Weakness persisted on the bourses for forth day in a row as world stocks tumbled after disappointing data from China and comments from the US Federal Reserve about tapering its stimulus program stoked worries about slower global growth and less liquidity. Poor Q4 results announced by index constituents, SBI and Bhel also dampened sentiment. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex settled at its lowest level in 2-1/2 weeks below the psychological 20,000 mark. The 50-unit CNX Nifty also settled at its lowest level in 2-1/2 weeks below the psychological 6,000 mark. The Sensex was down 387.91 points or 1.93%, off 353.23 points from the day's high and up 39.54 points from the day's low. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was extremely weak. All the 13 sectoral indices on BSE were in the red.
Indian stocks fell for the fourth straight day today, 23 May 2013. The Sensex fell 611.79 points or 3.02% in four trading sessions from its recent high of 20,286.12 on 17 May 2013. The Sensex has gained 170.15 points or 0.87% in this month so far (till 23 May 2013). The Sensex has gained 247.62 points or 1.27% in calendar 2013 so far (till 23 May 2013). From a 52-week low of 15,748.98 on 4 June 2012, the Sensex has surged 3,925.35 points or 24.92%.
Coming back to today's trade, index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC edged lower. Another index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) slumped nearly 4%. Auto and banking stocks fell across the board. Realty stocks fell for the fourth straight day.
L&T extended Wednesday's 5.57% losses triggered by poor Q4 results. Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) also dropped after reporting weak Q4 results during market hours today, 23 May 2013. Other capital goods stocks declined after sector heavyweights, L&T and Bhel reported disappointing Q4 results. SBI tumbled nearly 8% after the state-run banking giant reported weak Q4 results during market hours today, 23 May 2013.
The market edged lower in early trade on weak Asian stocks. It weakened to hit fresh intraday low in morning trade. It extended losses to hit fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade. It trimmed losses after hitting fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade. Market extended fall in afternoon trade as European markets opened weak. It continued downward trend to hit fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. It further weakened to hit fresh intraday low in late trade.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 540.18 crore on Wednesday, 22 May 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
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The S&P BSE Sensex was down 387.91 points or 1.93% to 19,674.33, its lowest closing level since 6 May 2013. The index declined 427.45 points at the day's low of 19,634.79 in late trade, its lowest level since 10 May 2013. The index fell 34.68 points at the day's high of 20,027.56 in early trade.
The CNX Nifty was down 127.45 points or 2.09% to 5,967.05, its lowest closing level since 3 May 2013. The index hit a low of 5,955.70 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 6 May 2013. The index hit a high of 6,081.45 in intraday trade.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3890 crore, higher than Rs 2064.84 crore on Wednesday, 22 May 2013.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was extremely weak. On BSE, 1,737 shares fell and 592 shares rose. A total of 117 shares were unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index shed 1.99% and the BSE Small-Cap index fell 2.2%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The BSE Metal index (down 1.9%) BSE Auto index (down 1.58%), BSE HealthCare index (down 1.3%), BSE Teck index (down 1.09%), BSE FMCG index (down 0.9%) and BSE IT index (down 0.64%), outperformed the Sensex.
The BSE Consumer Durables index (down 2.02%), BSE Bankex (down 2.84%), BSE Oil & Gas index (down 2.65%), BSE PSU index (down 2.68%), BSE Power index (down 3.96%), BSE Capital Goods index (down 5.19%), BSE Realty index (down 5.95%), underperformed the Sensex.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 28 stocks fell and only two of them rose. Jindal Steel & Power (down 4.09%), NTPC (down 3.85%) and Tata Power Company (down 2.81%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) declined 3.99% to Rs 785.15. The stock hit high of Rs 817 and low of Rs 781.60.
Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC fell 1.04% to Rs 332.30. The stock hit high of Rs 336.10 and low of Rs 330.35. The stock had hit record high of Rs 355 in intraday trade on 11 May 2013. The company's net profit rose 19.43% to Rs 1927.98 crore on 19.12% growth in total income to Rs 8511.38 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012. The result was announced on 17 May 2013. ITC's net profit rose 20.38% to Rs 7418.39 crore on 18.74% growth in total income to Rs 30839.97 crore in the year ended March 2013 over the year ended March 2012.
On a consolidated basis, ITC's net profit rose 21.57% to Rs 7608.07 crore on 19.02% growth in total income to Rs 32505.14 crore in the year ended March 2013 over the year ended March 2012.
ITC's board of directors at its meeting held on Friday, 17 May 2013, recommended a dividend of Rs 5.25 per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2013.
Capital goods stocks declined after sector heavyweights, L&T and Bhel reported disappointing Q4 results. Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) declined 3.74% after the company during market hours today, 23 May 2013 reported 4.2% fall in net profit to Rs 3237.54 crore on 2.15% decline in net sales to Rs 18850.16 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012.
Bhel's net profit fell 6.04% to Rs 6614.73 crore on 0.61% rise in total income to Rs 49546.36 crore in the year ended March 2013 over the year ended March 2012.
On a consolidated basis, net profit fell 5.56% to Rs 6693.37 crore on 0.84% rise in total income to Rs 50044.60 crore in the year ended March 2013 over the year ended March 2012.
The board of Bhel has recommended a final dividend of Rs 3.29 per share for the year ended March 2013.
Bhel's board of directors at its meeting held today, 23 May 2013, have decided that an Extraordinary General Meeting of the company be convened on 27 June 2013 to seek approval of the shareholders for the Modified Draft Rehabilitation Scheme incorporating Amalgamation with its wholly owned subsidiary Bharat Heavy Plate & Vessels.
L&T lost 6.49%, with the stock extending Wednesday's 5.57% losses triggered by poor Q4 results. The company during market hours on Wednesday, 22 May 2013 reported 6.9% fall in net profit to Rs 1787.94 crore on 10.08% rise in total income to Rs 20668.21 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012.
L&T reported 10.19% rise in net profit to Rs 4910.65 crore on 15.07% increase in total income to Rs 62724.16 crore in the year ended March 2013 over the year ended March 2012.
L&T said that to commemorate the occasion of the platinum jubilee of the company, its board of directors in its meeting held on Wednesday, 22 May 2013, recommended issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:2 (i.e. one bonus equity share each for every two held).
The company garnered fresh orders worth Rs 88035 crore during the year ended 31 March 2013 (FY 2013), recording a healthy growth of 25% over FY 2012. The order Inflow rose 32% to Rs 27929 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012, despite challenging economic environment. International order inflow constituted 17% of the total order inflow for the year 2012-13. The major orders during the year came from Building & Factories, Power Transmission & Distribution, Infrastructure Transportation and Power sectors. The order book stood at Rs 153604 crore as at 31 March 2013. International order book constituted 13% of the total order book.
Among other capital goods stocks, ABB, Siemens, Crompton Greaves and Punj Lloyd dropped by 2.41% to 10.2%.
Thermax rose 0.25%. The company's net profit fell 11.2% to Rs 115.32 crore on 12.8% decline in net sales to Rs 1448.73 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012. The result was announced after market hours on Wednesday, 22 May 2013. Net profit fell 14% to Rs 349.96 crore on 11.7% decline in net sales to Rs 4631.85 crore in the year ended March 2013 over the year ended March 2012.
Thermax's order booking rose by 21% to Rs. 4859 crore in the year ended March 2013 over the year ended March 2012. Order booking rose 42.77% to Rs 1155 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012. The order backlog on a consolidated basis rose 1.04% to Rs 4878 crore as on 31 March 2013 compared with the corresponding period in the previous year.
Bank stocks fell across the board. State Bank of India (SBI) tumbled 7.96% after reporting 18.54% fall in net profit to Rs 3299.22 crore on 6.98% rise in total income to Rs 36330.87 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012. The result was announced during market hours today, 23 May 2013.
SBI's ratio of net non-performing assets to net advances stood at 2.10% as on 31 March 2013, compared with 2.59% as on 31 December 2012 and 1.82% as on 31 March 2012.
The bank's ratio of gross non-performing assets (NPA) to gross advances stood at 4.75% as on 31 March 2013, compared with 5.30% as on 31 December 2012 and 4.44% as on 31 March 2012.
Provisions and contingencies rose 33.14% to Rs 4180.99 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012. The provisioning coverage ratio as on 31 March 2013 stood at 66.58% compared with 68.10% as on 31 March 2012.
The bank's Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as per Basel II norms stood at 12.92% as on 31 March 2013, compared with 12.21% as on 31 December 2012 and 13.86% as on 31 March 2012.
The board of SBI has declared a dividend of Rs 41.50 per share for the accounting year ended 31 March 2013.
Among other PSU bank stocks, Canara Bank (down 3.16%), Union Bank of India (down 1.06%), Bank of India (down 3.15%), Bank of Baroda (down 2.75%) and Punjab National Bank (down 4.63%) declined.
HDFC Bank declined 0.5% to Rs 699.85. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 724 hit in intraday trade on 20 May 2013.
ICICI Bank fell 2.69% to Rs 1,177.50. The stock had hit 52-week high of Rs 1,234 in intraday trade on 21 May 2013. The bank after trading hours on 16 May 2013, said it has received an aggregate equity capital repatriation of Canadian dollar 75 million from ICICI Bank Canada, its wholly owned banking subsidiary in Canada. Post the repatriation, the share capital of ICICI Bank Canada is Canadian dollar 857 million and its capital adequacy ratio continues to be strong, ICICI Bank said in a statement.
ICICI Bank said it already has a strong capital adequacy ratio, and the return of capital by the subsidiary will enhance the bank's ability to optimise capital deployment and return on equity.
Yes Bank dropped 2.68%. The stock turned ex-dividend today, 23 May 2013, for final dividend of Rs 6 per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2013 (FY 2013).
Auto stocks declined across the board. M&M declined 2.48%. Ssangyong Motor part of Mahindra Group, announced today 23 May 2013 that the full payment of 80 billion won for the new shares has been received from its majority shareholder Mahindra & Mahindra Group and that the paid-in capital increase was successfully completed. Ssangyong Motors decided to make a third party allotment (Preferential Offer) to Mahindra on 14 February 2013 to Secure investment funds for new products. The most recent increase in the paid-in capital results from the issuance of some 14.545 million new shares (capital increase ratio of 11.9%). All of the new shares will be locked up for one year and the expected listing date is scheduled on 7 June 2013. After this, Mahindra's shareholding ratio in Ssangyong Motor will increase from 69.63% to 72.85%.
As the paid-in capital increase got completed smoothly, Ssangyong Motor's new product development such as the small CUV which will be launched in 2015, will gain further momentum, Furthermore, the company's debt ratio will decline and cash liquidity will improve, which will further strengthen the company's financial soundness.
Also this paid-in capital increase serves as a message to show the strong commitment of the majority shareholder Mahindra and its confidence in the turnaround of Ssangyong Motor. This will greatly boost Ssangyong Motor's external credit Worthiness. Apart from the 80 billion won paid-in capital Mahindra agreed to roll over the Corporate bond worth 95.4 billion won that was scheduled to mature in 2014, by another year: This is an additional source of funds for Ssangyong Motor. With this, the company expects more tangible results from synergy in various areas of sales sourcing etc.
Mahindra invested 522.5 billion won in 2011 to acquire 70% of Ssangyong Motor Company, and since the acquisition, Ssangyong Motor's board of directors has approved a total investment of approx. 500 billion won till now, which includes 295.8 billion won investment for small size new engine development and CUV development projects
India's largest car maker by sales, Maruti Suzuki India dropped 2.89%. The stock tumbled on the back of a rally in yen against the dollar. The yen rallied, snapping a two-day drop that took it to the weakest in more than four years, as Japanese shares extended declines. Strong yen could adversely impact earnings of Maruti Suzuki as it imports raw materials from its Japanese parent Suzuki Motor Corporation. It also pays annual royalty on sales to the Japanese parent.
Tata Motors rose 0.46%, with the stock reversing intraday fall. The company said on 18 May 2013 that TML Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, issued and allotted S$350 million in principal amount of 4.25% senior notes due 2018. The net proceeds from the issue will be used for the redemption of preference shares issued to Tata Motors and for general corporate purposes. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Citigroup Global Markets Singapore, Deutsche Bank AG, Singapore Branch and Standard Chartered Bank acted as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners for the issue.
This announcement does not constitute nor form a part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities in Singapore, the United States, India or elsewhere, company said.
Two wheeler markers also dropped. Bajaj Auto fell 1.82%. The company's net profit fell 1% to Rs 766 crore on 4% rise in turnover to Rs 4990 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012. Net profit rose 1% to Rs 3044 crore on 3% growth in turnover to Rs 20793 crore in the year ended 31 March 2013 (FY 2013) over the year ended 31 March 2012 (FY 2012). The result was announced on 16 May 2013.
Bajaj Auto said that the company's performance in FY 2013 was good in a very difficult year for the automobile industry. The company's strategy to build strong brands and offer differentiated products in the front-end, and focus on cost and productivity improvements in the back-end, has yielded desired results, Bajaj Auto said.
India's largest motorcycle maker by sales, Hero MotoCorp declined 0.23%. Hero MotoCorp after market hours today, 23 May 2013 said that it has fixed 30 May 2013 as record date for ascertaining the names of the equity shareholders of Hero Investments, ('HIPL') ("the transferee Company") in proportion of their holdings in HIPL for considering their entitlement for the purpose of issuance and allotment of equity shares in Hero MotoCorp, ("HMCL") ("transferor company") in the ratio of one equity share for every one existing equity share held in the tranferor company by HIPL.
Bharti Airtel fell 3.19%. The stock turned ex-dividend today, 23 May 2013, for final dividend of Re 1 per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2013 (FY 2013).
India's largest steel maker by sales, Tata Steel dropped 1.21% ahead of its Q4 results today, 23 May 2013.
Hindalco Industries fell 1.5% to Rs 108.70 after two bulk deals were executed on the counter on the BSE today, 23 May 2013. A bulk deal of 10 lakh shares was struck on Hindalco Industries counter at Rs 108.25 at 11:26 IST on BSE today, 23 May 2013. Another bulk deal of 4 lakh shares was struck on the counter at Rs 107.45 at 11:33 IST on BSE today, 23 May 2013. The bulk deals constituted 0.07% equity of Hindalco Industries.
JSW Steel rose 0.77%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 61.55% to Rs 295.91 crore on 4.66% decline in total income to Rs 9900.98 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012. The company announced its Q4 results during market hours today, 23 May 2013.
Realty stocks fell for the fourth straight day. Godrej Properties, D B Realty, Unitech, and HDIL dropped by 0.27% to 10.95%.
DLF tumbled 7.07% to Rs 211.05. The company said on 20 May 2013 that the Equity Issuance Committee of the board of directors of the company has, by a resolution dated 20 May 2013, allotted 8.1 crore shares to successful applicants at an issue price of Rs 230 per share, aggregating to Rs 1863.42 crore, under the institutional placement programme.
Ranbaxy Laboratories tumbled 7.45% after Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo Co, which bought control of the company in 2008, said it believes unnamed former shareholders of the company hid information regarding US regulatory probes into Ranbaxy. Last week, Ranbaxy pleaded guilty to felony charges related to drug safety and agreed to pay $500 million in civil and criminal fines under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Daiichi Sankyo believes that certain former shareholders of Ranbaxy concealed and misrepresented critical information concerning the U.S. DOJ and FDA investigations. Daiichi Sankyo is currently pursuing its available legal remedies and cannot comment further on the subject at this time, report said.
Daiichi Sankyo, Japan's No. 3 drugmaker, bought a 63.9% stake in Ranbaxy for $4.2 billion in 2008. It bought shares from the controlling shareholder group, led by brothers Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh, as well as through a tender offer and an issue of new shares.
Jet Airways (India) rose 0.56% to Rs 583 after a massive block deal of about 2.51 crore shares constituting 29.5% stake was struck on the counter at Rs 566.35 per share in opening trade on the BSE today, 23 May 2013.
Oracle Financial Services Software jumped 8.09% to Rs 2,640 after the company received strong response for its share sale offer on Wednesday, 22 May 2013.
Oracle Global (Mauritius), one of the company's promoters, on Wednesday, 22 May 2013, offered 44.30 lakh shares in the company through the Offer for Sale (OFS) window on stock exchanges. The floor price was set at Rs 2,275 per share. The offer opened on Wednesday, 22 May 2013, at 9:15 IST and closed on the same day at 15:30 IST.
The OFS was oversubscribed 3.9 times. It received bids for 1.73 crore shares at indicative price of Rs 2,386.60 per share against floor price of Rs 2,275 per share, data from BSE showed.
The bids at or above the clearing price of Rs 2,420 have been considered for allocation, Oracle Financial Services Software said.
Promoters of Oracle Financial Services Software (Oracle) held 80.27% stake in the company at the end of March 2013. Post share sale, the overall stake held by promoter and promoter group entities would be 75%. According to Sebi norm, private sector listed companies need to have minimum 25% public shareholding by 30 June 2013.
NHPC dropped 2.26%. The company said during market hours today, 23 May 2013 that consequent upon successful trial run and demonstration of peaking capability corresponding to installed capacity of 33 megawatts (MW) each, Unit 1 of Teesta Low Dam -III HE Project have been declared under commercial operation from 19 May 2013.
It is further stated that commercial operation of the generating station of installed capacity of 4x33MW (132MW) as a whole is also declared from 19 May 2013.
NCC slumped 9.75%. NCC's consolidated net profit jumped 167.02% to Rs 12.31 crore on 1.11% decline in turnover to Rs 2032 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012. The result was announced after market hours on Wednesday, 22 May 2013.
NCC's consolidated earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) surged 37.35% to Rs 239.25 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012.
NCC's consolidated net profit rose 2.67% to Rs 56.38 crore on 4.54% growth in turnover to Rs 6968 crore in the year ended 31 March 2013 (FY 2013) over the year ended 31 March 2012 (FY 2012). EBITDA declined 8.34% to Rs 822.66 crore in FY 2013 over FY 2012.
NCC's total order book stood at Rs 18555 crore as of 31 March 2013.
NCC's board of directors at a meeting held on Wednesday, 22 May 2013, recommended dividend of 30 paise per share for FY 2013.
As per the Q4 results calendar, Coal India unveils consolidated FY 2013 results on 27 May 2013. Sun Pharma, Power Grid Corporation of India, GAIL (India) and Hindalco Industries unveil Q4 results on 28 May 2013. Tata Motors, ONGC, Cipla, NMDC and BPCL unveil Q4 results on 29 May 2013. DLF, M&M and Tata Power unveil Q4 results on 30 May 2013.
Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) on 17 May 2013, affirmed India's sovereign rating at BBB-minus with a negative outlook, reiterating there was a one-in-three chances of a ratings downgrade over the next 12 months. S&P said the government's ability to prop up investment growth remains uncertain. The ratings agency, however, said there was scope to upgrade the sovereign ratings if the government unleashes public and private investments to spur economic growth.
The monsoon rains may arrive on the southern coast around 3 June 2013, the weather office forecast on 15 May 2013. The rains, which run from June to September, are vital for the 55% of farmland without irrigation in India, one of the world's largest producers and consumers of food. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted normal rains this year.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) undertakes mid-quarter review of the monetary policy on 17 June 2013. RBI Governor D Subbarao on 14 May 2013 said that the central bank will take note of falling inflation when discussing potential interest rate cuts. The RBI on 3 May 2013 cut its key policy rate viz. the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 7.25% and kept the cash reserve ratio (CRR) for banks unchanged at 4% after a monetary policy review. RBI said at that time that the balance of risks stemming from its assessment of the growth-inflation dynamic provides little space for further monetary easing. The RBI said it will endeavour to condition the evolution of inflation to a level of 5% by March 2014, using all instruments at its command.
The finance ministry in October 2012 announced a five-year plan to cut fiscal deficit. The government hopes to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3% by March 2017.
European stock markets declined on Thursday, after disappointing data from China and comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve about tapering its stimulus program stoked worries about slower global growth and less liquidity. Key benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany were down by 1.92% to 2.59%.
Britain's economy resumed growth in the first quarter as companies built up stocks and consumer spending increased, offsetting a drop in exports. Gross domestic product rose 0.3% in the period, matching an estimate published on April 25, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. Inventories increased by 2.5 billion pounds ($3.8 billion) in the quarter, adding 0.4 percentage point to GDP. Consumer spending rose 0.1%.
A euro-area services and factory output gauge increased more than economists forecast in May, adding to signs the currency bloc is starting to emerge from its record-long recession. A composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in both industries rose to 47.7 from 46.9 in April, London-based Markit Economics said today.
Asian stocks slid on Thursday after China's manufacturing output unexpectedly contracted in May and amid speculation the Federal Reserve may soon wind back stimulus. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea shed by 1.16% to 2.54%. Japan's Nikkei Average tumbled 7.32%, the most since the aftermath of the March 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster, as financial companies plunged amid rising bond yields. The rout triggered a halt in Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures trading in Osaka.
China's manufacturing is contracting in May for the first time in seven months, adding to signs that economic growth is losing steam for a second quarter. The preliminary reading of 49.6 for a Purchasing Managers' Index released today by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics compares with a final 50.4 for April. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Singapore's economy unexpectedly expanded last quarter as services and construction strengthened, reducing pressure on the central bank to ease monetary policy to boost growth. Gross domestic product rose an annualized 1.8% in the three months through March from the previous quarter, when it grew 3.3%, the Trade Ministry said in a statement today, revising an earlier estimate for a 1.4% contraction last quarter.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 137 points at the opening bell on Thursday, 23 May 2013. US stocks slid Wednesday, reversing gains after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting and comments from the Fed chief Ben Bernanke suggested the central bank may begin tapering its bond-buying program in coming months. The minutes of the last Fed meeting said a number of officials expressed a willingness to taper bond purchases as early as the upcoming meeting on June 18-19 if there were signs of sufficiently strong and sustained growth. But views differed both on how to gauge progress and on how likely it was that that threshold would be met.
The Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus is helping the U.S. economy recover but the central bank needs to see further signs of traction before taking its foot off the gas pedal, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday. A decision to scale back the $85 billion in bonds the Fed is buying each month could come at one of the central bank's "next few meetings" if the economy looked set to maintain momentum, Bernanke told Congress. In testimony that showed little immediate desire to retreat from the Fed's third and latest round of bond buying, Bernanke emphasized the high costs of both unemployment and inflation, which respectively continue to run above and below the Fed's targets.
The central bank is currently buying $45 billion in Treasury bonds and $40 billion in mortgage-backed debt each month to keep borrowing costs low and encourage investment, hiring and economic growth. It is the third round of asset purchases, or quantitative easing, since the Fed drove interest rates to near zero in late 2008.
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