Business News Highlights: RBI Monetary Policy Meeting, Domestic PMI Data, Global Trends To Drive Markets This Week
Business News Highlights: Please follow this space for all the breaking news and latest updates from the Stock Market, economy and corporate world.
Nepal’s tourism industry bounced back in 2023 as the country welcomed 7 lakh tourists in the first nine months of 2023, after recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, official data released by the Nepal Tourism Board revealed. The board stated that from January to September this year, 692,372 tourists entered the country by air, while in September 2019, it received 92,604 foreign tourists by air.
The net leasing of office space increased 5 per cent to 10.37 million square feet in July-September across seven cities against 9.86 million square feet in the same period a year ago, data from JLL India revealed. In the office market data released by the real estate consultant firm on Monday, it was found that the net office absorption in India touched a record high and marked the strongest quarter in 18 months. The firm credited this growth to the momentum of the Indian tech ecosystem, along with strong demand for Grade A office spaces and managed flexible workspaces.
Power consumption in the country inflated by 10.7 per cent in September owing to an increase in usage of cooling appliances amid unusually humid weather conditions. Power consumption last month stood at 140.49 billion units (BU), up from 126.91 BU consumed in the same period a year earlier, government data revealed. The peak power demand met, which represents the highest supply in a day, shot up to 239.97 GW in September, compared to 199.50 GW in September last year. Further, demand is expected to remain elevated in the coming months due to the festive season.
TVS Motor Company on Monday reported a 6 per cent increase in it’s total sales in September, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. The company stated that it dispatched 4,02,553 units last month, up from 3,79,011 units sold in September last year. The automobile company noted in it’s statement that it’s two-wheeler sales increased by 7 per cent to 3,86,955 units sold last month, against 3,61,729 units in the same period last year.
Diesel sales in India declined by 3 per cent in September owing to a receding monsoon affecting demand and slowed industrial activity in certain parts of the country, data from state-owned companies revealed. Diesel consumption in the country in September fell to 5.81 million tonnes (MT) from 5.99 MT in the same period a year earlier. Notably, petrol sales increased in September by 5.4 per cent to 2.8 MT, compared to the same period a year earlier.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India announced a deadline extension for listed companies to confirm or deny market rumours. The new deadline for the top 100 listed companies by market capitalisation has been shifted from October 1 this year to February 1, 2024, the markets regulator issued in it’s latest circular. The rule will come into effect on August 1, 2024 for the top 250 listed companies. Sebi noted that this move has been aimed at strengthening the corporate governance of listed companies.
Coal India Ltd on Monday reported an increase of 12.6 per cent in it’s coal production in September on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. The state-owned company stated that it produced 51.4 million tonnes (MT) of coal in September this year, up from 45.7 MT of coal produced in the same month a year ago. The company recorded an output of 332.9 MT in the April-September period, up by 11.3 per cent from 299 MT in the same period a year ago.
The goods and services tax (GST) collections rose by 10 per cent to over Rs 1.62 lakh crore in September, helped by improved compliance. This is the fourth time during the current financial year that the GST collections crossed the Rs 1.6-lakh crore mark. Last month, the gross GST revenue was Rs 1,62,712 crore. Of this, Central GST was Rs 29,818 crore, State GST was Rs 37,657 crore, Integrated GST was Rs 83,623 crore (including Rs 41,145 crore collected on import of goods) and cess was Rs 11,613 crore (including Rs 881 crore collected on import of goods), according to a statement by the finance ministry.
The Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) on Sunday announced that it is reducing the retail prices of compressed natural gas (CNG) and domestic piped natural gas (PNG) in and around Mumbai. The firm stated that it is lowering the retail price of CNG by Rs 3 per kg and domestic PNG by Rs 2 per SCM in and around the metropolitan city. After the increase, CNG will be available to the users at Rs 76 per kg, while customers will have to pay Rs 46 per SCM for domestic PNG, in and around Mumbai. The new rates will be effective from midnight of October 1, 2023.
Honda Cars India Ltd. said on Sunday that the company’s domestic sales increased by 13 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to 9,861 units in September. The automaker noted that it’s newly launched mid-size SUV Elevate earned a positive response in the market and delivery for the same started last month. Further, the company’s marketing and sales director, Yuichi Murata, stated that the auto industry is witnessing strong demand as the festive season has begun.
Background
Business News Highlights: Hello and welcome to ABP Live's Business LIVE blog. Please follow this space for all the breaking news and latest updates from the Stock Market, economy, and the corporate world.
The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Friday, closed higher following a fall in crude oil prices globally. The S&P BSE Sensex soared 320 points to end at 65,828. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 quoted 19,638, up 115 points. The domestic indices surged to 66,152 and 19,726 during intraday trading. On the 30-share Sensex platform, NTPC became the lead gainer, up 3.30 per cent. Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, SBI, UltraCemco were among the other gainers. On the downside, HCL, PowerGrid, TechM, Infosys, Titan, Nestle emerged losers.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.49 per cent to $95.28 a barrel. Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 14 paise to settle at 83.05 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, boosted by a firm trend in equity markets and a sharp correction in the greenback against major rivals overseas. However, selling pressure from foreign equity investors and rising crude oil prices in international markets weighed on the domestic unit, forex traders said. The rupee opened strong at 83.13 against the US dollar and moved in the range of 83.03 to 83.13 against the greenback. It finally settled at 83.05 (provisional), registering a gain of 14 paise from its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee settled 3 paise higher at 83.19.
The markets will observe a holiday on Monday on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. However, investors have some major events to look forward to for the rest of the week including the RBI’s decision on interest rates, macroeconomic data, global trends, and foreign investors’ trading activity.
The Reserve Bank of India is scheduled to hold it’s bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting from October 4-6 this week. Experts believe the banking regulator will maintain the status quo on policy rates for the fourth consecutive time, as retail inflation remains high and the US Federal Reserve has given a hawkish stance for the extended period.
Further, India is expected to release it’s manufacturing PMI data for September on October 3, which is projected to fall from 58.6 a month ago to 57. Additionally, the services PMI data for September is also set to be announced on October 5 this week.
Analyst Shrikant Chouhan, head of research (retail) at Kotak Securities Ltd., said, “While global cues will continue to dictate trends in local markets, focus will shift to RBI's monetary policy announcement on Friday. Although the market is expecting a status quo on interest rates, global concerns like rising US dollar index and bond yields coupled with surging crude oil prices continue to weigh on investors' minds. Further, persistent FII selling in emerging markets, including India, in September has taken a toll on markets.”
Additionally, auto companies will also remain in focus as they start announcing their monthly sales data. Commenting on the foreign investors, V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services, noted, “FPIs (Foreign Portfolio Investors) turned sustained sellers in September. The sustained selling has been in response to steady dollar appreciation which took the dollar index close to 107 and the steady rise in the US bond yields which took the US 10-year bond yield to around 4.7 per cent. The spike in Brent crude to USD 97 also weighed on FPI selling.”
Globally, manufacturing and services PMI data from different countries will also be monitored by investors.
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