Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Wednesday, October 16, 2024. My name is Nelson John. Let's get started.

The Sensex fell 153 points, or 0.19 per cent, while the Nifty 50 closed 71 points, or 0.28 per cent, lower.

The country's biggest listed company presented its quarterly earnings report yesterday. Investors didn't like it too much: Reliance Industries' share price dropped by 2 percent on Tuesday. Its oils to chemicals business remains its biggest pain point: ebidta has fallen 19 percent year on year. But Jio made up for this, Manish Joshi writes. There is significant upside for Jio for the coming quarter, while Reliance's retail business is trending upwards too. Investors might not be too happy with the latest results, but future quarters might be much better for RIL.

Urban India constantly uses quick commerce apps to order groceries and other household items. This comes at the expense of traditional FMCG players. Dipti Shah writes that this growing trend will affect FMCG stocks negatively. This is also evident from their modest returns, compared to the significant gains seen in shares of companies like Zomato and Trent. Even FMCG giants have acknowledged the rising contribution of quick commerce to their sales, signaling a transformative shift.

After a brief break, startups are finally hiring CXOs again. Over two-dozen top-level executives were recruited in the last three months, report Sneha Shah and Devina Sengupta. According to industry insiders, this surge in hiring for roles like chief executives and business heads is a response to more funding coming in. They are also a strategic move by startups to strengthen their leadership teams in preparation for future growth, including IPOs. Such hires are receiving significant stock options as part of their packages, report Sneha and Devina.

This week, relations between India and Canada soured further as each country expelled six of the other’s diplomats. This escalation follows Canada's allegations of the Indian government’s involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh activist, in British Columbia in June 2023. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited non-cooperation from India in the investigation as a reason for the expulsion, intensifying tensions amid Canadian political dynamics as Trudeau faces decreasing popularity ahead of the election in 2025. Economic ties between India and Canada, characterised by substantial trade and investment, remain strong despite the diplomatic rift. Elizabeth Roche, associate professor at Jindal Global University, explains the fresh turn in the ongoing tensions.

The Adani Group has its fingers in many pies — from power to ports to even pulses. Now, it is eyeing a new sector: semiconductors. Anirudh Laskar reports that the conglomerate is looking to invest 3 billion dollars with two Israeli tech firms to set up a factory. The total investment in this unit could increase up to 8 billion dollars. The Group hopes to count on the government's help with the setting up of this facility, as they have been bullish on chip manufacturing hubs.

Show notes:

RIL investors wait for oil-to-chemicals business profitability to bottom out

Investors shy away from FMCG stocks but embrace quick commerce platforms: Why?

The great startup CXO hunt: companies beef up top deck as funding winter thaws

Mint Primer | The escalating India-Canada rift and its implications for India

Adani plans $3 billion outlay to launch semicon biz