Friday's Asia ADR Recap: Sohu.com
06/20/08 - 07:56 PM EDT
Stockpickr Staff
Stocks in Indian dove sharply Friday, breaking through the psychologically important 15,000 level, after investors reacted negatively to government data that showed inflation soared to a 13-year high.
India's wholesale price index (WPI) rose 11.05% for the week ending on June 7, vs. 8.75% the previous week. The WPI reading was well above the target that most analysts had expected, fueling further speculation that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will hike interest rates and enact a strong rupee policy to fight skyrocketing inflation. "Given the current rate of inflation and the full impact of the fuel-price hike, it would be dangerous for the RBI to let the local currency depreciate further as it could exacerbate pressures on inflation," said HDFC Bank's chief economist Abheek Barua. The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex Index dropped 516.70 points, or 3.4%, to 14,571.28, which marks the index's lowest close since August 2007. Here's a look at how some India-based American depositary shares traded in the U.S. on Friday. The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS Quote - Cramer on BNS - Stock Picks), Canada's third biggest bank, announced an agreement to establish a relationship with Indian banking giant HDFC Bank (HDB Quote - Cramer on HDB - Stock Picks) to offer services to Indian citizens immigrating to Canada as well as to Canadian customers looking to open accounts in India. Under the agreement, which is expected to be signed shortly, the banks will refer customers to each other on a best-efforts basis. HDFC Bank also announced it has raised its benchmark prime lending rate by 25 basis points to 15.25% and hiked its deposit rates by 25 basis points, effective from June 18. American depositary shares of HDFC Bank, which trade on the NYSE, dropped 4.4% to $79.77 along with other financial stocks in the U.S. Friday.
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