Business News Highlights: Sensex, Nifty Plunges After RBI Keeps Repo Rates Unchanged
Business News Highlights: Please follow this space for all the breaking news and latest updates from the Stock Market, economy and corporate world
"The UPA government's decade of governance (or its absence) was marked by policy misadventures and scams such as non-transparent auction of public resources (coal and telecom spectrum), the spectre of retrospective taxation, unsustainable demand stimulus and ill-targeted subsidies and reckless lending by the banking sector with undertones of favouritism, etc," states the government in the 'white paper' presented by FM.
The 'white paper' presented by FM said, "The UPA Government inherited a healthy economy ready for more reforms, but made it non-performing in its ten years. In 2004, when the UPA government began its term, the economy was growing at 8 per cent (with industry and services sector growth above 7 per cent each and a resuscitating agriculture sector growth above 9 per cent in FY04) amidst a benign world economic environment."
"When the NDA government took over the reins in 2014, the economy was in bad shape, nay, crisis. We faced the hydra-headed challenge of fixing an economy mismanaged for a decade, and restoring its fundamentals to sound health," reads the white paper printed by FM on Thursday.
"The UPA government failed miserably to facilitate economic activities. Instead, the UPA government created hurdles that held back economy. It basked in the after-glory of the lagged effects of the reforms of the Vajpayee-led NDA government and benign global conditions and proceeded to exploit the resultant fast economic growth for narrow political purposes," stated the White Paper presented by PM Sitharaman.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on February 8, tabled a 'White Paper' on the Indian Economy in the Lok Sabha.
The Sensex and Nifty, India's key equity benchmarks, closed significantly lower on February 8 after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to maintain key interest rates. The Sensex closed 723.57 points or 1 per cent down at 71,428.43, while the Nifty closed 212.55 points or 0.97 per cent lower at 21,717.95.
Online food delivery platform Zomato reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 138 crore in the December quarter of the financial year 2023-24, marking a significant turnaround from a consolidated net loss of Rs 347 crore in the same quarter last fiscal year, according to a regulatory filing.
Consolidated revenue from operations for the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal stood at Rs 3,288 crore, compared to Rs 1,948 crore a year ago.
Thermax on Thursday recorded an almost 88 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 237.06 crore in the December quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24 led by higher revenues. Its consolidated net profit was Rs 126.40 crore in Q3FY23, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The firm's total income increased to Rs 2,382.76 crore in the quarter from Rs 2,091.57 crore a year ago.
Airbus has granted a contract to Bengaluru-based Dynamatic Technologies to produce all doors for its narrow-body A220 aircraft family, marking a substantial advancement in the 'Make in India' initiative. This announcement was made during an event attended by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and other officials on Thursday.
Rajasthan's interim Budget, presented by Rajasthan Finance Minister Diya Kumari on Thursday, announced the allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for the establishment and upgrade of schools, colleges, hospitals, and administrative buildings, among other significant announcements. Additionally, plans for recruitment to fill 70,000 posts were outlined.
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, expressed his admiration for the momentum surrounding developers and development in India on Thursday, describing it as unbelievable. He outlined his vision for AI transformation imperatives in sectors like healthcare and education, and also discussed innovations surrounding the Copilot artificial intelligence assistant.
He also unveiled plans to expand the 'Code without Barriers' initiative to India, aiming to support 75,000 women developers by 2024.
Shares of One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, declined by more than 9 per cent on Thursday morning, reversing a two-day rally in the stock. Despite starting the day on a positive note, the stock witnessed a sharp decline of 9.41 per cent to Rs 450 on the BSE. Similarly, it dropped by 9.31 per cent on the NSE to Rs 450. One97 Communications's shares had surged by 10 per cent on Wednesday but had experienced a rebound of over 3 per cent on Tuesday following three consecutive days of significant declines.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das mentioned that the Reserve Bank conducted six fine-tuning Variable Rate Reverse Repo (VRRR) auctions from February 2 to February 7, 2024, to absorb excess liquidity. Financial markets have adapted to changing liquidity conditions differently. Short-term rates have experienced fluctuations, while long-term rates have remained relatively stable, indicating improved inflation expectations stability, as evidenced by the narrowing of the term spread in the government securities market. However, monetary transmission in the credit market still needs to be completed.
He added, "Our policy stance primarily revolves around interest rates, the principal tool of monetary policy in the current framework. Our stance on withdrawing accommodation should be understood in light of incomplete transmission and inflation persisting above the 4 per cent target, with our efforts aimed at bringing it back to the target sustainably. Regarding liquidity conditions, these are influenced by external factors expected to correct in the foreseeable future, supported by our market operations."
RBI growth projection for Indian GDP for the financial year 2024-25 is kept at 7.2 per cent for Q1, 6.8 per cent for Q2, 7 per cent for Q3 and 6.9 per cent for Q4.
In the current economic climate, elevated public debt levels are causing significant concerns about macroeconomic stability in numerous countries, including several advanced economies. Projections indicate that the global public debt to GDP ratio will hit 100% by the end of this decade. Particularly in advanced economies, public debt levels exceed those in emerging market economies. Managing debt sustainability is increasingly challenging, especially amid high interest rates and sluggish growth worldwide, potentially leading to additional stress. To pave the way for new investments in critical sectors like the green transition, it's imperative to alleviate debt burdens and create fiscal room, says RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.
Domestic economic activity continues to display resilience, with the first advanced estimates projecting real gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 7.3 per cent for the fiscal year 2023-24, marking the third consecutive year of growth above 7 per cent.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) keeps the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent
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.
Indian equity benchmarks opened higher on Thursday, ahead of the RBI's monetary policy decision. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 321 points or 0.45 per cent to trade at 72,473, while the NSE Nifty gained 65 points or 0.30 per cent to trade at 21,996.
In the last trading session on Wednesday, the Sensex and Nifty indices initially rose but later fluctuated between gains and losses, ultimately closing flat. Market volatility prevailed as investors awaited the RBI monetary policy announcement scheduled for Thursday. The S&P BSE Sensex ended the day at 72,152, down 34 points, while the NSE Nifty50 closed at 21,931, up by just 1 point.
The RBI Monetary Policy Committee meeting’s conclusion is set to be announced on Thursday at 10 am, and experts believe that the interest rates are expected to remain the same and RBI’s proactive approach in managing inflation reflects a balanced strategy of the central bank.
“With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) keeping the repo rate at 6.50 per cent and revising its GDP forecast for the current fiscal year upwards, it sets a positive tone for the economy. With inflation under control, RBI's decision signals stability and provides a conducive environment for infrastructure projects. This is in line with our expectations for continued growth in various sectors, including credit. RBI's proactive approach in managing inflation reflects a balanced strategy that supports economic expansion while maintaining price stability,” said Sathvik Vishwanath, Co-Founder & CEO of Unocoin.
This week, investors are also eagerly awaiting earnings reports from a range of companies, which include Lemon Tree Hotels, Procter & Gamble Health, TATA Consumer Products, 3M India, Grasim Industries, LIC India, and Zomato, among others.
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