Stock market today LIVE Updates: Indices erase early gains, Sensex up 91 points, Nifty at 8,856; rupee closes higher at Rs 75.63 – Firstpost

15:19 (IST)

Fiat, Tata Motors JV plant resumes operations at Ranjangaon

Fiat India Automobiles Pvt Ltd (FIAPL) on Tuesday said Ranjangaon-based manufacturing facility, co-owned by it and Tata Motors, has resumed operations.

The plant is a 50:50 joint venture between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) India and Tata Motors. The facility is located in Maharashtra.

FIAPL’s management has developed and implemented a comprehensive programme of safety measures to protect over 3,000 direct and indirect employees, their families and surrounding communities from the spread and transmission of COVID-19, the automaker said in a statement.

15:18 (IST)

Need for home broadband likely to surge: Airtel

#4QWithCNBCTV18 | Strongest growth in over a decade in India mobile revenues; seeing rapid surge in the need for home broadband, says @airtelindia pic.twitter.com/Wbs4gJkqSc

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) May 19, 2020

15:07 (IST)

Indices give up early gains; Sensex rises 91 points, Nifty at 8,856

Indices erased the early gains as Sensex was trading 90.88 points or 0.30 percent higher at 30,119.86 while the broader Nifty was up 33.25 points or 0.38 percent at 8,856.50 at around 2.45 pm.

Despite giving up the gains, the market was trading in the green zone while Nifty Bank slipped into the red. 

Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack surging over 10 percent. 

15:01 (IST)

S&P recovery will be far faster than 2008: Citigroup

US stock markets will deliver among the steepest recoveries in their history over the next year, returning to levels from before March’s coronavirus lockdowns more than twice as fast as after the 2008 financial crisis, according to analysts from US bank Citigroup.

In a note to clients dated Monday, the bank forecast the S&P 500 .SPX index and Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI index would stand at 3,160 points and 28,400 points respectively in June 2021, up about 7 percent and 15.5 percent from current levels.

The forecast is among the most bullish among U.S. market forecasters, many of whom are forecasting next to no gains for the next 12 months.

14:59 (IST)

FPIs rush to exit India; withdraw $6.4 bn in March quarter 

Foreign investors turner net sellers in March quarter and pulled out $6.4 billion from the Indian equity markets largely due to the COVID-19 outbreak and ensuing risk-averse environment, a Morningstar report said.

In comparison, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought net assets worth USD 6.3 billion in three months ended December 2019.

FPIs were net buyers in January ($1.71 billion) and February ($265 million). They, however, went on a selling spree in March as they sold net assets worth $8.4 billion.

“The uncertainty over the gravity of the pandemic’s impact on the global economy and financial markets worldwide triggered a flight to safety among foreign investors as they rushed to exit from relatively riskier investment destinations, such as emerging markets like India,” the report noted.

14:51 (IST)

Nesco Q4 profit up

#4QWithCNBCTV18 | Nesco’s operating margins fall substantially in the fourth quarter from the same quarter last year pic.twitter.com/ToZvwR7ZHl

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) May 19, 2020

14:49 (IST)

Mitsubishi Motors’ annual profit tumbles, refrains from issuing forecast

Mitsubishi Motors Corp posted on Tuesday an 89 percent drop in annual operating profit for its weakest performance in three years and skipped the year-end dividend, as the coronavirus outbreak added to the Japanese automaker’s profitability woes.

Profit came in at 12.8 billion yen ($119.21 million) for the year ended in March, down sharply from 111.8 billion yen a year ago. Still, it exceeded a consensus estimate of 9.4 billion yen profit drawn from 15 analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Mitsubishi, one of Japan’s smaller automakers, declined to give an earnings forecast for the current business year, as it waits to get a better view of the longer term impact of the coronavirus on its operations and sales.

14:46 (IST)

UK unemployment claims surge 69% as pandemic takes hold

Unemployment claims in Britain jumped 69 per cent in April, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and hit the labor market, UK authorities said Tuesday.

The Office of National Statistics says jobless claims surged by 856,000 to 2.1 million in April as compared to the month before. The figures covered only the first weeks of the lockdown, said Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician for economic statistics at the ONS.

“In March, employment held up well, as furloughed workers still count as employed, but hours worked fell sharply in late March, especially in sectors such as hospitality and construction,” he said.

Work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey told the BBC that the government was focused on those claiming benefits under Universal Credit, a welfare payment for those who need help, including the unemployed.

14:45 (IST)

India resumes purchases of Malaysian palm oil: Traders

Indian buyers have resumed purchases of Malaysian palm oil after a four-month gap following a diplomatic row, with buying spurred by a fall in domestic inventories and discounted prices, trade sources said.

The renewed purchases come amid improving trade relations between the two countries after the formation of a new government in Kuala Lumpur, with Malaysia signing a deal last week to buy a record 100,000 tonnes of Indian rice.

Leading Indian importers last week contracted up to 200,000 tonnes of crude palm oil from Malaysia, the world’s No.2 producer after Indonesia, to be shipped in June and July, the sources told Reuters.

14:36 (IST)

Govt procurement portal GeM adds 4,316 products made by tribal communities

Government departments, agencies and public sector units can now procure products made by tribal communities from the GeM portal as it has added over 4,000 such items, including paintings, handmade showpieces and statues.

The commerce ministry launched Government e-Marketplace (GeM), an online platform for public procurement, in August 2016 with the objective of creating an open and transparent procurement platform for the government.

As many as 1,000 self help groups (SHGs) too have registered on the platform with over 500 products in categories such as handicraft, handloom and textiles, office accessories, grocery and pantry and personal care and hygiene.

“Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) has uploaded 4,316 products across 48 different categories – paintings, handmade showpieces and statues, handcrafted hand bags and sling bags and more such products are being added,” GeM CEO Talleen Kumar said.