Top headlines: Markets soar on HDFC twins' merger; JV for green hydrogen

Business Standard brings you the top headlines on Monday

Sensex rallies over 1,300 pts; Nifty recaptures 18k mark

Equity benchmark Sensex surged over 1,300 points on Monday to reclaim the 60,000-level, boosted by intense buying in banking and financial stocks after the announcement of merger between HDFC and HDFC Bank.

Strong global cues and receding crude oil prices also propped up the domestic equity markets, according to traders.

Shares of HDFC and HDFC Bank rallied nearly 10 per cent as investors lapped up the merger deal. Read more

IOC, L&T, ReNew announce joint venture for India green hydrogen business

State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and green energy player ReNew Power said on Monday they will form a joint venture (JV) to develop the green hydrogen sector in India.

“The JV will focus on developing Green Hydrogen projects in a time-bound manner to supply Green Hydrogen at an industrial scale. While L&T will bring its strong EPC credentials to the table, IOC being India’s premier oil refiner with extensive capabilities in chemical processes and refining has established deep R&D capabilities in many aspects of green hydrogen value chain, and ReNew Power has in a short time established itself as a leading renewable energy supplier and has built itself a very strong reputation,” said SN Subrahmanyan, chief executive officer and managing director of L&T. Read more

India's manufacturing activity moderates in March as production, sales slow

India’s manufacturing activity moderated in March as companies said production expanded slowly and new export orders declined, according to data released by IHS Markit.

Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was recorded at 54.0 in March, down from 54.9 in February, highlighting weakest rate of growth in terms of production and sales since September 2021. PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion while a print below 50 denotes contraction. Read more

Musk reveals 9.2% stake in Twitter, shares surge 26%

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has built a 9.2% stake in Twitter Inc , a regulatory filing showed on Monday, potentially making him the biggest stakeholder in the micro-blogging site.

Twitter shares soared 26% in pre-market trading after the filing, which comes close on the heels of Musk tweeting that he was giving "serious thought" to building a new social media platform. Read more