BQuick On Nov. 3: Top 10 Stories In Under 10 Minutes
Top news, must-read stories and columns—all served up in less than 10 minutes.
This is a roundup of the day’s top stories in brief.
1. U.S. Election Day Is Here
American voters -- at least, those who’ve not yet cast ballots -- go to the polls Tuesday to choose between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden and cast votes in U.S. House and Senate races and state and local elections.
Trump told Fox News channel that he would declare victory "when there's victory".
I think we’ll have victory. But only when there’s victory. I mean, there’s no reason to play games. I look at it as being a very solid chance of winning here.Donald Trump, U.S. President
Starting 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday in the U.S. (5:30 a.m. on Wednesday in India), polls will start closing as per the laws in each state and the time zone it is in.
While the last pocket of voting will close in the state of Alaska around 1 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (11:30 a.m. Nov. 4 in India), the counting of votes is likely to take much longer than past elections.
Follow live updates on the voting and the counting here.
The Global Market View
Asset managers, market researchers and investors are trying to gauge the impact on equities and other asset classes such as gold and bonds across the globe amid heightened volatility.
UBS has assessed potential risks on three scenarios, two of which are in favour of India.
JPMorgan has said that a Biden victory will signal towards more predictability in global trade.
Societe Generale has said a Trump victory could cut short Chinese equities’ outperformance.
Read more to see how global market participants are viewing the elections.
2. Dow Rallies; Banks Boost Nifty
U.S. stocks rose as a gust of optimism swept through global equity markets. Currency traders braced for increased volatility.
The S&P 500 opened higher for a second consecutive day.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1%, outperforming the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100.
Oil extended gains after jumping the most in three weeks on Monday on increasing signs OPEC+ will delay a planned easing of output cuts.
Get your daily fix of global markets.
Indian equity markets ended higher for the second straight day with banking stocks leading the charge yet again.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended 1.27% or 504 points higher at 40,261
The NSE Nifty 50 regained the 11,800-mark.
The Nifty Bank has surged 1,800 points over the last two trading sessions, the best such run since March.
Meanwhile, as global aviation reels under the Covid-19 pandemic impact, one bankrupt airline from India has seen its stock surge. Jet Airways India Ltd. shares have surged 150% this year. Find out why.
Follow the day’s trading action here.
5. India To Unveil Another Stimulus Soon
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will soon announce the next set of stimulus package to boost the coronavirus-hit economy, Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj said on Tuesday.
The Finance Ministry is looking into suggestions and requests received from various sectors of the economy, he said in a virtual conference with media.
"We are actually discussing that. It is difficult for me to commit a date but we have received a lot of requests and comments from various sectors and we are looking into it. Very soon it will be unveiled. The finance minister will come out and speak to you on that," he said.
India's exports declined in October due to a fall in shipments of sectors like petroleum products, gems and jewellery, and leather, according to government data released on Tuesday.
Exports fell 5.4% over last year to $24.82 billion.
Imports fell 11.5% to $33.6 billion during October.
As a result, India's trade deficit improved during the month.
6. A High-Frequency Surprise In October
High-frequency economic data improved in October, with several indicators now at or above pre-pandemic levels.
Strong gains in the manufacturing PMI, GST collections and core industries are likely to have been led by a combination of festive and pent-up demand, despite fiscal expenditure being rather subdued through the pandemic, HSBC's chief India economist Pranjul Bhandari said.
Over the last few days we have received a number of data releases, which all point to a faster-than-expected recovery, compared to consensus estimates, said Kaushik Das, chief India economist at Deutsche Bank.
Economists are cautiously optimistic.
7. Sunny Days For Sun Pharma
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s quarterly profit rose on the back of lower operating expenses and higher other income.
Net profit rose 70% year-on-year to Rs 1,813 crore.
Other expenses declined 3% to Rs 2,392 crore.
Revenue rose 5% over a year earlier to Rs 8,553 crore.
Get more details here.
8. Setback For Zee’s Streaming Ambitions
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. pushed back by a year the target for its over-the-top platform to break even as new original shows and movies to compete with larger rivals in the lucrative streaming battleground increased costs.
“The assumptions that we had made two-three years ago will have to be reviewed. We are expected to reach breakeven for Zee5 by end of FY24,” Rohit Gupta, chief financial officer at India’s second-largest TV entertainment network, told BloombergQuint in an interview.
The company had earlier envisaged a breakeven for Zee5 by the end of five years of its launch in 2018.
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9. Godrej Properties Sees A 'Tremendous Opportunity'
Godrej Properties Ltd.'s revenue and profit tumbled in the second quarter even as construction activity returned to normal, pointing to lingering pain for the real estate sector during the pandemic.
Revenue from operations slumped 66% over a year earlier to Rs 89.50 crore.
Net profit slumped 77% to Rs 7 crore.
“The real estate sector continues to be impacted by the pandemic but we believe this provides Godrej Properties with a tremendous opportunity to drive market share growth in residential real estate,” Pirojsha Godrej, executive chairman at Godrej Properties, said in a statement.
Godrej expects strong sales momentum in the second half of the financial year.
10. India Active Covid-19 Cases Below 5.5 Lakh, But It’s Not Time To Ease Up
Active Covid-19 cases in India fell below 5.5 lakh as the country reported less than 40,000 daily cases for the second time in as many weeks.
Authorities reported more than 38,000 new cases in 24 hours, taking the total tally to nearly 82.7 lakh.
Track news and developments around the outbreak in India, here.
Why Developing Nations Need To Stay On Guard
As Europe braces for a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic that in parts of the continent looks to be more intensive than the first, it is tempting to assume that the developing world has gotten off lightly, writes Mihir Sharma.
It is also true that the costs paid by the developing world, particularly those countries which instituted broad nationwide lockdowns, were even harsher.
If and when another wave arrives in the developing world, then, which national leaders will be able to respond as strongly as they did in the spring?