1 / 101. Asia: Shares in Asia-Pacific traded mixed on Thursday as investors reacted to the latest announcements from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Mainland Chinese stocks nudged higher, with the Shanghai composite above the flatline and the Shenzhen component advancing 0.255 percent. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 0.3 percent. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was little changed while the Topix index sat below the flatline. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.66 percent. Shares in Australia edged higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.66 percent, reported CNBC International. (Image: Reuters)
2 / 102. US: U.S. stock futures were flat on Wednesday night as traders kept an eye on Washington, looking for clues about the prospects of additional fiscal aid. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained just 29 points, or 0.1 percent. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also rose marginally. Earlier in the day, congressional leaders closed in on a $900 stimulus package that would include direct payments to individuals, reported CNBC International. (Image: AP)
3 / 103. Markets At Close On Wednesday: Indian indices ended at record close on Wednesday boosted by buying across all sectors. Gains were mainly led by realty, auto, IT and metal indices. The Sensex ended 403 points higher at a record close of 46,666 while the Nifty rose 115 points to its closing high of 12,683. In intra-day deals as well, the Sensex hit an all-time high of 46,704.97, up as much as 442 points while the Nifty rallied 124 points to its new high of 13,692. (Image: Reuters)
4 / 104. Crude Oil: Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday, buoyed by U.S. government data that showed crude stockpiles fell last week and by optimism about a coronavirus relief package in the United States. Brent crude futures rose 28 cents to $51.04 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled 20 cents, or 0.4 percent, higher at $47.82 per barrel, reported CNBC International. (Image: Reuters)
5 / 105. Rupee Close: The rupee appreciated 5 paise to close at 73.58 against the US dollar on Wednesday, propped up by sustained foreign fund inflows and a weak greenback overseas. Strong domestic equities also strengthened investor sentiment, traders said. At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 73.49 against the US dollar and witnessed an intra-day high of 73.48 and a low of 73.60, reported PTI. (Image: Reuters)
6 / 106. SEBI On Shareholding Norms: In its last board meeting before the union budget, market regulator Sebi cleared some crucial regulations for companies undergoing Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). Sebi said the companies wanting to re-list after going through CIRP will have to achieve Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) of 5 percent at the tome of re-listing on the exchanges. Such companies will get a period of 12 months to achieve MPS of 10 percent and 3 years to achieve MOS of 25 percent. What comes as a relief for the incoming promoter is that Sebi has decided to do away with the current one year lock-in requirement for the promoter. As per the revised regulation, the incoming promoter will be able to contribute towards achieving 10 percent MPS required within 12 months. (Image: Reuters)
7 / 107. Cabinet On Sugar Subsidy: The union cabinet on Wednesday has cleared the export subsidy for sugar exports for the marketing year 2020-2021. While the mandated sugar exports still stand at 6 million tonne, last year, mills managed to export 5.8 million tonne. The money allotted for this is quite lower than last year. Last year, it was Rs 10.45 per kilogram and this time, it was has gone back and forth - Rs 9.5 per kilogram and Rs 6 per kilogram. Rs 6 per kilogram was the last figure that was proposed by the union food ministry to the union finance ministry. (Image: Reuters)
8 / 108. WEF Competitiveness Report 2020: The World Economic Forum has released a report on competitiveness by ranking 37 countries on 10 parameters. These parameters are used to gauge a country's response to the pandemic and steps taken for a potential recovery. India has scored below the global average on 8 out of 10 parameters. In education and skilling to improve job prospects of citizens - India has scored 43.5 out of 100. The global average is over 55 and Finland is the top scoring nation at 75. Next is about rethinking labour laws and providing social protection- India has scored just over 44 and the global average is over 61. The next parameter is incentivising investment in research and development. Here, India scores a paltry 32 out of 100 when the global average is nearly 42. The United States leads R&D spending. The only parameter where India has fared better than the global average is on progressive taxation. India has scored nearly 56 out of 100 and the global average is 50. (stock image)
9 / 109. SBI On FY21 GDP Contraction: India’s GDP growth is expected to be at (-) 7.4 percent in FY21 on better than projected recovery, said a SBI research report, upgrading its earlier forecast of (-) 10.9 percent. The report also believes that it would take seven quarters from the fourth quarter of FY21 for GDP to reach the pre-pandemic level in nominal terms. ”We now expect GDP decline for the full year (FY21) to be in single digits at 7.4 percent (compared to our earlier prediction of () 10.9 percent), aligned with RBI and markets’ revised forecasts post Q2,” SBI said in its research report – Ecowrap. It said the revised GDP estimates are based on SBI ’Nowcasting Model’ with 41 high-frequency indicators associated with industry activity, service activity, and global economy. (stock image)
10 / 1010. S&P On India's Growth Forecast: S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday raised India’s growth projection for the current fiscal to (-) 7.7 percent from (-) 9 percent estimated earlier on rising demand and falling COVID infection rates. ”Rising demand and falling infection rates have tempered our expectation of COVID’s hit on the Indian economy. S&P Global Ratings has revised real GDP growth to negative 7.7 percent for the year ending March 2021, from negative 9 percent previously,” S&P said in a statement. The US-based rating agency said its revision in growth forecast reflects a faster-than-expected recovery in the quarter through September. For the next fiscal, it projected India’s growth to rebound to 10 percent. India’s gross domestic product fell 7.5 percent in the July-September quarter, against a contraction of 23.9 percent in the April-June quarter. (Image: AP)
