Morning Alert..
Retail inflation likely to ease in coming months: Finance ministry
India’s consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation could ease in the coming months thanks to the arrival of kharif crops, lower international commodity prices, and a pass through of lower input costs to consumers, the finance ministry said in its Monthly Economic Review (MER) for October, which was released on Thursday. The MER, however, warned that the global macroeconomic situation remained precarious and a recession in many advanced economies would impact India’s exports. “Easing international commodity prices and new Kharif arrival are set to dampen inflationary pressures in the coming months. Going forward, the current retail inflationary pressures are expected to ease with pass-through of lower input costs to consumers, also affirmed by the Reserve Bank of India’s inflation projections for the next two quarters,” the MER stated.
Nifty, Sensex close at fresh lifetime highs after sharp late surge
The benchmark indices rallied more than 1 per cent to hit fresh lifetime highs after the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s November meeting showed that policymakers were considering smaller rate increases going ahead. As a result, most global markets rallied amid a retreat in the US dollar. The Nifty surpassed the record high it hit on October 18, 2021. The Sensex, which surpassed last year’s highs on November 11, scaled a fresh high. The Sensex rose 762 points, or 1.2 per cent, to close the session at 62,272, also hitting an intraday high. The Nifty rose 217 points, or 1.2 per cent, to close at 18,484, topping its previous closing high of 18,477 logged over 13 months ago.
Budget 2023: Exporters urge govt for fiscal incentives, lower customs duty
A little over two months before the 2023-24 Union Budget, exporters on Thursday urged the government to provide fiscal incentives, reduce customs duty on certain products, and sought support to boost export competitiveness. In a virtual pre-Budget meeting with the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with top officials from the finance ministry, exporters sought certain tax benefits such as 200 per cent tax deduction on the expenditure made by exporters for overseas marketing, and extension of tax incentives for the private sector to set up a global Indian shipping line to tap the market. “We will urge the government to provide fiscal support to units who provide additional employment in the export sector. Such a scheme will also help the workers to move from informal employment to formal employment, which is a priority of the government. Incentives may be provided based on twin criteria of growth in exports and growth in workers so that while on the one hand exports are increased, on the other, the employment-intensive units also get a boost,” Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said.
Commodity play
Gold – Rs 52564/10gm, Silver – Rs 62214/kg, Brcrude – Rs 6398/barrel, Degumsyoil – Rs 1296/10kg, Copper – Rs 677/kg.
Corporate News
Chennai Petroleum, IOC signs JV agreement for Rs 31,580 crore TN refinery.
Trident Realty to invest Rs 3,000 crore over 7-8 years in Haryana.
PVR sees superplexes as next blockbuster concept in cinema business.
SGX Nifty indicates mix start to Indian markets trading at 18627 points down by 38.50 points or 0.21%. All major Asian Indices also opened in red except China.
Sector in focus – Banks, Metals, IT & Automobiles.
