Q4 results of ACC, L&T Infotech, Tata Steel Long and Mastek slated to be announced today

Top of the Morning

In this episode, find out about L&T's plans to merge Mindtree and L&T Toubro Infotech, also find out about SBI’s move to hike the lending rate after 3 years

Business Term of the Day: Marginal Cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR)

State Bank of India (SBI) has raised loan rates for corporates and some retail borrowers by 10 basis points, setting the stage for a wave of rate hikes across the banking sector. The rate hike, the first from India’s largest lender in more than three years, indicates the turn in the interest rate cycle, as rising inflation prompts central banks to exit easy money policies.

the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a fine of over Rs 17 lakh on the Manappuram Fiannce for violating KYC guidelines as well as norms related to prepaid payment instruments.

holesale inflation, which has remained in double digits for a year now, quickened to a four-month high in March amid a relentless rise in commodity prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) rose 14.55% in March from 13.11% in February, according to data released by the commerce ministry on Monday. Meanwhile, food inflation accelerated to 8.7% in March from 8.5% in February, led by a jump in foodgrain, fruits, and milk prices.

Sanofi India: The company has appointed Rodolfo Hrosz as the Additional Director and the Managing Director of the company, with effect from June 1 for a period of three years.

Mindtree: The mid-cap IT company recorded a 8.1 percent QoQ growth in profit at Rs 473 crore with revenue rising 5.4 percent to Rs 2,897.4 crore. Revenue in dollar terms grew by 4.8 percent QoQ to $383.8 million and the growth in constant currency terms was 5.2 percent for Q4FY22, but EBIT margin contracted to 18.9 percent, down from 19.2 percent in previous quarter. The company has recommended a final dividend of Rs 27 per equity share for full year.

 

Larsen and Toubro Ltd is weighing a merger between two of its publicly traded software firms, as the Indian conglomerate seeks scale to compete with global digital giants. The boards of Mindtree Ltd and Larsen and Toubro Infotech Ltd could consider share swap ratios for the merger by next week. Larsen acquired control of Mindtree in 2019. The conglomerate holds about a 61% stake in the firm, which has a market value of $8.3 billion, and has around 74% of L&T Infotech, which has a market capitalization of $13.6 billion.

Moving on to markets

 

The key benchmark indices may start Tuesday’s session on a muted note as per trends indicated by the SGX Nifty futures, which were quoting 17,250 levels at 7:45 am, 20-odd points up from their previous close. The Sensex and Nifty shed up to 2 per cent on Monday, dragged by weak Q4 results of Infosys and HDFC Bank, and subdued sentiment.

Business Term of the day

The MCLR is the lowest interest rate that a bank or lender can offer. MCLR is closely linked with the repo rate and fund costs of the banks. Thus, if there is a change in the repo rate, it will have an impact on your home loan’s floating rate of interest. The MCLR method was introduced in the Indian financial system by the Reserve Bank of India in the year 2016. The MCLR system has replaced the base rate system that was introduced in the year 2010.