Firmness continued on the bourses in afternoon trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was currently was up 351.44 points or 1.24% at 28,790.35. Overnight steep slide in global crude oil prices triggered fresh rally in benchmark indices today, 28 November 2014. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 389.73 crore yesterday, 27 November 2014, as per provisional data.
Bank stocks surged on optimism falling oil prices will slow inflation and create room for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut interest rates. Shares of paint makers were in demand as crude oil prices fell.
Brent extended its decline from a four-year low as OPEC braced for a price war with US shale producers after taking no action to relieve a glut. Indian government's decision last month to decontrol diesel prices and a sharp decline in global crude oil prices over the past few months will help reduce the government's fuel subsidy burden and help contain its fiscal deficit. The steep slide in global crude oil prices will also help India in containing its current account deficit and fuel price inflation. India imports 80% of its crude oil requirement. However, a weakness in rupee against the dollar will restrict the benefit of falling global crude oil prices to that extent. A weak rupee raises the cost of imports.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) yesterday, 27 November 2014, set Rs 100 crore as minimum paid-up equity capital requirement for setting up payments banks and small finance banks.
Earlier, key indices had extended initial gains with the Sensex and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hitting record high in early afternoon trade.
In overseas markets, stocks in Japan and mainland China led gains in Asian markets.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar, breaching the 62 mark.
At 13:17 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 351.44 points or 1.24% at 28,790.35. The index jumped 383.46 points at the day's high of 28,822.37 in early afternoon trade, a record high for the index. The index rose 45.08 points at the day's low of 28,483.99 in early trade.
The CNX Nifty was up 111.30 points or 1.31% at 8,605.50. The index hit a high of 8,617 in intraday trade, a record high for the index. The index hit a low of 8,516.25 in intraday trade.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,598 shares gained and 1,201 shares fell. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 124.44 points or 1.22% at 10,296.36. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 89.85 points or 0.8% at 11,331.50. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
Bank stocks surged on optimism falling oil prices will slow inflation and create room for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut interest rates. Among private sector banks, IndusInd Bank (up 4.77%), Yes Bank (up 3.71%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 3.33%), ING Vysya Bank (up 3.11%), Axis Bank (up 3.06%), ICICI Bank (up 2.82%), City Union Bank (up 2.81%), Federal Bank (up 2.54%) and HDFC Bank (up 0.99%), edged higher.
Among public sector banks, Bank of Baroda (up 6.77%), Syndicate Bank (up 6.64%), Punjab National Bank (up 6.42%), Canara Bank (up 6.09%), UCO Bank (up 5.53%), Bank of India (up 5.31%), Allahabad Bank (up 5.13%), Union Bank of India (up 5.01%), State Bank of India (up 4.56%), Andhra Bank (up 4.55%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 3.89%), IDBI Bank (up 3.56%), Indian Bank (up 3.56%), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 3.53%), Dena Bank (up 3.42%), United Bank of India (up 3.16%), Corporation Bank (up 2.54%), Vijaya Bank (up 2.39%) and Central Bank (up 1.65%), edged higher.
Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha reportedly said in a written statement in parliament today, 28 November 2014, that the government is considering a plan to reduce stakes in state-run banks to 52% that could enable it to raise about Rs 89120 crore. He said the stake sale will enable the government to scale back its budgetary support for the banks.
A Supreme Court order scrapping most coal extraction permits given to companies would have a likely impact of Rs 96484 crore on state-run lenders, Sinha reportedly said in a written reply in parliament today, 28 November 2014. The government had deduced the impact of the cancellation of the coal block allotments on banks due to likely stoppage of power production, Sinha said.
The Reserve Bank of India yesterday, 27 November 2014, said commercial banks can extend loans to individuals against special long-term bonds issued by them for financing infrastructure projects and affordable housing. This will provide liquidity to retail investors in such bonds, the RBI said in a notification. The RBI said that a bank should lay down a policy in this regard prescribing suitable margins, purpose of the loan and other safeguards. Further, such loans should be subject to a prescribed ceiling per borrower and tenure of loan should be within the maturity period of the bonds, the RBI said. The RBI however barred banks from providing loans against long-term infrastructure bonds issued by other banks. It may be recalled that the RBI had in July this year allowed banks to raise funds by selling special long-term bonds that are exempt from reserve requirements. The funds raised are also exempt from priority-sector norms, making the sale of these bonds attractive for banks that finance infrastructure projects.
Shares of paint makers were in demand as crude oil prices fell. Shalimar Paints (up 5.31%), Berger Paints (up 3.42%), Akzo Nobel India (up 1.95%) and Kansai Nerolac Paints (up 1.41%), edged higher.
Falling crude oil prices augur well for paints makers. Titanium dioxide is a key raw material for paint companies and is derived from crude oil.
Sector bellwether Asian Paints rose 4.06% to Rs 735.05. The stock hit a record high of Rs 748.25 in intraday trade.
Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday, 27 November 2014, announced that the exchange has decided to provide a flat concession of 40% in the transaction charges on the incremental billable volume (i.e. the Premium value) above Rs 750 crore in a month for a period of 2 months from 1 December 2014 to 31 January 2015 on a pilot basis on NSE's equity options segment. In order to improve the liquidity in the equity options segment and to align with the feedback received from the market, an exercise to review the transaction charges in the equity options segment was carried out by the exchange, NSE said in a circular.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 62.03, compared with its close of 61.875 during the previous trading session.
Brent extended its decline from a four-year low as OPEC braced for a price war with US shale producers after taking no action to relieve a glut. Brent for January settlement was off $1.13 a bareel at $71.45 a barrel. The contract dropped $5.17 a barrel to settle at $72.58 yesterday, 27 November 2014, the lowest close since August 2010, after OPEC decided to keep the cartel's production levels unchanged at a meeting in Vienna.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will maintain its collective output target at 30 million barrels a day, Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said after the group met in Vienna yesterday, 27 November 2014. The 12-member group, which pumps 40% of the world's oil, will convene again on 5 June 2015 in the Austrian capital.
The Indian government intends to get the Insurance Laws Amendment Bill that seeks to enhance FDI limit in capital starved insurance sector passed during the winter session of parliament which began on 24 November 2014. The government is also likely to introduce the constitutional amendment bill for the goods & services tax in the winter session of parliament.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) yesterday, 27 November 2014, set Rs 100 crore as minimum paid-up equity capital requirement for setting up payments banks and small finance banks. Those eligible for setting up a payments bank include existing non-bank pre-paid payment instrument (PPI) issuers and other entities such as individuals/professionals, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), corporate Business Correspondents (BCs), mobile telephone companies, super-market chains, companies and real sector cooperatives that are owned and controlled by residents. Public sector entities can also apply to set up payments banks, the RBI said while issuing guidelines on payments banks. A promoter/promoter group can have a joint venture with an existing scheduled commercial bank to set up a payments bank. A scheduled commercial bank can take equity stake in a payments bank only to the extent permitted under Section 19 (2) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Promoter/promoter groups should be 'fit and proper' with a sound track record of professional experience or running their businesses for at least a period of five years in order to be eligible to promote payments banks, according to the RBI guidelines on payments banks.
A payment bank can accept demand deposits. However, it will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs 1 lakh per individual customer as demand deposits. A payments bank can issue ATM/debit cards, but cannot issue credit cards. A payments bank will provide payments and remittance services through various channels. A payments bank can act as BC of another bank, subject to the Reserve Bank guidelines on BCs. The payments bank cannot undertake lending activities. Apart from amounts maintained as Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) with the Reserve Bank of India on its outside demand and time liabilities, a payments bank will be required to invest minimum 75% of its "demand deposit balances" in Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) eligible government securities/treasury bills with maturity up to one year and hold maximum 25% in current and time/fixed deposits with other scheduled commercial banks for operational purposes and liquidity management.
The payments bank should have a leverage ratio of not less than 3%, i.e., its outside liabilities should not exceed 33.33 times its net worth (paid-up capital and reserves). The promoter's minimum initial contribution to the paid-up equity capital of a payments bank shall at least be 40% for the first five years from the commencement of its business, the RBI said. The operations of a payments bank should be fully networked and technology driven from the beginning, conforming to generally accepted standards and norms, the RBI said.
Those eligible for setting up a small finance bank include resident individuals/professionals with 10 years of experience in banking and finance and companies and societies owned and controlled by residents. Existing NBFCs, Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) and Local Area Banks (LABs) that are owned and controlled by residents can also opt for conversion into small finance banks. Promoter/promoter groups should be 'fit and proper' with a sound track record of professional experience or of running their businesses for at least a period of five years in order to be eligible to promote small finance banks, according to RBI's guidelines on small finance banks.
The small finance bank shall primarily undertake basic banking activities of acceptance of deposits and lending to unserved and underserved sections including small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities, the RBI said. There will not be any restriction in the area of operations of small finance banks, the central bank said. If the small finance bank aspires to transit into a universal bank, such transition will not be automatic, but would be subject to fulfilling minimum paid-up capital/net worth requirement as applicable to universal banks, its satisfactory track record of performance as a small finance bank and the outcome of the RBI's due diligence exercise. The promoter's minimum initial contribution to the paid-up equity capital of a small finance bank shall at least be 40% and gradually brought down to 26% within 12 years from the date of commencement of business of the bank, the RBI said.
The small finance bank will be subject to all prudential norms and regulations of RBI as applicable to existing commercial banks including requirement of maintenance of Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR). No forbearance would be provided for complying with the statutory provisions, the RBI said. A small finance bank will be required to extend 75% of its Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) to the sectors eligible for classification as priority sector lending (PSL) by the RBI. At least 50% of the loan portfolio a small finance bank should constitute loans and advances of upto Rs 25 lakh.
The government will announce data on gross domestic product (GDP) for Q2 September 2014 at 17:30 IST today, 28 November 2014. India's GDP grew 5.7% in Q1 June 2014 over the corresponding period of the previous year.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) next undertakes monetary policy review on 2 December 2014. The central bank aims to limit consumer-price gains to 8% by January 2015 and 6% by January 2016. Over the longer term, the RBI aims to limit consumer-price gains to 4%, within a 2% band. The annual rate of inflation based on the combined consumer price index (CPI) for urban and rural India eased to 5.52% in October 2014 from 6.46% in September 2014, data released by the government on 12 November 2014 showed.
Meanwhile, leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) issued a statement after the end of a two-day summit in Nepal yesterday, 27 November 2014, that the Heads of State or Government of SAARC expressed their strong determination to deepen regional integration for peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia by intensifying cooperation, inter alia, in trade, investment, finance, energy, security, infrastructure, connectivity and culture; and implementing projects, programmes and activities in a prioritized, result-oriented and time-bound manner. The SAARC leaders renewed their commitment to achieve South Asian Economic Union (SAEU) in a phased and planned manner through a Free Trade Area, a Customs Union, a Common Market, and a Common Economic and Monetary Union. The leaders welcomed the signing of the SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity).
Stocks in Japan and mainland China led gains in Asian markets today, 28 November 2014. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore were up 0.07% to 0.49%. Key benchmark indices in South Korea and Indonesia were off 0.07% to 0.27%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Average jumped 1.23% after the latest data showed Japan's October retail sales rose 1.4% on year and industrial production beat forecasts with a month-on-month increase of 0.2%. However, the inflation rate slowed to its lowest level in a year.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.99% on optimism a slide in oil prices will reduce costs for transport companies and the central bank may continue to loosen monetary policy.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could gain 14 points at the opening bell today, 28 November 2014. The US market was closed yesterday, 27 November 2014, for Thanksgiving Day holiday.
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