Indian Economy-News & Updates

[IndoCarib]

India seeks to ease investor fears on tax-avoidance rules - NY Daily News

Change if finance ministry portfolio is already showing positive results. Investors were scared of tax avoidance rules. Vodafone and others can take a sigh of releif

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gulfnews : India stocks advance most in Asia


Mumbai: Indian stocks climbed to the highest in 10 weeks, with the benchmark index gaining the most in Asia, as the government moved to soothe foreign investors' concerns over tax rules and Morgan Stanley upgraded the nation's shares.

ITC Ltd, the nation's biggest tobacco company, climbed to a record. ICICI Bank Ltd, the third-biggest lender by market value, gained for a third day. The BSE India Sensitive Index, or Sensex, rose 2.4 per cent to 17,401.46, according to preliminary closing prices in Mumbai, the highest since April 19.

India said yesterday it plans to apply anti-tax avoidance rules from April 1, 2013, quashing concerns the norms would be used retrospectively, a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took charge of the finance ministry. Overseas funds were net sellers of Indian stocks in April and May on concern the rules would apply to their local holdings. Morgan Stanley upgraded the country's equities to equal weight, after maintaining an underweight rating since the first quarter of 2011, saying the market is "now close to trough valuations."

"The equity valuation is not just cheap to history but exceptionally cheap to other emerging markets," Jonathan Garner, Hong Kong-based chief strategist at Morgan Stanley, said in a Bloomberg UTV interview today. "We felt that India had a period of significant underperformance during the period we were underweight and we didn't plan to remain underweight any longer."

 

[IndoCarib]

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Indian rupee gains most in 3 yrs as risk assets rally | Reuters

Indian rupee gains most in 3 yrs as risk assets rally

MUMBAI, June 29 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee posted its biggest daily gain in three years on Friday after the government confirmed it will not impose retroactive taxes on foreign investors and as global risk asset rallied.

 

[KRAIT]

If they complete give complete power to MMS, may be UPA will come to power again.

 

[IndoCarib]

If they complete give complete power to MMS, may be UPA will come to power again.

I am a BJP supporter. But if this time MMS turns around the economy, I will vote for UPA. On the flip side, If UPA comes to power, Rahul will be the PM. And economy go down the drain again

 

[Hello_10]

Rupee posts its biggest daily gain in three years; sensex jumps 439 points

Stock markets closed on Friday with the biggest single-day gain of 439 points in 2012 as investors, richer by Rs 1.17 lakh crore, cheered clarity on tax-avoidance rules and upbeat global market sentiments.

The Hindu : Business / Markets : Sensex up 439 points

its interesting that sensex added around $22bil to investors pockets in just one day, with 3.1% gain on rupees appreciation side also

 

[IndoUS]

I am a BJP supporter. But if this time MMS turns around the economy, I will vote for UPA. On the flip side, If UPA comes to power, Rahul will be the PM. And economy go down the drain again

I don't really care, but I really think its time for UPA to take a rest. One party cannot be/should not be in power for a long time, BJP should come to power and if they want to they should ask MMS to retain his FM post.

 

[HZR2011]

NEW DELHI: Helped by a rally in the stock market where the Sensex surged by a whopping 439 points, its biggest single-day gain in 2012 so far, investors became richer by Rs 1.17 lakh crore on the back of clarity on tax-avoidance rules and bullish global sentiment.

The BSE benchmark index settled at 17,429.98 - a level last seen in April 19, higher by 439.22 points, or 2.59 per cent.

Following the surge in the market, the total investor wealth moved up by Rs 1.17 lakh crore to Rs 61.52 lakh crore. Across the market, around 1,870 stocks rose. All the 13 BSE sectoral indices also ended in green in range of 1-3 per cent.

Among the 30-share Sensex stocks, as many as 29 counters ended higher with gains led by Jindal Steel that rose 8.74 per cent, followed by Tata Power, ICICI Bank and Bhel which rose 5-6 per cent each. The 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty spurted by 129.75 points, or 2.52 per cent to 5,278.90.

Analysts said the sentiments became buoyant as market players cheered Finance Ministry's proposal that the controversial General Anti-Tax Avoidance Rules ( GAAR) would not be applicable below a particular limit.

"The underlying bias has improved but further gains will hinge on policy interventions by the Centre to restore investor confidence. Any encouraging development out of Europe or any other developed markets will also support Indian stocks.

"The euro-zone crisis continues to keep investors on the edge. Therefore, all eyes are on the EU summit which could throw up some more positive initiatives to tackle the two-and-a-half-year-old debt crisis," Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL said.

Sentiment also improved on reports from Europe suggesting a new plan is being worked out to support the ailing banks of the debt-ridden trading bloc. Asian indices, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and China, closed with gains of up to 2 per cent while European indices were trading 1-2 per cent higher in early trade on the news.

Sensex has gained nearly 550 points in the last four days coinciding with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh taking over charge of Finance portfolio and signaling speedy revival of the slowing economic growth.

Investors richer by Rs 1.17 trillion as Sensex surges 439 points - The Economic Times

so Rupee is gaining back or will it go back to 57/$ after a week??

 

[Matrixx]

If Pakistani and Chinese are not around in this thread ...means some good news are there for India.....

 

[shuttler]

the rowdy chests thumping has subsided temporarily and now this for more of your thumping party:

Jan-March current account gap at record high
Jun 29, 2012

(Reuters) - India's current account deficit touched a record high in the March quarter, as surging imports and only moderate export growth pushed up the trade deficit, keeping the balance of payments in deficit for the second quarter in a row.

Hefty oil and gold imports weighed on India's external position during the quarter, although economists said they expect the gap to narrow in the June quarter as oil prices fell and gold imports eased.

The widening current account deficit has weighed on the rupee, pulling the unit to a record low of 57.32 to the dollar on June 22.

Investors have become wary of Indian markets as economic growth slipped to a nine-year low, the current account deficit widened and Standard & Poor's threatened to cut the country's credit rating to junk, making the rupee the worst performing currency in Asia this year.

"What it (rupee) hasn't factored in is a likely improvement in the current account in the first quarter (April-June)," said Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank in New Delhi. "So there is scope for a reversal and stability in the rupee."

India's balance of payments deficit was $5.7 billion in the first three months of 2012, narrower than the $12.8 billion deficit in the December quarter, Reserve Bank of India data showed. But that compared with a surplus of $2 billion in the March quarter of 2011.

"Despite the slowdown in economic activity and rupee depreciation, growth in merchandise imports moderated only mildly from 27.7 percent in the fourth quarter of (fiscal) 2010-11 to 22.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011-12, reflecting inelastic demand for gold and oil," the central bank said on Friday. The fiscal year ends in March.

The country's current account deficit hit an all-time high of $21.7 billion in the March quarter, or 4.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), from $6.3 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, the RBI data showed.

For the full fiscal year of 2011/12, the current account deficit was $78.2 billion or 4.2 percent of GDP, deeper than the $46 billion deficit in 2010/11, the RBI said.

In the December quarter, the current account deficit was $19.95 billion.

"I expect the (current account) deficit to reduce over the next two quarters due to lower oil prices, and slower gold imports," said D.K. Joshi, chief economist at CRISIL, adding that he expects the current account deficit for the current fiscal year at 3.6 percent of GDP.

India's trade deficit in the March quarter stood at $51.6 billion, from a $48.7 billion deficit in the December quarter and a $30 billion deficit a year earlier.

India's financial account, which includes foreign direct investment and portfolio investment as well as overseas borrowing by Indian companies, ran a surplus of $16.5 billion in the March quarter compared with $20.5 billion in the October quarter and $9.1 billion a year earlier.

 

[Matrixx]

Everybody know 1st quarter did not go well for India and you guys posted this news thousand times.....

And you will post thousand time in future also to satisfy your EGO.....

 

[IndoCarib]

Core sector growth improves to 4.6% in May

New Delhi: In a silver lining for flagging Indian economy, eight core sectors posted a higher growth rate of 4.6 percent in May against a dismal 2.2 percent expansion rate in the previous month.

 

[shuttler]

@Matrixx: that's an article about financial news as fresh as 29 June. what a "thousand times" cr@p!

 

[conworldus]

The Hindu : Business / Economy : Current account deficit swells

Current account deficit swells

OOMMEN A. NINAN
SHARE · COMMENT · PRINT · T+

At $78.2 billion, it stands at 4.2 per cent of GDP

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Friday, said that Current Account Deficit (CAD) rose to $78.2 billion (4.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP)) in 2011-12 from $ 46 billion (2.7 per cent of GDP) in 2010-11, “largely reflecting higher trade deficit on account of subdued external demand and relatively inelastic imports of POL and gold and silver”.

During 2011-12, while growth in exports decelerated sharply to 23.6 per cent (37.5 per cent in 2010-11), imports grew by 31.1 per cent (26.7 per cent).

Imports of oil, up 46.9 per cent, and precious metals, up 49.4 per cent, together contributed nearly 45 per cent of total imports during the year. Notably, international price of the Indian basket of crude oil increased from $85.1 in 2010-11 to $111.9 a barrel in 2011-12. “Consequently, the trade deficit widened to $189.7 billion in 2011-12 from $130.4 billion in 2010-11.”

It also said that foreign exchange reserves declined by $12.8 billion for the year ended March 31, 2012, against an increase of $13.1 billion during the previous year.

Foreign exchange reserves (including the valuation effects) declined by $10.4 billion during 2011-12 as against an increase of $25.8 billion, said the RBI.

The valuation gain, reflecting the depreciation of the U.S. dollar against major currencies, accounted for $2.4 billion during 2011-12 compared with $12.7 billion in 2010-11.

“The stress witnessed in India’s Balance of Payments (BoP) in the third quarter continued during the fourth quarter of 2011-12 as well due to large increase in imports,” the RBI said.

“While capital inflows improved, reflecting significant increase in portfolio investment and non-resident deposits, they fell short of financing requirements, resulting in a drawdown of foreign exchange reserves. The trade deficit during the fourth quarter exceeded $50 billion (10.6 per cent of GDP) and Current Account Deficit rose to $21.7 billion (4.5 per cent of GDP). This was $6.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010-11 (1.3 per cent of GDP).

On the Balance of Payments basis, growth in merchandise exports (year-on-year) decelerated sharply to 3.4 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2011-12 from 46.9 per cent during the corresponding quarter of 2010-11. Imports registered a growth of 22.6 per cent compared with 27.7 per cent in the year-ago period.

With export growth remaining substantially lower than import growth, the trade deficit widened to $51.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011-12 from $30 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010-11.

“Despite significant improvement in capital inflows in the fourth quarter of 2011-12, there was a drawdown of foreign exchange reserves of $5.7 billion (excluding valuation) as against an increase of $2 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2010-11, mainly because of deterioration in the current account,” the apex bank said.

 

[shuttler]

Petrol price cut: Auto makers ask for more to help demand slump



http://profit.ndtv.com/News/Article/petrol-price-cut-auto-makers-ask-for-more-to-help-demand-slump-307090
29 Jun 2012

The automobile industry said the petrol price cut is a step in the positive direction for the sector that is struggling with a demand slump, but asked for more such moves to reduce the difference with diesel.

"It is a very good step for the auto industry. We need much more such steps to reduce the price differential between petrol and diesel," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) Senior Director Sugato Sen said.

Expressing similar sentiments, Honda Siel Cars India Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Jnaneswar Sen said the move is in a positive direction.

"However, it is still not enough to have a level playing field between petrol and diesel vehicles as the gap in the prices between the two fuels is very high," he added.

A senior Maruti Suzuki India official said any reduction in fuel price is a positive development as it reduces the cost of running, leading to a positive sentiment in the market.

"However, this only partially offsets the previous big hike," he added.

In a relief to inflation-battered common man, petrol price was on Thursday cut by Rs 2.46 per litre, the second reduction this month. The reduction in rates follows a Rs 2.02 a litre cut in prices from June 3.

The two price cuts have wiped out more than half of the massive Rs 7.54 per litre increase in rates, the biggest in the history, effected last month.

The automobile industry has been reeling under a demand slump as petrol vehicles found lesser buyers due to the high price of the fuel with more and more consumers opting for diesel vehicles.

Car sales in India grew at the slowest pace in seven months during May with SIAM reporting 2.78 per cent growth as high interest rates and petrol prices hit the market.

With vehicle sales continuing to dwindle, many automobile firms, including Maruti Suzuki, General Motors, Tata Motors and Fiat, in India are shutting down their plants temporarily to reduce inventories.

 

[shuttler]

the weak indian government surrenders to a policy hugely unfavoured by foreign companies. who is governing india?


Rupee gains most in 3 years as risk assets rally | Reuters