The benchmark stock indices have opened this morning with further losses after the sharp fall of over 2% witnessed on Monday.
Overnight, global stocks witnessed a sharp fall as well affecting sentiments in India this morning.
Join us as we follow the top business news through the day.
Newly passed farm bills will ensure sustainable, profitable future for farming community: FAIFA
Some words of support for the controversial farm bills passed by Parliament.
PTI reports: "The newly passed farm bills will give farmers the freedom to trade across states and empower them to turn into traders of their own produce and be in control of the process, Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) said on Tuesday.
Welcoming the step taken by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, FAIFA which claims to represent farmers and farm workers of commercial crops across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat, said the new set of bills passed by the Parliament will go a long way in ensuring farmer prosperity and doubling of income.
“These visionary bills will ensure a sustainable and profitable future for the farming community,” FAIFA said in a statement.
Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill were passed by both the house of parliament, amid protests by opposition parties like the Congress, TMC, DMK and the Left, as well as some farmer groups.
“The new regulation will create an ecosystem where the farmers and traders will enjoy freedom of choice of sale and purchase of agri-produce and promote barrier-free inter and intra-state trade and commerce outside the physical premises of markets notified under State Agricultural Produce Marketing legislations,” FAIFA President B V Jaware Gowda said.
These timely crucial steps taken by the government will serve as cornerstones for envisioning a fair market for farmers that lets them receive their fair price by letting them be in control of their incomes with freedom to trade, he added.
“These are cohesive decisions that will go a long way in fortifying an agri-led economic development agenda for India that values its farmers at every step of the way,” Gowda said."
Banks not risk averse: SBI chief
Asserting that there is a muted demand for loans, SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar on Monday said banks are not risk averse but being prudent in these trying times to avoid a repeat of the post-2008 scenario when there was ‘dilution’ in credit underwriting standards.
Data clearly shows that investment in the economy has come down, the head of the country’s biggest lender said. “If the capex [capital expenditure] is not happening and investment in the economy is not happening at the same pace, then obviously this is a demand issue and the risk aversion would be where there is a demand and banks are not lending,” he said at a virtual event organised by AIMA. Non-food bank credit grew 6.7% year-on-year in July as against growth of 11.4% in the same month of 2019, as per latest data from the Reserve Bank of India. Bank credit in July stood at ₹91.48 lakh crore.
Contrarian bets are turning out to be losers this time
Rupee skids 13 paise to 73.51 against US dollar in early trade
The negative sentiment in stocks is weighing on the rupee too.
PTI reports: "The rupee depreciated 13 paise to 73.51 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday tracking muted domestic equities.
At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened on a weak note at 73.50, then fell further to 73.51, registering a fall of 13 paise over its last close.
The rupee strengthened by 7 paise to close at 73.38 against the US dollar on Monday.
“Most of the Asian currencies have started marginally weak this Monday and could weigh on sentiments,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.
Markets could also track weakness in the equities. Most Asian equities have started on a negative note on global risk aversion, it added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.14 per cent to 93.52.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 290.04 points lower at 37,744.10 and broader NSE Nifty slipped 95.10 points to 11,155.45.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 539.81 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.46 per cent to USD 41.63 per barrel."
‘Privatise select PSU banks’
Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday suggested that the government should privatise select public sector banks, set up a bad bank to deal with NPAs and dilute the Department of Financial Services’ role.
The reforms are necessary to ensure growth of banking activity without the periodic boom-bust cycles, Dr. Rajan and former RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya said in a paper titled ‘Indian Banks: A Time to Reform?’.
“Re-privatisation of select PSBs can then be undertaken, bringing in private investors who have both financial expertise as well as technological expertise; corporate houses must be kept from acquiring significant stakes, given their natural conflicts of interest.
Indian shares fall; rising COVID-19 cases, lockdown fears in Europe hurt sentiment
After yesterday's sharp fall, stocks have opened the day with further losses.
Reuters reports: "Indian shares inched lower on Tuesday after a sharp sell-off in the previous session, as rising global COVID-19 cases and concerns over fresh lockdowns in Europe weighed on sentiment.
The broader NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.1% to 11,233.50 and the S&P BSE Sensex 0.09% to 37,995.39 by 0348 GMT. Both the indexes fell more than 2% on Monday.
India's federal police on Monday said they had registered a case against dairy company Kwality Ltd and its directors for allegedly cheating a consortium of banks of around 14 billion rupees ($190 million).
Asian shares dropped on Tuesday due to concerns about new pandemic lockdowns in Europe and possible delays in fresh U.S. stimulus.
In India, total novel coronavirus cases touched 5.49 million as of Monday, while the COVID-19 death toll in the United States approached 200,000.
Among sectors, the Nifty metals index slid 1% and the Nifty public sector index 1.1%. Both the indexes were the top drags."
Investors lose ₹4.23 lakh cr. as global sell-off hits stocks
The Sensex dived 812 points while the Nifty closed below the 11,300-mark on Monday, in tandem with a global sell-off after a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Europe stoked fears of another round of lockdowns.
Denmark, Greece and Spain have imposed fresh curbs to tackle a surge in infections. Britain too is considering a second lockdown, prompting investors in Europe to offload travel, consumption and banking stocks.
Falling for the third straight session, the BSE Sensex ended 811.68 points, or 2.09%, lower at 38,034.14. The NSE Nifty tumbled 2.21% to 11,250.55. IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, sliding 8.67%, followed by Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, M&M, Maruti and Axis Bank.