Recent news events have brought back to my mind the quote from bible, which I am paraphrasing here for purpose of my article – “The Govt. giveth and the Govt. taketh away”. This week started with health ministry’s proposal to raise taxes on cigarettes which took its toll on ITC share. Then, Food ministry moved in to provide relief to mill owners and the farmers they owe money to (in tune of $1.3bn) by raising the import duty. The week ended with FM extending excise duty concessions to auto, capital goods and consumer sector. But the relief to the investors ended soon as govt. deferred the gas price hike by another three months.
As we all know, the next catalyst is new govt.’s budget on July 10. All eyes are on FM now. Investors are cautious as markets is looking at a pro-growth and reform budget. On July 10, it will be clear to everyone how new FM has managed between subsidies, taxation, inflation, rising crude oil prices, threat of weaker monsoon and El-Nino (read about it here).
Sensex and Nifty ended this week flat while Midcap up by 2.7%
Monday - Sensex down by 0.3%, Nifty down by 0.2%, Midcap up by 0.7%
Sensex and Nifty continue to trade lower led by ITC, which declined by more than 6% - most in ten months when health minister muted the idea of raising taxes on cigarettes. The worry over Iraq crisis has not abetted and Brent crude continue to hover around $115 a barrel. On the other hand, govt.’s move to raise import duty on imports from 15% to 40% led to rally in sugar stocks.
Tuesday - Sensex up by 1.3%, Nifty up by 1.2%, Midcap up by 1.6%
Sensex and Nifty continue to trade lower led by ITC, which declined by more than 6% - most in ten months after health minister muted the idea of raising taxes on cigarettes. The worry over Iraq crisis has not abetted and Brent crude continue to hover around $115 a barrel. Govt.’s move to raise import duty on imports from 15% to 40% led to rally in sugar stocks.
Wednesday - Sensex down by 0.2%, Nifty down by 0.1%, Midcap up by 0.4%
Sensex and Nifty fell again as rising crude oil worries, deficient monsoon add to the expectation of higher inflation in near term. There was a brief rally in auto stocks after FM extended excise duty concessions to the sector.
Thursday - Sensex down by 1.0%, Nifty down by 1.0%, Midcap down by 0.5%
Benchmark indices ended lower led by upstream oil and gas companies after govt.’s move to defer the gas price hike for the next three months. However, capital goods and auto stocks gained after govt. extended excise duty concessions for automobiles, consumer and capital goods by six months to Dec. 31. Also, overseas investors sold shares worth INR6.0bn ($101mn) on Thursday, marking their biggest single day of sales since Mar 10.
Friday - Sensex up by 0.1%, Nifty up by 0.2%, Midcap up by 0.4%
Sensex and Nifty gained slightly as Sun Pharma jumped on the U.S. regulator's approval for a key drug while IT stocks gained after Accenture reported robust quarterly revenue growth. Gail India declined by 0.7% after a blast at a gas pipeline in Andhra Pradesh killed 14 people and injured 20 rising concerns over safety of gas infra all over country.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
World Wide Web
Excellent infographic by Euromonitor on worldwide web of trades.
Hat tip: The Big Picture
Click on the image to enlarge
Hat tip: The Big Picture
Click on the image to enlarge
Thursday, June 26, 2014
El Niño - Spoiler Alert!
It goes without saying that Indian growth story is strongly dependent on rainfall. Any shortfall, and we all scramble for places to hide from resulting high prices of agri commodities.
To make matters worse, a recent forecast that El Niño weather phenomenon, has a 90% chance of striking this year, can cause trouble for India. Rise in prices due to drought conditions (deficient water supply, lower crop output) in many areas led to riots in several countries in 2007.
As you can see in the graphic below, that India will suffer a dry spell with weaker monsoon rains but US will get a relief from drought in the west.
Click image to enlarge
The latest prediction is from European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts, which is one of the most reliable of prediction centres around the world.
They have clarified that the amount of warm water in the Pacific is perhaps the biggest since the 1997-98 event which led to hottest year on record at that time.
The picture will become clearer in a month or two whether this year’s El Niño will be a small or a major event.
To make matters worse, a recent forecast that El Niño weather phenomenon, has a 90% chance of striking this year, can cause trouble for India. Rise in prices due to drought conditions (deficient water supply, lower crop output) in many areas led to riots in several countries in 2007.
As you can see in the graphic below, that India will suffer a dry spell with weaker monsoon rains but US will get a relief from drought in the west.
Click image to enlarge
They have clarified that the amount of warm water in the Pacific is perhaps the biggest since the 1997-98 event which led to hottest year on record at that time.
The picture will become clearer in a month or two whether this year’s El Niño will be a small or a major event.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Weekly Market Commentary - June 16, 2014 - June 20, 2014
According to the Ministry of Oil and Natural Gas, India imported about 13% of its crude oil requirements from Iraq last year and this year was planning to take that figure to 20%. Iraq is the second largest crude producer in the OPEC group. With only half of the supplies covered so far, India has to rush to other players to secure oil – likely at higher prices now. According to one govt. estimate, oil price can rise to $120 per barrel for several months and may hit the govt. budget by atleast $3.3bn.
Sensex ended this week down by 0.5% while Nifty was down by 0.4% and Midcap down by 0.7%
Monday - Sensex down by 0.1%, Nifty down by 0.1%, Midcap up by 0.4%
Sensex and Nifty continue to trade lower as Iraq crisis weigh on investor’s mind. Brent rose to $113 per barrel, a nine-month high as ISIS strengthens its position in Iraq. Rise in crude prices coupled with weak monsoon can spell trouble for India. WPI for May came in about 6% - five month high due to higher food and fuel costs.
Tuesday - Sensex up by 1.3%, Nifty up by 1.3%, Midcap up by 1.3%
While rising oil prices has put Indian finance ministry in a difficult position, such is not the case with oil and gas companies. Indian upstream sector gained as investors lapped up shares on expectations of margin expansion. Sentiment on the street remained positive with investors buying in every decline.
Wednesday - Sensex down by 1.1%, Nifty down by 1.0%, Midcap down by 0.9%
Rising crude prices seems to make everybody apart from upstream companies very nervous. Sensex and Nifty slumped again as rising crude prices raised concerns about higher inflation and govt.’s finances. Rising crude prices have also hushed the chatter about interest rate cuts.
Thursday - Sensex down by 0.2%, Nifty down by 0.2%, Midcap down by 0.7%
Oil and Gas stocks slumped on concerns that India may allow higher gas prices only for incremental output from existing fields. Brent crude also hit a further high of $115 per barrel as fighting intensifies in Iraq.
Friday - Sensex down by 0.4%, Nifty down by 0.4%, Midcap down by 0.7%
Sensex and Nifty continued to trade lower as investors continued to focus on Iraq issue in short term. Market is expecting major reforms in the first budget of Modi govt. but situation in Iraq has made things little difficult with rising crude prices feeding into higher inflation and deficits.
Sensex ended this week down by 0.5% while Nifty was down by 0.4% and Midcap down by 0.7%
Monday - Sensex down by 0.1%, Nifty down by 0.1%, Midcap up by 0.4%
Sensex and Nifty continue to trade lower as Iraq crisis weigh on investor’s mind. Brent rose to $113 per barrel, a nine-month high as ISIS strengthens its position in Iraq. Rise in crude prices coupled with weak monsoon can spell trouble for India. WPI for May came in about 6% - five month high due to higher food and fuel costs.
Tuesday - Sensex up by 1.3%, Nifty up by 1.3%, Midcap up by 1.3%
While rising oil prices has put Indian finance ministry in a difficult position, such is not the case with oil and gas companies. Indian upstream sector gained as investors lapped up shares on expectations of margin expansion. Sentiment on the street remained positive with investors buying in every decline.
Wednesday - Sensex down by 1.1%, Nifty down by 1.0%, Midcap down by 0.9%
Rising crude prices seems to make everybody apart from upstream companies very nervous. Sensex and Nifty slumped again as rising crude prices raised concerns about higher inflation and govt.’s finances. Rising crude prices have also hushed the chatter about interest rate cuts.
Thursday - Sensex down by 0.2%, Nifty down by 0.2%, Midcap down by 0.7%
Oil and Gas stocks slumped on concerns that India may allow higher gas prices only for incremental output from existing fields. Brent crude also hit a further high of $115 per barrel as fighting intensifies in Iraq.
Friday - Sensex down by 0.4%, Nifty down by 0.4%, Midcap down by 0.7%
Sensex and Nifty continued to trade lower as investors continued to focus on Iraq issue in short term. Market is expecting major reforms in the first budget of Modi govt. but situation in Iraq has made things little difficult with rising crude prices feeding into higher inflation and deficits.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Weekly Market Commentary - June 9, 2014 - June 13, 2014
Friday slump in markets due to rising oil prices amid continued violence in Iraq may jeopardize the best laid plans of Modi govt. Not only the rising crude oil prices will have debilitating effect on subsidies, it will also let in more inflation.
All this will tie FM’s hands who wants to install some sort of fiscal tightening and do away with lot of welfare schemes. Any attempt to clamp down welfare spending during rising inflation environment may not go down well with general public.
Sensex ended this week down by 0.7% while Nifty was down by 0.5% and Midcap down by 2.8%
Monday - Sensex up by 0.7%, Nifty up by 0.9%, Midcap up by 1.1%
Sensex and Nifty continued their ride up as anticipation of reforms build up. Some rally was seen in fertilizer stocks after govt disclosed plans to raise the price of urea by at least 10%.
Tuesday - Sensex and Nifty unchanged while Midcap down by 0.5%
Indices took a breather as investors booked profits in recently rallied names. Yet, the sentiment on the street remain bullish as market heads into first budget of Narendra Modi govt in first week of July.
Wednesday - Sensex down by 0.4%, Nifty down by 0.4%, Midcap down by 1.2%
Markets snapped after touching all time highs. Investors booked profits in infrastructure and capital goods stocks which has outperformed recently. FIIs continued to show confidence in Indian equities and bought $115.2mn worth of shares on Tuesday.
Thursday - Sensex up by 0.4%, Nifty up by 0.3%, Midcap up by 0.5%
Sensex and Nifty showed some gains in anticipation of positive economic data release later in the day. A Reuters survey found economists expecting CPI easing to 8.4% in May vs. April number of 8.59%.
Friday - Sensex down by 1.4%, Nifty down by 1.4%, Midcap down by 2.6%
Rising violence in Iraq led to scare in the market with crude oil rising to its nine-month high taking a toll on Indian stocks also. Sensex and Nifty both slumped 1.4% as investors fear rise in subsidies and trade deficits if high crude oil price persists. There was a bit of positive news from the economy as industrial growth rebounded. Retail inflation also dropped to 8.4%, a three-month low - signs of an economic revival that could offset the threat of patchy summer rains.
All this will tie FM’s hands who wants to install some sort of fiscal tightening and do away with lot of welfare schemes. Any attempt to clamp down welfare spending during rising inflation environment may not go down well with general public.
Sensex ended this week down by 0.7% while Nifty was down by 0.5% and Midcap down by 2.8%
Monday - Sensex up by 0.7%, Nifty up by 0.9%, Midcap up by 1.1%
Sensex and Nifty continued their ride up as anticipation of reforms build up. Some rally was seen in fertilizer stocks after govt disclosed plans to raise the price of urea by at least 10%.
Tuesday - Sensex and Nifty unchanged while Midcap down by 0.5%
Indices took a breather as investors booked profits in recently rallied names. Yet, the sentiment on the street remain bullish as market heads into first budget of Narendra Modi govt in first week of July.
Wednesday - Sensex down by 0.4%, Nifty down by 0.4%, Midcap down by 1.2%
Markets snapped after touching all time highs. Investors booked profits in infrastructure and capital goods stocks which has outperformed recently. FIIs continued to show confidence in Indian equities and bought $115.2mn worth of shares on Tuesday.
Thursday - Sensex up by 0.4%, Nifty up by 0.3%, Midcap up by 0.5%
Sensex and Nifty showed some gains in anticipation of positive economic data release later in the day. A Reuters survey found economists expecting CPI easing to 8.4% in May vs. April number of 8.59%.
Friday - Sensex down by 1.4%, Nifty down by 1.4%, Midcap down by 2.6%
Rising violence in Iraq led to scare in the market with crude oil rising to its nine-month high taking a toll on Indian stocks also. Sensex and Nifty both slumped 1.4% as investors fear rise in subsidies and trade deficits if high crude oil price persists. There was a bit of positive news from the economy as industrial growth rebounded. Retail inflation also dropped to 8.4%, a three-month low - signs of an economic revival that could offset the threat of patchy summer rains.
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