PremiumInvestors remained worried about an impending recession as most Asian indices shed in today's session. Tokyo and Hong Kong ended lower on Thursday, while Shanghai gained in today's session. European shares also were trading in red in the morning session.
Indian indices ended in the red on Thursday as investors remained concerned about the possibility of an impending recession amidst negative global cues.
Sensex gave up on the 61,000 mark to close at 60,858, a drop of 187 points. Nifty closed at 18,107, a loss of 57 points.
Media, Consumer Durable and FMCG remained under pressure throughout the session with most sectors shedding. IT and Oil & Gas were relatively stable and registered a minor gain.
Adani Enterprises and Asian Paints shed more than 3%. Asian Paints reported a disappointing quarterly report today. Tata Motors, Adani Ports and IndusInd Bank also shed around 2%. Coal India gained more than 3% and UPL more than 2%.
Asian indices came under pressure on Thursday after falls on Wall Street as the latest US data indicated slowing economic activity.
Japan's Nikkei share average dropped the most in two weeks on Thursday - retreating from a one-month high - as the effects of the Bank of Japan's decision to not back away from stimulus faded, and a resurgent yen weighed on exporters. The Nikkei ended the day down 1.44%.
China stocks rose on Thursday with healthcare and information technology companies leading the gains, as strong foreign inflows helped sentiment, despite thin trading volumes ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.
China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index closed up 0.6%, and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1%, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 0.4%.
European shares were on track to snap a six-session winning streak with investors fearing a global economic slowdown while downbeat corporate earnings at home soured investor appetite further. The pan-European STOXX 600 was trading lower in the morning session. In the previous session, the benchmark index marked its longest winning streak since November 2021.
UK's commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell in the morning with energy firms and material stocks hauling the benchmark index lower, while bootmaker Dr Martens slumped to a record low after it gave a profit warning. The FTSE 100 slid at open on Thursday.
India's competition regulator on Thursday denied allegations by Google that investigators copied parts of a European order while ruling against the U.S. firm for abusing the market dominance of its Android platform.
"We have not cut, copy and paste," N Venkataraman, a lawyer representing the Competition Commission of India, told the top court. (Reuters)
Digital transformation IT consulting & services company, Happiest Minds Technologies garnered a consolidated net profit of ₹57.58 crore in the December 2022 quarter (Q3FY23) period. The latest PAT climbed by 17.70% from a profit of ₹48.92 crore recorded in Q3FY22, while it was up by 3.1% from the ₹59.41 crore profit witnessed in Q2 of FY23.
Consolidated revenue from contracts with customers stood at ₹366.88 crore --- increasing by 29.21% from ₹283.94 crore in the third quarter of last year. However, revenue surged by 3.2% from ₹355.51 crore in September 2022 quarter. (Read More)
Home appliance manufacturer Havells on Thursday reported net profit declined by 7.2 per cent to ₹283.54 crore for the December 2022 quarter. This is against a net profit of ₹305.92 crore in the year-ago period, Havells said in a regulatory filing. The revenue of Havells grew by 12.8 per cent to ₹4,120 crore in the quarter under review from ₹3,652 crore a year ago.
On the sequential basis, net profit rose by 51.7 per cent as Havells had reported a net profit of ₹186.81 crore in the September quarter. (Read More)
After giving bonus shares twice in 2022 and declaring stock split in 1:2 ratio in the same year, Easy Trip Planners Ltd is going to consider buyouts soon. the company has informed Indian bourses that board of directors of the company are going to consider and approve proposal for acquisition in its next meeting scheduled on 24th January 2023.
Easy Trip Planners Ltd informed about the acquisition proposal citing, "Pursuant to Regulation 29 other applicable Regulations, if any, of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, we hereby intimate that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, at 10.00 A.M. through video conferencing for considering the proposal of Acquisition." (Read More)
India's top paint maker Asian Paints Ltd reported lower-than-expected rise in third-quarter profit on Thursday, as muted demand offset the benefits from a correction in raw material costs.
The Mumbai-based company's consolidated net profit rose 5.6% to 10.73 billion rupees ($131.90 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31. Analysts, on average, had expected a profit of 11.60 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. (Reuters)
India has proposed more than 40 amendments to its insolvency law, which could impact how recoveries are shared among creditors, decriminalize business failures, allow empires to be broken up, and give the government special powers in cases of public interest.
The seven-year-old Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was enacted at a time when India’s banks were weighed down by over-leveraged companies and soaring defaults. The law saw some early success but was overall mired by delays in litigation, followed by disruptions from the pandemic. (Read More)
Delhivery shares have been in the downtrend after showing some upside move post-listing on Indian bourses. After climbing to a record high, the Delhivery share price has been nosediving continuously and in early deals on Thursday, Delhivery share price today made a new low of ₹299.55 apiece on NSE.
According to stock market experts, thelogistics company is expected to witness low growth on the operational front and it may lead to further downside in the scrip. They said that the stock may further go up to ₹215 in the bear case while it is standing at current support of ₹250 apiece levels. (Read More)
Cairn Oil & Gas, a unit of Vedanta Ltd, on Thursday announced the appointment of Nick Walker as chief executive officer, effective 5 January 2023. Before this appointment, Walker was president and CEO at Lundin Energy, a large European independent E&P companies. He has previously worked with BP, Talisman Energy and Africa Oil and has 30 years of international experience in technical, commercial and executive leadership roles. (Read More)
Isprava Group, the parent company of Isprava and Lohono Stays, said it has raised ₹160 crore led by Asia-focused investment firm Symphony International Holdings Ltd. The funds will be used for expansion of footprint of Isprava, which develops luxury second homes in non-urban locations, and Lohono Stays, which offers luxury homestay rentals, in India and overseas markets. (Read More)
JSW Energy on Thursday said its step-down subsidiary, JSW Renew Energy Five Ltd., has received letters of award (LoA) for 500 MW/1,000 MWH standalone battery energy storage systems from Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI).
JSW Energy has set an ambitious target of a 50% reduction in its carbon footprint by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 by transitioning to renewable energy. (Read More)
Sundaram Alternates announced the first close of its debut Corporate Credit fund – Sundaram Emerging Corporate Credit Opportunities Fund - Series I (ECCO I) at ₹205 crore. The ECCO I fund, launched in June 2022, is a SEBI-approved category II AIF and aiming to raise ₹500 crore with a green shoe option of ₹500 crore.
The fund saw participation from marquee family offices, corporate treasuries as well as high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and crossed around 40% subscription in the first close within 5 months of the launch. (Read More)
Shares of Lotus Chocolate Company Ltd continued to rally with the stock hitting an upper circuit level of 5% for the nineteenth straight session amid Reliance Retail's process of buying a stake in the company, surging from ₹96 level on December 23, 2022, to the counter hitting a fresh high of ₹242.9 per share on the BSE in Thursday's deals.
Reliance group companies Reliance Consumer Products Ltd (RCPL) and Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) announced an open offer recently to acquire a 26 per cent additional stake in Lotus Chocolate. The firms will together acquire 33.38 lakh (33,38,673) shares of Lotus Chocolate from the open market at a fixed price of ₹115.5 per share. DAM Capital is managing the open offer which will start on February 21, 2023, and conclude on March 6, 2023. (Read More)
Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday said it has commenced exports of mid-sized sports utility vehicle Grand Vitara, with the first shipment on its way to Latin America.
The country's leading carmaker and exporter aims to export the model to more than 60 countries across Latin America, Africa, Middle East, ASEAN and neighboring regions.
"Supporting Government's efforts to increase exports from India, Maruti Suzuki has taken multiple initiatives to increase its international presence.
"Expanding the product portfolio for exports has been one of the key pillars of success. By adding Grand Vitara, we now export a range of 17 vehicles," Maruti Suzuki India Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said in a statement.
Grand Vitara, unveiled in July 2022, has received robust response in the domestic market and the automaker is confident that the India manufactured Grand Vitara will meet with similar success in overseas markets as well, he added. (PTI)
Amazon.com Inc will cut some jobs in the United States, Canada and Costa Rica by the end of Wednesday as part of its plan to lay off 18,000 employees, the e-commerce giant said in a memo to staff seen by Reuters.
The layoffs are the latest in the U.S. technology sector, with companies cutting their bloated workforce and slashing costs to reverse pandemic-era excesses and prepare for a worsening global economy.
The company is terminating 2,300 employees in Seattle and Bellevue, according to an update on the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) site. The U.S. labor law requires companies planning a mass layoff to inform employees 60 days before the closure. (Read More)
Japan's Nikkei share average dropped the most in two weeks on Thursday - retreating from a one-month high - as the effects of the Bank of Japan's decision to not back away from stimulus faded, and a resurgent yen weighed on exporters.
The Nikkei ended the day down 1.44% at 26,468.62, retracing more than half of Wednesday's 2.5% rally, when the central bank defied bond market pressure and kept policy settings unchanged.
Japan's equity benchmark hit a high of 26,816.68 on Wednesday - a level not seen since Dec. 20, the day that the BOJ shocked markets by loosening yield curve controls. Investors had interpreted it as a sign that an exit from decades-old stimulus was coming sooner rather than later.
The broader Topix slumped 1% to 1,915.62 on Thursday, also giving back the best part of the previous day's 1.68% rally. (Reuters)
India's COVID-19 case tally rose by 134 in a day while the number of active cases has declined to 1,962 according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. India has so far recorded 4.46 crore Covid cases. The death toll stood at 5,30,728, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The daily positivity was recorded at 0.07 per cent while the weekly positivity was 0.08 per cent. Active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the health ministry website. (Read More)
The Indian government is likely to set a conservative target for the funds it can raise through the disinvestment of state enterprises in fiscal 2024 after mop-up fell short this year, analysts said.
"We pencil in divestment receipts of 350 billion Indian rupees ($4.30 billion) in 2022/23...For 2023/24, we factor in divestments of 500 billion rupees," Kotak Institutional Equities said in a note.
The Indian government has set a 650 billion rupee divestment target for 2022/23.
The brokerage believes the government would look to raise money by divesting further stakes in Life Insurance Corporation, Shipping Corporation of India and exiting holdings of Specified Undertaking of UTI, an investment vehicle which holds shares of listed and unlisted entities previously held by the failed Unit Trust of India. (Read More)
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded Indian equities worth 150.68 billion rupees ($1.85 billion) in the first half of January, the most since the end of September 2022, data from National Securities Depository Ltd. showed. The selling coincided with a slide in equity benchmarks, with Nifty 50 falling nearly 1% between Jan. 1 and Jan. 15, 2023.
Analysts flagged multiple reasons for the FPI selloff - expensive valuations due to the recent outperformance of Indian equities over their global peers, reallocation of funds to China and Taiwan for their relatively cheaper valuations, the reopening trade in China and global growth concerns. (Read More)
PhonePe today announced it has raised $350 million in funding from General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. Marquee Global and Indian investors are also participating in the round. The investment marks the first tranche of an up to $1 billion total fundraise that commenced in January 2023. The fundraise follows PhonePe’s recently announced change of domicile to India and full separation from Flipkart.
PhonePe plans to deploy the new funds to make significant investments in infrastructure, including the development of data centres and help build financial services offerings at scale in the country. The company also plans to invest in new businesses, including Insurance, Wealth Management, and Lending. The fundraiser is expected to support PhonePe as it seeks to turbo-charge the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India, including UPI lite and Credit on UPI to enable greater financial inclusion for Indians.
DSP Mutual Fund has added Tata Communications in its portfolio in December 2022. As per the DSP Mutual Fund shareholding date as on 31st December 2022, the asset management company (AMC) has bought 5500 Tata Communications shares in last month that signals that the AMC is bullish on this multibagger Tata stock that has surged to the tune of 500 per cent in last three years.
According to stock market experts, the DSP Mutual Fund buying stake in this multibagger Tata stock cab be attributed to the bull trend stock has shown in recent sessions. They said that Tata Communications share price may continue to surge further even though it is currently trading at one year high. They said that the stock is still available at attractive valuations and its assets are also in uptick moment. Giving 'portfolio stock' tag to Tata Communications shares, market experts advised positional investors to maintain 'buy on dips' strategy in this DSP Mutual Fund-backed multibagger stock. (Read More)
Vedanta group firm Hindustan Zinc's board will meet on Thursday, January 19, 2023 to consider the third interim dividend on equity shares, if any. The company had informed that the record date for eligibility of third interim dividend, if any, so declared will be Monday, January 30, 2023.
“In continuation to our letter dated January 12, 2023 and pursuant to Regulation 29 and 42 of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, notice is hereby given that Board will also consider third interim dividend on equity shares, if any, for the Financial Year 2022-23 in its meeting to be held on Thursday, January 19, 2023. The Record date for eligibility of third interim dividend, if any, so declared will be Monday, January 30, 2023," the company had informed in an exchange filing earlier this week. (Read More)
On January 19, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) extended its $2-billion deposit with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan about the rollover during his recent visit to Pakistan, according to Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
The UAE president promised to grant a $1-billion extra loan in addition to rolling over the existing $2-billion loan, according to Geo News. The financial assistance from the UAE gave some solace to Pakistan, which is still recovering from devastating countrywide floods that have cost more than $30 billion in damage. (Read More)
India aims to produce more than one billion tonnes of coal during the year 2023-24 and an in-depth review has been carried out by the coal secretary to reach the intended target
The coal secretary held the review meeting with all coal companies, an official release said on Wednesday.
"It has been decided to fix 780 Million Ton (MT) target to Coal India, 75 MT for Singareni Collieries Company Ltd and 162 MT for captive and commercial mines. A total of 290 mines are operational in Coal India, out of which 97 mines produce more than one MT per year," the coal ministry said.
State-owned Coal India produced 622 million tonnes during the year 2021-22. In 2022-23, registering a growth of over 16 per cent , it produced 513 MT so far. It is expected that Coal India will surpass the target of 700 MT fixed for the current fiscal and accordingly will achieve 780 MT for the year 2023-24. (ANI)
Bitcoin extended declines after snapping a rare 14-day winning streak as a mood of caution supplanted the risk appetite that drove up a variety of assets at the start of the year. The world's largest cryptocurrency was trading about 3% lower at $20,759. The global cryptocurrency market cap today was down almost 4% in the last 24 hours to $1 trillion, as per the data by CoinGecko.
“Most cryptocurrencies saw a decline as the market reacted to the U.S. crackdown on the Bitzlato exchange. Bitcoin briefly rose above its resistance at $21,480 but was unable to maintain the gains, potentially attracting profit-taking by short-term traders. If it can rise above $21,400, it may attract buyers and push the price up further. Ethereum managed to surpass its resistance at $1,600 but failed to close above it. Its immediate support is now at $1,490, and its resistance is at $1,550," said Edul Patel CEO & Co-Founder, Mudrex. (Read More)
Shares of Gautam Gems are one of the circuit to circuit stocks on Dalal Street. The small-cap SME stock has been a regular circuit maker stock at Indian stock market these days but it is one of the multibagger stocks in 2022 as well. The SME stock has surged to the tune of near 140 per cent in last six months, doubling shareholders' money in this period. (Read More)
Dr V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services: The crucial issue influencing equity markets globally is whether the US will succeed in containing inflation without falling into a recession. There is no consensus on this. When data indicate a possible recession, US markets go down and all other markets are impacted. Conversely, when data indicate the US economy dodging a recession, US markets go up triggering a rally in all other markets. This volatility will continue till there is clarity on the US recession issue. Early Q3 results indicate good performance by IT and banking. Bank Nifty is slightly weak on concerns of pressure from rising deposit costs. But the credit cycle is strong. IT numbers do not reflect recession fears. Trend indicates that the capital goods segment is strong.
STOCK IN FOCUS
Prince Pipes (CMP 592): We expect Prince to expand its leadership with the manufacturing expertise, leveraged distribution and competitive agility in the pipes sector. In view of the expected pick-up in demand, cost optimization measures and series of strategies for the next level of growth, we have our BUY rating on the stock with Target Price at Rs700.
Intraday Picks
COALINDIA (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 217) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs215.50-
214 for the target of Rs224 with a strict stop loss of Rs211.
BHARTIARTL (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 777) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs773-
768 for the target of Rs789 with a strict stop loss of Rs759.
DIVISLAB (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 3,389) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs3,362-
3,345 for the target of Rs3,440 with a strict stop loss of Rs3,312.
Anil Agarwal-promoted Vedanta on Wednesday said it will acquire bankrupt thermal power company Meenakshi Energy for ₹1,440 crore through an insolvency process.
Vedanta which made the highest bid for the thermal power company emerged as the successful bidder.
"Post submission of bid for Meenakshi Energy Limited under Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under IBC, Vedanta Ltd has been declared successful bidder on January 18, 2023 subsequent to which board of directors of Vedanta Limited has approved the acquisition of Meenakshi Energy Ltd," oil-to-metal conglomerate said in a regulatory filing.
The acquisition is estimated to be completed in FY24.
Meenakshi Energy Ltd is a 1,000-MW coal-based power plant located at Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.
On the cost of acquisition, Vedanta said that "the consideration payable is ₹1,440 crore." (PTI)
Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Havells India, AU Small Finance, LTTS, Polycab India and PVR will be among the stocks in focus as they declare their December quarter earnings today. (Read More)
Indian government bond yields are expected to trade lower in the early session on Wednesday, tracking a similar move in U.S. yields after weak economic data in the world's largest economy.
The benchmark 10-year yield could move in a range of 7.29%-7.34%, a trader with a private bank said. The yield ended lower at 7.3243% on Wednesday.
There should be some fall in bond yields as the U.S. 10-year yield has broken the crucial bottom resistance level, the trader added.
U.S. yields dropped after data showed that U.S. retail sales fell more than expected in December and as the Bank of Japan maintained its bond yield cap, reducing concerns that investors would switch out of U.S. debt and into Japanese bonds.
U.S. retail sales were pulled down by a decline in motor vehicle purchases and other goods, putting consumer spending and the overall economy on a weaker growth path heading into 2023. (Reuters)
The central government has declared bonus for postal life insurance (PLI) policies for the financial year 2023-24. The bonus announced for the PLI policies will become applicable from 1st April 2023 i.e. from first date of FY24. The Directorate of Postal Life Insurance, Department of Post, Ministry of Communications made an announcement in this regard and the order has been published in the Gazette of India.
The Directorate of Postal Life Insurance announced bonus for Postal Life Insurance for the FY24 citing, "In exercise of powers conferred vide Rule 3 of Post Office Life Insurance Rules (2011) and on the basis of Actuarial Valuation of the assets and liabilities of Post Office Life Insurance Fund (POLIF) as on 31.03.2022, the Director General Postal Services is pleased to declare a simple Reversionary Bonus on the Postal Life Insurance Policies on their becoming claims, due to death or maturity at the following rates: Whole Life Assurance (WLA) — Rs. 76/- per thousand of sum assured; Endowment Assurance (EA) (including Joint life & Children Policies) — ₹52/- per thousand of sum assured; Anticipated Endowment Assurance (AEA) — Rs. 48/- per thousand of sum assured; Convertible Whole Life Assurance (CWLA) — Whole Life bonus rate would be applicable, but on conversion, Endowment Assurance bonus rate will be applicable; and Terminal Bonus — Rs. 20/- per sum assured of Rs. 10,000/- subject to maximum of Rs. 1000 for Whole life Assurance and Endowment Assurance policies with term of 20 years or more." (Read More)
India’s private space and satellite industry, which crossed the dual milestones of having 100 active startups and $100 million in venture capital funding last year, is pushing for the rollout of a dedicated production linked incentive (PLI) scheme in the Union budget to boost local manufacturing of satellites, rockets and related components, which they hope will help to cut reliance on imports and strengthen India’s private space and component industry. They are also seeking tax benefits, similar to the Centre’s extended tax holidays given to startups under Section 80 IAC of the Income Tax Act, in the budget. (Read More)
State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, has raised ₹9,718 crores ( ₹97 billion) through its second infrastructure bond issuance on Wednesday at a coupon rate of 7.70 per cent.
According to SBI, the fund proceeds will be utilised to enhance long-term resources for funding infrastructure and the affordable housing segment. The tenor of these bonds is 15 years. The issue attracted an overwhelming response from investors with bids of ₹14,805 crore and was oversubscribed by 2.96 times against the base issue.
The total number of bids received was 118, indicating wider participation. The investors were across mutual funds, provident and pension funds, and insurance companies, the SBI statement said. (ANI)
The collapse in the prices of digital assets over the past year will allow investors to focus on the "true value" of this new technology, the distributed ledger and the smart contracts that can be built on them, former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Wednesday.
"The idea that somehow cryptos are going to maintain value, while the fiat currencies collapse. That's nonsense," Rajan said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
"Fiat currencies have won out in terms of which is more credible," he said in an interview with the Reuters Global Markets Forum. (Read More)
IndusInd Bank on Wednesday reported a 58 per cent jump in its December quarter net profit at ₹1,964 crore, driven by improvements in asset quality and core income.
The private sector lender's net interest income grew 18 per cent to ₹4,495 crore, driven by a 19 per cent loan growth and a 0.17 per cent widening in the net interest margin to 4.27 per cent.
The other income grew to ₹2,076 crore during the October-December period from ₹1,877 crore in the year-ago period. This included an 11 per cent growth in the total fee income to ₹2,077 crore, the bank said.
The bank was able to post a 14 per cent increase in the overall deposits driven by the retail deposits amid a wide divergence in the credit-deposit growth numbers in the system which has triggered what some bankers call a war for deposits.
Its overall provisions came down to ₹1,065 crore from ₹1,654 crore in the year-ago period, helping the bottom line. (PTI)
Vaishali Parekh of Prabhudas Lilladher has recommended two day trading stocks for today, here we list out full details in regard to those intraday trading stocks:
1] Hindalco Industries: Buy at ₹502, target ₹522, stop loss ₹494; and
2] Pidilite Industries: Buy at ₹2488, target ₹2560, stop loss ₹2450. (Read More)
The rupee pared its initial losses and settled 44 paise higher at 81.25 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking a weak greenback overseas and a firm trend in domestic equities.
However, rising crude oil prices capped the gains in the rupee, traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened weak at 81.80, but pared the losses and settled for the day at 81.25 (provisional), registering a rise of 44 paise over its previous close.
During the trading session, the local unit witnessed an intra-day high of 81.25 and a low of 81.82 against the American currency.
On Tuesday, the rupee had closed at 81.69 against the US dollar.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.45 per cent to 101.93. (PTI)
India’s economy picked up speed in December as business conditions improved, marking a rebound for the South Asian nation that had shown signs of a slowdown the preceding month.
The needle indicating so-called animal spirits moved right after holding steady for five straight months — indicating stronger overall economic activity as 2022 drew to a close. Consumer spending boosted tax collection and manufacturers signalled optimism about the future, while the services sector saw the expansion of new businesses.
The reading comes ahead of the unveiling of India’s budget on Feb. 1, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to highlight India’s potential to grow at a world-beating pace in the year beginning in April. The performance of Asia’s third-largest economy contrasts with that of many developed nations, which face recessions this year. (Read More)
Wall Street had its biggest pullback of the year Wednesday after a broad slide for stocks wiped out much of the benchmark S&P 500 index's gains from last week.
The S&P 500 fell 1.6% after having been up as much as 0.6% in the early going. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.8% and the Nasdaq composite slid 1.2%, ending a seven-day winning streak. The losses are a reversal for the market, which kicked off the year with a two-week rally.
The selling came as new economic data showed that even as inflation continues to cool, the economy is slowing, heightening worries about the possibility of a recession. Meanwhile, a key Federal Reserve policymaker said interest rates need to go higher than the central bank has previously signalled.
The government reported that Americans cut back on their spending at retailers more than anticipated last month, the second straight decline. Separately, the Federal Reserve said U.S. industrial production, which covers manufacturing, mining and utilities, fell in December much more than economists had expected.
The government also reported more encouraging inflation data. Wholesale prices rose 6.2% in December from a year earlier, a sixth straight slowdown for the measure of prices before they are passed along to consumers. (AP)
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