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Two South Korean billionaires have vowed to give away half of their wealth for social causes.&nbsp;

Kim Beom-su, the founder of the country's biggest messaging app KakaoTalk, said this month he will donate over half his estimated $9.6 billion assets to try solving "social issues".

Watch |&nbsp;Billion Dollar Idea | How did an accounting teacher become a property tycoon? | Niranjan Hiranandani

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/billion-dollar-idea-how-did-an-accounting-teacher-become-a-property-tycoon-niranjan-hiranandani-366033/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

After a short while, Kim Bong-jin of food-delivery app Woowa Brothers and his wife, Bomi Sul, signed Giving Pledge which asks billionaires to give away at least 50 per cent of their fortunes.&nbsp;

Kim and his wife are the first South Koreans to sign the Giving Pledge, which was an initiative of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.&nbsp;

The decision by both the Korean billionaires is a rarity in a country where most of the ultra-rich are descendants of the founders whose businesses flourished in the post-war era.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/bumbles-31-year-old-ceo-who-left-tinder-over-sexual-harassment-becomes-billionaire-363116">Bumble's 31-year-old CEO, who left Tinder over sexual harassment becomes billionaire</a>

Both the Kims were also born in working-class families, which is also in contrast as the rich in South Korea mostly inherit wealth.&nbsp;

The parents of Kim of Woowa Brothers ran a small restaurant and he gave away his dream of attending an art high school and instead got enrolled in a cheaper vocational school.&nbsp;

He said that wealth is of value if it was used for "the greatest benefit of the least advantaged members of society".

"We are certain that this pledge is the greatest inheritance that we could provide for our children," Kim and his wife said in their statement.&nbsp;

Two South Korean billionaires have vowed to give away half of their wealth for social causes. Kim Beom-su, the founder of the country's biggest messaging app KakaoTalk, said this month he will donate over half his estimated $9.

Two South Korean billionaires have vowed to give away half of their wealth for social causes. Kim Beom-su, the founder of the country's biggest messaging app KakaoTalk, said this month he will donate over half his estimated $9.6 billion assets to try solving "social issues". Watch | Billion Dollar Idea | How did an accounting teacher become a property tycoon? | Niranjan Hiranandani After a short while, Kim Bong-jin of food-delivery app Woowa Brothers and his wife, Bomi Sul, signed Giving Pledge which asks billionaires to give away at least 50 per cent of their fortunes. Kim and his wife are the first South Koreans to sign the Giving Pledge, which was an initiative of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. The decision by both the Korean billionaires is a rarity in a country where most of the ultra-rich are descendants of the founders whose businesses flourished in the post-war era. Also read | Bumble's 31-year-old CEO, who left Tinder over sexual harassment becomes billionaire Both the Kims were also born in working-class families, which is also in contrast as the rich in South Korea mostly inherit wealth. The parents of Kim of Woowa Brothers ran a small restaurant and he gave away his dream of attending an art high school and instead got enrolled in a cheaper vocational school. He said that wealth is of value if it was used for "the greatest benefit of the least advantaged members of society". "We are certain that this pledge is the greatest inheritance that we could provide for our children," Kim and his wife said in their statement.

'Greatest inheritance for our children': Two S. Korean billionaires vow donating half of wealth

The pandemic-induced technical recession in India has ended with growth in both GDP and the gross value added (GVA) in real terms in Q3 FY2021.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.4 per cent in the October-December 2020 period compared with the same period a year back, data released by the National Statistics Office on Friday showed.

This growth compares with revised contractions of 24.4 per cent in April-June 2020 and 7.3 per cent in July-September. GDP had expanded by 3.3 per cent in October-December 2019.

While India has become one of the few major economies to post growth in the last quarter of 2020, the annual GDP estimate for the fiscal year ending March 31 has been revised to an 8 per cent contraction, deeper than an earlier estimate of (-) 7.7 per cent.

China's economy grew by 6.5 per cent in October-December 2020, faster than the 4.9 per cent growth in July-September 2020.

Commenting on the growth numbers, the finance ministry in a statement said real GDP growth has "returned the economy to the pre-pandemic times of positive growth rates."

"It is also a reflection of a further strengthening of V-shaped recovery that began in Q2 of 2020-21 after a large GDP contraction in Q1 followed one of the most stringent lockdown imposed by government relative to other countries," it said.

Stating that the V-shaped recovery has been driven by rebounds in private consumption and investments, the ministry said the initial policy choice of "lives over livelihoods" succeeded by "lives as well as livelihoods" is now bearing positive results.

Agriculture, a bright spot through the pandemic, grew 3.9 per cent in October-December while manufacturing expanded 1.6 per cent as the economy reopened after a harsh lockdown.

Financial and real estate services grew 6.6 per cent but trade, hotels, transport and communication fell 7.7 per cent. Construction rose 6.2 per cent.

The positive growth ends the recession that the Indian economy had witnessed lately.

Arun Singh, Global Chief Economist, Dun &amp; Bradstreet, said the release of pent-up demand fuelled by the festive period might have added to the marginal positive growth in GDP in Q3 FY21.

"Most surprising is the contribution of government spending to the GDP during the third quarter which is a seven-quarter low, even as the government's stimulus package 3.0 was announced before the festive month," he said, adding that private consumption demand, although improved, remains weak.

However, there are risks to growth that arise from the fact that industrial production is yet to stabilise, core inflation remains stubbornly high, oil prices are rearing its head again and unemployment remains elevated.

Add to this is the risk of spurt in COVID-19 cases in some states and the likely disruptions to businesses and supply chain from the restrictions imposed to curb the possibility of a second wave.

"The measures taken by the government to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have had an impact on the economic activities as well as on the data collection mechanisms.

"The data challenges in the case of other underlying macro-economic indicators like IIP (industrial production) and CPI (retail inflation), used in the estimation of National Accounts aggregates and specific measures, if any, taken by the government in the following months with a view to addressing the pandemic led economic situation will have implications on the subsequent revision of these estimates," the NSO said.

Estimates are, therefore, likely to undergo sharp revisions for the aforesaid causes in due course, as per the release calendar. Users should take this into consideration when interpreting the figures, it added.

"With a growth re-emerging in both GDP and GVA in Q3 FY2021, the pandemic-induced technical recession in India has ended, in line with our expectations," Icra Principal Economist Aditi Nayar said.

Recouping of GDP to the positive territory is a promising sign as it portends the end of the pandemic-induced recessionary phase seen in the first half of the year, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.

The growth stimuli available from the Union Budget and the additional measures, including the PLI (Production Linked Incentives), will lead to a sturdy growth path over the recovery horizon, he added.

"The real push will come in the Q4 (January-March) 2021 because lockdowns on many sectors, particularly hospitality and travel eased substantially during this quarter.

"It is hoped that it remains that way, given the uptick in COVID-19 cases in some pockets and in some states. Important to note that the states coming under uptick constitute a large part of industrial activity, and that is important for Q4 and the next financial year," Deloitte India partner Sanjay Kumar said.

(With inputs from agencies)

The pandemic-induced technical recession in India has ended with growth in both GDP and the gross value added (GVA) in real terms in Q3 FY2021. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.

The pandemic-induced technical recession in India has ended with growth in both GDP and the gross value added (GVA) in real terms in Q3 FY2021. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.4 per cent in the October-December 2020 period compared with the same period a year back, data released by the National Statistics Office on Friday showed. This growth compares with revised contractions of 24.4 per cent in April-June 2020 and 7.3 per cent in July-September. GDP had expanded by 3.3 per cent in October-December 2019. While India has become one of the few major economies to post growth in the last quarter of 2020, the annual GDP estimate for the fiscal year ending March 31 has been revised to an 8 per cent contraction, deeper than an earlier estimate of (-) 7.7 per cent. China's economy grew by 6.5 per cent in October-December 2020, faster than the 4.9 per cent growth in July-September 2020. Commenting on the growth numbers, the finance ministry in a statement said real GDP growth has "returned the economy to the pre-pandemic times of positive growth rates." "It is also a reflection of a further strengthening of V-shaped recovery that began in Q2 of 2020-21 after a large GDP contraction in Q1 followed one of the most stringent lockdown imposed by government relative to other countries," it said. Stating that the V-shaped recovery has been driven by rebounds in private consumption and investments, the ministry said the initial policy choice of "lives over livelihoods" succeeded by "lives as well as livelihoods" is now bearing positive results. Agriculture, a bright spot through the pandemic, grew 3.9 per cent in October-December while manufacturing expanded 1.6 per cent as the economy reopened after a harsh lockdown. Financial and real estate services grew 6.6 per cent but trade, hotels, transport and communication fell 7.7 per cent. Construction rose 6.2 per cent. The positive growth ends the recession that the Indian economy had witnessed lately. Arun Singh, Global Chief Economist, Dun & Bradstreet, said the release of pent-up demand fuelled by the festive period might have added to the marginal positive growth in GDP in Q3 FY21. "Most surprising is the contribution of government spending to the GDP during the third quarter which is a seven-quarter low, even as the government's stimulus package 3.0 was announced before the festive month," he said, adding that private consumption demand, although improved, remains weak. However, there are risks to growth that arise from the fact that industrial production is yet to stabilise, core inflation remains stubbornly high, oil prices are rearing its head again and unemployment remains elevated. Add to this is the risk of spurt in COVID-19 cases in some states and the likely disruptions to businesses and supply chain from the restrictions imposed to curb the possibility of a second wave. "The measures taken by the government to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have had an impact on the economic activities as well as on the data collection mechanisms. "The data challenges in the case of other underlying macro-economic indicators like IIP (industrial production) and CPI (retail inflation), used in the estimation of National Accounts aggregates and specific measures, if any, taken by the government in the following months with a view to addressing the pandemic led economic situation will have implications on the subsequent revision of these estimates," the NSO said. Estimates are, therefore, likely to undergo sharp revisions for the aforesaid causes in due course, as per the release calendar. Users should take this into consideration when interpreting the figures, it added. "With a growth re-emerging in both GDP and GVA in Q3 FY2021, the pandemic-induced technical recession in India has ended, in line with our expectations," Icra Principal Economist Aditi Nayar said. Recouping of GDP to the positive territory is a promising sign as it portends the end of the pandemic-induced recessionary phase seen in the first half of the year, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said. The growth stimuli available from the Union Budget and the additional measures, including the PLI (Production Linked Incentives), will lead to a sturdy growth path over the recovery horizon, he added. "The real push will come in the Q4 (January-March) 2021 because lockdowns on many sectors, particularly hospitality and travel eased substantially during this quarter. "It is hoped that it remains that way, given the uptick in COVID-19 cases in some pockets and in some states. Important to note that the states coming under uptick constitute a large part of industrial activity, and that is important for Q4 and the next financial year," Deloitte India partner Sanjay Kumar said. (With inputs from agencies)

Covid-driven recession over, India economy returns to growth in December quarter

Domestic equity markets followed global markets and witnessed one of the steepest sell-offs since March last year.

Sensex tumbled 2,149 points while the Nifty50 index slumped 629 points. The indices ended near the lowest point of the day, at 49,100 and 14,529 levels, respectively, down 1,939 points and 568 points.

Investors also turned cautious ahead of the third quarter GDP data release, besides keeping an eye on simmering geopolitical tensions between the US and Syria.&nbsp;

Sectorally, banking index suffered the maximum loss with over 4.8 per cent drop. Financial and telecom indices too fell sharply by 4.9 per cent and 3.85 per cent, respectively.

"Equity markets opened gap down following spike in global bond yields and extended its weakness further as the session progressed. Panic in global bond markets led to sharp rise in yields which spooked investors amid fears of interest rate cycle reversal," said Hemang Jani, Head of Equity Strategy, Broking &amp; Distribution, Motilal Oswal.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said, "Domestic markets tumbled in line with global trend triggered by a sharp rise in bond yields. Increasing geopolitical tension between the US and Syria aggravated the selling. Q3 GDP data which is to be released today also added volatility in the Indian market."&nbsp;

Global markets

Global stocks fell on Friday, with Asian shares down by the most in nine months. MSCI's Emerging Markets equity index suffered its biggest daily drop in nearly 10 months and was 2.7 per cent lower, while European shares opened in the red, with the STOXX 600 down 0.7 per cent.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 50 countries, was 0.9 per cent lower and was heading for its worst week in a month.

Asia saw the heaviest selling, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan sliding more than 3 per cent to a one-month low, its steepest one-day percentage loss since May 2020.

(With inputs from agencies)

Domestic equity markets followed global markets and witnessed one of the steepest sell-offs since March last year. Sensex tumbled 2,149 points while the Nifty50 index slumped 629 points.

Domestic equity markets followed global markets and witnessed one of the steepest sell-offs since March last year. Sensex tumbled 2,149 points while the Nifty50 index slumped 629 points. The indices ended near the lowest point of the day, at 49,100 and 14,529 levels, respectively, down 1,939 points and 568 points. Investors also turned cautious ahead of the third quarter GDP data release, besides keeping an eye on simmering geopolitical tensions between the US and Syria. Sectorally, banking index suffered the maximum loss with over 4.8 per cent drop. Financial and telecom indices too fell sharply by 4.9 per cent and 3.85 per cent, respectively. "Equity markets opened gap down following spike in global bond yields and extended its weakness further as the session progressed. Panic in global bond markets led to sharp rise in yields which spooked investors amid fears of interest rate cycle reversal," said Hemang Jani, Head of Equity Strategy, Broking & Distribution, Motilal Oswal. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said, "Domestic markets tumbled in line with global trend triggered by a sharp rise in bond yields. Increasing geopolitical tension between the US and Syria aggravated the selling. Q3 GDP data which is to be released today also added volatility in the Indian market." Global markets Global stocks fell on Friday, with Asian shares down by the most in nine months. MSCI's Emerging Markets equity index suffered its biggest daily drop in nearly 10 months and was 2.7 per cent lower, while European shares opened in the red, with the STOXX 600 down 0.7 per cent. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 50 countries, was 0.9 per cent lower and was heading for its worst week in a month. Asia saw the heaviest selling, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan sliding more than 3 per cent to a one-month low, its steepest one-day percentage loss since May 2020. (With inputs from agencies)

Sensex sinks 1,939 points, Nifty tanks below 14,500

India's benchmark <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/sensex-jumps-258-points-nifty-reclaims-15000-level-366253">Sensex</a> nosedived 1,000 points in early trade on Friday as bank stocks ICICI and HDFC including Reliance Industries showed negative trend.

The Sensex fell further falling over 1,700 points as IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, and Bajaj Finance dragged down the markets. The Sensex was trading at 49,336.03 down 3.36 per cent in mid-afternoon trade.

The NSE Nifty also fell 270.40 points down at 14,826.95 &nbsp;ahead of December-quarter gross domestic product(GDP) data.

On Thursday, Sensex had surged 257.62 points to finish at 51,039.31 with the Nifty climbing 115.35 points to 15,097.35.

Asian markets showed similar trends on Friday as Tokyo's key Nikkei index tumbled four per cent at the close as blue-chip and tech share were hit hard. Sony, Tokyo Electron, Fast Retailing also dived in Friday's trade.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped over three per cent while Shanghai also traded lower.

The Dow had earlier dropped 1.8 per cent to 31,402.01, retreating from an all-time on Wednesday. 
&nbsp;

India's benchmark Sensex nosedived 1,000 points in early trade on Friday as bank stocks ICICI and HDFC including Reliance Industries showed negative trend. The Sensex fell further falling over 1,700 points as IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, and Bajaj Finance dragged down the markets.

India's benchmark Sensex nosedived 1,000 points in early trade on Friday as bank stocks ICICI and HDFC including Reliance Industries showed negative trend. The Sensex fell further falling over 1,700 points as IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, and Bajaj Finance dragged down the markets. The Sensex was trading at 49,336.03 down 3.36 per cent in mid-afternoon trade. The NSE Nifty also fell 270.40 points down at 14,826.95 ahead of December-quarter gross domestic product(GDP) data. On Thursday, Sensex had surged 257.62 points to finish at 51,039.31 with the Nifty climbing 115.35 points to 15,097.35. Asian markets showed similar trends on Friday as Tokyo's key Nikkei index tumbled four per cent at the close as blue-chip and tech share were hit hard. Sony, Tokyo Electron, Fast Retailing also dived in Friday's trade. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped over three per cent while Shanghai also traded lower. The Dow had earlier dropped 1.8 per cent to 31,402.01, retreating from an all-time on Wednesday.

India's Sensex dives over 1,700 points on global cues

The automobile giant Tesla Inc has reportedly halted the production of its Model 3 vehicle amid supply chain woes. Tesla is battling supply-chain issues due to backlogs at ports and severe snow storms affecting ground transport.

Tesla halts model 3 production

The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that Boeing managers failed to put adequate priority on living up to the earlier settlement and complying with FAA regulations.

Boeing will pay $6.6 million to FAA

Suzuki Motor Corp's 91-year old chairman, Osamu Suzuki, announced he will retire in June.

Suzuki Motor's 91-year-old chairman to retire

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he would seek $37 billion in funding for legislation to supercharge chip manufacturing in the United States.

Biden to press for $37 billion to boost chip manufacturing

Standard Chartered PLC (StanChart) on Thursday posted a 57% fall in annual profit, missing analyst estimates, on higher credit impairments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

StanChart, which earns the bulk of its revenue in Asia, posted a pretax profit of $1.61 billion. That compared with $3.71 billion in 2019 and the $1.85 billion average of analyst forecasts compiled by the bank.

Credit impairments last year more than doubled compared with a year earlier to $2.3 billion because of the pandemic, the bank said, but noted the majority of these took place in the first half of the year.

The London-headquartered lender said it would return capital to investors via a 9 cents per share dividend and $254 million buyback, with the total payout being the maximum permitted under temporary 'guardrails' set by the Bank of England.

The central bank last year told Britain's largest lenders to suspend dividend payments and share buybacks for 2020 to help them maintain capital buffers against an expected hit to loan books from the pandemic.

"Having now resumed it, we expect to be able to increase the full-year dividend per share over time as we execute our strategy and progress towards a 10% return on tangible equity," Jose Vinals, Standard Chartered's chairman, said in the exchange filing.

The bank said its return on tangible equity, a key profit metric, would climb from 3% to 7% by 2023.

It also said overall income in 2021 is likely to be similar to 2020's because of the impact of global interest rate cuts.

Standard Chartered PLC (StanChart) on Thursday posted a 57% fall in annual profit, missing analyst estimates, on higher credit impairments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Standard Chartered PLC (StanChart) on Thursday posted a 57% fall in annual profit, missing analyst estimates, on higher credit impairments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. StanChart, which earns the bulk of its revenue in Asia, posted a pretax profit of $1.61 billion. That compared with $3.71 billion in 2019 and the $1.85 billion average of analyst forecasts compiled by the bank. Credit impairments last year more than doubled compared with a year earlier to $2.3 billion because of the pandemic, the bank said, but noted the majority of these took place in the first half of the year. The London-headquartered lender said it would return capital to investors via a 9 cents per share dividend and $254 million buyback, with the total payout being the maximum permitted under temporary 'guardrails' set by the Bank of England. The central bank last year told Britain's largest lenders to suspend dividend payments and share buybacks for 2020 to help them maintain capital buffers against an expected hit to loan books from the pandemic. "Having now resumed it, we expect to be able to increase the full-year dividend per share over time as we execute our strategy and progress towards a 10% return on tangible equity," Jose Vinals, Standard Chartered's chairman, said in the exchange filing. The bank said its return on tangible equity, a key profit metric, would climb from 3% to 7% by 2023. It also said overall income in 2021 is likely to be similar to 2020's because of the impact of global interest rate cuts.

Standard Chartered profit falls 57 per cent as COVID inflates bad loans

Robust global markets, along with healthy foreign fund inflows, aided India`s benchmark equity indices to end higher for the second straight session on Thursday.

The two key indices had a gap up opening but later remained in a broad positive range.

At the closing bell, the BSE S&amp;P Sensex was up by 258 points or 0.51 per cent at 51,039 while the Nifty 50 ticked up by 115 points or 0.77 per cent to 15,097.Apart from Nifty FMCG and financial service, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the positive terrain with Nifty metal gaining by 3.9 per cent and PSU bank by 1.1 per cent.

Among stocks, Coal India moved up by 8.6 per cent to Rs 156.90 per share and UPL ticked higher by 7.3 per cent to Rs 594.50.Adani Ports was up by 6 per cent, Hindalco by 5.1 per cent, ONGC by 4.5 per cent and Tata Motors by 3.7 per cent.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries jumped by 4.2 per cent to Rs 2,147 per share. Bharti Airtel rose by 1 per cent after the company said it had raised 1.25 billion dollars through debt instruments. However, ICICI Bank dipped by 1.9 per cent while infrastructure major Larsen &amp; Toubro was down by 1 per cent.&nbsp;

FMCG stocks also did not fare well with Nestle India down by 1.4 per cent and Hindustan Unilever by 0.7 per cent. Meanwhile, Asian stocks jumped after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed interest rates will stay low for a long time.&nbsp;

That calmed market fears that higher inflation may prompt the central bank to tighten the monetary spigot. Japan`s Nikkei gained by 1.7 per cent while Hong Kong`s Hang Seng jumped by 1.5 per cent to pare more than half of its previous day`s losses following the announcement of a stamp duty hike.

(With inputs from agencies)

Robust global markets, along with healthy foreign fund inflows, aided India`s benchmark equity indices to end higher for the second straight session on Thursday.

Robust global markets, along with healthy foreign fund inflows, aided India`s benchmark equity indices to end higher for the second straight session on Thursday. The two key indices had a gap up opening but later remained in a broad positive range. At the closing bell, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 258 points or 0.51 per cent at 51,039 while the Nifty 50 ticked up by 115 points or 0.77 per cent to 15,097.Apart from Nifty FMCG and financial service, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the positive terrain with Nifty metal gaining by 3.9 per cent and PSU bank by 1.1 per cent. Among stocks, Coal India moved up by 8.6 per cent to Rs 156.90 per share and UPL ticked higher by 7.3 per cent to Rs 594.50.Adani Ports was up by 6 per cent, Hindalco by 5.1 per cent, ONGC by 4.5 per cent and Tata Motors by 3.7 per cent. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries jumped by 4.2 per cent to Rs 2,147 per share. Bharti Airtel rose by 1 per cent after the company said it had raised 1.25 billion dollars through debt instruments. However, ICICI Bank dipped by 1.9 per cent while infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro was down by 1 per cent. FMCG stocks also did not fare well with Nestle India down by 1.4 per cent and Hindustan Unilever by 0.7 per cent. Meanwhile, Asian stocks jumped after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed interest rates will stay low for a long time. That calmed market fears that higher inflation may prompt the central bank to tighten the monetary spigot. Japan`s Nikkei gained by 1.7 per cent while Hong Kong`s Hang Seng jumped by 1.5 per cent to pare more than half of its previous day`s losses following the announcement of a stamp duty hike. (With inputs from agencies)

Sensex jumps 258 points; Nifty reclaims 15,000 level

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said there is a need for coordinated action between the centre and state governments to reduce taxes on petrol and diesel prices.

"There is a need for coordinated action between the centre and the states because there are inherent taxes levied by both,"&nbsp;the governor said, adding that calibrated reduction of taxes is important.

Watch |&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-2-factors-are-dictating-how-much-you-spend-on-fuel-365528/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

He, however, said both the centre and the state governments have their revenue pressures and they are required to spend high sums of money to enable the country and the people to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic stress.

"So the revenue requirement and the compulsion of the governments are fully understood. But having said that the impact on inflation also is something, which comes in from the fact that petrol and diesel prices do have an impact on the cost of manufacturing, production,"&nbsp;the Governor said at an event organised by Bombay Chamber of Commerce.

On the central bank's digital currency, Das said a lot of work is going on internally in the RBI and some broad guidelines and approach papers will be released on it soon.

The governor said RBI has certain concerns on cryptocurrencies and it has already been communicated to the government.

He said RBI is looking into strengthening the regulatory architecture for asset reconstruction companies (ARCs).

"(We are) refining and further upgrading the regulatory architecture in respect of the ARCs to ensure that they have a skin in the game, and they are very much in business is receiving a lot of attention from us,"&nbsp;Das said.

On setting up of ARC for non-performing asset (NPA) management, as announced in the Budget 2021, he said, "(in) no way will it jeopardise the activity of the existing ARCs."

The governor said there is growing realisation and awareness among banks to dealing with bad assets and they are proactively making provision in their books for stressed assets.

He said RBI has sharpened and deepened its supervisory methods and is doing deep dive into areas of banking which were not done earlier.&nbsp;

"We have a precise idea of build-up of stressed assets in banks and as soon as we see a sign of stress, we immediately enter into a discussion with the banks and proactively deal with the problems,"&nbsp;he said.

Das also asked public and private sector banks to improve their credit appraisal processes and take measures to stop ever-greening of loans.

He emphasised that the country's financial sector currently is in a far much better place than it was earlier.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said there is a need for coordinated action between the centre and state governments to reduce taxes on petrol and diesel prices.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said there is a need for coordinated action between the centre and state governments to reduce taxes on petrol and diesel prices. "There is a need for coordinated action between the centre and the states because there are inherent taxes levied by both," the governor said, adding that calibrated reduction of taxes is important. Watch | He, however, said both the centre and the state governments have their revenue pressures and they are required to spend high sums of money to enable the country and the people to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic stress. "So the revenue requirement and the compulsion of the governments are fully understood. But having said that the impact on inflation also is something, which comes in from the fact that petrol and diesel prices do have an impact on the cost of manufacturing, production," the Governor said at an event organised by Bombay Chamber of Commerce. On the central bank's digital currency, Das said a lot of work is going on internally in the RBI and some broad guidelines and approach papers will be released on it soon. The governor said RBI has certain concerns on cryptocurrencies and it has already been communicated to the government. He said RBI is looking into strengthening the regulatory architecture for asset reconstruction companies (ARCs). "(We are) refining and further upgrading the regulatory architecture in respect of the ARCs to ensure that they have a skin in the game, and they are very much in business is receiving a lot of attention from us," Das said. On setting up of ARC for non-performing asset (NPA) management, as announced in the Budget 2021, he said, "(in) no way will it jeopardise the activity of the existing ARCs." The governor said there is growing realisation and awareness among banks to dealing with bad assets and they are proactively making provision in their books for stressed assets. He said RBI has sharpened and deepened its supervisory methods and is doing deep dive into areas of banking which were not done earlier. "We have a precise idea of build-up of stressed assets in banks and as soon as we see a sign of stress, we immediately enter into a discussion with the banks and proactively deal with the problems," he said. Das also asked public and private sector banks to improve their credit appraisal processes and take measures to stop ever-greening of loans. He emphasised that the country's financial sector currently is in a far much better place than it was earlier.

Need coordinated action between centre, states on tax reduction in fuel prices: RBI governor 

Despite the strained ties between India and China last year, Beijing emerged as New Delhi's top trading partner in 2020.&nbsp;

In June 2020, 20 Indian security personnel had lost their lives in a violent clash with China at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh which triggered tensions between both neighbouring nations.&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;

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The Indian government promptly retaliated by banning hundreds of Chinese apps.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/white-house-says-relationship-with-china-is-one-of-strong-competition-365698">White House says relationship with China is one of 'strong competition'</a>

However, the bilateral trade between both nations in 2020 stood at $77.7 billion.&nbsp;

Even though this number is lower than the last year's $85.5 billion, but it still was enough for China to retain its numero uno position, according to the provisional data from the Indian commerce ministry.

Total imports from China into India stood at $58.7 billion, which exceeded the combined purchases from the US and UAE, its second and third-biggest trade partners.

"Imports from China are cheap and available quickly in sufficient amounts. Imports from several other sources are not as cost-effective, and as easily available, as they are from China," National University of Singapore economist Amitendu Palit was quoted as saying by BBC.

Meanwhile, militaries of both the countries completed the pullback of forces and weaponry from the North and South banks of Pangong.&nbsp;

Despite the strained ties between India and China last year, Beijing emerged as New Delhi's top trading partner in 2020. In June 2020, 20 Indian security personnel had lost their lives in a violent clash with China at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh which triggered tensions between both neighbouring nations.

Despite the strained ties between India and China last year, Beijing emerged as New Delhi's top trading partner in 2020. In June 2020, 20 Indian security personnel had lost their lives in a violent clash with China at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh which triggered tensions between both neighbouring nations. Watch | The Indian government promptly retaliated by banning hundreds of Chinese apps. Also read | White House says relationship with China is one of 'strong competition' However, the bilateral trade between both nations in 2020 stood at $77.7 billion. Even though this number is lower than the last year's $85.5 billion, but it still was enough for China to retain its numero uno position, according to the provisional data from the Indian commerce ministry. Total imports from China into India stood at $58.7 billion, which exceeded the combined purchases from the US and UAE, its second and third-biggest trade partners. "Imports from China are cheap and available quickly in sufficient amounts. Imports from several other sources are not as cost-effective, and as easily available, as they are from China," National University of Singapore economist Amitendu Palit was quoted as saying by BBC. Meanwhile, militaries of both the countries completed the pullback of forces and weaponry from the North and South banks of Pangong.

Despite strained ties, China returns as India's top trading partner

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday said the U.S. economy may grow in the range of 6% this year.

2021 US GDP growth could be in range of 6%

Canada’s economy will see a solid and sustained rebound this year as inoculations ramp up, says Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem.

Bank of Canada sees economy strengthening

South African tax payers can breathe a sigh of relief as the finance minister in his 2021 budget announced they would not introduce any new taxes this year.

“We agree that tax increases must be kept to a minimum as we stabilise our public finances. We have chosen not to introduce the tax measures initially proposed in the October Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS),” Tito Mboweni said.&nbsp;

He added the government would withdraw previous proposal to raise R40 billion in additional revenue.&nbsp;

This year’s budget comes at a difficult time when the country is trying to adjust its economic cracks after a severe Covid-19 lockdown. It also comes as the country prepares for the biggest vaccination programme in history.

The finance minister said the government is allocating more than R10 billion for purchase and delivery of vaccines over the next two years and this will impact public purse.&nbsp;

“We increased the contingency reserve from R5 billion to R12 billion to make provision for the further purchase of vaccines and to cater for other emergencies,” he added.&nbsp;

South Africa is planning to vaccinate at least 67 per cent of its population to achieve herd immunity.&nbsp;

Mboweni said, "The country’s total consolidated spending is expected to be R2 trillion each year over the medium term, with the majority of spending going towards social services."

On the economic outlook front, the minister said the global economic growth is expected to rebound to 5.5 per cent in 2021 before moderating slightly to 4.2 per cent in 2022, taking cues from the expected rollout of Covid-19 vaccines and other additional policy initiatives.

South African economy is expected to rebound by 3.3 per cent this year, following a 7.2 per cent contraction in 2020.

China is expected to grow at 8.1 per cent in 2021, while India will achieve a growth rate of 11.5 per cent in 2021.

The minister has also announced an 8 per cent increase in excise duties on alcohol and tobacco products saying excessive alcohol consumption can lead to negative social and health problems.&nbsp;

South African tax payers can breathe a sigh of relief as the finance minister in his 2021 budget announced they would not introduce any new taxes this year. “We agree that tax increases must be kept to a minimum as we stabilise our public finances.

South African tax payers can breathe a sigh of relief as the finance minister in his 2021 budget announced they would not introduce any new taxes this year. “We agree that tax increases must be kept to a minimum as we stabilise our public finances. We have chosen not to introduce the tax measures initially proposed in the October Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS),” Tito Mboweni said. He added the government would withdraw previous proposal to raise R40 billion in additional revenue. This year’s budget comes at a difficult time when the country is trying to adjust its economic cracks after a severe Covid-19 lockdown. It also comes as the country prepares for the biggest vaccination programme in history. The finance minister said the government is allocating more than R10 billion for purchase and delivery of vaccines over the next two years and this will impact public purse. “We increased the contingency reserve from R5 billion to R12 billion to make provision for the further purchase of vaccines and to cater for other emergencies,” he added. South Africa is planning to vaccinate at least 67 per cent of its population to achieve herd immunity. Mboweni said, "The country’s total consolidated spending is expected to be R2 trillion each year over the medium term, with the majority of spending going towards social services." On the economic outlook front, the minister said the global economic growth is expected to rebound to 5.5 per cent in 2021 before moderating slightly to 4.2 per cent in 2022, taking cues from the expected rollout of Covid-19 vaccines and other additional policy initiatives. South African economy is expected to rebound by 3.3 per cent this year, following a 7.2 per cent contraction in 2020. China is expected to grow at 8.1 per cent in 2021, while India will achieve a growth rate of 11.5 per cent in 2021. The minister has also announced an 8 per cent increase in excise duties on alcohol and tobacco products saying excessive alcohol consumption can lead to negative social and health problems.

No new taxes to be announced in South Africa's 2021 budget

Falling commercial real estate prices could cause even more bank losses as people continue to work and shop from home online.

US bank profits dropped 36.5 Pct In 2020

Stock market indices ended 2 per cent higher on Wednesday, in an extended trading session, led mainly by gains in banking and financial stocks with the Nifty Bank surging over 1,400 points or 4 per cent. On the Nifty50 index, four of the top five gainers were from the BFSI space.&nbsp;

The benchmark S&amp;P BSE Sensex zoomed to day's high during the fag-end of the session, soaring 1,130 points in the intra-day trade. The index ended 1,030 points, or 2 per cent, higher at 50,782 levels. HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, and HDFC, up in the range of 3 per cent and 5 per cent, were the top gainers among the 23 stocks that ended in the green.

Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 5 per cent, followed by HDFC twins, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance and SBI.

On the other hand, PowerGrid, Dr Reddy's, TCS and Asian Paints were among the laggards.

Minutes before the scheduled closure of trade at 3.30 pm, leading bourses BSE and NSE said their equity and derivatives markets will remain open till 5 pm.

The move came after the National Stock Exchange (NSE) suffered an outage earlier in the day due to technical glitches. Trading across segments came to a halt at 1140 hrs due to connectivity issues.

However, the broader Indian markets were not impacted as communication lines at BSE remained operational.

"Technical glitch did not impact domestic market sentiment though volatility was high with a positive prejudice, in the first session. During the extra session, the market gathered more strength and hugely outperforming the global peers, triggered by squaring-off F&amp;O positions a day ahead of the prefixed monthly expiry date.

"The global market was mixed, not very convinced that world central banks like Fed will maintain a flexible monetary policy even during rising bond yield and inflation. And the Asian market was negatively impacted by a hike in stamp duty on equities," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

BSE bankex, finance, telecom, capital goods and energy indices rallied up to 3.86 per cent, while power and utilities ended in the red.

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices surged up to 1.08 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended on a negative note.

Stock exchanges in Europe, however, were trading with gains in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.96 per cent higher at USD 65.10 per barrel.

In the forex market, the rupee gained 11 paise to settle at 72.35 against the US dollar supported by positive domestic equities and weakness of the American currency in the overseas market.

(With inputs from agencies)

Stock market indices ended 2 per cent higher on Wednesday, in an extended trading session, led mainly by gains in banking and financial stocks with the Nifty Bank surging over 1,400 points or 4 per cent.

Stock market indices ended 2 per cent higher on Wednesday, in an extended trading session, led mainly by gains in banking and financial stocks with the Nifty Bank surging over 1,400 points or 4 per cent. On the Nifty50 index, four of the top five gainers were from the BFSI space. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex zoomed to day's high during the fag-end of the session, soaring 1,130 points in the intra-day trade. The index ended 1,030 points, or 2 per cent, higher at 50,782 levels. HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, and HDFC, up in the range of 3 per cent and 5 per cent, were the top gainers among the 23 stocks that ended in the green. Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 5 per cent, followed by HDFC twins, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance and SBI. On the other hand, PowerGrid, Dr Reddy's, TCS and Asian Paints were among the laggards. Minutes before the scheduled closure of trade at 3.30 pm, leading bourses BSE and NSE said their equity and derivatives markets will remain open till 5 pm. The move came after the National Stock Exchange (NSE) suffered an outage earlier in the day due to technical glitches. Trading across segments came to a halt at 1140 hrs due to connectivity issues. However, the broader Indian markets were not impacted as communication lines at BSE remained operational. "Technical glitch did not impact domestic market sentiment though volatility was high with a positive prejudice, in the first session. During the extra session, the market gathered more strength and hugely outperforming the global peers, triggered by squaring-off F&O positions a day ahead of the prefixed monthly expiry date. "The global market was mixed, not very convinced that world central banks like Fed will maintain a flexible monetary policy even during rising bond yield and inflation. And the Asian market was negatively impacted by a hike in stamp duty on equities," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. BSE bankex, finance, telecom, capital goods and energy indices rallied up to 3.86 per cent, while power and utilities ended in the red. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices surged up to 1.08 per cent. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended on a negative note. Stock exchanges in Europe, however, were trading with gains in mid-session deals. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.96 per cent higher at USD 65.10 per barrel. In the forex market, the rupee gained 11 paise to settle at 72.35 against the US dollar supported by positive domestic equities and weakness of the American currency in the overseas market. (With inputs from agencies)

Sensex rallies over 1,000 points, Nifty ends at 14,982 in extended session

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has asked the National Stock Exchange to submit a report on root cause analysis of the trading halt today, according to a statement issued by the securities and market regulator.

“Sebi was in constant touch with the NSE officials and continued to monitor the situation closely. NSE was also advised to keep the market participants updated with the evolving developments,” Sebi said in a media statement.

The NSE should "explain the reasons for trading not migrating to the disaster recovery site" and asked it to submit a report at the earliest, according to an official statement.

A disaster recovery system helps as a plan-B in times of distress to ensure that activity is not affected.

Trading across segments was halted at 11.40 am on Wednesday due to "issues with the links with telecom service providers", according to the NSE.

The bourse said it depends on two telecom service providers for connectivity, and both failed simultaneously resulting in the outage.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said it was in constant touch with NSE officials and continued to monitor the situation closely.

"The NSE was also advised to keep the market participants updated with the evolving developments," it said.

The "trading halt" continued till 3.30 pm. In view of the exceptional situation arising out of it, it was decided to extend the trading hours from 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm at the NSE, the BSE and the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India.

(With inputs from agencies)

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has asked the National Stock Exchange to submit a report on root cause analysis of the trading halt today, according to a statement issued by the securities and market regulator.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has asked the National Stock Exchange to submit a report on root cause analysis of the trading halt today, according to a statement issued by the securities and market regulator. “Sebi was in constant touch with the NSE officials and continued to monitor the situation closely. NSE was also advised to keep the market participants updated with the evolving developments,” Sebi said in a media statement. The NSE should "explain the reasons for trading not migrating to the disaster recovery site" and asked it to submit a report at the earliest, according to an official statement. A disaster recovery system helps as a plan-B in times of distress to ensure that activity is not affected. Trading across segments was halted at 11.40 am on Wednesday due to "issues with the links with telecom service providers", according to the NSE. The bourse said it depends on two telecom service providers for connectivity, and both failed simultaneously resulting in the outage. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said it was in constant touch with NSE officials and continued to monitor the situation closely. "The NSE was also advised to keep the market participants updated with the evolving developments," it said. The "trading halt" continued till 3.30 pm. In view of the exceptional situation arising out of it, it was decided to extend the trading hours from 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm at the NSE, the BSE and the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India. (With inputs from agencies)

Trading outage: Sebi seeks report from NSE on shutdown over tech glitch

London now has the highest concentration of dollar millionaires in the entire world, trumping New York City.

At least 875,000 people from London are dollar millionaires, ie, they possess asserts worth more than $10,15,812 (£720,000), based on the annual study undertaken of the world’s wealthiest people by Knight Frank - a property consultant entity.

This implies that one out of every 10 people in London is now a dollar millionaire. The data highlights the widening inequality gap, which has become steeper owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to government figures, over 2.5 million people in London are classified as “living in poverty”.

The report adds that 874,354 people in London possess assets like property which amounts to over $1 million, making them “high net worth individuals”.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/europes-biggest-haul-23-tonnes-of-cocaine-seized-by-customs-authorities-365960" hreflang="en">'Europe's biggest haul': 23 tonnes of cocaine seized by customs authorities</a> 
 
In New York, the number stands at 820,000. Knight Frank’s global head of research, Liam Bailey told The Guardian the following - &nbsp;“The main point is that our HNWI threshold is $1m, so £720,000, and with average house prices in London at £514,000, a lot of households fall into the HNWI category… Ironically, the high cost of housing in London is the main driver for categorising so many households as being wealthy.”

The research also found that London that the most number of “prime” homes for any city in the world. There are 68,000 such prime units costing over £2m each.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/uk-ministry-confirms-second-hq-outside-london-365045" hreflang="en">UK ministry confirms second HQ outside London</a>

Expensive property sales have gone up in London during the pandemic, with foreign investors exploiting the drop in the value of the pound and tax advantages in the aftermath of Brexit.

The survey also named London the rich person’s city of choice in terms of lifestyle, and what it offers - opera houses, theatres, universities, sports, shopping facilities, and Michelin-starred restaurants.

London now has the highest concentration of dollar millionaires in the entire world, trumping New York City. At least 875,000 people from London are dollar millionaires, ie, they possess asserts worth more than $10,15,812 (£720,000), based on the annual study undertaken of the world’s wealthiest people by Knight Frank - a property consultant entity.

London now has the highest concentration of dollar millionaires in the entire world, trumping New York City. At least 875,000 people from London are dollar millionaires, ie, they possess asserts worth more than $10,15,812 (£720,000), based on the annual study undertaken of the world’s wealthiest people by Knight Frank - a property consultant entity. This implies that one out of every 10 people in London is now a dollar millionaire. The data highlights the widening inequality gap, which has become steeper owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to government figures, over 2.5 million people in London are classified as “living in poverty”. The report adds that 874,354 people in London possess assets like property which amounts to over $1 million, making them “high net worth individuals”. Also read: 'Europe's biggest haul': 23 tonnes of cocaine seized by customs authorities In New York, the number stands at 820,000. Knight Frank’s global head of research, Liam Bailey told The Guardian the following - “The main point is that our HNWI threshold is $1m, so £720,000, and with average house prices in London at £514,000, a lot of households fall into the HNWI category… Ironically, the high cost of housing in London is the main driver for categorising so many households as being wealthy.” The research also found that London that the most number of “prime” homes for any city in the world. There are 68,000 such prime units costing over £2m each. Also read: UK ministry confirms second HQ outside London Expensive property sales have gone up in London during the pandemic, with foreign investors exploiting the drop in the value of the pound and tax advantages in the aftermath of Brexit. The survey also named London the rich person’s city of choice in terms of lifestyle, and what it offers - opera houses, theatres, universities, sports, shopping facilities, and Michelin-starred restaurants.

London now has the most number of dollar millionaires, trumping New York City

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Wednesday that all private banks are now allowed to participate in government businesses. The business operations linked to the government were so far the forte of public sector lenders.

"Embargo lifted on the grant of Govt business to private banks. All banks can now participate. Private Banks can now be equal partners in the development of the Indian economy, furthering Govt's social sector initiatives, and enhancing customer convenience," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a tweet.&nbsp;

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Embargo lifted on grant of Govt business to private banks. All banks can now participate. Private banks can now be equal partners in development of the Indian economy, furthering Govt's social sector initiatives, and enhancing customer convenience. <a href="https://twitter.com/FinMinIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FinMinIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DFS_India?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DFS_India</a>
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This step is expected to further enhance customer convenience, spur competition and higher efficiency in the standards of customer services, an official statement said.

Private sector banks, which are at the forefront of imbibing and implementing the latest technology and innovation in banking, will now be equal partners in the development of the Indian economy and in furthering the social sector initiatives of the government, the statement said.

"With the lifting of the embargo, there is now no bar on RBI for authorization of private sector banks (in addition to public sector banks) for Government business, including Government agency business. The Government has conveyed its decision to RBI," it added.

The government has already announced its intent to privatise two public sector lenders, other than IDBI Bank, in the Budget 2021-22.

Sitharaman, while presenting Budget 2021-22 earlier this month, had announced the privatisation of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) as part of the disinvestment drive to garner Rs 1.75 lakh crore.

"Other than IDBI Bank, we propose to take up the privatisation of two Public Sector Banks and one General Insurance company in the year 2021-22," she had said.&nbsp;

The government last year consolidated 10 public sector banks into four and as a result, the total number of PSBs came down to 12 from 27 in March 2017.

As per the amalgamation plan, the United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce were merged with Punjab National Bank, making the proposed entity the second-largest PSB.

Syndicate Bank was merged with Canara Bank, while Allahabad Bank was subsumed in Indian Bank. Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank were amalgamated with the Union Bank of India.

In a first three-way merger, Bank of Baroda merged Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with itself in 2019. SBI had merged five of its associate banks -- State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore and State Bank of Hyderabad -- and also Bharatiya Mahila Bank effective April 2017.

(With inputs from agencies)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Wednesday that all private banks are now allowed to participate in government businesses. The business operations linked to the government were so far the forte of public sector lenders.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Wednesday that all private banks are now allowed to participate in government businesses. The business operations linked to the government were so far the forte of public sector lenders. "Embargo lifted on the grant of Govt business to private banks. All banks can now participate. Private Banks can now be equal partners in the development of the Indian economy, furthering Govt's social sector initiatives, and enhancing customer convenience," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a tweet. Embargo lifted on grant of Govt business to private banks. All banks can now participate. Private banks can now be equal partners in development of the Indian economy, furthering Govt's social sector initiatives, and enhancing customer convenience. @FinMinIndia @DFS_India — NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) February 24, 2021 × This step is expected to further enhance customer convenience, spur competition and higher efficiency in the standards of customer services, an official statement said. Private sector banks, which are at the forefront of imbibing and implementing the latest technology and innovation in banking, will now be equal partners in the development of the Indian economy and in furthering the social sector initiatives of the government, the statement said. "With the lifting of the embargo, there is now no bar on RBI for authorization of private sector banks (in addition to public sector banks) for Government business, including Government agency business. The Government has conveyed its decision to RBI," it added. The government has already announced its intent to privatise two public sector lenders, other than IDBI Bank, in the Budget 2021-22. Sitharaman, while presenting Budget 2021-22 earlier this month, had announced the privatisation of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) as part of the disinvestment drive to garner Rs 1.75 lakh crore. "Other than IDBI Bank, we propose to take up the privatisation of two Public Sector Banks and one General Insurance company in the year 2021-22," she had said. The government last year consolidated 10 public sector banks into four and as a result, the total number of PSBs came down to 12 from 27 in March 2017. As per the amalgamation plan, the United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce were merged with Punjab National Bank, making the proposed entity the second-largest PSB. Syndicate Bank was merged with Canara Bank, while Allahabad Bank was subsumed in Indian Bank. Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank were amalgamated with the Union Bank of India. In a first three-way merger, Bank of Baroda merged Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with itself in 2019. SBI had merged five of its associate banks -- State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore and State Bank of Hyderabad -- and also Bharatiya Mahila Bank effective April 2017. (With inputs from agencies)

Private banks can get govt business, the embargo lifted: Nirmala Sitharaman

The U.S. economy remains mired in a pandemic winter of shuttered storefronts, high unemployment and sluggish job growth. But on Wall Street and in Washington, attention is shifting to an intriguing if indistinct prospect: a post-COVID boom.

Forecasters have always expected the pandemic to be followed by a period of strong growth as businesses reopen and Americans resume their normal activities. But in recent weeks, economists have begun to talk of something stronger: a supercharged rebound that brings down unemployment, drives up wages and may foster years of stronger growth.

There are hints that the economy has turned a corner: Retail sales jumped last month as the latest round of government aid began showing up in consumers’ bank accounts. New unemployment claims have declined from early January, though they remain high. Measures of business investment have picked up, a sign of confidence from corporate leaders.

Economists surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia this month predicted that U.S. output will increase 4.5% this year, which would make it the best year since 1999. Some expect an even stronger bounce: Economists at Goldman Sachs forecast that the economy will grow 6.8% this year and that the unemployment rate will drop to 4.1% by December, a level that took eight years to achieve after the last recession.

“We’re extremely likely to get a very high growth rate,” said Jan Hatzius, Goldman’s chief economist. “Whether it’s a boom or not, I do think it’s a V-shaped recovery,” he added, referring to a steep drop followed by a sharp rebound.

The growing optimism stems from the confluence of several factors. Coronavirus cases are falling in the United States. The vaccine rollout, though slower than hoped, is gaining steam. And largely because of trillions of dollars in federal help, the economy appears to have made it through last year with less structural damage — in the form of business failures, home foreclosures and personal bankruptcies — than many people feared last spring.

Lastly, consumers are sitting on a trillion-dollar mountain of cash, a result of months of lockdown-induced saving and successive rounds of stimulus payments. That mountain could grow if Congress approves the aid to households that President Joe Biden has proposed.

When the pandemic ends, cash could be unleashed like melting snow in the Rockies: Consumers, released from their cabin fever, compete for hotel rooms and restaurant tables. Businesses compete for employees and supplies to meet the demand. Workers who were sidelined by child care responsibilities or virus fears are drawn back to the labor force by suddenly abundant opportunities.

“There will be this big boom as pent-up demand comes through and the economy is opening,” said Ellen Zentner, chief U.S. economist for Morgan Stanley. “There is an awful lot of buying power that we’ve transferred to households to fuel that pent-up demand.”

That vision is far from a certainty. Delays in the vaccine rollout could stall the recovery. So could new strains of the virus that render vaccines less effective. A political standoff in Washington could hold up aid for unemployed workers and struggling businesses. And even if the economy avoids all of those traps, there is unlikely to be a single moment when public health officials give an “all clear”; it could be years before people pack into bars and sports stadiums the way they did before the pandemic.

A boom also carries risks. In recent weeks, prominent economists including Lawrence H. Summers, a Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, have warned that Biden’s relief proposal is too large and could lead the economy to overheat, pushing up prices and forcing the Federal Reserve to bring the party to a premature end. Fed officials have largely dismissed those concerns, noting that the consistent problem in recent decades has been too little inflation rather than too much.

Other economists fear that the rebound will primarily benefit those at the top, compounding inequities that the pandemic has widened.

“We may see a boom in the future, but that may just leave some people even further behind, or may give them a trickle when they need a waterfall,” said Tara Sinclair, a George Washington University economist.

But for many businesses and households that have struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic, those concerns pale in comparison with the opportunities that a boom could provide.

Workout Anytime, a chain of 24-hour fitness clubs, was hit hard by the early stages of the pandemic, which shut down gyms nationwide. Business has since rebounded, but not to previous levels, as customers remain wary about working out in close quarters.

But Greg Maurer, a company vice president, sees better times ahead. The pandemic hasn’t dampened people’s enthusiasm for working out, he said — if anything, it has made the importance of physical fitness clearer. As soon as people are sure it’s safe, he said, he expects business to be gangbusters.

“This may be the biggest growth period we’ve ever had coming up,” he said. “There is a huge group of people out there saying, ‘I cannot wait to get back to the club.’”

Maurer doesn’t just expect to get all his old customers back, or even to resume the company’s old growth trajectory. He expects business to leap ahead of its path before the virus. That’s partly because the pandemic has wiped out many smaller gym chains, leaving less competition. But it is also because the pandemic led Workout Anytime and other chains to adopt digital tools, like online bookings and video workouts, that could open up new revenue streams.

“We are a way better organization today as a result of these challenges than we were a year ago because we had to get better,” Maurer said.

Stories like his are behind one of the most intriguing possibilities for the post-COVID-19 era: a surge in productivity. Companies and workers have been forced to embrace a wide range of technologies and policies — online meetings, file sharing, flexible work schedules — that could make their operations more efficient. Spread across the whole economy, such changes could allow faster growth that is sustainable over decades, not just a short-term burst.

Constance L. Hunter, chief economist at the accounting firm KPMG, likened the possibility to the period after World War II. The war led to the development of new technologies and spread existing ones to factories across the country. Those advancements helped make the postwar period one of the best on record for productivity growth, and for economic growth in general.

There is no single definition of a boom, nor a committee of elite economists who agree when one has begun, as there is with recessions. But economists generally agree that booms are characterized by a combination of strong growth and a high absolute level of activity. By that standard, the period after World War II certainly qualifies as a boom. So do the late 1960s.

In recent decades, however, booms have become less common. Growth never took off after the mild recession that hit in 2001, and while the unemployment rate hit a half-century low after the last recession, it took a decade to get there.

There are reasons to think this recovery could be different. For one thing, the economy was fundamentally healthy when the recession began. There was no housing bubble; household debt was low; banks weren’t sitting on a tower of dubious loans that could collapse at any moment. That means there is no reason, at least in theory, that the economy can’t pick up more or less where it left off.

Policymakers have also responded much more aggressively to this crisis than to past ones. The Fed moved quickly to prevent the pandemic from setting off a financial crisis. Congress spent trillions of dollars to make sure unemployed workers could keep their homes and feed their families, and to help small businesses.

Those efforts were far from a total success. The unemployment system buckled under the crush of applicants, and millions had to wait weeks or months to get benefits, if they got them at all. Government aid was inadequate, or came too late, to save thousands of businesses. State and local governments have slashed jobs. Hunger rates have risen.

But government aid appears to have been largely effective at preventing deep structural damage that could prevent a strong rebound. There has been no wave of foreclosures or corporate bankruptcies. Rates of entrepreneurship have soared, signaling that Americans are optimistic and have access to the capital necessary to act on that optimism.

Even if there is a strong rebound, however, economists warn that not everyone will benefit.

Kara Gray and her husband, Christopher DeSure, spent years building their small Ohio construction company into a successful business. Then the pandemic shut them down, and, having a daughter at home with a compromised immune system, they haven’t felt comfortable returning to in-person work.

With the housing market strong, Gray is confident they will be able to get back to work once the pandemic is over. But she worries they won’t be able to take full advantage of the boom. She and her husband were forced to spend the money they had set aside to buy a house, and have fallen behind on bills and run up credit card debt. That could make it hard for them to qualify for a mortgage or for a business loan to expand their company.

“It’s going to affect me and my husband longer term,” she said. “It’s not just ‘Can I pay my bills this month?’ It’s that once this is over, I’m going to have to start all over.”

Stories like Gray’s point to a challenge for policymakers. Standard economic statistics like the unemployment rate and gross domestic product could mask persistent challenges facing many families, particularly the Black and Hispanic workers who have borne the brunt of the pandemic’s economic pain. That could lead Congress to pull back on aid when it is still needed.

“The risk is that within the aggregate data that look relatively encouraging, the stories of many, many households are going to get lost,” said David Wilcox, a former Fed economist who is now a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Still, for all its shortcomings, a boom may be the best chance many workers have to make up lost ground. The strong labor market that preceded the pandemic was delivering wage gains to low-income workers and giving opportunities to people with disabilities, criminal records and other barriers to employment. A quick drop in the unemployment rate won’t heal all the wounds caused by the pandemic, but it might at least stanch the bleeding.

“Root for the boom,” Sinclair said. “But don’t count on the boom doing everything for us.”

The U.S. economy remains mired in a pandemic winter of shuttered storefronts, high unemployment and sluggish job growth. But on Wall Street and in Washington, attention is shifting to an intriguing if indistinct prospect: a post-COVID boom.

The U.S. economy remains mired in a pandemic winter of shuttered storefronts, high unemployment and sluggish job growth. But on Wall Street and in Washington, attention is shifting to an intriguing if indistinct prospect: a post-COVID boom. Forecasters have always expected the pandemic to be followed by a period of strong growth as businesses reopen and Americans resume their normal activities. But in recent weeks, economists have begun to talk of something stronger: a supercharged rebound that brings down unemployment, drives up wages and may foster years of stronger growth. There are hints that the economy has turned a corner: Retail sales jumped last month as the latest round of government aid began showing up in consumers’ bank accounts. New unemployment claims have declined from early January, though they remain high. Measures of business investment have picked up, a sign of confidence from corporate leaders. Economists surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia this month predicted that U.S. output will increase 4.5% this year, which would make it the best year since 1999. Some expect an even stronger bounce: Economists at Goldman Sachs forecast that the economy will grow 6.8% this year and that the unemployment rate will drop to 4.1% by December, a level that took eight years to achieve after the last recession. “We’re extremely likely to get a very high growth rate,” said Jan Hatzius, Goldman’s chief economist. “Whether it’s a boom or not, I do think it’s a V-shaped recovery,” he added, referring to a steep drop followed by a sharp rebound. The growing optimism stems from the confluence of several factors. Coronavirus cases are falling in the United States. The vaccine rollout, though slower than hoped, is gaining steam. And largely because of trillions of dollars in federal help, the economy appears to have made it through last year with less structural damage — in the form of business failures, home foreclosures and personal bankruptcies — than many people feared last spring. Lastly, consumers are sitting on a trillion-dollar mountain of cash, a result of months of lockdown-induced saving and successive rounds of stimulus payments. That mountain could grow if Congress approves the aid to households that President Joe Biden has proposed. When the pandemic ends, cash could be unleashed like melting snow in the Rockies: Consumers, released from their cabin fever, compete for hotel rooms and restaurant tables. Businesses compete for employees and supplies to meet the demand. Workers who were sidelined by child care responsibilities or virus fears are drawn back to the labor force by suddenly abundant opportunities. “There will be this big boom as pent-up demand comes through and the economy is opening,” said Ellen Zentner, chief U.S. economist for Morgan Stanley. “There is an awful lot of buying power that we’ve transferred to households to fuel that pent-up demand.” That vision is far from a certainty. Delays in the vaccine rollout could stall the recovery. So could new strains of the virus that render vaccines less effective. A political standoff in Washington could hold up aid for unemployed workers and struggling businesses. And even if the economy avoids all of those traps, there is unlikely to be a single moment when public health officials give an “all clear”; it could be years before people pack into bars and sports stadiums the way they did before the pandemic. A boom also carries risks. In recent weeks, prominent economists including Lawrence H. Summers, a Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, have warned that Biden’s relief proposal is too large and could lead the economy to overheat, pushing up prices and forcing the Federal Reserve to bring the party to a premature end. Fed officials have largely dismissed those concerns, noting that the consistent problem in recent decades has been too little inflation rather than too much. Other economists fear that the rebound will primarily benefit those at the top, compounding inequities that the pandemic has widened. “We may see a boom in the future, but that may just leave some people even further behind, or may give them a trickle when they need a waterfall,” said Tara Sinclair, a George Washington University economist. But for many businesses and households that have struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic, those concerns pale in comparison with the opportunities that a boom could provide. Workout Anytime, a chain of 24-hour fitness clubs, was hit hard by the early stages of the pandemic, which shut down gyms nationwide. Business has since rebounded, but not to previous levels, as customers remain wary about working out in close quarters. But Greg Maurer, a company vice president, sees better times ahead. The pandemic hasn’t dampened people’s enthusiasm for working out, he said — if anything, it has made the importance of physical fitness clearer. As soon as people are sure it’s safe, he said, he expects business to be gangbusters. “This may be the biggest growth period we’ve ever had coming up,” he said. “There is a huge group of people out there saying, ‘I cannot wait to get back to the club.’” Maurer doesn’t just expect to get all his old customers back, or even to resume the company’s old growth trajectory. He expects business to leap ahead of its path before the virus. That’s partly because the pandemic has wiped out many smaller gym chains, leaving less competition. But it is also because the pandemic led Workout Anytime and other chains to adopt digital tools, like online bookings and video workouts, that could open up new revenue streams. “We are a way better organization today as a result of these challenges than we were a year ago because we had to get better,” Maurer said. Stories like his are behind one of the most intriguing possibilities for the post-COVID-19 era: a surge in productivity. Companies and workers have been forced to embrace a wide range of technologies and policies — online meetings, file sharing, flexible work schedules — that could make their operations more efficient. Spread across the whole economy, such changes could allow faster growth that is sustainable over decades, not just a short-term burst. Constance L. Hunter, chief economist at the accounting firm KPMG, likened the possibility to the period after World War II. The war led to the development of new technologies and spread existing ones to factories across the country. Those advancements helped make the postwar period one of the best on record for productivity growth, and for economic growth in general. There is no single definition of a boom, nor a committee of elite economists who agree when one has begun, as there is with recessions. But economists generally agree that booms are characterized by a combination of strong growth and a high absolute level of activity. By that standard, the period after World War II certainly qualifies as a boom. So do the late 1960s. In recent decades, however, booms have become less common. Growth never took off after the mild recession that hit in 2001, and while the unemployment rate hit a half-century low after the last recession, it took a decade to get there. There are reasons to think this recovery could be different. For one thing, the economy was fundamentally healthy when the recession began. There was no housing bubble; household debt was low; banks weren’t sitting on a tower of dubious loans that could collapse at any moment. That means there is no reason, at least in theory, that the economy can’t pick up more or less where it left off. Policymakers have also responded much more aggressively to this crisis than to past ones. The Fed moved quickly to prevent the pandemic from setting off a financial crisis. Congress spent trillions of dollars to make sure unemployed workers could keep their homes and feed their families, and to help small businesses. Those efforts were far from a total success. The unemployment system buckled under the crush of applicants, and millions had to wait weeks or months to get benefits, if they got them at all. Government aid was inadequate, or came too late, to save thousands of businesses. State and local governments have slashed jobs. Hunger rates have risen. But government aid appears to have been largely effective at preventing deep structural damage that could prevent a strong rebound. There has been no wave of foreclosures or corporate bankruptcies. Rates of entrepreneurship have soared, signaling that Americans are optimistic and have access to the capital necessary to act on that optimism. Even if there is a strong rebound, however, economists warn that not everyone will benefit. Kara Gray and her husband, Christopher DeSure, spent years building their small Ohio construction company into a successful business. Then the pandemic shut them down, and, having a daughter at home with a compromised immune system, they haven’t felt comfortable returning to in-person work. With the housing market strong, Gray is confident they will be able to get back to work once the pandemic is over. But she worries they won’t be able to take full advantage of the boom. She and her husband were forced to spend the money they had set aside to buy a house, and have fallen behind on bills and run up credit card debt. That could make it hard for them to qualify for a mortgage or for a business loan to expand their company. “It’s going to affect me and my husband longer term,” she said. “It’s not just ‘Can I pay my bills this month?’ It’s that once this is over, I’m going to have to start all over.” Stories like Gray’s point to a challenge for policymakers. Standard economic statistics like the unemployment rate and gross domestic product could mask persistent challenges facing many families, particularly the Black and Hispanic workers who have borne the brunt of the pandemic’s economic pain. That could lead Congress to pull back on aid when it is still needed. “The risk is that within the aggregate data that look relatively encouraging, the stories of many, many households are going to get lost,” said David Wilcox, a former Fed economist who is now a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Still, for all its shortcomings, a boom may be the best chance many workers have to make up lost ground. The strong labor market that preceded the pandemic was delivering wage gains to low-income workers and giving opportunities to people with disabilities, criminal records and other barriers to employment. A quick drop in the unemployment rate won’t heal all the wounds caused by the pandemic, but it might at least stanch the bleeding. “Root for the boom,” Sinclair said. “But don’t count on the boom doing everything for us.”

On the post-pandemic horizon, could that be ... a boom?

Trading has been halted on the NSE due to technical glitches as the live price quotes of spot Nifty and Bank Nifty indexes are not updating on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The index is currently frozen at 14,820.45-level up 112.65 points or 0.77 per cent. &nbsp;Following this, the cash market price at the exchange is not getting updated.&nbsp;

"NSE has multiple telecom links with two service providers to ensure redundancy and we have received communication from both the telecom service providers that there are issues with their links due to which there is an impact on NSE system. We are working on restoring the systems as soon as possible," the NSE said.

The country`s other major stock exchange BSE, however, said it continues to have normal trading in all segments.

"The NSE outage is unfortunate, especially for this long. Global Exchanges should have adequate backups to ensure that even if there is an outage it`s restored fast," said Sandip Sabharwal, a Mumbai-based fund manager.

"Asian markets have seen a significant crash today and at such times price discovery real-time becomes even more important."

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) did not immediately respond to&nbsp;the NSE trading halt.

(With inputs from agencies)

Trading has been halted on the NSE due to technical glitches as the live price quotes of spot Nifty and Bank Nifty indexes are not updating on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Trading has been halted on the NSE due to technical glitches as the live price quotes of spot Nifty and Bank Nifty indexes are not updating on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The index is currently frozen at 14,820.45-level up 112.65 points or 0.77 per cent. Following this, the cash market price at the exchange is not getting updated. "NSE has multiple telecom links with two service providers to ensure redundancy and we have received communication from both the telecom service providers that there are issues with their links due to which there is an impact on NSE system. We are working on restoring the systems as soon as possible," the NSE said. The country`s other major stock exchange BSE, however, said it continues to have normal trading in all segments. "The NSE outage is unfortunate, especially for this long. Global Exchanges should have adequate backups to ensure that even if there is an outage it`s restored fast," said Sandip Sabharwal, a Mumbai-based fund manager. "Asian markets have seen a significant crash today and at such times price discovery real-time becomes even more important." Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) did not immediately respond to the NSE trading halt. (With inputs from agencies)

National Stock Exchange halts trading due to technical glitch

About 50% UK firms are eyeing up opening offices in the UK for the first time after being badly hit by Coronavirus pandemic. The firms are looking towards hiring new staff in order to resume the operations.

Over 50% UK firms plan to hire new staff

Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan on Monday said his forecast for 5% U.S. GDP growth this year.

Fed sees U.S. economy growing at least 5% this year

Stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty ended flat on Tuesday as gains in metal and energy stocks were capped by losses in banking and financial space. &nbsp;Broader markets, smallcap and midcap indices outperformed the benchmarks as they gained 1 per cent each.&nbsp;

A spurt in COVID-19 cases and lack of fresh buying triggers continued to weigh on sentiment, traders said.

After gyrating 667.46 points during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended just 7.09 points or 0.01 per cent higher at 49,751.41.

On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty settled 32.10 points or 0.22 per cent up at 14,707.80.

ONGC topped the Sensex gainers' chart, climbing 5.55 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, L&amp;T, UltraTech Cement, SBI, NTPC and Titan.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries rose 0.84 per cent after the company announced the contours of carving out of its oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business into an independent unit with a USD 25 billion loan from the parent, as it looks to unlock value by selling stakes to global investors like Saudi Aramco.

On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech and HDFC were among the laggards, sliding as much as 3.87 per cent.

World shares were mixed ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's semi-annual testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, where he is expected to underscore the Fed's dovish stance to boost growth.

"Domestic market got back on its feet during the morning trade supported by strong Asian market while negative waves from European peers outweighed the gains by the end of the day. The expectation of strong global recovery as prompted by rising international commodity prices helped the market but was tempered due to elevated bond yield and virus cases.

"Consequently, volatility has increased in the domestic front, but broad markets continue to be attracted with themes like mid and small caps, cyclicals, energy, PSUs, metals and industries," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.&nbsp;

BSE metal, realty, basic materials, oil and gas, capital goods, power and consumer durables indices rose up to 3.71 per cent, while bankex, finance and telecom closed with losses. 
Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices advanced up to 0.98 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Seoul ended on a negative note, while Hong Kong settled with gains.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading in the red in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.81 per cent higher at USD 64.88 per barrel.

The rupee slipped from the day's highest level but managed to eke out a marginal gain of 3 paise at 72.46 against the US dollar.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty ended flat on Tuesday as gains in metal and energy stocks were capped by losses in banking and financial space. Broader markets, smallcap and midcap indices outperformed the benchmarks as they gained 1 per cent each.

Stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty ended flat on Tuesday as gains in metal and energy stocks were capped by losses in banking and financial space. Broader markets, smallcap and midcap indices outperformed the benchmarks as they gained 1 per cent each. A spurt in COVID-19 cases and lack of fresh buying triggers continued to weigh on sentiment, traders said. After gyrating 667.46 points during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended just 7.09 points or 0.01 per cent higher at 49,751.41. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty settled 32.10 points or 0.22 per cent up at 14,707.80. ONGC topped the Sensex gainers' chart, climbing 5.55 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, L&T, UltraTech Cement, SBI, NTPC and Titan. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries rose 0.84 per cent after the company announced the contours of carving out of its oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business into an independent unit with a USD 25 billion loan from the parent, as it looks to unlock value by selling stakes to global investors like Saudi Aramco. On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech and HDFC were among the laggards, sliding as much as 3.87 per cent. World shares were mixed ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's semi-annual testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, where he is expected to underscore the Fed's dovish stance to boost growth. "Domestic market got back on its feet during the morning trade supported by strong Asian market while negative waves from European peers outweighed the gains by the end of the day. The expectation of strong global recovery as prompted by rising international commodity prices helped the market but was tempered due to elevated bond yield and virus cases. "Consequently, volatility has increased in the domestic front, but broad markets continue to be attracted with themes like mid and small caps, cyclicals, energy, PSUs, metals and industries," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. BSE metal, realty, basic materials, oil and gas, capital goods, power and consumer durables indices rose up to 3.71 per cent, while bankex, finance and telecom closed with losses. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices advanced up to 0.98 per cent. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Seoul ended on a negative note, while Hong Kong settled with gains. Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading in the red in mid-session deals. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.81 per cent higher at USD 64.88 per barrel. The rupee slipped from the day's highest level but managed to eke out a marginal gain of 3 paise at 72.46 against the US dollar. (With inputs from agencies)

Sensex ends flat with a positive bias, Nifty holds 14,700; metals outshine, banks underperform

Domestic stock market Sensex and Nifty traded with heavy losses dragged by selling in PSU banks and auto stocks. Broader markets, Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 indices traded lower. Gains were witnessed only in metal stocks.

The BSE Sensex fell to 50,160.17 levels, down 737.31 points and the Nifty gave up the 15,000 level, dropping 198.15 points or 1.30% to 14,784.25. &nbsp;shortly after reclaiming it in the opening deals.&nbsp;

IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Auto, Larsen &amp; Toubro, PowerGrid, and HDFC were all down over 1 per cent.

L&amp;T was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 2 per cent, followed by M&amp;M, Dr Reddy's, Maruti, HDFC, TCS and Bajaj Auto.

On the other hand, ONGC, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Infosys were among the gainers.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 434.93 points or 0.85 per cent lower at 50,889.76, and Nifty gave up the 15,000 level, dropping 137.20 points or 0.91 per cent to 14,981.75.&nbsp;

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Seoul were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals, while Hong Kong and Tokyo were in the red.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.06 per cent higher at USD 62.80 per barrel.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Domestic stock market Sensex and Nifty traded with heavy losses dragged by selling in PSU banks and auto stocks. Broader markets, Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 indices traded lower.

Domestic stock market Sensex and Nifty traded with heavy losses dragged by selling in PSU banks and auto stocks. Broader markets, Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 indices traded lower. Gains were witnessed only in metal stocks. The BSE Sensex fell to 50,160.17 levels, down 737.31 points and the Nifty gave up the 15,000 level, dropping 198.15 points or 1.30% to 14,784.25. shortly after reclaiming it in the opening deals. IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Auto, Larsen & Toubro, PowerGrid, and HDFC were all down over 1 per cent. L&T was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 2 per cent, followed by M&M, Dr Reddy's, Maruti, HDFC, TCS and Bajaj Auto. On the other hand, ONGC, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Infosys were among the gainers. In the previous session, Sensex ended 434.93 points or 0.85 per cent lower at 50,889.76, and Nifty gave up the 15,000 level, dropping 137.20 points or 0.91 per cent to 14,981.75. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Seoul were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals, while Hong Kong and Tokyo were in the red. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.06 per cent higher at USD 62.80 per barrel. (With inputs from agencies)

Sensex sinks over 700 points, Nifty around 14,780