Top economy and business news of the day: Domestic air passenger traffic rises 67% in Oct; Russia to launch digital rouble prototype in early 2022; Pandemic uncertainties led to rise in demand for cash and more.

Top news of the day from the world of business, finance and economy

November 09, 2021 09:43 am | Updated 05:38 pm IST

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai. File

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai. File

5:36 P.M.

Sensex ends 112 pts lower, HDFC duo top drags

Sensex dropped by 112 points on Tuesday, tracking losses in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, Kotak Bank and Bajaj Finance, despite a positive trend in global markets.

The 30-share index ended 112.16 points or 0.19% lower at 60,433.45. The NSE Nifty fell 24.30 points or 0.13% to 18,044.25.

HDFC Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, followed by HDFC, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Maruti, Kotak Bank and PowerGrid. On the other hand, M&M, SBI, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank were among the gainers.

5:34 P.M.

Rupee almost flat at 74.02 against US dollar

The rupee settled marginally up by 1 paisa at 74.02 against the US dollar on Tuesday amid a lacklustre trend in domestic equities. At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 73.85 and a low of 74.09 against the US dollar.

On Monday, the rupee had settled at 74.03 against the US dollar.

5:33 P.M.

Hiring demand dips 3% sequentially in October

Hiring demand dipped 3% in October from September, mainly due to a decline in recruitment of professionals in purchase, logistics and supply chain after festive hiring hikes in September, according to data from the Monster Employment Index.

However, there has been a strong year-on-year recovery with a 9% uptick in October from the same month in 2020.

4:58 P.M.

Domestic air passenger traffic rises 67% in Oct: ICRA

Domestic air passenger traffic grew to around 87-88 lakh in October rising 67% from the same time in the previous year, on the back of festive season demand amid continuous fall in the number of COVID-19 infection cases, says an ICRA report.

The average number of passengers per flight also rose during October this year to 122 from 117 passengers per flight in September.

4:57 P.M.

India to achieve 50% clean energy share, 500 GW RE capacity targets before 2030

India will easily achieve the target of non-fossil fuels ' 50% share of energy and also the 500-gigawatt (GW) renewable energy capacity before 2030, said Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh. 

It assumes significance in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pledge at the COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow that India will achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070. Modi also raised the nationally determined contribution (NDC) target of non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030, from 450 gigawatts earlier.

4:55 P.M.

Second half of the year to see broad-based recovery: Sundaram Finance

Non-banking finance company Sundaram Finance expects the second half of the year to witness a broad-based recovery with customer sentiment improving 'significantly', according to its executive vice chairman Harsha Viji. "Customer sentiment has significantly improved, and the second half of the year will likely see broad-based recovery," Viji said.

4:54 P.M.

Govt buys over 209 lakh tonnes of paddy for ₹41,066 cr

The government on Tuesday said it has procured 209.52 lakh tonnes of paddy so far in the current Kharif marketing season for over ₹41,066.80 crore, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) said in a statement.  

The Kharif marketing season 2021-22 runs from October to September.

4:00 P.M.

Russia to launch digital rouble prototype in early 2022

Russia will have a prototype of the digital rouble platform in early 2022 and pilot-test it next year before making a final decision on the launch of the country's digital currency, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said on Tuesday.

2:32 P.M.

Indian automaker Mahindra's September-quarter profit jumps

Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd's profit surged in the September-ended quarter helped by strong export volumes, while mitigating some impact from the severe global semiconductor shortage.

Consolidated net profit jumped to ₹19.29 billion for the September quarter from ₹1.36 billion a year ago.

2:29 P.M.

Tata Motors ties up with Bank of India for vehicle financing

Tata Motors has partnered with Bank of India (BOI) to offer finance options to all its passenger vehicle customers. Under the partnership, BOI will provide loans to Tata Motors' customers at an interest rate starting from as low as 6.85%. 

Moreover, the scheme will offer a maximum of 90% financing on the total cost of the vehicle, which includes insurance and registration. Customers can also opt for EMI starting with ₹1,502 per lakh on a 7-year repayment period.

2:28 P.M.

Pandemic uncertainties led to rise in demand for cash

Uncertainties on account of COVID-19 pandemic have increased the demand for currency notes not only in India but across the globe, official sources said, dismissing the criticism that demonetisation has failed to reduce cash in the economy. 

According to the latest Reserve Bank data, the notes in circulation in value terms soared to ₹29.17 lakh crore on October 29, 2021 from ₹17.74 lakh crore on November 4, 2016.

Even in the US, total currency in circulation soared to $2.07 trillion by the end of 2020 rising 16% from a year earlier, and was also the biggest one-year percentage increase since 1945.

12:30 P.M.

Rupee rises to 73.90 against US dollar 

The rupee rose 13 paise to 73.90 against the US dollar in opening trade after IPO-related inflows and easing crude oil prices supported the local unit.

The rupee opened at 73.92 against the dollar and gained further to reach 73.90 in early deals, a 13 paise rise over its previous close.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.09% to 93.96.

11:00 A.M.

Banks issue 31.67 cr RuPay debit cards 

Banks have issued 31.67 crore RuPay debit cards with inbuilt accident insurance cover till October 21 to Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) account holders.  According to the Finance Ministry, bank accounts opened under PMJDY have swelled to 43.76 crore since its launch in August 2014. 

The Jan Dhan Yojana, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address in 2014, was launched on August 28 in the same year. 

10:40 A.M.

Amazon infuses Rs 1,000 cr into India payments unit

Amazon has infused Rs 1,000 crore into its payments unit in India, Amazon Pay. It had received Rs 225 crore in April this year. 

The latest infusion is aimed to help the company compete more aggressively against rivals like PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm.

Amazon has been pumping in millions of dollars across various operations like marketplace, wholesale and payments business in a bid to strengthen its position in the Indian market.

10:30 A.M.

FPIs can invest in debt securities issued by InvITs, REITS

FPIs can invest in debt securities issued by Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs).

The Reserve Bank of India said in a circular an announcement was made in the Union Budget 2021-22 that debt financing of InvITs and REITs by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) will be enabled by making suitable amendments in the relevant legislations.

Accordingly, it has been decided to permit FPIs to invest in debt securities issued by InvITs and REITs. 

10:20 A.M.

Oil steadies after gains

Oil prices steadied after gaining for two sessions as a U.S. infrastructure bill, Chinese exports and the global post-pandemic recovery lifted the outlook for fuel demand.

Brent crude fell 3 cents to $83.40 a barrel while the U.S. oil was up 1 cent at $81.94. 

U.S.'s long-delayed $1 trillion infrastructure bill coupled with better-than-expected Chinese exports brought optimism about a more expansive global economy.

9:40 A.M.

Markets update | Sensex opens flat

Indian benchmark equity indices opened flat amid mixed global cues. At 9:16 IST, the Sensex was down 0.08% at 60499.93 and the Nifty was up 0.50 points or almost 0% at 18069.

Asian shares rose on the back of US equities after a US infrastructure bill boosted sentiment.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3% and  Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 0.06%. Besides, China's blue-chip CSI300 index was 0.33% higher in early trade and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index opened up 0.65%.

However, Australian shares were down 0.12%.

Three major IPOs (Initial Public Offering) will hit the markets this week. Paytm, Sapphire Foods and Latent View Analytics are aiming to raise nearly Rs 21,000 crore. Paytm's 18,300-crore IPO, the largest-ever public issue in the history of India, opened yesterday and was subscribed 18% on the first day of bidding. The retail portion was subscribed 78%.

 

----   Edited by John Xavier

 

(With inputs from Reuters, PTI and other news agencies.)

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