need2know: Seven macro triggers that market would watch today

India's millennial population is a massive disruptive force and driven by this supportive demographics along with government's policy action, Indian economy is likely to reach $5 trillion by 2025, says a report. India's $2.2 trillion economy makes it the seventh largest in the world in terms of nominal GDP (and the third largest in PPP terms), but the country's per capita income is less significant.

Meanwhile, the government has started preparing a roadmap for building 8,000 km of pavements and laying more cycle tracks in 106 cities in the next five years to promote walking and cycling and to reduce carbon footprint in urban areas. The scheme will involve investment worth nearly Rs 80,000 crore and will benefit about 22 crore urban population.


Here's a look at seven macro-economic triggers that may impact markets today

Govt to sell 5% stake in BEL today, aims to raise Rs 1,600 cr: The government will sell 5% of its stake in state-run defence major Bharat Electronics Ltd on Wednesday, officials said. The floor price has been fixed at Rs 1,498 per share, a discount of about 4% to BEL's closing price on February 20, which was Rs 1,559.95. The sale is expected to fetch the government Rs 1,600 crore. It will be through an offer for sale (OFS), which will be spread over two days--Wednesday will be reserved for institutional investors and Thursday for retail investors.The government holds 74.41% stake in BEL, which has a market cap of nearly Rs 35,000 crore.

Bengaluru pips London, tops JLL's global city rankings: Six Indian cities are featuring in a global index of 30 dynamic cities against five from China. At the top of JLL’s City Momentum Index 2017 sits Bangalore, India’s technology and outsourcing hub that has knocked global financial hotspot London off the perch the UK capital had tenaciously held on for two years. Hyderabad follows its southern neighbor at 5, while Pune at 13, Chennai at 18, Delhi at 23, and Mumbai at 25 constitute the rest of the Indian presence on the list.

RBI getting tough on loan defaulters: The Reserve Bank of India is proposing its toughest measures yet to recover loans from defaulters by prescribing December deadline for the loan restructuring of top 50 defaulters in a way that the assets turn viable and also in an environment where vigilance departments do not stifle the right economic outcome. Picking up from where former governor Raghuram Rajan left, Deputy Governor Acharya proposed setting up of two asset management companies, one private and the other quasi with government stake holding, and two rating agencies backing for valuation of stressed assets.

Tata Motors, VW partnership talks in advanced stage: Tata Motors, India’s largest automobile company by revenue, and Volkswagen Group, Europe’s largest car maker by volume, are said to be at an advanced stage of finalising a partnership that can have a wide-ranging impact on India and other emerging markets. Sharing vehicle architecture and technology is at the heart of the discussion. The companies are looking at sharing modular platforms for India and emerging markets.

Govt to push for global pact on easy work travel: India will make a pitch for a global agreement to make it easier to travel for work across borders at international fora like the G-20 and BRICS even as increasing protectionism in the West has unsettled the country's services industry. The commerce ministry plans to reach out to other countries and get potential partners to support its proposed paper on Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) that seeks to remove unnecessary regulations on trade in services.

Coca-Cola, IFC and DCM Shriram help farmers raise sugarcane yields in UP: Coca-Cola, World Bank’s private investment arm International Finance Corporation (IFC) and DCM Shriram have helped raise sugarcane yields in Uttar Pradesh, and corporate executives say the budget’s announcement of a model law on contract farming will help farmers significantly. The companies are already working in rural areas to get proper farm inputs, which helps farmers deal with poor soil health and water availability to increase productivity, executives said.

PE/VC investments down 6.3% in January: Private equity and venture capital investments in India touched $1.2 billion ( Rs 8,037 crore approximately) in January across 43 transactions, down 6.3 per cent in value terms over the year ago period, an EY report said. In terms of volume too, there was a 6.5 per cent decline, mainly due to a decline in number of growth or expansion funding and high value deals, with more than half the deals being less than $10 million each.


Forex and money markets remained closed yesterday, February 21, in view of Municipal Elections for Greater Mumbai.