Bajaj Finance was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, slumping over 10 per cent, followed by M&M, Titan, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank and Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, L&T, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cements and NTPC were among the gainers.
Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said that 'Khalistanis' have infiltrated the protest and he will file an affidavit along with the necessary inputs of the intelligence bureau (IB).
Demand to remain high with festive season ahead and ongoing price fall
The broader NSE Nifty fell 78.75 points, or 0.70 per cent, to close at 11,234.55.
The current up move, according to analysts, closely resembles the rally post the global financial crisis in 2008-09, not just in quantum and speed, but also the way small-and mid-cap indices outperformed large-cap peers.
Not surprisingly, equity investors are bidding-up stock prices across sectors and the broader market is now more valuable than pre-Covid levels.
If more commodities which have seen a sharp rise in MSP are to be procured, such as pulses, oilseed and cereals, there could be a storage problem. Also, if state-owned Cotton Corporation of India joins in, this problem will aggravate.
Indian corporates might face higher borrowing cost in the overseas market in short-run due to the Greek debt crisis.
Among the key demands of agitating farmers has been a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP). The protest reached a crescendo when thousands of farmers from Punjab and elsewhere marched towards Delhi late last year and decided to block the main entry points once they were denied entry. The Centre, on its part, held 11 rounds of discussions with the protesters and even offered to amend some of the provisions without much success. With now one of their chief demands met, farmers have now moved on to force the government to concede on MSP.
'They can shift to dynamic asset allocation funds to automatically rebalance their equity exposure.'
Inflation in food articles, fuel and power contracted in July.
Government sources said the ministers deliberated on various arrangements being made to deal with increasing cases of coronavirus cases as well as to ensure adequate supplies of medicine and essential commodities during the lockdown.
Mid- and small-cap indices have outperformed the frontline benchmarks - the S&P BSE Sensex (up around 10 per cent) and the Nifty50 (13 per cent) - in the first half of calendar year 2021 (H1-CY21) by rallying 26 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively. The trend, analysts believe, is likely to continue in H2-CY21 as well. The outperformance in H1-CY21 comes on the back of improved earnings and strong inflows from the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in Indian equities. However, good monsoon so far, gradual opening up of the economy and the pick-up in the pace of vaccination provides support to the market.
In three of the past four years, 10-year returns have been 10 per cent or lower, making equity unattractive, compared to other asset classes.
Crude oil prices have more than doubled, pushing up India's import bill and raising fears of a higher current account and fiscal deficit. This will impact corporate earnings.
The world's biggest lockdown that shut a majority of the factories and businesses, suspended flights, stopped trains and restricted movement of vehicles and people, may have cost the Indian economy Rs 7-8 lakh crore during the 21-day period, analysts and industry bodies said.
For a few weeks after the surgery, you will need to take special care to avoid putting any pressure on the joints or the artificial knee, says Dr Subhash Jangid.
What is aggravating the situation is that e-commerce firms are facing huge shortage of delivery personnel. They have not been able to bring back their staff to work, despite offering higher pay and Covid-related insurance packages.
With 3,000 tonnes of imported onion entering the market over the next fortnight, the price should start cooling off. Soon after, the new crop of onions will arrive, further reducing prices.
The oil crisis could not have come at a worse time for the Modi government as its tax collection has fallen short of its 2020-2021 target by Rs 5.2 lakh crore.
Check out some of the stocks that will react on the basis of their numbers in the near term.
According to latest data, crops have been sown in around 72.13 million hectares, which is 8.90 per cent less than the same period last year.
Dhananjay Sinha, co-head, institutional research, Emkay Global Financial Services tells Business Standard in an interview that even as global commodity prices have softened in response to expectations of weaker global demand, the stronger performance of equities is seemingly pre-empting stronger growth.
'Even if the government does not implement an all-India NRC before 2024, it will be part of the party's long-term project.'
As if wanting to be an antidote to the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian stock market adorned carnival robes in 2021 with a tsunami of liquidity unleashed by global central banks coupled with supportive domestic policies and the world's largest vaccination drive sparking off a world-beating rally on Dalal Street, despite bouts of uneasiness over fizzy valuations. While the wider economy shuttled between recovery and relapse, dictated by multiple mutations of the virus, equity market benchmarks appeared headed in just one direction -- skywards. The dizzying upward journey has added a whopping Rs 72 lakh crore during 2021 to investors' wealth, measured as the cumulative value of all listed shares in the country, taking it to nearly Rs 260 lakh crore.
"The question of entering into Delhi is a law and order matter and will be determined by the police," the bench said.
Any market correction, analysts say, would be an attractive entry point for risky assets, which should do well over the medium-to-long term.
The benchmark indices have rallied 28 per cent this year, while the broader market has outperformed
On a year-to-date basis, gold prices have gained 23 per cent as the dollar weakened and as demand for the metal from central bankers rose.
'Our technology is going to help Indian agriculture the way the White Revolution helped milk production.'
There has been some improvement in prices of oilseed and gram after the central government increased their import duties
The government's predicament is a result of its own doing: That of not ensuring adequate buy-in by the stakeholders before passage of the laws, notes Vivek Gumaste.
The Consumer Price Index hit the lowest in six months in March at 4.83 per cent.
After unseasonal rains, supply disruptions and pandemic-induced woes pushed retail inflation well over the Reserve Bank's comfort zone in 2020, the scenario is likely to stay that way at least in the short term as economic recovery slowly gains foothold. For most part of this year, pricier food items pushed the retail inflation, based on Consumer Price Index (CPI), higher in the range of 6.58-7.61 per cent, except for March when the reading was 5.91 per cent. Experts believe retail inflation is likely to average around 6.3 per cent this fiscal and mostly will remain sticky going forward owing to pick-up in demand across sectors.
Market participants are hoping for a few tweaks on the taxation front which will encourage consumers and businesses to spend.
The bond market is not in a mood to reason with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on keeping yields low. The 10-year bond yields continued to rise for the fourth straight session to close at 6.202 per cent from its previous close of 6.135 per cent. The yield was at 6 per cent a week ago. The RBI wants the yields to remain at 6 per cent, but bond dealers say the central bank will have to step up its bond-buying programme.
There is no research in India done on topics like why people borrow, or how people invest. Here is an attempt at guessing.
The report admits that converting MSP to a floor price of auction on the eNAM portal will not completely solve the problem as the current data shows that average modal prices in e-NAM mandis is lower than the minimum support price in all commodities except urad.
'It won't help being complacent about the momentum and valuations of equities that currently exist.'
'The news about the new virus strain in the UK provided them with an opportunity to take money off the table.'
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