Gold prices rally 28% so far this year; yellow metal likely to touch Rs 65,000 per 10 gm in 2021

Gold prices in India rallied 28 per cent in rupee terms so far in the year 2020, following a double-digit gain in the previous year. During March this year, yellow metal hit a 52-week low of Rs 38,400 per 10 grams from the level of Rs 39,100 per 10 gm at the start of the year. However, surging a massive 46.33 per cent, it scaled an all-time high of Rs 56,191 per 10 gm in August. While in the international market, it reached a record high level of USD 2,075 an ounce. On a year-to-date (YTD) basis in the current fiscal, gold prices have surged 17.04 per cent.

According to an analyst, improved prospects of global economic recovery due to successful vaccine development have been a key factor for money rotation from gold to risky assets like equity in the last couple of months. “Four-month correction in gold is over and statically gold should have a strong first quarter in 2021. Gold appears to have bottomed out last month and we might see some hiccup in 2021 when the vaccine is rolled out globally but it would be a good opportunity to go long during that time,” Bhavik Patel, Senior Technical Research Analyst, Tradebulls Securities, told Financial Express Online.

Gold generates steady returns over various time periods

Gold prices are nearly 10 per cent off from its record high level following the news developments around COVID-19 vaccine. Gold has a track record of generating steady returns over various time periods. According to the analysts at Religare Broking, gold has delivered 13.37 per cent annualised CAGR return over the last 15 years, 9.22 per cent for the last 10 years, 14.96 per cent for the last 5 years and 19.75 per cent for the last 3 years. Gold prices act as a hedge against inflation amid the low-interest rate environment and a huge amount of liquidity infusion in the economy.

Gold may test Rs 65,000 per 10 gm in 2021

Bhavik Patel expects gold to test $2150-$2200 in 2021 and sees silver hitting $35-$40. While on MCX, gold is expected to test Rs 62,000-65,000 in 2021. The fiscal measures to stem the economic fallout due to COVID-19 have already surpassed the last crisis in 2008 with no sign of slowing down. “Money supply has rocketed by more than 20 per cent in just four weeks which is pushing the US dollar down and increasing inflation,” Patel said.

“As we approach 2021, gold will remain in focus for investors, as central banks across the globe have pledged to keep rates low, and easy liquidity to aid growth,” said Nish Bhatt, Founder & CEO, Millwood Kane International. The efficacy of the vaccine, proper implementation of the vaccination process in developing countries, low-interest rate regime, and the global central bank’s stance on liquidity will guide gold prices in 2021.

According to the analysts at Religare Broking, even as volatility in gold prices may remain high after the sharp run-up, metal has a firm support zone at Rs 47700-47200 per 10 gram levels ($1750 per ounce), while the major floor is seen at $1680 per ounce or Rs 44800 per 10gms. “As long as the counter is placed above the mentioned support area, long term structure looks positive where one can expect an upside move towards Rs 53500 per 10 gram initially and then towards Rs 60500 per 10 gram in the medium-term,” the brokerage firm noted. While for the year 2021, it believes gold prices can even scale higher towards Rs 65000 per 10 gram.

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FAANG stocks fail to shine last week despite NASDAQ’s jump; 3 of the 5 big tech shares tumble

The holiday-shortened previous week saw the NASDAQ index gain 1% overall, after having suffered a steep fall during the initial hours of trade on Monday morning. The star constituents of the index — the FAANG stocks — witnessed a mixed bag of a week, with some gaining and others losing. So far this year, FAANG stocks have gained 50% on average, outperforming the benchmark NASDAQ index. Apple has been the best stock so far this year among the big-tech names that make up the FAANG stock list.

Facebook in the previous week registered a 3.3% fall as it failed to recover after Monday’s fall and only added to the losses. At the end of the trading session Thursday, the stock was quoting a price of $267.4 per share. During the week, reports claimed that Facebook has shut one of its intellectual property units in Ireland. The unit was claimed to be a tax-saving mechanism used by the social media behemoth. Another news around Facebook that hogged the limelight this past week was the news of Mark Zuckerberg selling 44,750 shares of the company for a total amount of $12.2 million.

The manufacturer of the iPhone, Apple, had a way better week than Facebook as stock price gained 4.2%. This stock movement came in a week when reports claimed that the company was planning to make electric vehicles by 2024. The news of Apple preparing to launch a car by 2024 was reported by Reuters, they said it is most likely the passenger car of the company will be powered by its own battery technology. Stocks of the technology giant closed at $131.97 per share last week.

Amazon was also one of the laggards in the previous week. Jeff Bezos’ firm saw it stock price slip 0.90% in the week to close at $3,172.69 per share. Streaming service Netflix was also in the red last week, slipping 3.7%. The Co-CEO of the frim, Reed Hastings has sold 437,311 shares of the firm this month for $527 per share, according to reports. The total stake sale value was $230.6 million. This comes less than a month after Reed Hastings had sold over 213,000 shares of the firm.

Technology giant Google recovered sharply from the initial fall in the week gone by and ended flat with a positive bias. Shares of the firm closed at $1,734.16 per share. Since December 2, shares of Google are down 5%.

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RIL share price gains 1.5% today after Reliance-BP start gas production from Asia’s deepest project

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) share price gained 1.5 per cent to Rs 2,022 apiece in the morning deals on BSE today, taking the total market capitalisation to Rs 12.74 lakh crore. On Friday, after market hours, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and BP announced the commencement of gas production from an ultra-deep-water gas field in block KG D6 R-Field of Krishna Godavari basin. In another development, the oil-to-telecom conglomerate will set up the ‘Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Kingdom’ in Jamnagar district. MK Das, Additional Chief Secretary to the chief minister said at the virtual conference to mark ASSOCHAM foundation week on Friday, that this will be one of the world’s biggest zoos in terms of number and species of animals and spread over 250 acres in Jamnagar, according to PTI.

Around 9.55 AM, RIL shares were trading 1.3 per cent up at Rs 2,018 apiece on BSE, as compared to a 0.05 per cent rise in S&P BSE Sensex. In the previous week, RIL along with Hindustan Unilever Ltd witnessed erosion from the market valuation. While RIL remained at the top in the ranking of most valued firms last week. RIL share price hit a 52-week low of Rs 867.82 apiece on March 23 on the back of COVID-19 induced lockdown. The stock rose to Rs 2,368.80 apiece, an all-time high, in September this year. With today’s gain, RIL shares are up 133 per cent from March lows.

Earlier this month, during the India Mobile Congress event, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani pitched for policy interventions to shift 30 crore 2G users to 5G in India. Ambani also said that the Indian economy will soon bounce back and prove cynics wrong by becoming a $5 trillion economy. Ambani also announced that Reliance Jio will launch 5G services in the second half of 2021 in India, which will be powered by the indigenous network, hardware and technology components.

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PVR fundamentals intact despite near-term hiccups

PVR has scheduled a board meeting on December 18 to consider raising funds through issue of equity (or other instruments) by way of QIP (or other modes). We believe that the company is adequately funded to sustain operations for 6-7 months even if occupancy remains subdued and cash burn elevated at current levels. Additional funding would help reduce debt to enable investments in organic/inorganic opportunities post-Covid, or in event of resurgence of Covid-19.

PVR had liquidity of Rs 5.5 billion as at end-October 2020. It has to repay debt of Rs 1 billion by March 2021. As per our estimate, PVR is incurring Ebitda loss of Rs 500-600 million/month and interest expense of Rs 110 million/month at present (from November 2020).

Cash burn is higher (on expected lines) versus 1HFY21, as operations have resumed at subdued occupancy pending release of key movies. PVR is adequately funded to sustain operations for 6-7 months even if one assumes cash burn to continue at the current run rate.

PVR’s gross/net debt is about Rs 15 billion/Rs 10 billion as of date; equity fund raise would reduce leverage enabling PVR to invest in organic and inorganic growth opportunities post-Covid. We note that PVR raised Rs 3 bn in August 2020 through a rights issue.

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Asian shares up as strong Japan data offsets Wall St losses

Shares have risen in Asia, shrugging off a weak close last week on Wall Street after Japan’s central bank reported a strong improvement in business sentiment.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.6 per cent and shares were also higher in Shanghai, Seoul and Sydney. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined.

The quarterly “tankan” survey by the Bank of Japan showed business sentiment has improved sharply with expectations for a recovery from a year-long recession.

The main measure of business conditions of large manufacturers rose to minus 10 from minus 27.

It showed rebounds in all categories, both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing companies, large and small. It was a marked improvement from the past several quarterly reports as Japan battled the coronavirus pandemic.

The tankan measures corporate sentiment by subtracting the number of companies saying business conditions are negative from those responding they are positive.

U.S. markets ended last week on a downbeat note. Benchmarks pulled further away from their recent highs Friday as prospects for another aid package from Washington faded while a surge in virus cases is threatening to inflict more damage on an already battered economy.

The proposed $900 billion aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers has essentially collapsed because of continued partisan bickering.

But President Donald Trump signed a temporary government-wide funding bill into law, averting a federal shutdown at midnight and buying Congress time for the on-again, off-again talks on COVID-19 aid.

“Given these talks have been running since July, the market may be bored to tears, but if the stimulus door slam shut before Christmas, it could still change the positive vaccine mood music,” Stephen Innes of Axi said in a commentary.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1per cent to 3,663.46, its third-straight decline since it set a record high on Tuesday. It ended the week 1per cent lower after two weeks of solid gains.

Treasury yields fell broadly, a signal that traders were seeking to lessen their exposure to riskier holdings. On Monday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 0.90per cent, up from 0.89per cent on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average got a boost from Disney, which hit a new high after giving investors an encouraging update on subscriber growth and future plans for its Disney Plus streaming service. The index rose 0.2per cent, to 30,046.37. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.2per cent to 12,377.87. The Russell 2000 small-cap index gave up 0.6per cent to 1,911.70.

Investors are watching for updates on the rollout of coronavirus vaccines that might help beat back surging infections that threaten to derail recoveries from business shutdowns and other pandemic-related shocks.

The first of many freezer-packed COVID-19 vaccine vials made their way to distribution sites across the United States on Sunday, as the nation’s pandemic deaths approached the horrifying new milestone of 300,000.

Widespread vaccination will take months and the virus pandemic is prompting tighter restrictions on businesses. An already slow economic recovery appears to be stalling in the wake of the latest surge and unemployment is rising.

Wall Street is also waiting for a special election in Georgia in early January, which could potentially switch the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.

In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil gained 13 cents to $46.70 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 11 cents to $46.57 per barrel on Friday. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 16 cents to $50.13 per barrel.

The dollar weakened to 103.98 Japanese yen from 104.93 yen late Friday. The euro rose to $1.2135 from $1.2115.

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