Share market Highlights: The domestic stock markets ended lower on Monday, after turning choppy late afternoon, tracking mixed global cues. The Sensex closed 271.92 points lower at 35,470.15, while the Nifty 50 closed below the 10,700 level. Heromotocorp and Bajaj Auto shares emerged among top losers, tanking up to 4.5%. Shares of Infosys gained by more than 1.1% to Rs 658, while shares of Bharti Airtel were up by more nearly 1.1% to Rs 312.30 on the BSE. TCS share price gained by 1.7% to Rs 1,929.30. Shares of Bandhan Bank plunged by 4% to Rs 506, after the bank clarified saying that it is not aware of talks with HDFC to pick up a controlling stake in Gruh Finance. Earlier, the SGX Nifty was trading 12 points higher at 10,772 or 0.11% up, indicating a mildly positive opening for Sensex and Nifty this morning.
Asian stocks were subdued on Monday as investors fretted that political instability in the United States was leaving the country rudderless at a time when the global economy was showing signs of faltering. Moves were limited by a holiday in Japan while many bourses are set to close early for Christmas, Reuters reported. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.5 percent to its lowest in seven weeks. Wall Street stocks fell in volatile trading on Friday, with the Nasdaq on pace to confirm it is in a bear market, as concerns of slowing economic growth led investors to flee stocks in high-valuation sectors such as technology and communication services, said the Reuters report. We bring to you LIVE updates.
Share market LIVE updates: The domestic stock markets ended lower on Monday, after turning choppy late afternoon, tracking mixed global cues. The Sensex closed 271.92 points lower at 35,470.15, while the Nifty 50 closed below the 10,700 level. Heromotocorp and Bajaj Auto shares emerged among top losers, tanking up to 4.5%. A look at Sensex heat map.
The Narendra Modi government is unlikely to announce farm loan waivers ahead of 2019 General Elections even as the Congress is aggressively pushing for it in the three states where it has won elections. According to The Indian Express report, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and MoS Gajendra Shekhawat have held a series of meetings with officials and mulled several alternatives. Even as the government has not finalised any of these options, it is likely to finalise on a plan before the end of the Winter Session. The national daily reported quoting sources that the government is considering three options: to extend the time period to repay borrowed amount; increase the credit limit under the KCC scheme; giving subsidy per acre.
Read full story here: Modi govt may not announce farm loan waivers before 2019 polls; these options being worked out
The world’s fastest growing source of mega-wealth hit a speed bump this year. The 128 people in Asia with enough money to crack the 500-member Bloomberg Billionaires Index lost a combined $137 billion in 2018, the first time wealth in the region has dropped since the ranking started in 2012.
Global trade tensions and concerns that stock valuations are too frothy hammered some of the area’s biggest fortunes. China’s tech sector was hit particularly hard, while India and South Korea weren’t spared. The declines occurred even as banks and money managers aggressively stepped up efforts to cater to Asia’s richest. Asian equities retreated again on Friday, with benchmarks slipping in Japan, China and Australia.
Read full story here: Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani adds this much wealth while 128 rich people lose $137 billion in 2018
Even as the government is close to completing the first stage of rate rationalisation, 28 per cent GST slab may be phased out soon except few items, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Monday. The government is now working towards a future road map of achieving a single standard GST rate which would be a midpoint of 12 per cent and 18 per cent, Finance Minister further wrote in his blog published today. With an exception of luxury and sin goods, the government finally aims to have GST slabs of 0 per cent and 5 percent, he added. “The country should eventually have a GST which will have only slabs of zero, 5% and standard rate with luxury and sin goods as an exception,” Arun Jaitley said.
Also read: Sun is setting on 28% slab, future GST roadmap may be single standard rate, says FinMin Arun Jaitley
Given the attention prime minister Narendra Modi has given to startups and the adoption of technology – the government even has a startup fund and Modi is the only Indian prime minister to travel to Silicon Valley to meet tech giants – the angry protests from both startups as well as angel investors was a rude shock. Over the past few weeks, both have been protesting the taxman asking startups to pay taxes on the premium received in various funding rounds; the taxman has argued that this premium is unjustified and so has to be treated as normal business income for the year.
Read full story here: Less taxing solutions for startups
After opening mildly higher, Sensex and Nifty turned choppy in the late morning trade on Monday, tracking weak global cues. The Sensex is down about 100 points to 35,640.71, while the Nifty 50 is trading below the 10,750 level. TCS share price gained by 1.7% to Rs 1,929.30. Shares of Bandhan Bank plunged by 4% to Rs 506, after the bank clarified saying that it is not aware of talks with HDFC to pick up a controlling stake in Gruh Finance. A look at live heatmap.
Shares of India’s major private sector lender Bandhan Bank plunged in trade on Monday morning after the firm clarified on reports of being in talks with HDFC for control of Gruh Finance. Bandhan Bank share price plunged by nearly 4% to intra-day low of Rs 506, after the firm said in an exchange filing that it is unaware of the news and its source. “Thisis with reference to clarification sought via email today with respect to the captioned news item. In this regard, we would like to clarify that we are unaware of the above mentioned news item and its source. Further, Bandhan Bank Limited (the ‘Bank’) evaluates various opportunities on a continuous basis and the Bank, as a matter of policy, does not comment on market speculation,” Bandhan Bank said in a stock exchange filing on Friday.
As we near Christmas, rupee once again appears to be re-gaining strength after becoming Asia’s worst performing currency in 2018. The latest upside, on account of low oil prices and a less hawkish Fed, is expected to extend into 2019 as well, market and economy veterans expect. Even as such a rally in the domestic currency is negative for the exporters, it’s a good news for the stock markets, says veteran investor Sandip Sabharwal. “INR has appreciated in a seasonally weak quarter for the rupee. As we enter the January to March quarter it’s the seasonally strongest quarter as remittances pick up and exports bring back export proceeds. As such INR should be strong at least till March. It is negative for exporters and positive for domestic cyclicals and also the overall market”, he tells FE Online.
Also read: Rupee’s Santa rally: How domestic currency’s rise may impact stock markets, economy in 2019
Rupee opened with a gain of 8 paise against the US dollar Monday on selling of the US currency by exporters and banks. The choppy trends at the stock markets capped the currency gains, dealers told PTI. The domestic currency opened lower at 70.19 versus the US dollar against the last close of 70.18 per dollar. On Friday, rupee closed down by 48 paise at 70.18 versus the US currency on account of month-end dollar demand and sharp losses in domestic equities.
Shares of India’s major IT firms gained in trade on Monday morning, after witnessing a choppy trade on Friday. Infosys share price spurted by more than 1.4% to Rs 658.80. India’s largest IT firm TCS shares jumped by more than 1.05% to Rs 1,923.15. Shares of Wipro gained by nearly 1.4% to Rs 328.55. According to media reports, IT majo0r Infosys is likely to announce a mega share buyback programme for up to $1.6 billion in January, after it’s one year moratorium following previous buyback,
After opening opening mildly higher, Sensex and Nifty turned choppy in the early trade on Monday, tracking weak global cues. The Sensex is down about 60 points to 35,680.63, while the Nifty 50 is trading above the 10,750 level. Shares of Infosys gained by more than 1.1% to Rs 658, while shares of Bharti Airtel were up by more nearly 1.1% to Rs 312.30 on the BSE. A look at live Sensex heatmap.
GST Council Meet: The 31st Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meet on Saturday brought relief to common people as the tax rates have been cut for 33 items, including some consumer goods such as TV sets, video games, tyres, monitors and movie tickets, among others. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hinted that about 99% of the items will be brought under the 18% GST slab. The 31st GST Council meeting chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at Vigyan Bhawan was attended by finance ministers all the states. After the meeting, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the recommendations by the fitment panel have been considered in the meet.
Read full story here: Full common man checklist: After latest GST meet, here’s how much tax you pay on common goods & services
Asian stocks started in subdued fashion on Monday as investors fretted that political instability in the United States was leaving the country rudderless at a time when the global economy was showing signs of faltering. Moves were limited by a holiday in Japan while many bourses are set to close early for Christmas. After opening lower, E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 turned flat. At the same time 10-year Treasury yields were near their lowest since August at 2.79 percent, having fallen over 40 basis points in just six weeks.
Also read: Asia cautious amid US political uncertainty
Oil prices dipped on Monday ahead of the Christmas holiday break, adding to last week’s steep losses on concerns about a global oversupply. International benchmark Brent crude futures fell 27 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $53.55 a barrel at 0106 GMT. Brent touched $52.79 on Friday, its lowest since September 2017. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures eased 8 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $45.51 a barrel. WTI hit its lowest since July 2017 on Friday at $45.13. Rising oil supplies and a slowing global economy have put crude oil under pressure, with both benchmarks down more than 35 percent from their recent peaks in early October. (Reuters reported)
Asian stocks were subdued on Monday as investors fretted that political instability in the United States was leaving the country rudderless at a time when the global economy was showing signs of faltering. Moves were limited by a holiday in Japan while many bourses are set to close early for Christmas. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.5 percent to its lowest in seven weeks. Yet Chinese blue chips managed to edge up 0.2 percent, while E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 recouped early losses to rise 0.4 percent. (Reuters reported)
Wall Street stocks fell in volatile trading on Friday, with the Nasdaq on pace to confirm it is in a bear market, as concerns of slowing economic growth led investors to flee stocks in high-valuation sectors such as technology and communication services. The tech-heavy Nasdaq sank to a 15-month low, falling as much as 21.5 percent from its Aug. 29 high. The benchmark S&P 500 index, already on pace for its biggest percentage decline in December since the Great Depression, hit its lowest level since August 2017. The Dow Industrials fell to the lowest level since October 2017.
Shares of Infosys will assume focus after reports that the firm may announce a $1.6 billion buyback. Shares of private sector airline parent Interglobe Aviation will also be in focus on codeshare and co-operation agreement with Turkish airlines. Bandhan Bank will also be in focus after the firm said that it is not aware of talks with respect to Gruh Finance. On Friday, the headline indices witnessed heavy selloff after investors booked profits in realty, banking, IT and auto bluechips amid weak signals from global markets.