19 min read.Updated: 01 Jul 2020, 03:49 PM ISTRashmi Sanyal
Axis Bank, HDFC, ITC among top gainers on Sensex
Nifty Bank top gainer among sectoral indices, up over 2%
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01 Jul 2020, 03:48:50 PM IST
Indian equities surge on gains in financials
Benchmark indices ended higher, with the Nifty closing above 10400 supported by financials and FMCG stocks.
At close, the Sensex was up 498.65 points or 1.4% at 35414.45, and the Nifty was up 127.90 points or 1.24% at 10,430.
About 1486 shares advanced, 1251 shares declined, and 120 shares were unchanged.
Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, UPL, HDFC and ITC were among the major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Nestle, NTPC, Shree Cements, L&T and Cipla.
Among sectors, buying was seen in banks, FMCG, energy and metal stocks, while pharma stocks were under pressure. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended with marginal gains.
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01 Jul 2020, 03:37:02 PM IST
India to disallow China companies participation for highway projects
India will not allow Chinese companies to participate in highway projects, including those through joint ventures, said Union minister Nitin Gadkari.
01 Jul 2020, 03:32:36 PM IST
Top volume grossers on BSE today
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01 Jul 2020, 03:26:05 PM IST
Nifty sectoral indices towards close of session
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01 Jul 2020, 03:21:12 PM IST
Oil India, Engineers India led consortium to buy 48% stake in NRL
An Oil India Ltd and Engineers India Ltd consortium will buy 48% stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd's subsidiary Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL).
State-run refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) holds 61.65% stake in NRL, while Oil India holds 26% and the government of Assam 12.35%.
The consortium may have to shell out over ₹5,500 crore to buy the stake.
As part of its strategy to divest stake in BPCL, the government last November had decided to carve out NRL from BPCL.
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01 Jul 2020, 03:18:19 PM IST
Nifty broad market indices towards close
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01 Jul 2020, 03:12:31 PM IST
Global PE firms eye India’s auto components sector
Top private equity (PE) firms such as Temasek, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Samara Capital and Baring Private Equity Asia are exploring investment opportunities in India’s auto parts manufacturing sector, three people aware of the developments told Mint.
The firms are confident about the long-term potential of India’s auto parts industry to cater to local and overseas markets. Hence, they want to capitalize on the low market valuations of most of these auto parts vendors due to covid-related uncertainties to buy minority or controlling stakes. The firms are scouting for makers of parts for internal combustion engine vehicles, and electric mobility.
01 Jul 2020, 03:09:02 PM IST
Oil prices rise further supported by decline in inventory
Oil prices rose on Wednesday following a series of positive manufacturing data and a drawdown in US crude inventories, both indicative of an economic recovery and rise in energy demand despite surging coronavirus infections around the world.
Brent crude was up $1.19, or 2.9%, to $42.46 a barrel, and U.S. crude was up $1.15, or 2.9%, at $40.42 a barrel.
01 Jul 2020, 03:05:26 PM IST
Asian markets end mixed
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped nearly 0.8% to finish at 22,121.73. South Korea's Kospi inched down nearly 0.1%. Australia's S&P ASX 200 gained 0.6% while the Shanghai Composite added 1.4%. Trading was closed in Hong Kong for a holiday.
01 Jul 2020, 03:00:03 PM IST
Europe stocks subdued on coronavirus concerns
European shares were higher but in range on Wednesday as improving euro zone data added to hopes of a quicker economic rebound, but surging U.S. coronavirus cases held optimism in check.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3% after closing out its best quarterly gains since March 2015 in the previous session.
France's CAC 40 fell 0.2% in early trading to 4,925.53, while Germany's DAX gained nearly 0.7% at 12,391.72. Britain's FTSE 100 was a tad higher at 6,170.51. US shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down 0.2% at 25,631.0. S&P 500 futures were also lower at 3,084.88. down 0.2%.
01 Jul 2020, 02:54:28 PM IST
Volvo recalls over 2 million cars globally over seat belt fatigue
Chinese-owned Swedish automaker Volvo Cars on Wednesday said it was recalling nearly 2.2 million cars globally over an issue related to the effectiveness of the seat belts.
The issue with the cars relates to a steel cable connected to the front seat belts, which under certain conditions "over time suffer from fatigue," eventually damaging the cable, "resulting in reduced seat belt restraint function."
Volvo Cars, which introduced the three-point seat belt in 1959, said it had not received any reports of injuries related to the issue.
01 Jul 2020, 02:49:35 PM IST
Nifty IT index under pressure
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01 Jul 2020, 02:45:44 PM IST
Hero MotoCorp June sales at 450,744 units, up from 112,628 units in May
Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, dispatched 4,50,744 units to dealerships in June, a record sequential growth of four times over the 112,682 units dispatched in May, the company said in a statement to the exchanges.
It had sold 6,16,00 units in June 2019.
The company sold 5,63,426 units of motorcycles and scooters the April-June quarter.
01 Jul 2020, 02:33:08 PM IST
BSE Power index down 1% at 1,558.63
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01 Jul 2020, 02:22:33 PM IST
Power consumption dips 9.7% to 106.48 bln units in June
India's power consumption fell 9.7% year-on-year to 106.48 billion units in June, mainly due to low demand amid covid-19-related restrictions in the country.
However, the slump was less than the 14.9% decline reported in May and 23.2% fall in April.
01 Jul 2020, 02:12:41 PM IST
Rupee ends lower against US dollar
The Indian rupee ended marginally lower at 75.59 against the US dollar. It had opened flat at 75.51 compared with previous close of 75.50.
01 Jul 2020, 02:04:12 PM IST
Indian private firms may develop 15 men tn capacity coal mines this year
India's private companies could start developing coal mines with an annual capacity of 15 million tonnes by the end of March, the country's coal minister told Reuters, a move that would end the near-monopoly of state-run Coal India, Reuters reported.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month launched the auction of 41 coal mines to companies including those in the private sector, with an annual production capacity that is nearly one third of national total output.
"This year by end of March, if everything goes well, 15 million tonnes we will start this year," India's Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi told Reuters.
01 Jul 2020, 01:42:21 PM IST
ICICI Bank weighs share sale of up to $3 billion: Bloomberg
ICICI Bank Ltd. plans to raise as much as $3 billion in a share sale as the lender seeks to bolster its capital ratios, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The Mumbai-based lender plans to start discussions with potential advisers for the offering soon, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
ICICI Bank is currently targeting a shale sale as soon as September, though the timing could still change depending on market conditions, the people said.
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01 Jul 2020, 01:36:41 PM IST
US charges Glenmark Pharma with price fixing conspiracy; stock falls
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc, USA, has been charged with conspiring to fix prices for generic drugs, the US Department of Justice state has said in a statement.
Glenmark allegedly conspired with pharmaceutical maker Apotex Corp and other generic drug companies to increase the prices of cholesterol medication pravastatin and other generic drugs, the department said.
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01 Jul 2020, 01:31:56 PM IST
Nifty 50 stocks
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01 Jul 2020, 01:28:45 PM IST
Loans to some small businesses shrink 7.1% in two months of lockdown
At a time when the government has been trying to boost credit offtake under its ₹3-trillion guaranteed loan programme, outstanding loans to micro, small and medium industries shrunk by ₹34,627 crore in the two months since the lockdown, according to disaggregated credit data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Loans to small businesses in the industries segment shrunk to ₹4.52 trillion as of 22 May from ₹4.87 trillion as on 27 March. This is a 7.1% decline in outstanding credit in this segment.
Since banks started working on the guaranteed credit scheme from 1 June, data on those disbursals is not reflected here. However, this data shows how even after banks launched their own covid-19 emergency credit lines after the lockdown, it did not alter their existing risk averseness towards small businesses.
01 Jul 2020, 01:25:06 PM IST
Delhi coronavirus situation under control: CM
Covid-19 situation in Delhi is not "terrible" as predicted one month ago, situation is under control, said Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
There are 26,000 active cases in Delhi, with number of people recovering from virus increasing, Kejriwal added.
"Situation is improving in Delhi in last few days. However, there is no room for complacency. This virus is unpredictable. We must continue our efforts wid more vigor," he said in a Twitter post.
01 Jul 2020, 01:17:40 PM IST
'Glow' to replace 'whitening' in some L'Oreal skin products: Reuters
L'Oreal will gradually replace "white" or "fair" with "glow" or "even" for some products designed to help even out skin tones, Reuters reported.
The French company - the world's biggest manufacturer of beauty products, including brands Maybelline and Garnier - had said last week it would change its labelling after a similar move by Unilever.
Unilever and L'Oreal are two big players in the global market for skin whitening creams used in many Asian, African and Caribbean countries where fair skin is often considered desirable.
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The logo of French cosmetics group L'Oreal. (REUTERS)
01 Jul 2020, 01:08:30 PM IST
ICICI Bank second official UPI partner of PhonePe after Yes Bank
Flipkart-owned PhonePe has announced ICICI bank as its new partner bank for creating and using UPI IDs for online payments.
Customers can now use the ICICI bank's @ibl handle to create and use UPI IDs in the Phone Pe app. The ICICI bank's handle will be available in addition to the Yes Bank's @ybl handle.
PhonePe has over 200 million registered users and giving the option to use multiple UPI IDs will ensure they can still make transactions even if any one bank's handle is temporarily out of service as it happened in March when Yes Bank's handle was suspended.
The option to access ICICI bank's handle will be rolled out to PhonePe users through a new version of the app. The update will be available on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store in the coming weeks.
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01 Jul 2020, 01:02:29 PM IST
M&M June tractor sales at 36,544 units, auto sales at 19,358 units
Mahindra and Mahindra domestic tractor sales totalled 35,844 units in June, as against 31,879 units in the year-ago period.
Total tractor sales during June were at 36,544 units, as against 33,094 units for
the same period last year. Exports for the month stood at 700 units.
The company sold 8,075 passenger vehicles in June compared with 18,826 units sold year ago.
Commercial vehicles sales were at 10,417 units as against 16,394 vehicles in June 2019.
Exports were at 853 vehicles.
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01 Jul 2020, 12:51:45 PM IST
Nifty top losers/gainers
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01 Jul 2020, 12:27:50 PM IST
World Bank approves $750 mln loan for India's MSMEs
The World Bank on Wednesay approved a $750 million loan to facilitate flow of finance to India's micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), severely hit by the covid-19 crisis.
The World Bank’s MSME Emergency Response program will aim to address the immediate liquidity and credit needs of some 1.5 million viable MSMEs to help them withstand the impact of the current shock and protect millions of jobs. This takes the World Bank's total commitment to $2.75 billion to support India’s emergency covid-19 response.
01 Jul 2020, 12:21:13 PM IST
Indian banks face significant capital shortfalls
Indian banks are likely to require at least $15 billion in fresh capital to meet a 10% weighted-average common equity Tier 1 ratio under a moderate stress scenario, Fitch Ratings has said.
This rises to about $58 billion in a high-stress situation where the domestic economy fails to recover from the coronavirus pandemic-related disruption. State-owned banks will require the bulk of the recapitalisation, as the risk of capital erosion at state banks is significantly higher than for their privately owned peers.
"We expect the majority of the injection to come through in FY22, as bad loan recognition has been pushed back by a 180-day regulatory moratorium. However, a clearer picture should start to emerge from December 2020, unless the central bank agrees to a one-time loan restructuring, which would affect the timely recognition and resolution of bad loans," it added.
01 Jul 2020, 12:17:24 PM IST
EU safety agency suspends Pak airlines' European authorisation for six months
The European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) authorisation to fly to the bloc for six months, Reuters reported.
Separately, the safety agency said it took the action because of concerns about Pakistan's ability to ensure compliance with international aviation standards at all times.
The suspension follows Pakistan's grounding of 262 of the country's 860 pilots, including 141 of PIA's 434, whose licences the aviation minister termed "dubious".
01 Jul 2020, 12:11:39 PM IST
Govt June GST collection at ₹90,917 crore vs ₹62,009 crore in May
The Centre collected ₹90,917 crore in GST in June, up from ₹62,009 crore mopped up in May and ₹32,294 crore in April, PTI reported.
01 Jul 2020, 12:06:34 PM IST
Drug APIs from China to be cleared at Indian ports after pharma industry plea
The customs department will start clearing shipments of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) imported from China stuck at ports across India as the government relented after pleas by the pharmaceutical industry.
“Practically every pharmaceutical raw material is being cleared from the ports. There five key starting materials and 53 APIs which are 100% imported from China are among the raw materials that are stuck," Dinesh Dua, chairman of Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), told Mint, adding that the total value of shipments is around ₹200 crore.
“Yesterday evening, the airports started clearing it, but seaports and dry ports have still not started. Hopefully, they will start clearing it soon."
Dua said that seaports and dry ports account for about 60-70% of all API shipments, and these will be cleared over the next one week.
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01 Jul 2020, 12:03:08 PM IST
Nifty broad market indices
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01 Jul 2020, 11:56:02 AM IST
Google postpones US office reopening as coronavirus cases spike: Reuters
Alphabet Inc's Google has said it was delaying the reopening of its US offices by around two months because of a surge in the number of coronavirus cases in some states.
All of Google's US offices will now remain shut at least until 7 September, Google spokeswoman Katherine Williams told Reuters.
01 Jul 2020, 11:48:05 AM IST
Maruti June sales down 54% on year at 57,428 units
Maruti Suzuki India reported total sales of 57,428 units for June, down 54% on year. Exports stood at 4,289 units, while domestic sales totalled 52,300 units.
The carmaker sold 76,599 units during April-June.
"Production across plants is being progressively increased consistent with maximum efforts to ensure safety and subject to the availability of employees," it said in a notification to stock exchanges.
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01 Jul 2020, 11:42:02 AM IST
Explosion at Neyveli Lignite plant: ANI
Explosion at a boiler in stage -2 of the Neyveli Lignite plant in Tamil Nadu. 17 injured, rushed to hospital.
01 Jul 2020, 11:37:41 AM IST
India gold prices near record high
Gold prices in India in Wednesday inched closer to record high, tracking gains in global rates. On MCX, August gold futures rose 0.14% to ₹48,830 per 10 gram while silver futures were up 0.12% to ₹50,423 per kg.
In global markets, gold prices today edged closer to near an eight-year high as resurgence in coronavirus cases buoyed demand for the metal, which is considered a safe haven. Spot gold edged up 0.1% at $1,782.21 per ounce, after hitting its $1,785.46 in the previous session - highest since October 2012.
For intraday, traders "can go for buy in Gold at 48600 to 48700 levels with the stop loss of 48300 levels and for the target of 49100. And silver traders can buy at 50200 to 50300 levels with the stop loss of 49700 levels and for the target of 51000 levels," Anuj Gupta, deputy vice president, Commodities and Currencies Research, Angel Broking Ltd.
01 Jul 2020, 11:30:24 AM IST
MG Motor June sales at 2,012 units
MG Motor India on Wednesday reported sales of 2,012 units in June.
The company has witnessed a rise in demand for both its product lines – the updated BS-VI versions of Hector that recorded sales of 1,867 units, and ZS EV with sales of 145 units.
01 Jul 2020, 11:19:37 AM IST
Nifty pharma top loser among sectoral indices
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01 Jul 2020, 11:14:49 AM IST
Indian equities up marginally
Benchmark indices were modestly higher led by gains in bank stocks. Concerns over the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis dampened investor sentiment.
At 1111am, the Sensex was at 35,086.75, up 170.95 points or 0.5%, having touched a high of 35,152. The Nifty rose 0.4% to 10,347.20.
Coronavirus cases in India jumped over 18,000 to 585,493 as of Wednesday, with death toll at 17,400 deaths, according to health ministry data.
01 Jul 2020, 11:03:20 AM IST
Airbus to cut 15,000 jobs: Bloomberg
Airbus plans to cut 15,000 civil-aerospace jobs worldwide as it attempts to steer through the crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
01 Jul 2020, 11:00:22 AM IST
Kotak Bank among top losers on Nifty
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01 Jul 2020, 10:53:57 AM IST
India's factory activity contracts for third straight month in June
India's manufacturing activity contracted for a third straight month in June, albeit at a much shallower pace. The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by IHS Markit, rose to 47.2 last month from 30.8 in May.
A reading below 50 indicates contraction.
01 Jul 2020, 10:50:06 AM IST
Steel Strips Wheels gets order worth $170,000
Steel Strips Wheels receives new orders worth over $170,000 from the US for over 10,700 wheels to be executed in July and August from its Chennai plant. As EU & US markets turn steady, post the covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, this comes as a reaffirmation for resuming operations. Similar orders are expected in times to come from other regular customers as the market regains normalcy.
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01 Jul 2020, 10:40:49 AM IST
BSE SmallCap up 0.15% at 12,399.65
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01 Jul 2020, 10:38:50 AM IST
BSE MidCap down 0.08% at 13,045.39
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01 Jul 2020, 10:34:33 AM IST
Top gainers/losers on Sensex
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01 Jul 2020, 10:34:08 AM IST
ICICI Bank cuts lending rates by 15 bps across tenors
01 Jul 2020, 10:25:52 AM IST
Nifty PSU Bank index gains most among sectoral indices
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01 Jul 2020, 10:18:31 AM IST
Stock recommendations: Angel Broking
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01 Jul 2020, 10:14:40 AM IST
Nifty Technicals: Angel Broking
"We continue to remain hopeful as long as 10194 is not broken convincingly and a positive trigger on global or domestic front would take this market higher. The support can be seen at 10250-10194 levels; whereas on the higher side, the upward momentum will get resumed above 10400-10450," Sameet Chavan, chief analyst-technical and derivatives, Angel Broking.
01 Jul 2020, 10:11:42 AM IST
India rupee opens flat against US dollar
The Indian rupee opened at 75.51 against the US dollar compared with previous close of 75.50.
01 Jul 2020, 10:08:42 AM IST
Markets surge; bank stocks gain
At 1000am, the Sensex was up 236.52 points or 0.68% at 35152.32, and the Nifty was up 60.50 points or 0.59% at 10362.60.
01 Jul 2020, 10:01:37 AM IST
Vodafone down post Q4 results
Higher finance costs and exceptional items on account of licence fees and spectrum dues in the AGR case nearly doubled the losses at Vodafone Idea in March quarter to ₹11,643 crore from ₹6,438 crore in the immediate previous three-month period.
Average revenue per user (Arpu) for Q4 improved to ₹121, a ₹12 appreciation from ₹109 in Q3FY20, driven by the prepaid tariff hike, effective December.
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01 Jul 2020, 09:57:30 AM IST
Escorts June tractor sales up 21% on year
Escorts Ltd's farm machinery segment sold 10,851 tractors in June, up 21% year-on-year.
Domestic tractor sales in June were at 10,623, while exports were at 228.
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01 Jul 2020, 09:49:23 AM IST
ONGC down over 1% on disappointing Q4 results
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Tuesday reported its first-ever quarterly loss after it took an impairment because of the slump in oil and gas prices.
The company reported a ₹3,098 crore loss in January-March compared with a profit of ₹4,240 crore in the year-ago period.
Company Chairman and Managing Director Shashi Shanker said ONGC booked an impairment loss of ₹4,899 crore in the fourth quarter of 2019-20, reflecting valuation of the firm's assets after fall in crude oil prices.
If not for the impairment, the company would have reported a profit.
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01 Jul 2020, 09:30:30 AM IST
OMCs raise jet fuel prices
Prices of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) were hiked 7.5% on Wednesday, the third increase in a in a month.
Jet fuel prices were raised by ₹2,922.94 per kilolitre (kl) to ₹41,992.81 per kl in the national capital, according to a notification by state-owned oil marketing companies.
Prices were hiked on 1 June and 16 June.
Petrol and diesel rates were unchanged for the second day in a row.
01 Jul 2020, 09:27:16 AM IST
Nifty sectoral indices
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01 Jul 2020, 09:24:05 AM IST
Top gainers/losers on Nifty
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01 Jul 2020, 09:22:18 AM IST
Top gainers/losers on Sensex in opening deals
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01 Jul 2020, 09:21:15 AM IST
Indian equities edge higher
Indian benchmark equity indices opened with minor gains on Wednesday tracking global cues.
At 0916am, the Sensex was up 23.14 points or 0.07% at 34938.94, and the Nifty was up 2.30 points or 0.02% at 10304.40. About 699 shares advanced, 449 shares declined, and 46 shares were unchanged.
01 Jul 2020, 09:14:37 AM IST
Indian equities rise at pre-open
Benchmark indices rose at pre-open, tracking the overnight gains in US equities.
At 0902am, the Sensex was up 156.28 points or 0.45% at 35072.08, and the Nifty was up 24.10 points or 0.23% at 10326.20.
01 Jul 2020, 09:02:39 AM IST
Fitch cuts India growth projection to 8% for FY22
Fitch Ratings on Tuesday cut India's growth forecast for 2021-22 fiscal to 8% from 9.5% projected last month. It expects the the Indian economy to contract 5% this fiscal.
For 2019-20, the economy grew an estimated 4.2%.
01 Jul 2020, 08:59:25 AM IST
Economic data, auto sales numbers in focus today
Indian equities will take cues from the economic data released on Tuesday and vehicle sales numbers, scheduled for today.
Data released by the government on Tuesday showed that the fiscal deficit for the first two months of FY21 was at ₹4.66 trillion, or 58.6% of the full year target of ₹7.96 trillion. Output of the eight core sectors of the economy shrank 23.4% in May.
Manufacturing PMI for June is slated to be released later today.
Automobile companies will report their June sales figures today. Analysts expect automobile companies to build-on the demand recovery seen in May, and post improved sales figures on a monthly basis for June.
01 Jul 2020, 08:55:13 AM IST
Carlyle to acquire about 25% stake in Airtel's data centre business: PTI
The Carlyle Group will acquire about 25% stake in Airtel's data centre business, Nxtra Data, for $235 million (about ₹1,780 crore), PTI reported citing a company statement.
The deal pegs the enterprise valuation of Nxtra at $1.2 billion which is over ₹9,084 crore.
The SGX Nifty futures were down 0.07%, indicating a flat to negative start to Indian equities. On Tuesday, the BSE Sensex ended at 34,915.80 down 45.72 points or 0.13% and the Nifty closed at 10,302.10, down 10.30 points or 0.10%
01 Jul 2020, 08:47:45 AM IST
Oil prices up after data shows slump in US inventories
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after an industry report showed crude inventories in the United States fell much more than expected, suggesting demand is improving even as the coronavirus outbreak spreads around the world, Reuters reported.
Brent crude rose 33 cents, or 0.8%, to $41.60 a barrel in Asian trade after declining more than 1% on Tuesday. U.S. crude was up 42 cents, or 1.1%, at $39.69 a barrel, having dropped by 1.1% in the previous session.
01 Jul 2020, 08:43:17 AM IST
Asian shares positive but muted in early deals
Asian equities were subdued in early deals today even as most traded in positive territory. The Nikkei Stock Average added 37.52 points, or 0.17%, the broader Topix shed 1.07 points. Hang Seng, Kospi, and Australian equities also rose but marginally.
Hope of a recovery in the global economy was tempered by the relentless surge in coronavirus cases world over.
01 Jul 2020, 08:27:40 AM IST
Wall Street indices report best quarterly performance in decades
US equities were broadly higher in Tuesday's trade, with the Wall Street reporting its best quarterly performance in decades.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 217.08 points, or 0.9%, to close at 25,812.88. The S&P 500 gained 1.5% to end the day at 3,100.29 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.9%. to 10,058.77. The major averages hit their session high with less than an hour left in the session.
The 30-stock Dow ended the second quarter with a 17.8% gain. That’s the average’s biggest quarterly rally since the first quarter of 1987, when it had surged 21.6%. The S&P 500 had its biggest one-quarter surge since the fourth quarter of 1998, soaring nearly 20%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 30.6% for the quarter, its best quarterly performance since 1999.
