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Rising Bank Credit and Deposits, Gold Imports in 2019, and Top Cues in Focus Today
Mon, 6 Jan Pre-Open

India share markets ended on a negative note on Friday.

At the closing bell on Friday, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 162 points (down 0.4%) and the NSE Nifty stood down by 55 points (down 0.5%).

The BSE Mid Cap index ended down 0.5%, while the BSE Small Cap index stood flat.

Stocks in the power sector and auto sector witnessed huge selling pressure, while IT stocks were trading in the green.

Speaking of Indian share markets, as the divergence between the Sensex and Small cap index widens, Richa Agarwal answers why small cap rebound is just around the corner and why this could be the right opportunity to buy quality small cap stocks.

Tune in to find out more...

Top Stocks in Focus Today

From the airlines sector, InterGlobe Aviation share price will be in focus today as the company said a meeting of shareholders will be convened on January 29 to seek approval for certain changes in the company's articles of association.

From the finance sector, shares of IIFL Securities will also be in focus today. The stock of the company were locked in 5% upper circuit limit yesterday after ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala acquired a stake in the company.

According to the BSE bulk deal data, Jhunjhunwala bought 2.7 million shares of IIFL Securities on Thursday at an average price of Rs 42.83 per share.

India's Gold Imports Fall in 2019

India's gold imports in 2019 fell 12% from a year ago to the lowest level in three years. This was seen as retail buying faltered in the second half after local prices rallied to a record high.

As per the numbers, India imported 831 tonnes of gold in 2019, down from 944 tonnes a year ago. In value terms, 2019 imports fell nearly 2% to US$ 31.22 billion.

Note that lower buying by the world's second biggest consumer of the precious metal could weigh on global prices that jumped 18% in 2019. It could, however, help bring down the trade deficit and support the rupee.

In global markets, gold prices have climbed to a four-month high of US$ 1,540.48 per ounce amid tensions in the Middle East.

Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and top Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed in the air strike on their convoy at Baghdad airport.

Gold is considered a safe store of value during times of economic or political uncertainty.

What effect the middle east conflicts have on gold in the coming days remains to be seen. We will keep you updated on all the developments from this space.

Bank Credit and Deposits Grow in December

According to the latest Reserve Bank data, banks' credit and deposits grew by 7.1% and 10.1% to Rs 99.5 trillion and Rs 130.1 trillion in the fortnight ended December 20.

In the year-ago fortnight, banks' advances stood at Rs 92.9 trillion, while deposits were at Rs 118.2 trillion.

In the previous fortnight ended December 6, credit had grown by 7.9% to Rs 99.3 trillion and deposits had increased by 10.3% to Rs 131.1 trillion.

On a year-on-year basis, banks' credit growth slowed to 7.2% to Rs 86.7 trillion in November 2019 from 13.8% increase to Rs 80.9 trillion in the year-ago period.

Loans to industry growth fell to 2.4% to Rs 27.7 trillion in November from 4% in the corresponding month of 2018.

During the month, credit to agriculture and allied activities slowed to 6.5% from 7.7% last year.

Advances to the services sector decelerated sharply to 4.8% from 28.1% last year. Personal loans grew at a marginally lower rate of 16.4% in November 2019 as compared to 17.2% earlier, according to the RBI data.

Rating agency ICRA in a recent report said credit expansion may plummet to a six-decade low of 6.5-7% in 2019-20 compared to 13.3% in the previous financial year.

It would be interesting to see how this trend pans out in the coming months. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on all the developments from this space.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

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