Morning Alert.. *Crude oil import bill shrank 15.9% in FY24, t | Equity99

Morning Alert..
*Crude oil import bill shrank 15.9% in FY24, thanks to Russia shipments*
Discounts on a steady stream of Russian crude have led to India’s crude oil import bill shrinking by 15.9 per cent to $132.4 billion in FY24 (2023-24), down from $157.5 billion in the previous year, even as import volumes remained the same. The crude oil import bill had risen by 30.4 per cent in FY23, data shows. However, the country imported almost the same amount of crude oil by volume in FY24, bringing in 232.5 million metric tonnes (mmt) of crude in FY24, official data released on Wednesday by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed. This was marginally down by 0.1 per cent as compared to FY23. This was also the second year that import volumes have remained above the pre-pandemic levels. Imports stood at 226.9 mmt in 2019-20, falling to 196.4 mmt in 2020-21. However, India’s import dependency hit a fresh high of 87.7 per cent in FY24, up from 87.4 per cent and 85.5 per cent in the previous two years. When calculated based on the consumption of petroleum products, import dependency on crude oil inched up to 88 per cent in March.

*Indian economy projected to grow 6.5% in 2024, suggests UNCTAD report*
India's economy is projected to grow by 6.5 per cent in 2024, according to a report by the UN which noted that multinationals extending their manufacturing processes into the country to diversify their supply chains will have a positive impact on Indian exports. UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its report released on Tuesday said that India grew by 6.7 per cent in 2023 and is expected to expand by 6.5 per cent in 2024, continuing to be the fastest-growing major economy in the world. The expansion in 2023 was driven by strong public investment outlays as well as the vitality of the services sector which benefited from robust local demand for consumer services and firm external demand for the country's business services exports, the report said, adding that these factors are expected to continue to support growth in India in 2024. The report also noted the increasing focus by multinationals on India as a manufacturing base as they diversify their supply chains, a reference to China. In the outlook, an increasing trend of multinationals extending their manufacturing processes into India to diversify their supply chains will also have a positive impact on Indian exports, while moderating commodity prices will be beneficial to the country's import bill, it said.

*Global market action*
Dow Jones – Up by 0.18% or 67.40 points
FTSE – Up by 0.35% or 27.63 points
CAC – Up by 0.62% or 48.90 points
DAX – Up by 0.0.02% or 3.79 points
Gift Nifty – Up by 0.19% or 42.50 points

*FII/DII activities*
FII – Sold 4468.09 Cr worth of shares
DII – Bought 2040.38 Cr worth of shares.

*Stocks with high delivery Percentage*
TTK Prestige Ltd – 95.7%
Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd – 92%
Emami Ltd – 91.7%
Sundaram Fasteners Ltd – 90.3%
Vmart Retail Ltd – 89.6%

*Primary market activities*
FPO opening today
Vodafone Idea Ltd – Issue size 18000Cr

*Commodities updates*
Gold – Rs 75400/10gm, Silver – Rs 83470/kg, Brcrude – Rs 6926/barrel, Copper – Rs 829.80/kg.

*Corporate News*
ICICI Lombard Q4 net up 19% to Rs 519.50 cr driven by premium growth.

Ahead of FPO, Vi raises Rs 5,400 cr, anchor book subscribed over 2x.

Adanis invest another Rs 8,339 cr in Ambuja Cements, promoter stake up 70%.