Economy / Market Snapshot – MAY, 2022

General News

• PM Modi attends Quad summit in Tokyo, holds bilateral talks with US President Biden, Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese and Japanese PM Kishida.
• Quad leaders vow to stand together for free and open Indo-Pacific region.
• PM Modi meets France’s Macron, Germany’s Scholz and Danish PM Frederiksen during his Europe visit.
• India, Germany sign joint declaration of Intent on Forest Landscape Restoration.
• India-France agrees on deeper French involvement in ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ efforts in defence sector.
• PM Modi participates in India-Nordic Summit; invites Nordic companies to invest in Sagarmala project.
• WHO must be reformed, India ready to play key role: PM Modi at 2nd Global COVID Summit.
• PM Modi, Nepal PM Deuba lay foundation stone for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in Nepal’s Lumbini.
• President Kovind embarks on 7-day state visit to Jamaica, Saint Vincent and Grenadines.
• S Jaishankar participates in BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
• India and UAE sign MoU to enhance bilateral cooperation on Climate Action.
• President Kovind presents military honours; confers 13 Shaurya Chakras, 14 Param Vishisht Seva Medals.
• PM Modi inaugurates and lays foundation stone of 11 projects worth more than ₹31,500 crore in Chennai.
• Defence Ministry approves revised ‘scales of accommodation’ for armed forces.
• Rajnath Singh inducts 2 indigenously built frontline warships INS ‘Surat’ and ‘Udaygiri’ in Mumbai.
• Navy successfully test-fires 1st indigenously developed lightweight naval anti-ship missile from helicopter.
• Central govt notifies J&K Delimitation Commission order comes into force.
• Manik Saha takes oath as 11th chief minister of Tripura, replaces Biplab Deb.
• WHO honours India’s 1 million all-women ASHA workers for outstanding work in advancing global Health.
• India’s total COVID – 19 cases at 4.32 crore, death toll at 5.25 lakh.
• Cumulative variety of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India crosses 193 crore mark.
• Centre gives nod to Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine for booster shot.
• PM CARES Fund: ₹10 lakh aid, passbook, health card given to COVID-orphaned children.
• Rajiv Kumar assumes charge as India’s 25th chief election commissioner.
• Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann announces MSP on maize, pulses, bajra to encourage crop diversification.
• Tamil Nadu Governor refers anti-NEET Bill to Centre for President’s nod.
• Congress forms political panel, task force for 2024 polls, includes G-23 members.
• Ex-Chief of Khadi Commission Vinai Kumar Saxena appointed Delhi’s new LG.
• Congress veterans Kapil Sibal and Sunil Jakhar quit party; Hardik Patel exits party.
• Intense heatwave sweeps through north India; govt issues guidelines for schools to fight heatwave.
• Southwest monsoon arrives in Kerala, 3 days ahead of schedule.
• Assam floods: Death toll reaches 36, over 7 lakh affected across 27 districts.
• Cyclone Asani makes landfall in coastal Andhra Pradesh, weakens into deep depression.
• SC orders release of life term convict A G Perarivalan in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
• Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik gets life imprisonment in J&K terror funding case.
• SC puts Sedition law on hold, stays all pending cases under Sec 124A till Centre re-examines provisions.
• SC extends time for submitting probe report on use of Israeli Pegasus spyware.
• Russia’s invasion enters 4th month; Ukraine troops surrender at Mariupol.
• Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu hold first call since invasion of Ukraine.
• India and 11 other countries abstain from UNHRC resolution calling for more scrutiny on Ukraine conflict.
• Vladimir Putin warns France, Germany against supplying arms to Ukraine.
• Zelenskyy holds separate discussions with UK PM Boris Johnson and US Senate delegation.
• Finland and Sweden submit applications to join NATO.
• UK unilaterally alters terms of post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland.
• US-ASEAN Summit: President Biden makes $150 million commitment to ASEAN leaders.
• Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns; Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as PM for 5th time.
• Lankan Parliament defeats no-confidence motion tabled by Opposition against President Rajapaksa.
• Sri Lanka closes schools, limits work amid fuel shortage; PM Wickremesinghe allotted Finance Ministry.
• Anthony Albanese sworn in as Australia’s new Prime Minister.
• John Lee elected as Hong Kong’s next leader as Carrie Lam steps down.
• Shanghai slowly emerges from lockdown as cases continue to rise in Beijing.
• North Korea fires suspected ballistic missile in 16th test launch this year.
• Global COVID caseload rises to 52.9 crore, fatalities at 62.9 lakh.
• More than 300 confirmed Monkeypox cases reported in over 20 countries; WHO warns of moderate risk.
• North Korea’s Kim orders lockdown amid COVID outbreak; orders military to stabilise supply of drugs.
• UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed dies, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed elected as new President.
• Thomas Cup: Indian men’s badminton team bags first-ever gold.
• Women’s World Boxing Championships: Nikhat Zareen scripts history, clinches gold.
• India wins 7 medals including 3 golds in shooting at Junior World Cup.
• Harshada Sharad Garud first Indian to win gold medal at IWF Junior Weightlifting World Championships.
• Chessable Masters final: Indian Chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa finishes 2nd.
• IPL 2022: Gujarat Titans win IPL title in maiden season, beat Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets.
• Rajasthan Royals spinner Yuzvendra Chahal wins Purple Cap and Jos Buttler wins Orange Cap.
• MS Dhoni back as Chennai Super Kings captain; Jadeja ruled out of rest of IPL 2022 due to bruised rib.
• Annual ICC Rankings: Australia No. 1 in Tests, India leads T20 table, NZ retains top spot in ODI.
• Asian Games 2022 scheduled for September postponed amid Covid surge in China.
• UEFA removes more Russian soccer teams from its competitions.
• French Open: Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to reach French Open 2022 semi-final.
• Carlos Alcaraz beats Alexander Zverev to take Madrid Open title.

Business News

• RBI hike rates Repo rate by 40 bps, CRR by 50 bps for the first time since August in an unscheduled meet.
• Centre releases ₹7,183.42 crore to 14 states as revenue deficit grant.
• Centre bans export of wheat with immediate effect to calm local prices with some relaxations.
• PM Kisan 11th instalment amount of ₹21,000 crore released for 10 crore farmer families.
• Govt allows duty-free import of 20 lakh tonnes of crude soyabean and sunflower oil per annum.
• India’s April crude oil imports at 3-1/2 year high at 20.87 million tonnes.
• US surpasses China as India’s biggest trading partner in FY22 at $119.42 billion.
• UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement comes into force, 1,157 products excluded.
• Government orders all imported-coal plants to operate at full capacity as power demand surges.
• Manufacturing PMI improves marginally in April to 54.7; Services PMI jumps to 57.9 in April.
• UPI hits record 5.58 billion transaction worth ₹9.83 trillion in April 2022.
• Jet fuel prices rise by 3.22% to record the steepest hike of all time; LPG prices rises cross ₹1,000 mark.
• Petrol gets cheaper by ₹9.5 and diesel by ₹7 as Centre cuts excise duty.
• Centre to give subsidy of ₹200 per gas cylinder to PM Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries.
• Govt waives import duty on some raw materials for steel industry, export duty on iron ore raised to 50%.
• PM Modi virtually inaugurates India’s first 5G testbed costing ₹220 crore.
• Listed IPOs: LIC, Campus Activewear, Rainbow Children’s Medicare, Delhivery, Paradeep Phosphates.
• RBI board approves transfer of ₹30,307 crore as dividend to government for FY22.
• Future Group sells 25% stake in Future Generali India Insurance for ₹1,266 crore.
• US launches Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity; 13 counties including India join.
• World Economic Forum: Maharashtra inks pact with 23 firms; Telangana bags ₹ 4,200 crore investments.
• Samsung inks $1 billion with US network operator Dish to supply 5G solutions.
• Wipro, HFCL join hands to develop 5G products portfolio for telecommunications sector.
• Toyota Motor Corp rolls out its first mass-produced battery electric car in Japan.
• World Bank to disburse $700 million to crisis-hit Sri Lanka, to re-purpose existing loans.
• Sri Lanka hikes fuel prices; petrol at all-time high of LKR 420, diesel LKR 400 per litre.
• Indonesia lifts ban on palm oil exports.
• Pakistan increases fuel prices by 30 PKR per litre in a bid to revive IMF program.
• Cash-strapped Pakistan gets $8 billion in financial support from Saudi Arabia.
• US Fed raises rates by 50 bps to fight inflation, outlines balance sheet reduction.
• Canada bans Huawei from 5G, ending years-long impasse.
• Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki join hands to launch Gachako Battery Swapping Service.
• Hyundai partners with Tata Power to install DC fast charging stations for EVs across India.
• Ola Electric opens new purchase window for S1, S1 Pro.
• Adani group acquires Holcim’s Indian subsidiaries – ACC and Ambuja Cements for $10.5 billion.
• Swiggy acquires restaurant tech platform Dineout for $200 million.
• EU leaders agree to ban 90% of Russian oil by the end of 2022.
• Facebook parent Meta partners with AMD for mobile infrastructure program.
• Abbott, FDA reach agreement to reopen baby formula facility in Michigan.
• UK inflation hits 40-year high of 9% as households suffer; slaps 25% windfall tax on oil and gas firms.
• Elon Musk puts on hold $44 billion deal for Twitter.
• Karnataka HC extends stay on the ED order seizing Xiaomi India’s bank assets until June 1.
• Supreme Court dismisses plea to review verdict on removal of Cyrus Mistry as Tata Sons head.
• Economist Suman Bery takes charge as NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman.
• Campbell Wilson, former CEO of Singapore Airlines’ budget carrier Scoot, appointed Air India MD & CEO.
• Sudarshan Venu takes over as Managing Director of TVS Motor Company.
• Ola Electric’s tech chief Dinesh Radhakrishnan, CMO Varun Dubey resign.
• US Senate confirms Jerome Powell for second term as head of the Federal Reserve.
• BSE appoints Ex RBI Deputy Governor SS Mundra as Chairman.
• Maruti shareholders approve appointment of Hisashi Takeuchi as MD and CEO with 99.89% of votes.
• Infosys reappoints Salil Parekh as CEO and MD for the next 5 years.
• Jack Dorsey steps down from Twitter’s board of directors.
• Vijay Shekhar Sharma reappointed as Paytm MD & CEO till 2027.

Q4 Results

• Kotak Mahindra Q4 profit jumps 65% YoY to ₹2,767 crore, NII up 18% YoY to ₹4,521 crore.
• SBI Q4 net profit rises 41% to ₹9,113 crore, declares ₹7.10/share dividend; NII up 15% at ₹31,198 crore
• HDFC Q4 profit up 16% YoY to ₹3,700 crore, revenue increased 5% to ₹12,300 crore, declares ₹30 dividend.
• Tata Motors’ Q4 net loss narrows to ₹1,032 crore, revenue declined 11.5% YoY to ₹78,439 crore.
• Ashok Leyland Q4 net profit soars 274% YoY to ₹901.4 crore, revenue climbed 24.90% to ₹8,744.29 crore.
• M&M Q4 profit up 17% YoY at ₹1,167 crore, revenue up 28% at ₹17,124 crore; dividend at ₹11.55/share.
• Hero MotoCorp Q4 profit falls 27.5% to ₹627.05 crore; revenue drops 14.6% to ₹7,421.23 crore.
• TVS Motor Q4 net profit falls 5.1% YoY to ₹274.5 crore, revenue grew by 4% at ₹5,530 crore.
• Tech Mahindra Q4 profit surges 39% YoY to ₹1,506 crore, revenue rises 24.5% to ₹12,116 crore.
• RIL Q4 Profit rises 22.5% YoY to ₹16,203 crore, revenue rose 36.79% YoY to ₹211,887 crore.
• Bharti Airtel Q4 Profit surges 164% YoY to ₹2,008 crore; ARPU rises to ₹178.
• Vodafone Idea Q4 net loss narrows to ₹6,563 crore, revenue rises 6% to ₹10,271.8 crore, ARPU up at ₹124.
• ITC Q4 profit rises 11.8% YoY to ₹4,191 crore; revenue grew 15.25% to ₹17,754.02 crore.