The S&P 500 and the Dow slumped on Wednesday to their lowest levels since late September, as coronavirus cases climbed globally and investors also worried about the possiblity of a contested US presidential election next week.
A spiraling pandemic and the failure to approve new fiscal stimulus before the Nov. 3 election put the blue-chip Dow on track to close at its lowest since early August. All three major indexes fell about 3 per cent.
1:02 AM
Trump win can spur US stocks, dent Asia assets: JPMorgan
A surprise election victory by President Donald Trump next week could benefit US equities and the dollar while hampering Asian assets, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
That’s based on market moves after Trump unexpectedly won the vote in 2016, according to strategists including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou. Democrat nominee Joe Biden is currently leading in polls but Wall Street firms have recently cautioned against assuming he will beat Trump.
The JPMorgan strategists said it’s reasonable to expect an echo of the fallout from four years ago if Trump wins, such as a favorable market reaction for American equities compared with non-US stocks, a decline in Asian currencies and the underperformance of Asian shares relative to global peers. They also see the potential for a rise in a trade-weighted gauge of the dollar. “Asian assets are likely to be sensitive to a continued Trump Presidency as it would likely mean further US/China conflict on trade, technology and investments,” the strategists wrote.
11:42 PM
Over 60 pc schoolchildren have access to smartphones, three-fourth receive family support: Report
Almost three quarter of all children receive some form of learning support from family members while schools are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2020, launched on Wednesday.
The report pointed out that among enrolled children, more than 60 per cent live in families with at least one smartphone.
"This proportion has increased enormously in the last two years, from 36.5 per cent to 61.8 per cent among enrolled children. The percentage point increase is similar in households of children enrolled in government and private schools.
"States that show an increase of more than 30 percentage points in the proportion of children whose families own a smartphone include Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura," it said.
11:41 PM
India extends $1 billion for developmental projects in central Asia
India on Wednesday announced extending $1 billion line of credit for "priority" developmental projects in central Asian countries while vowing to further expand cooperation with the resource-rich region including confronting the common challenges of terrorism and extremism.
The announcement on the quantum of the financial assistance was made by India during the second meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue which also discussed a plethora of key issues as well as ways to expand cooperation between the two sides.
The virtual meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and it was attended by his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. While the Kyrgyz Republic was represented by its first deputy foreign minister, the acting foreign minister of Afghanistan too attended it as a special invitee.
11:19 PM
Blowout US economic growth in summer is already fading
Americans may feel whiplashed by a report Thursday on the economy's growth this summer, when an explosive rebound followed an epic collapse.
The government will likely estimate that the economy grew faster on an annualized basis last quarter than in any such period since record-keeping began in 1947. Just be forewarned: The sizzling pace won't last.
The economy is weakening and facing renewed threats. Confirmed viral cases are surging. Hiring has sagged. Government stimulus has run out. And even last quarter's outsize growth will leave the economy far below its level before the pandemic struck in March.
10:55 PM
India strongly deplores personal attacks on French President Emmanuel Macron
India on Wednesday strongly deplored the personal attacks against French President Emmanuel Macron following his tough stance on radical Islam, calling it a violation of the most basic standards of international discourse.
In a strongly-worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also condemned the brutal terrorist attack that took the life of a French teacher in a gruesome manner and asserted that there is no justification for terrorism for any reason or under any circumstance.
"We strongly deplore the personal attacks in unacceptable language on President Emmanuel Macron in violation of the most basic standards of international discourse," the MEA said.
10:49 PM
Tourism sector hit hardest by pandemic: Prahlad Patel at BRICS Tourism Ministers' meet
9:57 PM
Rajnath Singh says that while the troops are standing firm in eastern Ladakh, the ongoing talks for peaceful resolution of crisis will continue
9:56 PM
Govt focused on enhancing combat capability and ensuring welfare of soldiers: Rajnath Singh
9:56 PM
It is our national responsibility to ensure availability of best weapons, equipment and clothing to our troops: Rajnath Singh
9:56 PM
Actions of Indian Army truly ensure integrity and sovereignty of our great nation: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at Army Commanders' Conference
9:43 PM
Govt doing politics of obstinacy: Congress on amendments to J&K land laws
9:36 PM
Bullet train: L&T wins Rs 25,000-cr order for Gujarat stretch
Engineering major Larsen and Toubro on Wednesday said it has won a Rs 25,000-crore order from the government to execute a portion of the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project.
"We have won our biggest-ever and the most prestigious of contracts in our long history from the government a few hours back today. This Rs 25,000-crore order is the single largest for us and also the single largest contract the government has awarded so far," S N Subrahmanyan, chief executive and managing director of L&T, told reporters during the earnings call this evening.
He said the order mandates them to complete the project in four years.
"We are confident of our ability to meet the deadline and complete the project on time. And we will complete it to the full satisfaction of our client," he added without sharing more details.
8:59 PM
Delhi's daily coronavirus infection tally crosses 5,000 for first time
Delhi's daily coronavirus infection tally crossed the 5,000-mark for the first time on Wednesday as the national capital witnessed a sudden spike in cases in the past few days.
According to a health department bulletin, the national capital recorded 5,673 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike here till date, taking the total caseload to over 3.7 lakh.
Forty new fatalities were recorded, pushing the death toll in the national capital to 6,396, the bulletin said, adding that the fresh figure included one death which had occurred in August. The previous highest single-day spike of 4,853 cases was recorded on Tuesday.
8:54 PM
ISRO to launch earth observation satellite EOS-01 on Nov 7
India would launch its latest earth observation satellite EOS-01 and nine international customer spacecraft onboard its Polar rocket PSLV-C49 from the spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on November 7, ISRO said on Wednesday. This is the first launch by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since the COVID-19 induced lockdown came into force in March.
ISRO Chairman K Sivan had said in June that ten space missions being prepared for launch this year have been 'disturbed' due to the lockdown. EOS-01 is intended for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support, the city- headquartered ISRO said.
"The launch is tentatively scheduled at 3.02 pm on November 7 subject to weather conditions" from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, it said in a statement.
The Income Tax department has issued refunds worth over Rs 1.26 trillion to over 3.91 million taxpayers this fiscal so far. This include personal income tax (PIT) refunds amounting to Rs 34,532 crore and corporate tax refunds amounting to Rs 92,376 crore during this period.
Delhi University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi was suspended on Wednesday on the orders of President Ram Nath Kovind who has also directed an inquiry against him over allegations of dereliction of duty, according to officials of the Ministry of Education (MoE).
In another news, the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights has been extended till November 30 amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said on Wednesday.
Bihar recorded a 53.54 per cent polling in the first phase of assembly polls on Wednesday, according to a release by the Chief Electoral Officer Bihar.
 "LIVE: India stands firm in Ladakh, will continue talks with China: Rajnath")
