Market Roundup: US markets were closed on Monday. Gold +0.03% to $1691. London+0.43%. Germany +0.61%. France +0.57%. Asian markets trading flat.
India on Monday raised the import duty on gold to 6% from 4%, stepping up efforts to curb the import of the yellow metal. Government also proposed to link gold exchange-traded funds or ETFs and the gold deposit schemes of banks to encourage investors to use existing gold stock in the domestic market. This step will help country to lower the current-account deficit. [stockquote]GOLDBEES[/stockquote] (MINT)
Housing Development Finance Corporation [stockquote]HDFC[/stockquote] may have missed analysts’ estimates, but a 16% year-on-year rise in its net profit in the quarter to December 2012 was backed by a spurt in loan growth, mostly from the retail segment, and its robust asset quality. Loan growth has been strong, with the individual loan book growing by 31% from a year ago, after adding the loans sold. (ET)
Spanish exports fell 0.6 percent in November from the same month the previous year, when they had risen 7.4 percent. Officials predict the euro-area’s fourth-biggest economy faces a further slump this year at a time when the government will struggle to meet its budget goals. It is expected that the toll on economic output may have kept as many as 6 million people out of work. Data expected on Thursday. (Bloomberg)
Total loans restructured by Indian banks under the so-called corporate debt restructuring (CDR) route crossed Rs.2 trillion in December. In the October-December quarter, banks restructured Rs.24,584 crore of loans, up from Rs.19,544 crore they recast in the previous quarter, to reach Rs.2.12 trillion. Many analysts suspect that 25-30% of the restructured loans may turn bad unless there is a significant revival in the economy. (MINT)
