Business News

Gold prices retreated from the record high level in the national capital on Friday, declining by Rs 700 to Rs 88,750 per 10 grams due to weak demand from jewellers and stockists, according to the All India Sarafa Association. The precious metal of 99.9 per cent purity hit a record high of Rs 89,450 per 10 grams on Thursday. Taking a breather, gold of 99.5 per cent purity depreciated by Rs 700 to Rs 88,350 per 10 grams due to poor demand from jewellers, traders said. Weak global trends aided losses, they added. Silver prices also slipped by Rs 300 to Rs 1 lakh per kg in the local market. In futures trade, gold contracts for April delivery decreased by Rs 225 to Rs 85,799 per 10 grams on MCX. "Gold traded weak and remained volatile. In MCX, gold moved between Rs 85,900 and Rs 85,400, with rupee weakness supporting prices above Rs 85,350 despite a flat dollar index," Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities. Further, Trivedi highlighted that market participants will focus on upcoming manufacturing, services, and existing home sales data, which may add to gold's volatility in the evening session. Silver futures for March delivery went lower by Rs 283 to Rs 96,830 per kg on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX). Meanwhile, Comex gold futures for April delivery retreated from all-time peak by declining USD 11.19 to USD 2,944.91 per ounce. Spot gold too slipped USD 8.42 or 0.29 per cent to USD 2,930.56 per ounce. "Gold prices fell from record highs on Friday as traders liquidated their long bets and took profits after a prolonged rally in precious metals," Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst of Commodities at HDFC Securities, said. Further, hawkish statements from several Fed members, as well as the FOMC meeting minutes, reinforced US policymakers' cautious stance on interest rate cuts in the face of persistent inflation, which have led to some profit-taking in gold, Gandhi added. Comex silver futures in the Asian market hours traded lower at USD 33.65 per ounce. According to experts, bullion prices slipped amid reports that the Trump administration indicated that easing sanctions against Russia might be discussed in negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine, as President Trump is seeking a swift resolution to the conflict.

Singapore announced on Friday a set of measures to rejuvenate its equities market, including a 20% tax rebate for primary listings and a S$5 billion ($3.74 billion) program that focuses on investing in domestic stocks. The statement offers more details on measures Singapore's equities market review group announced on February 13 to revive its stock market that has come under pressure from a dearth of mega listings and softer trading liquidity. "We aim to have these measures lay the foundations for a sustainable and well functioning equities market, and we think if we take the proposed measures together, they will hopefully make an impact," Singapore's second finance minister Chee Hong Tat said in a briefing on Friday. Singapore's central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore or MAS, set up the review group chaired by Chee in August last year to recommend measures to strengthen equities market development in the country. The review group said in a statement that MAS and the Financial Sector Development Fund will launch the S$5 billion program, called Equity Market Development Program, which will draw in investments from other investors over time. MAS will begin evaluating eligible fund managers and strategies for the program over the next few months. They should be actively managed and invest in a range of companies in Singapore and not just index component stocks. Other measures include narrowing the qualifying investment categories for new family office applicants under the Global Investor Program to equities listed on approved Singapore exchanges. Single family offices are one-stop firms that manage the finances of the very wealthy. This compares to current categories that range from qualifying debt securities to non-listed Singapore-based operating companies that family office applicants under the program must deploy at least S$50 million to invest into. To attract listings, the review group announced measures including a 20% corporate income tax rebate for new primary listings and a 10% tax rebate for new secondary listings with share issuance. The overall proceeds raised from Singaporean IPOs was $152.3 million last year, 37.7% higher than $110.6 million in 2023, but just 4.6% of the total market share of the whole of Southeast Asia, according to LSEG data. Nevertheless, the outlook is improving with a slew of companies potentially looking to go public in the country, including Singaporean private healthcare group Foundation Healthcare Holdings and the data centre real estate investment trust of Japan's Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. Singapore's initiatives to revive the domestic stock market, coupled with factors such as inexpensive valuations and high dividend yields, led analysts at JPMorgan to upgrade Singapore equities to "overweight" on Wednesday. ($1 = 1.3368 Singapore dollars)