In a clear sign of the strength of the industrial comeback, excise duty collection for August registered a 22.7 per cent increase over last month, raising the government's hope of meeting the indirect tax mop-up target for the year.
"Industry is clearly showing signs of revival. Excise collection in August is up 22.7 per cent compared to last month... We are hopeful of meeting the target," Chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs V Sridhar told reporters here.
The growth in excise figures is led by improvement in sectors like sugar that showed an increase of about 16 per cent, petroleum products that grew by about 4 to 5 per cent and cigarettes, Sridhar added on the sidelines of a CII seminar.
The indirect tax collection target of the government is set at about Rs 2.7 lakh crore for 2009-10.
Further, customs duty also slightly improved from the negative of over 30 per cent in July to a minus 28 per cent in August, he said.
Among the three components of indirect tax — customs, excise and service tax — service tax has performed the best, he pointed out.
"Service tax has done the best among the three (central excise, customs and service tax). There is a negative 1.3 per cent growth in service tax in August," Sridhar added.
The tax cuts made by the government, to help industries tide over the slowdown, had hit the exchequer both in terms of direct and indirect taxes, while customs, excise and service tax witnessed negative growth in the past four months.
The government's indirect tax kitty during the first four months of this fiscal, April-July was down 28 per cent at about 63,623 crore compared to Rs 88,395 crore last year same period.
Customs, among the indirect tax components had witnessed the maximum decline of about 36 per cent at Rs 24,324 crore in the April-July period.
Friday, September 25, 2009
G-20 leaders reach historic pact on global recovery
Taking on board the concerns of India and other countries, leaders of the G-20 countries have decided to continue the stimulus package to quicken global economic recovery.
The leaders from US, UK, France, China and others reached a historic agreement, to put the group at the centre of their efforts to build a roadmap for durable recovery, avoiding the financial fragilities that led to the crisis.
"Today, leaders endorsed the G-20 as the premier forum for their international economic cooperation. This decision brings to the table the countries needed to build a stronger, more balanced global economy, reform the financial system, and lift the lives of the poorest," the White House said in a statement after US President Barack Obama hosted a dinner for the heads of government that included Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Amid demands by some European government heads that an exit policy should be made to end the stimulus package agreed in London, the draft declaration of the summit is believed to have stressed the need for continuance of the booster dose notwithstanding green shoots of recovery seen in some countries.
At the London Summit in April, the G-20 leaders agreed to pump in $1.1 billion, to lift the global economy hit by last year's financial crisis that had triggered the collapse of many leading financial institutions.
The draft declaration is understood to reflect India’s view that it was too early to adopt an exit strategy from the stimulus package, but left it to individual countries to adopt measures after some time, Indian officials involved in the hectic negotiations said.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, was India's pointsman in the negotiations as Singh met world leaders. At the dinner last night, the Prime Minister and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, were warmly received by Obama and the First Lady, Mitchelle.
After an affectionate handshake, the Prime Minister had some consultations with him for a couple of minutes before they got into deliberations in the environment-friendly Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, called the Green Heart of Pittsburgh.
The White House statement said dramatic changes in the world economy have not always been reflected in the global architecture for economic cooperation.
"This all started to change today. The G-20 leaders reached a historic agreement to put the G-20 at the centre of their efforts to work together to build a durable recovery while avoiding the financial fragilities that led to the crisis," it said.
Establishing the G-20 as the Premier Global Economic Forum, Obama called on the world's leaders to reform global economic institutions to meet the needs of an interconnected world economy.
"Today, leaders endorsed the G-20 as the premier forum for their international economic cooperation. This decision brings to the table the countries needed to build a stronger, more balanced global economy, reform the financial system, and lift the lives of the poorest," the White House said.
This builds on the decision made in April in London to expand the Financial Stability Board to include all G-20 countries and to add all the G-20 members to the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information.
"The Financial Stability Board is central to our efforts to develop and implement sweeping reforms to transform the system of global regulation.
The Global Forum is the primary vehicle in the G-20's effort to promote greater tax transparency," it said.
The draft communiqué is also believed to be strongly worded against any protectionism in trade, investment, services and capital flows and attempts to yield to such temptation in the face of crisis.
The WTO report on the issue has said that countries have broadly avoided the tendency to resort to protectionism but occasional violations have also been seen in the last six months. The US Government's decision to impose hefty duty on import of Chinese tyres is being cited by opponents of protectionism.
The Prime Minister has already said that the Summit should send a strong message against protectionism in all its forms and that it should not be business as usual for countries because the global economy is yet to come out of the woods.
The declaration also endorses India’s stand for reforms of international financial institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to reflect ground realities by giving greater say in their affairs for emerging economies.
The US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, said a substantial additional progress in Pittsburgh over what the summit did in London is to add in effect a fourth pillar to the architecture of cooperation established after the Second World War.
The US Treasury Secretary said that to the IMF, GATT and WTO, the fourth pillar Financial Stability Board has been added.
"And that forum again brings together central banks, finance ministers, supervisors of banks, market regulators, like the SEC and the CFTC, the accounting standard setters — brings them together and tries to forge consensus on standards, so we can have, again, common standards applied globally," Geithner said.
He underlined that the G-20 leaders want to have very strong standards to limit the risk that compensation practices in the world's largest institutions encourage.
"So we have laid out a really far-reaching set of pretty detailed standards to underscore that commitment. But we've also made it clear that we are going to move each country to put in place the mix of regulations, laws, supervisory measures, that are necessary to give those standards force," he said.
"We're going to measure progress against those standards, report on progress, and we're going to let an independent agency — in this case, the Financial Stability Board — assess progress against those standards," Geithner underlined.
The draft declaration also favours broad political consensus towards successful conclusion of the climate change summit.
The leaders from US, UK, France, China and others reached a historic agreement, to put the group at the centre of their efforts to build a roadmap for durable recovery, avoiding the financial fragilities that led to the crisis.
"Today, leaders endorsed the G-20 as the premier forum for their international economic cooperation. This decision brings to the table the countries needed to build a stronger, more balanced global economy, reform the financial system, and lift the lives of the poorest," the White House said in a statement after US President Barack Obama hosted a dinner for the heads of government that included Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Amid demands by some European government heads that an exit policy should be made to end the stimulus package agreed in London, the draft declaration of the summit is believed to have stressed the need for continuance of the booster dose notwithstanding green shoots of recovery seen in some countries.
At the London Summit in April, the G-20 leaders agreed to pump in $1.1 billion, to lift the global economy hit by last year's financial crisis that had triggered the collapse of many leading financial institutions.
The draft declaration is understood to reflect India’s view that it was too early to adopt an exit strategy from the stimulus package, but left it to individual countries to adopt measures after some time, Indian officials involved in the hectic negotiations said.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, was India's pointsman in the negotiations as Singh met world leaders. At the dinner last night, the Prime Minister and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, were warmly received by Obama and the First Lady, Mitchelle.
After an affectionate handshake, the Prime Minister had some consultations with him for a couple of minutes before they got into deliberations in the environment-friendly Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, called the Green Heart of Pittsburgh.
The White House statement said dramatic changes in the world economy have not always been reflected in the global architecture for economic cooperation.
"This all started to change today. The G-20 leaders reached a historic agreement to put the G-20 at the centre of their efforts to work together to build a durable recovery while avoiding the financial fragilities that led to the crisis," it said.
Establishing the G-20 as the Premier Global Economic Forum, Obama called on the world's leaders to reform global economic institutions to meet the needs of an interconnected world economy.
"Today, leaders endorsed the G-20 as the premier forum for their international economic cooperation. This decision brings to the table the countries needed to build a stronger, more balanced global economy, reform the financial system, and lift the lives of the poorest," the White House said.
This builds on the decision made in April in London to expand the Financial Stability Board to include all G-20 countries and to add all the G-20 members to the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information.
"The Financial Stability Board is central to our efforts to develop and implement sweeping reforms to transform the system of global regulation.
The Global Forum is the primary vehicle in the G-20's effort to promote greater tax transparency," it said.
The draft communiqué is also believed to be strongly worded against any protectionism in trade, investment, services and capital flows and attempts to yield to such temptation in the face of crisis.
The WTO report on the issue has said that countries have broadly avoided the tendency to resort to protectionism but occasional violations have also been seen in the last six months. The US Government's decision to impose hefty duty on import of Chinese tyres is being cited by opponents of protectionism.
The Prime Minister has already said that the Summit should send a strong message against protectionism in all its forms and that it should not be business as usual for countries because the global economy is yet to come out of the woods.
The declaration also endorses India’s stand for reforms of international financial institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to reflect ground realities by giving greater say in their affairs for emerging economies.
The US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, said a substantial additional progress in Pittsburgh over what the summit did in London is to add in effect a fourth pillar to the architecture of cooperation established after the Second World War.
The US Treasury Secretary said that to the IMF, GATT and WTO, the fourth pillar Financial Stability Board has been added.
"And that forum again brings together central banks, finance ministers, supervisors of banks, market regulators, like the SEC and the CFTC, the accounting standard setters — brings them together and tries to forge consensus on standards, so we can have, again, common standards applied globally," Geithner said.
He underlined that the G-20 leaders want to have very strong standards to limit the risk that compensation practices in the world's largest institutions encourage.
"So we have laid out a really far-reaching set of pretty detailed standards to underscore that commitment. But we've also made it clear that we are going to move each country to put in place the mix of regulations, laws, supervisory measures, that are necessary to give those standards force," he said.
"We're going to measure progress against those standards, report on progress, and we're going to let an independent agency — in this case, the Financial Stability Board — assess progress against those standards," Geithner underlined.
The draft declaration also favours broad political consensus towards successful conclusion of the climate change summit.
News snapshot
# Dr Reddy's hits new 52-wk high on ADR surge
# Kingfisher rallies on GDR, rights issue plans
# M&M gains on hopes of upping stake in Swaraj
# Cipla to raise Rs 676 cr via QIP issue
# Kingfisher rallies on GDR, rights issue plans
# M&M gains on hopes of upping stake in Swaraj
# Cipla to raise Rs 676 cr via QIP issue
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sensex closes in the red on profit-booking
The Sensex this morning opened with a positive gap of 19 points at 16,905. It soon slipped in the red and traded in a narrow range till late afternoon on either side of yesterday's closing line. The last one hour of trade, however, saw about of profit-booking. The Sensex finally ended at 16,717, down 170 points. What was more disappointing was the Nifty's close below the 5000 level within a day of having surpassed the psychological mark.
The BSE midcap index closed at 6,141, down 167 points and the BSE Small-cap index shut shop at 7,350, down 102 points.
The BSE IT index dipped 1.72% to 4,563. The TECk index shed 1.98% to 3,238 points and the realty index weakened by 2.31% to 4,415.
The markets breadth was negative. Out of 2,864 stocks traded, 1,001 advanced and 1,784 declined.
INDEX MOVERS...
HDFC Bank surged 1.45% to Rs 1,560, Sterlite gained 1.09% to Rs 769 and Sun Pharma rose 0.58% to Rs 1,212.
...AND LOSERS
Jaiprakash Associates sunk 6.34% to Rs 235, Bharti Airtel dropped 3.43% to Rs 414 and Reliance Communications declined 2.9% to Rs 308. Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever and Reliance Infrastructure were down between 1 and 2% each.
MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS
Jaiprakash Assoicates led the combined value chart on the BSE and the NSE with a total turnover of Rs 2,030 crore. It was followed by Suzlon (Rs 1,284 crore), Reliance (Rs 844 crore), DLF (Rs 675 crore) and Tata Steel (Rs 512 crore).
Suzlon topped the combined volume chart with trades of around 132.69 million shares followed by Jaiprakash Associates (85.33 million), Unitech (44.18 million), Ispat Industries (38.01 million), IFCI (37.50 million).
The BSE midcap index closed at 6,141, down 167 points and the BSE Small-cap index shut shop at 7,350, down 102 points.
The BSE IT index dipped 1.72% to 4,563. The TECk index shed 1.98% to 3,238 points and the realty index weakened by 2.31% to 4,415.
The markets breadth was negative. Out of 2,864 stocks traded, 1,001 advanced and 1,784 declined.
INDEX MOVERS...
HDFC Bank surged 1.45% to Rs 1,560, Sterlite gained 1.09% to Rs 769 and Sun Pharma rose 0.58% to Rs 1,212.
...AND LOSERS
Jaiprakash Associates sunk 6.34% to Rs 235, Bharti Airtel dropped 3.43% to Rs 414 and Reliance Communications declined 2.9% to Rs 308. Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever and Reliance Infrastructure were down between 1 and 2% each.
MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS
Jaiprakash Assoicates led the combined value chart on the BSE and the NSE with a total turnover of Rs 2,030 crore. It was followed by Suzlon (Rs 1,284 crore), Reliance (Rs 844 crore), DLF (Rs 675 crore) and Tata Steel (Rs 512 crore).
Suzlon topped the combined volume chart with trades of around 132.69 million shares followed by Jaiprakash Associates (85.33 million), Unitech (44.18 million), Ispat Industries (38.01 million), IFCI (37.50 million).
Sunday, September 20, 2009
FII inflows to cross $10 bn-mark this month: Analysts
Foreign investment in the Indian stock markets may cross $10 billion-mark by the end of this month as a hefty $9.8 billion (Rs 47,674 crore) have already been poured into the bourses by overseas entities so far this year, analysts feel.
"FII inflows in the Indian equity market would continue in the coming days and it may cross $10 billion level by September-end," Anand Rathi Financial Services Director & Head of Research Tarun Sisodia.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are the net buyer of shares worth Rs 47,674 crore so far in this year, according to the data available with the market regulator or Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
The infusion of money by overseas investors in shares is a part of their portfolio management in various emerging markets and India is part of that strategy, Sisodia, who is based in Mumbai, said.
So for in this month, foreign investors have infused over Rs 7,400 crore ($1.5 billion), increasing their total net investment, since FIIs were allowed in India, to over Rs 2.78 lakh crore ($65 billion), as per Sebi data.
"FII investment in the local markets may cross $10 billion mark by end of this week. As everything is bullish and picture of Indian stock market is very rosy," Delhi-based SMC Global's Vice President Rajesh Jain said.
Significantly, so far in 2009, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark index Sensex gained over 73 per cent. Nifty, the benchmark index of National Stock Exchange has also advanced fairly so far this year.
In long term, the rise in benchmark index would continue, Sisodia added.
"The Indian market has seen a huge inflow of funds from overseas investors and crossing $10 billion level is not tough in the current month," Ashika Stock Brokers Research Head Paras Bothra said.
After pulling out a hefty Rs 52,986 crore ($11.9 billion) from the local stock markets last year, FIIs remained net seller of shares for the first two month of current year.
However, with the sign of revival of economies, the trend turned positive during March and marketmen feel that the year will close with huge inflows.
"FII inflows in the Indian equity market would continue in the coming days and it may cross $10 billion level by September-end," Anand Rathi Financial Services Director & Head of Research Tarun Sisodia.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are the net buyer of shares worth Rs 47,674 crore so far in this year, according to the data available with the market regulator or Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
The infusion of money by overseas investors in shares is a part of their portfolio management in various emerging markets and India is part of that strategy, Sisodia, who is based in Mumbai, said.
So for in this month, foreign investors have infused over Rs 7,400 crore ($1.5 billion), increasing their total net investment, since FIIs were allowed in India, to over Rs 2.78 lakh crore ($65 billion), as per Sebi data.
"FII investment in the local markets may cross $10 billion mark by end of this week. As everything is bullish and picture of Indian stock market is very rosy," Delhi-based SMC Global's Vice President Rajesh Jain said.
Significantly, so far in 2009, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark index Sensex gained over 73 per cent. Nifty, the benchmark index of National Stock Exchange has also advanced fairly so far this year.
In long term, the rise in benchmark index would continue, Sisodia added.
"The Indian market has seen a huge inflow of funds from overseas investors and crossing $10 billion level is not tough in the current month," Ashika Stock Brokers Research Head Paras Bothra said.
After pulling out a hefty Rs 52,986 crore ($11.9 billion) from the local stock markets last year, FIIs remained net seller of shares for the first two month of current year.
However, with the sign of revival of economies, the trend turned positive during March and marketmen feel that the year will close with huge inflows.
Top 8 cos add Rs 23,000 cr last week
As many as eight out of the top 10 most valued companies added over Rs 23,000 crore to their market capitalisation in the last week.
However, oil major Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and telecom giant Bharti Airtel witnessed erosion in their market cap during the week.
The country's most valued firm, Reliance Industries (RIL), gained the most adding Rs 6,169.57 crore to its market cap at Rs 3,43,127.27 crore for the week ended September 19.
RIL had a market valuation at Rs 3,36,957.7 crore for the week ended September 12.
Meanwhile, both ONGC and Airtel together lost Rs 7,688.37 crore in their market valuation.
The market cap of ONGC stood at Rs 2,46,119.77 crore while that of Airtel was seen at Rs 1,57,967.53 crore at the end of the week.
The market cap of trading major MMTC rose by Rs 4,965.25 crore to Rs 1,74,705.25 crore and power major NTPC added Rs 3,339.42 crore taking its total market valuation to Rs 1,72,453.8 crore.
The country's largest iron ore producer, NMDC contributed Rs 693.83 crore to its market cap taking its total market valuation to Rs 1,43,561.79 crore.
IT bellwether Infosys Technologies and public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) added Rs 232.09 crore and Rs 5,742.49 crore, respectively to their market cap.
The total market cap of Infosys Technologies stood at Rs 1,30,087.49 crore and that of SBI at Rs 1,27,563.26 crore.
Outsourcing firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) climbed to the ninth slot from the tenth after adding Rs 2,201.85 crore to its market valuation, while power equipment-maker Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) slipped to the tenth position even after adding Rs 2,201.85 crore to its market cap.
At the end of the week the total market cap of TCS stood at Rs 1,11,736.55 crore and BHEL at Rs 1,11,015.79 crore.
Apart from the top-10 coveted firms, two private sector lenders, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, together added Rs 1,689.07 crore to their market cap.
At the end of the week, the total market cap of ICICI Bank stood at Rs 93,783.37 crore and HDFC Bank at Rs 64,610.96 crore.
In the club of top-10 firms, RIL is followed by ONGC (Rs 2,46,119.77 crore), MMTC (Rs 1,74,705.25 crore), NTPC (Rs 1,72,453.8 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 1,57,967.53 crore), NMDC (Rs 1,43,561.79 crore), Infosys (Rs 1,30,087.49 crore), SBI (Rs 1,27,563.26 crore), TCS (Rs 111736.55 crore) and BHEL (Rs 1,11,015.79 crore), in that order.
However, oil major Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and telecom giant Bharti Airtel witnessed erosion in their market cap during the week.
The country's most valued firm, Reliance Industries (RIL), gained the most adding Rs 6,169.57 crore to its market cap at Rs 3,43,127.27 crore for the week ended September 19.
RIL had a market valuation at Rs 3,36,957.7 crore for the week ended September 12.
Meanwhile, both ONGC and Airtel together lost Rs 7,688.37 crore in their market valuation.
The market cap of ONGC stood at Rs 2,46,119.77 crore while that of Airtel was seen at Rs 1,57,967.53 crore at the end of the week.
The market cap of trading major MMTC rose by Rs 4,965.25 crore to Rs 1,74,705.25 crore and power major NTPC added Rs 3,339.42 crore taking its total market valuation to Rs 1,72,453.8 crore.
The country's largest iron ore producer, NMDC contributed Rs 693.83 crore to its market cap taking its total market valuation to Rs 1,43,561.79 crore.
IT bellwether Infosys Technologies and public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) added Rs 232.09 crore and Rs 5,742.49 crore, respectively to their market cap.
The total market cap of Infosys Technologies stood at Rs 1,30,087.49 crore and that of SBI at Rs 1,27,563.26 crore.
Outsourcing firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) climbed to the ninth slot from the tenth after adding Rs 2,201.85 crore to its market valuation, while power equipment-maker Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) slipped to the tenth position even after adding Rs 2,201.85 crore to its market cap.
At the end of the week the total market cap of TCS stood at Rs 1,11,736.55 crore and BHEL at Rs 1,11,015.79 crore.
Apart from the top-10 coveted firms, two private sector lenders, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, together added Rs 1,689.07 crore to their market cap.
At the end of the week, the total market cap of ICICI Bank stood at Rs 93,783.37 crore and HDFC Bank at Rs 64,610.96 crore.
In the club of top-10 firms, RIL is followed by ONGC (Rs 2,46,119.77 crore), MMTC (Rs 1,74,705.25 crore), NTPC (Rs 1,72,453.8 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 1,57,967.53 crore), NMDC (Rs 1,43,561.79 crore), Infosys (Rs 1,30,087.49 crore), SBI (Rs 1,27,563.26 crore), TCS (Rs 111736.55 crore) and BHEL (Rs 1,11,015.79 crore), in that order.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Indian cos in Forbes 'Best Under A Billion' list
Twenty Indian companies have made the cut to enter the list of 200 best companies having sales less than $1 billion in the Asian Pacific region, compiled by business magazine Forbes.
Biotech major Biocon, industrial equipment firm AIA Engineering, IT outsourcing firm Allied Digital Services, software entity AurinoPro Solutions and construction materials company Birla feature in the league of 200 companies.
All have either increased sales and profits over the past 12 months or are forecast to do so in coming quarters. Apparel, media, technology and health care led the way.
"Nearly 40 per cent of the companies are from greater China," Forbes said.
Deepak Fertilisers, drug ingredients provider Divi's Laboratories, gas storage products entity Everest Kanto, pharma firm FDC, publishing entity Geodesic and IT consultancy ICSA have also made it to the list.
Others in the 200 league are IT firms GSS America and Micro Technologies, infrastructure firm IVRCL Infrastructure, security systems entity Nitin Fire Protection, medical devices company Opto Circuits, aluminium foil maker Parekh Aluminex, television broadcaster Raj Television and oil exploration firm Selan Exploration Technology.
The top 200 companies were picked from over 12,000 publicly-listed firms with sales of less than $1 billion in the Asia-Pacific region.
Biotech major Biocon, industrial equipment firm AIA Engineering, IT outsourcing firm Allied Digital Services, software entity AurinoPro Solutions and construction materials company Birla feature in the league of 200 companies.
All have either increased sales and profits over the past 12 months or are forecast to do so in coming quarters. Apparel, media, technology and health care led the way.
"Nearly 40 per cent of the companies are from greater China," Forbes said.
Deepak Fertilisers, drug ingredients provider Divi's Laboratories, gas storage products entity Everest Kanto, pharma firm FDC, publishing entity Geodesic and IT consultancy ICSA have also made it to the list.
Others in the 200 league are IT firms GSS America and Micro Technologies, infrastructure firm IVRCL Infrastructure, security systems entity Nitin Fire Protection, medical devices company Opto Circuits, aluminium foil maker Parekh Aluminex, television broadcaster Raj Television and oil exploration firm Selan Exploration Technology.
The top 200 companies were picked from over 12,000 publicly-listed firms with sales of less than $1 billion in the Asia-Pacific region.
IIP Industrial growth at 6.8% in July
Giving a clear indication of industrial revival, factory output grew by 6.8 per cent in July this year, more than 6.4 per cent in the same month a year ago.
The industrial recovery may offset for slackening of agricultural production being impacted by erratic monsoon and help the economy clock a reasonable growth in the second quarter.
For the first four months of this fiscal, industry grew by 4.6 per cent compared to 5.6 per cent a year ago.
The industrial recovery may offset for slackening of agricultural production being impacted by erratic monsoon and help the economy clock a reasonable growth in the second quarter.
For the first four months of this fiscal, industry grew by 4.6 per cent compared to 5.6 per cent a year ago.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Stocks rise after G-20 say stimulus will stay
European and Asian stocks rose Monday after finance officials from 20 rich and developing countries pledged to keep in place their massive stimulus programs to prop up the global economy.
News of corporate takeover activity, with Cadbury jumping 37.8 percent after rejecting a takeover offer from Kraft, also helped stocks start the week well on a day when Wall Street will be closed for the Labor Day holiday.
Germany's DAX closed up 1.5 percent, to 5,463.51, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.7 percent, to 4,933.18. France's CAC-40 added 1.5 percent, to 3,652.83.
Benchmarks in Japan, Hong Kong and China added about 1 percent or more after Beijing said it would allow greater access to foreign investors.
Investors reacted positively to the weekend announcements from finance officials at the Group of 20 summit in London, which acknowledged some improvements in economic growth but warned recovery was not sustainable without continued help from governments in the form of deficit spending, low interest rates and efforts to expand the money supply.
"It will come as a relief to markets that G-20 central bankers and finance ministers agreed that it was too early to begin withdrawing massive fiscal, monetary and financial support," said Mitul Kotecha, analyst at Calyon.
Markets had been worried that nascent signs of economic recovery would lead countries to unwind their stimulus, but the G-20 dispelled those fears.
News of corporate takeover activity, with Cadbury jumping 37.8 percent after rejecting a takeover offer from Kraft, also helped stocks start the week well on a day when Wall Street will be closed for the Labor Day holiday.
Germany's DAX closed up 1.5 percent, to 5,463.51, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.7 percent, to 4,933.18. France's CAC-40 added 1.5 percent, to 3,652.83.
Benchmarks in Japan, Hong Kong and China added about 1 percent or more after Beijing said it would allow greater access to foreign investors.
Investors reacted positively to the weekend announcements from finance officials at the Group of 20 summit in London, which acknowledged some improvements in economic growth but warned recovery was not sustainable without continued help from governments in the form of deficit spending, low interest rates and efforts to expand the money supply.
"It will come as a relief to markets that G-20 central bankers and finance ministers agreed that it was too early to begin withdrawing massive fiscal, monetary and financial support," said Mitul Kotecha, analyst at Calyon.
Markets had been worried that nascent signs of economic recovery would lead countries to unwind their stimulus, but the G-20 dispelled those fears.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Friday US Market Overview
US buyers continued to push stocks higher in the face of some rather ugly unemployment headlines as strong momentum from the previous session and pent up buying fed a positive bias.
The latest jobs report showed that 216,000 nonfarm payrolls were slashed in August. That marked the lowest job loss tally in one year and wasn't as bad as the 230,000 job losses that economists had come to expect, but the difficulty of finding a job sent the unemployment rate to a 25-year high of 9.7% from 9.4%. The consensus estimate had been pegged at 9.5%.
Though US stocks struggled a bit to set forth on a clear trajectory in the minutes following the report, they benefited from some residual buying interest stemming from the previous session's late squeeze higher. Given that stocks had lost roughly 2.5% in the four sessions leading up to Friday's trade, participants also felt compelled to chase the gains registered in recent weeks.
This session's buying effort came on light trading volume, but that was generally expected going into Memorial Day weekend. Still, a lack of participation is often associated with a lack of conviction among broader-market participants, even though low-volume trade has been a hallmark of the stock market's summer rally. Hardly 1 billion shares traded hands on the NYSE this session, below the 50-day moving average of 1.2 billion shares.
Nonetheless, Friday's session's gains were broad-based as roughly 85% of the companies in the S&P 500 settled with a gain. Seven of the 10 major sectors in the S&P 500 posted gains between 1.3% and 2.0%. Financials (+0.8%), consumer staples (+0.7%), and utilities (+0.3%) were relative laggards.
The score at close of trade:
Dow 9,441.27 + 96.66 (1.03%)
Nasdaq 2,018.78 + 35.58 (1.79%)
S&P 500 1,016.40 + 13.16 (1.31%)
The latest jobs report showed that 216,000 nonfarm payrolls were slashed in August. That marked the lowest job loss tally in one year and wasn't as bad as the 230,000 job losses that economists had come to expect, but the difficulty of finding a job sent the unemployment rate to a 25-year high of 9.7% from 9.4%. The consensus estimate had been pegged at 9.5%.
Though US stocks struggled a bit to set forth on a clear trajectory in the minutes following the report, they benefited from some residual buying interest stemming from the previous session's late squeeze higher. Given that stocks had lost roughly 2.5% in the four sessions leading up to Friday's trade, participants also felt compelled to chase the gains registered in recent weeks.
This session's buying effort came on light trading volume, but that was generally expected going into Memorial Day weekend. Still, a lack of participation is often associated with a lack of conviction among broader-market participants, even though low-volume trade has been a hallmark of the stock market's summer rally. Hardly 1 billion shares traded hands on the NYSE this session, below the 50-day moving average of 1.2 billion shares.
Nonetheless, Friday's session's gains were broad-based as roughly 85% of the companies in the S&P 500 settled with a gain. Seven of the 10 major sectors in the S&P 500 posted gains between 1.3% and 2.0%. Financials (+0.8%), consumer staples (+0.7%), and utilities (+0.3%) were relative laggards.
The score at close of trade:
Dow 9,441.27 + 96.66 (1.03%)
Nasdaq 2,018.78 + 35.58 (1.79%)
S&P 500 1,016.40 + 13.16 (1.31%)
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Moody's revises India growth forecast upwards to 6.4 percent
Global consultancy Moody's, which last week contended that the drought would bring India's growth down to 6.2 percent, today revised its prediction to say the 'stronger-than-expected start' this fiscal spelt a 6.4 percent growth in 2009-10, and 9 percent by 2012-13.
'India's June quarter economic performance surprised slightly on the upside. On a year-ago basis, GDP growth accelerated to 6.1 percent compared to (our) forecast of 5.9 percent,' said Sherman Chan, economist with Moody's Economy.com, the research arm of Moody's.
'The stronger-than-expected start of the fiscal year has prompted Moody's Economy.com to revise India's annual growth forecast from 6.2 percent to 6.4 percent,' Chan added.
'Like China, India has ample long-term growth potential, especially with its large population and vast underdeveloped areas. The need to improve infrastructure will keep overall economic activity buoyant in coming years.'
Last week, Moody's had said GDP growth in 2009 would be 'mildly slower than in 2008', and predicting it would slow to 6.2 percent.
Despite the upward revision of its GDP growth forecast, Moody's warned that the farm output was likely to decline till December, impacting overall GDP growth. 'The robust momentum in manufacturing during recent months may be unsustainable in the near term,' Chan said.
'Policymakers certainly cannot rule out chances of a dip in the September quarter before activity continues with its mild upward trend,' Chan said.
'Public expenditure is expected to slow significantly, offset by private investment, as the government attempts to restore fiscal discipline.'
Nevertheless, she added, India's medium-term prospects were 'rosy', and that GDP growth would accelerate to 7.2 percent next fiscal and further accelerate to touch 9 percent in 2012-2013.
'India's June quarter economic performance surprised slightly on the upside. On a year-ago basis, GDP growth accelerated to 6.1 percent compared to (our) forecast of 5.9 percent,' said Sherman Chan, economist with Moody's Economy.com, the research arm of Moody's.
'The stronger-than-expected start of the fiscal year has prompted Moody's Economy.com to revise India's annual growth forecast from 6.2 percent to 6.4 percent,' Chan added.
'Like China, India has ample long-term growth potential, especially with its large population and vast underdeveloped areas. The need to improve infrastructure will keep overall economic activity buoyant in coming years.'
Last week, Moody's had said GDP growth in 2009 would be 'mildly slower than in 2008', and predicting it would slow to 6.2 percent.
Despite the upward revision of its GDP growth forecast, Moody's warned that the farm output was likely to decline till December, impacting overall GDP growth. 'The robust momentum in manufacturing during recent months may be unsustainable in the near term,' Chan said.
'Policymakers certainly cannot rule out chances of a dip in the September quarter before activity continues with its mild upward trend,' Chan said.
'Public expenditure is expected to slow significantly, offset by private investment, as the government attempts to restore fiscal discipline.'
Nevertheless, she added, India's medium-term prospects were 'rosy', and that GDP growth would accelerate to 7.2 percent next fiscal and further accelerate to touch 9 percent in 2012-2013.
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