1. Consumer Inflation Eases to 6.58% in February
Consumer inflation came in at 6.58 percent in February, government data showed on Thursday. That was better than economists' estimates.
More than 40 economists in a poll by news agency Reuters had expected consumer or retail inflation at 6.80 percent last month. In January, consumer or retail inflation – the rate of increase in consumer prices as determined by the Consumer Price Index – had stood at 7.59 percent.
(Source: NDTV Profit)
2. State Bank of India to Buy Rs 7,250-Crore Stake in Yes Bank
The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Thursday said that its board had approved a plan to purchase 725 crore Yes Bank shares at a price of Rs 10 apiece. The announcement comes days after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suspended the troubled private sector lender's board and restricted withdrawals from its accounts till 3 April.
Struggling under a growing pile of bad debt, Yes Bank had been trying to raise the capital it needed to stay above regulatory requirements.
(Source: NDTV Profit)
3. Pandemonium in Markets, India Singed in Global Meltdown
The rout in global stocks deepened on Thursday as investors were rattled by the extreme measures taken by government to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Indian stocks suffered their biggest ever drop in terms of points, as the market crash wiped off ₹11 trillion in investor wealth.
(Source: Livemint)
4. Over 1 Million Users Migrate to ICICI Bank’s UPI Handles
Payments platform Cashfree Payments India Pvt Ltd said it has migrated over one million users from Yes Bank Ltd’s UPI (Unified Payments Interface) handles to those of ICICI Bank Ltd. The company said its product, Autocollect, which allows automatic generation of multiple UPI handles with QR codes, had been affected by Yes Bank’s recent collapse.
The Reserve Bank of India imposed a moratorium on Yes Bank on 5 March.
(Source: Livemint)
5. Oil Falls 6% After Trump Surprises With Travel Ban
Oil prices fell more than 6 percent on Thursday after US President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced restrictions on travel from Europe in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus after the World Health Organization described the outbreak as a pandemic.
The slump in oil is being compounded by the threat of a flood of cheap supply after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said they would raise output in a stand-off with Russia.
(Source: Moneycontrol)
6. Rs 11 Lakh Crore Investor Wealth Destroyed in Worst Day for Markets
The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes suffered their biggest single-day selloff ever as they entered the bear market on Thursday wiping out Rs 11.42 lakh crore of investors' wealth.
The Nifty 50 crashed as much as 9 per cent or 950 points to 9,508 during the session - its lowest level recorded since June 2017 and the S&P BSE Sensex dropped as much as 8.97 per cent or 3,204 points to 32,493 - its lowest in 23 months.
(Source: NDTV Profit)
7. Accord Enters Pharma Business, Eyes Rs 5,000 Crore Revenue by 2025
Chennai-based Accord Group, which has interests in hospitality and healthcare, among others, on Thursday announced its entry into pharma business, aiming to become one of the top 20 global players and garner `5,000 crore revenue by 2025.
The group founded by S Jagathrakshakan, a political heavy weight in the state, forayed into pharma business under the banner of Accord Life Spec (Accord Pharma) with the main focus on research and development, manufacturing and supply of sterile and non-sterile formulation products and API across countries.
(Source: The Financial Express)
8. RBI Announces USD/INR Sell Buy Swaps to Provide Liquidity to the Forex Market
The Reserve Bank of India today announced that it will undertake a 6-month US dollar sell/buy swaps to provide liquidity to the foreign exchange market. The swaps will be conducted through the auction route in multiple tranches.
The rupee had today crashed to 74.34 against the US dollar, close to its all-time low of 74.48 hit in October 2018.
(Source: Livemint)
9. Apollo Tyres’ Stock Deflates After Hungary Issues Economic Warning
Apollo Tyres Ltd’s shares have fallen 21% in the past two trading sessions, and are now at a six-year low.
News of a larger-than-expected economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on European nations, which account for about 33% of the tyre maker’s consolidated revenue, had already made investors jittery.
(Source: Livemint)
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