India's services sector activities eased to a three-month low in April, as the rise in business activity was constrained by the pandemic and sentiment towards growth prospects faded, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index fell to 54 in April from 54.6 in March, the slowest increase in output in three months. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction.
However, predictions that economic conditions will normalise after the elections underpinned optimism regarding the outlook and supported a stronger upturn in employment.
India's services sector activity expanded at a slower pace in December as rates of growth in sales eased to a three-month low and staff hiring came to a halt amid weak business optimism, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index fell from 53.7 in November to 52.3 in December. The index was above the critical 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for the third month in a row during December, but pointed to the slowest pace of expansion in the three-month sequence.
The Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which tracks services sector firms on a monthly basis, stood at 48.7 in January, as against 46.8 in December 2016.
The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index fell to 50.2 in May, from 51.0 in April, pointing to the slowest growth rate in the current 12-month stretch of expansion.
Titan was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by M&M, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, TCS, Maruti and Infosys. NSE Nifty surged 122.10 points to 15,885.15.
Bolstered by improved domestic demand, India's services sector expanded for the fourth consecutive month in January as business activities quickened and rising business optimism is set to sustain the growth momentum, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The seasonally-adjusted India Services Business Activity Index rose from 52.3 in December to 52.8 in January, pointing to a quicker expansion in output. The index was above the critical 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for the fourth month in a row during January.
The auto major is eyeing 20 per cent of the compact SUV market with the petrol and diesel variants of the XUV300, reports Shally Seth Mohile.
The recovery in the Indian services sector was sustained in November as new work orders supported business activity growth and the first rise in employment in nine months, a monthly survey said on Thursday.
The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 47.9 in July, down from 50.9 in June, its lowest mark since February 2009, and highlighted the first deterioration in business conditions in 2017 so far.
ICICI Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, sinking over 10 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, HDFC, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and Maruti. Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma were the gainers in the BSE index. NSE Nifty suffered a heavy loss of 566.40 points, or 5.74 per cent, to settle at 9,293.50.
Business confidence remained positive in August and was driven by upbeat forecasts of sales, an expected improvement in demand and promotional activities
The survey noted that advertising campaigns supported the increase in new work growth in the sector amid competitive pressures.
Ahead of the peak festive season, India's passenger vehicle makers are staring at a cumulative order backlog of nearly 500,000 units as chip shortage continues to cripple production. The crisis is forcing companies to change their production plans frequently and take a call on the variants they can manufacture based on the availability of semiconductors. The booking numbers are not a true reflection of demand, said manufacturers.
Close to 50 models were launched in India in the past 12 months, but companies have not been able to realise their potential due to the pandemic.
Close to half a dozen more three-row premium mid-size models are expected to hit the road over the next two years.
Cars priced above Rs 25 lakh account for 1 per cent in India's 3 million-car market and the share has remained unchanged over the last five years.
Some of the notable models set to make a debut next year include the Tata Harrier, the Mahindra S201, the Kia SP Concept, MG Motors' Boujun 530, and the Honda HR-V.
The services sector had slipped into contraction in July as confusion caused by the GST rollout triggered a dip in new business orders.
The Nikkei India Services PMI posted above the critical 50.0 level, which separates growth from contraction, for the fourth month running in May.
The improvement in business conditions promoted job creation, while confidence towards the year-ahead outlook for activity was at a four-month high during March.
Faced with allegations that included bribery and violation of sovereignty, Park was accused of colluding with Choi to secure millions of dollars in bribes from the country's biggest enterprises and allowing Choi, a civilian, to interfere in state affairs. Park had apologized, but denied any wrongdoing.
With factory production, activities across the private sector saw the biggest drop in over three years
Currency scarcity weighed on manufacturing performance where growth of new work flows slowed
Monetary policy easing, coupled with the relaxation of lending rules and greater election-driven fiscal spending in the first quarter of 2019, will provide some support to growth during the first half of 2019-20 fiscal
The Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers' Index, which tracks services sector companies on a monthly basis, stood at 52 in September, down from August's 43-month high of 54.7, pointing to a slower and moderate rate of expansion.
American refiners closed some of their production, leading to futures trade benchmarked to the West Texas Intermediate going negative.
According to data compiled by the World Bank, the UK's economy grew to $2.82 trillion and the French economy expanded to $2.78 trillion in 2018, against India's $2.73 trillion, showed the data.
For Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which has just started executing a comeback strategy for wresting back ground it lost to rivals, this could not have come at a worse time. The maker of the Bolero Neo and the Thar models on Thursday said it would have to halt production at its automotive plant for a week due to the worsening supply situation of semiconductors.
While manufacturing firms cut jobs for the first time in 20 months to sharply reduce costs, services providers continued their hiring spree.
The Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers' Index, which tracks the services sector firms on a monthly basis, stood at 50.3 in February, up from 48.7 registered in January.
First off the block will be a new multi-purpose vehicle which is being co-developed with Toyota - Suzuki's alliance partner. The model will also wear a Toyota badge.
On the other hand, jobs increased for the 10th straight month in the manufacturing sector, albeit only slightly
Other major laggards were IndusInd Bank, SBI, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries -- falling as much as 6.30 per cent.
Forex traders said a stronger dollar also dragged the rupee down.
Top losers in the Sensex pack included ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Vedanta, HDFC IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, RIL and ONGC -- falling up to 4.45 per cent.
A clutch of automakers including Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Mercedes Benz India, Eicher Motors, TVS Motor, and Isuzu Motors India announced they had got the clearance from the governments of the states they operate in to resume operations.
'Some of the launches may get deferred due to the semiconductor shortage, which is unlikely to get resolved before the second half of 2022.'
Through a combination of local manufacture and imported CBU models, the company makes and sells four SUVs, one hatchback, and one sedan.
Higher exports will also drive up volumes, as the company seeks to avail of the benefits under the government's recently announced production linked incentive scheme.
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