Economy / Market Snapshot – January 2016

General

• French President François Hollande visits India to be the chief guest at 67th Republic Day celebrations.
• Hollande inaugurates Interim secretariat of the International Solar Alliance (ISA); France commits €300 million for solar energy.
• India, France sign 13 agreements; ink MoU on purchase of Rafale jets.
• India, France ink billion in business deals.
• Government announces list of first 20 smart cities under ‘Smart Cities Mission’.
• Start-up India: Government for simpler entry and exit norms for start-ups; employment generation is Government’s top-most priority.
• Arunachal Deadlock: Apex Court asks Arunachal Governor to furnish report recommending President’s rule in state.
• Pranab gives assent to Central rule in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Congress wins 108 of 278 local body seats in Manipur.
• Congress continues to beat BJP in local polls especially in the BJP-ruled States, as it won 8 out of 11 seats in the civic polls in Chhattisgarh.
• Bypolls to 12 Assembly seats in eight States on February 13; Three constituencies each in U.P and Karnataka and one each in Punjab, Maharashtra, Bihar, Tripura, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh will go to polls.
• Pathankot attack: Pakistan arrests JeM members; Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh undergoes lie detector test.
• HC stays order on FIR against Kerala CM Chandy on Solar Scam.
• National Herald case: Court allows Subramanian Swamy’s plea to summon documents.
• The National Development Council (NDC) to be scrapped, NITI Aayog council likely to get its powers.
• Tenders worth Rs 17,500 crore for freight corridor by March: Government.
• India needs trillion for new roads, ports, airports: Nitin Gadkari.
• Over billion required for smart cities: Deloitte.
• High Court notice to Kejriwal , Kirti Azad on Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) defamation case.
• Lodha panel: Legalise betting, no minister can hold BCCI post; proposes drastic reforms for BCCI, IPL CEO given clean chit.
• Government approves Rs 4,918-crore highway project in Bihar, Jharkhand.
• Road projects of 10,000 km to be awarded this fiscal.
• Cabinet approves amendments to power tariff policy.
• Cabinet approves MoU with Singapore to manage airports.
• Collegium moves to fill vacancies in High Courts.
• Rohith Vemula suicide: HRD ministry sets up judicial panel.
• AIIMS report: Sunanda Pushkar died of poisoning.
• 100 files relating to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose declassified by PM Modi.
• Amit Shah re-elected BJP president.
• Bengal Investment Summit : Bengal secured investment of over Rs. 250,000 crore.
• Anil Ambani announces Rs. 5000 crores for defence manufacturing facility at Andhra.
• Former defence secretary R.K. Mathur sworn in as the eighth Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).
• US, EU lift economic sanctions against Iran, releases billion of assets; International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirms that Iran has met its obligations.
• International Monetary Fund has still not decided whether it will participate in the third financial bailout for Greece, and continues to set out its conditions.
• India gets more voting rights at The International Monetary Fund.
• French president Francois Hollande declares economic emergency.
• Christine Lagarde wins European nominations for 2nd term as IMF chief.
• India launches 5th navigation satellite IRNSS-1E.
• Former Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia passes away
• J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passes away.
• Padma Vibhushan for Rajinikanth, Dhirubhai Ambani, former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Jagmohan.
• Zika virus could infect 4 million people: World Health Organisation.
• Badminton: Sindhu clinches Malaysian Grand Prix Gold title.
• Football: Lionel Messi wins FIFA world player award for 5th time.
• Tennis: Sania-Martina juggernaut continues to roll, wins Sydney title.
• Cricket: India loses ODI series against Australia 4-1; wins T20I 3-0.

Business News

• Index of Industrial Production shrinks 3.2% in November; CPI rises to 5.6% in December. IIP stood at -3.2% in November against 9.8% in October.
• Wholesale inflation in December inched up to (-) 0.73 per cent in December against per cent (-) 1.99 per cent decline in November.
• The Nikkei India Manufacturing PMI, a composite monthly indicator of manufacturing performance, dipped from 50.3 in November to 49.1 in December.
• Foreign Portfolio Investors outflows hit 5-month high of Rs. 11,126 crores in January.
• India’s exports may dip 13% to billion in 2015-16.
• Fall in exports projected to be worst since 1952-53.
• FIIs withdraw billion from Asian equities in January; India witnessing outflows of .64 billion: HSBC
• Mutual Funds Pump in Billion in Stocks during 2015.
• Mutual Fund industry’s asset base surges 21 per cent to Rs 13.4 lakh Crore in 2015.
• Mutual fund investor base hits a new high in 2015; retail folio rises 13%; 4 lakhs new HNI accounts opened.
• Mutual Funds Log Rs 1.62 Lakh-Crore Inflows in April-December.
• Mutual Funds exposure to bank stocks hits record high of Rs 88,000 crore.
• E-commerce industry likely to be worth Billion by 2016: Assocham.
• Petrol price cut by 63 paise a litre and diesel by Rs 1.06 a litre, the third reduction this month on the back of softening in global oil rates.
• Jet fuel price cut by 10%; non-subsidised LPG hiked.
• Government hikes excise duty on petrol by 37 paise per litre and Rs 2 per litre on diesel.
• Excise hike on petrol, diesel to garner Rs 10,000 Crore for exchequer.
• Fiscal deficit at 87.9% during April-December 2015.
• Government may dilute 25% stake in IDBI Bank.
• New reporting norms for high value transactions from April 1.
• China’s forex reserves fall .66 billion in 2015, biggest annual drop on record.
• Government may sell part of its stake in Axis Bank.
• India to remain among the fastest growing economies in 2016: Moody’s.
• At 7.64% growth, India fastest growing passenger car market.
• Greece exits deflation after 33 months, December prices up 0.4%.
• Union Budget for 2016-17 to be Presented on February 29: Jayant Sinha.
• Fiscal deficit in November at 87 per cent of budget estimate.
• Tax refund totals Rs 65,000 crore so far this fiscal: Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia.
• Government may lower long-term capital gain tax for unlisted companies.
• Modi sets rolling Rs 10,000-crore start-up fund.
• Modi announces capital gains, income tax sops for start-ups.
• Economy may grow at 7.9% next fiscal: India Ratings.
• Goods exports decline 14.75% in December to .29 billion.
• Over 5 million jobs may be lost globally in 5 years: World Economic Forum (WEF).
• China’s FDI drops by 5.8% in December.
• China’s central bank injects .8 billion into banks.
• Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clears 13 FDI proposals worth Rs 6,500 crore.
• Foreign exchange reserves have fallen by a cumulative .16 billion.
• China pours billion into financial system, seeking to ease tight liquidity ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
• Japan introduces negative interest rate to boost economy
• US Fed leaves interest rates unchanged, watching global developments.
• Apollo Hospitals Group agrees to sell 23.3% stake in Apollo Munich.
• BPCL, Indian Oil, HPCL to invest Rs 1.5 lakh crore to set up biggest refinery.
• E-tender must from April 1 for government purchases above Rs 2 lakh.
• Budget 2016: major relief in service tax likely for small business; The service tax limit is expected to be raised to Rs 25 lakh from the current Rs 10 lakhs.

Major Q3 Results Update

• TCS Q3 revenue marginally misses expectations.
• IndusInd Bank Q3 net up 30% to Rs 581 Crore.
• Asian Paints reports Q3 net profit at Rs 463 Crore.
• DCB Bank Q3 net dips marginally to Rs 41 Crore.
• Infosys Q3 above estimates, profit rises 2%.
• HUL Q3 net profit falls 22.4% to Rs. 971.40 Crore.
• LIC Housing Finance Q3 profit up 22% at Rs 419 Crore.
• Mindtree Q3 net profit up 7.2%; rejigs management.
• Wipro meets Q3 estimates, profit up 2%.
• HCL Tech beats estimates, Q2 profits up marginally at Rs 1920 Crore.
• Reliance Power Q3 net jumps 38%.
• RIL Q3 net profit at Rs 7,290 crore ; beats estimates.
• Axis Bank net profit up 15%.
• Idea disappoints on weak voice, data pricing.
• ITC net remains flat on low Cigarette Sales.
• HDFC Bank Q3 net up 20% at Rs 3,357 Crore.
• HDFC Q3 net up 7% at Rs 1,521 Crore.
• Bharti Airtel’s Q3 net profit falls 22%.
• ICICI Bank net profit rises 4%.
• Maruti Q3 net up 27% at Rs 1,019 Crore.
• L&T Q3 net rises 19% to Rs 1,035 crore, misses estimates.
• NTPC Q3 net profit declines 19% to Rs 2,493 crore.
• YES Bank net profit up 25% at Rs 675.7 crore.

Market

• Indian stock markets went down by 5% in January, 2016
• Bank and Auto stocks went down by 8%;
• FMCG stocks went down by 5% and Pharma went down by 2%
• IT stocks were neutral
• FII overall net sellers in the market by Rs.11,000 crores
• Domestic Funds net buyers in the market by Rs.13,000 crores
• Chinese markets led the fall in global markets; Markets down by 22% in just one month
• Hong Kong market down by 10%; Singapore by 9%
• Japan market down by 8%
• In US, Dow fell by 6% and Nasdaq fell by 8%
• London markets fell by 3%
• INR breached Rs.68 mark against the US 1 but settled at Rs.67.89 towards the end.
• Gold and Silver prices went up by 7% and 6% respectively
• Crude breached 1 30 mark but settled at 1 34 per barrel by end of the month, a drop of 7%
• Exports are on downward trend and equally the imports are on downward trend thanks to the drop in Crude prices