| Budget Announcement |
Budget Impact |
| Monetary Policy maintained status quo on repo rates at 6% |
- This was largely along expected lines as inflation was higher and global bond yields are also heading higher
- The MPC’s guidance in excess of 5.1% inflation is indicative of the bottoming out of yields and prospects of rate hikes
|
| Air India reported 50% higher net losses at Rs.5700 crore in FY-17 |
- This rise in losses was due to a provision of Rs.1150 crore on account of expired and unapproved SFI scrip
- This could have a bearing on the valuation of Air India when it goes in for strategic stake sale this fiscal year
|
| ACC doubled its profits for the quarter ended December 2017 |
- This performance was largely on the back of ACC’s focus on the higher-margin premium cement business
- This is appreciable considering that the housing market is quite tepid in the aftermath of RERA implementation
|
| Brent crude prices fell below $65/bbl from a higher level of $71/bbl |
- Despite the OPEC supply cut the prices of oil have been falling due to the expectations of US shale supply
- India will be worried about a bounce back in oil prices as it puts stress on the Balance of Payments
|
| Vedanta to incur losses of Rs.2000 crore due to mining license cancellation |
- It may be recollected that the Supreme Court had cancelled all the mining licenses worth 20 million tonnes in Goa
- Vedanta with nearly 5.5 million tonnes capacity in Goa will face losses to the tune of Rs.2000 crore
|
| ONGC may sell its stakes in IOCL and GAIL to fund acquisitions |
- ONGC will be paying $5.5 billion to acquire government’s 51.1% stake in HPCL
- This stake sale plan indicates that more such stake buys by ONGC may be lined up this year for oil sector consolidation
|
| FPIs may now start preferring the France and the Netherlands route |
- With 10% tax on LTCG applicable to FPIs too, most FPIs may not prefer Singapore and Mauritius due to treaty restrictions
- Routing through France and the Netherlands will still give them the hedge against paying tax on LTCG
|
| India doubles the import duty on sugar from 50% to 100% |
- This is because due to the fall in global prices of sugar, mills are finding it hard to pay higher prices to cane farmers
- Global sugar prices are down by over 17% since October 2017 and that is taking its toll on sugar companies
|
| Equity markets see wealth destruction of Rs.10 trillion since budget |
- The concerns over the impact of tax on LTCG was only one side of the story in this fall
- The fall was also largely in sympathy with global markets as global bond yields continue their upward spree
|
| India gets tough on crypto currencies with follow-up action |
- The IT department has already sent notices to over 1 lakh persons in India who have not reported crypto profits
- In the budget the FM had emphasized that India will not consider crypto currencies like Bitcoin as legal tender
|
| Motilal Oswal AMC sees Rs30,000 crore of domestic money in the sidelines |
- This money was more likely to come in after the 2000 points correction in the Sensex made valuations attractive
- Many volatile and high beta stocks have corrected very sharply and this could just be the opportunity to re-enter
|
| Jerome Powell officially takes over as the new Fed Chairperson |
- He replaces Janet Yellen, who had steered the Fed through a very difficult and tumultuous time period
- Growth is back in the US and unemployment is below 5% paving the road for rate hikes during the year
|
| Tata Motors missed its street estimates in the December quarter |
- Though net profits were 13 times higher on a low base, JLR disappointed on its global sales numbers
- JLR contributes over 85% of Tata Motors top-line and that segment grew at just about 3.5% putting pressure on TAMO
|
| Sterlite plans to invest $10 billion in the Indian power business |
- Sterlite is buying out the stake held by Standard Chartered PE Fund in its transmission business
- Indian government is now permitting private players into the lucrative T&D business too, apart from power generation
|
| Insurers raise doubts about the NHP numbers in the Budget |
- Insurers estimate that the premium assumption should be much higher for the National Health Policy (NHP)
- The largest welfare measure intends to cover 10 crore families in India with a medical cover of Rs.5 lakhs per family
|
| Coal India reported 4% rise in profits at Rs.3005 crore for the Dec quarter |
- This thrust to higher profits largely came from better control over the operating expenses of the company
- This was largely because the excise duty stood abolished after the shift to the Goods & Service Tax model
|
| SEBI looking into regulatory lapses by Singh brothers in Fortis case |
- This follows media reports that the Singh Brothers had taken $78 million (Rs.500 crore) out of the company sans approval
- The funds transfer had happened through Fortis Healthcare investing the money in group companies of Singh Brothers
|
| SEBI Chief assured of rules on crypto currencies coming soon |
- The rules for crypto currencies has become more important after the FM budget announcement
- Crypto Currencies are based on block chain technology and can actually undermine monetary policy
|
| Exchanges agree to ban globally listed domestic index futures |
- NSE will be taking the lead by de-licensing Nifty futures trading on the SGX, with a 6 month notice period
- The government has expressed concerns over the off-shoring of Indian market volumes to other markets
|
| SBI posts a surprise loss of Rs.2416 crore for the Dec quarter |
- This sharp loss was due to worsening NPA situation and a sharp fall in treasury income
- There was a bad loan divergence of Rs.23,000 crore largely due to the integration of subsidiaries of SBI
|
| Israel launched attacks on Syrian and Iranian positions |
- This escalation of tensions came after Iranian drones had allegedly encroached into Israeli airspace
- Iran funding separatist groups in their struggle against the state of Israel and that adds to West Asian tensions
|
