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Benchmark share indices recovered all intraday losses in the last hour of trade to end with gains led by banks and financial stocks. Sensex ended 169 points higher at 40,794, while Nifty ended 0.3% higher at 11,971.
Benchmark indices slipped early in the day following global markets.
On the Sensex, 17 stocks advanced and 13 declined. Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers, while ONGC and NTPC were the prominent laggards.
On the Nifty, 26 stocks advanced and 24 declined. Nifty Bank closed 1.6% higher.
Loans that were in default for more than 30 days as on 1 March but where the overdue amount was subsequently repaid will not be eligible for debt recast under the new debt recast window, the Reserve Bank of India has clarified.
The central bank released a set of frequently asked questions along with its responses late on Tuesday night, clarifying its stand of a number of issues. RBI has set 1 March as a reference date for deciding the eligibility of borrowers under the new resolution framework.
The gross non-performing assets ratio of Indian banks is likely to be 11-11.5% by end of current fiscal and they are likely to restructure 4-5% of the overall bank credit outstanding, according to Care Rating.
Future Group founder Kishore Biyani on Wednesday said the homegrown retail major lost nearly ₹7,000 crore revenue in first three-four months of the covid-19 pandemic due to closing of stores, which led him to sell his business to Reliance Industries.
In August this year, billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries announced acquisition of retail and wholesale business and the logistics and warehousing business from the Future Group as going concerns on a slump sale basis for ₹24,713 crore.
Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.11%, while Shanghai Composite lost 0.56%. Hang Seng rose 0.07%, while Australia's ASX ended 0.2% lower.
As per feedback from dealers in North, the labour has started coming back (40%+ as per our rural channel checks in September ’20) and hence they are seeing uptick in the volumes. Checks with large project companies suggest availability of labour at project sites has improved to around 80% of the normal levels. Some dealers felt the uptick in demand is also on account of renovation work being done before the festive season begins.
The Indian Rupee settled 4 paise higher at 73.31 against the US dollar. On Tuesday, the local unit settled at 73.35 against the greenback.
European shares held steady on Wednesday, underpinned by gains for Wall Street futures. France's CAC 40 was up 0.7%, while London's FTSE 100 gained 0.6% and Germany's DAX rose 0.3%.
Global oil stocks which rose during the height of the pandemic are being steadily reduced, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, but a second wave is slowing demand and will complicate efforts by producers to balance the market.
OPEC producers plan to boost supply by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) from January and the IEA predicts a ceasefire in Libya will raise output there to 700,000 bpd in December from 300,000 bpd currently.
OPEC producers are currently cutting output by 7.7 million bpd.
A day after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a fresh set of measures to stimulate demand in the economy by incentivising spending by the central government employees and through additional capital expenditure, expenditure secretary in the finance ministry T.V. Somanathan explains the rationale behind the package. Read edited excerpts of the interview here.
A US apparel industry watchdog has launched an investigation into underwear maker Jockey International's Indian partner Page Industries following allegations of human rights abuses at one of its factories, Reuters reported.
The investigation by Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production comes after Norway's $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund dropped Page from its investment portfolio due to concerns of human rights violations at "Unit-III" - one of Page's Jockey manufacturing sites in Bengaluru.
Tata Group is in talks to tie up with Indian online groceries unicorn Big Basket, as the conglomerate attempts to catch up with rivals including Amazon and Mukesh Ambani’s rapidly expanding retail empire. A partnership with Big Basket, which was this year valued at $1.3bn and is backed by Chinese internet group Alibaba, could help Tata to bolster its digital arsenal as coronavirus lockdowns propel growth in India’s online shopping market, the Financial Times reported.
With incomes hit and the need for dressing-up reduced due to the pandemic, the retail sector has been bruised. That said, after a painful June quarter, the September quarter should bring some respite, albeit not much.
When Avenue Supermarts Ltd had announced its June quarter results, it had reported a nearly 34% year-on-year drop in its revenues. The company, which runs the DMart chain of retail stores, is set to announce its results on Saturday and revenue performance is expected show a reasonable sequential improvement. (Full report)
Gold firmed up in overseas markets as uncertainties over a global economic recovery and the U.S. presidential election prompted investors to exploit the previous session's sharp pullback to buy bullion.
Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,895.84 per ounce by 0618 GMT, after shedding as much as 1.9% on Tuesday on the dollar's jump. U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $1,899.70.
Nearly half of the world’s 3.3 billion global workforce are at risk of losing their livelihoods, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year, due to the covid-induced economic and social disruptions, UN agencies have warned.
Bajaj Finserv and Britannia are the top gainers, while Wipro and NTPC top laggards
State-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) plans to leverage International Solar Alliance (ISA) to help land airport contracts in member countries, by showcasing Kerala’s Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), which is the first airport in the world to run fully on solar power.
India has been trying to land solar power project contracts in ISA member countries against the backdrop of China’s attempt to co-opt countries into its ambitious One Belt One Road initiative. (Read here)
Dhanlaxmi Bank is looking for a new managing director and chief executive officer after Sunil Gurbaxani’s appointment was not ratified by shareholders last month.
“The candidate bank is looking for should have all-round banking experience of at least 25 years as a commercial banker, preferably in areas such as branch operations, administration, credit, retail, small and medium enterprise (SME), treasury, risk management and planning," it said in a public notice on Wednesday.
After a washout June quarter, cement demand in the September quarter revived in most regions. Latest dealers channel checks by various brokerages show that barring the South and some markets of West, cement demand improved in North, Central and East India. Improving labour availability and pent-up festive demand from the individual home building segment are aiding demand growth. The demand scenario in semi-rural and rural regions was better than urban areas. (Read here)
The group has engaged senior advocate Harish Salve for its potential legal battle with Amazon which has challenged the Kishore Biyani group over its deal to sell retail assets to Retail Industries without the US firm's approval, The Economic Times reported.
After a plan to delist its Indian unit failed, Anil Agarwal’s commodities group will repay $1.4 billion raised via bonds and another $1.1 billion in loans, with a small amount of interest, to banks and bondholders as early as this week, media reports said. The company also said it is committed to investing in the country that offers unparalleled opportunities and growth.
Glenmark introduces nindanib (Nintedanib) and is amongst the first to launch the branded generic version at an affordable cost for the treatment of Pulmonary Fibrosis in India . Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a respiratory condition characterized by thickening and/or scarring of the lungs, making breathing difficult and reducing patient life spans Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis affects as many as 120 Indians per million Patients with IPF are at higher risk of developing severe respiratory conditions if affected by COVID-19 Glenmark’s NINDANIB priced at Rs. 4500 (100 mg) and Rs. 5400 (150 mg) PER MONTH is just available at 5 % of the cost as compared to the innovator brand in India. This is a very positive development for the company.
The iPhone 12 series will be sold in India from 30 October onwards and will start at ₹69,900. The devices will be available in 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB storage variants. While the iPhone 12 will start at ₹76,900, the 12 Mini will be sold at a starting price of ₹69,900.
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF's) latest economic outlook report paints a grim picture for emerging markets, and especially for India.
The IMF expects India’s economy to shrink by 10.3% in FY21, the most among emerging market economies. True, the multilateral agency is not the only one predicting a sharp contraction for India. In fact, it is not even the most pessimistic in its forecasts. (Full report)
Rupee fell 5 paise to open at 73.40 against US dollar in early trade. The domestic currency closed at 73.35 on Tuesday.
The government is examining the decision of an arbitration panel last month favouring Vodafone Group Plc in a tax dispute, given its implications for India’s sovereign rights of taxation, a government official told Mint.
Reducing tax litigation is a policy priority for the Narendra Modi administration but the dispute with Vodafone Group Plc on its $11 billion offshore deal acquiring Hutchison Essar Ltd—later renamed Vodafone India Ltd—has implications beyond the legality of retrospective taxes.
Infosys Ltd, India’s second largest IT services exporter by revenue, will announce its second quarter earnings on Wednesday. Peers Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd and Wipro Ltd have performed reasonably well compared to the last two pandemic-hit quarters.
For the quarter ended June, Infosys’s net profit rose 11.5% y-o-y but declined
Mint highlights five things to watch for in Infosys’ second quarter results that will be declared after market hours today.
Yes Bank Ltd has classified Cox & Kings, its non-bank lending unit Cox & Kings Financial Services, and related entity Ezeego One Travel and Tours, which have total loans of ₹1,862 crore, as wilful defaulters.
Gold price in India struggled today after a sharp fall in the previous session while silver edged higher. On MCX, December gold futures were up 0.19% to ₹50,343 per 10 gram while silver futures moved 0.3% higher to ₹60,738 per kg.
The government is not ruling out the possibility of another set of economic stimulus measures to steady the economy, a senior government official said, a day after the finance ministry announced steps to boost consumer spending and capital expenditure. (Full report)
The government’s move to reduce India’s dependence on China for crucial raw materials used in medicines has led to the creation of local monopolies in a growing number of product categories. This, experts said, may lead to supply constraints and price increases if left unchecked. While the situation is not alarming yet, it does warrant the need to expand domestic capacities, they told Mint.
Oil prices were steady on concerns that fuel demand will continue to falter as rising coronavirus cases across Europe and in the US, the world's biggest oil consumer, could impede economic growth. Brent crude futures for December fell 8 cents to $42.37 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate futures were down 9 cents to $40.11.
Indian markets are likely to be under pressure on Wednesday. Trends in SGX Nifty indicate a weak opening of Indian benchmark indices. On Tuesday, The BSE Sensex ended at 40,625, adding 32 points or 0.08%. The Nifty ended at 11,934.50, up 3.55 points.
Prospects for US fiscal stimulus before election dimmed on Tuesday, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanding the White House revamp its latest offer and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell pushing a smaller-scale strategy that Pelosi quickly rejected.
Wipro, Infosys, Vedanta, Future Retail are among stocks that will be in focus today. Besides Infosys, Aditya Birla Money, Den Networks, Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, Tata Elxsi, Tata Steel Bsl and Titagarh Wagons will announce their results today.
Asian indices slipped on Wednesday tracking US markets as halted covid vaccine trials and uncertainty over US stimulus agreement dented risk appetite. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan fell 0.2%. Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.2% while Australia's benchmark index was flat and South Korea stumbled 0.7%. Shanghai SE Composite Index was down 0.42%.
Wall Street lost ground on Tuesday with halted covid vaccine trials and an elusive US stimulus agreement weighing on sentiment.
The Dow Jones fell 0.6%, S&P 500 lost 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.1%.
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