Starting with the third quarter of financial year 2020-21 (Q3FY21), we have seen "unlock" trades at various times. Whenever lockdowns have been eased, traders have taken long positions in consumer-facing businesses. Let's look at the logic. Since March 2020, sectors like retail, personal vehicles, hospitality, aviation, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), multiplexes, etc., have been under severe pressure. As a result, there's been a low base effect. Every company in these spaces has suffered top line contraction. Many suffered losses, especially in the first half of FY21.
CEOs have complained that high interest rates have blocked their investment decisions. At the same time, customers are also deferring their purchases for new consumer durables, cars, and homes.
Some recent forecasts suggest further weakness in the US economy.
Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Vedanta, ICICI Bank, ONGC, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, SBI, M&M, Infosys, PowerGrid, HCL Tech, NTPC, Bajaj Finance and Reliance Industries, rising up to 2.72 per cent.
Though the index of industrial production expanded 11.7 per cent in November, the Reserve Bank of India sees the recovery still skewed and says the uneven recovery would dominate the central bank's thinking.
The overall market breadth was positive as 1,599 stocks advanced against 1,246 declining ones, on the BSE.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said that the economy was expected to revive in the second half of the year on the back of the latest Index of Industrial Production numbers, return of foreign institutional investors to the markets over the last two months and the normal functioning of the credit markets
The wholesale price-based inflation bucked the 4-month rising trend in December 2021, and eased to 13.56 per cent, mainly on account of softening in fuel, power and manufacturing items even though food prices hardened. WPI inflation has remained in double digits for the ninth consecutive month beginning April. Inflation in November was 14.23 per cent, while in December 2020 it was 1.95 per cent.
TCS was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by L&T, Bharti AIrtel, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto and Reliance Industries. NSE Nifty rallied 164.70 points to its fresh closing peak of 16,529.10.
Keeping pace with the rapidly changing income and consumption pattern, the government will soon come out with a new Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and develop indices for measuring growth of SSI sector and calculating consumer prices in urban areas.
The growth in six core infrastructure industries slowed down to 3.4 per cent in June, against 5.2 per cent in the year-ago period owing to dismal performance of all but one sector - coal.
Apple Inc's iPod upended the music industry, and its iPhone knocked Nokia off its smartphone perch, but Swiss watch makers breezily dismissed warnings that the technology giant's new wristwatch gadget could do something similar to them.
Since January 1, the rupee value has fallen by 5.5 per cent against the US dollar and touched life-time low of 58.98 on Tuesday.
Short-circuited by the lacklusture performance of electricity sector, the industry recorded a marginal slowdown in growth at 6.2 per cent in May this year compared to 6.4 per cent recorded in the comparable month of 2003.
Most of the economic activity in the country had come to a standstill after the government imposed a 21-day nationwide lockdown beginning March 25 to check the spread of coronavirus.
The wholesale price-based inflation spiked to 12.54 per cent in October, mainly due to rise in prices of manufactured products and crude petroleum. WPI inflation has remained in double digit for the seventh consecutive month beginning April. Inflation in September this year was at 10.66 per cent, while in October 2020 it was at 1.31 per cent.
Invest only if you wish to go overweight on the sector.
This growth seen by the consumer goods was led mainly by the durables market, which rose 17.6%, the highest in 11 months
Exports rise for 8th month, albeit at lower pace
Services sector slowed down in May on weak economic factors.
New projects fell 6.3 per cent in the December quarter compared with the September quarter. The value of new projects in the just-concluded quarter was Rs 2.1 trillion, according to the data from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), which was lower than the Rs 2.2 trillion seen in the September quarter. It is, however, higher than Rs 1.5 trillion recorded for the quarter ended December 2020, the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. This data ties in with the November data for core sector growth, an index of eight core industries, which grew at its slowest pace since early 2021.
'It could tempt investors to pick stocks that are not fundamentally sound.'
An impressive performance by the manufacturing sector catapulted industrial growth to 7.8 per cent during the first four months of the current financial year.
With a narrow industrial base and dysfunctional politics, and a counter-productive national security agenda, Pakistan could well remain an 'international migraine', observes T N Ninan.
A majority of the respondents said that demonetisation is a positive step towards curbing black money and corruption from the economy, the move did have an impact on their sales.
Enthused by higher than expected GDP numbers in the fourth quarter of 2022-23, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Wednesday said India's economic growth may exceed the initial estimate of 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal and the country can look for another year of solid economic performance.
The poor performance of capital goods - a bellwether for future growth - has alarmed most analysts
Manufacturing activities in India remained robust and price pressures were contained in October as new orders and production rose at a slower but stronger pace, according to a monthly survey released on Tuesday. The seasonally-adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was up from 55.1 in September to 55.3 in October. The October PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the 16th straight month.
It would not be surprising if India, the world's largest producer of milk, has to resort to imports to meet the elevated summer demand, states Surinder Sud.
Sentiment in the market will also be guided by other major market movers like trend in the rupee, Brent crude and foreign capital flows.
On a day like this, the market breadth was predictably strong. Out of 2,827 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 1,629 advancing stocks as against 1,105 declines.
She also took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party over its defeat in the just-concluded Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, saying the ruling party's president could not hold on to his home state. "Who is the Pappu now?" she asked.
The challenge for the RBI in 2024 is likely to be less about containing elevated inflation and more about curbing excessive financial market exuberance and a 'problem of plenty', notes Sajjid Chinoy, Chief India Economist JP Morgan.
Though there may still be some headroom for growth, IEG's econometric model suggests there could be turning point downwards in the IIP growth cycle in the near future.
A sample of 1,248 companies saw net sales rise a whopping 39 per cent in the quarter ended June 2008 over that a year ago, as compared to 28 per cent in the quarter ending March 2008 and 16 per cent for the quarter ending December 2007.
The high growth rate over the last few years has been more cyclical, than structural, in nature. And continued supply side bottlenecks will necessarily mean that periods of high growth will trigger inflationary pressures.
Categories such as washing machines, refrigerators and television sets have seen sales growth of around 8-10 per cent in August compared to last year, industry sources said, with September also reporting a similar growth trajectory.
Little indication of growth surge in either industry or services till well into FY14.
'It is far too early to celebrate the numbers.' 'They are still fairly weak compared to the pre-pandemic level.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances