Month: April 2023

US Stocks: Futures edge higher as investors gird for another big rate hike

Posted on by

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday ahead of a widely expected hefty rate hike from the Federal Reserve, with investors awaiting cues on the length and depth of further policy tightening to tame surging price pressures.

The U.S. central bank will likely lift its policy rate by 75 basis points for the third time to a 3.00-3.25% range at the end of its two-day policy meeting, which will be followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s news conference.

Also Read: Sebi working on ASBA-like facility for secondary market transactions as well

“The deciding factor in whether this meeting is positive or negative for risk assets isn’t likely to be the actual rate hike itself. It will be the medium term projections … because at this point investors just want to know when rate hikes are going to stop,” said David Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“These past two weeks, the main reason stocks have declined was because the market priced in a higher terminal rate than previously expected … (that) increases the chances the Fed engineers an economic hard landing.”

Markets are also pricing in a 19% chance of a 100 bps rate increase later in the day and see a terminal rate at 4.50% in March 2023.

The benchmark S&P 500 is hovering near two-month lows and is below 3,900 points – a level considered by technical analysts as a strong support for the index – on fears that the rapid pace of rate hikes could tip the U.S. economy into recession.

The yield curve inversion between the two-year and 10-year notes – seen as a recession harbinger – and growing evidence of the impact of decades high inflation on earnings outlooks from companies ranging from FedEx Corp to Ford Motor Co have also added to woes in a seasonally weak period for markets.

At 6:58 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 82 points, or 0.27%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 9 points, or 0.23%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 6.75 points, or 0.06%.

Meanwhile, shares of U.S. defense companies Northrop Grumman Corp, Raytheon Technologies Corp and Lockheed Martin Corp rose between 1.7% and 2.4% in premarket trading as President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s first mobilization since World War Two.

Coty Inc gained 2.7% after the CoverGirl cosmetics maker raised its first quarter 2023 revenue and gross margin forecasts on stronger demand for beauty products.

Micron Technology and Western Digital fell about 2% each after Mizuho downgraded shares of both companies to “neutral” from “buy”.

Ethics panel summons TMC leader Mahua Moitra in cash-for-query row on October 31

Posted on by

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra has been summoned by the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha on October 31 to record their statements in connection with the cash-for-query allegations against her.

The summons comes on the day when BJP leader Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai appeared before the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha on Thursday to record their statements in connection with the case against the TMC MP.

After appearing before the parliamentary panel, Dehadrai told reporters, “I have told the truth before the Committee. All members of the committee enquired from me cordially. I answered to all that was asked from me.”

Earlier, Mahua Moitra had said that she “welcomed answering questions” from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, noting that it had “absolute majority of BJP members”.

“I welcome answering questions to CBI and Ethics Committee (which has absolute majority of BJP members) if and when they call me,” Moitra wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

In his complaint to Speaker Om Birla, Dubey has cited documents shared by Dehadrai to back his cash-for-query allegations against the TMC MP. He also wrote to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, urging him to investigate the IP addresses of Moitra’s log-in credentials for Lok Sabha to check if they had been accessed by someone else.

In the letter to Birla dated October 15, Dubey said the advocate, close to Moitra before they fell out, has shared “irrefutable evidence of bribes exchanged” between her and businessman Darshan Hiranandani, CEO of Hiranandani Group, to target the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The fiery TMC member dismissed the charges as a “jilted ex’s lies”, a reference to Dehadrai, and accused the Adani Group of being behind them to target her as she has been relentless in raising questions on the conglomerate’s practices and transactions.

In a signed affidavit, Hiranandani who allegedly paid her to raise questions in Parliament, said the TMC leader targeted Gautam Adani to “malign and embarrass” Modi whose impeccable reputation gave the opposition no opportunity to attack him.

Petrol, Diesel Price Today, 29 Sep 2022: Fuel prices unchanged; check rates in Delhi, Mumbai, other cities

Posted on by

Petrol and Diesel Rate Today in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Lucknow: The price of petrol and diesel remained unchanged on 29 September 2022 (Thursday), keeping costs steady for nearly four months now. The petrol rate and diesel rate in Delhi are at Rs 96.72 and Rs 89.62 per litre, respectively. In Mumbai, petrol is retailing at Rs 106.31 per litre and diesel at Rs 94.27 per litre. The last country-wide change in fuel prices came on 21 May this year, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and Rs 6 per litre on diesel.

Since the central government excise duty cut, some states have also reduced VAT rates on auto fuels. Meghalaya was the last to revise the fuel rates when it increased VAT on August 24, because of which petrol now costs Rs. 96.83 per litre in Shillong and diesel is now priced at Rs. 84.72 per litre. The Maharashtra government announced a cut in value-added tax (VAT) on petrol by Rs 5 a litre and by Rs 3 a litre for diesel in July. The prices of petrol and diesel vary in each state depending upon several factors such as the local taxes, Value Added Tax (VAT), freight charges, etc.

Petrol, diesel prices in Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Noida, Gurugram

Mumbai: Petrol price: Rs 106.31 per litre, Diesel price: 94.27 per litre

Delhi: Petrol price: Rs 96.72 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 89.62 per litre

Chennai: Petrol price: Rs 102.63 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 94.24 per litre

Kolkata: Petrol price: Rs 106.03 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 92.76 per litre

Bengaluru: Petrol: Rs 101.94 per litre, Diesel: Rs 87.89 per litre

Lucknow: Petrol: Rs 96.57 per litre, Diesel: Rs 89.76 per litre

Noida: Petrol: Rs 96.79 per litre, Diesel: Rs 89.96 per litre

Gurugram: Petrol: Rs 97.18 per litre, Diesel: Rs 90.05 per litre

Chandigarh: Petrol: Rs 96.20 per litre, Diesel: Rs 84.26 per litre

Also Read: Share Market LIVE: Nifty, Sensex likely to open in green amid positive cues; Rupee at new low, nears 82 mark

Public sector OMCs including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) revise the fuel prices daily in line with international benchmark prices and foreign exchange rates. Any changes in petrol and diesel prices are implemented from 6 am every day. Retail petrol and diesel prices differ from state to state because of local taxes like VAT or freight charges.

Petrol, Diesel Price Today, 3 Oct 2022: Fuel cost static; check rates in Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, other cities

Posted on by

Petrol and Diesel Rate Today in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Lucknow: The price of petrol and diesel has been kept steady on 3 October 2022 (Monday), keeping costs steady for more than three months now. The petrol rate and diesel rates in Delhi are Rs 96.72 and Rs 89.62 a litre, respectively. In Mumbai, petrol is retailing at Rs 106.31 per litre and diesel at Rs 94.27 per litre. The last country-wide change in price came on 21 May 2022, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and Rs 6 per litre on diesel. Since then, Maharashtra is the only state to have cut rates. The Maharashtra government had announced a cut in value-added tax (VAT) on petrol by Rs 5 a litre and by Rs 3 a litre for diesel in July.

Also read: Will bulls manage to pull Nifty above 17200 amid uncertainty? 5 things to know before market opening bell

Petrol, diesel prices in Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Noida, Gurugram

Mumbai: Petrol price: Rs 106.31 per litre, Diesel price: 94.27 per litre

Delhi: Petrol price: Rs 96.72 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 89.62 per litre

Chennai: Petrol price: Rs 102.63 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 94.24 per litre

Kolkata: Petrol price: Rs 106.03 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 92.76 per litre

Bengaluru: Petrol: Rs 101.94 per litre, Diesel: Rs 87.89 per litre

Lucknow: Petrol: Rs 96.57 per litre, Diesel: Rs 89.76 per litre

Noida: Petrol: Rs 96.79 per litre, Diesel: Rs 89.96 per litre

Gurugram: Petrol: Rs 97.18 per litre, Diesel: Rs 90.05 per litre

Chandigarh: Petrol: Rs 96.20 per litre, Diesel: Rs 84.26 per litre

Also read: Reliance, Suzlon Energy, Bharti Airtel, Zydus Lifesciences, Poonawalla Fincorp, APL Apollo stocks in focus

Public sector OMCs including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) revise the fuel prices daily in line with international benchmark prices and foreign exchange rates. Any changes in petrol and diesel prices are implemented from 6 am every day. Retail petrol and diesel prices differ from state to state because of local taxes like VAT or freight charges.

Petrol, diesel price today, 14 Sep 2022: Fuel cost steady; Check fuel rates in Delhi, Mumbai, other cities

Posted on by

Petrol and Diesel Rate Today in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Lucknow: The price of petrol and diesel has been kept steady on 14 September 2022 (Wednesday), keeping costs steady for more than three months now. Petrol and diesel in Delhi is priced at Rs 96.72 and Rs 89.62 a litre, respectively. In Mumbai, petrol is retailing at Rs 106.31 per litre and diesel at Rs 94.27 per litre. The last country-wide change in price came on 21 May 2022, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre, and Rs 6 per litre on diesel. Since then, Maharashtra is the only state to have cut rates. The Maharashtra government had announced a cut in value-added tax (VAT) on petrol by Rs 5 a litre and by Rs 3 a litre for diesel in July.

Also read: Rupee may fall on strong dollar, elevated oil prices, risk aversion in markets; USDINR to trade in this range

Also read: JSW Steel, Infosys, Vedanta, Jet Airways, Future Lifestyle, Bharat Forge, KEC International stocks in focus

Petrol, diesel prices in Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Noida, Gurugram

Mumbai: Petrol price: Rs 106.31 per litre, Diesel price: 94.27 per litre

Delhi: Petrol price: Rs 96.72 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 89.62 per litre

Chennai: Petrol price: Rs 102.63 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 94.24 per litre

Kolkata: Petrol price: Rs 106.03 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 92.76 per litre

Bengaluru: Petrol: Rs 101.94 per litre, Diesel: Rs 87.89 per litre

Lucknow: Petrol: Rs 96.57 per litre, Diesel: Rs 89.76 per litre

Noida: Petrol: Rs 96.79 per litre, Diesel: Rs 89.96 per litre

Gurugram: Petrol: Rs 97.18 per litre, Diesel: Rs 90.05 per litre

Chandigarh: Petrol: Rs 96.20 per litre, Diesel: Rs 84.26 per litre

Public sector OMCs including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) revise the fuel prices daily in line with international benchmark prices and foreign exchange rates. Any changes in petrol and diesel prices are implemented from 6 am every day. Retail petrol and diesel prices differ from state to state because of local taxes like VAT or freight charges.

Niyo appoints Sushanth Ravikumar as head of marketing

Posted on by

Niyo has announced the appointment of Sushanth Ravikumar as its senior vice president of marketing. Additionally, the company has also announced an investment from Spring Marketing Capital last week.

Prior to this, Ravikumar has worked as senior executive with Flipkart, Upstox and Britannia.

With a background in e-commerce, FMCG and Fintech, Ravikumar will play a pivotal role in reinforcing Niyo’s brand position as a category leader in the travel-banking space. He will lead the overall marketing charter, overseeing key areas such as crafting the brand strategy, driving the growth charter and customer initiatives.

With a total work experience of 17 years in marketing and sales, he played a key role in driving brand and customer growth across various segments including fashion and large appliances, through robust marketing strategies and campaigns.

“I am happy to be a part of such a dynamic, new-age fintech that is shaping the future of travel banking in India. Vinay and Virender are building products that are disrupting this segment and solving for new emerging needs of customers. I’m excited to build a strong brand with them and shape new customer behaviour that unlocks growth,” Sushanth Ravikumar, senior vice president, Niyo, added.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook

Dalal Street: Downward spiral likely to continue amidst global uncertainties; check support, resistance levels

Posted on by

The domestic stock market indices extended their downward trajectory, marking the third consecutive session of a persistent sell-off in the week as the Investors rushed to exit their positions. The decline can be attributed to a combination of factors, including the lackluster performance of Indian Inc in the second quarter, mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and the persistent stickiness of US Treasury yields hovering around 5%.

“Till date, the actual domestic Q2 results are below par in comparison to the excited earnings forecasted. Similar disappointments are visible in developed economies. Downgrade in earnings and valuation is arising due to risk of further slowdown of the economy due to geopolitical and elevated interest rates. Also selling pressure intensified due to expiry-led volatility influencing investors to stay cautious,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

“The Nifty opened gap down and continued to drift lower throughout the day to close in the red down 265 points. Since the last three trading sessions the Nifty has corrected 700 points and is appearing oversold on the hourly time frame chart. The Nifty has now reached the support cluster of 18,860 – 18,740 where support in the form of the 40 week moving the weekly lower Bollinger band is placed. Considering that Nifty has reached a support zone and is appearing oversold on the hourly charts, we can expect a pullback till 19,000 – 19,050 however it is likely to be only a temporary pause in the overall downtrend,” said said Jatin Gedia – Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

“On the downside the Nifty is likely to drift towards 18,500 levels in the short term and the intermediate pullbacks should be used as a selling opportunity. In terms of levels, 18,700 – 18,650 shall act as a crucial support zone while 19,000 – 19,050 is the immediate hurdle zone,” Jatin Gedia added.

Eveready and ZEE join partners for a brand collaboration

Posted on by

Eveready has partnered with ZEE to promote its new range of batteries. As part of the brand collaboration, Eveready ULTIMA will feature on ZEE’s homegrown reality shows, including Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Dance Bangla Dance, Dance Karnataka Dance and Mr & Mrs Local. Additionally, ZEE’s linear channels are an integral part of the brand association.

Talking about the partnership, Anirban Banerjee, senior vice president and SBU head (batteries and flashlights), Eveready Industries India, said, “We have recently unveiled our new and improved Ultima range of batteries supported by a 360 campaign ‘Khelenge Toh Sikhenge’. The campaign highlights that children in any family can learn valuable life lessons such as caring, sharing, love and equality when playing in daily life with battery operated toys. Thus to keep the child’s play ongoing effortlessly, our new 400% longer lasting Ultima batteries are just perfect. Our collaboration with ZEE seamlessly aligns with the campaign’s objective and values, as majority of ZEE’s shows are packed with energy, fostering a blend of entertainment while actively nurturing the young talents.”

“At Starcom, we believe that a successful product launch requires a powerful platform that maximises consumer engagement and brand visibility. Such a key communication pillar was vital to drive home Eveready’s new message. ZEE’s reality shows enjoy immense popularity among Indians, which makes it a strong channel for brand collaboration. Accordingly, we forged this first-of-its-kind strategic partnership, which not only introduces Eveready’s robust product offerings but also harnesses ZEE’s expansive reach across diverse regions, languages and content formats,” Niti Kumar, COO – Starcom India, added.

Follow us onTwitter,Instagram,LinkedIn,Facebook

Global bond funds see biggest outflows in two decades

Posted on by

Global bond funds saw the biggest outflows in two decades in the first three quarters of this year as hefty interest rate increases by central banks to tame inflation sparked fears of a recession.

According to Refinitiv Lipper, global bond funds faced a cumulative outflow of $175.5 billion in the first nine months of this year, the first net sales in that period since 2002.

Governments and companies have borrowed heavily in the past few years, taking advantage of ultra-low interest rates, and they now stare at bigger interest liabilities due to a rise in yields.

Also Read: Global Markets: Dust settles on stocks surge, OPEC+ talks supply cuts

“The combination of high debt levels and a rise in interest rates has reduced investors’ confidence in the government’s ability to pay back debt, which has resulted in the massive outflows we are seeing,” said Jacob Sansbury, CEO at Pluto Investing.

He added that outflows from bond funds might continue into 2023, as a reduction in interest rates and reduced debt loads are unlikely.

Emerging market bonds faced an outflow of about $80 billion in the first three quarters of this year, while U.S. high yield bonds and inflation-linked bonds witnessed net sales of $65.81 billion and $16.44 billion, respectively.

The iShares UK Gilts All Stocks Index (UK) D Acc recorded outflows of $6.67 billion in the last quarter, while the ILF GBP Liquidity Plus Class 2 and Vanguard U.K. Short Term Investment Grade Bond Index GBP Acc fund saw withdrawals of $2.16 billion and $993 million respectively.

BONDS ATTRACTIVE NOWHowever, some funds managers said bonds looked attractive after the slump this year.

The ICE BoFA U.S. Treasury Index has fallen 13.5% so far this year, while the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index has shed about 20%.

“The yield cushion now protects the investor against negative total returns significantly more than it did at the beginning of the year,” said Jake Remley, portfolio manager at Income Research + Management.

“This almost certainly makes the prospects for bonds better between now and year-end, even if interest rates continue to rise as briskly as they have over the past 9 months.”

The yields on 2-year and 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds stood around 4.12% and 3.68% respectively on Wednesday, compared with 0.7% and 1.5% at the start of the year.

Similarly, the yield on the ICE BofA U.S. High Yield index , the commonly used benchmark for the junk bond market, stood at 9%, compared with 4.3% at the start of the year.

“Some bonds have become the proverbial ‘babies thrown out with the bathwater’ and offer compelling value at these levels,” said Ryan O’Malley, portfolio manager at Sage Advisory Services.

“However, it’s important to note that there will likely be further credit stress in many corners of the bond market and risk management is paramount in these uncertain times.”

Meta, Google investors look past earnings beats to risks ahead

Posted on by

The digital ad market is finally recovering from a painful slump. You wouldn’t know it looking at the shares of Meta Platforms, Snap and Alphabet. All three reported generally upbeat results this week, with ad spending growing compared with a year ago. That should’ve been a welcome sign for investors who’ve seen the industry struggle through more than two years in turmoil. The companies have had to cope with a post-pandemic pullback in online marketing spending, an ever-changing list of economic uncertainties and a change to Apple’s privacy policies that made smartphone ads less effective.

But warnings from the companies’ executives about broader economic conditions and the pursuit of new avenues of growth have sent stocks sliding in the wake of results. Take Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Shares initially climbed more than 5% following its quarterly report and guidance on Wednesday. Then chief financial officer Susan Li said in a call with analysts that the future looks unpredictable. “We are very subject to volatility in the macro landscape,” Li said. “The revenue outlook is uncertain” for 2024.

Financially, all three are looking stronger. Meta beat revenue estimates and indicated that growth will continue for the rest of the year. Snap returned to sales increases after two periods of declines. Alphabet topped projections with both its search ad sales and overall revenue, though its cloud business struggled.

It hasn’t been an easy transition. The companies have deeply cut costs, retooled their ad businesses and limited new spending to what they see as more solid bets, such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

Snap, the maker of the Snapchat app, has spent much of the year revamping its ad business, which finally returned to growth last quarter. But when it reported results Tuesday, the company said it had limited visibility into revenue for the rest of the year.

The Israel-Hamas war was cited as one source of uncertainty. A “large number” of advertising campaigns were paused in the third quarter after the start of the conflict, Snap said, and this delay could continue into the fourth quarter. As a result, the company said it would be “imprudent” to provide a formal outlook for the current quarter.

Snap fell 5.4% on Wednesday. “Given the near-term issues, which could take a while to play out, we remain on the sidelines,” said Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Shyam Patil, who has a neutral rating on the stock.

Angelo Zino, an analyst at CFRA Research, shares those anxieties. “I would say we are now in an environment where investors are becoming more concerned about macro/geopolitical/regulatory uncertainties,” he said.

For Alphabet, where the ad business is tied to an already mature and dominant search business, investors are looking for other sources of growth. On Tuesday, the cloud computing unit’s disappointments overshadowed a stronger ad business. Though overall sales came in about $1 billion higher than analysts’ estimates, the shares tumbled 9.5% on Wednesday, marking the biggest single-day decline since 2020.

Guidance from digital ad sellers is closely scrutinized because their revenue is dependent on businesses feeling confident enough to spend on marketing. Inflation, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and rising interest rates have all been headwinds.

“They are heavily tied to the health of the economy,” Zino said.

Amazon.com, which has been expanding its own ad business, should give investors a clearer picture of how holiday demand is shaping up when it releases results Thursday.

Meta, Snap and Alphabet all use revenue from digital ads to fund investments in new technology. A pullback in that market could make it harder to spend heavily on AI innovation and other big bets. Even though investors have rewarded stocks that show strength in AI, there’s less support when a company’s main revenue stream is at risk.

At Meta, Li acknowledged that steady profits are vital if it wants to maintain its ambitions. “We recognize that we have to earn the ability to invest in all of those things by delivering consolidated operating income growth over time,” she said.

Follow us onTwitter,Instagram,LinkedIn,Facebook