Live updates on the stock market on Friday, August 23: India’s benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were slightly higher as global signals, such as US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the ongoing Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, dampened investor sentiment and made them cautious.

Around noon on Friday, the BSE Senesx traded 0.08 percent or 67 points higher at 81,120 points..

Investors will be eagerly awaiting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s keynote speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium, scheduled to take place August 22-24, for further clues about one or more possible Fed rate cuts this year.

All three major U.S. stock indexes lost ground on Thursday, with pressure on technology stocks adding to the pressure as U.S. Treasury yields rose ahead of the Fed chair’s speech on easing U.S. recession fears.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 177.71 points, or 0.43 percent, to 40,712.78, while the S&P 500 lost 50.21 points, or 0.89 percent, to 5,570.64 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 299.63 points, or 1.67 percent, to 17,619.35 overnight.

Benchmark indices in Asian markets mostly declined as investors around the world turned their eyes to meetings of central bank officials from around the world for signs of a cycle of interest rate easing as inflation gradually eases.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed at 38,150, down 0.15 percent, while Australia’s ASX 200 fell nearly 0.4 percent and Hong Kong’s HSI was 0.34 percent lower.

Stocks to keep an eye on

FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa)

Harindarpal Singh Banga, a pre-IPO investor in Nykaa, will sell up to 1.4% of his stake in the beauty and personal care platform at a floor price of Rs 198 per share. Singh held a 6.4% stake in Nykaa at the end of the June quarter.

Ambuja cements

Holderind Investments, a promoter group of Ambuja Cements, is launching a package deal to sell a 2.84% stake in Ambuja Cements for $500 million. The floor price for the deal is Rs 600 per share, which represents a discount of 5 percent from the last closing price of Rs 631.80 on August 22.

Shriram Finance

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the sale of Shriram Housing Finance to Mango Crest Investment Ltd, a subsidiary of Warburg Pincus. The approval is subject to the issuance of other regulatory approvals.

Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel has announced a reduction in its goods and services tax (GST) liability following an appeal. The Central Goods and Services Tax Appellate Authority has reduced Bharti Airtel’s GST demand from Rs 604.66 crore to Rs 194 crore following the company’s appeal. The dispute pertained to the reverse charge mechanism for royalty and spectrum usage charges, which was initially assessed by the Additional Commissioner of Central GST, Delhi.