Morning Alert..
*Kirit Parikh panel recommendations: 'Remove caps on gas prices by 2027'*
India should have completely free and market-determined pricing for natural gas extracted from legacy fields and remove all caps by January 1, 2027, the Kirit Parikh committee constituted to review gas prices has recommended in its report, which was submitted to the Centre on Wednesday. Till then, the committee has suggested a floor price of $4 per MMBtu (metric million British thermal unit) be kept in place to cover the cost of gas production by Oil India (OIL) and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Parikh told Business Standard. The committee has also recommended a ceiling price of $6.5 per mmBtu, which may be increased yearly by about $0.5 per mmBtu till 2027, Parikh said. At present, the government fixes the prices of gas produced from the old fields of state-run ONGC and OIL. Such fields account for about 80 per cent of annual gas output of about 91 billion cubic metres.
*Robust activity in services sector holds up 6.3% GDP growth in Q2*
India’s economy grew 6.3 per cent in the September quarter of FY23, boosted by robust activity in services, even as manufacturing output contracted unexpectedly, signalling uneven post-pandemic recovery in Asia’s third-largest economy. While the Reuters and Bloomberg polls had projected 6.2 per cent growth for the quarter, the Reserve Bank of India was spot on with its forecast of 6.3 per cent. In the June quarter of FY23, the economy had expanded 13.5 per cent due to a low base in the equivalent period of 2021-22, when economic activity was severely impacted by the Delta wave of the pandemic. The data released by the National Statistical Office on Wednesday showed manufacturing contracted 4.3 per cent in the September quarter as profit margins of companies came under pressure due to rising input cost.
*FM Nirmala Sitharaman confident of strong growth, low inflation in 2023*
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expects strong growth and lower inflation next year, as central bank authorities seek to stabilize Asia’s third-largest economy amid tough global headwinds. “External factors were very strong in the inflation-targeting exercise,” Sitharaman said Wednesday at a Reuters event, noting that they were beyond the control of the government and the Reserve Bank of India. “We expect currency volatility to settle on its own.” India’s consumer price gains fell below 7% for the first time in three months in October. The RBI, which has raised its benchmark rate by 190 basis point this year, is expected to remain hawkish at a monetary policy review next week. Rate setters penned a letter this month to the government explaining their failure to contain inflation between 2% and 6% and outlined a road map for returning prices to target.
*Commodity play*
Gold – Rs 52602/10gm, Silver – Rs 61750/kg, Brcrude – Rs 6418/barrel, Degumsyoil – Rs 1296/10kg, Copper – Rs 681/kg.
*Corporate News*
TCS secures contract to develop UK's rail data marketplace.
Reliance Industries seeks shareholder nod to alter MoA for EPC undertaking.
NDTV shares continue to rally for the fifth day, surge nearly 25%.
SGX Nifty indicates positive start to Indian markets trading at 19005 levels for the first time up by 0.47% or 88 points. Dow Jones also ended in green up by 2.18% at close.
Sector in focus – Automobiles, banks, IT & Real-Estate.
