Continuing the downward trend, India on Friday reported 6,396 fresh COVID-19 cases with a daily positivity rate of 0.69 per cent, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As per government data, India has an active caseload of 69,897 which accounts for 0.16 per cent of the total cases.

Shares of Asian Paints witnessed heavy selling pressure and were down 6 per cent at Rs 2,692.75 on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade, falling as much as 15 per cent in past three trading sessions on margin concerns amid rising crude oil prices. The stock of the India’s largest paint company quoted at its lowest level since March 2021. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 2,343.85 on March 15, 2021.

The steep and unprecedented inflationary trend in raw material prices continued to impact the gross margins, which shrank 833 bps year-on-year (YoY) to 36.8 per cent, across businesses of the company in October-December quarter (Q3FY22) quarter.

Shares of Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (GNFC) hit a new high of Rs 604.40, up 3 per cent on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade bucking the trend in an otherwise weak market. The S&P BSE Sensex was down 1.4 per cent at 54,320 at 09:58 am.

In the past one month, the stock of the fertilizer and chemical company has zoomed 33 per cent after the company reported a robust set of numbers for the quarter ended December 2021 (Q3FY22).

Shares of mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), banking giant HDFC Bank, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies – Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Britannia Industries, cement manufacturers – UltraTech Cement and Shree Cement, pharma stock Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp were among eight stocks from Nifty50 index to hit their respective 52-week low on the back of a sharp sell-off in equities in the past couple of weeks.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday called for increasing India's share in global trade to 10 per cent and taking the country's share of exports in GDP to about 25 per cent.

Goyal was addressing the closing session of the Post-Budget Webinar on "Make in India for the World."

India's largest two-wheeler seller Hero Motocorp has launched a new brand for its electric vehicle segment.

In order to avoid any legal complexity due to the ongoing arbitration with Hero Electric over the Hero brand name, the company has been forced to take a cautious step and launch a separate brand for its EV business.

Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, India's largest sugar manufacturer, on Thursday received the Board's in-principle nod for exploring options for capital restructuring, resolution plan for debt and other corporate restructuring.

A decision in this regard was taken at the Board's meeting held on Thursday, according to a regulatory filing.

Ten gram of 24-carat gold is selling at Rs 52,040 on Thursday, up Rs 1,090 since the last trade as demand jumped for the safe-haven bullion.

Ten gram of 22 carat gold is selling at Rs 47,700, up Rs 1,000 from Wednesday according to the Goodreturns website. One kg of silver is selling at Rs 67,200, up Rs 2,200 from the last trade.

Shares of Adani Green Energy (AGEL) gained 6 per cent to Rs 1,995.95 on the BSE in Thursday's intra-day trade, soaring 9 per cent in the past two trading days, after the company announced that its arm has received Letter of Award (LOA) to set-up 150 MW solar power project.

The stock of the Adani Group's electric utilities company had hit a record high of Rs 2,128.90 on February 18, 2022. At 11:56 AM, it was 4 per cent higher on the BSE at Rs 1,960, as compared to 0.25 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Audio OTT platform Pocket FM has raised USD 65 million (about Rs 492 crore) in a Series C funding round from Goodwater Capital, Naver and existing investor Tanglin Venture Partners.

The capital will be invested in strengthening its leadership position, expanding into new languages, investing in AI capabilities and building the largest audio creator community, the company said in a statement.

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