Business news live: IMF cuts Asia’s growth forecast

Today’s agenda:

Oil slips from its seven-hear high. Futures in New York traded below $83 a barrel after climbing more than 3% over the past four sessions. China’s new home prices stalled amid the government’s sustained crackdown on speculative investment.

Earnings results from consumer goods makers Procter & Gamble Co and Danone SA show higher costs and supply chain disruptions, signalling more margin pressure for global firms and higher prices for shoppers.

In India, the government has constituted an expert group to develop a proposal for a comprehensive tax policy for all tobacco products. Shares of ITC, India’s top tobacco products maker, tanked 6.23% in yesterday’s trading session.

Domestic coal situation at thermal projects improve as less than 4-day coal-stock dips to 58 on Monday, from 69 a week ago. – John Xavier

Please read our live blog for more news on world economy, corporations and markets

10:58 A.M.

IMF cuts Asia’s growth forecast

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded economic growth in Asia due to Covid-19 and warned that U.S. financial tightening to combat inflation may negatively impact the region.

“The increase in inflation in Asia, however, has been more subdued than in other regions so far. But the risk is rising,” Changyong Rhee, IMF Director of the Asia Pacific Department, said.

The fund expects Asia’s economy to grow by 6.5% in 2021, compared with its April forecast for a 7.6% expansion, it said. India is expected to expand 9.5% this year. China, the world’s second largest economy, will grow by 8% this year and 5.6% in 2022.

10:05 A.M.

IMF chief economist Gopinath to return to Harvard

International Monetary Fund announced that Gita Gopinath, the fund’s chief economist, will return to Harvard in January 2022 as planned when her public service leave ends.

“Gita’s contribution to the Fund and our membership has been truly remarkable —quite simply, her impact on the IMF’s work has been tremendous,” IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva, said.

Gopinath, who made history as the first female chief economist of the fund, co-authored the “Pandemic Paper” on how to end the COVID-19 pandemic that set globally endorsed targets for vaccinating the world.

“Gita also won the respect and admiration of colleagues in the Research Department, across the Fund, and throughout the membership for leading analytically rigorous work and policy-relevant projects with high impact and influence,” Georgieva said.

9:18 A.M.

Asian markets update | Sensex opens

Indian indices opened higher amid positive global cues after snapping their seven-session rising streak yesterday and closing with marginal losses. The BSE Sensex opened at 61,800.07, up 84.02 points, while the NSE Nifty opened at 18,439.90, up 21.15 points.

Sensex touched its lifetime high of 62,245.43 during the previous session, and Nifty hit a new intra-day record of 18,604.45 yesterday.

Shares in Asia-Pacific advanced following a rally in Wall Street as investors bet on a positive corporate earnings season.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3%, and Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.42%. South Korea’s Kospi opened at 3,043.13, marginally higher than its previous close. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 0.66%.

In U.S., the S&P 500 rose 0.74% to 4,519.63, the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.71% to 15,129.09, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.56% to 35,457.31.

 

—-  Edited by John Xavier

 

(With inputs from Reuters, PTI and other news agencies.)

For all the latest business News Click Here 

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! TechAI is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.