1 / 101. Asia: Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday as investors remained cautious over the short-term economic impact of the coronavirus as cases around the world continue to rise. Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 reversed earlier losses to climb 0.16 percent, with the heavily-weighted financials subindex up 0.13 percent. Materials and energy sectors still struggled for gains. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan fell 0.57 percent after market open while the Topix index was down 0.28 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index traded near flat at 2,547.90, reported CNBC International. (Image: Reuters)
2 / 102. US: Stocks futures fell in overnight trading on Thursday as rising new coronavirus cases cast doubt on a swift economic recovery. Also weighing on sentiment was a disagreement between the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve over the continuation of funding for some of the emergency programs implemented during the recession. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 220 points, implying a loss of more than 200 points at Friday’s open. S&P 500 futures slid 0.7 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.3 percent, reported CNBC International. (Image: AP)
3 / 103. Closing Bell On Thursday: Indian indices ended over 1 percent lower on Thursday after 4 sessions of gains, following losses in global peers, as widening COVID-19 restrictions weighed on market sentiment. The domestic indices were mainly dragged by financials but IT and metal sectors also contributed to the fall. The Sensex ended 580 points lower at 43,600 while the Nifty fell 166 points to settle at 12,772. Broader markets were also lower with the Nifty Midcap down 0.7 percent while the Nifty Smallcap index fell 0.23 percent. Among sectors, the Nifty Bank declined 3 percent while the Nifty Fin Services shed 2.4 percent. IT, metal, and pharma indices also ended in the red for the day, down 0.5-1 percent. However, the Nifty FMCG rose 0.4 percent.(Image: Reuters)
4 / 104. Crude Oil: Oil prices slipped on Thursday as hopes for a vaccine were overshadowed by a surge in new cases of the coronavirus around the world, which raised concerns about the outlook for crude demand. Brent crude fell 0.32 percent to settle at $44.20 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 8 cents to settle at $41.74 per barrel, reported CNBC International. (Image: Reuters)
5 / 105. Rupee: The Indian currency fell on Thursday on muted domestic equities and a strong American currency. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic unit opened at 74.28 against the US dollar and touched an intra-day high of 74.22. The rupee settled at 74.27 against the greenback, registering a fall of 8 paise over its previous close of 74.19, reported PTI. (Image: Reuters)
6 / 106. Arvind Panagariya on India-China Tensions: Noted economist and former Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya on Wednesday said India must resolve border issues with China before joining Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). "I was very enthusiastic that India should go for the RCEP, but there has been a problem at the border. For those geopolitical reasons which have the potential to eventually spill over into the economic arena as well, I have changed my mind. So, I am no longer as enthusiastic for India to join in. I think geopolitically we cannot trust China the way I thought we could and so that has led me to have some refrain," he said in an interview to CNBC-TV18." "If we are hoping to bring in a lot of the multinational companies that are currently operative in China, but want to diversify elsewhere and to our shores, then having access to this large market is a huge plus," he added. (Image: PTI)
7 / 107. Moody's Ups FY21 India Growth Forecast: Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday upped India's growth forecast to (-) 10.6 percent for the current fiscal, from its earlier estimate of (-) 11.5 percent, saying the latest stimulus prioritises manufacturing and job creation and focuses on longer-term growth. Last week the government had announced a new fiscal package amounting to Rs 2.7 lakh crore. Moody’s said the latest measures aim to increase the competitiveness of India’s manufacturing sector and create jobs while supporting infrastructure investment, credit availability and stressed sectors. As such, they present potential upside to our current growth forecasts, a credit positive, it added. ”We have revised our real, inflation-adjusted GDP forecast for fiscal 2020 (April 2020-March 2021) to a 10.6 percent contraction, from a 11.5 percent drop previously,” Moody’s said. For next fiscal 2021-22, Moody’s projected India to grow at 10.8 percent, as against the previous estimate of 10.6 percent. (Image: Reuters)
8 / 108. RBI Board Member On LVB-DBS Merger: RBI board member Manish Sabharwal on Thursday praised the central bank on its proposal to merge Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) with the Indian arm of Singapore-based DBS Bank, saying the scheme is a new template where a distressed private sector entity is rescued by another private player. On Tuesday, the government imposed a 30-day moratorium on Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB), restricting cash withdrawals at Rs 25,000 per depositor, and simultaneously announced a scheme to merge the cash-strapped lender with DBS Bank India. "RBI has done a remarkable job with the template that gets created…(in) the DBS and LVB deal. It's a new template, where private distress is solved by private sector rescue. Shareholders get wiped out, depositors and others are fine," Sabharwal said. (company image)
9 / 109. CRISIL On Property Registrations In Mumbai: The financial capital has seen a 1.3 times increase in property registrations on lower duties, but FY21 is going to be a difficult year for the realty sector with primary sales likely to decline by 50 percent in top 10 cities, a report said on Thursday. Maharashtra has announced a reduction in stamp duty to 2 percent as against the usual 5 percent till December and 3 percent till March 2021, which may have contributed to the 1.1-1.3 percent surprise jump in property registrations in Mumbai and the rest of the state in the last two months, rating agency Crisil's research arm said. "On a full-year basis, we estimate overall primary sales to witness a decline of 40-50 percent in top 10 cities," it said, adding that while the overall rebound in real estate demand in October was faster than envisaged earlier, its sustenance post the festive season will be monitorable. (Image: Reuters)
10 / 1010. EPFO On Number Of Subscribers: Retirement fund body EPFO on Thursday dismissed media reports about a fall in the number of firms and subscribers contributing towards its social security schemes in October. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), is an statutory organisation under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The article published claims a decline of 30,800 contributing establishments with the EPFO in October from September 2020, and a simultaneous decline of 1.8 million contributing members in October as compared with the previous month, it said. The EPFO has emphasised that the dataset published regarding contributory members and establishments does not match with the official data of the organisation for any of the wage months mentioned.The data published is not based on EPFO's data and is incorrect, the statement said. The EPFO's official data regarding contributory members and establishment is published on the 20th of every month in the form of payroll data.. (File Photo: IANS)
