Following are comments from economists at leading financial institutions, banks and rating agencies on the interim Budget:
Eight of the 10 most valued firms faced a combined erosion of Rs 1,17,493.78 crore in market valuation in an overall weak trend in equities last week, with Infosys taking the biggest hit. Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were among the eight companies that suffered a decline in their valuation. ITC and State Bank of India were the only gainers. Last week, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 775.94 points or 1.28 per cent.
Among the Sensex firms, Kotak Bank, PowerGrid, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, PowerGrid were the major gainers. HUL, TCS, M&M, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech were among the losers.
The country's six largest smallcap schemes would require more than 20 days to liquidate half of their holdings, despite most of them maintaining high cash levels and having considerable exposure to more liquid largecap stocks, stress tests conducted by fund houses reveal. For midcap funds, the time required to sell half of the assets of the top six schemes varies between seven and 34 days, according to disclosures made by asset management companies. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had called for such tests in the face of strong inflows into smallcap and midcap funds, despite concerns over high valuations, to keep investors better informed.
Investors' wealth grew by Rs 3.24 lakh crore on Thursday as the BSE Sensex jumped nearly 1 per cent after a two-day slide. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 490.97 points or 0.69 per cent to settle at 71,847.57. During the day, it rallied 598.19 points or 0.83 per cent to 71,954.79.
HDFC and Barclays Bank on Monday announced they will exit their joint venture Intelenet Global Services by selling stakes to SKR BPO Services, co-owned by Blackstone GVP Capital and Intelenet management, for an undisclosed amount.
HDFC Bank has been declared as the 'Most Active Company' in the inaugural Stepathlon 2012 a 100-day race around a 'virtual' world.
Among the Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were among the major laggards. Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Nestle and Power Grid were the major gainers.
The average ticket size of retail health insurance in India has increased by nearly 48 per cent over 6 years due to elevated medical inflation and increased demand for higher coverage policies among policyholders. According to data by online insurance broker PolicyBazaar, the average ticket size of retail health insurance in India has increased to Rs 26,533 so far in FY24, up 48.22 per cent from Rs 17,900 in FY19.
Among the Sensex firms, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Nestle, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.
Shares of ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank on Friday tumbled as much as 4.5 per cent in morning trade following accusations that the lenders have indulged in money laundering.
Giving their presentation at the CLSA investor forum, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, vice chairman and chief executive officer Keki Mistry and MD Renu Karnad highlighted that the competitive environment has been stable and HDFC can deliver 18-20 per cent loan growth with stable margins and asset quality.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended almost flat in highly volatile trade on Thursday amid the lack of any immediate trigger. The 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 5.43 points or 0.01 per cent to settle at 66,017.81. During the day, it hit a high of 66,235.24 and a low of 65,980.50.
HDFC Bank Q4 net rises 21% to Rs 2,806.91 crore.
HDFC Bank was penalised R15 lakh in April 2011 for its role in the so-called derivatives scam. By no means is this big money for the bank but such regulatory actions tarnish the image of a bank. In the financial world, they call it reputation risk. HDFC Bank couldn't escape this despite its hatred for risks. What went wrong? Journalist Tamal Bandyopadhyay lifts the veil off the incident, and the bank's response, in this fascinating insight from his forthcoming book
From the Sensex pack, Power Grid, Infosys, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank and Titan were the major gainers. Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel were the laggards.