| News Announcement |
Impact Analysis |
| Markets became volatile after IAF launched attacks on terror camps |
- With India attacking the terror camps in KPK, Pakistan violated Indian airspace which finally led to the capture of an IAF pilot
- However, there was some de-escalation of tensions after Pakistan volunteered to release the pilot back to India
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| GDP growth for the third quarter came in sharply lower at 6.6% |
- This was much lower than the consensus of 6.9% and was led down by manufacturing and services
- The full year GDP growth has been now projected at 7% meaning a growth of just about 6.4% in the 4th quarter
|
| PMI Manufacturing for Feb-19 came in sharply higher at 54.4 |
- This is higher than January indicating economic expansion and also a pick-up in growth momentum during the month
- The growth was led by new orders and higher output as well as inventory stocking and growth in job creation
|
| Carlyle has acquired 9% stake in SBI Life at a price of Rs.4600 crore |
- This deal gives SBI life an overall valuation of over Rs.50,000 crore for its reach and SBI franchise
- This is should be a good starting point for creating a benchmark for insurance company valuations in India
|
| Jet Fuel prices (ATF) were hiked by 8.1% on higher crude prices |
- After two rounds of price cuts late last year, the sharp rise in ATF prices is likely to further pressure airline profits
- Crude has rallied from around Rs.51/bbl in December to $66/bbl on OPEC supply cuts and Venezuela sanctions
|
| SEBI sets fresh norms for preferential issue of shares |
- SEBI in its latest Board Meet has decided that preferential allotments cannot be made at a discounted price
- In addition, SEBI has also decided that such issues will not be granted exemption from making open offer
|
| GST rate cut in real estate not enough to impress realtors |
- Last Sunday, the GST Council cut GST on under construction houses to 5% and low cost houses to just 1%
- How realtors are unlikely to benefit considering that the input tax credit (ITC) benefit stands withdrawn
|
| Oil crosses $66/bbl but corrected on US economic data |
- Weak manufacturing data from the US resulted in oil prices correcting more than 2% as demand worries were back
- Despite OPEC supply cuts and sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, demand from the US and China remains the key
|
| Bharti Airtel; has announced a massive Rs.32,000 crore investment plan |
- This investment in infrastructure will help Bharti veritably compete with the price war launched by Reliance Jio
- Bharti will also be raising resources from its African monetization to create a full-fledged war chest
|
| The forex reserves were up by $944 million at $399.21 billion |
- While forex reserves are not picking up, at least, the depletion has stopped after RBI was not required to support the rupee
- The current forex reserves are just about sufficient to cover 9 months of imports, not a very healthy sign
|
| Tata Motors rules out plans to sell its JLR subsidiary |
- Tatas have denied as mere rumours, any plans afoot to sell the prestigious JLR business due to slack demand
- However, Tata Motors denied that they had any plans even to sell a minority stake in JLR ahead of BREXIT
|
| Tata Steel makes a big bet on downstream steel products |
- With the buyout of Bhushan and Usha Martin, Tata Steel is targeting 30% sales from downstream steel products
- Downstream products are less cyclical and also offer higher margins, something that can de-risk the business model
|
| SEBI permits mutual funds and PMS to trade in commodity derivatives |
- The institutional base will be critical in making the commodity derivatives market deeper and broader
- This will also provide a new asset class for mutual funds and also give them hedging opportunities against exposures
|
| PSU banks recover over Rs.98,000 crore in the current fiscal till date |
- This has taken the total collection since 2015 to a level of Rs.287,000 crore with a higher loan coverage
- With the NCLT process in full swing, the momentum is likely to bring in another Rs.1 trillion by end of 2019
|
| Cement prices have shown an uptick for two months in succession |
- The sharp rise in price of cement is indicative of pricing power coming back to cement manufacturers
- While South based cement manufacturers are the big beneficiaries, infrastructure has given a big boost
|
| VIX or fear index rose sharply above the 19 mark during the week |
- The sharp rise in the VIX was on the back of the escalation of tension on the India Pakistan border
- With tensions easing, the VIX has fallen to around 16.47 although it needs to come below 14 for market stability
|
| Iron ore prices are likely to rise by 4% in the year 2019 |
- This price rise is due to disruption in the Vale’s iron ore mines in Brazil. Brazil supplies 25% of China’s annual ore demand
- In the last one year, steel companies have consistently passed on higher ore prices to the end users of steel
|
| Anil Ambani seeks to pay Ericsson Rs.260 crore out of tax refunds |
- Anil Ambani has been instructed by the Supreme Court to pay the balance Rs.450 crore to Ericsson in four weeks
- SBI and other banks have objected to the tax refunds being used for the payment to operational creditors like Ericsson
|
| India postpones retaliatory tariffs on US imports into India |
- India had threatened the US with retaliatory tariffs if they did not exempt India from the recent special tariffs
- Considering the fluid situation in Kashmir and with China, India has decided to play it safe with the US
|
| Fiscal deficit touched a high of 122% of full year target in first 10 months |
- This was largely led by weak GST collections and shortfall in GST revenue. Welfare outlays have also been higher
- In the meanwhile, the bond yields need to be watched as they are normally vulnerable to spikes in fiscal deficit
|
| NCLAT rejects lender demands to refer IL&FS to the NCLT |
- Referring to the NCLT will at least allow the creditors to recover some portion of their outstanding debt
- The NCLAT order even protects IL&FS and subsidiaries from further defaults in the future too
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