Last week the share markets posted their worst week in 31 months as retail oil prices continued their upward march and rupee continued to slide. The Nifty lost all the gains it had made in 2018 to end at 10,316 on Friday.
A combination of factors including the RBI’s surprise decision to keep the repo rate unchanged, fears that the government will move away from deregulation of fuel, and the mismanagement at IL&FS led to an extended decline spanning five weeks.
The rupee fell below 74 against the dollar but later settled near 73.70 levels after the central bank’s intervention. The RBI maintaining the repo rate at 6.5 percent as against expectations of a rate hike of 25 basis points, and changed its stance from ‘accommodative’ to ‘calibrated tightening’, which confused investors.
On the macro front, India’s manufacturing economy recorded an improvement in growth in September amid gains in new orders, output and employment. The Nikkei India Manufacturing PMI strengthened slightly to reach a level of 52.2, up from 51.7 in August.
Here are the key global and national events that are likely to impact economy and businesses this week.
- Corporate earnings season: IT major TCS reporting its results on October 11.
- IIP data for August and CPI Inflation data for September will be unveiled on October 12. US US monthly payrolls report, which was below estimates, on Friday
- Assembly Elections: Election Commission announced the election dates for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram, which will be held between November 12 and December 7, with counting on December 11.
Global factors
- Crude prices will be watched closely as Washington said it may grant waivers to sanctions against Iran’s oil exports next month. Moreover, Saudi Arabia might replace any potential shortfall from Iran.
- China’s central bank said on Sunday that it was cutting the reserve requirement ratios (RRRs) by one per cent from October 15 which will inject a net $109.2 billion in cash into the banking system, amid a deepening trade war with the US.
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