India's equity benchmarks open little changed as financials offset broader gains
The Nifty 50 (.NSEI), opens new tab was down 0.01% to 25,108.55 points, while the BSE Sensex (.BSESN), opens new tab lost 0.08% to 82,193.62, as of 9:15 a.m. IST.
Ten of the 13 major sectors logged gains at the open. However, the heaviest weighted financials (.NIFTYFIN), opens new tab and private banks (.NIFPVTBNK), opens new tab lost 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
Axis Bank (AXBK.NS), opens new tab lost 6% after posting a surprise profit drop in the June quarter due to an increase in bad loans after a one-time industry benchmarking exercise. It was the top Nifty 50 loser.
The broader, more domestically focussed small-caps (.NIFSMCP100), opens new tab and mid-caps (.NIFMDCP100), opens new tab were flat.
Asian stocks rose on the day, after data showed U.S. retail sales rose after two months of decline in June, while fewer-than-expected jobless claims were filed last week, indicating resilience in the world's largest economy, which boosted investor confidence globally.
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Pernod Ricard sells Imperial Blue whisky to India's Tilaknagar for $486 million
PARIS, July 23 (Reuters) - France's Pernod Ricard ( opens new tab has agreed to sell its Imperial Blue whisky brand to India's Tilaknagar Industries ( opens new tab for an enterprise value of 412.6 million euros ($486 million), as the spirits group boosts its focus on premium labels. Pernod Ricard sold 22.4 million 9 litre cases of Imperial Blue whisky in the fiscal year ended March 2025 across India and other markets. Its sale of the brand includes a 28 million euro deferred payment due four years after the deal closes. The world's second-largest Western spirits maker by revenue after Diageo (DGE.L), opens new tab on Wednesday said the deal would be "immediately and meaningfully accretive" to Pernod Ricard India's margin and sales growth upon closing. The French group has been streamlining its business and focusing on its core portfolio of pricey, global brands amid a sector-wide downturn in sales. Chairman and CEO Alexandre Ricard said the sale would "sharpen our focus on more profitable and faster growing brands in India, as in the rest of the world". Jean Touboul, CEO of Pernod Ricard India, said the deal would notably allow Pernod Ricard to allocate resources more effectively towards high-growth brands in India such as Royal Stag and Blenders Pride, as well as international brands like Chivas, Jameson, Absolut and Ballantine's. Pernod Ricard sees India, the group's second-largest market after the United States, as key to future growth. Alcohol sales in India are projected to hit $61.35 billion in fiscal 2025–26, showed data from analytics firm CRISIL. Imperial Blue, a leading mass-market whisky, competes with United Spirits' McDowell's No.1 in India. Pernod Ricard regards it as a local-value brand, less central than its premium global labels like Chivas Regal. For Tilaknagar Industries, a dominant player in India's brandy market with Mansion House, the deal marks a strategic shift into whisky - a faster-growing, higher-margin segment. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Inbrew Beverages and Tilaknagar Industries each sought to bid around $500 million for Imperial Blue. Global spirits makers are reworking strategies as post-pandemic liquor demand slumps amid inflation, interest rate hikes, tariff risk and shifting consumer habits. ($1 = 0.8491 euros)
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Newcastle's Alexander Isak offered £600,000-a-week tax-free deal by Al-Hilal
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US lifts some Myanmar sanctions after general asked Trump for relief
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