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Macro-data led positive momentum lifts equity indices (Market Review)
By Rohit Vaid
Mumbai, Oct 21 (IANS) The key Indian equity indices — the S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty 50 — rose for the third straight week as a healthy macro-data led positive momentum enhanced the risk-taking appetite of investors.
However, profit booking, along with fears of higher non-performing asset (NPA) levels in the banking sector arrested the north-bound movement of the key indices during the truncated weekly trade ended on Wednesday.
The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) edged higher by 151 points or 0.46 per cent to 32,584.35 points.
Similarly, the wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) made gains. It rose by 43.4 points or 0.42 per cent to close at 10,210.85 points.
“Though the domestic market have suffered a bout of correction recently but have since rebounded and the Nifty is back above 10,000 mark on the back of encouraging domestic economic readings and optimism in major global markets which lifted sentiment,” D.K. Aggarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, SMC Investments and Advisors, told IANS.
“The market also got strength following encouraging comments from the IMF chief Christine Lagarde — that the Indian economy is on a solid growth track in the medium and long term due to the structural reforms undertaken by the government.”
In terms of macro-data, India’s annual rate of inflation based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in September eased to 2.6 per cent from 3.24 per cent in August.
Another major economic performance pointer showed that India’s exports grew to $28.61 billion in September from $23.81 billion in August and $22.77 billion during the corresponding month of last year.
Notwithstanding the positive macro-data, the upward movement was halted on Wednesday after Axis Bank came out with its quarterly earnings results.
“The NSE Nifty had edged lower on Wednesday, retreating from record highs hit in the previous three sessions after a rise in bad loans at Axis Bank sparked concerns about the recovery of stressed assets in the country’s banking sector,” Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS.
In terms of investments, provisional figures from the stock exchanges showed that FIIs offloaded stocks worth Rs 1,766 crore during the week. However, domestic institutional investors continued to pump-in funds and bought scrips worth Rs 1,985.99 crore.
Figures from the National Securities Depository (NSDL) revealed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) divested equities worth Rs 1,797.22 crore, or $276.76 million, during October 16-18.
On the currency front, the rupee depreciated during last week. It inched lower by 11 paise to close at 65.04 against the US dollar from its previous close at 64.93.
According to Deepak Jasani, Head – Retail Research, HDFC Securities on a sector specific basis metals, realty and oil and gas indices gained during the week ended October 18, whereas banking index plunged.
Last week’s trade also concluded the Hindu Year — Samvat 2073 — which saw a stellar performance by the key Indian equity indices.
In Samvat 2073, the barometer index (BSE Sensex) gained 4,654 points or 16.6 per cent whereas the NSE Nifty 50 rose by 1,585 points or 18.4 per cent.
(Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in)
–IANS
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International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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