Business News: Market Update: Sensex, Wipro, Economic Survey 2024, Delhi Veg Prices, Defence Stocks, Bank Profits

The benchmark indices of India opened lower on Monday. At 9:18 am, BSE Sensex was at 80,141, down 463 points, and the Nifty50 was at 24,383, down 0.6 percent. Kotak, Reliance, JSW Steel are major losers. Nestle, Infosys were the gainers. The broader markets were weak. Both MidCap and SmallCap indices slid. The Union government is scheduled to present the Economic Survey for 2023-24 today. International markets were mixed, with Asia-Pacific indices down and so did those in the US on Friday.

The Economic Survey 2023-24 will be presented in the Lok Sabha today at 1 pm and later in the Rajya Sabha at 2 pm by the Minister of Finance Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. Thereafter, a press conference will be held at 2:30 pm. It makes an exhaustive review of India's performance on the economic front in the past one year, covering GDP growth, fiscal deficit, and inflation trends. It also comments on policy prescriptions and reviews various government programmes. A survey, prepared by the Economic Division under Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, is likely to go for download by about 2:15 pm.

Inflation continues to hurt the common man as high prices of food make basic meals out of reach of several. Tomato touched more than Rs 100 a kg here in Delhi. Onion, potato, green vegetables have also become dearer by a similar measure. Scorching heat that hit the vegetable production and supply chains getting disrupted because of recent rains have deteriorated the matter. On July 20, the average prices of tomatoes stood at Rs 73.76 a kg across the country. There have been similar price hikes in the case of potatoes and onions. According to the market prices at Mother Dairy in Delhi, other vegetables such as bottle gourd and beans have increased significantly.

The Economic Survey 2024 has taken note of the fact that such pressures on global inflation—first by the pandemic, followed by geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions in FY22 and FY23—were fully countered by active policy interventions and various measures which the Reserve Bank of India had taken, thus keeping retail inflation within manageable limits of 5.4 per cent in FY24 for India. Core inflation has come down to its four-year low, even though food prices got a spike due to adverse weather conditions. Outlook, though, is good, forecast to decline in FY25 and FY26; long-term stability will require improving storage and market monitoring.

Ahead of Union Budget 2024 on July 5, defence stocks remain in focus as investors expect a higher allocation for the sector. Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Aeronautics and Bharat Dynamics have been some of the top performers. ICICI Securities has focussed on multibagger returns by Solar Industries and Astra Microwave so far and believes these stocks could further rally. Overview of recent order wins and development of defence equipment. Analysts now expect more money to be allocated for aircraft, engines and vehicles, and greater focus on domestic production and exports of defence equipment.

In the run-up to Union Budget 2024 on July 5, there are high expectations with respect to income tax. The new budget is seen making minimum changes in the last two-three budgets. The most prominent change that came in the 2023 budget was the new tax regime. Expectations from Budget 2024 range from an increase in the basic exemption limit from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh or even Rs 10 lakh, changing tax slabs, and an increase in the Section 80C limit. Besides this, the analysts also recommended making the new regime more attractive and increasing the standard deduction from Rs 50,000.

Yes Bank posted a 46 per cent rise in standalone net profit at Rs 502 crore for the June quarter, aided by lower loan-loss provisions and strong loan growth. Provisions dropped by 41 percent to Rs 212 crore, while loans and deposits rose by 14.7 percent and 20.8 percent, respectively. Net interest income jumped 12 percent to Rs 2,244 crore. The net interest margin slipped a tad to 2.4 per cent, while the gross non-performing asset ratio remained unchanged at 1.7 per cent. Yes Bank's shares fell 3.8% before the results were announced on Friday.

Kotak Mahindra Bank reported an 81 per cent rise in Q1 net profit to Rs 6,250 crore, driven by a one-time gain from the sale of a 70 per cent stake in Kotak Mahindra General Insurance to Zurich Insurance. But for this gain, the profit stood at Rs 3,452 crore last year. Net interest income rose 10 per cent to Rs 6,842 crore but the net interest margin shrunk to 5.02 per cent from 5.57 per cent last year. Loans surged 20% and deposits 21%, even as gross NPA ratio stood flat at 1.39%.