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The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) deepened losses by the close to fall 2.3% to its lowest level since late March, while the EURO STOXX 50 index (.STOXX50E) plunged 2.9%. Germany's two-year bond yield , which is highly sensitive to interest-rate expectations, rose its highest since autumn 2008, also pressuring equities. Technology stocks (.SX8P) fell 3.0%, while the real estate sector (.SX86P), which are often treated as bond proxies, tumbled 4.2%. German industrial orders rose significantly more than expected in May, due to large scale orders of ships, spacecraft and military vehicles. Embracer (EMBRACb.ST), the top loser on the STOXX 600, fell 13.8% after the gaming group raised 2 billion crowns ($182 million) in a share issue directed to institutional investors.

Persons: Chris Beauchamp, Janet Yellen's, Matteo Allievi, Shubham Batra, Shreyashi Sanyal, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Varun, David Evans Organizations: CAC, U.S, Technology, Treasury, Thomson Locations: U.S . Federal, U.S, China, British, Gdansk, Bengaluru

☆ India's Jio set to sign $1.7 bln deal with Nokia for 5G equipment - Economic Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, July 6 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Jio Infocomm is likely to sign a contract worth $1.7 billion with Nokia (NOKIA.HE) this week to purchase 5G network equipment, the Economic Times reported on Thursday, citing people aware of the matter. The contract could be signed as early as Thursday in Helsinki, Finland, where Nokia is headquartered, the report added. Jio and Nokia did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for a comment. Jio snapped up airwaves worth $11 billion in a 5G spectrum auction last August and had launched 5G services in several cities. Swedish telecommunication company Ericsson (ERICb.ST) had in October last year, announced a partnership with Jio to build a 5G standalone network in India.

Persons: Jio, JP Morgan, Finnvera, Varun Vyas, Rashmi Aich Organizations: Nokia, Economic Times, Reliance Industries, Google, HSBC, Citigroup, Ericsson, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Helsinki, Finland, India, Swedish, Bengaluru

☆ A $12 phone is opening doors for rural India to get on the internet
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

All that could change with a new $12 phone from Reliance Jio this week. India is already the world's second-largest smartphone market and is likely to add 300 million new internet users, making it the fastest country to provide internet services to those who remain unconnected, Mishra said. "However, screen size can limit the experience a bit, but still good for first-time internet users." Reliance Jio has rolled out 5G services in 406 cities in India. Additionally, Singh highlighted that Reliance Jio hopes first-time internet users who purchase the Jio Bharat will eventually upgrade to more advanced phones down the road.

Persons: Mukherjee, Akash Ambani, Jio Bharat, Varun Mishra, Mishra, Navkendar Singh, Singh, Jio, Bharat, There's, Nikhil Batra, Batra, Research's Mishra Organizations: International Data Corporation, Afp, Getty, Reliance, Reliance Industries, Counterpoint Research, CNBC, Vodafone, Aditya Birla Group, Vodafone Group —, BSNL, IDC, Nurphoto, Macquarie Research, Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, Macquarie, Jio, Airtel Locations: India, Jio, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bihar, Jammu, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) dropped 1.2%, led by losses in travel and leisure (.SXTP) and retail index (.SXRP), which fell 2.3% and 2.0%, respectively. Embracer (EMBRACb.ST), the top loser on the STOXX, fell 13.8% after the gaming group raised 2 billion crowns ($182 million) in a share issue directed to institutional investors. "Now the gap between the two main central banks is closer than two months ago as Fed has moved more towards the position of the European Central Bank (ECB)." German industrial orders rose significantly more than expected in May, due to large scale orders of ships, spacecraft and military vehicles. Reporting by Matteo Allievi in Gdansk and Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: hawkish, Stuart Cole, Janet Yellen's, UK's, policmaker Joachim Nagel, Matteo Allievi, Shubham Batra, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Varun Organizations: CAC, Equiti, Fed, European Central Bank, Treasury, policmaker, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, British, Gdansk, Bengaluru

Earlier in the day, Australia's central bank held interest rates steady, but reiterated its warning that further tightening might be needed to cool prices. However, a 2.7% increase in real estate stocks (.SX86P) helped keep the STOXX 600 steady, while healthcare stocks (.SXDP) rebounded from the previous day's sharp declines. Travel and leisure (.SXTP) stocks edged higher as Irish airline Ryanair's(RYA.I) upbeat monthly traffic numbers helped sentiment for the sector. Britain's second-largest supermarket group Sainsubury (SBRY.L) fell 1.8% as fierce competition in the sector took shine off its robust quarterly sales. German chip firm Aixtron (AIXGn.DE) dropped 0.5% after China said it will control exports of some metals widely used in the semiconductor industry.

Persons: Michael Hewson, Stuart Cole, Amruta Khandekar, Shreyashi Sanyal, Dhanya Ann Thoppil, David Gregorio Our Organizations: U.S, Independence, CMC Markets, EU, Fed, ECB, European Central Bank, Equiti, Wall, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Indian shares hit record highs on positive global cues
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BENGALURU, July 3 (Reuters) - Indian shares opened higher on Monday, with the benchmarks surging to fresh record highs for the third consecutive session, as sentiment improved on signs of moderating inflation in the United States. The Nifty (.NSEI) index rose as much as 0.43% to a new all-time high of 19,271.45. The S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) also rose 0.41% to 64,9580.83, as of 9:17 a.m. IST. The Nifty Auto index (.NIFTYAUTO) rose 0.33% to a record high while high weightage bank index (.NSEBANK) also hit a new all-time high. ($1 = 82.0355 Indian Rupees)Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bharath Rajeswaran, Varun Organizations: BSE, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, United States, Bengaluru

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) closed 1.2% higher. European shares still advanced 8.7% in the first six months of the year. Miners (.SXPP) were a big drag this quarter, down 9.2% as worries around top metals consumer China weighed heavily on metal prices. The real estate sector (.SX86P) rose 1.7%, buoyed by 4.3% gains in shares of LEG Immobilien (LEGn.DE) after the German firm raised its 2023 outlook. Shares in Adidas (ADSGn.DE) and Puma (PUMG.DE), which had fallen earlier on Nike's (NKE.N) dour forecast, reversed course to rise 2.5% and 3.3%, respectively.

Persons: Melanie Debono, Hubert de, Amruta Khandekar, Matteo Allievi, Varun H, Eileen Soreng, David Evans Organizations: European Central Bank, Pantheon, ECB, Capital Economics, MIB, Miners, Adidas, Puma, Thomson Locations: Europe, U.S, Hubert de Barochez, China, Bengaluru, Gdansk

☆ European shares climb on China stimulus hopes; inflation data in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 30 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Friday as lacklustre data on China's factory activity spurred hopes of more policy stimulus, while investors awaited key inflation readings for more clues on the direction of global interest rates. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) was up 0.3% by 0703 GMT. Miners (.SXPP) gained 0.7%, tracking metal prices higher as a decline in China's factory activity boosted expectations of more economic stimulus from the country. Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) data for May as well as preliminary figures on euro zone inflation later in the day. Among individual stocks, shares of sportswear makers Adidas (ADSGn.DE) and Puma (PUMG.DE) were down 1.7% and 0.3% respectively, after Nike's (NKE.N) gloomy forecast.

Persons: Amruta Khandekar, Varun Organizations: Miners, Energy, Adidas, Puma, Thomson

☆ India's Byju's seeks to raise $1 bln to stave off investor revolt - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 27 (Reuters) - Indian edtech startup Byju's is in advanced talks with potential new shareholders to raise $1 billion in funding as it attempts to sidestep a revolt by some investors, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify if existing shareholders in Byju's have that option. It was not clear if founder Byju Raveendran will ultimately secure a capital influx, the sources, who asked not to be named as the information isn't public, told Bloomberg News. Byju's and its lenders are involved in legal cases in the United States over the restructuring of the loan. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Chan, Byju Raveendran, Byju's, Mrinmay Dey, Varun, Sonia Cheema Organizations: Bloomberg, Prosus NV, Zuckerberg, Deloitte, Reuters, Bloomberg News, Varun Vyas, Thomson Locations: Byju's, United States, Bengaluru

SummarySummary Companies STOXX 600 off 0.1%Defence firms fall after failed Russian mutinyHealthcare sector drags STOXX 600German business morale weakens againJune 26 (Reuters) - European shares inched lower on Monday, led by healthcare, while defence stocks fell after an aborted weekend mutiny in Russia. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) slipped 0.1% as of 1600 GMT, extending losses for its sixth straight session. Shares of major European defence firms Leonardo SpA (LDOF.MI), Saab AB (SAABb.ST) and Rheinmetall AG (RHMG.DE) each dropped more than 4%, weighing on the European aerospace and defence sub-index (.SXPARO) which fell 0.9%. "It's too early to price something into the market, that's why the really limited move on defence stocks." The healthcare index (.SXDP) fell 1.1% and was a big drag on the STOXX 600 index, which has come under pressure on concerns about an economic slowdown from a potentially longer-than-expected global interest rate hiking cycle.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Leonardo, Shanti Kelemen, It's, Germany's DAX, Aston Martin, Amruta Khandekar, Varun H, Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Richard Chang Organizations: Wagner Group, Leonardo SpA, Saab AB, Rheinmetall AG, G Wealth, Energy, Siemens Energy, Lucid, Cineworld, SBB, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Europe's, British, Swedish

☆ Europe shares edge lower as bank stocks drag
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 26 (Reuters) - European shares edged lower on Monday, as a sharp decline in financial stocks more than offset gains in the energy sector on concerns about political instability in top oil producer Russia. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) was down 0.3% by 0717 GMT, after posting its biggest weekly percentage loss in three months at the end of a central bank policy-packed week on Friday. The energy sector (.SXEP), meanwhile, gained 0.2% as oil prices climbed after a revolt by Russian mercenaries over the weekend stoked concerns about a potential hit to oil supply from Russia. The banking index (.SX7P) was the biggest drag on the STOXX index, down 1%, with shares of Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) falling 2.4%. Reuters reported that Deutsche bank told clients it can no longer guarantee full access to Russian stocks that belong to them.

Persons: Amruta Khandekar, Varun Organizations: Deutsche Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Russian

☆ India's Infosys signs $454-mln deal with Danske Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, June 26 (Reuters) - Infosys (INFY.NS), India's No.2 IT services provider, signed a $454-million contract with Denmark's Danske Bank on Monday, at a time when the broader sector is struggling with a slowdown in an uncertain global economy. The IT company will help digitize the lender's core business and add more cloud and data facilities to it, including Infosys acquiring Danske Bank's IT centre in India, it said in a regulatory filing. The contract is for five years, with an option to renew for one more year for a maximum of three times. Bengaluru-based Infosys' contract comes days after Mumbai-based bigger rival TCS signed a deal worth 840 million pounds with British pension scheme Nest, for an starting tenure of 10 years. "Despite a strengthened order pipeline, the effects of this deal might be offset by macro factors such as inflation and increased labour costs," Akshara Bassi, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, said on the Danske Bank deal.

Persons: Akshara Bassi, Navamya Ganesh Acharya, Varun, Sohini Goswami, Nivedita Organizations: Infosys, Denmark's Danske Bank, Danske Bank's, TCS, Counterpoint Research, Danske Bank, Varun Vyas, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Bengaluru, Mumbai

☆ India's Shree Cement slumps after report of $2.81 bln tax evasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, June 26 (Reuters) - India's Shree Cement (SHCM.NS) fell on Monday, after NDTV reported on Saturday that tax evasion amounting to 230 billion rupees ($2.81 billion) was found in searches at multiple company locations. Deductions claimed by Shree Cement are false and the company siphoned 12 billion rupees to 14 billion rupees every year, the report added, citing sources, but without specifying the timeline. Shree Cement and the IT department did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comments. The company's standalone tax expenses fell over 58% YoY to 2.31 billion rupees in the financial year ended March 31, while profit fell 44% to 13.28 billion rupees on a surge in other costs. Shree Cement said on Saturday that the survey was still ongoing, and that its management team is extending full co-operation to officials.

Persons: Shree Cement, Varun Vyas, Varun Organizations: NDTV, Shree Cement, Reuters, Shree, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Rajasthan, Bengaluru

☆ Meta's Oversight Board asks Facebook owner to evaluate election integrity efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The board said on Thursday that Meta's original decision to leave up the Facebook video, which featured a Brazilian general calling people to "hit the streets," raised concerns about the effectiveness of the company's election integrity efforts. "In this case, the speaker's intent, the content of the speech and its reach, as well as the likelihood of imminent harm ... all justified removing the post," said the Oversight Board, whose recommendations are not binding on Meta. The company's election preparedness efforts are in focus as the United States prepares for the presidential elections next year. The company was also among the social media platforms that suspended Trump in 2021 after the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot, determining he had incited violence. Meta, in a response to the board, said that it does not currently have metrics for measuring the success of its election integrity efforts generally.

Persons: Meta, Republican Donald Trump, Yuvraj Malik, Varun Organizations: Facebook, Meta, United States, Republican, Trump, Thomson Locations: United, Bengaluru

☆ GE to jointly produce fighter jet engines in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Indian Air Force (IAF) LCA Tejas performs an aerobatic display during the Aero India 2023 air show at Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru, India, February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Samuel Rajkumar/File PhotoJune 22 (Reuters) - General Electric's (GE.N) aerospace unit said on Thursday it has signed an agreement with India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HIAE.NS) to make fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force. The agreement includes the potential joint production of GE Aerospace's F414 engines in India and the engines will be used to power Tejas fighter jets, GE said. Reuters reported in May the Biden administration was poised to sign off on a deal that would allow GE to produce jet engines powering Indian military aircraft. GE first began working with Hindustan Aeronautics and the Aeronautical Development Agency in 1986 to support the development of India's light combat aircraft with F404 engines.

Persons: Samuel Rajkumar, Electric's, Narendra Modi, Biden, Aishwarya Nair, Varun, Shounak Organizations: Indian Air Force, IAF, LCA Tejas, Aero, REUTERS, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Indian, GE Aerospace's, Tejas, GE, Hindustan Aeronautics, Reuters, Aeronautical Development Agency, Thomson Locations: Aero India, Bengaluru, India, United States, Washington

☆ Japan sees 1.9 million visitors in May, down from cherry blossom rush
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, June 21 (Reuters) - Japan saw a slight decline in visitors in May from the previous month, when a rush of tourists came to see the nation's famous cherry blossoms without COVID-19 restrictions, official data showed on Wednesday. The number of foreign visitors for business and leisure came in just below 1.9 million last month from a post-pandemic high of 1.95 million in April, the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) said. Meanwhile, the yen has weakened sharply against other major currencies, making trips to Japan the cheapest in many years. "Japan has been viewed for a long time as a bucket list country by North American leisure travellers," she said. "Now that Japan has reopened to tourists and the current exchange rate makes leisure trips less expensive, we think this trend will continue to grow."

Persons: Jefferies, Mitsuko Miyasako, Kiyo Weiss, Rocky Swift, Varun, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Japan National Tourism Organisation, Consumer, J.Front, Air, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, China, Tourism, Osaka, Kyoto, Asia, Pacific, American

☆ Australia's Perpetual says 'tech outage' affected some funds in cyber incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 21 (Reuters) - Australian Perpetual (PPT.AX) on Wednesday confirmed an extended tech outage over an IT security incident, affecting some of its funds, though the fund manager reaffirmed that all its client investments and its own systems were unaffected and secure. "Perpetual's listed products, institutional mandates, Pendal, Perpetual Corporate Trust, Perpetual Wrap clients, and all of our international asset management businesses are not affected," a Perpetual spokesperson said. In Perpetual's case, one of its third-party unit registry systems was compromised, impacting clients' access to its main investor login portal myPerpetual, the company said in a statement. The outage impacted about 45,000 clients and was limited to its Asset Management and Wealth Management divisions' Investment Funds, WealthFocus, and select products distributed in Australia, it added. Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Janane VenkatramanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pendal, Roushni Nair, Varun Organizations: Wednesday, Trust, Medibank, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Investment Funds, Thomson Locations: Australia, Bengaluru

☆ HSBC cuts China's GDP forecast to 5.3% on weak property, business outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 20 (Reuters) - HSBC on Tuesday lowered China's economic growth forecast for this year, citing drag from the property sector, and tempered business and household confidence. The global bank now forecasts China's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 5.3% in 2023, from 6.3% expected earlier. Last week, brokerages including J.P. Morgan and BofA Global Research lowered the country's growth outlook after the country's May industrial output and retail sales growth missed forecasts. Reporting by Roshan Abraham in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Morgan, Roshan Abraham, Varun Organizations: HSBC, BofA, Research, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Another Chinese company scraps GDR plan as listing rules tighten
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, June 20 (Reuters) - Bethel Automotive Safety Systems Co (603596.SS) scrapped plans to issue Global Depository Receipts (GDR), citing changes in domestic and overseas capital market conditions, after China tightened rules for GDR listings. The new GDR rules by China's securities regulator last month put curbs on the use of proceeds and made issuances liable to national security reviews, potentially dampening Chinese companies' interest in listing in Europe, bankers said. The Shanghai-listed automotive braking system manufacturer said on Monday it decided to terminate the GDR plan after considering its financial and operational situations. Earlier this month, Shenzhen-listed medical devices maker Jiangsu Yuyue Medical Equipment & Supply Co (002223.SZ) cancelled a proposed Swiss GDR offering plan, citing changes in market conditions. Reporting by Jason Xue in Shanghai and Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Editing by Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bethel, Jason Xue, Tom Westbrook, Varun Organizations: Bethel Automotive Safety Systems, SIX, SIX Swiss Exchange, Supply, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE, Bethel, China, GDR, Europe, Shanghai, SIX Swiss, Shenzhen, Jiangsu, Swiss GDR, Zurich, London, U.S, Singapore

☆ Indian shares open lower ahead of Powell testimony
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Bharath Rajeswaran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BENGALURU, June 20 (Reuters) - India's Nifty 50 and Sensex stock indexes opened lower on Tuesday, tracking Asian peers, as caution prevailed across global equities a day ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony. The blue-chip Nifty (.NSEI) index fell 0.10% to 18,739.10 as of 9:16 a.m. IST, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) lost 0.07% to 63,123.17. Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jerome, Bharath Rajeswaran, Sonia Cheema Organizations: U.S . Federal, BSE, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Singapore's Grab plans biggest round of job cuts since pandemic - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, June 20 (Reuters) - Singapore-based Grab Holdings (GRAB.O) is preparing its biggest round of job cuts since the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Southeast Asia's leading ride-hailing and food delivery app had in February forecast upbeat 2023 revenue and pulled forward its profitability timeline. In September it said it had no plans to undertake mass layoffs despite the weak market. There were 11,934 staff at Grab as of end 2022, according to its latest annual report. Reporting by Lavanya Ahire in Bengaluru, Chen Lin in Singapore; Editing by Varun H K, Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: payrises, Lavanya, Chen Lin, Varun H, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Bengaluru

☆ India's Nifty 50, Sensex open higher ahead of Powell's speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BENGALURU, June 19 (Reuters) - India's Nifty 50 and Sensex stock indexes extended gains from last week on Monday ahead of China's interest rate decision and U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech on the central bank's rate trajectory. The blue-chip Nifty 50 (.NSEI) index was up 0.15% at 18,853.40 as of 9:15 a.m. IST, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.12% to 63,460.50. Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jerome Powell's, Bharath Rajeswaran, Varun Organizations: . Federal, BSE, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Bengaluru

☆ Exclusive: Mutual funds may not get holdings waiver post HDFC Bank - HDFC merger - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jayshree P Upadhyay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HDFC Bank and HDFC - both heavily owned by mutual funds - are set to conclude a merger in the next few weeks to create India's second-largest financial institution by assets after the State Bank of India. At least 60 equity mutual fund schemes will see their combined exposure to HDFC Bank and HDFC overshoot the 10% cap as of Wednesday. The matter has been referred to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), according to two mutual fund executives. "HDFC Bank and HDFC are fairly liquid stocks and have a lot of demand. Shares of HDFC Bank have risen 6.5% since April 1, 2022, but have still underperormed the broader BSE Bankex, which is up 17%.

Persons: SEBI, Deven Choksey, Jayshree, Varun, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: HDFC Bank, Reuters, HDFC, State Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Association of Mutual Funds, KRChoksey Holdings, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, India

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) closed 0.6% higher, tracking the global market rally. The European Central Bank will hold its policy meeting on Thursday, where it is expected to hike rates by another 25 basis points to tame stubborn inflation. Industrial metal prices rose after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) lowered a short-term lending rate for the first time in 10 months to prop up risk sentiment. Meanwhile, German consumer prices, harmonised to compare with other European Union countries, rose by 6.3% on the year in May, data showed. Shares of Admiral (ADML.L) slid 5.1% after traders said Citi downgraded the British motor and home insurer to "sell."

Persons: Steve Sosnick, Antonio Villarroya, Richemont, Denmark's, Shreyashi Sanyal, Siddarth, Rashmi Aich, Richard Chang Organizations: Miners, Citigroup, Reserve, Interactive Brokers, Traders, European Central Bank, Santander CIB, People's Bank of China, Union, Bank of England, Denmark's Maersk, Nvidia, Citi, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, South Korea, Denmark, Swedish, Bengaluru

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.3%. The rate-sensitive tech sector index (.SX8P) added 1.6%, while miners (.SXPP) jumped 1.8% to a seven-week high. Industrial metal prices rose after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) lowered a short-term lending rate for the first time in 10 months to prop up risk sentiment. Embracer (EMBRACb.ST) jumped 5.2% to the top of the STOXX 600, after the Swedish games group announced a restructuring programme to slash costs and investments, including development of new products. Shares of Admiral(ADML.L), meanwhile, slid 6.1% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after traders said Citi cut its rating on the British motor and home insurer to "sell."

Persons: Stuart Cole, Shreyashi Sanyal, Rashmi Aich Organizations: Miners, U.S . Federal, People's Bank of China, Equiti, Traders, European Central Bank, Union, Nvidia, Citi, Thomson Locations: China, Swedish, Bengaluru

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