As a bleak first quarter draws to a close, crypto seems to have the wind in its sails. It has pushed through the USD 2 trillion barrier and is proving surprisingly resilient amid global chaos.

 

At Monday’s high of USD 47,765, market leader bitcoin broke above the narrow USD 34,000-USD 44,000 range it’s traded in for most of 2022. Through a steady grind higher from a low just above USD 40,000 on March 21, it has gained 18 per cent.

Its comparative steadiness, versus previous performance at least, contrasts with stock markets, traditional currencies and even safe-haven gold, which have been shaken by the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as the Federal Reserve’s tightening.

Narayan Rane: MSME Ministry coming out with Global Market Intelligence System to support MSME exports

MSME Minister Narayan Rane on Tuesday said the government is coming out with a Global Market Intelligence System to support MSME exports. Speaking at a summit organised by the MSME Ministry and Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) on MSMEs’ competitiveness and growth, the minister called upon all the stakeholders of the MSME ecosystem to charting out a roadmap for strengthening the competitiveness of the sector.

“Our focus is towards providing easy credit, better technology support, and access to the export market. We want our MSMEs to become competitive and grow in the era of globalisation,” Rane said.  

We are all looking for places to hide in this market, says Ashwini Agarwal of Ashmore Investment

Ashwini Agarwal, co-founder and portfolio manager at Ashmore Investment Management, is focusing on preservation of capital rather than appreciating it as he believes that the current market remains difficult.

In a conversation with CNBC-TV18, Agarwal said he is looking for places to hide instead of buying as he worries not so much about the upside as he does for the downside in the current market.

 

Domestic investors are battling macroeconomic risks from several fronts including the geopolitical crisis in Eastern Europe, a surge in inflation, monetary policy tightening by global central banks, and incessant selling by foreign portfolio investors.

While domestic benchmark indices are currently less than seven percent away from their record highs, they had tanked close to 15 percent earlier this month from the all-time highs hit in October 2021 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Agarwal is of the view that the upcoming March quarter earnings may not turn out to be as good as investors had hoped for earlier this year given the sharp rise in global commodity prices in the past month led by crude oil and likely slowdown in global demand.

That said, Agarwal believes that the market is throwing opportunities for those that indulge in bottom-up stock picking given the steep correction in stocks over the past four-to-five months. The asset manager sees information technology, financial services, and telecom as good sectors given the limited impact of ongoing macroeconomic risks on their earnings.

He sees a tailwind for the IT sector from the recent depreciation in the rupee against the dollar which could cushion the blow to their margins from wage hikes to some extent. For financial services, Agarwal sees no risk from higher credit costs and believes banks could be beneficiaries of higher interest rates in the short term if the Reserve Bank of India were to raise rates.

Pharma industry in a sweet spot after market correction:Business news

The Nifty Pharma index has declined 4.65% in the year so far as market volatility and raw material prices surged following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but analysts believe that a large part of the concerns have been priced in, and the sector is expected to fare better in the coming quarters.

Pharmaceuticals | FDAnews

Tata Motors says high battery cell costs increasing short-term pressure:News

Tata Motors, India’s top-selling electric carmaker, said the cost of battery cells had increased by around 20% because of a global surge in raw material prices, mainly lithium, putting pressure on the company in the short-term.

Ruchi Soya lodges FIR against unsolicited SMSes asking for investment in FPO:News

Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd has lodged an FIR in Haridwar to investigate circulation of unsolicited messages regarding the company’s 4,300 crore follow-on public offer (FPO).

Booming wheat exports from India to help ease global shortage

 In a world where people are concerned more than ever about food shortages and rising inflation, India’s warehouses are brimming over with grain and the country’s farmers are gearing up for yet another record harvest.

Wheat output, supplies and use will be lower in 2020-21 | 2020-05-12 | Food  Business News