Economy / Market Snapshot – April, 2019

General News

• Sankalp Patra: BJP releases manifesto, makes 75 pledges; commits to make India world’s third largest
  economy by 2030; Ram Temple, farmers’ income, Article 35A figure in.
• ‘Hum Nibhayenge’: Rahul Gandhi releases Congress manifesto; promises jobs, separate Kisan budget,
  central focus on NYAY or Minimum Income Support Scheme.
• LS Phase voter turnout: Phase 1- 69.50%, Phase 2- 69.44%, Phase 3- 66%, Phase 4- 64%.
• Sadhvi Pragya, Malegaon blast accused, joins BJP, files nomination from Bhopal.
• Priyanka Chaturvedi Joins Shiv Sena , Appointed as Deputy leader.
• SC orders parties to disclose donation details to EC by May 30.
• Chandrababu Naidu leads opposition attack over EVMs, demand ballot votes.
• Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav share stage after 25 years at a joint rally.
• EC Summons CBDT Officials to discuss IT Raids on Opposition Leaders; advises that action by should be
  “neutral” and “non-discriminatory” during the polls.
• Political ad spending on Facebook crosses ₹10 crore; BJP supporters continue to lead.
• Facebook removes 687 pages, accounts linked to Congress ahead of Lok Sabha poll.
• US count finds none of Pakistan’s F-16s missing, contradicts India’s claim; India refutes.
• Rafale Case: SC allows use of leaked documents as evidence, dismisses govt objections.
• Rahul Gandhi apologises to SC for incorrectly attributing its Rafale verdict; SC issues contempt notice.
• CJI Gogoi row: Retired SC judge A K Patnaik to head probe into claims of conspiracy against CJI.
• SC stays inquiry commission proceedings into Jayalalithaa’s death at Apollo Hospitals.
• SC stays HC decision asking AJL to vacate National Herald House building.
• UK court rejects Vijay Mallya’s appeal against extradition.
• Narendra Modi biopic: SC refuses to revoke EC ban on film till the end of the elections.
• Salem-Chennai green corridor: Madras HC cancels land acquisition process, TN govt to appeal.
• NGT forms Central Monitoring Committee to prepare national plan for polluted rivers.
• ISRO launches PSLV-C45 carrying DRDO Emisat, 28 other satellites.
• India successfully test-fires 1,000 km strike range sub sonic cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’ off Odisha coast.
• Nepal successfully launches first satellite NepaliSat-1 into space from US.
• Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba launches new guided missile destroyer ‘INS Imphal’.
• Two-day per week ban on vehicles in Jammu-Srinagar highway for troop movement comes into force.
• Saradha case: SC asks CBI to show proof of ex-Kolkata police chief suppressing evidence.
• IMD predicts 2019 monsoon likely to be near normal this year; Skymet forecasts monsoon below normal,
  does not rule out drought.
• UAE awards PM Modi with highest civilian honour, Zayed Medal, for boosting ties between the countries.
• Russia confers its highest civilian award ‘Order of Saint Andrew The Apostle’ on PM Modi.
• India and Chile hold bilateral talks, exchange MoUs in mining, culture and disability.
• Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale meets Chinese counterpart, raises issue of Azhar’s listing.
• 100 years of Jallianwala Bagh massacre: Deeply regret what happened, says British envoy.
• Kartarpur corridor: Pakistan agrees to construct 100 metre bridge over river Ravi.
• Sri Lanka bombings: Multiple blasts at churches, hotels kill around 250 including 10 Indians.
• ISIS claims responsibility for Sri Lanka bombings.
• Sri Lanka attack to avenge Syria ouster: ISIS chief Baghdadi appears in first video in 5 years.
• Pakistan PM Imran Khan sees better chance of peace talks with India if BJP wins election.
• Pakistan Finance Minister Asad Umar steps down amid criticism on economic crisis.
• China’s Belt and Road meet ends, affirms respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping brings in more than $64 billion in Belt and Road deal.
• Trump meets South Korea’s Moon, signals openness to smaller deal with North Korea in nuclear talks
• Open to another meeting with Trump, with conditions: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
• Democrats in US House demand release of full Mueller report amid impeachment call.
• Donald Trump vetoes Bill to end US support for Saudi-led war in Yemen.
• EU leaders, UK agree to extend Brexit deadline until the end of October.
• Climate change activists in London bring disruptive protests to an end.
• Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wins a record fifth term in office.
• New Zealand’s PM Jacinda Ardern meets China’s premier amid Huawei spat.
• Japanese Emperor Akihito declares abdication, Crown Prince Naruhito to become Japan’s 126th emperor.
• Fire ravages 850-year-old Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral, main structure ‘saved’; Macron vows to rebuild.
• WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested at London’s Ecuadorian embassy.
• Indonesia election: Nearly 300 ballot counters die following the world’s biggest-ever single-day election.
• Comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy wins landslide victory in Ukraine Presidential election.
• World’s first malaria vaccine launched in Africa.
• World’s largest plane ‘Stratolaunch’ with 117-metre wingspan completes first test flight.
• IPL 2019: Cricket carnival nears its last phase; DC and CSK qualify for playoffs.
• India Squad ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Dinesh Karthik included, Rishabh Pant, Rayudu named as standbys.
• Asian Athletics Championships 2019: India grabs 17 medals to finish fourth in the four-day saga.
• Divyansh Panwar wins Silver Medal at Shooting World Cup, secures Olympic quota for India.
• All India Football Federation President Praful elected as FIFA Council Member, first from India.
• Paralympian Deepa Malik receives New Zealand PM’s Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship.
• Golf: Tiger Woods wins Masters to claim first major in 11 years.

Business News

• RBI cuts key interest rate by 0.25% to 6%; lowers GDP growth forecast to 7.2% for FY20, cuts inflation
  forecast to 2.9 – 3% for H1 FY20 and 3.5 – 3.8% for H2 FY20.
• SC strikes down RBI’s Feb 12 circular on defaulting firms; revised guidelines for resolution of stressed assets
  likely before May 23.
• RBI to issue new ₹20 denomination banknotes.
• Finance Ministry ratifies 8.65% interest on EPF for 2018-19.
• RBI announces second $5 billion dollar-rupee swap.
• GST collections for March 2019 hits record high of ₹1.06 lakh crores.
• India meets fiscal deficit target of 3.4% via spending cuts.
• Embassy Office Parks REIT, Polycab India and Metropoolis Healthcare make stock market debut.
• Wipro’s largest buyback worth $1.7 billion gets approval of SEBI.
• Uber releases its long-awaited IPO filing; 2018 revenue reported as $11.27 billion.
• MCX gets SEBI nod to launch future trading in cash crop Arecanut.
• BSE signs deal with HDFC to give a boost to startup platform.
• Bank of Baroda becomes third-largest lender of nation after merger with Vijaya Bank, Dena Bank.
• Lakshmi Vilas Bank to merge with Indiabulls Housing in a share-swap deal, awaits RBI approval.
• Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi car auction: Bids worth ₹3.29 crore received for 13 luxury cars.
• Nirav Modi’s bail rejected by UK court again, next hearing on May 24.
• Airtel Payments Bank ties up with Bharti AXA for two-wheeler insurance.
• Kotak MF defers returns on some of its fixed maturity plans; HDFC AMC pushes maturity date.
• Irregularities of more than ₹1 lakh crore found in companies under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
• China, US reach milestone agreement on road to trade peace; to establish trade deal enforcement offices.
• US warns India, other nations over Iranian oil imports; India to stop importing oil from Iran.
• US proposes list of EU goods for tariff retaliation against Airbus subsidies.
• Imran Khan meets IMF & World Bank Chiefs, seeks backing for bailout package for Pakistan.
• CCI approves L&T’s proposal to acquire up to 66.15% stake in Mindtree.
• Infosys completes formation of Joint Venture with Hitachi, Panasonic and Pasona in Japan.
• Microsoft launches Kaizala app, to help Indian Railways employees connect with healthcare services.
• Google Cloud launches new Anthos open platform, works with AWS and Azure.
• ‘Apple TV’ debuts as YouTube channel; features trailers, interviews & behind the scenes videos.
• Disney unveils Disney+, its new streaming service; to be streamed by Hotstar in India.
• Madras HC lifts ban on TikTok after company agrees to monitor content.
• DoT to extend all the monetary assistance to BSNL till June, including for salary payment.
• Airtel picks Ericsson for VoLTE expansion in India.
• South Korea launches world’s first national 5G networks; Samsung releases first 5G phone ‘Galaxy S10 5G.
• British PM approves Huawei role in some non-core parts of UK’s 5G data network.
• Apple starts iPhone 7 production at Wistron Plant in Bengaluru.
• Huawei launches ‘world’s first’ 5G communications hardware for autos.
• Volkswagen to merge all 3 passenger car arms in India, Skoda to lead new entity.
• Mahindra signs deal with Ford motor to co-develop midsize sports utility vehicle.
• Mahindra deploys 50 EVs with Uber in Hyderabad.
• Ford invests $500 million in Rivian; partnership to deliver all-new Ford battery EVs.
• Jet Airways management proposes to temporarily shut down operations.
• Naresh Goyal withdraws from race for Jet Airways after Etihad, TPG threaten to walk out.
• Boeing conducts final test flight of 737 MAX with software fix.
• Oyo commences its operations in Japan.
• Dream 11 becomes India’s first gaming unicorn with investment from Steadview Capital.
• NPCI cuts UPI usage fees for transactions up to ₹1,000 by 60%.
• Google Pay launches gold buying feature in tie-up with MMTC-PAMP India.
• Uber’s self-driving unit gets $1 billion investment from SoftBank and Japan’s auto industry.
• IL&FS case: Former Chairman Hari Sankaran, and former MD & CEO Ramesh Bawa arrested by SFIO.
• Vinod Dasari joins Eicher Motors as Royal Enfield CEO.
• Japan court grants $4.5 million bail to Carlos Ghosn, Nissan shareholders sack Ghosn from board.
• US Treasury official David Malpass named World Bank President.

Q4 Results

• Kotak Mahindra Bank Q4 profit jumps 25% YoY to ₹1,408 crore as provisions falls by 44% to ₹171.26 crore.
• Axis Bank reports Q4 profit at ₹1,505 crore, NII at ₹5,706; Gross NPA at 5.26% and Net NPA at 2.06%.
• YES Bank posts first-ever quarterly loss of ₹1,507 crores; provisions jumps to ₹3,661.70 crores.
• RBL Bank Q4 net profit jumps 39% to ₹247 crores; declares interim dividend ₹2.70 per share.
• Infosys Q4 profit grows 11% YoY to ₹4,078 crore, Net sales climbs 19.1% to ₹21,539 crore. Board lowers
  growth guidance for FY20 to 7.5-9.5%.
• TCS Q4 net profit jumps 17.70% to ₹8,126 crore, net sales climbs 18.5% to ₹38,010 crore.
• Wipro reports 38% YoY jump in Q4 profit at ₹2,483 crore, announces ₹10,500 crore share buyback.
• Mindtree Q4 net up 8.9% at ₹198.4 crore; board declares special dividend of ₹20 per share.
• Hexaware reports 3.1% rise in Q4 net profit at ₹138.48 crore, net sales up 20.5% at ₹1,264.02 crore.
• Maruti Suzuki Q4 profit falls 4.6% YoY to ₹1,796 crores; announces dividend of ₹80/share.
• Ultra Tech Cement’s Q4 net profit up 108.52% YoY at ₹1,017.47 crore, net sales up 17% at ₹10,500.27 crore.
• Reliance Q4 profit rises 10% to ₹10,362 crores, revenue rose 19.4% to ₹1.54 trillion.
• Huawei Q1 revenue jumps 39% to $26.81 billion, ships 59 million smartphones.
• Google parent Alphabet Q1 profit falls 29% to $6.7 billion, weighed down by hefty $1.7 billion EU fine