8FEBRUARY 2024TOP STORIESINDIA'S STOCK MARKET NOW WORLD'S FOURTH HIGHEST VALUED MARKETThe Indian stock market has pipped Hong Kong to become the fourth-highest equity market globally, Bloomberg reported. The combined value of shares listed on Indian exchanges reached $ 4.33 trillion as of Monday's close, versus $ 4.29 trillion for Hong Kong, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.India's stock market capitalization crossed $ 4 trillion for the first time on December 5, 2023, with about half of that reportedly coming in the past four years. The top three stock markets are the U.S., China, and Japan.Cumulatively, the past 12 months have been stellar for investors who parked their money in Indian stocks. Though there has been some turbulence, the calendar year 2023 gave handsome monetary dividends to stock market investors.By 2023, Sensex and Nifty have returned 17-18 $ cumulatively. By 2022, it will increase to just 3-4 $. The data shows that Hong Kong's and the Hang Seng index have fallen 32-33 $ in the past year.Firm GDP growth forecast, inflation at manageable levels, political stability at the central government level, and signs that the central banks the world over are done with their monetary policy tightening have painted a bright picture for India - which many agencies have termed to be the fastest-growing major economy. BHARTI GROUP LOOKING TO SELL AXA LIFE INSURANCE TO SBI LIFEBharti Group is in advanced talks with SBI Life and other insurers about selling its now-wholly owned life insurance venture, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, according to people familiar with the negotiations.The move comes after Bharti Group announced plans in October 2023 to buy out its joint venture partner AXA Group's 49 $ stake in the life insurance business. "After acquiring the business from AXA, Bharti has been looking to exit the insurance business and focus on telecom," one of the cited sources said. "After selling the general insurance business to ICICI Lombard by way of merger, it has been looking to sell the life insurance business entirely."There is no clarity on whether the deal will go through, people cited above said.Spokespersons of Bharti declined to comment while SBI Life said it will not comment on market speculation. ET could not ascertain the potential deal value for Bharti's life insurance business and how much Bharti shelled out for AXA's 49 $ stake.Bharti Life Ventures Pvt Ltd (BLVPL), the holding firm of Bharti Group's insurance business, should have full ownership of the life insurance venture post the acquisition of AXA's stake, which was subject to regulatory clearances. Bharti and the French insurer had formed two joint ventures in 2006, with the Indian partner holding 74% stake in both Bharti AXA Life Insurance and Bharti AXA General Insurance.The general insurance venture was merged into ICICI Lombard in 2020 when AXA exited the company.
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