Weekly Capsule (Oct 01 – Oct 05) and Impact Analysis

News Announcement Impact Analysis
RBI maintains status quo on repo rates at 6.50% in the monetary policy
  • This was contrary to the street expectations which was anticipating a 25 bps hike in rates to defend the rupee
  • The MPC had decided to maintain status quo while changing the stance to calibrated tightening from neutral
Oil stocks cracked vertically after subsidies returned to OMCs
  • The government announced a Re.1 subsidy to oil consumers in the form of subsidy by the oil companies
  • Even as OMCs cracked sharply, the upstream companies like ONGC and RIL also felt the pressure
Sensex loses over 2000 points in a single week on sustained selling
  • The selling in the market began with the IL&FS crisis but the trade data and weak rupee worsened the fall
  • On Friday, the RBI decision to hold rates spooked the markets even as the rupee went beyond the 74/$ mark
Rupee went beyond the 74/$ mark during the week
  • The sustained FPI selling combined with importers hedging demand led to a sharp fall in the rupee
  • The rupee cracked sharply after the RBI maintained status while the market was expecting a rate hike
US and China to hold key trade talks on Monday to ease tensions
  • With nearly $400 billion of trade under higher tariffs, the impact is now seen on global growth
  • WTO has already hinted at negative growth in trade and a possible lower GDP growth across the globe
Key economic data to drive the markets in the coming week
  • In the coming week there are some key data points like the CPI inflation and the IIP numbers
  • Additionally, the value of the rupee and the price of Brent Crude will also have a bearing on markets
Saudi Arabia eyes Aramco IPO in 2021 with valuation of $2 trillion
  • It may be recollected that KSA had put off the proposed IPO of Aramco due to unfavourable market conditions
  • The 2021 signals means that oil prices could still stay buoyant for some more time to come
Fund raising via IPOs falls by 53% in first half of fiscal 2018-19
  • The limited retail and institutional appetite for fresh paper has been one of the key reasons for a tepid performance
  • In the last couple of months highly uncertain secondary market conditions also contributed to a muted response
FPIs pull out nearly Rs.9300 crore from equities in 4 trading sessions
  • This $1.30 billion equity pullout is one of the sharpest selling in recent times
  • That has been largely instrumental in the sharp weakness in the rupee which has fallen beyond the 74/$ mark
Finance ministry exempts IPOs / ESOPs from STT rule for LTCG benefits
  • When LTCG tax was introduced in 2018, there was no clarity on tax on IPOs/ESOPs where STT was not paid
  • Now it is clarified that in case of IPO/ESOP/rights, the LTCG will be concessional even if no STT has been paid
Chanda Kochhar resigns from the boards of all ICICI group companies
  • In a surprising move, Chanda Kochhar opted to retire from all her positions even before the Justice Srikrishna report
  • The decision to appoint Sandeep Bakshi as the CEO was welcomed by the markets on Thursday
The new board under Uday Kotak took charge of IL&FS operations
  • While Uday Kotak will be the head of the board, Vineet Nayyar will be handling execution
  • The first focus of the IL&FS board will be to take stock, monetize assets and give a detailed action plan
US markets reacted negatively to the rise in bond yields
  • US equities faced pressure at higher levels with US benchmark bond yields going above the 3.20% mark
  • This new high on bond yields distorts the risk-return against equities and in favour of debt
Government announces higher MSP on Rabi crops too
  • The announcement comes a day after the Met department announced a lower than average monsoon
  • Rabi crop is the winter cropping season and represents the output of wheat, mustard and lentils
Oil companies will be allowed to rise up to $10 billion via the ECB market
  • This was intended to give a boost to OMCs which were being squeezed by thinning margins
  • With the subsidy loading on the OMCs, it is not very clear if global investors will be interested in Indian OMC bonds
Bond yields crossed 8.2% but retreated after the RBI status quo
  • 10 year bond yields had gotten close to 8.2% on expectations that the RBI would hike rates in its October policy
  • With the RBI opting for status quo, the bond markets celebrated with sharply lower bond yields
The political Mahagathbandhan runs into trouble ahead of state elections
  • Both the BSP and the SP have decided not to ally with the Congress in MP state elections
  • MP and Rajasthan appear to be more of a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP
Core sector growth came in sharply lower at 4.2% for August
  • Some of the key sectors like crude oil and fertilizers showed negative while coal had tepid growth
  • This core sector number is critical because it accounts for nearly 41% of the IIP and also key to the GDP numbers
Ericsson sues Anil Ambani and RCOM for contempt of court
  • RCOM was supposed to pay Rs.550 crore as compensation to Ericsson by September 30th but asked for 6 months delay
  • While Ericsson has refused to accede to the request, this issue is most likely to be sorted out of court
IMD predicts 9% rainfall deficit for the year 2018 based on early estimates
  • The low rainfall was more due to a very dry September, although cropping patterns may not be impacted
  • The Kharif output is expected to be 5% higher this year which should keep food inflation under check
Bandhan Bank and Infibeam come under bear attack
  • The two stocks came under bear attack for governance and disclosure related issues
  • Bandhan did not dilute equity as stipulated and Infibeam indulged in inter group loan transactions