Centre to borrow Rs 8.45 lakh crore via bonds in April-September 2022 - Moneycontrol

The Centre’s record-breaking borrowing programme will see it issue bonds amounting to 56.5 percent of its FY23 borrowing target in the first half of the next financial year.

Finance Ministry (Image: PTI)

The central government will borrow Rs 8.45 lakh crore from the market in the first half of FY23 by issuing bonds, the finance ministry said on March 31.

While this sum amounts to 56.5 percent of the full-year borrowing programme of Rs 14.95 lakh crore as spelt out by the Budget for 2022-23, it is 59 percent of the programme after adjusting for the bond switch operation the government held with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on January 31, a day before the Budget was presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The government will borrow money from the market in the first half of FY23 through weekly auctions of its bonds ranging, with the auctions ranging in size from Rs 32,000 crore to Rs 33,000 crore.

The break-up of the April-September borrowing programme is as follows:

* 6.15 percent of the borrowing will be via bonds maturing in 2 years

* 13.85 percent of the borrowing will be via bonds maturing in 5 years

* 10.77 percent of the borrowing will be via bonds maturing in 7 years

* 20.00 percent of the borrowing will be via bonds maturing in 10 years

* 15.98 percent of the borrowing will be via bonds maturing in 14 years

* 13.25 percent of the borrowing will be via bonds maturing in 30 years

* 13.85 percent of the borrowing will be via bonds maturing in 40 years

* 6.15 percent of the borrowing will be via floating rate bonds

"To take care of temporary mismatches in Government account, the Reserve Bank of India has fixed the Ways and Mean Advances (WMA) limit for H1 of FY 2022-23 at Rs 1.50 lakh crore," the finance ministry said in a statement.

In additions to the bonds, the Centre will also issue Treasury bills worth Rs 33,000-34,000 crore every week in the first quarter of FY23 amounting to a net borrowing of Rs 2.40 lakh crore.

Siddharth Upasani

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Centre to borrow Rs 8.45 lakh crore via bonds in April-September 2022 - Moneycontrol
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PPF, Senior Citizen Scheme, Small Savings Scheme Interest Rates Announced; Know Here - News18

The finance ministry has kept the interest rates of small savings schemes unchanged for June quarter of financial year 2023. The small savings instruments include Public Provident Fund Account (PPF ), Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, Post Office Savings Account, 5-Year Post Office Recurring Deposit Account (RD), National Savings Certificates (NSC) among others. “The rate of interest on various small savings schemes for the first quarter of financial year 2022-23, starting from 1st April 2022 and ending on 30th June, 2022, shall remain unchanged from the current rates applicable for the fourth quarter (1st January 2022 to 31st March 2022) of FY 2021-22," the finance ministry said in a statement.

PPF, Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, NSC Interest Rates

According to the latest notification by the finance ministry, PPF will continue to fetch 7.1 per cent interest. The Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS) will continue to earn 7.40 per cent while and post office time deposits will get 5.5-6.7 per cent. The interest for NSC or National Savings Certificate has been fixed at 6.8 per cent. Post Office Monthly Income Scheme or MIS will now earn 6.6 per cent interest. Post Office 5-year term deposit will continue to fetch 6.7 per cent interest while 5-year recurring deposit will earn 5.8 per cent interest. The interest rates will be applicable for April 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022.

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Good News for Fixed Income Investors

With the falling rate of interest on traditional savings options such as fixed deposits over the past years, investors are attracted to small savings schemes as they offer higher returns. The government maintained the interest rates of small savings scheme at a time when bank fixed deposit rates are at all-time low. The Union government has also recently slashed the interest rate for Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) for FY 2021-22 to a 40-year low to 8.1 per cent. This decision will bring much-needed relief to middle class investors who rely on fixed income instruments.

Will Government Cut Interest for Small Saving Schemes Soon?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), however, suggested a further reduction in interest rates on small saving instruments for the first quarter of fiscal 2022-23.“The Government of India reviewed interest rates on small saving instruments (SSIs) on December 31, 2021, and left them unchanged for the seventh straight quarter. The current interest rates on SSIs are 42-168 bps higher than the formula-based rates for Q4:2021-22," it further mentioned.

The Union government review the interest rates on small savings schemes every quarter. These administered interest rates are linked to market yields on G-secs with a lag and are fixed on a quarterly basis at a spread ranging from 0-100 bps over and above G-sec yields of comparable maturities, the central bank said in its ‘State of the economy’ report.

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Interest rates on small savings schemes unchanged for first quarter of FY23: Here’s what you will earn - The Indian Express

The government has decided to maintain the status quo on interest rates of small savings instruments for the April-June quarter. Interest rates on small saving schemes are reset on a quarterly basis, in line with the movement in benchmark government bonds of similar maturity.

The move to not change the interest rates assume significance in the light of a sharp reduction in interest rate that was recommended by the Central Board of Trustees of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) earlier this month.

Typically, small savings rates are linked to yields on benchmark government bonds but despite the movement in g-sec yields, the government has not reduced the interest rates over the last two years.

What are the various rates applicable on small savings instruments?

Public Provident Fund (PPF), which is among the most popular fixed income products, fetches 7.1 per cent. National Savings Certificate (NSC) yields 6.8 per cent. The rate on the girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is 7.6 per cent.

The interest rate on savings deposits will continue to be 4 per cent per annum. Term deposits of one to five years will fetch an interest rate in the range of 5.5-6.7 per cent, to be paid quarterly, while the interest rate on five-year recurring deposits will earn a higher interest of 5.8 per cent.

When was the last time these rates were cut?

The interest rates were revised for the first quarter of 2021-22 (April-March), and reduced sharply by 40-110 basis points, but the decision was later rolled back, with the Finance Minister saying that the “orders issued by oversight shall be withdrawn”.

The reduction of interest rates and the subsequent withdrawal had happened in the run-up to the West Bengal Assembly elections. Prior to that, the interest rates were revised two years ago for the first quarter of 2020-21.

Why is the status quo on small saving interest rates significant?

The decision to retain the rates assumes significance on account of the recent reduction in interest rate on EPF deposits. The rates were reduced on March 12 to 8.1 per cent – the lowest in four decades.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the revision was dictated by the realities of current times. “The fact remains these are rates which are prevailing today, and it (EPFO interest rate) is still higher than the rest,” Sitharaman had said, adding that EPFO’s rates had remained unchanged for 40 years, and that the revision now reflected “today’s realities”.

Further, in its state of the economy report released last week, the Reserve Bank of India had called for a reduction in small savings rate in the 9-118 basis points range.

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“The existing rates of interest on SSIs need to be reduced in the range of 9-118 bps for Q1 of 2022-23 to align them with the formula-based rates,” the RBI noted in its report.

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Interest rates on small savings schemes unchanged for first quarter of FY23: Here’s what you will earn - The Indian Express
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PPF, NSC, other post office schemes interest rates remain unchanged for June 30, 2022 quarter - Economic Times

The government has yet again decided to keep the interest rates unchanged on small savings schemes or post office schemes. For the first quarter of FY2022-23 (April-June 2022), interest rates on small savings schemes like the Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) will continue to earn the same interest rate as they were earning during the quarter ending March 31, 2022. The Ministry of Finance made this announcement via a circular dated December 31, 2021.

New investments made during the January-March 2022 quarter into these schemes will also earn the same interest rates as in the previous quarter.
According to the circular, for the first quarter of FY 2022-23, PPF will continue to earn 7.10 per cent. The Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS) will continue to earn 7.40 per cent, and post office time deposits will fetch 5.5-6.7 per cent. The interest rates will be applicable for the period April 1, 20-2022 to June 30, 2022.

Here is a look at the interest rates on various small savings schemes for the first quarter of FY2022-23.

Interest rates on post office deposit schemes:

Instrument	Interest rate (%) from April 1, 2022	Compounding frequency
Savings deposit	4	Annually
1 year Time Deposit	5.5	Quarterly
2 year Time Deposit	5.5	Quarterly
3 year Time Deposit	5.5	Quarterly
5 year Time Deposit	6.7	Quarterly
5-year Recurring Deposit	5.8	Quarterly
5-year Senior Citizen Savings Scheme	7.4	Quarterly and Paid
5-year Monthly Income Account	6.6	Monthly and Paid
5-year National Savings Certificate	6.8	Annually
Public Provident Fund	7.1	Annually
Kisan Vikas Patra	6.9 (will mature in 124 months)	Annually
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana	7.6	Annually

Source: Finance ministry circular dated March 31, 2022

Relief for fixed income investors
The government maintaining status quo on small savings rates is good news for fixed income investors. This especially since FD rates are at decadal lows, and the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) interest rate for FY 2021-22 has been slashed to a 40-year low to 8.1 percent.

All eyes are on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which is set to announce the bi-monthly monetary policy review on April 8, 2022. People will be keenly watching to see what RBI will do with key policy rates now that there is geopolitical tension due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. It has been more than 20 months since the last change in repo rate when it was reduced to 4% on May 22, 2020, which is the lowest rate since April 2001.

With RBI having kept rates unchanged for so long, banks that have cutting fixed deposit (FD) interest rates relentlessly for the past few years, have now slowly started increasing rates. Most major banks have hiked FD interest rates marginally.

FDs vs bank savings accounts vs small saving schemes
Effective January 15, 2022 SBI's 1-2 year FD will earn an interest rate of 5.1 percent. Compared to this Post Office Term Deposits with 1-3 year tenures earn 5.5 percent.

Apart from fixed deposits, even the interest rates on savings accounts offered by some of the bigger banks is lower than the interest rate on the post office savings account.

Post office savings account is currently offering 4% per annum whereas SBI is offering 2.70% per annum interest rate on its savings account. Similarly, ICICI Bank is offering 3-3.5% per annum.

How interest rates are set for small savings schemes
The interest rates on small savings schemes are reviewed every quarter by the government. The formula to arrive at the interest rates for small savings scheme was given by the Shyamala Gopinath Committee. The committee had suggested that the interest rates of different schemes should be 25-100 bps higher than the yields of the government bonds of similar maturity.

In fact, in its January 2022 State of the Economy report, the RBI said, "The Government of India reviewed interest rates on small saving instruments (SSIs) on December 31, 2021 and left them unchanged for the seventh straight quarter. The current interest rates on SSIs are 42-168 bps higher than the formula-based rates for Q4:2021-22.10."

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PPF, NSC, other post office schemes interest rates remain unchanged for June 30, 2022 quarter - Economic Times
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Petrol, Diesel Prices Hiked By Nearly A Rupee, 9th Rise In 10 Days - NDTV

Petrol Diesel Rates: Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state.

New Delhi:

As fuel prices were today hiked for the ninth time in the last 10 days, the opposition Congress has taken to the streets to protest the move. Leading the charge, party MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha staged a protest demonstration at Vijay Chowk near the Parliament in Delhi, kicking off a nationwide agitation against the steep rise in prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. The grand old party is demanding a rollback, accusing the government of "stealing money from the poor" and handing it over to industrialists.

"Our demand is that the government should control prices and stop raising petrol and diesel prices," senior party leader Rahul Gandhi said while noting that the poor and middle class have been worst hit by the hike.

"We can see that petrol and diesel prices are climbing rapidly. The government is making thousands of crores from this. Congress is protesting across the country against this price rise of petrol and diesel. The government has to stop doing this. It has to ensure that prices do not rise," he added.

With an overturned motorcycle and cooking gas cylinders placed at the protest site, Congress mocked the PM. On cue from the central leadership, the Karnataka unit of the party hit the streets with gas cylinders decorated and garlanded as deities, with a priest mock worshipping it. Party workers were also seen banging utensils, a swipe at PM Modi's suggestion to lift the spirits of health workers during the pandemic. 

Mr Gandhi also quipped that he had predicted this would happen. In a jibe at the BJP, the Congress leader had earlier this month said people should fill up their vehicle's tanks before the election concludes as the Modi government will hike prices as soon as it's over.

Among those present at the protest demonstration included the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

There has been widespread criticism of the BJP-led government for not hiking prices for four months due to assembly elections in five states even when international crude prices were going up which has led to this sudden unprecedented hike. 

Petrol and diesel prices were today hiked by 80 paise a litre each, taking the total increase in fuel rates in the last 10 days to Rs 6.40 per litre. 

Not just Congress, several opposition parties like Trinamool Congress and DMK have also protested against the hike, pointing out that it will snowball into rising prices of essential commodities and lead to inflation. 

Non-BJP states have attacked the Centre for not lowering the central excise duty on fuel, saying they already lowered Value Added Tax (VAT) and doing it further won't be viable. The Centre has made record collections through excise duty since it was hiked two years back to counter a steep increase in international crude prices. However, the hike was never rolled back despite the crude prices dipping later. The Centre mopped up the record gains, claiming to spend it on infrastructure, development and Covid relief. 

While Goods and Services Tax (GST) applies to most products since its introduction in 2017, oil products and natural gas have been kept out of its purview. Excise duty, which accrues to the centre, and VAT that goes to the state government, are levied on their sale.

Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 101.81 per litre as against 101.01 per litre yesterday while diesel rates have gone up from 92.27 per litre to 93.07 per litre today, price notification of state fuel retailers showed.

In Mumbai, the petrol and diesel prices per litre reached Rs 116.72 and Rs 100.94 respectively after prices were increased by 84 paise each.

In Chennai, the price of petrol is Rs 107.45 after an increase of 76 paise per litre while diesel is priced at Rs 97.52 after being increased by 76 paise per litre today.

In Kolkata, the price of petrol is Rs 111.35 a litre (increased by 83 paise) and diesel is Rs 96.22 per litre (increased by 80 paise).

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Top 10 things to know before the market opens today - Moneycontrol

Stock Market Today:

The Indian stock market is expected to open in the green as trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 29 points.

On March 30, the BSE Sensex rallied 740 points to 58,684, while the Nifty50 climbed 173 points to 17,498 and broke its consolidation range seen last week, forming a small-bodied bullish candle on the daily charts.

As per the pivot charts, the key support level for the Nifty is placed at 17,416, followed by 17,334. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 17,551 and 17,605.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in the currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms which could impact Indian as well as international markets:

US Markets

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 snapping four-session winning streaks, on waning signs of progress for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia against a backdrop of a hawkish Federal Reserve curbing economic growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 65.38 points, or 0.19%, to 35,228.81, the S&P 500 lost 29.15 points, or 0.63%, to 4,602.45 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 177.36 points, or 1.21%, to 14,442.28.

Asian Markets

Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Thursday morning trade as oil prices fell sharply. In the broader Asia-Pacific markets, mainland Chinese stocks declined in morning trade as the Shanghai composite shed 0.26% while the Shenzhen component slipped 0.652%. The Nikkei 225 in Japan was near flat while the Topix index sat little changed. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.48%.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 29 points. The Nifty futures were trading around 17,526 levels on the Singaporean exchange.

Oil prices tumble more than $5 a barrel as Biden weighs massive reserves release

Oil futures dived more than $5 a barrel on Thursday morning on news that the Biden administration is weighing releasing some 1 million barrels of oil per day from strategic reserves for several months in a bid to calm soaring crude prices.

Brent futures were down $4.71, or 4.2%, to $108.58 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down $5.45, or 5%, to $102.74 a barrel at 0035 GMT.

The Biden administration will give remarks later on Thursday where he is expected to announce the plan, aimed at lowering gasoline prices that have hit record levels following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Prices had settled up around 3% on Wednesday, driven by supply concerns as peace talks between Russia - which calls its actions a "special operation" - and Ukraine appeared to have stalled.

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net purchased shares worth Rs 1,357.47 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have net bought shares worth Rs 1,216 crore on March 30, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Japan's Feb factory output rises for the first time in three months

Japanese factories posted their first rise in output in three months in February as resilience in global demand led to a rebound in car production, a welcome sign for policymakers hoping to keep the country's fragile economic recovery on track.

Factory output rose 0.1% in February from the previous month, official data showed on Thursday, as growing production of cars and transport equipment offset a decline in chemicals.

China's March factory activity likely shrank amid virus outbreaks - Reuters poll

China's factory activity likely shrank in March, a Reuters poll showed, as the country imposed more mass testing and activity controls amid its worst resurgence of COVID-19 cases since early 2020.

The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is expected to have eased to 49.9 in March, the lowest reading in five months, from 50.2 in February, according to the median forecast of 36 economists polled by Reuters on Wednesday.

U.S. private payrolls rise strongly; higher costs eat into corporate profits

U.S. private employers maintained a brisk pace of hiring in March, in a boost to the labor market recovery, but growth in corporate profits slowed significantly in the fourth quarter amid increasing costs.

Private payrolls rose by 455,000 jobs last month after advancing 486,000 in February, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private payrolls would increase by 450,000 jobs.

Ind-Ra slashes India's FY23 GDP forecast to 7-7.2% citing Ukraine war

India Ratings has lowered its GDP growth forecast for FY23 to 7-7.2 percent, from 7.6 percent earlier citing the rising uncertainty over Russia-Ukraine war and the resultant dampening of consumer sentiment. Since the duration of the war continues to be uncertain, in the first scenario crude oil prices could remain elevated for three months, and in the second case for six months, Ind-Ra said.

Consumer sentiment is likely to witness a further dent due to the Ukraine war leading to rising commodity prices/consumer inflation. Ind-Ra expects private consumption spends to grow at 8.1 per cent and 8 percent in scenario 1 and 2, respectively, in FY23, as against its earlier projection of 9.4 percent.

Stocks under F&O ban on NSE

One stock - Vodafone Idea - is under the F&O ban for March 31. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.

With inputs from Reuters & other agencies

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SEBI defines timelines for rebalancing mutual fund portfolios - Moneycontrol

The Securities and Exchange Board of India, the capital market regulator, has issued a circular that clearly defines the rules governing the rebalancing of portfolios of the schemes launched by mutual funds.

Barring overnight funds, all schemes will have a mandated rebalancing period of 30 days, in the event of deviation from mandated asset allocation mentioned in the scheme information document (SID) due to passive breaches. Passive breaches mean instances not arising out of the actions of the fund managers. These include those changes arising out of the movement in the prices of the assets held.

For example, an aggressive hybrid fund may have stipulated to invest a minimum 65 percent of the money in stocks. This allocation may go below 65 percent if the prices of stocks held in the scheme’s portfolio fall.

In such a case the fund managers have to act within 30 days from the date of such deviation and reinstate the allocation in line with what is mentioned in SID. If the fund manager fails to do so, then justification in writing, including details of efforts taken to rebalance the portfolio shall be placed before investment committee. The investment committee of the asset management company can extend this period for rebalancing up to 60 business days from the date of completion of the mandated rebalancing period.

The directive brings uniformity in the timelines for rebalancing of portfolios and should act in favour of investors. “Fund managers will be required to stick to the asset allocation mandated in the schemes’ SID. This brings in discipline and investors get to invest in the portfolios as mentioned in the SID. This is in the interest of the investors,” says G Pradeepkumar, CEO, Union Mutual Fund.

Nirav Karkera, Head of Research, Fisdom points out, “While most fund managers have been diligent and proactive in terms of aligning products with stated asset allocation mandates, the timelines have been fairly disparate across AMCs. This creates challenges for advisers and investors, typically witnessed when available products deviate from the stated framework.”

Getting stuck with deviated allocations, consequent misalignment with broader investment strategy, unintended exposure to risks and non-comparability of performance between products belonging to the same category are problems typically associated with products not quite true-to-label, he adds.

The circular has attempted to iron out all these issues faced by investors. The regulator has also made it clear that if the AMC fails to rebalance the portfolio of a scheme, then the AMC will not be allowed to launch new schemes nor can it charge any exit load on redemptions.

The fund houses are asked to keep the trustee informed about deviations in the asset allocation of the portfolios. In case such deviation exceeds 10 percent of the assets under management of the main portfolio of the scheme then the fund house must inform the investors immediately specifying the details of the portfolio not rebalanced. The investors need to be also updated when the portfolios are rebalanced. Any deviation in the portfolio’s mandated asset allocation should be communicated by the fund house along with portfolio disclosures.

These norms apply to the main portfolios of the schemes and do not apply to segregated portfolios. They come into effect from July 1, 2022.

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Oil up 3% on tight supply, prospects of new Russia sanctions By Reuters - Investing.com

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Workers walk as oil pumps are seen in the background in the Uzen oil and gas field in the Mangistau Region of Kazakhstan November 13, 2021. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev

By Scott DiSavino

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices gained about 3% on Wednesday as another stock drawdown indicated tight supplies and investors worried about new Western sanctions against Moscow with Russian forces continuing to bomb the outskirts of Ukraine's capital.

On Tuesday, Russia promised to scale down operations around Kyiv in what the West dismissed as a ploy to regroup by invaders suffering heavy losses.

"After being fooled once, many traders that sold contracts in response to the peace talks are unlikely to make the same mistake the next time a Russia-Ukraine meeting is followed by optimistic comments," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Illinois.

futures rose $3.22, or 2.9%, to settle at $113.45 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $3.58, or 3.4%, to settle at $107.82.

U.S. crude stockpiles fell by a bigger-than-expected 3.4 million barrels last week, cutting inventories in the world's top consumer to 410 million barrels, their lowest since September 2018, government data showed. [EIA/S]

"U.S. crude inventories have shown another draw despite production ticking higher and yet one more solid SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) release into commercial inventories," said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst at Kpler, noting the crude draw was driven by rising refining activity.

After seven weeks of holding steady, U.S. crude output inched up 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) last week to 11.7 million bpd, while crude stocks in SPR fell to their lowest since May 2002, and Gulf Coast refinery utilization rose to its highest since January 2020.

Price gains were limited by surprise builds in U.S. gasoline and distillate stocks last week and lower demand for both products, traders said.

The United States and its allies plan new sanctions on more sectors of Russia's economy, including military supply chains.

The Kremlin indicated that all of Russia's energy and commodity exports could be priced in roubles, as President Vladimir Putin seeks to make the West feel pain for the sanctions.

In response to possible Russian gas supply cuts, Germany triggered an emergency plan to manage gas supplies. Other European countries also took steps to conserve gas.

Sources, however, said Russia plans to keep the contract currency for gas exports to Europe unchanged but will seek final payment in roubles as one of the options to switch the currency of gas trade.

Keeping the market tight, major oil producers are likely to stick to their scheduled output target increase of about 432,000 bpd when OPEC+ - the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia - meets on Thursday, several sources close to the group said.

But weakening demand in China is pressuring oil prices, as the country has tightened mobility restrictions and COVID-19-related lockdowns in multiple cities including the financial hub of Shanghai.

U.S. data, meanwhile, showed private employers maintained a brisk pace of hiring in March, leading investors to worry that a possible rapid rise in interest rates could hurt economic growth and fuel demand.

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'Deal of a lifetime': Axis Bank’s Amitabh Chaudhry cheers Citibank India's portfolio buyout - Moneycontrol

Amitabh Chaudhry, MD & CEO, Axis Bank (Image: PTI)

Axis Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Chaudhry on March 30 called the bank’s move to acquire Citibank's India consumer business as a “deal of a lifetime”. The buyout will give Axis Bank access to 2.5 million Citibank customer cards and will result in an increase of around 31% to its existing card base.

The transaction will aid the lender in increasing its card spends market share by 480 basis points, the MD said. “Citibank has a complimentary and quality portfolio of close to 2.5 million cards with amongst the highest monthly spends per card across industry and a book size of approximately Rs 8,900 crore as of June 2021,” he added.

Further, post conclusion of the transaction, the combined assets under management of Axis Bank’s wealth management business will increase by 42%, making it the third-largest wealth manager in the country, as per Chaudhry.

The combined current account and savings account ratio, on a proforma basis, post completion of the transaction would improve by 200 basis points to 47% and it will also be liquidity coverage ratio accretive, the management said.

“The consumer lending portfolio of approximately Rs 18,500 crore consists of mortgages, asset-backed finance, small business lending, and personal loans. These are our focus segments as well and will deepen our relationship in this space by offering differentiated financial solutions,” the MD said.

Apart from improvement in the CASA ratio, net interest margin, and credit card market share, the deal would also give Axis Bank access to the premium set of high spending customers.

Addressing a press conference today, Chaudry said Axis Bank has grown organically all these years and scaled well but its aspirations are bigger. “This deal gives us the strategic thrust to close the gap between us and some of our peers. We hope this particular acquisition will improve the quality of our franchise across many parameters meaningfully,” he said.

When asked whether the bank will raise capital to fund this acquisition, Chaudhry said the bank intends to pay for this transaction from its own balance sheet. However, going ahead depending on the credit demand and macro-economic conditions, the bank will look at raising capital.

On a question about how the bank aims to tackle the attrition problem of Citibank India customers, Chaudhry said as per data shared by Citi with the bank, the customer retention levels remain satisfactory.

“Obviously there is a risk that there could be customer attrition. We believe very strongly that Axis Bank has a bigger suite of products and services to offer to Citibank customers. Citibank was limited by branch presence, perks that it could offer, Axis Bank has much more to offer,” he said.

He added that there were certain price-adjusted mechanisms that were part of the deal which will kick in if customer attrition goes beyond certain numbers.

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'Deal of a lifetime': Axis Bank’s Amitabh Chaudhry cheers Citibank India's portfolio buyout - Moneycontrol
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Trade setup for Thursday: Top 15 things to know before Opening Bell - Moneycontrol

The market has continued its uptrend for a third consecutive session with the benchmark indices rising a percent on March 30 ahead of the expiry of March derivative contracts, driven by banking and financials, auto, and IT stocks. The peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, which raised hopes of de-escalation of the war, also supported sentiment.

The BSE Sensex rallied 740 points to 58,684, while the Nifty50 climbed 173 points to 17,498 and has broken its consolidation range seen last week, forming a small-bodied bullish candle on the daily charts.

"On the daily chart, the index has formed higher tops and bottoms indicating a positive trend. This consolidation is also supported by the 200-Day SMA (17,060) which remains a crucial support zone," says Rajesh Palviya, VP - Technical and Derivative Research at Axis Securities.

He advised short-term traders to remain long with a stop-loss of 17,300 levels on a closing basis. "The short-term bias remains bullish with expected upsides towards 17,600-17,700 shortly. The daily strength indicator RSI (relative strength index) continues to remain bullish, indicating sustained strength," he says.

The participation in the rally was also seen from a broader space. The Nifty Midcap 100 index gained 0.85 percent and Smallcap 100 index rose 0.97 percent.

We have collated 15 data points to help you spot profitable trades:

Note: The open interest (OI) and volume data of stocks given in this story are the aggregates of three-month data and not of the current month only.

Key support and resistance levels on the Nifty

As per the pivot charts, the key support level for the Nifty is placed at 17,416, followed by 17,334. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 17,551 and 17,605.

Nifty Bank

The Bank Nifty rallied 487 points to 36,334 on March 30. The important pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 36,130, followed by 35,925. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 36,480 and 36,625 levels.

Call option data

Maximum Call open interest of 1.01 crore contracts was seen at 18,000 strike, which will act as a crucial resistance level in the March series.

This is followed by 17,500 strike, which holds 56.25 lakh contracts, and 17,800 strike, which has accumulated 55.51 lakh contracts.

Call writing was seen at 17,600 strike, which added 10.14 lakh contracts, followed by 18,000 strike which added 9.31 lakh contracts, and 17,700 strike which added 5.65 lakh contracts.

Call unwinding was seen at 17,300 strike, which shed 28.04 lakh contracts, followed by 17,400 strike which shed 24.61 lakh contracts and 17,500 strike which shed 10.84 lakh contracts.

Put option data

Maximum Put open interest of 65.20 lakh contracts was seen at 17,000 strike, which will act as a crucial support level in the March series.

This is followed by 16,500 strike, which holds 60.52 lakh contracts, and 17,200 strike, which has accumulated 57.78 lakh contracts.

Put writing was seen at 17,500 strike, which added 38.16 lakh contracts, followed by 17,400 strike, which added 33.49 lakh contracts, and 16,900 strike which added 9.47 lakh contracts.

Put unwinding was seen at 16,600 strike, which shed 33.04 lakh contracts, followed by 16,400 strike which shed 6.02 lakh contracts, and 16,500 strike which shed 5.57 lakh contracts.

Stocks with a high delivery percentage

A high delivery percentage suggests that investors are showing interest in these stocks. The highest delivery was seen in United Breweries, Infosys, Max Financial Services, HDFC Bank, and HCL Technologies among others on Wednesday.

32 stocks saw long build-up

An increase in open interest, along with an increase in price, mostly indicates a build-up of long positions. Based on the open interest future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which a long build-up was seen including SRF, Navin Fluorine International, Axis Bank, Hero MotoCorp, and IDFC First Bank.

45 stocks saw long unwinding

A decline in open interest, along with a decrease in price, mostly indicates a long unwinding. Based on the open interest future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which long unwinding was seen including Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, City Union Bank, Cummins India, and Indian Energy Exchange.

23 stocks saw short build-up

An increase in open interest, along with a decrease in price, mostly indicates a build-up of short positions. Based on the open interest future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which a short build-up was seen including ONGC, IOC, Wipro, Chambal Fertilizers, and Lupin.

101 stocks witnessed short-covering

A decrease in open interest, along with an increase in price, mostly indicates a short-covering. Based on the open interest future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which short-covering was seen including Nippon Life India Asset Management, ABB India, Gujarat Gas, Dixon Technologies, and Ramco Cements.

Bulk deals

Orient Green Power Company: Janati Bio Power sold 50 lakh equity shares in the company via open market transactions, at an average price of Rs 12.55 per share.

RBL Bank: Integrated Core Strategies (Asia) Pte Ltd bought 40,36,189 equity shares in the bank via open market transactions, at an average price of Rs 129.37 per share. However, Nippon India Mutual Fund sold 51,02,574 equity shares in the bank at an average price of Rs 129.03 per share.

Virescent Renewable Energy Trust: Larsen & Toubro sold 20 lakh equity shares in the company via open market transactions at an average price of Rs 95 per share.

Stylam Industries: Abakkus Growth Fund-2 bought 3,13,896 equity shares in the company via open market transactions at an average price of Rs 900 per share. However, Lighthouse Emerging India Investors sold 4.25 lakh shares at a price of Rs 900.18 per share.

(For more bulk deals, click here)

Analysts/Investors Meetings on March 31

Gokaldas Exports: The company's officials will meet NT Asset Management and SBI Mutual Fund.

Jubilant Pharmova: The company's officials will meet BNP Paribas MF, PPFAS MF, Kotak PMS, UTI MF, Lucky IM, Alchemy, and Exide Life.

Torrent Power: The company's officials will meet UTI Retirement Solutions.

UltraTech Cement: The company's officials will meet Theleme Partners.

IIFL Finance: The company's officials will meet Motilal Oswal.

Gland Pharma: The company's officials will meet Fiera Capital and Capital Group.

Greaves Cotton: The company's officials will meet Ward Ferry and Jefferies India.

Allcargo Logistics; The company's officials will meet Sell Side Analysts.

Valiant Organics: The company's officials will meet ICICI Securities.

Deep Industries: The company's officials will meet Sarath Capital Management LLP.

Radico Khaitan: The company's officials will meet Ashmore Group.

Puravankara: The company's officials will meet Sharekhan.

Stocks in News

Nazara Technologies: Subsidiary Nazara Pte Ltd (Nazara Singapore) will invest $2.5 million in BITKRAFT Funds. Out of which $0.875 million will invest upfront while the balance investment amount of $1.625 million will be deployed over a period of three years.

Tata Steel: Tata Steel transferred its entire stake in Tata Steel Special Economic Zone Limited to Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services for consideration other than cash. The company has executed an asset transfer agreement for the acquisition of itemised assets from Stork Ferro and Mineral Industries Private Limited to produce ferro alloys.

ONGC: The two-day offer for sale issue will close on March 31. The Government of India has decided to exercise the oversubscription option to the extent of additional 9.4 crore equity shares, in addition to 9.4 crore equity shares of the company. Accordingly, the total offer size for sale will be up to 18.8 crore shares or 1.5 percent of the total paid-up equity.

Axis Bank: The bank has acquired Citibank's India consumer business from Citibank N.A. and the NBFC consumer business from Citicorp Finance (India), as going concerns, without values being assigned to individual assets and liabilities to either business. The bank has executed business transfer agreements with Citibank N.A. and Citicorp Finance (India) on March 30. The cost of acquisition is Rs 12,325 crore.

Mangalam Cement: Promoter Vidula Consultancy Services acquired 2.26 lakh equity shares in the company via open market transactions. With this, its shareholding in the company stands at 9.92 percent, up from 9.1 percent earlier.

Godrej Properties: The real estate developer has acquired a nine-acre land parcel in the residential micro-market of Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune. The development will primarily be for a group housing project.

Quess Corp: The board has approved the transfer of digital business undertaking of the company comprising Qjobs, Worq, and Dash as a going concern on a slump sale basis to the company's subsidiary Billion Careers Private Limited (BCPL), for Rs 5.04 crore. The company has signed the First Addendum Agreement with Stellarslog Technovation (Taskmo), Naveen Ramachandra and Prashant Janadri (Founders), under which it will make an additional investment of Rs 3.84 crore. The board also approved the re-designation of Executive Chairman Ajit Isaac to Non-Executive Chairman (Non-Executive Director) with effect from April 2022.

Fund Flow

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net purchased shares worth Rs 1,357.47 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have net bought shares worth Rs 1,216 crore on March 30, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Stocks under F&O ban on NSE

One stock - Vodafone Idea - is under the F&O ban for March 31. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Tata Altroz DCA 2022: Our observations after a day of driving - Team-BHP

Tata knows the 1.2L NA engine is weak and has smartly tuned the transmission to extract maximum performance out of it. In that sense, the dual-clutch AT is well-integrated.

Driving the Tata Altroz 1.2L Petrol Dual-Clutch AT

1.2L naturally-aspirated petrol motor puts out 85 BHP & 113 Nm and is mated to a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Given that the NA engine constitutes about 85% of total Altroz sales (as claimed by Tata), Tata has chosen this engine and not the turbo-petrol for the dual-clutch automatic. Of course, it's also down to the price; the turbo-petrol would've made it more expensive:

There's been a lot of fuss about why Tata chose the dual-clutch automatic over an AMT (thank God!) or a torque converter. Well, Tata understands that the Indian market is now mature enough to prioritize a smoother driving experience for an additional premium over a jerky AMT. Additionally, dual-clutch ATs are comparatively more fuel-efficient than torque converters and more suitable for cars with low torque. This dual-clutch automatic is the first on a Tata car and comes from a Belgian company named 'Punch Powertrain'. It has been specifically developed for the compact vehicle segment. The 'DT1' gearbox is designed to be cost-effective, compact, fuel-efficient and focuses on smoothness. It is made for vehicles with max engine torque of up to 200 Nm, so we surely hope to see it on the 1.2L turbo-petrol engine in the days to come.

This is a brand new gearbox that has been in development for over 10 years with over 45 patents, it is claimed to be the world’s first dual-clutch AT with a planetary gear system. Most dual-clutch transmissions are essentially two manual gearboxes packed together that are operated by two sets of clutch packs. One operates the odd gears and the other operates the even gears. Hence, this kind of gearbox needs two input shafts and can be seen in Volkswagen DSG gearboxes such as the DQ200. The DT1 gearbox in the Altroz utilises two clutches, but gets a planetary gear system that uses just one shaft. The design is therefore pretty compact and it uses lesser shifting components (35% less claimed). It uses 13 gears with this planetary system instead of 20 gears in conventional dual-clutch transmissions. Furthermore, shift-by-wire eliminates the use of shifter cables.

Instead of opting for a dry clutch pack that's more suited for cars with low torque, Tata has gone for a wet clutch pack. For India's varying climate conditions, a wet clutch pack makes a lot more sense. The DT1 gearbox also has machine learning software that optimises transmission behaviour based on its diagnostics and analysis of thousands of parameters (almost 100 times per second). And while wet clutch dual-clutch ATs sap more power than dry clutch packs, Tata claims that it has managed to have no oil between friction surfaces, which avoids the drop in engine power. Another clever feature of this transmission is self-healing technology. Wet clutch gearboxes usually have a filter that keeps out debris and dust. The DT1 prevents such a build-up through an automatic vibration system, which reduces the need for active maintenance.

Now, let's see how the transmission performs on the road. Slot into D, take your foot off the brake pedal and the car crawls forward at ~9 km/h without any throttle input. With a light foot on the accelerator, the transmission moves up the ratios smoothly in a way that the competitors' AMTs can only dream of. In stop and go traffic, you will appreciate the smoothness of shifts and the one-foot operation. While throttle response is satisfactory, downshift response time is acceptable at most times...and slow during a few others. Overall though, it’s just fine for a commuter hatchback. The engine's low power and gearbox's not-so-quick response might get irritating if you want to suddenly close a gap in traffic. On the move, while doing 40 - 70 km/h, you'll notice that the gearbox isn't upshift-happy (moving up the gears quickly for higher fuel efficiency) like we've seen in many automatic transmissions. It does its part to keep the engine in its powerband, which makes city performance more acceptable. Tata knows the 1.2L NA engine is weak and has smartly tuned the transmission to extract maximum performance out of it. In that sense, the dual-clutch AT is well-integrated. With the super light steering, smooth dual-clutch AT and agreeable ergonomics, the Altroz DCA is a great hatchback for the city.

The Altroz DCA is more of a cruiser on the expressway than an outright performer. It can cruise at 100 km/h in 6th gear with the tachometer reading ~2,500 rpm and at 120 km/h, the engine spins at just under 3,000 rpm. You will keep up with 100 km/h traffic on the expressway, although you will be working the engine hard. Straight line performance till 100 - 110 km/h is still acceptable. But if you drop speeds down to say 80 km/h (in case of a slow truck, as an example), getting back up to 120 km/h takes time. Over 100 km/h, you can feel the lack of muscle in this engine. The not-so-strong mid-range means overtaking at speed requires planning & effort too. Floor the pedal and the DCT willingly takes the engine to 6,000 rpm (although we wish there were more revs to play with). Compared to the MT in which you have to vigorously work the shifter & clutch, here, the dual-clutch AT does all the hard work for you.

From a relaxed driver's perspective, the AT is well-matched to the engine. It's smooth & the response times are acceptable in most driving conditions. Sure, there are some conditions where it might take long (up to 1.5 seconds), but this isn't a car to be driven like a Polo 1.2L TSI DSG. There were times on the highway when the transmission downshifted even though there was no need for it to, and sometimes it shifted up when we wanted it to hold the gear.

Manual mode is available, although we didn't find much use for it. In our opinion, it's best to simply let the electronics do all the work for you as Tata has tuned the AT well for the engine.

Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH)

The 1.2L naturally-aspirated engine is the weakest link in the Altroz's package. This is a 3-cylinder engine and there's no hiding that fact. You can feel vibrations seeping into the cabin when you start the engine and at idle. These vibrations are felt in some areas even after the engine is warm. On the open road, to get any kind of performance from the motor, you have got to floor the accelerator. When you do floor it, at higher revs, the engine does make a racket!

Mileage & Fuel Economy

The Altroz DCA has an ARAI certified rating of 18.18 km/l (MT = 19.05 km/l). Dual-clutch ATs offer more acceptable fuel economy than torque-converter petrols, so we expect real world FE to be fair. We're surprised there is no 'ECO' mode or an 'Idle Start Stop' feature for the FE lovers.

Transversely mounted 6-speed dual-clutch transmission can be seen from the bottom:

If the car comes to a halt on an incline, the driver takes off his seatbelt, the gear shifter is in "N" position, the brake pedal is not pressed and the driver's door is opened, the car will sense that the handbrake is not engaged and to prevent the car from rolling backwards, the transmission will engage "park lock", which stops the car in its tracks. The MID will display "Auto Park Activated" and will ask you to engage the handbrake. Could save a careless driver from a bad crash:

MID asks you to shift to "P" when you turn off the vehicle in other gears:

In manual mode, if you try to downshift when the revs are too high or try to upshift when the revs are too low, the MID tells you clearly that your command is rejected! We didn't find the conservatively-tuned manual mode to be of much use here and preferred driving in full-auto mode only:

Suspension

Ride Comfort

The Altroz is equipped with an independent McPherson strut dual-path front suspension and twist-beam rear. The dual-path strut has two separate paths for energy to be transferred from the springs & dampers, allowing it to be better tuned (it's a 2-cup system).

The Altroz's suspension has a mature tune and is kind of European car-like in nature. At low speeds, the ride has a firm edge to it. It's not all soft & plush, yet compliant nevertheless. Big potholes will be felt inside though. Another contributor is the 16" wheel size of the DCA. Unlike the MT, there are no variants with smaller wheels & taller tyres. As speeds increase, that mature suspension results in good ride quality. On the expressway, there is no bounciness - she rides quite flat. Firmer suspension tunes also recover well from road undulations. On the highway, the Altroz handles broken roads decently and dismisses smaller potholes with aplomb. Most of the time, the suspension goes about its job silently and isn't clunky or loud.

Handling & Dynamics

Straight-line stability is exceptional and the Altroz drives like a "big car" on the expressway. There is no floatiness or nervousness at all. The car is well-planted with superb high-speed manners. The 185/60 R16 Goodyear Assurance tyres provide fair grip levels for an average Joe. Enthusiastic drivers might want to swap to grippier tyre models. The Altroz holds onto its line well and doesn't understeer easily. Body roll is controlled and the car never gets unnerving. But again, we felt that the Altroz 1.2L NA lacks the sort of power to unsettle it in corners. Hope to see this DCA in the more powerful motors soon.

Steering

The electric power steering is one of the nicer units around. That thick steering wheel is a delight to hold. It is light at city speeds (one-finger-light at parking speeds) and weighs up sufficiently well as the speedometer needle climbs. The EPS isn't dead and does give you some feel of what the front wheels are up to.

Braking

We found the brakes to be progressive and doing the job as expected. They have cornering stability control too (Tata says "CSC supports / stabilizes the vehicle during partial braking in curves by reducing pressure at the required inner wheel. This helps to reduce the probability of vehicle oversteer during cornering + braking"). From high speeds, the car stops in a straight line sans any drama.

Niggles & Problems

This dual-clutch transmission in the Altroz seems impressive in terms of technology. However, there's no denying the fact that it's a complex gearbox & DCTs have never proven reliable in India, whether from VW-Skoda, Ford or even Hyundai-Kia. We sure hope this gearbox doesn't face any of the problems that some of the other DCTs in India have seen. The standard warranty is of 2 years / 75,000 km. Extended warranty is available for up to 3 years / unlimited km and we strongly recommend getting it.

Continue reading the discussion on the 2022 Tata Altroz DCA on our forum.

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Petrol, Diesel Prices Hiked By Nearly A Rupee, 8th Rise In 9 Days - NDTV

In just over a week, petrol and diesel rices have gone up by Rs 5.60 per litre each.

New Delhi:

Petrol and diesel prices were today hiked by 80 paise a litre each, taking the total increase in rates in the last nine days to Rs 5.60 per litre.

Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 101.01 per litre as against Rs 100.21 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 91.47 per litre to Rs 92.27 according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.

In Mumbai, petrol and diesel prices per litre reached Rs 115.88 and Rs 100.10 respectively after prices were hiked by 84 paise and 85 paise.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxation.

This is the ninth increase in prices since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22.

On the first four occasions, prices were increased by 80 paise a litre - the steepest single-day rise since the daily price revision was introduced in June 2017.

On the following days, petrol price went up by 50 paise and 30 paise a litre while diesel rose by 55 paise and 35 paise a litre. Petrol price was on Tuesday hiked by 80 paise a litre and diesel by 70 paise.

In all, petrol and diesel rices have gone up by Rs 5.60 per litre each.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Shares rally, oil drops after 'encouraging' Russia-Ukraine talks By Reuters - Investing.com

2/2 © Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a protective mask, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walks past an electronic board displaying Shanghai Composite index, Nikkei index and Dow Jones Industrial Average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, March 7, 2/2

By Koh Gui Qing

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets tore higher across the world on Tuesday and oil prices shed $2 a barrel, as investors celebrated signs of progress in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine that they hoped would lead to a settlement in a five-week conflict.

Even though the U.S. government warned that Russia's latest move was a sign it is redeploying, not withdrawing, troops, investors nonetheless piled into risky assets, ignoring surging inflation and imminent rate hikes that could mar the growth outlook and upend stock market buoyancy.

In a sign that the exuberant stock market may run into headwinds, a closely-watched section of the U.S. yield curve briefly inverted for the first time since September 2019, signalling a possible recession ahead.

Indeed, some analysts warned that the latest bout of optimism may be misplaced.

"Over the last two weeks, the S&P has produced one of its sharpest rallies in history, larger than the biggest 10-day rallies in seven of the S&P's 11 bear markets since 1927," said analysts at Bank of America (NYSE:) Global Equity Derivatives Research.

"It has done so despite clearly weaker fundamentals (more hikes, higher inflation, and curve inversion) and the Fed leaning against equity market strength to hike faster," they wrote, adding that they think sustained gains in U.S. stocks are unlikely.

U.S. stock indices jumped over 1%, Europe's main bourses enjoyed 1% to 2.5% gains, and oil tumbled close to $5 at one point as Russia's deputy defence minister emerged saying Moscow has decided to drastically cut military activity around Ukraine's capital Kyiv and also Chernihiv.

With Tuesday's rally, Wall Street - aided by data that showed a rebound in U.S. consumer confidence in March - notched its fourth straight day of gains. Asia was lifted overnight too after the Bank of Japan defended its vast stimulus programme, although the yen's worst month since 2016 was still raising eyebrows.

Dealers also shrugged off bigger-than-expected drops in French and German consumer confidence data and signs that Russia will push ahead with plans to start billing for its gas in roubles, and is prepared to risk a historic sovereign debt default.

Germany's benchmark 10-year Bund yield - the main gauge of European borrowing costs - hit its highest since early 2018 and 2-year yields turned positive for the first time since 2014, adding to the seismic shifts in global rates markets this year as inflation has surged.

U.S. Treasury yields paused their ascent on Tuesday, but have risen an eyewatering 165 basis points this quarter.

Benchmark 10-year U.S Treasuries retreated to 2.391% while the equivalent 2-year yields were at 2.367%. More than 200 basis points of U.S. interest rate rises are also now priced in for 2022 which, if realised, would be the most in a calendar year since 1994.

The difference between 2- and 10-year Treasury yields, which is tracked as a harbinger of recession, briefly fell as low as minus 0.03 of a basis point on Tuesday, as traders bet that aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve could hurt the economy over the long term.

This so-called curve inversion is considered a reliable predictor of recession, although some analysts say the curve has been distorted by quantitative easing and investors should not read too much into it. The Fed has also urged investors to watch other curve segments which are still steep, giving it room to tighten policy further and faster.

"We have seen something that is a little unprecedented because the Fed is suddenly facing a question about its credibility and whether it can effectively reduce inflation," said Amundi's head of multi-asset strategies, Francesco Sandrini.

He added that Amundi had revised its European growth forecast downward to 1.5% for the year from 2% previously, but it could be lower if the situation continues to deteriorate.

"We question a lot our forecasts," Sandrini said, especially as Europe's big companies are more heavily exposed to commodity price pressures than U.S. counterparts. "It is extremely complicated, we need to proceed cautiously."

Title: Oil, gas, wheat and corn prices have soared, https://ift.tt/6M0dlEk

BATTERED YEN

The jumped 0.97%, the leapt 1.23%, and the climbed 1.8%. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 1.54%.

All the three of the main S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq indexes are on course to end March higher. However, they are also set to record their worst start to a year and indeed any quarter since the start of 2020 when the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on financial markets.

In the currency market, the yen continued to languish at 122.88 per dollar even after staging a small recovery from its bruising the day before, when the Bank of Japan vowed to buy unlimited amounts of 10-year government bonds to prevent its bond yields from rising too much further.

The central bank was finding it tough going, however. The 10-year JGB yield stood at 0.245%, right up against the BOJ's implicit 0.25% cap.

Among commodities, oil prices clawed back some of the day's losses, which were incurred after Russia's top negotiator in the talks with Ukraine described the discussions as "constructive". settled down $2.25, or 2%, at $110.23 a barrel, while fell $1.72, or 1.6%, to $104.24.

Prices had weakened earlier too as China's financial hub Shanghai tightened its latest COVID-19 lockdown, after it reported a record 4,381 asymptomatic cases and 96 symptomatic cases for March 28 - though the caseload remains modest by global standards.

Title: Yield curve inversions and recessions, https://ift.tt/kKXuBhP

dropped 0.2% to $1,919.14 an ounce.

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Rs 1,000 crore bogus expenses detected in I-T raid on Hero Motocorp; stock slides 7% - Moneycontrol

Representative image

The shares of automobile major Hero Motocorp slipped by over seven percent on March 29, as the market reacted adversely to the reports which claimed that the Income Tax Department detected bogus expenses to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore made by the company.

Sources told CNBC TV18 that the claims related to the false expenses were detected in the I-T raid conducted from March 23 to March 26 at premises linked to Hero Motocorp.

While an official statement was awaited, news agency ANI learnt from sources that "incriminating evidence" was found in the form of hard copies and digital data.

Reacting to the reports, Hero Motocorp said the speculations are baseless. "We categorically deny the speculative press reports," it said, adding that the bogus expense allegations are "not borne out of any document served on us or our internal documents".

"We will inform exchanges once I-T Department concludes its findings," it further noted.

The market witnessed a significant drop in the stock of Hero Motocorp shortly after the reports were out. At 3:15 pm, the shares were trading at Rs 2,206 a piece at the BSE, which was 7.18 percent lower as compared to the previous day's close. The stock eventually settled at Rs 2,208.35, down 7.08 percent.

Notably, the I-T raids last week were carried out at two of the Hero Motocorp offices in Delhi and Gurugram, and at the residence of the company's chairman and CEO, Pawan Munjal.

In a statement issued following the search operations, Hero Motocorp said it was a "routine inquiry" conducted by the I-T Department.

"We have been informed that this is routine inquiry, which is not uncommon before the end of the financial year," the company had said, adding that "we assure all our stakeholders that it continues to be business as usual".

According to ANI, the I-T Department detected cash transactions of more than Rs 100 crore in the purchase of a farmhouse by Munjal in Chhattarpur, on the outskirts of Delhi. The market price of the farmhouse was altered to save tax, and for this purpose, an amount of over Rs 100 crore was paid in cash, the news agency claimed, citing sources. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the claims made in the report.

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WTI Oil Falls Below $100 Amid Signals Of 'Constructive' Peace Talks - OilPrice.com

Tsvetana Paraskova

Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. 

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By Tsvetana Paraskova - Mar 29, 2022, 8:30 AM CDT

• WTI crude slipped below $100 on Tuesday morning.
• Russia's promise to scale back attacks around Kyiv and Chernihiv is seen as a positive signal in the peace negotiations.
• Ukraine has proposed it would keep a neutral status and would not join alliances or host troops of other countries on its territory.

Oil prices dipped by more than 5% early on Tuesday, with the U.S. benchmark WTI slumping to just below $100 a barrel after signs emerged that the resumption of the Russia-Ukraine peace talks after two weeks may have been constructive.

As of 9:34 a.m. ET, WTI Crude was down 5.71% at $99.91, and Brent Crude was down 5.64% at $106.10.  

Oil extended the losses from Monday, when prices tumbled after China, the world’s largest oil importer, imposed a lockdown in Shanghai due to the high number of COVID infections, rekindling concern about the loss of oil demand in the top crude importing market.

The Monday drop in oil prices was another huge day-to-day swing in Brent crude prices, which plunged by nearly $11 a barrel on the day, or around 9 percent, Javier Blas, energy and commodities columnist at Bloomberg, noted on Monday. In absolute dollar terms, Monday’s oil price slide was the third-largest one-day fall, but in percentage terms, it was only the 27th largest one-day drop, Blas added.

Following a volatile start to trade early in the day on Tuesday, oil prices tumbled in the a.m. ET after signs emerged about a potentially positive outcome of the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, the first such talks in more than two weeks.

During the talks in Istanbul on Tuesday, Russia promised to scale back significantly its military operations and activity around Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv and in the northern city of Chernihiv. Ukraine, for its part, proposed it would keep a neutral status and would not join alliances or host troops of other countries on its territory. Ukraine, however, wants international security guarantees to keep it from attacks.

According to Reuters, the leading Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said he would review Ukraine’s proposals and report on them to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Hopes of peace sent oil prices plummeting early on Tuesday, although it’s unclear whether sanctions against Russia could be removed anytime soon.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Tsvetana Paraskova

Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. 

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Sea e-commerce unit Shopee to shut India operations - Reuters

SINGAPORE, March 28 (Reuters) - E-commerce and gaming firm Sea Ltd (SE.N) said on Monday it is withdrawing from India's retail market just months after starting operations there, the second pullback this month in an overseas expansion drive, as the loss-making firm faces a weak growth outlook.

The withdrawal, effective beginning March 29, comes weeks after its e-commerce arm Shopee said it was pulling out of France and after India banned Sea's popular gaming app "Free Fire".

After the ban, the market value of New York-listed Sea dropped by $16 billion in a single day, leading some investors to cut holdings in the Singapore-headquartered company.

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Shopee said in a statement its withdrawal came "in view of global market uncertainties" and that the company would make "the process as smooth as possible".

Sea earlier this month said revenue growth of its e-commerce business was expected to halve to around 76% this year from a blistering 157% in 2021, amid fewer online purchases and engagements as more countries emerge from the pandemic.

"Due to a drastic shift in the market sentiment towards growth stocks, all these e-commerce companies are under real pressure to at least break even as soon as possible," said LightStream Research equity analyst Oshadhi Kumarasiri, who publishes on the Smartkarma platform.

Sea's U.S.-listed shares fell 3.2% to $112.35 in afternoon trading.

The company's shares had already dropped 11% in January after Chinese tech giant Tencent (0700.HK) announced it was selling 14.5 million shares in the group.

There is no clear evidence that the decision to withdraw from India is based on government pressure or other operational decisions, Citi analyst Alicia Yap said.

Reuters was the first to report Sea's decision on its Indian operations.

Shopee's India business began in October 2021 as part of an aggressive international push that saw it expand into Europe. Sea's market cap at the time was as much as $200 billion. It has since dropped to $64.76 billion in March 2022.

The local unit, Shopee India, recruited local sellers and launched a shopping website and app. India's fast-growing e-commerce market was already dominated by such players as Amazon.com Inc and Walmart's Flipkart.

One person with direct knowledge of the company's thinking said Shopee's decision to exit from India was sparked in part by stricter regulatory scrutiny that saw Sea's gaming app Free Fire banned as part of a crackdown on companies allegedly sending data to servers in China.

Sea said earlier in March it does not transfer or store data of Indian users in China.

The person said Shopee had been planning to invest up to $1 billion in India, and that the pullback would hurt Indian logistics firms with whom it had signed lucrative contracts.

The company, asked to comment on the figure, disputed the number as "not accurate", without giving details, saying "the decision regarding Shopee India has nothing to do with regulatory matters".

"We continue to work on addressing the situation with Free Fire in India," the firm added.

Reuters reported in February, citing sources, that Singapore authorities had raised concerns to India over the ban, asking why Sea had been targeted.

E-commerce players face a strict regulatory environment in India. New Delhi has for years imposed restrictions to protect smaller brick-and-mortar retailers.

Offline retailers in India have often alleged foreign companies bypass regulations and offer deep discounts that hurt their business, allegations the companies deny. Shopee had in recent months faced boycott calls from such traders in India.

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Reporting by Fanny Potkin and Aditya Kalra; Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga, Miyoung Kim and Akash Sriram; Editing by Bradley Perrett and Bernadette Baum

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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