France braces for slump in wine output on weather woes
France's wine production could drop by as much as 30% this year to its lowest level in decades after vineyards were hit by spring frosts and summer downpours, its farm ministry said. Overall production would be the lowest since at least 1970, ministry data showed.
In its first outlook for national wine output, the French farm ministry on Friday projected 2021 production at between 32.6 million and 35.6 million hectolitres, 24-30% less than last year. A hectolitre is the equivalent of 100 litres, or 133 standard wine bottles.
The weather toll on the harvest could bring further headaches for a French wine sector that has seen demand dented over the past year by the coronavirus pandemic and U.S. tariffs. The impact on the wider wine market may depend on whether coronavirus variants lead to further restrictions on hospitality and tourism, Reuters reported.
Indian shares close lower as Reliance drags
Indian shares closed lower on Friday, snapping a four-day winning streak, weighed down by heavy-weight Reliance Industries after India's top court ruled in favour of the arbitration order stopping Future Retail's sale of assets to the conglomerate.
The Sensex slid 0.4% to 54,277.72 and the NSE Nifty 50 fell 0.35% to 16,238.20
Shares of Reliance and Future Retail Ltd dropped 2.1% and 9.9%, respectively, after India's Supreme Court validated an arbitration order stopping the conglomerate's $3.4 billion deal to buy Future Retail, Reuters reported.
Appointed permanent officers in compliance of new IT Rules, Twitter tells HC
Twitter Inc Friday informed the Delhi High Court that it has appointed a Chief Compliance Officer, Resident Grievance Officer and Nodal Contact Person on permanent basis in compliance of the new Information Technology (IT) Rules, PTI reported.
The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 seek to regulate dissemination and publication of content in cyber space, including social media platforms, and were notified in February by the central government.
Copper gains as world's biggest mine preps for strike
Copper prices rose on Friday as a union at the world's biggest copper mine, Chile's Escondida, told workers to prepare for a strike that would reduce supply of the metal.
Benchmark copper was up 0.8% at $9,566 a tonne at 1033 GMT, Reuters reported.
China's antitrust regulator to fine Meituan about $1 bln
China's antitrust regulator is preparing to impose a fine of about $1 billion on Meituan for allegedly abusing its dominant market position, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) launched an antitrust probe into Meituan in April, focussing on a practice whereby a company forces vendors to use its platform exclusively. In April, SAMR imposed a record $2.75 billion fine on e-commerce giant Alibaba over the same practice.
Supply Chain Constraints to hit Mahindra and Mahindra
India's Mahindra and Mahindra Exec says meeting demand during the festival period will be difficult due to supply chain constraints, Reuters reported.
M&M Exec estimates sales to be 20-25% higher if there was no semiconductor shortage.
Rupee gains for 5th straight session to settle at 74.15/USD
The rupee inched 2 paise higher to close at 74.15 (provisional) against the US currency, marking its fifth straight session of gains on Friday, after the announcement of RBI monetary policy.
At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 74.11 and hit an intra-day high of 74.10 and a low of 74.22. It finally closed at 74.15, higher by 2 paise over its last close. On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 74.17 against the US dollar, PTI reported.
USD 300-400 mn investment expected in latest oil, gas bid round
India on Friday launched a new oil and gas exploration bid round, hoping to attract USD 300-400 million investment in discovering hydrocarbon reserves in the country.
India is 85% dependent on imports to meet its oil needs and finding newer reserves through exploration rounds to cut that reliance, PTI reported.
RBI’s move to keep interest rates low to boost business confidence: India Inc
The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to keep key interest rates unchanged and maintain an accommodative monetary policy stance will boost the confidence of businesses and consumers, India Inc said on Friday.
The central bank on Friday expectedly kept interest rates unchanged at a record low of 4%, as it chose to support economic revival over inflation. It also maintained an accommodative stance as the economy is yet to recover from the impact of the second COVID wave, PTI reported.
Carlyle Group exits SBI Life Insurance Company
Private equity firm Carlyle Group has exited SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd by selling its stake representing 1.9% shareholding of the company, through open market transactions.
The total deal value stood at Rs 2,147 crore.
China's export, import growth seen moderating in July
China's robust export growth likely moderated in July amid an acceleration in COVID-19 cases globally and continuing severe pressure on global supply chains, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.
Exports are expected to have risen 20.8% in July from a year earlier, according to the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 21 economists, compared with a 32.2% gain in June.
Imports likely rose 33.0% last month from the same period in the previous year, the poll showed, compared to 36.7% growth in May. Despite China's attempts to cool surging raw materials prices, commodity prices remain elevated.
Huawei reports biggest ever revenue drop as consumer growth engine stutters
Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies saw its revenue drop by almost a third in the first half of 2021, with U.S. sanctions hobbling its once-dominant handset business and new business areas still in their early stages, Reuters reported.
The company generated revenue of 320.4 billion yuan ($49.56 billion), it said on Friday. The biggest drop came from Huawei's consumer business group, which includes handsets, where revenue fell 47% to 135.7 billion yuan.
Abbott India Apr-Jun net profit rises 8.5% to 2 bln rupees
Abbott India Ltd's net profit for the June quarter rose to 1.96 billion rupees increasing 8.5% from the same period in the previous year. Revenue from operations for the quarter rose 14.4% to 12.18 billion rupees, Informist reported.
The net profit topped analysts' estimate of 1.7 billion rupees, while revenue missed expectations of 13 billion rupees.
M&M profit surges manifold in Apr-Jun, revenue jumps over 2-fold
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd posted a net profit of 8.56 billion rupees in the June quarter, significantly higher than 677.9 million rupees profit posted a year ago. Revenue in the quarter surged over twofold to 117.63 billion rupees, Informist reported.
At 1311 IST, shares of Mahindra and Mahindra were trading 0.5% higher at 763.45 rupees on the National Stock Exchange.
BJP leaders demand complete reopening of all Delhi weekly markets
Delhi BJP leaders on Friday staged a demonstration near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, demanding permission for complete reopening of all weekly markets which were closed during the second wave of COVID-19 here, PTI reported.
Currently, only one weekly market in a municipal ward is allowed to open, according to Delhi government orders. These markets were closed after lockdown was imposed to check the second wave in April.
RBI does not have specific target of yield curve, focus on its orderly evolution: Governor Das
The Reserve of India (RBI) does not have a specific target for the yield curve but focuses on the orderly evolution of it, Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday.
He said the central bank does timely intervention in the market as and when required.
Johnson & Johnson applies for EUA of its single-dose COVID vaccine in India
Global healthcare major Johnson & Johnson on Friday said it has applied for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in India, PTI reported.
The EUA submission is based on topline efficacy and safety data from the Phase 3 ENSEMBLE clinical trial, which demonstrated that company's single-shot vaccine was 85 per cent effective in preventing severe disease across all regions studied, and showed protection against COVID-19 related hospitalisation and death, beginning 28 days after vaccination, it added.
Glenmark Life Sciences shares list with over 4% gain
Shares of Glenmark Life Sciences on Friday listed with a premium of more than 4% against its issue price of ₹720, PTI reported.
As trade progressed, it jumped 11.10% to ₹799.95 on BSE while it debuted at ₹ 750 on NSE, 4.16% higher than the issue price.
The initial public offer of Glenmark Life Sciences was subscribed 44.17 times last month at a price range of ₹695-720 per share.
Glenmark Life Sciences, a subsidiary of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, is a leading developer and manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in chronic therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular disease, central nervous system disease, pain management, and diabetes.
Indian shares slip after RBI policy decision; Reliance plunges
Indian shares fell on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India decided to keep the key lending rate unchanged. At 11:05 IST, Sensex fell 0.2%, and Nifty was down 0.1%.
The Reserve Bank of India held the repo rate at 4%, and retained the reverse repo rate, the borrowing rate, at 3.35%.
Besides, Reliance and Future Retail dropped after the Supreme Court ruled that arbitration order to put the Reliance- Future deal on hold was valid.
Shares of Reliance and Future Retail Ltd plunged 2.3% and 9.9%, respectively, after India's top court validated an arbitration order stopping the conglomerate's $3.4 billion deal to buy Future Retail, Reuters reported.
Sebi introduces accredited investors concept in securities market
Markets regulator Sebi has introduced the concept of 'accredited investors' in the Indian securities market, PTI reported. Under the new concept, a person will be identified as an accredited investor on the basis of net worth or income.
Investors can get accreditation on the basis of parameters specified by the regulator in a notification dated August 3. Subsidiaries of depositories and stock exchanges will issue these accreditation certificate.
Accredited investors will be able to participate in investment products with an investment amount lesser than the minimum amount mandated in the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) norms and Portfolio Management Services (PMS) rules.
Market experts said this new class of investors will have the flexibility to tailor investments in AIFs and PMS to suit their risk appetite and investment thesis.
Supreme Court rules in favour of Amazon in case against Future Retail
Supreme Court on Friday ruled that Future Retail cannot sell its retail assets to Reliance as the Singapore Arbitrator's order to put the transaction on hold was enforceable, Reuters reported.
The decision comes as a big win for Amazon as it had objected on the $3.4 billion deal in multiple courts. Amazon had engaged in legal battles with Future after it sold assets to Reliance Industries and accused Future of breaking pre-existing contracts.
The Supreme Court noted that an order by a Singapore arbitrator in October that put the deal on hold after finding merits in Amazon's objections is valid.
RBI keeps repo rate unchanged, maintains accommodative stance
The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Friday decided to keep benchmark interest rate steady at 4%, and maintained an accommodative stance as the country waits to recover from the second wave of COVID-19. The reverse repo rate is also unchanged at 3.35%.
RBI had last revised repo rate in May 2020 in an off-policy cycle to perk up demand by cutting interest rate to a historic low.
Besides, Real GDP projection has been retained at 9.5% for FY22 while Consumer Price Index Inflation is projected at 5.7% for the same fiscal year.
Centre introduces bill to redact retrospective tax law
Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday introduced a bill to withdraw the contentious retrospective tax law of 2012. The tax clauses were introduced to bring past indirect taxes of Indian assets under taxation.
Under the proposed changes, tax demands on transactions before May 2012 shall be dropped and any tax already collected should be repaid without interest. To be eligible, taxpayers have to drop all pending cases against the government and promise not to make any demands for damages or cost.
The moves comes within a month after Cairn energy secured an order from French court to freeze India's assets in Paris.
Sensex, Nifty open flat ahead of RBI policy outcome
The Indian Benchmark indices opened flat on Friday ahead of RBI's bi-monthly monetary policy outcome. At 9:15, Sensex was down 0.13% while Nifty was down 0.07%.
At opening, gains were seen in banks, metal and auto stocks while IT and pharma were under pressure.
All eyes on Reserve Bank of India now.
Asian shares drop as Delta variant raises growth concern
While Wall Street registered a bumper session, Asian stocks failed to capitalise on the lead as Delta variant spread of the coronavirus has increased worries about the economy recovery.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.35% and Hong Kong was down 0.46%. Chinese blue chips dropped 0.56% while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.11%.
There are two main drivers of volatility in the market this week, firstly everything surrounding the Chinese regulatory drive, and secondly the severity of Delta outbreaks around the region," Carlos Casanova, senior economist Asia at UBP told Reuters .
Dollar moves higher ahead of U.S jobs data release
The dollar drifted higher on Friday as markets await the release of U.S employment data in hope that numbers released could help faster U.S policy tightening, Reuters reported.
Euro lost 0.3% on dollar this week while the dollar sits at a one-week of 109.84 Japanese yen. The U.S dollar index rose 0.26% to 92.316 this week.
"It certainly feels this is a big jobs report that carries real meaning," Chris Weston, head of research at broker Pepperstone in Melbourne, both for the economy and rates told Reuters .
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U.S. oil set for biggest weekly decline since October on Delta variant worries
U.S. crude oil futures are headed for the biggest weekly fall since October after top consumers imposed travel restrictions due to surge in COVID-19 infections owing to Delta variant, Reuters reported.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures have plunged 6.6% this week, biggest weekly fall since October. Brent crude oil futures have dropped 6.6%, the most since mid-March.
