WPI-based inflation falls to 5-month low of 6.16%.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday described the industrial output in December as encouraging and said it would have a positive bearing on the economic growth figures for the current fiscal.
In October, the general index had declined by 4.2 per cent, while its manufacturing component went down by an even more alarming 7.6 per cent.
The overall market breadth was positive as 1,896 stocks advanced against 902 declining ones, on the BSE.
The positive numbers raises hopes of recovery.
Rupee rises against the dollar for 4th straight session.
In October 2010, the index of industrial production had expanded by 11.29 per cent.
BSE benchmark Sensex plummeted over 388 points to close at 58,576.37 on Tuesday, tracking weakness in index majors Wipro, RIL and Bharti Airtel amid a weak trend in global markets. Investors also remained cautious ahead of crucial macroeconomic data announcements -- industrial production for February and inflation rate for March -- post trading hours. The Sensex declined 388.20 points or 0.66 per cent to settle at 58,576.37. During the day, the benchmark tanked 666 points or 1.12 per cent to 58,298.57.
Videocon Industries surged 6.3%, Blue Star rose 6% and Titan Industries rallied 3.5% by close of trade on Friday.
"Any lingering concern that India's manufacturing recovery was tailing off should be put off. A second consecutive rise in PMI has taken the series to a new cycle high consistent on double digit rise in industrial production," said Robert Prior Wandesforde, senior asian economist, HSBC.
With the Nifty50 just about 3 per cent away from its all-time closing high of 18,812 points, analysts at BofA Securities suggest investors book profit. Their reasons for the advice include risks like the possibility of a cut in corporate earnings growth forecasts, high valuation (one-year forward P/E of 19.5x), interest rates staying elevated for longer-than-expected and credit tightening. Going ahead, they expect the Nifty50 index to drop to 16,000 levels - down nearly 12 per cent from the current level of 18,255 points, which they believe would be a good time to buy.
We have not yet internalised the need for reliability in our schema to emerge as an industrial society, says Sonali Ranade
In a conversation with Business Standard, he talks in detail about the areas he has identified to stop the perceived deterioration in official statistics.
The economic growth slowed to 6.9 per cent in the second quarter against 8.4 per cent in the same period last year.
In terms of industries, 16 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during December 2017 as compared to the same month year ago.
Shares of ICICI Bank may outperform those of HDFC Bank in the near-term, analysts said recently, after the Sandeep Bakhshi-led private sector lender reported a strong set of numbers for the July to September quarter (Q2) of financial year 2023-24 (FY24). The result, they said, reiterated that ICICI Bank is maintaining a sustainable and prudent growth led by tech-driven initiatives as against HDFC Bank, which is facing merger related challenges. According to analysts at Prabhudas Lilladher, ICICI Bank is valued at par with HDFC Bank at 2.2x/1.9x on FY25/26E core adjusted book value (ABV) basis.
An additional factor spurring the FMP launches is MFs' desire to retain investors as many such offerings are set to mature over the next two months.
The government hopes of registering GDP growth rate ranging between 6.1-6.7 per cent in 2013-14.
What could be the reason for the successive downward revisions across the board? Some key indicators make it evident, reports Abhishek Waghmare.
In most circumstances, this would have been the cause for widespread handwringing and lamentation. But in today's India, the response was more one of relief than one of shock.
The 30-share barometer dropped by 402.22, or 2.37 per cent to 16,464.75 at 1200 hrs with all sectoral indices trading in the negative zone.
Automotive (auto) and auto ancillary stocks have been in the fast lane thus far in 2023-24 (FY24), with the National Stock Exchange Nifty Auto Index surging nearly 27 per cent, outperforming the Nifty50, which has gained roughly 11 per cent during this period. The top-gear performance of auto stocks at the bourses, according to A K Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital, has been triggered by the premiumisation of products across vehicle manufacturers, which has seen vehicle sales remaining relatively stable. "It is not about higher sales figures now, but about premiumisation.
Six core infrastructure industries grew at 4.5 per cent in February against a meagre 1.9 per cent during the corresponding month last year, primarily due to increased output in electricity (7.3 per cent). The core sector had grown by a robust 9.5 per cent in January 2010.
India's manufacturing sector activities witnessed the strongest rate of growth in three months in July amid improved demand conditions and easing of some local COVID-19 restrictions, a monthly survey said on Monday. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose from 48.1 in June to 55.3 in July, pointing to the strongest rate of growth in three months. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction.
Cement production contracted by 2.7 per cent as against an expansion of 6.2 per cent in October 2016.
NTPC, Hero MotoCorp and Reliance Industries down 2% each among the top losers
Having seen a rapid growth in demand for frontline workers in FY22 with the economy opening up, the growth seems to have muted in FY23 due to macroeconomic challenges. According to BetterPlace's Frontline Index Report, total demand for frontline jobs decreased by 17.5 per cent. In FY23, 6.6 million frontline jobs were created in India as compared to 8 million in FY22.
The markets may be entering a consolidation phase and are expected to trade sideways for now after a good run in the last few weeks, suggest analysts. In this backdrop, they suggest investors can book profits at the current levels and enter the market again on a decline from a medium-to-long term perspective. Thus far in fiscal 2023-24 (FY24), the S&P BSE Sensex has moved up around 5 per cent to nearly 62,000 levels.
Before growing 2.8 per cent in latest April-September period, IIP had seen negative growth of 0.1 per cent in 2013-14 period.
During April-May, growth in the eight core industries slowed to 3.3 per cent as against 4.9 per cent in the year-ago period.
With sales of cooling products turning out dismal this summer due to unseasonal rains, the stocks of related companies are now off their March highs. Shares of fan and air conditioner makers such as Voltas, Symphony, Orient Electric, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning and Crompton Greaves are down 5-23 per cent since March when the summer season saw a firm onset. In comparison, the BSE Sensex index is up 10 per cent.
Rupee, however, added some respite after strengthening for the first time today during the last five trading sessions.
Industrial growth slowed to 3.6 per cent in February, 2011, compared to 15.1 per cent expansion in the year-ago period, dragged down by poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors.
Swift gains on Dalal Street this year have also led to a sharp surge in shares of equity market intermediaries like depositories, exchanges, and registrar and transfer Agents (RTAs). The stock prices of BSE, CDSL, CAMS, and KFin Technologies are up 24-283 per cent so far in 2023 when compared to a 9 per cent rise in the benchmark Nifty index. With the market buoyancy expected to keep up the pace, analysts believe these stocks are a good long-term bet despite the sharp rally, which can trigger an intermittent correction.
10 non-bank and non-finance stocks from the BSE500 Index universe that offer an optimal blend of low valuation, reasonably robust revenue and earnings growth in recent quarters, a strong balance sheet, and most importantly, positive cash flow from their operations.
Faulty Jan data blamed on festival holiday; govt to form review panel
The growth rate in September too was 3.2%.
Industrial output expanded 1.4 per cent in April after two months of decline, leading experts to predict that the economy had bottomed out. A return to 8-plus per cent industrial expansion was, however, some time away, they added.
It may be a little early to cheer the recovery in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space as a deceleration in discretionary demand, after the festival season, may offset fragile rural recovery, analysts have cautioned. "The overall demand environment for staples remains muted, while discretionary demand trends have seen some deceleration after the festival season. "We believe margins in staples have bottomed out, but we expect only a gradual uptick with the ongoing softening in raw material prices.
Natural gas output rose by 6.4 per cent in June.
