources.

Pakistan’s tax-GDP ratio has been declining, with the country going through an economic crisis. The foreign exchange reserves have hit rock bottom, and inflation has soared to double-digit figures. However, despite the dire economic situation, the military-driven government has gone for increasing expenditure on defence.

India has also pointed out that Pakistan has a very poor track record in implementing the economic reforms that are mandatory with these aid packages from multilateral institutions.

India’s concern is that these funds can be diverted for defence expenditure. The fighter jets purchased from China and the large number of drones used by Pakistan in the wake of Operation Sindoor reflect the increased spending on military hardware, an official said.

It pointed out that Pakistan recently approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the 24th bailout, indicating policy ineffectiveness. This further shows that the previous ADB and IMF-supported programmes have failed to create sustainable macroeconomic stability.

India has also highlighted that Pakistan’s policy of promoting cross-border terrorism has led to a worsening of the security situation in the region.

It has further pointed out that Islamabad’s track record on implementation of the FATF action points related to terrorist financing investigations and prosecution of leaders of UN-designated terrorist groups and freezing and confiscation of criminal assets is also highly unsatisfactory.

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National

Monsoon session of Parliament from July 21 to August 12

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New Delhi, June 4: The Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin on July 21 and conclude on August 12, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Wednesday.

Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will convene at 11 a.m. on the opening day, marking the start of the first parliamentary session in over three months.

The session is expected to be politically charged, especially against the backdrop of heightened demands by the Opposition for a special session.

Sixteen opposition parties had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, pressing for an immediate session to discuss the recent Pahalgam terror attack and the retaliatory Operation Sindoor — a cross-border military operation targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

In response, the government has now formalised the Monsoon Session schedule, asserting that all issues, including those raised by the Opposition, can be taken up during the scheduled sitting.

The Budget Session earlier this year ran from January 31 to April 4 in two phases and saw the passage of several key legislations, including the Waqf Amendment Bill which seeks to focus on improving the management of waqf properties, empowerment of stakeholders relevant to management of waqf properties, improving the efficiency in survey, registration and case disposal process, and development of waqf properties.

While the core purpose remains to manage waqf properties, the aim is to implement modern and scientific methods for better governance. The Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923, was also repealed.

Apart from the Waqf Amendment Bill, the government also passed the ‘Tribhuvan’ Sahkari University Bill, 2025, for the establishment of ‘Tribhuvan’ Sahkari University to provide education, training, and capacity building in the cooperative sector and undertake research and development activities in related areas.

The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, was also passed to simplify the laws for the requirement of passports or other travel documents in respect of persons entering into and exiting from India and for regulating matters related to foreigners, including the requirement of a visa and registration.

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Crime

Man arrested for raping, murdering 80-year-old woman in Karnataka

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Kolar, June 4: A man has been arrested on charges of raping and murdering an 80-year-old woman in Srinivasapura town of Karnataka’s Kolar district.

The police have apprehended the accused, who has since been remanded to judicial custody.

The accused has been identified as 37-year-old Baba Jaan, a resident of Gaffar Khan Mohalla in Srinivasapura.

According to the police, the victim’s body was discovered on Monday evening at a garage near an open field on Mulbagal Road in Srinivasapura town.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim had been raped and murdered.

The victim had left home two days ago, informing her family that she would visit the church at Srinivasapura.

The woman stayed in Srinivasapura for two days, and on Monday evening, when the woman was waiting for a bus to return home, the accused targeted her.

The accused spoke to her to ensure she was alone.

He then allegedly lifted and carried her to an isolated place, where he brutally raped her before strangling her to death.

The accused also robbed Rs 15,000 from her bag.

During their investigation, the police obtained CCTV footage from a nearby shop, which captured the accused lifting the victim and hurriedly carrying her away.

While the police were gathering information, the accused returned to the crime scene to observe the unfolding events. Alert police personnel identified and apprehended him.

The accused later confessed to committing the crime to rob the victim’s money and jewellery.

The victim’s family has urged the police to “kill” the accused due to the heinous nature of the crime.

More details regarding the incident are yet to emerge.

On August 21, 2024, the Chintamani police had arrested a 28-year-old labourer for sexually assaulting a 65-year-old woman on the hospital premises in the wee hours.

Based on a complaint by the staffers at the Chintamani government hospital, the police launched a hunt and nabbed the accused.

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