oppn parties Stock Markets Not Impressed By the Economic Package

News Snippets

  • Calcutta HC says Cricket Association of Bengal is not liable to pay tax on advertisement inisde Eden Gardens cricket ground as it is not a 'public place' because it does not have unrestricted access for the general public
  • Supreme Court admits a plea from a child of a single OBC mother who had applied for an OBC certificate for her son
  • Supreme Court approves applying strict preventive detention laws for 'cybercriminals'
  • SBI likely to shift part of operations of its Global Market Unit from Kolkata to Mumbai
  • FM nirmala Sitharaman calls for a "structured, process-driven approach to compliance" and asks top I-T officials to speed up refunds and simplify processes
  • Marine insurance costs surge as the oil corridor in Strait of Homruz becomes risky due to war
  • Stocks weaken on Monday on global cues: sensex sheds 511 points to 81896 and Nifty 140 points to 24971
  • Former left-arm spinner Dilip Doshi dies in London at 77. He played for India in 33 Test matches and for Bengal in domestic tournaments
  • Pant becomes the only keeper to score two centuries in the same Test in England
  • England Test: Rishabh Pant hits his second ton and KL Rahul a classy century to put India on top, England need 350 runs on the last day, with the ptich showing signs of wear and tear
  • DGCA orders an audit of the entire aviation ecosystem in the wake of recent snags in many flights after the AI Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad
  • 2 Pahalgam residents arrested by NIA for sheltering and aiding 3 terrorists who killed civilian tourists in pahalgam tell the agency that there were 3 LeT ultras from Pakistan that carried out the attack
  • India unlikely to agree to US demands for lower tariffs on agri products and GM food, trade deal faces fresh hurdles
  • Stocks likely to plummet today as traders will be worried about the effect of US strike on iran, oil price rise and possible inflation. Foreign funds may also withdraw in the volatile global situation
  • Oil prices likely to shoot up as US strikes at iran and the latter decides to close the Strait of Homruz
US President Donald Trump unilaterally announces a 'ceasefire' between Israel & Iran
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Stock Markets Not Impressed By the Economic Package

By Ashwini Agarwal

The jitters of an economy showing signs of severe distress and the fact that foreign investors have not been impressed by the government’s kneejerk response caused a massacre on the stock exchanges on Tuesday and indices tumbled by over 2 percent. The decline was broad-based and few stocks escaped the bear hug. Investors lost Rs 2.16 lakh crore in a day and it was the worst fall in the market since October 2018. The GDP growth figures announced showed that the economy grew only by 5% last quarter but in this period of gloom, people say that even this figure is inflated and the real growth is about 4%. 

Despite the economic package announced by the government to revive the economy, in which a few sops were provided to foreign investors, they have taken out nearly Rs 5500 crore from the Indian market since August 23. This means that such investors are not fully convinced that the economy can be revived through such stop-gap measures. They are also not enthused by low earnings being reported by Indian companies and global factors such as the trade war between the US and China.

Local investor sentiment is clouded as several economic indicators point to a slide that is not going to reverse any time soon. Companies are reporting depressing profit figures. Auto sales have dipped precariously with companies shedding workers and dealerships closing down. GST collections in July slipped below Rs 1 lakh crore. The government has not announced any major investments despite receiving Rs 1.76 lakh crore from the RBI. Demand has not picked up and the market sentiment is downbeat.

In such a scenario the government will have to immediately make major investments in infrastructure projects and undertake structural reforms. The package announced in stages can at best be the starting point. It reversed certain adverse policies announced in the budget to give relief to a cross-section of investors. But it did not address the structural ills affecting the economy. Hence, if any gains accrue due to the package, they will only be short-term. But the Indian economy is crying for long term structural correction. If this government, with a huge majority backed by popular mandate, does not do it, who will?