Business News Highlights: Stock Market Closes In Red, Sensex Plunges 454 Points, Nifty Settles Around 22,000

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Indian indices commenced trading on a negative note on Friday, with the Nifty hovering around 22,000 points amidst subdued global cues. At 10 am, the Sensex experienced a decline of 470.22 points or 0.64 per cent, closing at 72,627.06, while the Nifty decreased by 161.50 points or 0.73 per cent, ending at 21,985.20. Among the stocks traded, 1343 shares advanced, 1695 shares declined, and 90 shares remained unchanged.

In the previous trading session on Thursday, the two primary equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, rebounded, driven by increases in index heavyweights Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, and IT stocks. The BSE Sensex surged by 335 points to conclude at 73,097, while the NSE Nifty50 settled at 22,151, marking a gain of 153 points.

On Thursday, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced the issuance of a third-party application provider (TPAP) license to One97 Communications Limited (OCL), Paytm's parent company. This development follows the impending closure of Paytm's banking unit, necessitating alternative solutions for payment facilitation.

With the TPAP license, Paytm is authorised to continue offering payment services through its application, leveraging India's widely-used Unified Payment Interface (UPI). Paytm Payments Bank is scheduled to cease operations by March 15 due to regulatory actions stemming from non-compliance with certain norms.

Furthermost, Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi stated on Thursday that five public sector lenders, including Bank of Maharashtra, IOB, and UCO Bank, are strategising to decrease government stake to below 75 per cent to adhere to Sebi's minimum public shareholding (MPS) regulations. As of March 31, 2023, only four out of 12 public sector banks (PSBs) were compliant with MPS norms.

"As part of an ongoing effort, three more PSBs have complied with minimum 25 per cent public float during the current financial year. Remaining five PSBs have laid out action plans to meet MPS requirement," he told the news agency PTI.