Trade between India and Bangladesh via land ports came to a standstill on Sunday as there was no movement of cargo trucks to and fro due to the ongoing student protests in the neighbouring country, officials said. The Bangladeshi side of the Petrapole landport remained non-functional, they said. Nearly one-third of land-based trade between India and Bangladesh takes place through Petrapole.
Acceleration in demand, together with marginal price hikes of about 2-3 per cent by cement companies in the October-December quarter (third quarter, or Q3) of 2022-23, may not be enough to cushion the impact of high input costs on the bottom line, reveal Bloomberg consensus estimates for the quarter. Year-on-year (YoY) net sales growth in Q3 will come in at nearly 7 per cent, shows Bloomberg data, while bottom-line growth will show a sharp decline of 25 per cent from a year ago. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) will likely decline by nearly 5 per cent versus a year ago, shows data.
The possible acquisition of Holcim India business will be one of the biggest inbound corporate deals in the country. Currently, Walmart Inc.'s $16-billion acquisition of Flipkart Online Services in 2018 remains the biggest acquisition of an Indian asset by any acquirer, followed by BP plc acquisition of 30 per cent stake in Reliance Industries' 23 oil and gas production blocks in 2011 for $7.2 billion. Bloomberg reported late on Wednesday night that Holcim - the world's biggest cement maker - is considering a potential sale of its India business and gauging interest in its controlling stake in Ambuja Cement.
'If weak indicators persist, there is a risk that India could slip into a prolonged slowdown similar to the one experienced between 2014 and 2019,' warns Debashis Basu.
The growth in production of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to a 20-month low of 4 per cent in June this year due to a decline in the output of crude oil and refinery products, according to official data released on Wednesday. The core sectors' production grew by 6.4 per cent in May 2024. The growth of core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 8.4 per cent in June 2023.
Investors should tilt their portfolios towards domestic-facing defensive sectors, which should help provide stability and shield them from geopolitical and tariff risks.
Adani Group on Friday launched its Rs 31,000-crore open offer to acquire 26 per cent additional stake from the public shareholders of Swiss firm Holcim's two Indian listed entities ACC Ltd and Ambuja Cements. In May this year, the Adani Group had announced that it had clinched a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Holcim Ltd's businesses in India for $10.5 billion. Markets regulator Sebi granted approval for the open offer last week.
From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Steel were the major laggards. PowerGrid, Sun Pharmaceuticals, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, Asian Paints, Nestle India, Titan, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank were among the gainers.
From the Sensex pack, Zomato jumped nearly 5 per cent, followed by Titan which climbed almost 4 per cent. IndusInd Bank, Maruti, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank were also among the gainers.
The private corporate sector showed improvements across various segments in the third quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25), with the operating profit margin of listed non-financial companies increasing sequentially by 50 basis points (bps) to 16.2 per cent, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data released on Monday. Sales of listed private non-financial companies increased by 8.0 per cent during Q3FY25, compared to 5.5 per cent in the corresponding quarter a year ago. It was, however, 5.4 per cent in Q2FY25.
Retail inflation slipped to seven-month low of 3.61 per cent in February mainly due to easing prices of vegetables, eggs, and other protein-rich items, creating space for the RBI to go for another cut in interest rate next month.
Before he plays a lawyer in Kesari 2 next, Sukanya Verma looks at the professions Akshay has acted on screen before.
The growth of these core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 4.6 per cent in April 2023.
Fitch Ratings on Monday said India's steady GDP growth outlook, improved banking sector's financial health and expected interest-rate cuts in 2025 will support credit access for corporates in FY26.
Nirma has jumped into the ongoing cricket spectacle - IPL - as the principal sponsor for the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore to raise awareness and recognition for the cement brands it acquired after its purchase of the erstwhile Lafarge India's assets in 2016
From 30 Sensex shares, Bajaj Finserv jumped nearly 8 per cent while Bajaj Finance soared over 6 per cent. Maruti, Titan, Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, Zomato, UltraTech Cement and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the other major gainers. Sun Pharma emerged as the only laggard.
On its 177th anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra explores the history and relevance of The Communist Manifesto.
The growth in production of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 6.1 per cent in July this year due to a decline in the output of crude oil and natural gas, according to official data released on Friday. The growth rate, however, is up from 5.1 per cent in June.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Zomato, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports and Bajaj Finserv were among the major laggards. On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever, Tech Mahindra, Nestle, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank were among the gainers.
'The choice is clear: We either embrace this transformation and cement our global leadership, or hesitate, lose ground, and fade into irrelevance.'
'One good outcome of Operation Sindoor -- perhaps, its best outcome -- could be that India has resumed meaningful contact directly with Pakistan at the military-to-military level,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The open offers for the shareholders of Ambuja Cements and ACC will begin from July 6 and close on July 19, as per a tentative schedule published by the Adani family today. With an investment of $4 billion (Rs 31,139 crore), together these two open offers might constitute the biggest open offer in corporate Indian history. The mandatory open offer for the companies was made by a Mauritius based company owned by the Adani family after they acquired a 63 per cent stake in Ambuja and 4.5 per cent in ACC from Swiss cement major, Holcim for $6.5 billion. Ambuja owns a 50 per cent stake in ACC.
'It has the potential to sow seeds of furthering discord when the direction of the discourse is aimed at propagating the perceived supremacy of 'cultural nationalism' from a distant past over the prevailing dominance of 'Constitutional nationalism',' argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
The eight key infrastructure sectors' growth rose by 6.3 per cent in May on healthy expansion in the production of coal, natural gas, and electricity, though the growth rate is lower than in April, according to official data released on Friday. The production of the eight sectors grew 6.7 per cent in April. The growth of these core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 5.2 per cent in May 2023.
From the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki India, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Asian Paints were among the laggards. Reliance Industries fell the most by 2.38 per cent to close at Rs 1,171.10 apiece.
State Bank of India, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and PowerGrid were also among the laggards.
India and Qatar on Tuesday agreed to elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership and double bilateral trade to USD 28 billion over the next five years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani signed agreements and MoUs to strengthen economic cooperation, including a revised double taxation avoidance agreement. The strategic partnership will cover the "entire spectrum" of the bilateral relationship, including trade, energy security, and regional and international cooperation. Both leaders also discussed ways to further strengthen and broaden the energy partnership, including "exploring mutual investments." The Amir's visit provided an "excellent opportunity" for the top leadership of the two countries to discuss and "cement a strategic partnership for enhanced future cooperation."
The Indian economy is likely to post better than anticipated growth in the second quarter (July-September) owing to robust urban consumption and expansion in services, a Business Standard analysis of high-frequency indicators showed. While gross domestic product growth in the September quarter is expected to come below the 7.8 per cent print in the June quarter due to a favourable base fading, analysts say the print will be much closer to 7 per cent than the 6.5 per cent anticipated earlier. While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had estimated 6.5 per cent growth for July-September, last month Governor Shaktikanta Das said the growth figure would surprise on the upside.
Siemens's share price has lost ground in the past few sessions following weak management commentary. The management indicated challenges to the growth outlook due to stagnant private capex and concerns over semiconductor shortages for digital industries. Government infra-spending may regain momentum from January 2025.
The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors rose to 5.2 per cent year-on-year in March due to improvement in the output of crude oil, cement and electricity, according to official data released on Tuesday. In 2023-24, the growth rate in the output of these eight sectors was 7.5 per cent, marginally down from 7.8 per cent recorded in the year-ago period.
Retail sales of vehicles across categories in India grew by 11.21 per cent at 32,08,719 units in November, as compared to 28,85,317 units in the same month last year riding on two-wheeler demand, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations said in Monday. Retail sales of two-wheelers were at 26,15,953 units last month, as compared to 22,58,970 units in November 2023, a growth of 15.8 per cent buoyed by the festive spillover.
Corporate margins and profits in India remain vulnerable to changes in crude oil prices in the international market. Historical quarterly data from listed companies (excluding banks, finance and insurance, oil and gas, and power sectors) indicate an adverse correlation between corporate margins and crude oil prices.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Zomato cracked nearly 7 per cent. Power Grid, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, NTPC, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma and UltraTech Cement were the other major laggards. In contrast, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy Services and IndusInd Bank were the gainers.
Market reaction to the Union Budget was overall neutral. The income tax "gift" wasn't enough to move the needle. There was some apparent rationalisation of Customs duty structure as well as cuts on import duties of some key components for the telecom and IT industry and duty cuts on vehicle imports. Other proposals related to development of agriculture and rural economy and renewables seem to be generally positive.
The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to a 14-month low of 3.8 per cent in December 2023, on account of poor performance of sectors like crude oil, electricity, steel and cement, according to the official data released on Wednesday. The core sector (coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity) growth in November was 7.9 per cent. It was 8.3 per cent in December 2022.
Among the 30-share Sensex blue-chip pack, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, UltraTech Cement, HCL Technologies, and Power Grid, were the biggest gainers. Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel and Bajaj Finserv were the laggards.
'The earlier a child is given a smartphone, the worst it becomes when they are 17, 18.' 'Every year you delay in giving a smartphone to child, the outcome becomes better.' 'The behavioural changes that are very specific to smartphones are aggression and anger.'
India is poised to be the third largest global economy by 2030 but rising population presents mounting challenges in basic service coverage and growing investment needs to maintain productivity, S&P Global Ratings said on Thursday. It said emerging economies have high ambitions for the next decade and beyond with India aiming to become a $30 trillion economy by 2047, from the current $3.6 trillion. India is currently the fifth largest economy.
'I believe that the overall demand for commercial vehicles will improve, even though there is a slowdown in the GDP.'
Slow growth in key sectors would also have implications on the Index of Industrial Production number
