Rupee appreciates 6 paise to 67.15/$ on weak US data

NEW DELHI: The rupee rose 6 paise to 67.15 against the US dollar in early trade as dollar following weak US jobs and consumer price inflation data released overnight.

The domestic currency had declined 6 paise to settle at 67.21 on Thursday on fag-end dollar demand from banks and importers.

Data released overnight showed claims for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 11 increased by 13,000 to 277,000 compared with 264,000 a week ago.

Another data showed consumer prices rose 0.2 per cent in May. This was lower than 0.3 per cent expected by analysts. This put the dollar under pressure. Meanwhile, dollar also weakened after campaigns for EU referendum were suspended in the UK following the killing of a UK lawmaker Jo Cox.

The British MP was shot dead in the street in northern England, causing the temporary suspension of campaigning for next week's referendum on EU membership, Reuters reported.

The d ollar index, which tracks the movement of dollar against a basket of six major world currencies, fell 0.18 per cent to 94.40. Asian currencies were trading largely mixed for the day.

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First time in 48 years, PPF rate could fall below 8%

NEW DELHI : For the first time since the Public Provident Fund was established in 1968, the interest rate on the government-managed saving scheme could fall below 8%. Interest rates on small savings schemes, including the PPF and the Senior Citizens' Saving Scheme, are linked to the government bond yields and are revised every three months. The last interest rate revision on 19 March saw the PPF rate being cut 60 basis points from 8.7% to 8.1%.
Now, given that the average 10-year benchmark bond yield has been nearly 7.5% between March and May, analysts believe the rate for PPF could be cut to 7.75%. "The PPF rate is 25 basis points higher than the 10-year benchmark bond yield. So it could be revised to 7.75% for the next quarter," says Manoj Nagpal, CEO of Outlook Asia Capital. If the PPF rate is indeed cut by 25-35 basis points, this would be the first time that the scheme will give less than 8% in its 48-year history.
However, some experts believe that despite the decline in bond yields, the government will not cut the small savings rate in this quarter. "Given the furore over the rate cut in March, the government may not want to alienate the middle class before the assembly elections in 2017," says a mutual fund manager.




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'BUY' or 'SELL' ideas from experts for Friday, 17 June 2016.

Union Bank ofBSE -0.67 % India is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 133 and a stop loss of Rs 124

WiproBSE 0.16 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 568 and a stop loss of Rs 539

Reliance CapitalBSE 0.58 % is a 'SELL' call with a target of Rs 358 and a stop loss of Rs 410

Century TextilesBSE 0.21 % is a 'SELL' call with a target of Rs 605 and a stop loss of Rs 626

GAIL IndiaBSE 0.51 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 397 and a stop loss of Rs 370

InfosysBSE -0.56 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 1211 and a stop loss of Rs 1165

NMDCBSE 0.43 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 98 and a stop loss of Rs 91

IDBI is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 76 and a stop loss of Rs 68.50

McLeod RusselBSE 3.21 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 203 and a stop loss of Rs 188

PidiliteBSE 1.80 % Inddustries is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 735 and a stop loss of Rs 690

WiproBSE 0.26 % is a 'BUY' call with a target of Rs 568 and a stop loss of Rs 539

Reliance CapitalBSE 0.72 % is a 'SELL' call with a target of Rs 358 and a stop loss of Rs 410.

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India's Best Stock Broker: COMMODITIES

India's Best Stock Broker: COMMODITIES: CRUDE OIL : Oil futures fell as concerns on Europe's demand for the commodity rose with Greece failing to reach an agreement with its...

COMMODITIES

CRUDE OIL: Oil futures fell as concerns on Europe's demand for the commodity rose with Greece failing to reach an agreement with its European lenders on Thursday. This increased the chances of a potential Greece debt default to the IMF. Concerns over a supply glut emerging in the refined products segment lingered a day after the release of US reports that showed inventories of gasoline to have increased unexpectedly by 680,000 in the week ended Jun 19.
--NYMEX Aug futures (a barrel): $59.70 Thursday vs $60.27 Wednesday

GOLD: Gold futures fell for the fifth straight session on the outlook
that the US dollar will strengthen in the days to come. Upbeat data from the US supported expectations of a hike in US interest
rates in September. Further, market players analysed the Greece debt situation with the cash-strapped country failing to reach an agreement with its lenders on Thursday. Concerns arose that if Greece failed to secure financial aid by midnight Jun 30 then it may default on its debt repayment to the IMF. This pointed at further dollar strengthening.
--COMEX Aug futures (a troy ounce): $1,171.80 Thursday vs $1,172.90 Wednesday.

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Market

Call : Seen opening slightly above RBI's repo rate on likely demand to meet mandatory reserve needs. 1-day Call. 7.60% vs 6.65-6.75% Tue.

Bonds : May track oil, US yields at open. May take cues from new 2023 bond in when issued trade.10-year bond yield: 7.76-7.81% vs 7.77% Tue.

Rupee : Seen steady to tad down. May eye Asian units, euro. Exporters' dollar sales may continue. Range: 62.6500-63.0500/$1 vs 62.85/$1 Tue.

Stocks: Seen falling further on concerns over MAT, passage of land bill Nifty range: 8300-8450, Tuesday-end: 8377.75, down 70.35 points.

CURRENCIES

EUR/USD: The euro was trading lower against the US dollar as market participants grew increasingly risk averse due to Greek debt default concerns. However, the euro derived some support from media reports that said Greece may have reached an agreement with its creditors regarding its debt settlement.

--$1.0728 per euro today vs $1.0737 Tuesday; $1.0738 Monday

USD/JPY: The Japanese yen was trading marginally higher against the US dollar on the back of robust trade data, which showed the economy posted its first trade surplus in three years.

--119.66 yen per $1 today vs 119.68 Tuesday; 119.24 Monday

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