Today’s agenda:
Investment activity in India resumed in the quarter ended September, but growth was not spread across regions or states. Gujarat achieved the highest fresh investment commitment among the top 5 states, which included Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Odisha. Manufacturing led the pack among industries, and irrigation and infrastructure lagged behind.
The coal crisis hit the country’s aluminum sector as the industry demanded immediate resumption of supplies from Coal India for its survival.
In other developments, the US Federal Reserve released minutes of its September 21-22 meeting, in which the Fed revealed plans to reduce its bond buying program next month. In China, the Evergrande crisis stoked investor appetite for Chinese dollar bonds. — John Xavier
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1:30 pm
Oracle opens Israel Cloud Center to counter rocket attacks
Oracle opened a public cloud center in Israel so that the firm and Israelis could store their data on local servers instead of relying on other countries.
The underground data center, the first of two planned public cloud centers in the country, is built beneath one of Jerusalem’s technology parks.
The nine-story center, which is estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, is designed to function even during a potential panic. The company claims that it can withstand direct rocket, missile hit or even a car bomb.
1:00 pm
Wholesale price index inflation dips to 10.66 per cent in September
Despite a rise in crude petroleum prices, wholesale price-based inflation eased to 10.66 per cent in September on softening food prices. It was 11.38% in August.
Food inflation eased for the fifth consecutive month, recording 4.69% in September, from 1.29% in August, mainly on lower vegetable prices. Pulses prices continued to rise by 9.42%.
Retail inflation eased to a five-month low of 4.35% in September on softening food prices.
12:30 pm
EU rules will increase risk of cybercrime: Apple
Apple said draft EU rules that would allow users to install software from outside its App Store would pose a cybersecurity risk.
In contrast, the Coalition for App Fairness, which includes Spotify, Match Group and Epic Games, argued that encrypted data and built-in security measures such as antivirus programs protect devices, not its App Store.
The group wants regulators to loosen Apple’s grip on its App Store so they can bypass it to reach Apple’s millions of users and avoid paying commissions of up to 30% for purchases made in the store.
11:30 am
Rupee rises against US dollar
The Indian rupee rose 12 paise to 75.25 against the US dollar in early trade on heavy buying in domestic equities and fresh foreign fund inflows.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit traded higher at 75.27 against the US dollar at 75.25, a rise of 12 paise over the previous close.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.03% to 94.05.
10:45 am
US Federal Reserve will reduce bond purchases
The US central bank will reduce its bond-buying program, and end its $120 billion of asset purchases by the middle of next year, according to the minutes of the September 21-22 Fed meeting.
Policymakers discussed cutting the Fed’s purchases by $10 billion a month and the purchase of mortgage-backed securities by $5 billion a month. Although many participants preferred rapid reduction.
If a decision to start tapering is agreed upon at the Fed’s next policy meeting on November 2-3, the process could begin by the middle of that month or as early as mid-December.
10:00 am
Infosys, Wipro announce second quarter results
Infosys reported a 12% increase in its second quarter net profit, thanks to growth across verticals and geographies, strong revenue contribution from the Daimler deal and adoption of digital transformation.
India’s second largest IT services company reported a net profit of ₹5,421 crore as compared to ₹4,845 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
Infosys also raised its annual revenue outlook due to increased demand for its software services from global businesses.
Wipro reported a 17% jump in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September 30. Net profit increased to ₹ 2,930.6 crore as compared to ₹ 2,484.4 crore in the same period a year ago.
Wipro’s consolidated revenue grew nearly 30% to ₹9,667.4 crore during the quarter, as against ₹15,114.5 crore registered in the same quarter of 2020-21.
Wipro said it is in a position to hire 25,000 people in the next financial year and resume work from office, starting with fully vaccinated senior associates in India.
9:30 am
Asian markets open | Sensex Update
India’s benchmark equity indices opened at fresh record highs. At 9:17 IST, the benchmark index rose 388.11 points to 61125.16 and Nifty rose 117.70 points or 0.65% to 18279.50.
Most Asian markets edged higher as investors speculated that inflation would push rate hikes around the world.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4% while Japan’s Nikkei rose 1%. The S&P 500 was up 0.3% overnight on Wall Street, and S&P 500 futures were also up 0.3% in early trading in Asia.
Minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting last month showed policymakers’ growing concern about inflation and a general agreement to ease asset purchases too soon.
—- Edited by John Xavier
(With inputs from Reuters, PTI and other news agencies.)