After selling dollars for the past few months, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may take a hands-off approach before its annual account closing by not trying to prop up the rupee as geopolitical tensions show signs of stabilising with global crude oil prices easing from its $140 peak. The central bank was a net buyer of dollars between April and September, and then turned a net seller in the following months, the data released by the RBI showed. The RBI continued to be a net buyer of $36.6 billion in this fiscal year - between April and January. In 2020-21, it purchased $68 billion on a net basis.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 22.5 per cent rise in net profit for the quarter ended March on the back of bumper oil refining margins, steady growth in telecom and digital services and strong momentum in the retail business. The oil-to-retail-to-telecom conglomerate's consolidated net profit rose to Rs 16,203 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2022 from Rs 13,227 crore, the firm said in a statement. Net profit, however, fell 12.6 per cent sequentially -- breaking a six-quarter chain of quarter-on-quarter improvement.
Ultratech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting nearly 5 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys and Bajaj Finance.
Tightening Russian gas supplies to Europe has led to scramble for tankers before winter sets in.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has termed Russian President Vladimir Putin announcement of a special military operation in Ukraine as the "saddest moment in my tenure", while Security Council members blasted the Russian leader for the "unprovoked and unjustified' action and for delivering a "message of war".
The Russia-Ukraine conflict would have nil or negligible impact on India's foreign trade, and the crisis may give domestic exporters an opportunity to ship more wheat in the global markets, sources said on Thursday. India's central pool stood at 24.2 million tonnes, twice more than the buffer and strategic needs, they said. More than a quarter of the world's wheat export comes from Russia and Ukraine.
Tehran plans to lift exports by 500,000 barrels per day
Blinken also underlined that diplomacy is the only way to definitively end the Russian conflict in Ukraine.
The dreary, cold months from December to February may prove to be the undoing of many a nation as they grapple with sky-high fuel prices - a result of the Ukraine conflict and the pandemic. Many - Europe, South Korea, Japan, and China - will still pull through on the strength of their wealth or because of strong storage infrastructure. But India will have its back to the wall. Signs of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rates hitting new records this winter are already evident.
In 2017, a consortium led by Russian state oil company Rosneft agreed to buy Essar Oil for $12.9 billion in India's biggest foreign acquisition of a homegrown company. Rosneft's buyout of Essar's assets was meant to herald a wave of energy investments in India - over six decades after Esso, Caltex and Shell invested in India's refining sector in the 1950s. But the government has tripped up in its efforts to sell Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), formerly Burmah Shell, a blue chip public sector company. Bidders include a couple of global funds and resources firm Vedanta.
Equity indices chalked up losses for the second straight session on Monday, in tandem with a bearish trend overseas as ratcheting up of hostilities in Ukraine and prospects of further rate hikes by the US Fed soured global risk sentiment. The rupee slipping to another all-time low against the US dollar amid foreign fund outflows added to the gloom, traders said. After tumbling over 800 points in intra-day trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex clawed back some lost ground to end 200.18 points or 0.34 per cent lower at 57,991.11.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pulled out as much as Rs 17,537 crore from the Indian markets in just three trading sessions of March as investors' sentiment got dented by the uncertainty triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and rising crude oil prices. As per depositories data, they pulled out Rs 14,721 crore from equities, Rs 2,808 crore from debt segment and Rs 9 crore from hybrid instruments between March 2-4. This took the total net outflow to Rs 17,537 crore.
Biden said that the Saudi Crown Prince told him he was not "personally responsible" for Khashoggi's murder.
On the Sensex chart, all 30 shares closed with gains -- with Bajaj Finance, SBI, Bajaj FinServ, L&T and Titan rising as much as 5.13 per cent. The BSE gauge Sensex zoomed past the 58,000-mark by rebounding over 1,700 points and the Nifty recaptured the 17,000-level on Tuesday after a massive plunge in the previous session. The 30-share Sensex surged 1,736.21 points or 3.08 per cent to end at 58,142.05 - recouping the losses suffered on Monday. Likewise, the NSE Nifty soared 509.65 points or 3.03 per cent to settle at 17,352.45.
'If the Russian forces do capture Kyiv and set up some sort of provisional government, they might run into an insurgency, for which the geography is just right, it could prove costly for them.' 'In that event, the whole exercise could turn out to be counter-productive -- and costly in both foreign policy and domestic terms.'
Retail inflation hit an eight-month high of 6.07 per cent in February, remaining above the RBI's comfort level for the second month in a row, while wholesale price-based inflation soared to 13.11 per cent on account of hardening of crude oil and non-food item prices, government data showed on Monday. The previous high for retail inflation was 6.26 per cent in June 2021. The consumer price index (CPI) based retail inflation, which is taken into account by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) while deciding its monetary policy, rose mainly because of costlier food items, as per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
The 2+2 was attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and their Indian counterparts S Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh respectively.
Since October, FPIs have sold over $26 billion worth of stocks, which is the largest selling ever seen in India, observes Akash Prakash.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti said India remains on the side of peace.
The finance ministry said on Tuesday that high energy and commodity prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine may provide an upside risk to inflation and continued vigil is required. "Going forward, elevated energy and commodity prices may act as an upside risk to the inflation outlook in the near-medium term. "Given the inherently unsustainable nature of high prices, international commodity prices are expected to level off early with an increase in supplies outside the crisis zone," the department of economic affairs said in its latest monthly economic report for February.
Heightened geopolitical uncertainties will lead the Reserve Bank's rate-setting panel to opt for a status quo at the next week's meeting, Axis Bank's chief economist Saugata Bhattacharya said on Monday. Bhattacharya said he had earlier expected a tightening action at the policy meet scheduled for April 6-8 but the increased uncertainties on the geopolitical front due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its impact on commodity prices makes him now think that RBI will defer such an action. He said the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) may hike rates in the second half of FY23 by up to 0.50 per cent.
If they can sit together and hammer out 'Black Sea Initiative' deal for much needed food shipments, surely, they should be able to address the madness of the larger military conflict?
He said as per the US, India was a sovereign state, so "what are we then?" he asked.
'The US will not want to tangle with China landwards.' 'Nor will the US confront the Chinese navy seawards on India's account.'
A strengthening dollar overseas also kept the rupee under pressure amid demand from importers. Goldman Sachs followed JP Morgan, HSBC and Nomura in cutting India's economic growth forecast and also said it expects the rupee to touch 72 against the dollar in the next six months.
However, rural demand continued to remain a concern for FMCG companies during the quarter.
'Please get us home': An Indian family stranded in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
A new Congress leader may make an electoral impact by his very presence. Congress voters who had moved away from the party, after being influenced by the BJP's 'family rule' campaign, can now return with a certain moral satisfaction, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
An India-Japan joint statement said the two leaders expressed serious concern over the conflict and the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
We have not suffered such huge price shocks across so many basic commodities, at the same time, in decades. Has the inflationary impact of all this been factored into stock prices as yet, asks Debashis Basu.
Modi on the global stage always comes across as a statesman, counselling peace and amity to world leaders even as his policies at home hurt certain sections, explains Virendra Kapoor.
If there was one event that made the month of August stand out, it was a strengthening of the dollar index to levels last seen only 20 years ago, as the Federal Reserve dispelled all doubts about its intention to continue raising interest rates. Predictably, most currencies suffered against the US unit, with the bulk of the losers belonging to the emerging markets pack. Amid the volatility, the rupee, however, has displayed significant resilience and fared much better than most of its peer currencies.
Gold is usually seen as a safe-haven when stocks are falling or when inflation is rising. With prices of the yellow metal hovering near record highs, people are also putting off their jewellery purchases. Along with a subdued marriage season, the orders with price open and settled on delivery day, too, are getting cancelled. Apart from high, volatile prices, there is no gold rush yet for the safe-haven asset, crimping demand.
On the Sensex chart, NTPC, SBI, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv and Bjaja Finance were among the major laggards, shedding as much as 1.63 per cent.
The Russian vaccine has been registered in more than 55 countries and is gaining recognition in the virtual world -- being the only to have its own Facebook page, YouTube channel and a Twitter handle, reports Aneesh Phadnis
Nepal's decision to ban the import of non-essential items amid depleting forex reserves may hit Indian exports. The country's central bank - Nepal Rastra Bank - last week instructed commercial banks not to open letters of credit (LCs) for importing non-essential items. This is to prevent further decline of the country's foreign exchange reserves. However, it has not issued any formal communication yet.
Russia is among the top buyers of Indian tea, accounting for about 18 per cent of the industry's total exports.
The Essar Oil, Rosneft deal also helped Arpwood Capital, boutique investment bank, co-founded by Rajeev Gupta and Raj Kataria, to grab the second spot in the mergers and acquisitions league table.
India's projected economic growth for 2022 has been downgraded by over two per cent to 4.6% by the United Nations, a decrease attributed to the ongoing war in Ukraine, with New Delhi expected to face restraints on energy access and prices, reflexes from trade sanctions, food inflation, tightening policies and financial instability, according to a UN report released on Thursday. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report downgraded its global economic growth projection for 2022 to 2.6 per cent from 3.6 per cent due to shocks from the Ukraine war and changes in macroeconomic policies that put developing countries particularly at risk. The report said while Russia will experience a deep recession this year, significant slowdowns in growth are expected in parts of Western Europe and Central, South and South-East Asia.
Russian firms expand their footprint in India. And take bigger steps to do business with India's private sector.
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