1 / 101. Asia: Stocks in Asia Pacific rose in Friday morning trade as positive economic data raised optimism over the prospects of an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Mainland Chinese stocks rose in morning trade, with the Shanghai composite jumping 1.3 percent and the Shenzhen component adding 0.413 percent. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.46 percent while the Topix index rose 0.24 percent. South Korea’s Kospi also advanced 0.58 percent. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.57 percent. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.61 percent higher. (Image: AP)
2 / 102. US: Stocks rose on Thursday following a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report as the economy tries to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 92.39 points higher, or 0.4 percent, at 25,827.36. The Nasdaq Composite hit a record high, climbing 0.5 percent to 10,207.63. The S&P 500 also gained 0.5 percent to end the day at 3,130.01. U.S. markets will be closed on Friday for the July Fourth holiday. (Image: AP)
3 / 103. Market At Close On Thursday: Indian equity benchmark indices extended gains to close higher on Thursday for the second consecutive day supported by auto and IT stocks. Broad-based buying was witnessed across sectors that led to the rally. At close, the Sensex ended 429 points or 1.21 percent higher at 35,843.70 while the Nifty index ended at 10,552, 122 points or 1.17 percent higher. (Image: Reuters)
4 / 104. Crude Oil: Crude prices fell on Friday as the resurgence of the coronavirus globally and in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, dimmed the prospects of fuel demand recovery. Brent crude futures were down 37 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $42.77 a barrel as of 0042 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 34 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $40.31 a barrel. Both benchmarks rose more than 2 percent on Thursday, buoyed by stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data and a fall in U.S. crude inventories. For the week, Brent is up 4.3 percent and WTI is up 5.6 percent. (Image: Reuters)
5 / 105. Rupee Close: The rupee appreciated by 56 paise to settle at 75.04 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday tracking weakness in the greenback and gains in the domestic equity market. Forex traders said positive domestic equities and weak US currency supported the local unit.The rupee opened strong at 75.48 and settled for the day at 75.51 against the US dollar, up 7 paise over its previous close. It had settled at 75.58 against the greenback on Monday. (Image: Reuters)
6 / 106. FM Sitharaman Says IT Challenges To Remain Focus Of GST Council: As Goods and Services Tax (GST) completed three years of implementation, union finance and revenue secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey on Wednesday said that the GST information technology (IT) system is quite robust as more than 46 crore tax returns have been filed through the system in last three years, which has helped in making the historical indirect tax reform a success. However, the union finance minister, who is also the chairman of the GST Council, said the priority should be to proactively address the compliance challenges faced by businesses and GST taxpayers, and only by this pro-activity, we can ensure much needed economic growth in the near future. (Image: Reuters)
7 / 107. India In Talks With US, Canada, UAE To Restart International Flights: India is in advanced level discussions with the United States, Canada and the Middle East to restart scheduled commercial international flights, Airports Authority of India chairman Arvind Singh said on Thursday. Singh said that the aim is to restart international flights at the earliest and there is a possibility that it could happen as early as July. "If these negotiations fructify and operations start, one possibility is that if they start in July, we should be ready ... discussions are in advanced stage and looking to start at the earliest," Singh said. (Image: Reuters)
8 / 108. MEA Says India Welcomes Investments If Companies Abide By Rules: In the aftermath of the union government’s interim ban on 59 Chinese apps, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that India is one of the open regimes for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) provided companies abide by the government rules. The MEA added that India has adopted an open regime for digital technology and internet. India is one of the world’s largest digital tech markets with over 680 million subscribers, it added. The MEA said that companies operating in India have to follow rules regarding data security. (Image: Reuters)
9 / 109. Food Subsidy Set To Touch A Record Rs 3.7 Trillion In FY21: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi extending the supply of free grains under the Gareeb Kalyan Ann Yojana to November, the government is set to spend a record amount on food subsidy in FY21.
Sources told CNBC-TV1 that the additional food subsidy on account of the extension of the scheme will be financed through a mix of cash supplementary and borrowings from the National Small Savings Fund or the NSSF, as full budgetary support may not be possible. This means the government will allow additional borrowings from the small savings kitty to the Food Corporation of India to partly finance the additional procurement, carrying, storage, and warehousing costs, which cannot be met from the Budget. (Image: Reuters)
10 / 1010. Only 13% Free Foodgrains Handed Out To Migrants, Says Report: Only 13 percent of allocated free food grain has been handed out to returning migrant workers in the last two months, according to a report by The Indian Express. Referring to data from Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the report says that the majority of states failed to distribute 8 lakh metric tonnes of free food grains allocated under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package. “Some states are not distributing foodgrain to the poor. It is a matter of concern…they should be sensitive to the poor…. We have no problem in providing foodgrain to states. When it is being given free, I don’t understand the problem in distribution. We are taking this issue seriously,” Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan was quoted as saying in the report. (Image: Reuters)
