Month: April 2022

Opening Bell: Sensex, Nifty start marginally lower; Hero MotoCorp drops

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Indian shares began the first day of the new financial year and the April F&O series on a negative note on the back of weak global cues. The 30-share benchmark S&P BSE Sensex dropped over 22 points to start at 58,546, while the broader NSE Nifty50 was just 7 points down at 17,457.

#CNBCTV18Market | Market opens little changed, #Nifty above 17,400 & #Sensex around 58,500 pic.twitter.com/WVNmIOwPiq

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 1, 2022

Among shares, Hero MotoCorp, SBI Life Insurance, Infosys, Eicher Motors and HDFC were top Nifty losers, while Nifty gainers included NTPC, Power Grid Corp, Bajaj Finance and ONGC.

#CNBCTV18Market | NTPC, power Grid, Coal India are top #Nifty gainers pic.twitter.com/YhUMMx81Z0

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 1, 2022

Asian shares fell on Friday following the biggest quarterly drop in global equities in two years, as investors worried about the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war and rising risks of the recession.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei was down 0.75 percent in morning trade, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.70 percent lower.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 1.1 percent, while Seoul’s Kospi lost about 0.6 percent. Chinese blue-chips turned around from a lower open to a rise of 0.7 percent.

MSCI’s global share index, and the US and European shares all notched their biggest quarterly drops since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in the quarter that ended on March 31.

Also, catch all the live updates from the stock markets today with CNBC-TV18’s blog

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

As Shanghai expands COVID-19 lockdown, life on hold in city of 26 million

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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China’s commercial hub of Shanghai ground to a halt on Friday after the government locked down most of the city’s 26 million residents to stop the spread of COVID-19, even as official numbers put local cases falling for the second day in a row.

The city government late on Thursday extended an existing lockdown in eastern districts, just as western parts of the city were shut down as scheduled.

Fresh official guidance indicated that many in China’s most populous city will now be required to stay home as long as it takes to control the outbreak — instructed not to cross their doorsteps even to dispose of rubbish or walk their dogs.

Public transport in most of the city has been suspended, while businesses considered non-essential, like restaurants and shopping malls, have also had to close.

The lockdown, designed to stop an outbreak of the highly transmissible Omicron variant that started about a month ago, began on Monday and was originally due to last 10 days in total. Areas east of Shanghai’s Huangpu River were to be closed for five days, before reopening as western districts began a five-day shutdown.

But the city government said it would lift the curbs in east Shanghai in stages instead.

This means the majority of districts are now under a lockdown that covers the office towers of the Lujiazui district, China’s answer to Wall Street, and factories including Volkswagen’s joint venture with SAIC Motor and US automaker Tesla’s plant.

China&’s outbreak is small by global standards. But Shanghai, now accounting for three out of every four local asymptomatic cases across the country, has emerged as a testbed for the national government’s handling of COVID — a “dynamic clearance” approach that aims to test for, trace, and centrally quarantine all positive case.

Authorities said on Friday the city’s daily tally of infections eased for the second day in the row: it reported 4,144 locally transmitted new asymptomatic cases and 358 symptomatic cases for Thursday, versus corresponding figures of 5,298 and 355 the previous day.

Some residents, however, have expressed scepticism about the daily tally, questioning how quickly positive cases are registered in the system. Shanghai publishes a daily list of addresses of where cases have been found, and some said their housing compounds were only included days after neighbours had tested positive — or not included at all.

Shanghai city authorities didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the scepticism over case numbers.

While in lockdown, residents will be required to undergo rounds of nucleic acid testing carried out by healthcare workers in hazmat suits. They’re only authorised to leave their apartments for the tests, to be carried out in or near their housing compounds.

Authorities have asked residents to line up for testing two metres apart, amid public concerns over contagion risks.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai New International Expo Center, which typically hosts trade shows like the Shanghai Autoshow, has been converted into the city’s largest central quarantine centre with more than 15,000 beds, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Petrol, diesel prices remain unchanged for 2nd time in 11 days

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Petrol and diesel prices remain unchanged on Friday for the second time in 11 days. Since March 22, fuel prices have been hiked by Rs 6.40 per litre.

Petrol in Delhi is priced at 101.81 per litre and diesel at Rs 93.07, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers. In Mumbai, the petrol and diesel prices per litre stood at Rs 116.72 and Rs 100.94 respectively.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxation. Rates are also dependent on freight.

Moody’s Investors Services had last week stated that state retailers together lost around USD 2.25 billion (Rs 19,000 crore) in revenue for keeping petrol and diesel prices on hold during the election period.

Oil companies “will need to raise diesel prices by Rs 13.1-24.9 per litre and Rs 10.6-22.3 a litre on gasoline (petrol) at an underlying crude price of USD 100-120 per barrel,” according to Kotak Institutional Equities. CRISIL Research said a Rs 9-12 per litre increase in retail price will be required for a full pass-through of an average USD 100 per barrel crude oil and Rs 15-20 a litre hike if the average crude oil price rises to USD 110-120.

India is 85 percent dependent on imports for meeting its oil needs and so retail rates adjust accordingly to the global movement.

With inputs from PTI

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Asian shares slip on gloomy outlook as Ukraine, recession risks weigh

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Asian shares fell on Friday following the biggest quarterly drop in global equities in two years, as investors worried about the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war and rising risks of the recession.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin struck back at Western sanctions on Moscow, threatening to halt contracts supplying Europe with a third of its gas unless they are paid in roubles. The move prompted Germany, the most reliant on Russian gas, to accuse him of “blackmail” as it activated an emergency plan that could lead to rationing.

Reflecting the gloomy mood as a result of supply disruptions and surging raw material costs, Japanese business confidence hit a nine-month low in the first quarter according to a Bank of Japan survey, with companies indicating they expect conditions to worsen further.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei was down 0.75 percent in morning trade, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.70 percent lower.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 1.1 percent, while Seoul’s Kospi lost about 0.6 percent. Chinese blue-chips turned around from a lower open to a rise of 0.7 percent.

MSCI’s global share index, and the US and European shares all notched their biggest quarterly drops since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in the quarter that ended on March 31. Investors have been worried that surging price pressures could force global central banks into aggressive rate hikes, potentially triggering recessions.

But the quarterly drop in the US shares masks a late comeback in the S&P500 index, which rallied from a near-13 percent decline to finish the quarter off about 5 percent, defying worries over tighter monetary policy and global instability, and in contrast to signals sent by bond markets.

“A seeming end to the Ukraine conflict would in many respects make it easier for the Fed to stick to its hawkish line given the rally in growth stocks, and related decline in credit spreads, which means an improvement in financial conditions,” said Christopher Wood, global and Asia equity strategist at Jefferies.

“Political pressure remains, for now at least, on the Fed to tighten.”

Investors will be watching US March jobs data later on Friday for indications of wage inflation, in addition to the headline jobs figure.

The closely watched spread between US two-year and 10-year notes was barely above zero on Friday morning, after briefly inverting.

An inversion in this part of the U.S. yield curve is viewed as a reliable signal that a recession may follow in one to two years.

Benchmark 10-year notes last yielded 2.3781 percent, from 2.325 percent late on Thursday while the 2-year yield was a 2.3648 percent, from 2.284 percent.

In energy markets, oil prices stabilised following a plunge on Thursday triggered by Washington’s announcement that it would make the largest-ever release from US emergency oil reserves, part of a broad effort to rein in galloping inflation.

While US crude was last down about 0.1 percent at $100.18 per barrel, global benchmark Brent crude edged 0.12 percent higher to $104.84.

The dollar, which has benefited from safe-haven flows and expectations of rising US rates, remained firm on Friday. Against a basket of peers, the greenback was up 0.08 percent at 98.396, and up 0.55 percent against the yen at 122.33.

The euro inched higher to $1.1069.

Gold was stable after its biggest quarterly gain in two years. Spot gold was last quoted at $1,937.05 per ounce.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

MarketBuzz Podcast With Ekta Batra: Sensex, Nifty likely to open lower; Hero MotoCorp, Ruchi Soya in focus

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Indian equity benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50, may start today’s trading session on a weak note following the downtrend in SGX Nifty50 futures. The contract was down 0.6 percent at 17,429.5 as of 6:36 am.

Shares of Vedanta, Lupin, Hero MotoCorp, Ruchi Soya Industries, Sterlite Technologies and Future Retail among others will be closely tracked today.

About MarketBuzz: The CNBCTV18.com podcast on the big themes, vital news and key events that you should know before the opening bell, powered by CNBC-TV18 anchors. MarketBuzz is your daily morning briefing by CNBC-TV18 research analysts and anchors Sonia Shenoy, Ekta Batra, Anisha Jain, Nigel D’Souza and Mangalam Maloo to kickstart your stock market investing. Subscribe to our free podcasts on Audioboom or listen on the featured podcast page on CNBCTV18.com.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow