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Business EYE MAY 14, 2021 | The Indian Eye 36

economy & receding Covid-19 wave:

Market surges, profits rise and inflation soars

Airtel added 14.1 million subscribers during the first three months of 2021,

Reliance Jio added 15.4 million net subscribers in the quarter as of March 31

Our Bureau terconnect usage charge, the
amount paid by a telco to an-
New Delhi other when its users make voice

nvestors’ wealth on Mon- calls to subscribers of the other
day jumped Rs 3,03,725.89 network, went to zero on Janu-
Icrore as equity markets ral- ary 1. Bharti Airtel’s EBITDA
lied on increased buying. The margin improved to 48.9% in
BSE benchmark index zoomed its fourth quarter from 42.4% a
848.18 points or 1.74 per cent to year earlier.
close at 49,580.73. On the economy front, the
wholesale price-based inflation
Following the market cap- shot up to an all-time high of
10.49 per cent in April, on rising
italization of the Bse-list- prices of crude oil and manu-

ed companies at the factured items. Also, a low base
of April last year contributed to
close of trade jumped rs the spike in inflation in April

3,03,725.89 crore to rs 2021. The WPI inflation was
7.39 per cent in March 2021,
2,13,64,459.08 crore. The markets are having a good time as the virus becomes less dangerous and (-) 1.57 per cent in April
2020.
“Domestic equities wit- BSE Sensex rising nearly 850 ing trends. The country’s sec- This is the fourth straight
nessed strong rebound today points led by gains in bank- ond-largest telecom operator month of uptick seen in the
as robust Q4FY21 earnings ing stocks. Sensex zoomed 848 posted a consolidated profit of wholesale price index (WPI)-
and early sign of decline in the points or 1.74 per cent to close Rs 759 crore ($103.62 million) based inflation. “In April, 2021
second wave of daily caseload at 49,581; while the broader for the quarter ended March (over April, 2020), the annual
bolstered investors’ confidence. NSE Nifty moved 245 points or 31, compared with a loss of Rs rate of inflation (YoY), based
A strong recovery in financials 1.67 per cent higher to settle at 5,237 crore a year earlier. on monthly WPI, stood at 10.49
followed by auto and metals 14,923. New Delhi-based Bharti per cent. “The annual rate of
supported market’s rally today,” “The decline in the speed of Airtel’s revenue from opera- inflation in April 2021, is high
said Binod Modi, Head Strate- new cases is helping domestic tions for the quarter was Rs primarily because of rise in
gy, Reliance Securities. markets,” Narendra Solanki, 25,747 crore, nearly 12% higher prices of crude petroleum, min-
In the broader market, the head of equity research (fun- from Rs 23,019 crore the previ- eral oils viz petrol, diesel etc.,
BSE midcap and small cap indi- damental) at Anand Rathi In- ous year. and manufactured products as
ces gained up to 1.63 per cent. vestment Services, told news Airtel added 14.1 million compared to the corresponding
Sectorally, BSE banking, fi- agency Reuters. “At this rate, subscribers in India during month of the previous year,”
nance, metal, and auto indices lockdowns might not continue the first three months of 2021, the commerce and industry
rallied up to 3.98 per cent, while for too long and investor senti- growing its base to more than ministry said.
telecom and healthcare closed ment is upbeat,” he added. 350 million. Rival firm Reliance Inflation in food articles in
lower. “The market would con- India reported 281,386 new Jio, controlled by billionaire April was 4.92 per cent as pric-
tinue to track domestic covid coronavirus infections over the Mukesh Ambani added 15.4 es of protein-rich items like egg,
cases trend along with earnings last 24 hours, the lowest since million net subscribers in the meat and fish hardened.
season which has been healthy April 21, helped by extended quarter, expanding its custom- Inflation in the fuel and
so far, for further cues. Even the lockdowns in some states. er base to 426.2 million as of power basket was 20.94 per
news flows around vaccination Meanwhile on the corpo- March 31. cent in April, while in manufac-
front would drive the market,” rate front, telecom firm Bharti Airtel’s quarterly average tured products it was 9.01 per
Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Airtel Ltd swung to a quarter- revenue per user at its India cent. Retail inflation, measured
Retail Research, Motilal Oswal ly profit on Monday as it add- mobile services business rose by the Consumer Price Index
Financial Services said. ed more subscribers and saw 7.4% to Rs 145 from a year (CPI), eased to 4.29 per cent in
Equity indices surged on increased data usage, helped earlier. April on decline in food prices,
Monday with the benchmark by pandemic-led remote work- That came even as the in- data released last week showed.

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