The benchmark stock indices have opened the day with gains after the losses suffered during yesterday's session.
Petrol and diesel prices continue to rise as the government looks to meet its revenue targets.
Join us as we follow the top business news through the day.
Real estate sector seeks extension till end of August for filing of GST returns
Real estate players in Tamilnadu have sought an extension of the time frame, by two months without any interest, for filing GST their returns, citing the current full lockdown implemented in Chennai and a few other districts.
The government has fixed June 30 as the last date, but real estate developers want time until the end of August.
For residential projects started after April 1, 2019, the builder has to mandatorily charge customers a concessional rate of 5% or 1% (affordable residential apartments). This is without the input tax benefit. The developer has to make sure that 80% of all inputs and services were purchased from registered dealers. If not, the developer would have to pay tax on the shortfall value.
De-globalization in one chart
Money in Swiss banks: India at 77th place, accounts for just 0.06% of all foreign funds
Interesting data that could a lot of myths surrounding wealth stashed in secret bank accounts.
PTI reports: "India has moved down three places to 77th rank in terms of money parked by its citizens and enterprises with Swiss banks at the end of 2019, while the UK has retained its top position, as per the latest data from Switzerland’s central bank.
India was ranked 74th in the previous year.
An analysis of the latest annual banking statistics released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) showed that India remains ranked very low when it comes to money parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through their India-based branches, accounting for just about 0.06 per cent of the aggregate funds parked by all foreign clients of Switzerland-based banks.
In comparison, the top-ranked UK accounted for close to 27 per cent of the total foreign funds parked with Swiss banks at the end of 2019.
According to the latest SNB data, funds parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through India-based branches, fell by 5.8 per cent in 2019 to 899 million Swiss francs (Rs 6,625 crore).
The data is for ‘total liabilities’ of Swiss banks towards Indian clients takes into account all types of funds of Indian customers at Swiss banks, including deposits from individuals, banks and enterprises. This also includes data for branches of Swiss banks in India, as well as non-deposit liabilities.
These are official figures reported by banks to the SNB and do not indicate the quantum of the much-debated alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland. These figures also do not include the money that Indians, NRIs or others might have in Swiss banks in names of third-country entities.
Among the top-ranked jurisdictions, the UK is followed by the US, West Indies, France and Hong Kong in the top five."
Most people want a govt. body to regulate ads: LocalCircles survey
Amid controversy over advertisements by Patanjali claiming to have found a cure for COVID-19, a survey by LocalCircles has found that a majority of respondents wanted ads to be regulated by a government body instead of self-regulatory organisation as is the case currently.
As per the survey which received over 67,000 replies from more than 220 districts, only 3% respondents said that they had ‘a high level of trust’ in the advertisements they saw in print, TV, digital or other forms of media. While 25% said they had an average level of trust in ads, 48% said they had a low level of trust in ads, while 23% said they had zero trust in ads.
When asked in which industry they found the most frequent misleading ads, 30% said cosmetic products and services, 22% in real estate, 15% in food products and supplements, 14% in e-commerce sites/apps, 11% in health products and services and 5% in banking and financial services.
Delay in Customs clearance to adversely affect Make-In-India: USIBC
Given India's huge dependence on Chinese imports, the Centre's plans for self-reliance may not come easy.
PTI reports: "Amid increased vigilance at ports in view of border tension with China, the USIBC on Thursday said delay in clearance of shipments at customs would adversely affect the Make-In-India initiative, economic growth and job creation.
Amid heightened border tensions with China, Indian customs officials have started physical inspection of all consignments coming from the neighbouring country based on intelligence inputs.
Although there is no formal order, Indian customs authority is inspecting consignments originating from China that arrive at any airport or port, government sources with direct knowledge of the development said.
Several members, USIBC said, has complained about the sudden, unannounced enhanced customs checks at numerous ports in India have substantially slowed access to imports.
“We have inquired with Government of India officials about the cause of these delays and shared the negative impact they’re likely to have on economic growth and job creation during this fragile recovery period,” the US-India Business Council (USIBC) said in a statement.
The delay in clearance of consignments, it added, will adversely affect sectors critical to the Make-In-India initiative, consumers and businesses during the pandemic, like pharmaceuticals, medical devices, electronics and telecommunications equipment.
“We understand the need to protect national security. However, India’s goal of becoming a self-reliant hub for global manufacturing and integrating into global value chains depends upon a foundation of transparent and predictable policy processes,: the statement said.
Indian Exporters body FIEO flagged concerns over holding up of their consignments at Hong Kong and Chinese ports in response to a similar action being taken by Indian authorities at Mumbai and Chennai port."
IOB back in the black with Q4 net of ₹143.8 cr.
State-owned Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) reported a net profit of ₹143.8 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2020, after posting losses for 18 quarters.
The bank had reported losses of ₹1,985 crore in the year-earlier period and ₹6,975 crore in the December quarter, respectively. During the fourth quarter, operating profit rose 5.83% to ₹1,197 crore, from ₹1,131.50 crore.
“It is a great landmark we have achieved due to several initiatives taken during 2019-20. We have posted a net profit after 18 quarters,” observed Karnam Sekar, MD & CEO. “Now that we have some profit, we will wait for the June quarter results and then approach the Reserve Bank to remove us from the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework,” he said.
Rupee rises 14 paise to 75.51 against US dollar in early trade
The strength in domestic equities helped the rupee appreciate against the dollar.
PTI reports: "The rupee appreciated 14 paise to 75.51 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday tracking positive domestic equities and gains in Asian currencies amid weakness in the greenback.
Forex traders said buying in domestic equity market and weak American dollar supported the local unit.
The rupee opened on a strong note at the interbank forex market at 75.51 against the US dollar, up 14 paise over its last close.
It had settled at 75.65 against the US dollar on Thursday.
“The rupee is back in the familiar trading range of 75.40-75.95 that prevailed for a long time just prior to the spike above 76 on India-China border tensions. Intra-day USDINR is likely to trade 75.35-75.70 range with a down side bias,” said Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, IFA Global.
Goenka further added that “today (Friday) is the exchange traded currency derivative expiry for June. Month-end exporter-selling would likely cap upside. Asian currencies are stronger against the USD.”
Forex traders said rising number of COVID-19 cases and its impact on global as well as domestic economy is weighing on investor sentiment."
Ladakh face-off | Industry flags delay in China imports
With import consignments from China facing hurdles in getting clearance at domestic ports amid continuing border tensions, various industry associations have written to the Centre seeking clarification on the “unannounced and opaque” move, while also warning of acute shortage of components and finished products in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, automobiles, electronics and electrical machinery.
The industry representatives also pointed out that in response, Hong Kong and Chinese Customs were now holding back export consignments from India. The disruption, they added, sends a “chilling signal” to foreign investors, who look for predictability and transparency.
Restricting imports of Chinese items will not serve any purpose until India has the capacity to produce those items or can import them from other countries at comparable prices, the president of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), S.K. Saraf, said on Thursday.
Sensex rallies over 300 points in opening session; Nifty tops 10,300
Stocks are up this morning after witnessing a significant fall yesterday.
PTI reports: "Equity benchmark Sensex surged over 300 points in early trade on Friday tracking gains in index-heavyweights Infosys, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank amid positive cues from global markets.
The 30-share index was trading 355.04 points, or 1.02 per cent, higher at 35,197.14, while the NSE Nifty jumped 100.55 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 10,389.45.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying around 4 per cent, followed by Infosys, TCS, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC and HDFC Bank.
On the other hand, Kotak Bank, HUL and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.
In the previous session, the BSE barometer closed 26.88 points, or 0.08 per cent, lower at 34,842.10, and the broader Nifty slipped 16.40 points, or 0.16 per cent, to close at 10,288.90.
Foreign institutional investors turned net sellers on Thursday, offloading equities worth Rs 1,050.61 crore, provisional exchange data showed.
According to traders, broad-based buying on the first day of the new monthly derivatives series and positive cues from global equity markets lifted benchmarks in opening session.
Bourses in Japan and Seoul were trading with significant gains, while those Hong Kong were in the red. Markets in Shanghai were closed for a public holiday.
Stock exchanges on Wall Street jumped over 1 per cent in overnight session.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 1.27 per cent to USD 41.57 per barrel."
Petrol price crosses Rs 80-mark in Delhi for first time since 2018, diesel at new high
Domestic fuel prices continue to be raised as the government looks to meet its revenue targets for the year.
PTI reports: "Petrol price in the national capital on Friday crossed Rs 80 per litre mark, for the first time in more than two years, as oil companies continue to raise petrol and diesel prices in line with costs.
Oil companies hiked petrol price by 21 paise per litre and diesel by 17 paise a litre, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.
Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 80.13 per litre from Rs 79.92 while diesel rates were increased to Rs 80.19 a litre from Rs 80.02.
Rates have been increased across the country but the final retail selling price differs from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.
In Mumbai, petrol is priced at Rs 86.91 per litre and diesel at Rs 78.51.
Petrol price has crossed Rs 80-mark for the first time in more than two years, while diesel rate is at an all-time high. Petrol had last crossed Rs 80 mark in September 2018.
While diesel price has been hiked for the 20th straight day, petrol price has been raised on 19 occasions in less than three weeks.
The cumulative increase since the oil companies started the cycle on June 7 now totals to Rs 8.87 for petrol and Rs 10.8 in diesel."
