Category: Business

In 13 hikes, petrol price has gone up by ₹7.11 per litre and diesel by ₹7.67 a litre.

PTI

Petrol price on June 19 was hiked by 56 paise per litre and diesel by 63 paise a litre, taking the cumulative increase in rates to ₹7.11 and ₹7.67 per litre respectively in less than two weeks.

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to ₹78.37 per litre from ₹77.81, while diesel rates were increased to ₹77.06 a litre from ₹76.43, according to a price notification of State oil marketing companies.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary from State to State depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.

This is the 13th daily increase in rates in a row since oil companies on June 7 restarted revising prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus in rate revision.

In 13 hikes, petrol price has gone up by ₹7.11 per litre and diesel by ₹7.67 a litre.

The freeze in rates was imposed in mid-March, soon after the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel to shore up additional finances.

Oil PSUs Indian Oil Corp. (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL), instead of passing on the excise duty hikes to customers, adjusted them against the fall in retail rates owing to the fall in international oil prices to a two-decade low.

International oil prices have since rebounded and oil firms are now adjusting retail rates in line with them.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 550 points higher at 34,057.92 and broader NSE Nifty rose 167.85 points to 10,049.

PTI

The rupee settled on a flat note, registering a rise of just 2 paise to 76.14 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, tracking weak U.S. dollar and gains in the domestic equity market.

Forex traders said rupee was trading in a narrow range as positive domestic equities and weak U.S. currency supported the local unit, while rising coronavirus cases, border tension with China and foreign fund outflows capped the gains.

The rupee opened at 76.17 against the U.S. dollar, and finally settled for the day at 76.14 against the U.S. dollar, up 2 paise over its previous close.

It had settled at 76.16 against the greenback on Wednesday.

During the four-hour trading session, the rupee saw an intra-day high of 76.08 and a low of 76.19 against the U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.05% to 97.10.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 550 points higher at 34,057.92 and broader NSE Nifty rose 167.85 points to 10,049.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth ₹486.62 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.42 per cent to USD 40.88 per barrel.

The bank will also maintain a freeze on almost all external recruitment.

Reuters

HSBC is resuming a massive redundancy plan it had put on ice following the outbreak of coronavirus, and will cut 35,000 jobs over the medium term, a memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed.

The bank will also maintain a freeze on almost all external recruitment, Chief Executive Noel Quinn said in the memo sent to the bank’s 2,35,000 staff worldwide.

“We could not pause the job losses indefinitely — it was always a question of ‘not if, but when’,” Mr. Quinn said.

A spokesperson for the bank confirmed the contents of the memo.

HSBC had originally postponed the job cuts, part of a wider restructuring aimed at reducing costs, in March when it said the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic meant it would have been wrong to push staff out.

The bank now has to resume the programme as its profits fall and economic forecasts point to a challenging time ahead, Mr. Quinn said, adding that he has asked senior executives to look at ways the bank can cut costs in the second half of the year.

PTI

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 19 paise and closed below the 76 per dollar mark on Monday as weak domestic equities and sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment.

Forex traders said risk appetite has waned amid fresh cases of COVID-19 globally.

The rupee opened weak at 75.93 at the interbank forex market. It fell further and finally settled for the day at 76.03 against the US dollar, down 19 paise over its last close.

It had settled at 75.84 against the US dollar on Friday.

During the four-hour trading session, the rupee witnessed an intra-day high of 75.93 and a low of 76.15.

Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 472.54 points lower at 33,308.35 and the broader NSE Nifty fell 130.65 points to 9,842.25.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 1,311.49 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.85 per cent to USD 38.40 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.13 per cent to 97.19.

Meanwhile, investor sentiment remained fragile amid rising coronavirus cases across the world.

India saw a jump of over 11,000 cases for the third consecutive day on Monday, taking the total number of infections to over 3.32 lakh, while the death toll rose to 9,520 with 325 more fatalities, the Health Ministry said.

Globally, the number of cases linked to the disease has crossed 79.25 lakh and the death toll has topped 4.33 lakh.

PTI

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex plunged 552 points on Monday, dragged by heavy losses in financial stocks amid concerns over a second wave of coronavirus infections.

After sinking over 857 points during the session, the 30-share index settled 552.09 points, or 1.63 per cent, lower at 33,228.80.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty tumbled 159.20 points, or 1.60 per cent, to close at 9,813.70.

IndusInd Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tanking around 7 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Tata Steel, ITC and HDFC Bank.

On the other hand, Reliance Industries, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma and ONGC were among the gainers.

Market traded on a negative note on subdued global cues on fears of a second wave of coronavirus cases, Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi said.

With signs that the deadly disease is coming back in China and the United States, investor optimism about economic recovery is beginning to fade, traders said.

The number of cases linked to the disease around the world has crossed 79 lakh and the death toll has topped 4.33 lakh.

In India, the number of infections rose to 3.32 lakh and the death toll rose to 9,520, according to the health ministry.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul tanked up to 4.76 per cent. Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading over 1 per cent lower.

International oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.93 per cent to USD 38.37 per barrel.

Automobile major charts out plan to cut costs, conserve cash; lowers capital expenditure target

Tata Motors Ltd. has revealed aggressive cost reduction and deleveraging plans after it reported a consolidated net loss of ₹9,894.25 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of ₹1,117 crore a year earlier. Lower vehicle sales and the impact of COVID-19 on its domestic and the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) luxury car unit hurt the business.

JLR recorded a loss of £501 million while the domestic business of Tata Motors witnessed a loss of ₹4,871 crore.

The losses include an exceptional item of ₹2,500 crore related to asset writedowns in the domestic business. Revenue during the quarter declined 28% to ₹62,493 crore.

For the year ended March 31, the company reported a consolidated net loss of ₹12,071 crore compared with a loss of ₹28,826 crore in the previous year.

The domestic business reported a loss of ₹7,290 crore for the year, compared with a net profit of ₹2,021 crore. The company’s consolidated revenue for the financial year declined 14% to ₹2,61,068 crore.

During the year, JLR vehicle sales fell 12% while Tata Motor’s commercial and passenger vehicle sales declined 22% and 25%, respectively.

P.B. Balaji, Group CFO, said JLR’s fourth quarter results were significantly impacted by the pandemic. Despite this, the business improved its earnings before interest and tax by 60 basis points over the previous year, he said.

“Project Charge has delivered cumulative savings of £3.5 billion. [The target] has been increased to £5 billion for March 2021. We see improvement in JLR’s performance because of recovery in China, the U.S. and Europe,” Mr. Balaji said.

“Steep volume decline, particularly MHCV, and resulting negative operating leverage impacted profitability and cash flows” at the domestic business, he said.

The CFO said the first quarter of this fiscal too was expected to be significantly weaker for both JLR and the parent firm.

He also said that the company was taking steps to significantly deleverage the Tata Motors Group, with JLR set to become ‘sustainably’ cash positive from fiscal 2022.

He asserted that the company would focus on conserving cash. “The company has called out a cost savings program of ₹1,500 crore and a cash improvement program of ₹6,000 crore. As part of this, company has deferred or cancelled lower margin and non-critical investment and is targeting capex spending of ₹1,500 crore in FY21, substantially lower than the ₹5,300 crore in FY20 and FY19,” he said.

With peak lockdowns in the first quarter, the company expects significantly lower sales in the quarter and negative free cash flow of about ₹5,000 crore n the first quarter, about ₹3,500 crore of which is related to one time working capital outflows, the company said.

With inputs from The Hindu

PTI

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 31 paise to 76.10 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday as strengthening US dollar, weak domestic equities and sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment.

Forex traders said risk appetite has waned and there is growing concern about a resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

The rupee opened weak at 76.10 at the interbank forex market, down 31 paise over its last close.

It had settled at 75.79 against the US dollar on Thursday.

Traders said, market participants are keenly awaiting Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data scheduled to be released later in the day for further cues.

Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 795.59 points lower at 32,742.78 and broader NSE Nifty fell 221.80 points to 9,680.20.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 805.14 crore on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.27 per cent to USD 38.06 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.12 per cent to 96.85.

Meanwhile, investor sentiment remained fragile amid rising coronavirus cases across the world.

India recorded over 10,000 new COVID-19 cases in a day for the first time, taking the tally to 2,97,535, while the death toll rose to 8,498 with a record single-day spike of 396 fatalities, according to the Health Ministry data.

Globally, the number of cases linked to the disease has crossed 75.14 lakh and the death toll has topped 4.21 lakh.

PTI

Mumbai: The rupee settled 5 paise lower at 75.84 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday as volatile domestic equities and sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment.

Forex traders said risk appetite has waned and there is growing concern about a resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

The rupee opened weak at 76.10 at the interbank forex market, but recouped most of the losses and finally ended the day at 75.84 against the US dollar, down 5 paise over its last close.

It had settled at 75.79 against the US dollar on Thursday.

During the four-hour trading session, the local unit witnessed an intra-day high of 75.84 and a low of 76.10.

“The stock market was taking the reopening extremely well, but now there’s a possibility of a second wave of infections. This has soured market sentiment. Also US Fed provided a weaker assessment of the US economy on Thursday,” said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.

Gupta further said that “the uncertainty over coronavirus won’t completely fade away unless there’s a vaccine. So until then the appreciation in rupee will be limited, and we expect it to remain volatile”.

For the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak, India recorded over 10,000 new cases in a day taking the tally to 2,97,535, while the death toll rose to 8,498 with a record single-day spike of 396 fatalities, according to Health Ministry data.

Globally, the number of cases linked to the disease has crossed 75.17 lakh and the death toll has topped 4.21 lakh.

Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 106.68 points lower at 33,431.69 and broader NSE Nifty fell 51.70 points to 9,850.30.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 805.14 crore on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.78 per cent to USD 38.25 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.19 per cent to 96.54.

This is the sixth increase in a row

PTI

Petrol price on Friday was hiked by 57 paise per litre and diesel by 59 paise a litre as oil companies adjusted retail rates — the sixth straight day of increase in rates since oil firms ended an 82-day hiatus of rate revision.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary in each state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or value added tax.

This is the sixth consecutive daily increase in rates since oil companies on Sunday restarted revising prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus.

In six hikes, petrol price has gone up by ₹3.31 per litre and diesel by ₹3.42

Early June witnesses very low urban demand; survey points to buying interest

Retail sales of vehicles in the domestic market fell nearly 89% in May as the country began to open up partially after nearly two months of nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19.

In May, total retail sales across categories stood at about 2.02 lakh units, compared with over 18.21 lakh vehicles sold last year, as per data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA).

Sales in April 2020 were nil due to the lockdown.

FADA president Ashish Kale said that at the end of May, of the 26,500 outlets, about 60% showrooms and 80% workshops were operational across the country. Hence, registrations were not indicative of demand.

He, however, added that the first 10 days of June witnessed extremely low demand and weak consumer confidence, especially in urban areas, as customers stayed away due to the threat of community spread.

Mr. Kale said that assuming there would be no further lockdown, a substantial pick-up is anticipated in retail sales in comparison to May, “but the overall outlook continues to be grim with projected sales to witness a de-growth upwards of 25% over the previous year”.

Two wheeler sales in the last month nosedived 88.8% to about 1.59 lakh, while that of passenger vehicles was down 87% to 30,749 units, commercial vehicle sales fell 96.93% to 2,711 units, and tractor sales declined 75.58% to 8,317 units.

Car purchase, a priority

Separately, a survey by EY showed that with the nationwide lockdown being lifted in phases, a car is likely to be top priority among purchases by consumers.

The survey, conducted among 1,120 people with nearly 90% in the 18-42 age bracket, found that 74% respondents are leaning towards owning a vehicle and considering it to be a priority purchase post the relaxation of the national lockdown.

While about 57% of first-time buyers said they were likely to buy a pre-owned vehicle, 57% of existing car owners are likely to upgrade their car, the survey said, adding that 37% of respondents are likely to buy within the hatchback segment.

Som Kapoor, partner and automotive retail lead, EY India said, “We are sensing a shift in preferences from shared mobility / public transport to their own vehicle owing to perception of increased health and safety in one’s own vehicle. This will provide an impetus to entry level and compact vehicle segments in the near future.”

With inputs from The Hindu