Wayanad Landslides death toll: Kerala's Wayanad landslide has claimed at least 308 lives, leaving 200 injured and 240 missing. Rescue operations continue in affected areas, with waterlogged soil causing difficulties. Heavy machinery is needed to remove large trees and bury houses. The India Meteorological Department issued an orange alert until Saturday.
The markets remained buoyant, nearing the 25,000 mark after recovering from a brief downturn. US markets saw a phase of correction. The Federal Reserve's decision to maintain interest rates contributed to market positivity, leading to advice on selling put options to benefit from the prevailing positive market bias.
IRDAI imposed a Rs 2 crore penalty on HDFC Life due to regulatory violations identified during an inspection of financial years 2017-2020. Rs 1 crore was for issues related to policyholders' interests, and Rs 1 crore for outsourcing irregularities. Additional directions were issued to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
Simone Biles, an American gymnast, has become an icon and a two-time Olympic champion, having won nine medals, six of which are gold. She is also the third woman to become a two-time Olympic champion, joining Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union in 1956 and 1960 and Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia in 1964 and 1968. Biles has fueled the transformation of the sport one performance at a time, with stars like the U.S. men's basketball team and Kendall Jenner flocking to watch her.
An Australian government review found that Israeli air strikes killing international aid workers in Gaza in April were due to operational failures and were not intentional. The Israel Defense Force (IDF) mistakenly believed the convoy was hijacked by Hamas fighters. Australia stressed the need for full accountability and potential criminal charges.
India is expected to receive above average monsoon rainfall as a La Nina weather pattern forms in August and September, according to the India Meterological Department (IMD). This could lead to more disasters due to higher rainfall. La Nina is a natural weather pattern that cools ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central Pacific Ocean, typically resulting in good monsoon rainfall in India.
Markets saw minor gains with the Nifty 50 starting strong then declining throughout the day. Mid-cap pharma and iron and steel stocks, such as ALKEM and Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd, showed promising technical indicators suggesting potential price increases. Both stocks were recommended for buying opportunities based on recent technical patterns.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped as much as 2.8%, the most since June 2022, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Tokyo Electron Ltd. among the biggest drags. Japan’s Topix Index headed for a technical correction, while benchmarks in the tech-heavy markets of South Korea and Taiwan fell about 3%.
Several companies, including Britannia Industries and Chambal Fertilizers, marked August 5 as the record date to identify shareholders eligible for dividends. Investors had to buy shares by the day before the ex-date to qualify. Specific dividend amounts were announced for each firm, and this served as the final day for share purchase for eligibility.
Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors' British arm, announced it has no immediate plans to take advantage of India's new EV policy that provides import duty concessions. Though the company finds the policy unsuitable now, it continues to explore CKD manufacturing options. The new policy aims to attract global EV manufacturers to India.
