[ad_1]
The Nifty and the Sensex opened the day on a negative note but soon recovered losses to mark a day of volatile trading.
Join us as we follow the top business news through the day.
4:00 PM
Indian shares end higher in volatile trade; Future Group firms slide
End to a volatile day of trading.
Reuters reports: “Indian shares recovered from early losses to end higher on Friday in a volatile session, as a pullback in U.S. Treasury yields from 14-month highs brought back some risk appetite into the market, which has fallen nearly 2% this week.
The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index ended up 1.28% at 14,744 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 1.3% to 49,858.24. Earlier in the session, the Sensex and Nifty shed up to 1.43% and 1.28%, respectively.
“There is some minor correction in (U.S.) bond yields and the market is appreciating that. The Nifty was in a oversold zone and there is some recovery there as well as some short covering,” said Rahul Sharma, head of research, Equity99 Advisors in Mumbai.
U.S. bond yields on Friday edged off the 14-month highs reached the day before. India’s two main stock exchanges posted their first weekly decline in three on a fresh surge in domestic COVID-19 cases and rising U.S. bond yields.
Sentiments in the short-term, however, are weak due to a rise in COVID-19 cases and volatility in bond yields, Sharma said.
India’s coronavirus infections surged to a more than a three-month high on Friday, led by record daily increase in the western state of Maharashtra, where authorities have adopted fresh curbs to restrain the spread of the disease.
Shares of multiplex operators PVR Ltd and smaller rival Inox Leisure Ltd fell as much as 6.7% and 5.4%, respectively, after Maharashtra made RT-PCR COVID-19 test report mandatory for people entering shopping malls.
Future Group companies, including Future Retail and Future Consumer, dropped nearly 10% each.
An Indian court on Thursday restrained Future Group chief Kishore Biyani from selling his personal assets following Amazon.com Inc’s challenge against the Indian group’s $3.4 billion sale of its retail business to Reliance Industries.”
3:30 PM
COVID-19 | Stelis Biopharma to make 200 million doses of Russian Sputnik V vaccine
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, and Stelis Biopharma, the biopharmaceutical division of Bengaluru-based Strides Pharma, have entered into a partnership to produce and supply a minimum of 200 million doses (enough to vaccinate 100 million people) of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus.
The agreement between RDIF and Stelis Biopharma was reached under the aegis of Enso Healthcare LLP (part of Enso Group), RDIF’s coordination partner for sourcing Sputnik V vaccine in India, as per a joint statement.
According to the statement, the parties intend to commence supplies of the vaccine from the third quarter of calendar 2021. Stelis will also continue to work with the RDIF to provide additional supply volumes beyond the initial agreement.
Arun Kumar, Founder of Strides Group said, “We are delighted to partner with RDIF to make a substantial contribution towards providing global supply of the Sputnik V vaccine which is one of the most efficacious approved vaccines commercially available.”
3:00 PM
Oil extend losses amid gloomy demand outlook
Oil’s pains persist.
Reuters reports: “Oil prices fell on Friday for a sixth day in a row, down nearly 9% for the week, as a new wave of COVID-19 infections in particular across Europe spurred fresh lockdowns and dampened hopes for an imminent recovery in fuel demand.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 4 cents, or 0.07%, to $59.96 a barrel by 0552 GMT.
Brent crude was down 10 cents, or 0.16%, to $63.18 a barrel.
Oil had edged up in Asia’s morning trading after a 7% drop on Thursday as physical buyers leapt at the chance to load up on cheap oil, said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA, in a Friday note.
But the market remains increasingly worried about fuel demand outlook amid rising coronavirus cases, fresh restrictions and slowing vaccination rollouts in some countries, analysts said.
Goldman Sachs said headwinds related to European Union demand and Iran supply would slow the oil market rebalancing by 0.75 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter, although it expects OPEC+ will act to offset that.
Safety concerns about the side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine had led several European countries to stop administering the shot.
Although Germany, France and other countries have announced the resumption of inoculations after regulators declared the AstraZeneca vaccine safe, the programme halt has made it harder to overcome resistance to vaccines among some of the population.
Britain will have to slow its COVID-19 vaccine rollout next month due to a supply delay.
Several French regions badly hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, including the Ile-de-France region around Paris, will start a new four-week lockdown from Friday.
“The market is becoming increasingly nervous around some countries in Europe imposing COVID-19-related restrictions once again and, in doing so, raising concerns for the demand outlook,” ING Economics said in a note.
In other parts of the world, Brazil registered its second deadliest day in its COVID-19 pandemic, with 2,724 deaths, while India on Friday reported its highest daily increase of new COVID-19 cases in more than three months.
Supplies of oil are plentiful as well, with Saudi Arabia’s crude exports increasing in January for a seventh straight month to the highest since April 2020, according to the Joint Organisations Data Initiative website on Thursday.
Shipments from the world’s biggest oil exporter increased to 6.582 million barrels per day in January from 6.495 million the previous month.”
2:00 PM
India’s economy may grow at 12% in 2021: Moody’s Analytics
Another estimate that agrees with the consensus.
PTI reports: “India’s economy is likely to grow by 12 per cent in 2021 following a 7.1 per cent contraction last year, as near-term prospects have turned more favourable, Moody’s Analytics said.
A stronger than expected December quarter GDP growth of 0.4 per cent following a 7.5 per cent contraction in the previous three months has turned India’s near-term prospects more favourable, it said.
Domestic and external demand has been on the mend since the easing of restrictions, which has led to improved manufacturing output in recent months.
“We expect private consumption and nonresidential investment to materially pick up over the next few quarters and strengthen the domestic demand revival in 2021,” it said.
Moody’s saw real GDP growth of 12 per cent in the 2021 calendar year, partially due to a low base-year comparison.
“This forecast is equivalent to real GDP, in level terms, growing by 4.4 per cent above pre-COVID-19 levels (as of March 2020) by the end of 2021, or equivalently, by 5.7 per cent above the GDP level in December 2020 by the end of 2021,” it said.
It said monetary and fiscal policy settings will remain conducive to growth.
“We do not expect any additional rate cuts this year below the current 4 per cent at which the benchmark repurchase rate is being maintained,” it said.
It saw some additional fiscal support being mobilised during the second half of the year, depending on the softness in domestic spending.
Direct forms of fiscal support such as income tax cuts, however, are less likely in the current setting.
“We expect the budget for fiscal 2021-2022 to drive the annual fiscal deficit to nearly 7 per cent of GDP,” it said. “It includes additional expenditure on infrastructure development, and the associated benefits in the form of employment creation should accrue over the coming quarters.” Core inflation is likely to see a more controlled rise in 2021, although food-price or fuel-driven inflation can become a recurring factor, weighing on household disposable income.
Moody’s Analytics said a strengthening second wave of COVID-19 remains the key risk to recovery in 2021.
“The good news is that the resurgence appears to be limited to just a few states, which should increase the chances of containing the spread at an early stage,” it said. “Our baseline forecasts assume that state governments are likely to adopt a targeted approach through limited-duration curfews and shutdowns if the situation deteriorates rather than large-scale shutdowns of the kind seen during the first wave.” Vaccinations hold the key to sustaining domestic recovery. Total vaccinations crossed the 35 million mark on March 16.
“However, the various logistical constraints and the sheer scale of implementation could negatively impact the pace of inoculations in the months ahead and eventually the timing of achieving herd immunity,” it said. “Our March baseline forecast assumes that herd immunity is unlikely to be reached before the end of 2022.””
1:30 PM
India 13 spots down in global home price index
India has moved 13 spots down to the 56th position in the latest global home price index in the quarter ended December 2020, from the 43rd rank a year earlier, indicating a decline of 3.6% in home price appreciation, property consultancy Knight Frank said.
In the 12-month percentage change for the period Q4 2019-Q4 2020, Turkey continued to lead the annual rankings with prices up by 30.3% year-on-year, followed by New Zealand at 18.6% YoY and Slovakia at 16.0% YoY. India was the weakest-performing country in Q4 2020, with a decline of 3.6% y-o-y in home prices, followed by Morocco with a drop of 3.3% y-o-y.
1:00 PM
P-notes investment climbs to 33-month high at Rs 91,658 cr in Feb
P-notes turn popular amidst the stock market boom.
PTI reports: “Investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market rose to Rs 91,658 crore at February-end, making it the highest level in 33 months, suggesting growing confidence of overseas investors.
P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly. They, however, need to go through a due diligence process.
According to Sebi data, the value of P-note investments in Indian markets — equity, debt and hybrid securities – increased to Rs 91,658 crore in February-end from Rs 84,916 crore at January-end.
Prior to that, the investment level was at Rs 87,132 crore in December-end.
The month of February 2021 saw the highest level of investment since May 2018, when fund inflow through such route stood at Rs 93,497 crore.
Of the total Rs 91,658 crore invested through the route till February, Rs 84,195 crore was invested in equities, Rs 6,833 crore in debt and Rs 630 crore in hybrid securities.
“A sharp rise in FPIs’ participation through offshore derivative instruments or P-notes in February once again vindicates growing confidence of overseas investors into domestic markets. However, we note that FPIs’ participation through P-note route has been improving in consistently since April 2020,” Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities, said.
Divam Sharma, co-founder of Green Portfolio, said the month of February 2021 witnessed highest inflows into equities from FPIs. In fact, March is also looking positive from FPI inflows perspective.
However, he warned that second wave of COVID-19 cases and rise in bond yields in the USA can become a dampener for FPI flows in the near term.
“Despite markets seeing the pullout of funds from domestic institutional investors, the FPI inflows have supported the markets to rise in the past few months. However, next two-three years looks great from FPIs inflows as we are seeing lots of investor interest in Indian markets considering the domestic fundamentals and growth potential,” Sharma added.
Besides, the assets under the custody of FPIs has reached to Rs 44.07 lakh crore, which is the highest levels in the history validating their conviction on Indian markets. This was Rs 41.15 lakh crore at January-end.
Meanwhile, FPIs infused over Rs 24,000 crore in the capital markets last month.”
12:30 PM
India’s Future Group tumbles 10% as court stops asset sale by its chief
A huge beating for Future stock..
PTI reports: “Shares in Future Group companies fell as much as 10% on Friday after an Indian court blocked its founder and chief executive officer from selling his personal assets, in a setback to the group’s $3.4 billion deal with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd.
Shares of Future Retail fell as much as 10% on Friday morning to 55.90 rupees. Other group companies including Future Consumer Ltd, Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd and Future Enterprises Ltd were also down between 8% and 10%.
Amazon.com Inc is locked in a legal dispute with Future, saying it allegedly violated certain contracts by selling its retail assets. Future denies any wrongdoing.
The twists and turns in the case has made two of the world’s richest men, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Reliance’s Ambani, lock horns as both fight for a bigger share of India’s retail market.
“Such a long drawn-out deal involving a company in urgent need of funds is not healthy,” Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive, Retailers Association of India (RAI) told Reuters.
“Thousands of employees and a large number of small and medium enterprise vendors get impacted, and at an industry level the whole retail ecosystem is disturbed.”
Future Group, the country’s second-largest retailer with more than 2000 retail stores and supermarkets including Big Bazaar and Foodhall in its portfolio, has warned it could face liquidation if the deal with Reliance does not go through.”
12:00 PM
Indian shares edge up in volatile trade; Future Group firms slide
An update on stocks.
Reuters reports: “Indian shares recovered from early falls to trade slightly higher on Friday in a volatile session, as a pullback in U.S. Treasury yields from 14-month highs hit overnight eased some fears over foreign fund outflows from emerging markets.
By 0554 GMT, the blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.17% to 14,582.65 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.23% to 49,327.90. Earlier in the session, the Sensex and Nifty shed up to 1.43% and 1.28%, respectively.
“There is some easing in U.S. 10-year bond yields after hitting a peak. That has added to the risk appetite of traders who were looking to buy into the dips,” said Anand James, chief market strategist at Geojit Financial Services in Kochi.
“From a technical perspective, the Nifty found some support at the 14,500 level,” said Amit Shah, head of India equities at BNP Paribas India in Mumbai.
A surge in domestic cases of COVID-19 has also weighed on investor sentiment this week. India reported 39,276 cases on Friday, its highest daily rise since late November.
India’s main stock indexes were on track to post a drop of roughly 3% for the week after two straight weeks of gains. As of Thursday’s close, both the Nifty and Sensex were off roughly 5% from their record closing highs hit in mid-February.
Among individual stocks, Future Group companies, including Future Retail and Future Consumer, dropped nearly 10% each.
An Indian court on Thursday restrained Future Group chief Kishore Biyani from selling his personal assets following Amazon.com Inc’s challenge against the Indian group’s $3.4 billion sale of its retail business to Reliance Industries.”
11:30 AM
Chip shortage forces Ford to build trucks without computers
A global semiconductor shortage and a February winter storm have combined to force Ford to build F-150 pickup trucks without some computers.
The company says the pickups will be held at factories for “a number of weeks”, then shipped to dealers once computers are available and quality checks are done.
The move is the latest ripple from the global semiconductor shortage, which earlier this week forced Honda and Toyota to announce production cuts at some North American factories. General Motors also has been forced to build pickups without some computers and install them later.
Ford’s move is likely to tighten inventory of F-Series pickups, the top-selling vehicles in America. Inventories already are tight due to high demand and production losses due to last year’s coronavirus-related factory shutdowns.
11:00 AM
Rupee falls 3 paise against US dollar in early trade
The rupee depreciated by 3 paise to 72.56 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday, as muted opening in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiment.
However, consistent foreign fund inflows and a weak dollar overseas supported the rupee, forex dealer said.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened lower at 72.57 against the US dollar, then recovered some ground to quote at 72.56, a decline of 3 paise over its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 72.53 against the American currency.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 243.44 points lower at 48,973.08, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 74.30 points to 14,483.55 in early deals.
10:30 AM
Using AI to fight COVID-19 may harm disadvantaged groups, experts say
Companies worldwide have devised methods in the past year to harness the power of big data and machine learning (ML) in medicine. A model developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) uses AI to detect asymptomatic COVID-19 patients through coughs recorded on their smartphones. In South Korea, a company used cloud computing to scan chest X-rays to monitor infected patients.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and ML have been extensively deployed during the pandemic, and their use ranged from data extraction to vaccine distribution. But experts from the University of Cambridge raise questions on ethical use of AI as they see the technology to have a tendency to harm minorities and those from lower socio-economic status.
“Relaxing ethical requirements in a crisis could have unintended harmful consequences that last well beyond the life of the pandemic,” said Stephen Cave, Director of Cambridge’s Center for the Future of Intelligence (CFI).
10:00 AM
Sensex tanks over 600 points in early trade; Nifty slips below 14,400
Equity benchmark Sensex tanked over 600 points in early trade on Friday, tracking losses in HDFC Bank, L&T and Reliance Industries amid negative cues from global markets.
The 30-share BSE index was trading 617.10 points or 1.25 % lower at 48,599.42, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 201.35 points or 1.38 % to 14,356.50.
ONGC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, slumping around 5 %, followed by L&T, Bajaj Finance, M&M, Maruti, SBI, Titan, HDFC twins and Reliance Industries.
On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel and PowerGrid were the gainers.
In the previous session, Sensex ended 585.10 points or 1.17 % lower at 49,216.52, and Nifty slumped 163.45 points or 1.11 % to 14,557.85.
9:30 AM
Delhi HC stays Future on Reliance deal
In a major victory for U.S.-based e-commence giant Amazon, the Delhi High Court on Thursday ruled that Future Retail Limited (FRL) and its promoters including Kishore Biyani “deliberately and wilfully” violated the order of an emergency arbitrator (EA) restraining FRL from going ahead with its assets sale deal with Reliance Retail.
Noting that the intention of FRL and its promoters “do not appear to be honest”, the high court directed attachment of the assets of Future Coupons Private Limited (FCPL), FRL, Mr. Biyani and 10 other promoters.
Justice J.R. Midha also directed Mr. Biyani and the other promoters to be present before the court on the next date of hearing on April 28. It additionally issued show-cause notices to all the promoters “to show cause why they be not detained in civil prison for a term not exceeding three months” for violation of the emergency arbitrator’s order.
[ad_2]
Source link
