Shares of troubled fintech One 97 Communications or Paytm fell another 10% on Monday to its lower circuit limit at Rs 438.35 on BSE as the regulatory crisis deepened with fresh allegations of money laundering and investigation by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) coming to the fore. In the last 3 trading sessions, including today, the stock has lost 42.4% of its value or Rs 20,500 crore.

The Allcargo Gati stock was trading around 1.2 percent higher on February 5 morning after company reported a consolidated net profit at Rs 18.8 crore in the December quarter. At 9.30 am, the stock was trading at Rs 125.30 on National Stock Exchange. Over the last year, the stock has fallen around 8 percent. In a regulatory filing on February 2, Allcargo Gati reported a net profit of Rs 18.8 crore.

Mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd received inquires from domestic and international players for its non-core assets, the company's chief financial officer Ajay Goel told analysts in a post-earnings call, reinforcing that the company's intension to dispose the assets remains intact. The comments were made during the earnings call on January 25, the transcript of the same was made available on Jan.

Bharti Airtel is expected to have a steady December quarter aided by higher average revenue per user (ARPU) and strong non-mobile segment performance. Analysts predict a 47% rise in net profit and a 6% increase in consolidated revenue. Subscription growth of 3.6 million and ARPU of Rs 205 are factored in. EBITDA for Bharti Airtel's India operations is likely to grow 1.7% QoQ.

The government has no plans to reduce the 15% import duty on gold, as it has been a major source of revenue for the country with expected gold imports of 800 tonnes in 2023-24. The increase in duty has also helped curb smuggling activities. However, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council has requested a reduction in import duty on gold bars and silver bars to improve working capital.

Singapore payments company Nium has been granted provisional approval from the Reserve Bank of India for a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) and payment aggregator (PA) license. This will allow Nium to offer various financial products in India, such as prepaid cards and merchant payment acquiring services. The PPI license will enable the issuance of pre-loaded cards.

The RBI's use of Section 35A against Paytm Payments Bank seems impulsive. This section is usually used to protect depositors' funds, but Paytm's limit of Rs 2 lakh per customer makes this unnecessary. The bigger issue is the future of fintech and its relationship with banking. The concept of payment banks is sound, but disputes arose due to the emergence of BNPL models.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Interim Budget presentation on February 1, showcased a promising macroeconomic picture for India. The spotlight on key indicators, including the fiscal deficit returning to a positive trajectory, an emphasis on capital expenditure (capex), and a significant uptick in corporate profits, signals a path for the nation's financial outlook.

Stockology is a weekly column by futurologist Mahesh Gowande. He is the founder and director of Ayan Analytics which has developed ZodiacAnalyst. It is a research software, with time and price charting tools, and it is exclusively used along with technical support. Last week, equity markets witnessed a volatile price movement in many stocks. As expected, a few stocks got hammered.

Indian headline indices were trading flat in the opening trade on Monday, dragged down by losses in bank and financial stocks. While the S&P BSE Sensex was at 72,058.85, down 27 points or 0.04%, the broader Nifty stood at 21,856, up 3 points or 0.01%.The market breadth was neutral as 25 stocks traded in the green, 23 in the red and other two remained unchanged in the Nifty50 pack.

Bombay High Court allows redevelopment of collapsed 7-story building in Kherwadi, Bandra (E) after 25 years. Appoints new developer as previous attempts failed. 33-42 deaths reported in 1998 collapse. Property abandoned by developer AA Estate Pvt Ltd. Opposition from insolvency proceedings is overruled. BMC and Mhada must process development plan without NOC from AA Estate.

The recent budget speech by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has highlighted the importance of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) policy for the urban development of Noida and Ghaziabad. This policy encourages the development of properties along mass transit systems, such as metro and bus routes, within a specified distance. This is expected to bring about rapid transformation in these cities.

Indian markets were rangebound, but experts expect a rally before the general elections in 2024. The Nifty50 rose by 20% and hit a record high before the budget. Experts suggest buying on dips as the momentum is likely to continue. In past elections, Nifty has bottomed out in Feb-March and seen a 14% rally towards the results. ICICIdirect predicts a target of 23,400 for Nifty by June 2024.

Equitas Small Finance Bank is aiming for a 25 percent credit growth in the upcoming quarters, with potential for long-term growth due to strong demand in key segments. The bank's net interest margin has dropped due to high interest rates, but it projects a NIM of 8.5% for the full year. The bank's CD ratio is at a comfortable level of 91.5%, and it experienced growth in small business.

The government sees the average monthly Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections rising to Rs 1.8 lakh crore-1.85 lakh crore in 2024-25, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra has said. "So, an increase of about 11.6 percent is what we are projecting," Malhotra told Moneycontrol in an interview. Monthly GST collections have averaged Rs 1.67 lakh crore so far in 2023-24.