1 / 101. Asia: Stocks in Asia-Pacific traded higher in Friday morning trade, with technology shares watched after their counterparts stateside saw losses overnight. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.16 percent while the Topix index gained 0.25 percent. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.4 percent. Shares in Australia also edged higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.37 percent. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.27 percent higher, reported CNBC International. (Image: Reuters)
2 / 102. US: Stock futures held steady in overnight trading on Thursday after another sell-off on Wall Street led by major technology names. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 20 points. The S&P 500 futures and the Nasdaq 100 futures were both flat. During Thursday’s regular trading session, the S&P 500 declined 0.8% for its biggest drop in a week. The Dow dipped 130 points, snapping a four-day winning streak. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.3 percent and briefly dipped back into correction territory, down 10 percent from its record high, reported CNBC International. (Image: AP)
3 / 103. Market At Close On Thursday: Indian shares ended lower on Thursday, dragged down by banking stocks and index heavyweights TCS and RIL, as China tensions remained in focus. The Sentiment was also negative after global markets gave up gains despite the US Federal Reserve saying it would keep interest rates near zero. The Sensex ended 323 points lower at 38,980 while the Nifty lost 88 points to settle at 11,516. Broader markets were also in the red with Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap down 0.25 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. (Image: Reuters)
4 / 104. Crude Oil: Oil prices rose about 2 percent on Thursday, turning positive as OPEC and its allies said the producer group would crack down on countries that failed to comply with output cuts and planned to hold an extraordinary meeting in October if oil markets weaken further. Brent oil futures extended their gains to trade up 2.3 percent at $43.21 a barrel. U.S. crude futures settled 81 cents, or 2 percent , higher at $40.97 per barrel. Both contracts rose more than 4 percent on Wednesday, reported CNBC International. (Image: Reuters)
5 / 105. Rupee Close: The Indian currency settled lower amidst the volatile equity market. The rupee ended at 73.66 against the US dollar as compared to Wednesday's close of 73.52. (Image: Reuters)
6 / 106. RBI Announces OMO Purchase: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday announced another round of open market operations (OMO) to be conducted on September 24. The central bank will purchase government securities worth Rs 10,000 crore maturing in September 2026, October 2029 and September 2031. "The Reserve Bank will continue to monitor evolving liquidity and market conditions and take measures as appropriate to ensure orderly functioning of financial markets," the bank said in a release. (Image: Reuters)
7 / 107. DGTR On Anti-Dumping Duty: The commerce ministry's investigation arm DGTR (Directorate General of Trade Remedies) has initiated a probe into an alleged circumvention of the anti-dumping duty imposed on the imports of 'axle for trailers' from China. 'Axle for trailers' are used in vehicles. The anti-dumping duty on the product was imposed by the finance ministry in November 2016. According to a notification, the directorate has received information from Commissioner of Customs (imports), Nhava Sheva that the duty is being circumvented as the product is being imported in CKD (Complete Knock Down)/ SKD (Semi-Knock Down) form and then assembled as 'axle for trailers'. The prima facie evidence indicates circumvention of the duty and undermining of the efficacy of the duty on the product. "The authority hereby initiates an anti-circumvention investigation," it said. (Image: Reuters)
8 / 108. Arvind Panagriya On Indian Economy: A GDP contraction of 23.9 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal may be a cause for concern for the economists, but former NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya is of the view that the dip in growth is almost entirely due to the lockdown restrictions and is not a testimony to the fundamental weakness in the economy. Further, Panagariya feels that there are excellent prospects of India returning to 7 percent plus growth once the COVID threat has been eliminated. Meanwhile, even as the government takes more measures to open up more and more sectors in a bid to revive the economy, it has announced customs norms in a bid to crack the whip on importers who have been using free trade agreements as a shield to avoid paying customs duty. Starting from the 21st of September, the customs department would be closely monitoring imports from nations with whom India has an FTA. (stock image)
9 / 109. MSME Guidelines For Pottery, Beekeeping Activities: The Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ministry on Thursday said it has come out with new guidelines for two schemes - pottery and beekeeping activities. It said that for pottery activity, the government will provide assistance of pottery wheel, clay blunger, and granulator. "It will also provide wheel pottery training for traditional pottery artisans and Press Pottery training for pottery as well as non-pottery artisans in Self Help Groups," it added. This is being done to enhance the production, technical knowhow of pottery artisans and to develop new products at reduced costs; and to enhance the income of pottery artisans through training and modern / automated equipment. A total of 6,075 traditional and others (non-traditional) pottery artisans/rural un-employed youth/migrant labourers will get benefited from this scheme. (stock image)
10 / 1010. ICRA On PSBs: Divesting majority stake in state-run lenders by the government will be "credit negative" for such public sector banks (PSBs), a domestic ratings agency warned on Thursday. Many of the entities where the government is mulling selling off majority stake as per reports have a weak credit profile, Icra Ratings said, adding a move to reduce the public ownership will be hurtful. These six lenders are primarily supported by sovereign ownership and the ensuing stable deposit base, the agency said. It said there are media reports suggesting a possible divestment of majority stakes in few PSBs that were left out of consolidation exercise last year. It can be noted that some banks like UCO Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Punjab and Sind Bank have been left out of the consolidation process. (Image: Reuters)
