Daniel Loeb-backed SentinelOne raises over $1 bln in U.S. IPO

June 30 (Reuters) – SentinelOne Inc, a cybersecurity firm backed by billionaire investor Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point, raised $1.23 billion through a U.S. initial public offering on Wednesday.

Sensex ends 67 points lower amid profit-booking

PowerGrid was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 1%, followed by Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, HDFC, NTPC, HUL and L&T

Equity benchmark Sensex surrendered early gains to end 67 points lower on Wednesday as investors booked profits at higher levels amid a largely negative trend in global markets.

After rallying nearly 400 points during the day, the 30-share BSE index made a U-turn to settle 66.95 points or 0.13% lower at 52,482.71. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 26.95 points or 0.17% to close at 15,721.50.

PowerGrid was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 1%, followed by Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, HDFC, NTPC, HUL and L&T.

On the other hand, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Nestle India and Martui were among the gainers.

"Domestic benchmark indices gave up gains towards the final session as continued profit-booking in financials dragged markets," said Binod Modi, Head- Strategy at Reliance Securities.

However, buying was visible in IT, metals and auto companies, while pharma broadly remained resilient. Further, RIL also aided market to arrest the fall.

Notably, midcap and smallcap stocks continued to outperform broader indices, he said, adding that volatility index corrected marginally.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong and Tokyo ended in the red, while Shanghai and Seoul closed with gains.

Equities in Europe were trading with losses in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.79% higher at $74.87 per barrel.

General Mills Q4 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

General Mills (GIS) revealed earnings for fourth quarter that decreased from the same period last year.

The company’s bottom line totaled $416.8 million, or $0.68 per share. This compares with $625.7 million, or $1.02 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.84 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter fell 10.0% to $4.52 billion from $5.02 billion last year.

General Mills earnings at a glance:

-EPS (Q4): $0.91 vs. $1.10 last year.
-Analysts Estimate: $0.84
-Revenue (Q4): $4.52 Bln vs. $5.02 Bln last year.

Crude Oil Futures Up Sharply Ahead Of Inventory Data

Crude oil prices are up sharply Wednesday morning amid optimism about strong energy demand after OPEC+ said it expects demand to pick up.

Oil is also supported by a report released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) Tuesday evening that crude stockpiles in the U.S. dropped by about 8.2 million barrels last week.

Official crude inventory data from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due later this morning.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August are up $1.02 or 1.4% at $74.00 a barrel.

The Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Tuesday that oil demand will likely increase by 6 million barrels per day in 2021.

Quoting an internal OPEC report, Reuters highlights that the oil market could return to a glut after the group is expected to unravel oil production cuts of under 6 million barrels per day by April 22.

Traders now await the outcome of the OPEC+ meet that will decide on future policy tomorrow.

Gold drops ₹264 on muted global trends

Gold dipped ₹264 to ₹45,783 per 10 gram; silver went lower by ₹60 to ₹67,472 per kilogram

Gold in the national capital on June 30 dipped ₹264 to ₹45,783 per 10 gram in line with drop-in global precious metal prices, according to HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, the yellow metal had closed at ₹46,047 per 10 gram.

Silver also went lower by ₹60 to ₹67,472 per kilogram from ₹67,532 per kilogram in the previous trade.

In the international market, gold was quoting lower at $1,755 per ounce and silver was trading flat at $25.80 per ounce.

“Gold prices extended decline falling to two month low on Wednesday. Gold prices witnessed selling on dollar rally,” according to HDFC Securities, Senior Analyst (Commodities), Tapan Patel.

Navneet Damani, VP – Commodities Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said, “Gold tumbled to two-month lows, taking a new crack at mid-$1,700 lows amidst a sharp rebound in the dollar.”

Cabinet approves ₹19,041 crore viability gap funding for BharatNet in 16 States

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on August 15, 2020 that around 6 lakh villages in the country will be connected with broadband in 1,000 days

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved public-private partnership mode for the rollout of BharatNet project for broadband services in villages in 16 States with viability gap funding of ₹19,041 crore, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

He said the total expense will be ₹29,430 crore to cover around 3,60,000 villages in the 16 states, which includes ₹19,041 crore to be spent by the government for the viability gap funding.

Mr Prasad said the decision to involve private players was taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on August 15, 2020 that around 6 lakh villages in the country will be connected with broadband in 1,000 days.

He said till date, 1.56 lakh out of the 2.5 lakh village panchayats have been connected with broadband.

Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. Q3 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

Below are the earnings highlights for Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. (SCHN):

-Earnings: $65.48 million in Q3 vs. -$4.65 million in the same period last year.
-EPS: $2.16 in Q3 vs. -$0.18 in the same period last year.
-Analysts projected $2.08 per share
-Revenue: $820.72 million in Q3 vs. $402.68 million in the same period last year.