Economy / Market Snapshot – APRIL, 2022

General News

• Budget Session of Parliament concludes; Lok Sabha clocks 129% productivity, Rajya Sabha 99%.
• President gives assent to Bill unifying Delhi’s 3 Municipal Corporations.
• PM Modi launches projects worth ₹20,000 crore in 1st J&K visit since article 370 move.
• Centre sanctions ₹1584.25 crore for Panchayati Raj institutions to strengthen grassroots democracy in J&K.
• India, US reaffirm commitment to promote regional stability and rule of law at 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
• PM Modi, WHO Chief, Mauritius PM inaugurates WHO-Global Centre for traditional medicine in Jamnagar.
• India signs 7 MoUs for social development projects worth over ₹12.96 crore with Maldives.
• UK PM Boris Johnson visits India; India, UK sign defence cooperation agreement, promise FTA by year end.
• PM Modi, EU President Ursula von der Leyen hold talks; agree on establishment of trade council.
• India, US sign MoU on Space Situational Awareness at 2+2 ministerial meeting.
• PM Modi and Nepal PM S B Deuba finalise 4 pacts to expand ties in areas such as railways, energy.
• PM Modi, Ratan Tata inaugurate 7 state-of-the-art cancer hospitals in Assam.
• Hindi should be an alternative to English and not to local languages: Amit Shah.
• Vinay Mohan Kwatra takes over as foreign secretary from Harsh Vardhan Shringla.
• Govt announces changes in defence acquisition procedure, Military hardware import exempted.
• Rajnath Singh releases 3rd positive indigenisation list to develop India as a defence manufacturing hub.
• Lt Gen Manoj Pande named new Army chief, first from Corps of Engineers.
• India successfully test fires anti-tank missile ‘Helina’ from advanced light helicopter in Ladakh.
• IAF’s Chinook performs longest non-stop journey from Chandigarh to Assam, covers 1910 km in 7.5 hours.
• Russia begins delivery of second unit of strategic S-400 missile system to India.
• UIDAI, ISRO ink technical collaboration pact to develop Bhuvan-Aadhar.
• SC fixes timeline for filing claims for COVID-19 ex-gratia; 60-day limit for deaths occurred before March 20.
• PM Modi inaugurates Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya, a museum to honour all Prime Ministers of country.
• UGC allows students to pursue two full-time academic programmes simultaneously.
• Jaishankar meets UN chief Guterres, discusses key issues including Ukraine situation.
• Centre extends AFSPA in 3 districts of Arunachal Pradesh for 6 months.
• Andhra cabinet reconstituted; 14 new ministers inducted; 13 new districts inaugurated.
• Odisha extends additional free rice distribution for 6 months under state food security scheme.
• Punjab Assembly passes resolution seeking immediate transfer of Chandigarh to state.
• AAP govt announces 300 units of free power in Punjab from July 1, 2022.
• Delhi, Punjab sign knowledge-sharing pact for better health, education.
• Assam govt to provide 70 MW electricity every month to 20 lakh people.
• Prashant Kishor presents roadmap for 2024 polls to Congress leadership; declines offer to join party.
• Sitaram Yechury gets third term as CPM General Secretary, 3 new faces in Politburo.
• India’s total COVID – 19 cases at 4.31 crore, death toll at 5.24 lakh; daily COVID cases cross 3,600.
• Global COVID caseload rises to 51.3 crore, fatalities at 62.3 lakh.
• Shanghai extends COVID-19 lockdown till April 26 as death toll rises to 36.
• Russia intensifies attack in Ukraine as war enter 3rd month.
• UNGA ousts Russia from Human Rights Commission; India abstains from voting.
• Ukrainian President Zelenskyy addresses UN Security Council for 1st time since Russian invasion.
• UN Secretary-General Guterres separately meets Putin and Zelenskyy.
• US Secretaries Blinken and Austin met with Ukraine President in Kyiv.
• Putin introduces visa restrictions for citizens from “unfriendly countries“.
• Russia appoints new General to oversee Ukraine invasion; raises emergency spending fund by $3.5 billion.
• US announces $100 million in additional military aid to Ukraine.
• UK PM Boris Johnson, Presidents of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland visit Ukraine.
• Russia’s Putin, Saudi’s bin Salman discuss bilateral ties and oil.
• Australia, UK, US alliance ‘AUKUS’ to develop hypersonic missiles.
• Emmanuel Macron beats far-right rival Le Pen to win second term.
• Sri Lankan President announces new Cabinet, PM Mahinda only member from powerful Rajapaksa clan.
• Pakistan PM Imran Khan ousted in no-trust vote; Shehbaz Sharif sworn in as 23rd Prime Minister.
• China signs military pact with Solomon Islands despite US warning.
• UK PM Boris Johnson pays partygate fine, offers ‘full apology’.
• UK finance minister Rishi Sunak cleared of ethics breach over family’s tax status.
• Australian Prime Minister calls federal elections on May 21.
• Turkey court halts Jamal Khashoggi murder trial transfers it to Saudi Arabia; President Erdogan visits Saudi.
• Myanmar court sentences Suu Kyi to 5 years in jail for corruption.
• Indian GM Praggnanandhaa wins Reykjavik Open chess tournament.
• IPL: Gujarat Titans are leading the points table with eight wins and just one loss in their first nine matches.
• CSK’s Dwayne Bravo becomes highest wicket-taker in IPL with 171 wickets to his name.
• BCCI announces South Africa to tour India for 5 match T20I series, starting June 9.
• Australia beat England by 71 runs to win a record-extending 7th ICC Women’s World Cup title.
• Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah among Wisden’s five ‘Cricketers of the Year’.
• Andrew McDonald named head coach of Australian cricket team.
• West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard announces retirement from international cricket.

Business News

• RBI keeps rates unchanged, lowers GDP growth to 7.2%; increases inflation projection for FY22-23 to 5.7%.
• India’s industrial growth edges up to 1.7% in February from 1.5% in January.
• Retail inflation surges to a 17-month high of 6.95% in March from 6.07% in February.
• India’s trade deficit touch $18.51 billion in March, exports rose nearly 20% to $42.22 billion.
• Chartered Accountants, Cost and Works Accountants and Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill passed.
• Govt brings around 96% Post Offices brought under core banking system.
• India extends credit, fuel, food to bail Sri Lanka out of economic crisis.
• India Australia ink economic cooperation and trade pact, over 95% of Indian goods to get duty-free access.
• India’s agriculture exports touch historic high of 50 billion in 2021-22.
• India’s tax collections surge to ₹27.07 lakh crore in FY22; ₹2.24 lakh crore IT refunds issued in FY22.
• PM Modi lays foundation stone of multiple development projects at Banas Dairy Sankul in Gujarat.
• Nirmala Sitharaman meets IMF chief and US Secretary of Commerce; meets CEOs of large global firms.
• Rajnath Singh exhorts US aerospace, defence majors to join ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ drive.
• PM Modi and Nepal PM jointly launch RuPay payment card in Nepal.
• Commercial LPG cylinder price hiked by ₹250, ATF hiked by 2%, Petrol, diesel prices unchanged since Apr 6.
• Cotton prices hits all-time high in India at ₹43,240/bale.
• Govt sells 51% stake in helicopter services provider Pawan Hans to Star9 Mobility for ₹211 crore.
• Andhra Pradesh cancels Adani’s bids to supply imported coal.
• Govt approves 61 proposals of over ₹19,000 crore under PLI scheme for textiles.
• Centre infuses ₹5,000 crore into 3 state-run insurance companies.
• Govt amends FEMA rules to allow 20% foreign direct investment in LIC.
• SEBI revises UPI payment limit for retail investors in IPOs from ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh.
• RBI issues new rules, penalties for credit & debit cards.
• Mutual funds add over 3 crore folios in FY22 on sharp rally in equity market, digitisation.
• LIC IPO to open on May 4, price band set at ₹902-949 a share; to raise up to ₹21,008 crore.
• HDFC, HDFC Bank merger to create third-largest company in India.
• Bandhan Group-led consortium acquires IDFC AMC for ₹4,500 crore.
• EU approves ban on Russian coal in new round of sanctions.
• IMF cuts global growth forecast to 3.6% citing Russia-Ukraine war, trims India forecast to 8.2%.
• Sri Lanka raises key interest rates by 700 bp to 14.5%; inflation rises 29.8% in April, food inflation 46.6%.
• World Bank agrees to provide $600 million in financial assistance to Sri Lanka.
• US inflation climbed to 8.5% in March, highest rate since 1981.
• UK inflation jumps to 30-year high of 7.0% in March.
• Egypt adds India as new wheat supplier following disruptions by Ukraine and Russia war.
• WHO suspends Covaxin supply through United Nations agencies citing manufacturing deficiencies.
• SII, Bharat Biotech halt production of Covid vaccines as demand slips.
• Passenger car exports are up 43% in FY22; Maruti Suzuki leads segment.
• Electric vehicle retail sales zoom over three-fold to 4,29,217 units in 2021-22.
• Nitin Gadkari announces, ‘heavy penalty’, recall of EVs after e-scooters catch on fire.
• Alliance Air officially separates from Air India following privatization, moves to own website, flight code.
• Made-in-India Dornier 228 takes off on maiden commercial flight from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh.
• Biden announces historic oil reserve release to soften gas prices.
• Oil sinks below $98 as China’s lockdowns imperil demand outlook.
• Indonesia bans palm oil exports as global food inflation spikes.
• Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway buys over 11% stake worth $4.2 billion in IT Giant HP.
• Wipro acquires consulting firm Convergence for $80 million and global SAP firm Rizing for $540 million.
• EU sets new online rules for Google, Meta to curb illegal content.
• Twitter accepts Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition offer; Musk sells $4 billion of Tesla stock.
• Amazon, SpaceX grabs NASA’s $278 million space communications contracts.
• CBI files charge sheet against former NSE Chief in co-location scam.
• France issues international arrest warrant against former Nissan Motor company chairman Carlos Ghosn.
• SC disposes Amazon-Future case as parties agree to resume Singapore arbitration proceedings.
• Apple starts iPhone 13 production in India through Foxconn.
• Flipkart invests $116 million in fashion retailer Myntra amid challenge from Reliance, Nykaa.
• Reliance calls off ₹24,713-crore deal with Future group after secured creditors rejection.
• Netflix loses 200,000 subscribers in 100 days; first time in over 10 years.
• Rajiv Kumar to step down as Niti Aayog Vice Chairman; Suman Bery to take over from 1 May.
• Wipro appoints Satya Easwaran as India head.

Q4 Results

• HDFC Bank net profit up 23% YoY to ₹10,055 crore, NII up 10% to ₹18,872 crore; dividend at ₹15.50/share.
• ICICI Bank profit surges by 59% to ₹7,019 crore, NII up 20% to ₹12,605 crore, declares ₹5/share dividend.
• Axis Bank Q4 profit jumps 54% YoY to ₹4,117.8 crore, NII grew by 16.7% to ₹8,819 crore.
• IndusInd Bank Q4 net profit jumps 55% YoY to ₹1,361 crore; dividend at ₹8.50/share.
• HCL Tech net profit zooms 226% to ₹3,593 crore, revenue grew 15% YoY to ₹22,597 crore.
• TCS Net profit rises 7% YoY to ₹9,926 crore, revenue grows to ₹50,591 crore.
• Wipro Q4 profit rises 3.9% YoY to ₹3,092.5 crore, revenue grew 28.4% YoY to ₹20,860 crore.
• Infosys profit rises 12% YoY to ₹5,686 crore, revenue up 23% to ₹32,276 crore, declares ₹5/share dividend.
• Maruti Q4 PAT rises 58% YoY to ₹1,839 crore, announces dividend of ₹60/share.
• Bharti Airtel partners Apollo Hospitals, Cisco to create 5G connected ambulance.
• HUL Q4 Profit rises 7% YoY to ₹2,327 crore, revenue up at ₹13,462 crore; declares ₹19 per share dividend.
• Nestle Q1 net profit slips 1.25% to ₹594.71 crore, net sales increased 9.74% to ₹3,950.90 crore.
• Biocon Q4 net profit falls 4.2% to ₹283.9 crore, revenue rose 30.8% YoY to ₹2,408.8 crore.