Market HIGHLIGHTS: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty were trading nearly a percent lower in the closing hours on Monday after hitting fresh highs in the early trade. Sensex was trading 416 points lower at 41,528.91 while Nifty was trading at 12,230.75, a loss of 121 points. Powergrid has dominated the stocks on the Sensex as well as NIfty 50 pack. Vodafone Idea shares jumped 7.76 per cent as investors show optimism of government intervention in AGR matter. Kotak Mahindra Bank plummeted to the bottom of the Sensex pack losing 4.41 per cent as the bank disclosed its Q3 numbers today. The bank registered a rise in profit by 23.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1595.9 crore. Kotak’s advances grew at 10 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2.16 lakh crore. The bank’s earning from the interest shot up by 18 per cent to Rs 3429.53 crore. Kotak Mahindra Bank’s asset quality deteriorated for the fourth straight quarter. The bank saw an expansion of gross non-performing assets ratio to 2.46 percent from to 2.32 percent in the last quarter.
According to the latest report released by Oxfam, the richest 1 per cent Indians hold more than four-times the wealth of 953 million people. The report also outlined the grave inequality as the total wealth acquired by India’s billionaires equals the total value of the union budget.
The import of crude oil from the West Asian countries has hit a 4-year slump. This is a consequence of India’s plan to diversify its crude oil source to meet energy requirements. In response to the widening conflicts in the Middle East and growing complexities of India’s interests in US-Iran tussle, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had said last week about India’s plans to not to rely on a single source to meet its oil demands but to explore other crude oil options such as the United States and Russia.
Even as the Reserve Bank of India takes a page out of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s playbook to push down borrowing costs, yields in the nation are headed higher as price pressures are unlikely to abate soon, according to Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd.
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The shares of Bharti Airtel have risen as much as 1.85 per cent to hit a 52-week high of Rs 509.25 in the afternoon deals on Monday on BSE. This is the second consecutive session when Bharti Airtel has touched a 52-week high.
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Power Grid holds the top position on the Sensex pack with 3.32 per cent growth while Kotak Mahindra bank reeling at the bottom with 2.77 per cent loss.
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Nifty 50 index was trading at 12,264.25 with a loss of 88 points. Nifty had breached its all time high to open the day but fell soon after.
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Sensex recovering now from the losses it incurred after high of early trade. Sensex was trading 294.38 points lower at 41,650.99.
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Even as the urban population has taken to online retail platforms for their daily needs with zeal, the footfalls enjoyed by kiranas in rural and semi-urban areas remain unparalleled. The resilience of these local stores is something to behold -- the inimitable trust factor these shopkeepers have built over the years is a testimony to the power of one-on-one relationships.
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The FDI in the insurance sector is currently allowed up to 49 per cent and the insurance players expect the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to take cognisance of the complications faced by insurance companies and announce this reform to boost capital inflow amid the credit crisis.
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The rupee opened flat on Monday at 71.07 against the US dollar, due to a spike in crude oil prices in the international market.
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Gold prices on MCX were trading a tad lower on Monday, after witnessing a minor profit booking in the opening session.
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The second phase of the government’s ambitious BharatNet project is also lagging way behind the schedule after a delay in phase one of its implementation. Against a target of providing connectivity to 1.5 lakh gram panchayats, just 7.45% of the goal has been achieved so far, The Indian Express reported.
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Benchmark stock market indices Sensex and Nifty opened at fresh record highs on Monday but minutes later erased their morning gains.
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The world’s richest 2,153 people controlled more money than the poorest 4.6 billion combined in 2019, while unpaid or underpaid work by women and girls adds three times more to the global economy each year than the technology industry, Oxfam said on Monday. The Nairobi-headquartered charity said in a report released ahead of the annual World Economic Forum of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, that women around the world work 12.5 billion hours combined each day without pay or recognition.
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The Adani Group’s plans to acquire stake in the Mumbai airport has hit another roadblock with a tribunal restraining Bid Services Division (Mauritius) from selling its 13.5% stake in the airport till arbitration proceedings are completed, sources said.
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Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, who started manufacturing chewing gum in 1948 in Japan and built the business into South Korea’s No.5 conglomerate with interests ranging from retail to chemicals, died on Sunday, the company said. He was 98. He was the last of the South Korean entrepreneurs who founded the country’s major chaebols, or family-run conglomerates, that now dominate Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
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The dollar began the week on a firm note on Monday as economic data pointed to strength right across the U.S. economy, reducing the likelihood of interest rate cuts. The greenback held steady near a one-week high against the euro, at $1.1096, and just below an eight-month peak on the Japanese yen, at 110.19 yen per dollar.
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Oil prices jumped on Monday after two large crude production bases in Libya began shutting down amid a military blockade, setting the stage for crude flows from the OPEC member to be cut to a trickle. Brent crude futures were up by 75 cents, or 1.2%, to $65.60 by 0109 GMT, having earlier reached $66.00 a barrel, the highest since Jan. 9. The West Texas Intermediate contract was up by 60 cents, or 1%, at $59.14 a barrel, after rising to $59.73, the highest since Jan. 10.
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Even as the Reserve Bank of India takes a page out of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s playbook to push down borrowing costs, yields in the nation are headed higher as price pressures are unlikely to abate soon, according to Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd. Inflation is expected to remain elevated over the next 6-12 months, said Maneesh Dangi, who oversees $23 billion of debt assets.
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Going by the new highs in the stock market one would imagine the economy is on a roll. Far from it. Loan growth is at multi-year lows, demand for power has now fallen five months in a row, car sales continue to crawl, rural wages are barely rising and consumer confidence is shaken.
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Decriminalising corporate laws, settling tax disputes and rapid privatisation of state-owned companies are among the measures the government is working on to put the country on the path to a $5-trillion economy, finance minister Niramala Sitharaman said on Sunday.
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