Morning Alert..
*Rupee sheds 33 paise on persistent dollar purchases by oil companies*
The rupee weakened sharply against the dollar on Tuesday, giving up 33 paise, as relentless purchases of the American currency by importers, particularly oil companies, towards the end of the month dragged the domestic currency lower. The rupee settled at 81.72 to the dollar as against 81.39 on Monday. So far this week, the domestic currency has shed 0.7 per cent against the greenback, making it one of the weakest performing Asian units over the last couple of days, traders said. In the calendar year so far, however, the rupee has appreciated 1.2 per cent against the American unit. Outflows of overseas investment from Indian equities also contributed to the rupee’s weakness, dealers said, adding that market sentiment was jittery ahead of key events lined up next week including the Union Budget and the US Fed’s policy statement.
*Work in progress to set up Coal-to-Methanol plants in country: Puri*
Work is in progress to set up Coal-to-Methanol plants in the country using indigenous technology, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday. BHEL (Hyderabad and Trichy), Thermax, and IIT Delhi are working on the project, the Union minister said while inaugurating the demo run of an Inland Water Vessel powered by Methanol blended Diesel (MD15) on the Brahmaputra here. The low-carbon boat ride was done on a 50-seater motor launch marine vessel named 'SB Gangadhar' by Puri and Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameshwar Teli.
*Govt to hold separate consultation next month on PIB fact-check rules*
Amid outrage over a plan to give powers to its arm PIB to police fake news on social media, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday said that the government would next month hold discussions with stakeholders before the proposal is implemented. The minister said the rules for regulating online gaming were expected to be notified by January 31 after which these will be tabled in Parliament. “We will hold a separate consultation (on PIB fact check) sometime early next month,” Chandrasekhar said when asked about clarification on the proposed amendment to the IT rules 2021. Chandrasekhar said the consultation on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act was over and it was being processed within the realms of the government for notification.
*Commodity play*
Gold – Rs 57061/10gm, Silver – Rs 67934/kg, Brcrude – Rs 6581/barrel, Degumsyoil – Rs 1296/10kg, Copper – Rs 787/kg.
*Corporate News*
Price hikes, top-end car sales drive Maruti Q3 net up 130% to Rs 2,391 cr.
Indus Towers makes Rs 2,298-crore provision for Vodafone Idea receivables.
IndianOil to pump in Rs 2,200-cr investment for projects in Tamil Nadu.
SGX Nifty indicates negative start to Indian markets trading at 18099 levels down by 0.20% or 35 points. Dow Jones ended yesterdays session in green up by 0.31% at close.
Sector in focus – Energy, Banks, Infra and FMCG.
