NRI INVESTMENTS FLOW TO REALTY

Property developers are expecting a 35 per cent surge in real estate enquiries from NRIs, with Bangalore turning out to be the hot favourite, says an Assocham survey. To tap the growing interest which comes at a time when the global economy is stabilising and India is showing strong signs of revival, real estate companies are pulling out all stops by conducting property shows, exhibitions and opening overseas representative offices. Developers are also expanding their existing distribution chains and entering into strategic partnerships to encourage investors from this cash-rich segment, it said. The survey was conducted among nearly 850 real estate developers in Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Dehradun and Chennai etc. Bangalore is the most favourite property investment destination for NRIs, followed by Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Goa, Delhi and Dehradun, it added. The enquiries are primarily coming from NRIs residing in UAE, the US, Singapore, Australia, the UK, Canada and South Africa. This year, the demand is more for the high-end property and commercial buildings, according to developers. "With the revival in global economy, especially in the United States and Europe, people are more optimistic and looking for property to invest in. "Both small and big developers are focusing on the NRI base in the US, the UK and Asia Pacific region this year," said Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat. As per the findings of the survey, Ahemdabad (32 per cent) continues to be the most stable market in terms of demand and absorption of both residential and commercial spaces. NRIs consider Ahmedabad as a safe place to invest in, with lenient government regulations for property investments. Pune takes the 3rd place (30.5 per cent), whereas Chennai (28 per cent) assumes 4th position and Goa (23 per cent) is at 5th position. In Delhi, there has been a 21 per cent rise in enquiries this year as opposed to last year from this segment and the majority of them have been for the residential segment. Catering to the growing demand among high-end segment, Delhi has also emerged among promising markets for real estate, the survey added.

OIL SLUMPS TO 2 YEAR LOW

Global oil prices hit a two-year low today after the International Energy Agency cut its forecasts for world demand, with the market also weighed down by plentiful supplies, analysts said. In earlier London trade, Brent North Sea crude for October sank to USD 96.72 per barrel -- the lowest point since July 2, 2012. And US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October delivery slid to USD 90.43 -- a level last seen on May 1, 2013. "Oil prices were lower again on ample supply and soft global demand," said CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler. Brent oil later stood at USD 97.48, down 56 cents from Wednesday's close, while WTI rebounded slightly to USD 91.91, up 24 cents. The market has forged a series of multi-month lows this week on the back of abundant global crude supplies and gloomy demand growth forecasts. Prices plumbed the latest troughs today after the Paris-based IEA, which advises on energy policy to industrialised nations, cut its global oil demand outlook, citing weaker economic growth in both Europe and China. The IEA trimmed its estimate for oil demand this year to growth of 1.0 percent, or 900,000 barrels per day (bpd), from a previous estimate of 1.1 per cent or 1.0 million bpd. That takes total demand for the year to 92.6 million bdp. The news followed broadly similar demand forecast downgrades this week from both the US government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). "Oil demand growth (is) slowing at 'remarkable' pace, the International Energy Agency has said in its monthly report today," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. "This the final of monthly reports from the big three... (on) same theme as what has been said by the EIA and OPEC this week." Falling oil prices have sparked market speculation that crude producer group OPEC could call an emergency meeting to halt the slide. However, cartel member Kuwait said today there was no need to call such a meeting. "So far, we are confident that prices have not dropped to the extent that makes us call for an emergency meeting," Oil Minister Ali al-Omair told reporters.

NIFTY OUTLOOK FOR 15 & REVIEW

ZIGZAG MOVEMENTS WITH BETTER MID SESSION

Nifty                               8106    +20

Nifty traded in a narrow and choppy fashion and closed with a gain for the day and for the week too. Nifty closed above 8100 mark once again. Nifty spot is expected to encounter resistance at 8145, 8180 and find support at 8065, 8030 for Monday. While Global cues  and  Funds flow  are expected to broadly guide the market movement, based on the present market position, market can be expected to trade in a zigzag manner with better mid session.

SENSEX REGAIN 27000 MARK

Markets today snapped a three-day losing run with Sensex rising 65 points to reclaim 27,000-mark and Nifty gaining 20 points to end above 8,100-level on buying in select bluechips ahead of IIP and retail inflation data. Both benchmark indices also logged their fifth straight weekly rise -- one of the longest string of wins in 12 months. Traders said activity was choppy as some participants exercised caution ahead of macroeconomic data releases. Mixed global cues also capped gains, they added. Select pharma, consumer durable, auto and FMCG stocks were in demand while power, capital goods, realty and metal shares attracted profit-booking. Smart rise mainly in ITC, Cipla, HDFC and Maruti Suzuki shares aided the rebound. Laggards included Hindalco, Sun Pharma, RIL, NTPC, L&T, Infosys, ICICI Bank and Coal India. The 30-share BSE Sensex moved in 131-point range, before settling above 27K-level at 27,061.04 -- a rise of 65.17 points or 0.24 per cent. In previous three days, it had fallen by 323.98 points or 1.19 per cent. On a weekly basis, Sensex logged its fifth straight rise as it inched up 34.30 points. The wide-based 50-issue CNX Nifty of the NSE also recovered by 19.80 points, or 0.24 per cent, to regain 8,100-mark as it closed at 8,105.50. It had shed over 88 points in previous three days. On a weekly basis, Nifty also logged its fifth straight rise as it inched up 19 points.

OUTLOOK FOR NIFTY ON 12 & REVIEW

CAUTION @ HIGHER LEVELS

Nifty                               8086    -8

Nifty opened better but fell sharply after the opening hour and recovered most of the lost ground to close with minor negative bias. While Nifty has been subdued, broader market is positive with Advance Decline ratio at about 2:!. Nifty spot is expected to encounter resistance at 8125, 8170 and find support at 8045, 8010 for Friday. Nifty’s bullishness would be reinforced only when it crosses 8185. While Global cues  and  Funds flow  are expected to broadly guide the market movement, based on the present market position, market can be expected to face selling at higher levels before noon .

SENSEX FALLS BELOW 27K

Falling for third day, Sensex today slid about 62 points to end at 26,995.87, its weakest level in nearly two weeks, on caution due to lingering worries over early Fed rate hikes and after US President Barack Obama promised to destroy militants in oil producers Syria and Iraq. A heavy sell-off mainly in Sun Pharma, ONGC and Coal India led the BSE benchmark to end below 27,000-mark. In three straight sessions, Sensex has now lost nearly 324 points after hitting record highs on Monday. Similarly, the broader 50-issue CNX Nifty of the NSE eased 8.40 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 8,085.70 -- its lowest close since 8,083.05 on September 2. Jittery global markets, already spooked by earlier than expected US Fed interest rate hike talk, became nervous after Obama's vow. The US President today promised to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State (IS) as he announced a major expansion of the military campaign, including American airstrikes in Syria and deployment of 475 more military advisers to Iraq, to achieve this goal. Weak Asian as well as European cues ahead of US jobless claims data and China's subdued inflation last month too weighed negatively on domestic sentiment, brokers said. Leading the laggards in 30-share Sensex, Sun Pharma tanked 4.3 per cent down on reports of a surprise inspection by US drug regulator at its Halol plant in Gujarat. Coal India shares fell 3.53 per cent on speculation government will sell a portion of shares at a discount to market price. Yesterday, CCEA cleared stake dilution in Coal India, ONGC and NHPC via OFS route. ONGC slid 3.58 per cent. Overall, 16 Sensex stocks declined while 14 led by SBI, Infosys, RIL, Axis Bank, BHEL, GAIL and Maruti ended up. The Indian market is now looking forward to a bunch of macroeconomic data --CPI, WPI and industrial production-- to be announced tomorrow and early next week for further cues. The rupee, however, appeared to be rebounding from 1-month lows of 60.95 against US dollar and was last trading at 60.77 levels on good selling of the greenback. 

 

MF EXPOSURE TO BANK STOCKS AT RECORD HIGH

Mutual fund (MF) managers raised their exposure in bank stocks to all-time high of over Rs 56,600 crore in August, making it the seventh consecutive monthly rise in capital infusion. According to the latest data available with Securities and Exchange Board of India, MF investments in bank stocks reached Rs 56,625 crore as on August 31, accounting for 20.10 per cent of their total equity assets under management (AUMs) of Rs 2.81 lakh crore. Since January, MFs have been raising their exposure to banking shares.
Software was the second most preferred sector with MFs, with an exposure of Rs 29,668 crore, followed by pharma (Rs 19,394 crore), auto (Rs 17,754 crore) and finance (Rs 15,116 crore). At current levels, the MF industry has the highest exposure to banking sector since August 2009. Data is not available for sector-wise exposure before August 2009, when the equity funds had deployed Rs 22,587 crore (12.73 per cent) in banking shares.
The previous high was in July this year when investment in the sector rose to Rs 55,086 crore. Mutual funds are investment vehicles made up of a pool of funds collected from a large number of investors. MFs invest in stocks, bonds, money market instruments and similar assets.
According to market participants, MFs have been showing interest in banking stocks since the beginning of the year amid rising equity market.
They believe that the ongoing market rally might see mutual fund assets getting diversified. Meanwhile, the BSE Bankex and the benchmark Sensex witnessed a surge of around three per cent in August. This year has seen a consistent growth in investment in banking stocks by equity fund mangers and fund infusion has grown from Rs 30,339 crore in January to Rs 56,625 crore in August.
In percentage term, exposure has risen from 16.6 per cent to 20.10 per cent during the period.

 

ICICI FUND TRANSFER THROU MOBILE NUMBER

ICICI Bank today launched a facility under which an account holder with it can transfer money to a mobile phone user in the country even without the latter having an account with any bank.
A customer having a savings account with the country's largest private lender can initiate a fund transfer using online banking by giving only the mobile number and address of the beneficiary, ICICI Bank said in a statement here. For availing of funds under the 'Cardless Cash Withdrawal' scheme, the beneficiary need not have an account with any bank, it said.
A secure six-digit code gets sent to the mobile number of the beneficiary, who can withdraw the amount from any of the bank's 10,000 ATMs, using that number, it said. The money has to be withdrawn within two days of the transfer. "We foresee tremendous growth potential in the usage of electronic payments. This innovative service will further empower our customers as well as their families and friends by giving access to instant money even without having a bank account or a debit card," ICICI Bank Executive Director Rajiv Sabharwal said.

NIFTY OUTLOOK FOR 11 & REVIEW

MID SESSION BETTER

Nifty                               8094    -59

Nifty opened lower and traded with further down side bias and closed below 8100 mark. Stop loss for Nifty long positions  may be enhanced to  8075 (on close basis).  Nifty spot is expected to encounter resistance at 8135, 8180 and find support at 8055, 8020 for Thursday. Nifty’s bullishness would be reinforced only when it crosses 8185. While Global cues  and  Funds flow  are expected to broadly guide the market movement, based on the present market position, market can be expected to be  better in midsession and remain steady towards close.

MULTI NATIONAL FIRMS PURCHASE OFFICE SPACE

Multi-national firms have invested nearly Rs 2,500 crore in under three years to buy office space in India as against leasing it, property consultant Cushman & Wakefield said. "Multinational companies are increasingly investing through purchasing offices in India... There is a seismic shift in the traditional approach of leasing space that such companies have had for years while considering overseas investment," C&W said in a statement. With rising rents in prime markets where MNCs operate, the consultant said that there is cost benefit in the long term in buying office spaces rather taking on lease. According to the report, "foreign MNCs contributed 43 per cent to the total sales value of commercial offices" during January 2012 and March 2014. During this period, the total sales value of office space was Rs 5,730 crore, of which MNCs contributed Rs 2,470 crore, it said, adding that MNCs in the BFSI, ITES, FMCG & Pharma sectors were among the lead commercial office buyers. Among major office deals, the consultant said the Citibank India bought 0.3 million sq ft office space for Rs 1,110 crore in Mumbai and Bayer group purchased 0.16 million sq ft for Rs 130 crore in Mumbai. GlaxoSmithKline bought office space worth Rs 140 crore in Delhi-NCR and Cognizant acquired office in Hyderabad for Rs 110 crore. C&W Executive Managing Director, South Asia Sanjay Dutt said: "Companies that have established operations in India and are confident of their projections and potentials in the country are now tailoring their real estate requirement so that they can be more cost-effective. "Companies in specific sectors such as pharma and IT&ITes are looking to consolidate their research and development divisions with their front-end divisions in a single set-up and are looking for assets to purchase as it proves to be a cost effective strategy for companies." The consultant noted that buying office space proves to be cost beneficial in long term as rents have been increasing every year from 2011 to 2013 in most of the prime markets where MNCs have typically leased office spaces. "Capital values have also increased moderately during the period. Hence, companies stand to gain financially if they decide to deploy capital to acquire the spaces they occupy," C&W said.

WEALTHY INDIANS PREFER 2nd HOME IN LONDON

India's multi-millionaires prefer to buy their second homes in leading global financial centres, including London, New York and Singapore, says a report.
According to a report by New World Wealth, the bulk of London's second home buyers come from the rest of the UK and Europe and a substantial number also came from China, India, Russia and the Middle East.
A large number of New York's second home buyers also come from the UK, Europe, China, Russia, Brazil and India.
Similarly, major second home buyers in Singapore are from India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
As many as 22,300 multi-millionaires own a second home in London. This is in addition to the 9,700 resident multi-millionaires living there.
"This means that during peak holiday months, London can be home to up to 32,000 multi-millionaires in total," the report said.
After London, New York City is in second place with 17,400 multi millionaires owing a second home there, followed by Hong Kong (14,800), Singapore (11,200) and Dubai (8,200).
According to the report, there are currently just over 13 million dollar millionaires in the world (as of June 2014) and round 495,000 of these individuals can be classified as multi-millionaires.
The study defines a millionaire (or HNWI) is an individual with net assets of USD 1 million or more, whilst a multi-millionaire is an individual with net assets of at least USD 10 million.
Other notable hotspots with 1,000 or more multi -millionaires with second homes include Las Vegas (USA), Lake Como (Italy), Aspen (USA), Pebble Beach, Monterey (USA), San Diego (USA), Cannes (France) and St Tropez (France).
Meanwhile, the top 30 cities in the world for resident multi-millionaires is topped by Hong Kong (15,400) followed by New York City (14,300) and London (9,700) respectively.
Mumbai is the only city on the list which was ranked in the 24th position and is home to 2,700 multi-millionaires.
This study is based on a sample of 4,500 global multi-millionaires that have second homes. It has gathered this information by tracking major residential prime property purchases over the past 10 years.

NIFTY OUTLOOK FOR NIFTY FOR 10 & REVIEW

CLOSING SESSION BETTER

Nifty                               8153    -21

Nifty opened lower and traded in a narrow range and appears to have corrected for the Monday’s smart rise. Stop loss for Nifty long positions  may be continued at 8050 (on close basis).  Nifty spot is expected to encounter resistance at 8190, 8235 and find support at 8115, 8080 for Wednesday. Nifty’s bullishness would be reinforced when it crosses 8185. While Global cues  and  Funds flow  are expected to broadly guide the market movement, based on the present market position, market can be expected to be  subdued in midsession and recover in the closing session. 

PROFIT BOOKING MOVE INDICES DOWN

Retreating from record highs, the Sensex and the Nifty today fell by about 54 points and 21 points respectively on profit-booking in recent out-performers like ICICI Bank, Infosys, L&T and ONGC, amid caution in view of the hearing of coal blocks case in the Supreme Court. The BSE Sensex, after shuttling between 27,328.27 and 27,177.09, ended with a loss of 54.53 points, or 0.20 per cent, to end at 27,265.32. Yesterday, the 30-share bluechip benchmark had ended at its all-time closing high of 27,319.85 after hitting intra-day high of 27,354.99. On similar lines, the NSE Nifty lost 20.95 points, or 0.26 per cent, to close at 8,152.95 after moving between 8,126.50 and 8,174.55. Its previous all-time closing high of 8,173.90 was hit yesterday after touching intra-day record high of 8,180.20. Marked losses in recent gainers like L&T, BHEL, and Axis Bank also weighed on the market sentiment. Selling was seen mostly across-the-board but shares like Cipla, Coal India, GAIL, Tata Motors, ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Power, Tata Steel, SBI and Bharti Airtel logged gains, thereby cushioning the fall to some extent. Out of the 30-share Sensex, 16 stocks closed with losses while 14 others finished higher. "Midcaps and small caps continued to attract buying. Recovery in global markets and easing crude oil prices further boosted market sentiment, but limited upsides due to profit booking and indecision at higher levels," said Rakesh Goyal, Senior Vice President, Bonanza Portfolio. The mood seems to be cautious as participants were seen keeping positions restricted in view of the hearing of coal blocks allocation case in the Supreme Court, brokers said. Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,162.98 crore yesterday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. Sectorally, the BSE Realty sector index suffered the most by losing 1.11 per cent, followed by IT index 0.82 per cent, Oil & gas index 0.49 per cent, Capital Goods index 0.43 per cent and Banking index 0.21 per cent. Bucking the trend, Consumer Durables index rose 1.75 per cent, FMCG index 0.86 per cent and Power index 0.59 per cent. Globally, trend in other Asian markets remained mixed and the European markets were weak in opening trade.

BUY ON TWITTER

Moving towards e-commerce, Twitter is now testing a "buy" button to help its users discover and buy products on the microblogging site. "This is an early step in our building functionality into Twitter to make shopping from mobile devices convenient and easy, hopefully even fun," Twitter Group Product Manager Tarun Jain said in a blog. He added that while users will get access to offers and merchandise that they cannot get anywhere else, sellers will gain a new way to turn the direct relationship they build with their followers into sales. "We’re not building this alone: we've partnered with Fancy (@fancy), Gumroad (@gumroad), Musictoday (@Musictoday) and Stripe (@stripe) as platforms for this initial test, with more partners to follow soon," he said. The facility, with some tweets from test partners featuring a "Buy" button letting users buy directly from the tweet, will be rolled out for a small percentage of users in the US users. This will grow over time, it added. "In our test, an entire purchase can be completed in just a few taps. After tapping the "Buy" button, you will get additional product details and be prompted to enter your shipping and payment information. Once that's entered and confirmed, your order information is sent to the merchant for delivery," Jain said. To ensure security, Jain said the payment and shipping information is encrypted and safely stored after the first transaction, so that users can easily buy on Twitter without having to re-enter information again. "Of course, you can always remove this information from your account. Your credit card is processed securely and won't be shared with the seller without your permission," he said. Twitter has partnered with artists, brands, and nonprofit organisations like Brad Paisley, Burberry, Eminem, The Home Depot and Pharrell, among others.