- Retail inflation eases to four-month low of 4.87% in October: This was mainly due to the cooling of food items like edible oil helped lower inflation in October. Core inflation continues to remain high; health and personal care continue to be pain points with higher inflation numbers of 5.9% and 7.8% respectively.
- Exports see fastest rise in a year, up 6.3% in October; imports at a new high; Imports surged to a record of $65 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $31.4 billion raising concerns for policymakers and thereby putting pressure on the rupee. Gold imports almost doubled in Oct and silver saw significant growth too.
- RBI Tightens norms for personal loans and credit cards, raises capital requirements; The central bank has raised the risk weights for lenders and NBFCs, or the capital that banks need to set aside for every loan, by 25 percentage points to 125% on retail loans. The new norms will make personal loans and credit cards costlier and may curb growth in these categories.
- U.S. Inflation Stalls, Signaling Potential End to Rate Hikes: U.S. consumer prices remained unchanged in October, CPI halting at a 0.4% rise from September.
- Moody's Alters U.S. Rating Outlook Amid Fiscal Concerns: Moody's has revised the U.S. government's rating outlook to "negative," citing persistent large fiscal deficits that undermine debt affordability, despite affirming the "AAA" rating.
- China's economy shows signs of recovery, despite persisting weakness in troubled real estate sector; China's factory output saw a 4.6% rise and retail sales jumped 7.6%. However, real estate investment fell 9.3%, and the industry is still in the "midst of adjustment" after a crackdown on excessive borrowing by developers two years ago and the pandemic.
- Stable US-China ties benefit world Joe Biden at APEC summit; Biden and Xi met for the first time in a year and agreed to restore military-to-military links and Xi promised to crack down on production of the ingredients in China for the drug fentanyl flooding into the United States.
- Alibaba's U-turn on cloud unit spin-off lops $20 billion off its market value Alibaba, once Asia’s most valuable stock, slumped 10% after it scrapped plans to spin off its cloud business, citing uncertainties fueled by U.S. curbs on exports to China of semiconductors used in artificial intelligence applications. The drop, potentially its biggest one-day fall in more than a year.
- IT gains on hopes low inflation in US can spur revival in tech spends Information technology stocks have been top performers in the week as the softer-than expected US inflation reading in October has raised hopes of an end of the interest rate hike cycle, which could revive technology spending in the US.
- Rs. 3.27 trillion Diwali Bonus for investors; The post Diwali rally made investors richer by about Rs 3.3 lakh crore as the total market capitalization of all BSE listed stocks jumped to Rs 325.41 lakh crore.
- FPI investment in debt so far in November at 27- month high; Inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPI) in debt so far in November have risen to a 27- month high, which experts attribute to the impending inclusion of Indian government bonds in a global bond index.
- MSCI adds 9 Indian stocks, no exits; IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors DVR, Suzlon Energy, One 97 Communications (Paytm), Tata Communications, APL Apollo Tubes, Macrotech Developers, Persistent Systems, and Polycab India have been added.
- Elections in 2024 to disrupt ‘calm’ Indian stocks: Morgan Stanley A potential change in government could lead to changes in the direction of policy reform and execution leading to poor investment sentiment. Indian stocks have risen about 7% this year, outpacing their peers in Asia and emerging markets.
- Goldman Sachs loads up on Indian markets: Upgrades to 'overweight’ Brokerage cites strong economic growth prospects, steady domestic mutual fund inflows, and a potential supply-chain shift from China.
- Bitcoin trades at highest level since May 2022 Bitcoin is currently trading at its highest level since May 2022, while Solana has seen its prices triple in the past month.
- Tata Technologies Ltd IPO opens on Nov 22, first Tata Group IPO after nearly two decades. The company is planning to raise Rs 3,042.51 crore via public issue; sets price band at Rs. 475-500.
- Govt slashes windfall tax on crude oil, diesel; The Central government on Thursday cut the windfall tax on crude oil from Rs 9,800 per tonne to Rs 6,300 per tonne. It also reduced the windfall tax on diesel from Rs 2 per litre to Rs 1.
- More than 1 million passenger vehicles sold in festive period; Automakers recorded their best festive season this year, with PV sales rising by 41% YoY in the three months between Onam and Bhai Dooj.
- FMCG giants feel the pinch as regional players' reach widens; Local and regional firms have made significant inroads, reaching up to 31% more households in key segments like biscuits, soap, washing powder, and detergent during the September quarter.
- Domestic air traffic soars over 10% in October; Domestic air traffic rose 10.7% in October, compared to the same month last year. Domestic airlines carried around 12.6 million passengers last month.
- RBI asks Bajaj Finance to stop lending under eCOM, Insta EMI Card products; Due to the non-adherence to digital lending guidelines, the RBI has barred Bajaj Finance from sanctioning and disbursing loans under its two lending products -- eCOM and Insta EMI Card.
- Tata 1mg overtakes PharmEasy as leaders in India's e-pharmacy market; Tata 1mg now holds 31% of the market share, up from 19% in October 2022. PharmEasy's market share decreased to 15% from 33% in the same period.
- UPI adds another billion transactions to reach 11-billion mark in two months: The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) added another billion to reach 11 billion transactions in a short span of two months, the quickest addition of a billion, to date, said RBI Bulletin.
- Siemens Energy to sell 18% stake in Siemens India for €2.1 billion; In a bid to strengthen balance sheet, loss-making Siemens Energy will sell 18 per cent stake in Siemens Ltd, India to Siemens AG for €2.1 billion.
- Adani Unit, ArcelorMittal, JSW in race to buy Vadraj Cement; Adani group entity, Sajjan Jindal-owned JSW Cement, and ArcelorMittal Group are likely contenders to buy Vadraj Cement, an ABG Shipyard group company that will be sold under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code process.
