1. Asia: Stocks in Asia Pacific traded lower on Thursday morning following overnight declines on Wall Street. South Korean shares led losses among the region’s major markets, as the Kospi dropped 1.81 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also fell 1.59 percent. Mainland Chinese stocks slipped, with the Shanghai composite down 1.08% while the Shenzhen component declined 1.194 percent. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.73 percent in morning trade while the Topix index shed 0.69 percent. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.23 percent. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 1.32 percent lower, reported CNBC International. (Image: Reuters)
2. US: Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, adding to September’s struggles, as tech shares took another leg lower and investors fretted over uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic and further stimulus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 525.05 points lower, or 1.9 percent, at 26,763.13. Earlier in the session, the Dow was up 176 points. The S&P 500 slid 2.4 percent to 3,236.92 and the Nasdaq Composite pulled back by 3 percent to close at 10,632.99, reported CNBC International. (Image: AP)
3. Crude Oil: Oil rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday, supported by U.S. government data that showed crude and fuel inventories dropped last week, although concerns about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic capped gains. Brent crude rose 53 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $42.25 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled 13 cents, or 0.3 percent, higher at $39.93 per barrel, reported CNBC International. (Image: Reuters)
4. Rupee Close: The Indian currency ended little unchanged on Wednesday as investors turned cautious amid weak domestic equities. The rupee ended at 73.57 against the US dollar as compared to 73.58 on Tuesday. (Image: Reuters)
5. Market At Close On Wednesday: The Indian benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty ended Wednesday's volatile session lower, their fifth consecutive day of losses, dragged by selling in banks, pharma and media stocks amid mixed global cues. The Sensex ended 65.66 points or 0.17 percent lower at 37,668.42 while the Nifty lost 21.80 points or 0.20 percent to settle at 11,131.85. Broader indices ended mixed with Nifty Smallcap100 closing flat while Nifty Midcap100 falling 0.33 percent. Among sectors, Nifty Media fell the most over 2 percent followed by Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSU Bank declining over 1 percent each. Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Realty and Nifty Financial Services ended in the green. (Image: Reuters)
6. Finance Commission: The Fifteenth Finance Commission finds itself caught in the crossfire between the Centre and the states. Chairman NK Singh says the Centre wants him to reduce the share of the states in the pooled taxes from the current 42 percent. Then again, the states have asked the Commission to increase their share of the pooled taxes to 50 percent. Singh told CNBCTV18 that the previous FC had sharply increased the share of states from 32 percent to 42 percent. Prior to that, FCs would increase the states' share only incrementally. Given the fiscal pressure in the wake of the COVID pandemic, the Centre wants the states' share to be 'recalibrated,' Singh said. He also said that the Centre is bearing a huge part of the cost of Contribution To Schemes Sponsored For States (CSSS). (File Photo: IANS)
6. NK Singh On Growth: The Finance Commission has to submit its report next month. Will it cut the devolution formula or leave it the same? What growth and tax collections are they factoring in? Speaking to CNBC-TV18, NK Singh, Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission said that lower the growth, the higher will be the rebound. Singh also said that there is no luxury to assume a stable rate of growth for the next 5 years. However, according to Singh, experts differ on the extent of the rebound next year. Not just growth, but revenue buoyancy also is a problem, said Singh. He added that some members of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) feel there will be double-digit contraction in growth this year. However, the Chief Economic Advisor thinks growth contraction will be less than double-digits, he said. (Image: PTI)
8. Micro-Finance Industry Overcoming COVID Crisis: The country-wide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for the microfinance industry (MFI) sector, but it is slowly tiding over the crisis now, an official said on Wednesday. "The MFIs are now slowly overcoming the challenge by keeping in touch and hand-holding customers to wade through the difficult times," an official of the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) said. The complete stoppage of micro-finance operations from March-end to May due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown had been a big setback, he said. (Photo: IANS)
9. Govt On Textile Sector: The textile industry has to manage the COVID-19 crisis on its own and face the challenge in value addition while the government would be a facilitator and support the industry, Textile Commissioner, Mumbai, Roop Rashi said on Wednesday Addressing the 14th CEO conference SIMS TEXPIN 2020 organised by the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) virtually, Rashi said the textile markets are strong domestically but the problem the industry faces today due to COVID-19 would be shorter.
Stating that the structural issues on raw material would be addressed soon, she said that it is for the industry to utilise the opportunities, diversify, innovate, scale-up and build global brands. The role played by the textiles during the pandemic is for the benefit of the medical fraternity and it is marvelous, said a SIMA press release quoting the official.(Image: Reuters/Representative)
10. IMF On Global Economies: The coronavirus crisis is lasting longer than expected and it will take some countries years to return to growth, the No. 2 official at the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. The Fund has provided some USD 90 billion in total financing to 79 countries, including 20 in Latin America, since the start of the health crisis, an IMF spokeswoman said. It is continuing to work with member countries on how to contain the pandemic and mitigate its economic impact, First Deputy Managing Director Geoffrey Okamoto told an online event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ”We’re trying to preserve our financial firepower,” Okamoto said. ”We’re talking about a … return to growth that’s going to take a few years, and many countries along the way that are probably going to need assistance.” (Image: Reuters)