The Nifty and the Sensex opened the day on a positive note after yesterday's volatile trading that ended with marginal losses.
Join us as we follow the top business news through the day.
Gold falls as strong U.S. yields, dollar sap safe-haven appeal
Risk-on sentiment prevails.
Reuters reports: "Gold prices slipped on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened along with Treasury yields, while markets awaited comments on economic health from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen later in the day.
Safe-haven gold is highly sensitive to rising bond yields as they raise the opportunity cost of holding the bullion. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,734.31 per ounce by 0345 GMT. U.S. gold futures were also down 0.3% at $1,733.70 per ounce.
"We get a little bit of easing in yields that encourages people to step up and buy some gold. Again the afterthought is we have a little bit of higher yields coming up again, so we better sell gold - this is going to be a constant theme," said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at financial services firm Axi.
The dollar index was up 0.1% against a basket of currencies, supported by firm U.S. Treasury yields. The U.S. economy is "much improved," Powell said on Monday, but at the same time warned that the recovery is still "far from complete."
"We expect gold to either see selling pressure once more beyond the quarter end, but may trade in a range in the next one week," OCBC analysts said in a note. Palladium was down 0.3% at $2,608.95, trading close to a more than one-year high of $2,755.18 on March 18.
"Palladium provides a good reflation alternate because the market is in such a massive deficit and they're projected to be in a deficit in 2021 and the need is high," Innes added. "You've got a deficit because of the mine closures, but it is going to take a lot longer to repair ... now it's a couple of months, which is going to continue to weigh on the massive deficits we think is building."
Silver slipped 1% to $25.53 and platinum fell 0.9% to $1,172.91."
Centre readies draft plan for district-wise export promotion
The government has readied a draft district-wise export promotion plan for 451 districts in the country after identifying products and services with export potential in 725 districts, Commerce Secretary Anoop Wadhawan said on Monday.
Aiming for double-digit export growth from 500 districts over 3-5 years, the Commerce Ministry has asked States to prepare an annual ‘export ranking index’ of districts on export competitiveness with the assistance of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).
While foreign trade constitutes 45% of India’s GDP, most export promotion efforts are driven by the Centre.
The district-specific approach that perforce involves the States in identifying potential export sectors and the logistics bottlenecks to be fixed, was taken up after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushed for each district to aim to be an export hub during his Independence Day address in 2019.
Rupee rises 3 paise against US dollar in early trade
The rupee mirrors the performance of stocks this morning.
PTI reports: "The rupee advanced by 3 paise to 72.34 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday, as easing crude oil prices and buying trend in equity markets lifted sentiment.
The rupee's gains were, however, restricted as investors turned a bit cautious due to rising US dollar amid foreign fund outflows.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened flat at 72.37 against the US dollar, then gained some strength to quote at 72.34, a rise of 3 paise over its last close.
In the previous session, the rupee had settled at 72.37 against the American currency.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.94 per cent to USD 64.01 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex was trading 90.66 points or 0.18 per cent higher at 49,861.95 in early deals, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 32.10 points or 0.22 per cent 14,768.50.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they sold shares worth Rs 786.98 crore, as per exchange data.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.16 per cent to 91.88."
China seeks to rein in mobile apps' collection of personal data
China's cyber watchdog said on Monday mobile app providers cannot deny users basic access to their services even if they decline to share non-essential personal information, in the government's latest attempt to curb the sprawling technology sector.
In a statement on its verified WeChat account, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), did not name any app providers in particular but said the requirement was aimed at regulating their access to personal data and protecting the information of individuals.
China has increased scrutiny of its technology sector in recent months, including drafting anti-monopoly rules for tech firms following a dramatic suspension last year of Alibaba-backed Ant Group's planned $37 billion initial public offering.
Many app providers in China, especially on Android systems, require that users share non-essential information with them, such as picture albums or cameras, in order to access their services. Users who decline to share the information can be denied access.
Indian shares rise as bank stocks gain
A recovery after yesterday's losses.
Reuters reports: "Indian shares edged up on Tuesday, supported by gains in beaten-down bank stocks, as sentiment was lifted by a pullback in U.S. 10-year bond yields.
The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.4% to 14,793.80 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.4% at 49,982.63, as of 0350 GMT.
The Nifty bank index gained 0.8% on Monday, while the public sector bank index rose 1.4%. The Nifty bank index had fallen over 5% in the past week.
India's top court will pronounce a verdict over waiving interest on loans under moratorium later in the day.
Meanwhile, India's market regulator said on Monday that stock exchanges and other market entities will need to switch quicker to backup sites to resume operations in case of disruptions like last month's at the nation's top bourse."
Maruti Suzuki to raise prices from April
The country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India on Monday said it will increase prices across its model range from next month in order to offset the impact of high input costs. Over the past year, the cost of the company’s vehicles have been impacted adversely due to an increase in various input costs, the auto major said in a filing.
“Hence, it has become imperative for the company to pass on some impact of the above additional cost to customers through a price increase in April 2021,” it added.
The price increase shall vary for different models, it added.
The company however did not share details about the quantum of the price hike it intends to take from next month.