Share Market highlights: Sensex recoups losses after Amit Shah’s Kashmir statement, Nifty near 10,850

Shares of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries plunged on Monday, after global brokerage firm Credit Suisse downgraded the stock. Reliance Industries share price tanked by more than 5% to hit the day’s low at Rs 1,129. Notably, Credit Suisse has slashed RIL’s target stock price to Rs 995. Credit Suisse has downgraded Reliance Industries rating to ‘Underperform’ from ‘Neutral’ and revised its target to Rs 995 from Rs 1,350 earlier. Further, the research firm has cut FY21/FY22 EPS estimates for the refiner by 5%.

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The Narendra Modi government’s move to scrap Article 370 and Article 35A removing the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh — through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation bill introduced in Rajya Sabha by Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday has triggered an outburst of emotions and reactions on social media sites. Article 370 was scrapped today through a presidential order signed by President Ram Nath Kovind and came into force immediately following its publication in the official gazette of India.

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Pakistan said on Monday it "strongly condemns" India's decision to revoke the special status for its portion of the Kashmir region claimed by both countries. India on Monday revoked the special status of Kashmir in a bid to fully integrate its only Muslim-majority region with the rest of the country, the most far-reaching political move on the troubled Himalayan territory in nearly seven decades. "As the party to this international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement. (Reuters)

Jammu and Kashmir Crisis: The Indian Constitution clearly states that Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir was temporary, transitional and special provision. However, it went on for over 70 years because of legal and political reasons. Politically, it was always a very sensitive issue and no party ever tried to touch it fearing backlash from the regional political parties and people. Legally, only the Constituent Assembly was empowered to recommend the abrogation of Article 370.

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After plunging 700 points, the 30-share Sensex made a recovery following Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on the ongoing Kashmir issue. The Sensex has recovered 280 points to 36,643.78 while the Nifty is trading near the 10,850-mark. Home Minister Amit Shah moved a resolution to do away will all clauses of article 370 of the Constitution. Earlier, the Sensex plunged more than 700 points to 36,416.79 amid global market turmoil and imposition of Section 144 in Kashmir. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap.

BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Monday said the government’s move on Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir is a monumental decision towards national integration. Asserting that separate status led to separatism, he said in a blog that no dynamic nation could allow this situation to continue. Complimenting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, he said, “A historical wrong has been undone today. Article 35A came through the back door without following the procedure under Article 368 of the Constitution of India.

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Even though the rainfall scenario has improved, the rainfall still has remained weak so far, a report said. The spatial monsoon has remained below normal on a cumulative basis so far, the report by Kotak Institutional Equities said. “Till July 31, cumulative rainfall was 9.9% below long-term average with the weekly rainfall 42.2% above long-term average (due to heavy rainfall across western and central India),” it added. Of the 36 sub-divisions across the country, 14 have received deficient rainfall, 20 have received normal rainfall, and 2 have received excess rainfall so far, the report noted. The monsoon season is spread over four months from June to September.

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The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP on Monday welcomed the government’s “historic” decision on Article 370 of the Constitution, which grants special status to the state, saying the people were thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “mitigating their pain”. Reacting to the developments after Home Minister Amit Shah moved a resolution in Rajya Sabha to revoke Article 370, state BJP president Ravinder Raina said the residents of Jammu and Kashmir irrespective of their caste, creed and religion are with the prime minister.

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India has failed Kashmir in keeping its promises, PDP chief and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufi said on Monday after the government moved a resolution that Article 370 will not be applicable to Jammu and Kashmir. She said the government’s unilateral decision “to scrap Article 370” is illegal and unconstitutional. It will make India an occupational force in Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba said on Twitter. “Today marks the darkest day in Indian democracy. Decision of J&K leadership to reject 2 nation theory in 1947 & align with India has backfired.

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"The government has displayed strong political will and decisiveness to take difficult decisions, in order to fulfil one of its poll promises related to J&K. We hope that the government will display similar commitment while acting on the economy to improve both its short term as well as long term prospects. We expect that Government will take similar bold moves in case of addressing economic slowdown, recent taxation measures which have dampened sentiment and go ahead with difficult legislations on land reforms , labour reforms and privatisation of PSUs. While the move on "one nation, one law" has a short term negative impact on the market, there are larger reasons for the decline today.  Asian markets have declined sharply in the morning, largely because of the Chinese currency depreciating past the important mark of 7 to the Dollar, S&P 500 futures imply a 1% decline at the time of writing. However, we believe that the downside is now limited and the Nifty will stay in the range of 10,500 to 11,200 in the near term,"  Rajiv Singh, CEO, Karvy Stock Broking said. 

Till July 31, cumulative rainfall was 9.9% below long-term average with the weekly rainfall 42.2% above long-term average (due to heavy rainfall across western and central India) (slide 3). On a cumulative basis, spatial distribution.

British 10-year government bond yields sank to their lowest on record on Monday, edging past a previous low set in August 2016 as bond prices rose globally and Brexit worries continued to raise concern about the country's growth prospects.

The State Bank of India has invited bids for overseas oil and gas assets of Videocon Industries Ltd, a newspaper advertisement showed on Monday, as India seeks to recover billions of dollars in loans from the beleaguered private firm.

After plunging 700 points, the 30-share Sensex made a recovery following Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on the ongoing Kashmir issue. The Sensex has recovered 350 points to 36,736.95 while the Nifty is trading near the 10,900-mark. Home Minister Amit Shah moved a resolution to do away will all clauses of article 370 of the Constitution. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap.

After a miraculous landslide victory by the NDA government in 2014, the equity culture in India got uplifted as a heroic leader like Modi with a pro-business image was elected leading the small and middle class investors to pour money into direct equity and mutual funds on expectations of the Indian economy attaining greater heights. However, the NDA-1 tried a series of macro-economic experiments of which some were moderately successful and others turned out to be an economic disaster pushing various industries into the abyss of business loss and bankruptcy.

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Even as the economy struggles with growth slowdown and sees low inflation, the expectations of another rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India have fuelled further at its next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on August 7. The analysts are expecting the RBIto cut the repo rate in the range of 25-50 basis points. The MPC meeting begins Monday and the resolution will be put in public domain on August 7, 2019. The RBI had slashed rates three times so far in this calendar year.

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After plunging 700 points, the 30-share Sensex made a recovery following Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on the ongoing Kashmir issue. The Sensex has recovered 250 points to 36,642.20, while the Nifty is trading near the 10,850-mark. Home Minister Amit Shah moved a resolution to do away will all clauses of article 370 of the Constitution. Earlier, the Sensex plunged more than 700 points to 36,416.79 amid global market turmoil and imposition of Section 144 in Kashmir. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap.

Filing Income Tax Return is equally essential for all types of taxpayers – including those with salary, business and professional incomes. It’s a fact that it’s easier to compute the tax liability of salaried people who usually get a fixed amount every month from their employer(s) that reflects in their Forms 16. On the other hand, it’s slightly trickier to compute the tax liability of businesspeople, self-employed and those with professional incomes as their income stream may be unpredictable and irregular. As such, the tax-related complications of salaried and non-salaried taxpayers may vary significantly. Here we have suggested some important points that the non-salaried, self-employed professionals or small businesspersons should keep in mind while filing their ITRs.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday moved government resolution in the Rajya Sabha to revoke Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. As soon as he moved the resolution, the opposition parties created ruckus in the House, forcing the Chair to adjourn the House briefly. Earlier in the morning, the Union Cabinet met at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence amidst speculation that the Centre may take some decision on Jammu and Kashmir. Last night, former chief ministers Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and other state leaders were allegedly put under house arrest in Srinagar as the authorities imposed restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC. 

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After plunging 650 points, the 30-share Sensex made a mild recovery following Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on the ongoing Kashmir issue. The Sensex recovered 100 points to 36,562, while the Nifty is trading near the 10,800-mark. Home Minister Amit Shah moved a resolution to do away will all clauses of article 370 of the Constitution. Earlier, the Sensex plunged more than 700 points to 36,416.79 amid global market turmoil and imposition of Section 144 in Kashmir. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap.

The country's services sector activity in July returned to growth territory driven by new business orders that rose at fastest pace since October 2016, following which job creation picked up, a monthly survey showed on Monday.  The IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index rose to 53.8 in July from 49.6 in June, pointed to the quickest increase in output in one year. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction. "PMI data indicated that the strongest upturn in new work for nearly three years led to a rebound in business activity," said Pollyanna de Lima, Principal Economist at IHS Markit. (From PTI)

Shares of IndiaBulls Real Estate plunged in the morning trade on Monday, after reports that deal with IndiaBulls Real Estate has been called off. Indiabulls Real Estate shares plunged by more than 18% to Rs 66.20. Earlier, media reports said that Realty firm Embassy Group and its investor partner Blackstone Group LLP are evaluating options to buy the remaining promoters’ stake in Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd (IBREL). 

Asian shares slid to 6-1/2-month lows on Monday and the yuan slumped to a more than decade trough as a rapid escalation in the Sino-U.S. trade war sent investors stampeding to traditional safe harbours including the yen, bonds and gold.Markets have been badly spooked since U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly declared he would slap 10% tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese imports, ending a month-long trade truce. China vowed on Friday to fight back.

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Gold prices jumped 1% to their highest level in more than six years on Monday, as the escalating trade war between the United States and China along with global growth worries drove investors towards safe-haven assets. Spot gold was up 0.8% at $1,451.37 per ounce as of 0405 GMT, after hitting its highest since May 2013 at $1,455.26. US gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,464.50. “Gold is certainly benefiting from the global concerns about the outlook for growth, and central banks are likely to maintain their accommodative stance, so safe-havens like gold are in demand,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist, CMC Markets. “Trade tensions between the U.S. and China is an important factor, the potential for escalation is very high… we might not get what markets are fearing, but it is all adding to the real concerns about the outlook for growth assets.”

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The rupee slumped 98 paise to 70.58 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday, tracking weak opening in domestic equity market and unabated foreign fund outflows. Forex traders said, the US-China trade related concerns weighed on the investor community and kept pressure on the Indian rupee. The massive decline in the Indian rupee was largely a knee jerk reaction to the slump in the Chinese currency after China’s central bank allowed currency depreciation after the US decision to impose new tariff on Chinese goods, they said.

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The Indian economy will need to grow at 9% annually for the next five years and increase investment rate to 38% of GDP to achieve PM Modi’s dream of making India a $5 trillion economy, consulting firm EY has said. In the latest edition of EY's Economy Watch the firm said if India grew at the projected 7 per cent in the current financial year March 31, 2020, the size of the economy will grow to USD 3 trillion from USD 2.7 trillion in the previous year. (From PTI)

The headline indices Sensex and Nifty opened lower tracking domestic and global cues. The Sensex is down 600 points to 36,512, while the Nifty is trading near the 10,800-mark. Yes Bank, Tata Motors shares are among the biggest losers, shedding more than 5% each. Infosys, TCS and HDFC are the only shares trading in the green on Monday morning. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap. 

India will rethink its engagement with the 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) grouping and may even be forced to pull out of the mega trade deal if negotiations are sought to be concluded hurriedly without addressing its concerns on its massive trade imbalance with other members, especially China, sources told FE. Even without the deal, India’s merchandise trade deficit with the RCEP grouping hit $105 billion in FY19 (60% of its total deficit). China alone contributed as much as $53.6 billion. New Delhi will now link meaningful market access from Beijing in key sectors — including IT, pharma and agriculture — to its endorsement of an RCEP deal.

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Business sentiment is grim. Few corporates have the financial capability to invest; even fewer the desire. The reasons are several, but the common thread linking all the corporates is a concern about the direction and predictability of the policy and the regulatory environment. There is a lack of confidence in the ability of the leadership to convert the political promise of ‘ease of doing business’ into ‘bureaucratic performance’. There is a ‘trust deficit’. The government will have to bridge this deficit to realise its economic growth strategy.

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An innovative initiative proposed in the Union Budget 2019-20 relates to the minimum public shareholding (MPS) of listed companies, which would increase from the current level of 25% to 35%, going forward. The time frame for the same is not specified. Going by past experience, India took about eight years to achieve 25% MPS in listed companies, and many PSUs are yet to reach the stipulated MPS. Hence, raising it to 35% may take at least five years from now, unless the government, in consultation with SEBI, issues a whip to achieve it as early as possible.

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The headline indices Sensex and Nifty opened lower tracking global cues. The Sensex is down 452 points to points down at 36,655, while the Nifty is trading near the 10,850-mark. VEDL, Tata Motors shares are among the biggest losers, shedding more than 5% each. Infosys, TCS and HDFC are the only shares trading in the green on Monday morning. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap.

Precious little — that’s how one could describe the outcome of the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) and the two layers of panels below it since they were established in November 2017. Yet, the government thought it worthwhile to extend the life of the mechanism, the stated purpose of which is to ensure consumers indeed benefit from the Goods and Services Tax’s presumed mildness, by another two years to November, 2021.

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The 15th Finance Commission (FC) may assign a lower weight to ‘population’ than 17.5% by the previous FC while giving a ‘respectable’ weight to progress made in curbing population growth to balance the needs represented by the latest population and progress towards population control, for inter-se distribution of resources among states from the Centre’s divisible tax pool. Such a move would placate southern states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as a few other such as Odisha, whose population growth is less than the replacement population growth rate of 2.1/per woman.

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The won slipped below 1,200 per dollar for the first time since January 2017 as rising trade tensions worsen the outlook for the South Korean economy and add pressure on the central bank to ease policy again. The currency dropped as much as 0.6% to 1,204.95 against the greenback on Monday, after Tokyo on Friday removed Seoul from a list of trusted export destinations, prompting the latter to say it would do the same. The 3-year yield fell three basis points to 1.23%.

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Loss-making Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), which is looking at a `74,000-crore government bailout, is in fact losing its existing contracts and that too from PSU firms. The company has lost an annual contract worth around `400 crore for maintaining the fibre laid under the government’s ambitious BharatNet project to provide broadband connectivity to over 2.5 lakh gram panchayats, as its performance was not found to be up to mark.

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There is now more than abundant evidence corporate India is in deep distress. From steel to staples and cars to capital goods every sector is feeling the pain from weak demand. The worry is that there are few signs that demand will pick up in the coming months given the troubles in rural India. Few companies have been able to grow revenues meaningfully during the June quarter; for a sample of 548 companies (excluding banks, financials, TCS and Reliance Industries) revenues rose just 4% year-on-year.

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Oil prices fell on Monday amid concerns about weaker crude demand after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose tariffs on more Chinese imports, potentially ramping up a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.Tensions in the Middle East offered some support to prices, with Iran seizing a tanker that it said was smuggling fuel. Brent crude was down 50 cents, or 0.8%, at $61.39 a barrel by 0029 GMT.U.S. crude was down 24 cents, or 0.4%, at $55.42 a barrel.Both of the benchmarks fell last week, with Brent dropping more than 2% and U.S. crude ending the week around 1% lower.”

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HSBC on Monday announced its Group Chief Executive John Flint had stepped down after less than two years on the job, as the banking giant revealed decent first half profits but warned it faced “challenging” geopolitics. The surprise announcement came shortly before an earlier than expected results release in which the London-headquartered behemoth reported pre-tax profit was up 15.8 percent at $12.4 billion for the first half of the year. Flint, who has spent three decades at HSBC, was keen to lower costs with the Asia-focused bank facing the double uncertainties caused by both the US-China trade war and Britain’s impending departure from the European Union. HSBC gave no specific reason for Flint’s sudden departure, but said it needed a change at the top as it warned investors of difficult times ahead.

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The yuan plunged beyond 7 per dollar for the first time since 2008 amid speculation Beijing was allowing currency depreciation to counter President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat.

The exchange rate tumbled 1.2% to 7.0256 a dollar at 10:19 a.m. after the People’s Bank of China set its daily reference rate at a weaker level than 6.9 for the first time since December. The offshore yuan sank as much as 1.9% to a record low, while the Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.3%. The yuan declined 0.9% in mainland trading last week, its biggest loss since mid-May, after President Donald Trump abruptly escalated the trade war with new tariffs on Chinese goods. Beijing pledged to respond if the U.S. goes ahead with a plan to impose a 10% tariff on a further $300 billion in Chinese imports. “It appears that the tariffs hike suggests the return of tit-for-tat moves and a suspension of trade talks, and the PBOC sees no need to keep the yuan stable in the near term,” said Ken Cheung, a senior currency strategist at Mizuho Bank Ltd.

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