Sensex Jumps 600 Points, Nifty Above 23,820; Private Banks Lead, Pharma Lags | CNBC TV18

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:03]Hello and welcome to halftime report live from the CNBC TV8 Motil studio. I'm Sonhutra. With me is Vinnie Motivala. At the day I have for the markets rupees appreciating again. Uh so we have some fundamentals which are working well for the markets but overall a lot of earnings which are trickling and that is something we'll be tracking today.

[00:00:20]>> Absolutely a lot of earnings that are trickling as well and obviously we're seeing uh banks financials managing to hold on to gains in the trading session.

[00:00:28]But talking about earnings, LIC is the first management on the show today and the company has reported a strong set of numbers in Q4 FI26. New business premium has surged 20% while uh VNB margins have also expanded. My colleague Yashchan actually managed to speak up with uh the C CEO and MD of the company are Durai Swami and began by asking about the quarter gone by and how they see the growth going ahead. Listen in.

[00:00:54]It has been a continuous focus to see that the corporation improves its performance over the last four four years. We have been very continuously focused on this >> and we had taken some directional shift in the uh once uh we went public.

[00:01:08]Those efforts continuously uh on a single point focus has been uh helping the corporation and improve its performance. We have been focusing on product mix change. We have been focusing on the uh distribution mix change as well as improvement in the operational uh efficiency al as well.

[00:01:29]All three have been uh giving good results and we could do very well in the second half of last year. Uh and the entire financial year also you found that we have shown a good growth in all the numbers be it the net premium that we have collected or the AP or the VNB and the margins as well. So it has been a continuous focus on improving all these areas and this focus will continue and I'm sure year 26 27 will also be uh progressing in this direction. Of course we are also wary of uh the volatility in the market due to the crisis that is unfolding itself but we are confident that you'll be able to do well uh in spite of that.

[00:02:08]>> Correct. Before I come to specific numbers for the coming financial year, uh you know the first two months have gone first entire month and about 20 days of the next month of the first quarter. U in the fourth quarter there was a lot of chatter that there could be some postponement of buying because of the geopolitical issues. Uh April has been good. Uh we saw the numbers. What about the next month after April? Has the performance kept up uh the pace as as April is concerned? And for the first quarter itself, what is the AP growth that you're expecting to come in for the company?

[00:02:45]>> We would like to maintain a good decent growth. Uh given the market conditions, we would like to do well. Uh as you as you've told, April has been good as as performance has been good.

[00:02:56]>> We would like to continue that kind of a growth for the month of May as well and for the for the entire financial year.

[00:03:02]Of course the impact of the current crisis on the individuals only time will tell. But if the crisis persists for long, it can certainly have impact on the uh people's uh saving uh focus or ability to save through life insurance.

[00:03:18]But we hope uh that this gets resolved very fast and we are able to continue our growth momentum the way that we have been growing. Uh we expect it to continue to grow.

[00:03:27]>> Okay. Now let's speak about some of the numbers for FI27. And I I won't hold you to one quarter or two quarters, but let's say for the full financial year, and this is something that we've been discussing at the start of every financial year. Uh FYI 26 saw your VNB growing at about 42%. Right? The margins growing by about 360 basis points. As far as AP is concerned, individual AP grew at 13% and total AP grew at 18%. On all these four counts, what is the internal target or the ambition for FI27? if you have to outline that for the investors.

[00:04:02]>> No, as an organization, we have been uh staying away from giving guidance uh to the market or anything like that. But our focus will be to see that the industry's growth is strengthened by LIC's growth.

[00:04:14]>> So we would like to see that the industry grows, >> the pi grows and together we march towards insurance for all by 2047. If that has to happen, the growth has to be really good >> and the regulator is on record. what's the kind of growth that is expected from the industry for the years to come.

[00:04:32]>> We would like to rise up to the challenge. We would like to see that we perform at a much higher level but of course we would not like to be less than a double digit growth is what we can we will look at >> on the uh top line.

[00:04:44]>> On the top on the top lines >> um I am specifically going to ask about the margins. If you look at FI26 you added about 360 basis points on the margin front. Uh this was a difficult year because of various reasons. uh let's assume and hope that if FI27 is a better off year uh can one expect that you would add about if not less than the same amount to your VNB margins in FI27 and if that is done then your target could be about 25%.

[00:05:15]I would like to uh certainly uh look at that kind of a number but much depends upon how the market uh pans out. There are a lot of uh operational uh challenges in front.

[00:05:28]>> We would certainly like to expand on the growth that we have reached reached on the VNB margins. Correct.

[00:05:33]>> But taking a that kind of an aggressive call to begin with. I I would not like to be making it as a as an aggressive call to start with. But we will continue to work towards improving our margins in the year. That's for sure.

[00:05:45]>> How do you see it achievable? If it's a good year, 25% is in the realm of of of being achieved. We would we have been telling that we would like to be matching the industry in terms of ENP margins but it may take some time for us to reach there but we we are working towards it that much I can assure >> okay one question we've we've seen over the the the previous 3 to four years we've seen a decent growth when it comes to embedded value also same goes for this year uh I want to understand from you as the management uh but it's a more of a shareholder question the share price has not been responding to the kind of growth to the kind of growth in the numbers the top line the margins and the embedded value. What do you think is lacking at this point of time and if you of course had to advise to your shareholder the government of India as the management of the company uh is this just a question of liquidity or is there more to it that you would want them to look at? So it can be one liquidity is certainly one uh one of the factors naturally the uh share realizing its value.

[00:06:51]>> If you look at the Bank of Maharashtra experience you know when liquidity improves naturally the valuation also goes up that is one thing currently liquidity is a matter of concern but >> to address that only we have come up with that one is to one uh bonus issue.

[00:07:04]So the number of shares in the in the hands of the uh market other than the government has doubled >> and we have also declared a good dividend on top of it. Uh we have last year we had paid 12 rupee on the pre-bonus number of shares now we have issued announced 10 rupee uh of course subject to the approval of the shareholders 10 rupee per share on the double the number of shares. So that is what we have thereby a 66% uh growth in the dividend has also been achieved. We expect the market to re recognize uh the the the growth story of LIC and the perception as well as its valuation uh should improve. This is our expectation.

[00:07:41]I'm sure as things pan out multiple areas. One our performance numbers, two the rewards to the shareholders. Three the government actions that particularly in terms of enhancing the uh the float available in the market. All these things I'm sure will go on to improve the valuation of the LIC shares and certainly it is likely to realize where it should be.

[00:08:02]>> All right, that's the word coming in from LIC. A big beat versus the estimates. The stock though has come up from the highs of the day. It was up around 5 odd% but then is up just 2 and a half as we speak. But for the markets we have picked up pace. Uh the nifty which is up around 152 points. We're above the 23,800 mark. Uh again there was some setting pressure from the top.

[00:08:21]So we came below the 23,800 mark.

[00:08:24]Nevertheless, it is a massive recovery from the lows of the day. And rupee is something that should come up for you on the screen as well. Uh below the 96 mark and that is something that will be uh crucial to track from here on. So 95 94 that's the dollar to rupee uh level right now. But a lot of moving parts in the broader markets. Let's go across to Vive. He's here to take us through the stocks that are moving around in trade.

[00:08:45]Vive.

[00:08:46]>> Well, good afternoon. You know it's a very strong green looking screen on this Friday afternoon. Looking at some of the names that are doing quite well post the Q4 results. First on the list is LIC. We just heard the management but the VNB margin something that the street clearly is cheering over 2% higher on that particular name. Dalmia a surprising acquisition the company is now going to go ahead and reacquire some of the assets of JPA and that particular stock high by another two two and a half% today. Ganesha Ecosphere you know one name from the broad end the markets doing very well almost 9% high 32% volume growth in Q2 in Q4 RCF again if you're looking at the numbers extremely strong numbers on the P&L friend profitability has more than doubled that particular stock high by 5% Honasa when you're looking at this particular name you know volume growth over here very strong underline volume growth of over 30% stock high by over 11% today and on the other hand quite a few lagard as well Max healthcare that particular stock topline miss when you're looking at that particular name stock beaten down has recovered a little bit but almost 4% lower over here py you know safe partners has sold a significant chunk today stock seeing some selling pressure after that as well central bank of India you know deep has gone ahead and launched an OFS to sell the government stake almost 8% stake is expected to exchange hands over 6% lower on that particular name Glenmark farmer you know it's been an outperformer till today's trading session but today one of the top no lagard some profit booking seen over here over 4% lower and ashoka billcon again muted Q4 leading to a bit of selloff in this particular name as well.

[00:10:13]>> Okay, VC, thank you so much uh for that.

[00:10:15]Uh those are the stocks that are moving around at the trading session. But on that note, we're going to sip into a very short break. After the break, we'll connect with the management of Arvin Smart Spaces to discuss their Q4 or 526 numbers and the outlook of the company going forward. Stay tuned.

[00:10:58]Welcome back. You're still tuned in halftime report. Let's get to the second management of the uh show today. Arvin Smart Spaces reported a strong set of quarter four number. Company witnessed highest ever bookings. Collections jumped 65%. To discuss this and more, we have Colleen Lalhigh, the chairman and non-executive director of the company joining us now. Uh Colleen, good afternoon. Uh thank you so much for joining in. Uh 17% bookings scaveng over the last 5 years. Collections in this year as well have been at record high.

[00:11:25]Uh what is the outlook going forward? Do you maintain this uh growth? uh we have been talking about maybe a plateauing of real estate demand but do you think uh for you uh this will not be an impact and you will continue at the same pace?

[00:11:40]>> Yeah. Hello great to be here. Yes, I think we are seeing very strong momentum in our business and consistently last three four years the way we have been growing and we've added a lot of uh projects over the last two years specifically where last year itself we added more than 3,000 cr GDV of projects. We have six uh new project launches uh which we intend to do in FY27 which will be the highest in the history of the company and in fact we've guided for uh 35 to 40% growth. So we should be seeing an acceleration in our growth whilst I do agree that you know the sentiments in the market uh could be turning cautious. I think structurally we are operating in a part of the market where we believe the underlying demand is is very um fundamental and structural and therefore we do believe we will have a good uh growth momentum moving forward.

[00:12:38]>> Okay. You expect to have a good growth momentum moving forward. Ken, hi, good afternoon. This is Vinnie joining in the conversation as well. Uh what about uh obviously collections then will improve, bookings will improve as well is what the expectation is, right? any guidance that you would like to give a number that you would like to give for FI27, FI28?

[00:12:57]>> So as I mentioned whilst long-term we have said uh you know a a cumulative growth rate of 30% is what we will want to achieve over a four five year time frame. I think the next year will see higher growth. Uh it should be more in the line of 35 40% as I mentioned and we've always focused on lot of profitability and high irra and cash flows. Uh so our cash collection should also grow in line with revenue and as a company we have always had strong operating cash flow generation. So we generated more than 400 crores last year in operating cash flows and we believe that sort of momentum will also continue.

[00:13:38]>> Coming to cash flows Colleen because you have been a negative uh or you'll be you'll have been a net cash company so far in last two quarters you've seen net debt come by right 67 cr rupees in uh as of your ending FI26. What's happening with capex and the funding there? Are you going to be taking up more debt now?

[00:13:59]What is the cost of debt in that case?

[00:14:01]Will you be using more internal approvals? Uh give us a sense of what would the balance sheet look like?

[00:14:08]>> Yes. So we are now in a heavier capex cycle. As you mentioned last year we we spent around 650 crores in capex and this year will be slightly more than that. So we we we are investing heavily into future. Of course most of that is being funded by OCF but there will be some debt we would be taking on our books. We've indicated that we will always remain uh net debt to equity levels below 1 is to1. So you will see some more debt coming into the portfolio because we believe there's a lot more room for debt. We also now have our debt quite competitively priced. It's uh you know high single digit uh in in our cost. So we do want to have some amount of debt on the books but we will never let it get into any uncomfortable. How much would that be since 650 cr rupes was the capex last year? Uh how much will you be accelerating it by? Um are land buys in that uh uh capex as well and what would that mean for your debt?

[00:15:10]>> So that's what I was saying it'll remain in that zone you know 6700 crores of capex in FY27 as well. Um and half of that is broadly what is covered by the operating cash flow. So you will see a few hundred crores of debt coming in but it will be comfortably below the 1 is to1 level that we have put as our own uh leverage guardrail in the business.

[00:15:34]>> Okay. Uh Colleen uh anything that you are looking at in terms of land acquisition, land buying as well. What is that uh in terms of your strategy and plan for FI27?

[00:15:44]>> So we are a company that acquires projects and and launches within uh you know a 9 to 12 month time frame. So we of course don't do land banking at all.

[00:15:54]We want to drive a high irra, high return on capital employed sort of model. And we are also quite capital light. So our guidance is 60 to 70% of the land we acquire will be in a JD format which is asset light and around 30% will be in an outright format where we buy the land outright. So the capex numbers I gave are all for land acquisition both in a JD and an outright format.

[00:16:20]>> Okay. Uh Colleen, you know Mumbai has been uh an important market for you. You added your first residential apartment project in Mumbai in the year gone by looking at redevelopment as well. Uh how big would Mumbai be a part of your portfolio? Can you split it ask for for us right now? How much is it in Gujarat?

[00:16:36]How much in Mumbai right now? Uh Bangalore also had some exposure. Going forward, what would the split look like?

[00:16:44]>> So we have added some very exciting projects in the Mumbai region. We started with a horizontal uh 100 acre uh project in Mumbai 3.0 and now we have taken two redevelopment projects uh near the western expressway. One in Santa Cruz and one in Gorga. The Gory will be the biggest deal the company has entered into. It's a 2400 crore GDV project. And all these three projects we intend to launch uh in the second half of the year. Um I think we are very excited with the potential of the city. We're very excited with the three projects we've taken and I think as they go online there is an opportunity I mean I think this will become around 30% of uh uh you know our annual sort of sale number and it'll the remaining one/ird will be Bangalore and one/ird will be Gujarat. So it'll kind of become quite an even um uh you know portfolio between the three cities. Sometimes if a large launch happens it could move plus or minus 10%, but broadly Mumbai will become close to one/ird of uh what we expect our sales to be.

[00:17:51]>> Okay. Uh Ken, you know, thank you so much for joining us this afternoon on the channel and speaking with us about what we should expect from the company, the demand trends in the real estate side as well. So, thanks so much for joining in and giving us those insights.

[00:18:04]But uh with that, you know, we are actually going to sip into a very short break. After the break, we're going to connect with Dha of ICSA Securities who will share his trading strategies. Stay tuned in.

[00:18:30]Welcome back to Halime Report on CNBC TV8. And as of now the nifty is at 23,780 level slightly off the day's highest point but still holding on to gains of around uh 130 points in the trading session. Uh it a bit muted in the trading session as well right but we've seen that runup coming for it. Uh from week to date when you look at it nifty IT is the top sectoral gainer but today slight bit of that muted performance from it. Media farmer continues to be under pressure as well and banking that's holding on to very strong gains.

[00:18:59]But on that note, let's also bring on board Dhmesh, assistant vice president ICSa Securities to talk to us about his trading strategies, individual stock names as well. Uh DHS, good afternoon.

[00:19:10]Thank you so much for joining us on the show. Uh how important is this 23,800 level going to be today? If we close about that, what levels would you keep an eye out on? And if we close below that, what will it indicate?

[00:19:22]>> Oh, yeah. Good afternoon, Vinnie.

[00:19:24]Absolutely. I think so. It's something I would say it's a fighting happening between the bulls and bears at the 20-day EMA where if you look for last seven trading sessions we have been trading this range of 23500 to 23800.

[00:19:36]But one interesting point to highlight that if you see there is lot of volatility negative news like spike in crude oil prices, high bond rate prices, high dollar prices. After all this market managed to hold on to the level of 2300. So it looks like market seems to be digesting most of this negative news. Expecting I think so 23800 to see surpass in this current volatility and we should be looking for target from 24400 for nifty in the coming weeks. So yeah it's something very interesting to seen if you look at the market I think so that's a good indicator to understand the sentiment of the market that also I've seen hardly any marginal deterioration in terms of market. So even the percentage of stocks which are trading about 500 of total CNX 500 trading above 50-day moving average have been around 72%. So it's clearly indicating I think so it's a broad-based lecap small caps clearly outperforming and the way the technical setup seems to be forming for most of this nifty50 constituents looks like I think so in the coming days we should surpass 23800 and should be looking for a target of 24400.

[00:20:41]>> Okay. All right. That's about the nifty.

[00:20:44]Though the markets have come up from the highs yet again across the board be midcaps, small caps or the nifty in a market like this Dh what would your individual technical picks be? Yes. So if you look at the market I think so it's something where it's we always like to stick with the relative outperformance and here if you look I think so the power space as a whole really outperforming this current corrective phase where inside the power space again bail remains to be a topic.

[00:21:08]If you look at the bail, I think so the 18 years of long consolidation breakout has been witnessed in bail again on the weekly and the monthly time frame. If you look I think so forming high or higher bottom formation clearly indicating I think so there's long way to go for the bail for the short-term to talk for bail I think so we believe the short stock should be heading towards a target of 436 keeping a stock of 388 apart from a space autopace as a whole I think so looks positive from the current levels yes crude oil prices can be some bit of a dent to the overall auto space but we believe I think so the way the crude oil price behavior looks to me it seems to be on the verge of a breakdown so auto is a space looks positive positive where Tata Motors passenger vehicle looks positive. If you look at the chart, I think so the stock has witnessed a falling trend line breakout joining the lows of 2024 and 25 and 26 indicating the end of the corrective phase for Tata Motors passenger vehicle.

[00:22:01]So yes, Tata Motors passenger vehicle looks positive on the weekly clearly forming a base formation about 20day EMA looks for target of around 393 a stop loss of around 337.

[00:22:12]So passenger vehicle and date should be a topic.

[00:22:16]>> Okay, DHS, thank you so much for joining us this afternoon telling us his individual bets as well as the levels we should keep an eye out on. But on that note, it's time to also get the cues in the world of FNO this afternoon.

[00:22:28]Mangalam is here to take us through all of that. Afternoon Mangalam.

[00:22:31]>> Good afternoon. So the market is at you know near days high but off days high as well. And that's a pattern that we've been seeing over the last few trading sessions as well. If you look at the nifty, you know, a little over 23800, it continues to see a bit of a sell-off.

[00:22:43]And that's something that if you notice over the last few trading sessions, you know, the chart pulls up uh the highs that we saw on the nifty from May 14th, May 19th, and thereafter May 20th and as uh recently as May 21st, which was yesterday as well, you know, highs upwards of 23,800 are seeing a bit of a sell-off. So that's something that we continue to monitor. The important part however is that uh the Nifty bank is doing well but as we move forward you know technical resistances come by for the frontline index which is the 50-day moving average above which we are on the Nifty right now. If you look at the 20-day moving average that will come in as a bit of a resistance similar is the case with the Nifty bank as well upwards of 54,000 between 54600 and 54700 are both the 20 and the 50-day moving averages for that index. Uh if you look at the way the markets moved however the good part is that the base of the market is moving higher 23300 23400 is now moved higher to 23500 23600 because we are seeing put writing at 23700 23 750 even closer to 23800 but call writers until we break out of this current congestion zone are not giving up. So we are seeing some writing at the 23800 23850 calls all of them telling you that around 23850 to 23950 closer to 24,000 we continue to see some supply coming in for our frontline index just a couple of things even as the market's doing well to monitor one the broader market's not doing extremely well secondly the India VIX is higher on a day like this you would want the India VIX to be lower and the third part that gives you a little bit of an eerie feeling is uh that you know we are seeing the put call ratio which has moved towards 1.2 2 and typically when it moves towards 1.2 between 1.2 to 1.3 we see the market overheat a little bit and sell off. So those are a couple of factors that I'm tracking. Even as we're doing well we're not extremely comfortable about a breakout so yet.

[00:24:31]>> Yes. Uh that's the main point about the uptick that we have seen in the markets as well. Maybe not so comfortable with a breakout yet. Thank you Magndam for joining us with that FNO setup. Time for another break. On the other side Manisha Gupta will join us with Canal Sha Nural Bankang Securities. We'll focus on precious metals. Stay tuned for that conversation.

[00:24:56]Welcome back. Joining us on the show now is Kunal Sha. He is VP head of commodities research at Nurang Securities. Kunal, hi. Thank you so much for joining in. You're reading first of all on all the statements that we are hearing in and around about crude oil from US from Iran mediation that Pakistan's do trying to do and the crude oil prices in the meanwhile have actually come off its highs down nearly 4% for the week.

[00:25:18]Uh so what I'm able to make of of whatever is going on I think considering that the the US midterm election is on the verge uh the likelihood of the deal between US and Iran is now very high. So there can be a deal in next 7 10 days. I I don't know I I cannot tell it with the precision but uh the body language whatever I'm able to understand and the statement which are coming out they are indicating because we are we are at that point that oil if this is going to continue should have been at 20 to $25.

[00:25:53]Instead of that oil was not able to move up and with every statement coming uh from US we are seeing that oil was retracing back very quickly. So uh so my sense is that we are going to see uh what we are going to see is something like uh a scenario where uh oil is going to remain under pressure and there is a strong likelihood of a deal taking place between US and Iran. So uh I think WTI is heading towards 95 and Brent is heading towards $9798 by the end of this week and I'm expecting uh some positive announcement going forward in next 6 to 7 days.

[00:26:40]>> All right. So the next one week clearly can be important. There could be some retracement that we could be looking at in both of these crude varieties. Kunal, how are you also looking at the Indian rupee now? Because a very sharp appreciation onto this one. something that the markets perhaps are reacting to various RBI steps that they have promised the swap for example 95 is that coming or do you see more appreciation >> I think uh if rupee continue would have continued to remain at uh the levels where it was it would have been a very bad scenario for our country they had to do something about this and I think they will continue to do that uh my my sense is that maybe for a time being I would say I would stick out my neck and say it has peaked out already. So uh with if the US Iran deal is taking place, the likelihood of it going to 9450 is very high in in a current scenario and I think it should not go above 97 now and we may see 9450 kind of levels in next 10 to 15 days and uh it can appreciate further not on a basis of uh the actual fundamental but the expectation of oil to go down expectation of deal and the measures with the RBI taking currently. Uh I think in short term it has peaked out.

[00:28:03]>> How are you looking at the gold and silver prices now? Because uh the dollar index is slightly off its highs and that perhaps has been supportive for gold and silver. But when you look at both of these precious metal prices, gold is off 14% from its highs. Silver is down 20% since West Asia conflict began. Is that impact already in? Do you see further pull back in gold and silver before we see a buying momentum coming again?

[00:28:25]>> I think there's not going to be a significant upside in gold and silver in near term. Uh two reason uh one is uh the Indian imports are likely to remain under pressure. India's demand is also going to go down with the measures uh the government has taken and the appeal the prime minister has made because of that. This is a off season where the demand generally remains very low and now we have to see uh the elino year so the monsoon if it doesn't remain good then that's that's uh that will be more bad news for gold and silver. So I think in shortterm the demand may remain uh weak in India. internationally if you look if you ask me uh uh whatever is happening because of that gold prices may bottom out at $4,400 kind of level on uh comics uh and I think it can again resume and test levels of 4750 to 4800 going forward so I'm not very bearish on gold because of the global phenomenon the Indian uh uh drop in demand uh can have some temporary impact, but eventually gold should perform better and should be able to give you 10% return from $4,400.

[00:29:40]>> All right, that sounds good. How are you also then looking at the metals as a space? Because we've seen copper prices trade very close to its all-time highs, teasing those numbers yet again, but not getting there. How would you look at the demand scenario going forward? The whole AI stocks clearly seem to be lending that support to copper prices in the last couple of sessions.

[00:29:59]I think I said it in your last show and I said it even at this levels it still looks very bullish to me. There's it's no-brainer. Uh the metals are likely to do well. It is likely to outperform precious metals and uh uh the fundamental continue to remain very bullish. The supply chain disruption what we saw lately because of this war uh is likely to weigh on the supplies going forward. A lot of countries are now uh you know talking about the protectionism and they are not so like for example Indonesia they are talking about uh cutting the exports of so many commodities uh to the world. So if copper is one of them I think we are in a big problem. Uh so the supply of copper may severely get impacted because of that. So my sense is that uh whatever dip you get is a buying opportunity and uh $15,000 looks very likely uh it is going to test and the fundamental of copper aluminum uh remains very bullish.

[00:31:07]>> If you had to stack it up like uh in sense of gains would you put copper first and then aluminum then zinc? Is that how you're playing it?

[00:31:14]>> Yeah. So copper uh aluminum nickel zinc this this will be the order.

[00:31:21]>> Are you also looking at the dollar index declining from here? Because if we have to get positive in commodities then we are are we looking at dollar index staying around that 97 to 99 of a range?

[00:31:31]>> I think lately what we've seen is because of the inflary expectation PPI CPI both have uh significantly shot up.

[00:31:39]That's the reason why dollar index is at uh 9929. But going forward once there is a deal between US and Iran. If it if it then I think uh dollar index is heading towards 97 975 again because $40 trillion of debt uh it's absolutely a no-brainer. is just in near-term the inflationary expectation have surged so much that uh the dollar dollar index is strengning but going forward it should gradually ease.

[00:32:13]Understood Kunal. Thank you for joining in as always. So that is the view really coming in for the currencies and commodities as well where the weakness in gold perhaps may just about continue but buying in base metal prices is something that you should perhaps be doing in your portfolios there. With that we'll go for a short break but up next we will connect with Ant Tan. He's a co-founder at Active 8 in our crypto corner segment. Stay tuned.

[00:32:42]>> Binance.

[00:32:44]>> Welcome back. You're watching Crypto Corner. Joining us now is Dr. Yan Tan who is co-founder at Active 8. Dr. Tan, hi. Thank you so much for joining in.

[00:32:51]Malaysia has positioned itself as one of the top crypto friendly destinations for digital nomads and companies. How are you looking at regulatory frameworks at active aid keeping up with the institutional adoption while protecting the retail investors?

[00:33:08]>> There is a lot of progress at the current moment and we have been working very very closely uh with the governments uh and and relevant agencies to actually help uh projects or companies uh on shore in Malaysia. So activate being uh part of the block office group uh we uh firmly believe in compliance and also uh the right um corporate governance uh when it comes to establishing uh uh corporate structures that actually comply which uh with uh every government sector. So uh whether be rules and regulations and whatnot. So I think um it's a um a breath of fresh air uh especially with all the regulatory uh uh ambiguity that uh a lot of people in the industry are actually experiencing uh and that's uh definitely a very very good step forward.

[00:34:00]>> Dr. Tan, you were recently telling me about the robotic projects that you're on boarding also AI convergence with blockchain technology. How soon how quick is that working out?

[00:34:11]>> Yes, I do believe so. Um I am actually currently in San Francisco and I participated in one of uh the demo days by base. Um and uh what I've seen is that the convergence of AI robotics and also and blockchain is that it enables a very very seamless uh way of um making payments especially for services right.

[00:34:36]Um we do believe that uh robotics uh is the future and something that we are building right now is something called Shadow Combat Z. Um and it is uh more on the entertainment front, right? Um we see that uh crypto uh will become that tool for live fan interaction and engagement and uh yeah it's uh it's it's going to be very interesting to see. Um it is a um it's a humanoid it's a bipedal humanoid teleoperated uh uh combat sport uh that we are building here and uh we are actually very very excited to bring this to the world.

[00:35:18]Think of it as robotics M&A.

[00:35:22]The other thing that seems to be making very strong inroads has been stable coins and especially for the crossborder payments. When we talk about utilities and real world tokenization, would you say stable coins really tops that rank?

[00:35:36]>> Um I do believe that stable coins are definitely here to stay. Um I go back to the whole the point of uh regulatory ambiguity right now. Uh that uh when you cross borders there are a lot of uh questions that will be asked right. Um I think that's the primary concern uh across governments uh across policy makers um whether funds that are being transferred or being used uh is it actually legitimate and where it has been and I think this is the perfect use case of the blockchain whereby every fund every dollar that's being transferred it can be traced back to its origins. Um this is something that is uh being spearheaded in Malaysia specifically uh by one of the stable coins that are that is actually currently incubated by um the uh sandbox of uh the ministry of finance and uh we're seeing uh huge strides being taken here and one other point that I want to add on this is that one of the national banks of Malaysia recently successfully completed a stable coin transaction cross borders Um this is definitely something that is uh very exciting to be seen. Uh we will see more use uh usages for stable coins in the near future. Uh simply because of its efficiency and uh the the the the the cost being so low uh this will improve uh cross border transactions across industries.

[00:37:10]>> How are you looking at the regulations across countries when it comes to cryptos? I mean we've seen US take the lead. We've seen Genius Sack go through and clarity almost in the middle of it all. Expectation that it might go through in the month of July. But when it comes to Asian markets, especially Malaysia, Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, etc. How are you looking at Asian regulations? Do you see them evolving altogether?

[00:37:33]>> I would not use this as a comparison point.

[00:37:38]uh rather I would say that every government institution has their has their own case in adoption and also formation of policy um because everyone would have their own methodology of what how they want to introduce digital assets into their ecosystem right and um I think if you're referring specifically to the Genius Act and the Clarity Act I believe that that is uh one the main reference points for a lot of policy makers uh when it comes to formation of their own policies. So uh this is actually definitely a good step right because now that there's a clear reference point this will drive uh definitely drive uh uh uh progress for policy makers across the region. So uh I wouldn't say that uh Asia is doing better or the United States is doing better. I believe this is a collective effort across government uh government agencies uh to make uh econ uh commerce or economy economies start to kind of like merge and become more efficient.

[00:38:49]>> Okay, that's all about uh cryptos there.

[00:38:52]So, thank you so much Dr. Tiana as well as thank you so much Manisha for taking us through that conversation as well.

[00:38:56]But on that note, we're going to sip into a very short break. After the break, we'll come back with more on the markets, more on stock specific action.

[00:39:02]Stay tuned.

[00:39:13]>> CNBC TV8 presents Crypto Corner powered by B by B.

[00:39:19]>> Welcome back. You're still tuned into halftime report. For the markets, we continue to be above the 23,800 mark for now. At the day high, uh Bank Nifty is of course pushing uh uh some of the gains that we are seeing from the lows of the day. Midcaps to have recovered up around 111 points right now. So look at that uh up up and away on the nifty bank and a lot of moving parts in the nifty uh those should also come up for you on the screen. So some of these stocks the likes of Access Bank, Vipro, Asian Paints, ICI Bank, all of them are the days high. From the midcap pack we do have Lakshmi Dental which is up around 20%. Yes, I know a lot of stocks which are surging to the day high. So we need to uh track them very closely. Uh Midcap's doing well. So yes we do have the likes of Manali petrol there is Hunasa as well which is doing well sheila foam is the other one which is high in trade today up around 8 and a half% rate gain up 7 and a half% so a lot of moving parts in the broader markets and as we speak so much movement in the nifty pack as well with nifty days high led by a lot of these big names in the bank nifty as well. Uh but with that we'll do one thing. We'll uh take your leave on this edition of halftime report. Do stay tuned. Business launch will take all the action ahead.