Sensex, Nifty at one-week closing low

Key benchmark indices edged lower in volatile trade as traders rolled over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month September 2012 series to October 2012 series. The September 2012 F&O contracts expired today, 27 September 2012. Both the barometer index, BSE Sensex, and the 50-unit S&P CNX Nifty reached their lowest closing level in one week. The Sensex lost 52.67 points or 0.28%, up about 27 points from the day's low and off about 156 points from the day's high. The market breadth was positive. BSE Small-Cap and Mid-Cap indices both edged higher. Key benchmark indices edged lower for the 2nd day in a row today, 27 September 2012. The Sensex has lost 114.91 points or 0.61% in the preceding two trading sessions from a recent high of 18694.41 on 25 September 2012. The Sensex has gained 1,149.94 points or 6.6% in this month so far (till 27 September 2012). The Sensex has jumped 3,124.58 points or 20.22% in calendar 2012 so far (till 27 September 2012). From a 52-week high of 18,866.87 on 21 September 2012, the Sensex has fallen 287.37 points or 1.52%. From a 52-week low of 15,135.86 on 20 December 201, the Sensex has risen 3,443.64 points or 22.75%. Coming back to today's trade, telecom stocks mostly declined after the Supreme Court today, 27 September 2012, held the 2G Presidential Reference maintainable. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged lower in volatile trade. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC edged higher in volatile trade. FMCG stocks rose on favourable outlook for Rabi or winter crop following wide-spread rains in August and September. Gold jewellery retailer Titan Industries hit record high. Cement shares extended Wednesday's rally on hopes construction activity will pick up as the southwest monsoon started withdrawing from some parts of the country. IT pivotals fell on firm rupee. The market edged higher in early trade as gains in Asian stocks boosted sentiment. The market soon pared initial gains. Volatility continued as key benchmark regained strength soon after trimming intraday gains in morning trade. The market extended gains to hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. The market trimmed gains in early afternoon trade. A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices trimmed losses after slipping into the red from positive zone in mid-afternoon trade. The market hit fresh intraday low in late trade. The BSE Sensex fell 52.67 points or 0.28% to settle at 18,579.50, its lowest closing level since 20 September 2012. The index fell 79.49 points at the day's low of 18,552.68 in late trade. The index jumped 103.78 points at the day's high of 18,735.95 in mid-morning trade, its highest level since 25 September 2012. The S&P CNX Nifty shed 13.95 points or 0.25% to settle at 5,649.50, its lowest closing level since 20 September 2012. The index hit a low of 5,639.70 in intraday trade. The index hit a high of 5,693.70 in intraday trade, its highest level since 25 September 2012. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.49% and the BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.15%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1,516 shares rose and 1,336 shares fell. A total of 136 shares were unchanged. BSE clocked turnover of Rs 2756 crore, lower than Rs 3120.02 crore on Wednesday, 26 September 2012. From the 30-share Sensex pack, 19 stocks fell and rest of them rose. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 1.65% to Rs 830.20. RIL has purchased 3.9 crore shares and spent Rs 2794.73 crore (excluding brokerage, service tax, Securities Transaction Tax, Stamp Duty, Exchange Transaction Charges and Sebi fees) till 18 September 2012 under the company's ongoing share buyback program. RIL has set maximum buyback price of Rs 870 per share. The company has set aside Rs 10440 crore for share buyback. The buyback program opened on 1 February 2012 and closes on 19 January 2013. RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the company's Annual General Meeting in June 2012 that the company's buyback program represents a highly accretive use of cash by the company and it will supplement earnings growth from operations, for higher EPS (earnings per share), in the near future. Telecom stocks mostly declined after the Supreme Court today, 27 September 2012, held the 2G Presidential Reference maintainable. MTNL (down 15.25%), Bharti Airtel (down 1.41%) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 0.09%), edged lower. Reliance Communication rose 0.87% and Idea Cellular ended flat at Rs 85.95. The Supreme Court on today, 27 September 2012, held the 2G Presidential Reference maintainable and provided a major relief to the government. It clarified that the auction order in the 2G scam was only restricted to telecom spectrum and not for all natural resources. The court had on 2 February 2012, cancelled 122 2G licences. The UPA government had decided to make a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court seeking clarifications on the judgement in the 2G telecom case and whether it made it mandatory to auction natural resources in other sectors as well. Under the Constitution, the President can refer a judgement and seek SC's opinion on issues of public importance. But, the court has the option of not giving any opinion. FMCG stocks rose on favourable outlook for Rabi or winter crop following wide-spread rains in August and September. FMCG firms derive substantial revenue from rural India. Winter crops will gain from high soil moisture and brimming water reservoirs, which have filled up in the past four weeks after dipping to alarmingly low levels following a prolonged dry patch at the start of monsoon season. Bajaj Corp (up 5.23%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 1.91%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.59%), Tata Global Beverages (up 1%) and Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.48%), edged higher. Quick-service restaurant chain Jubilant FoodWorks rose 2.09% to Rs 1,342. The stock hit record high of Rs 1,361.75 in intraday trade today, 27 September 2012. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC rose 1.25% to Rs 266.50. The stock hit a high of Rs 267.30 and a low of Rs 259.25. The stock had scaled a record high of Rs 272.50 in intraday trade on 14 September 2012. Titan Industries rose jumped 3.65% to Rs 254.15. The stock scaled a record high of Rs 255.45 in intraday trade today. Cement shares extended Wednesday's rally on hopes construction activity will pick up as the southwest monsoon started withdrawing from some parts of the country. UltraTech Cement rose 3.55% to Rs 1,949.60. The stock hit a record high of Rs 1,972.75 in intraday trade today. UltraTech Cement will be included in the 50-unit S&P CNX Nifty index from Friday, September 28, 2012. Lupin and UltraTech Cement will replace Steel Authority of India (Sail) and Sterlite Industries (India) in Nifty with effect from 28 September 2012. ACC rose 0.92% to Rs 1,442.55. The stock hit a record high of Rs 1,452 in intraday trade today. Shree Cement advanced 2.7% to Rs 3,799.90, which was also a record high of the stock. Madras Cement jumped 2.86% to Rs 190.35. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 196.50 in intraday trade today. Among other cement stocks, Saurashtra Cement (up 6.1%), Mangalam Cement (up 5.47%), Birla Corporation (up 5.08%), India Cements (up 4.38%), JK Lakshmi Cement (up 2.22%) and Kakatiya Cement (up 1.87%), edged higher. Ambuja Cements fell 0.49% to Rs 201.40. The stock reversed direction after hitting record high of Rs 205.80 in intraday trade today. IT stocks fell on firm rupee. Rolta India (down 1.52%), Infosys (down 1.47%), TCS (down 1.33%), Wipro (down 1.05%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 0.48%) and MphasiS (down 0.28%), edged lower. The rupee was at 53.09 against the dollar compared with the last close of 53.51/52. A firm rupee adversely affects operating profit margins of IT firms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports. Tech Mahindra rose 1.35% to Rs 950.90. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 958.80 in intraday today, 27 September 2012. Mahindra Satyam rose 1.54% to Rs 109. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 109.75 in intraday today, 27 September 2012. The merger of Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Satyam announced on 21 March 2012 is progressing as per schedule, Mahindra Satyam said at the time of announcement its Q1 June 2012 results in August 2012. United Spirits clocked a highest turnover of Rs 310.41 crore on BSE. State Bank of India (Rs 116.64 crore), United Breweries (Holdings) (Rs 66.22 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 55.07 crore) and Pantaloon Retail India (Rs 54.53 crore), were the other turnover toppers on BSE in that order. Kingfisher Airlines reported highest volumes of 2.39 crore shares on BSE. MTNL (1.18 crore shares), Cals Refineries (79.47 crore shares), Alok Industries (63.70 crore shares) and Lanco Infratech (60.91 crore shares), were the other volume toppers on BSE in that order. The Q2 September 2012 earnings season will begin around mid-October 2012. Investors and analysts will closely watch the management commentary that would accompany the results which could cause revision in their future earnings forecast of the company for the current year or the next year. Software major Infosys and private sector bank HDFC Bank unveil Q2 September 2012 results on 12 October 2012. HDFC announces Q2 results on 22 October 2012. Ranbaxy Laboratories unveils Q3 September 2012 results on 8 November 2012. Finance ministry and Reserve Bank of India officials will meet this week to finalise the government's borrowing plan for the second half of the current financial year. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram today, 27 September 2012, said the recent pro-business measures that the government took to rein in its gaping fiscal deficit and attract investments were necessary and unavoidable. While speaking to reporters after a meeting the UPA co-ordination committee, Mr. Chidambaram said the government is considering more economic steps. The need to do more reforms was discussed at the meeting, he said. The specific measures will come before the cabinet (for approval), he said. The prime minister has underlined the need for a number of measures that will ensure that there is no volatility in the rupee, and that investment will continue to flow into India as well as stimulate domestic investors so that they will also invest in the economy, Mr. Chidambaram said. On 1 October 2012, Markit Economics will release the HSBC India Manufacturing PMI for September 2012. Grid failures in the beginning of August and shrinking export orders saw manufacturing HSBC India Manufacturing falling to a nine-month low 52.8 points in August 2012 from 52.9 in July 2012. On 4 October 2012, Markit Economics will release HSBC India Services PMI and HSBC India Composite PMI for September 2012. The HSBC India Services PMI had risen to a six-month high of 55 in August 2012 from 54.2 in July 2012. Services, including government services like railway transport, make up nearly 60% of India's economic output. Commerce and Industry Minister Mr. Anand Sharma on Wednesday, 26 September 2012, expressed confidence at a meeting of the members of the India Malaysia CEO Forum in New Delhi that India's bilateral trade with Malaysia will reach $15 billion by 2013, much ahead of the earlier deadline of 2015. India's bilateral trade with Malaysia stood at nearly $13 billion last year, registering a growth of 34% over the previous year, Mr. Sharma said. Malaysian investment in India currently stands at $7.8 billion while Indian investments in Malaysia are in the range of $3 billion. Indian investments in Malaysia are growing steadily. At present, there are more than 100 Indian companies including 61 Indian joint ventures operating in Malaysia. In the past three years alone, about $2 billion have been invested by Indian companies in Malaysia, making it the 7th largest investor in Malaysia Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday, 26 September 2012, said it will retain its 'stable' outlook on India, expecting economic growth to improve on the back of consumer demand, although the country is still constrained by its fiscal deficit. Recent actions by the government to undertake key reforms showed some determination to take unpopular steps, Atsi Sheth, vice-president of the sovereign risk group at Moody's Investors Service, said in a conference call with reporters. Sheth added Moody's still expected the country to overshoot a fiscal deficit target of 5.1 percent of gross domestic product for 2012/13 fiscal year ending March. "A credit challenge for India is its fiscal positions," Sheth said, adding Moody's will wait to see more efforts towards ensuring that India's fiscal position is less vulnerable to slowdown in economic growth. Moody's currently has Baa3 rating on the sovereign. On the political front, an unexpected resignation by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday, 25 September 2012, over allegations of corruption threw the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government in Maharashtra into a fresh crisis as the resignation of the powerful NCP leader in Maharashtra was followed by other NCP ministers in the Maharashtra state government also sending their resignations. NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that there is no threat to the state government in Maharashtra. A news agency on Wednesday evening reported that Ajit Pawar has denied that any rift existed between him and his uncle Sharad Pawar. Sharad Pawar told a television channel on Thursday that there is no going back on Ajit Pawar's resignation as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Sharad Pawar also said that his family was united and there were no differences. Sharad Pawar said that Ajit Pawar took the decision after speaking to him and that he gave the go ahead to him to resign. He also said that the resignation was Ajit Pawar's personal decision. He also said that there was no need for the other NCP ministers to resign. On Wednesday, NCP legislators passed a resolution in a meeting, calling on Ajit to withdraw the resignation (which the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has not accepted yet). It was also decided that NCP chief Sharad Pawar would take the final decision in the matter. Ajit Pawar's resignation came just ahead of a white paper on irrigation to be tabled in the Maharashtra Assembly and the beginning of CAG audit into irrigation projects. A staggering Rs 70000 crore was spent on these projects over a decade with only a 0.01 per cent increase in irrigated area. Ajit Pawar had held the irrigation portfolio between 1999 and 2009 NCP also is a part of the Congress led UPA government at the Centre. NCP has 9 MPs in Lok Sabha. Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee has announced a strike on 1 October 2012 at Jantar Mantar against the recent government policy decisions hiking diesel prices and allowing 51 per cent foreign direct investment in retail. With the TMC's 19 MPs withdrawing support to UPA last week, the UPA has been reduced to a minority in the Lok Sabha. The TMC withdrew support from the UPA to register its protest against the reformist decisions like allowing 51% FDI in multi-brand retail, increasing the diesel price by Rs 5 per litre, and imposing a cap on the number of subsidized LPG cylinders per family at six. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh last week said that the time has come for hard decisions. Explaining the rationale for the government's recent measures viz. hike in diesel price, capping of subsidised LPG cylinders per household per year and allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail trade, Dr. Singh said that rapid growth in the economy is necessary to raise the government's revenue for financing its programmes in education, health care, housing and rural employment. Dr. Singh said that India must avoid high fiscal deficit which could cause a loss of confidence in the economy. The government last week braved intense political opposition to notify the rules for allowing 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. The government also notified the relaxed conditions for single brand retail as well as the norms for allowing 49% investment by foreign airlines in Indian carries and permitted greater foreign investment in some sections of the broadcasting sector. The finance ministry last week announced reduction in the tax rate on the interest paid to overseas lenders by local companies to 5% from 20%. The rate is applicable from July 2012 until June 2015. The tax reduction will encourage corporates to borrow more for funding expansion projects. Over the past few weeks, the Reserve Bank of India has eased curbs on overseas borrowing for companies in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors to boost growth. The outlook for Rabi or winter crops has improved due to the annual monsoon rains' delayed withdrawal, which has provided crops with badly needed moisture after months of insufficient rainfall. The monsoon rains usually leave India by 1 September, but this year rainfall began to pick up in late August, after insufficient rain in preceding months forced four major agricultural states to declare a drought. The four-month southwest monsoon season that starts from June accounts for almost 70% of total annual moisture that Indian soil receives in a year. The Centre has advised state government to go for early sowing of Rabi crops, especially in rainfed areas to make use of the moisture available in the soil due to wide-spread rains in August and September. State-run India Meteorological Department (IMD) Monday, 24 September 2012, said that the southwest monsoon has started withdrawing. The Ministry of Agriculture on Monday, 24 September 2012, said as per the first advance estimates of production of Kharif crops, 117.18 million tonnes (MT) foodgrains is likely to be produced in the current season. These production estimates are higher than the average of the first advance estimates of the last five years (133 MT). Final estimates are generally 5 to 10% higher than the first estimates, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement. Even as compared to the average of final estimates (118.86 MT), the current estimates are lower by 1.68 million tonnes or about 1.4% despite deficient and late rains this year, it said. As per the first advance estimates, production of rice estimated at 85.59 million tones for the current season, though lower as compared to last year's record Kharif production, is higher than the average production of 83.17 million tonnes. The estimated production of Coarse Cereals, is however, lower than average production by 3.65 million tonnes mainly on account of loss in area coverage under Bajra and Maize in Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan. The estimated production of Kharif Pulses is also lower than the average production by 0.45 million tonnes mainly due to shortfall in Moong and other Kharif Pulses. Though there is a significant increase in estimated production of soyabean, yet due to decline in the production of Groundnut, total production of Kharif Oilseeds estimated at 18.78 million tonnes for the current season, is lower than the average production by 0.61 million tonnes. The current year's production of sugarcane estimated at 335.33 million tonnes is higher by 10.22 million tonnes as compared to average production. The estimated production of Cotton at 33.40 million bales (of 170 kg each) has registered an increase of 5.32 million bales as compared to average cotton production of 28.08 million bales. Production of Jute is also estimated to be marginally higher than the average production, the Ministry of Agriculture said. The government has set food grain target for 2012-13 at 249.52 million tonnes. The Reserve Bank of India last week announced a reduction of 25 basis points in the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks to 4.5% of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) effective the fortnight beginning 22 September 2012 from current 4.75% after mid-quarter review of monetary policy. The reduction in CRR will inject around Rs 17000 crore of primary liquidity into the banking system, RBI said in a statement. The RBI kept its policy rate viz. the repo rate unchanged at 8%, stating that inflationary pressures, both at wholesale and retail levels, remain strong. As inflationary tendencies have persisted, the primary focus of monetary policy remains the containment of inflation and anchoring of inflation expectations, RBI said. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 17 September 2012 said the government will unveil more measures to narrow fiscal deficit and to boost economic growth, which may encourage the central bank to cut interest rates at its next monetary policy review on 30 October 2012. He didn't elaborate on what the measures could be. RBI is scheduled to undertake Second Quarter Review of Monetary Policy - 2012-13 on 30 October 2012. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) raised price of heavily subsidised diesel by Rs 5 per liter on 13 September 2012 to balance government's fiscal deficit situation. The CCPA also restricted the supply of subsidized LPG cylinders to each consumer to six cylinders (of 14.2 kg) per annum. European shares rose on Thursday, 27 September 2012, with all eyes on Spain ahead of the Spanish government's presentation of its 2013 budget and economic reforms. Key benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany were up by 0.28% to 0.80%. The Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha is planning to ask the government for 800 million euros ($1 billion) in aid money, Spanish state news agency EFE reported on Thursday. Citing regional government sources, the report said the region needs the money in order to allow it to meet maturing debt and interest payments. The Spanish government will today, 27 September 2012, announce its budget for next year, which could help pave the way for a bailout request. More austerity measures are expected, including pension-reform. In recent days Spaniards have hit the streets of Madrid in protests over budget cuts, while international financial markets have speculated over when, and if, the administration will submit an official request for aid. Spain must persuade its European partners that it can cut the budget shortfall by more than 60 billion euros by 2014. The Spanish government is expected to announce on Friday, 28 September 2012, the results of a review of its banking system, which will also include how much the European Stability Mechanism needs to recapitalize those banks. Angel Gurria, secretary general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), on Thursday, 27 September 2012, said that Spain and Italy are "doing all they need to do" to improve their economies and appear to be a victim of profit-seeking markets. Mr. Gurria was speaking to reporters after the release of the OECD's latest economic report on Indonesia. He also suggested the European Central Bank needs to do more to stabilize the debt-laden economies against risk of default. The ECB, as well as governments across the euro currency bloc, have taken a number of steps to try to resolve the fiscal crisis that has pushed several of its members into taking financial aid. The ECB earlier this month said it would buy bonds of weaker euro-zone countries in a bid to force their borrowing costs lower, as long as they sign up for official bailout funds and continue with economic reform. European governments in June made a push toward a banking union that seeks to pool oversight of financial institutions and sever a damaging link between their funding costs and those of their host governments. Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was meeting with his coalition partners in Athens on Thursday to discuss ways to initiate more spending cuts required by the nation's international lenders, according to media reports. The meeting comes in the wake of heated anti-austerity protests in Athens on Wednesday and following media reports earlier in the week that Greece's official budget shortfall of 11.5 billion euros, or about $15 billion, may in fact be around twice that amount. On Wednesday, police unleashed tear gas at rioters as the nation went on a 24-hour strike. Consumers and companies continued to pull money out of banks in Spain, Greece and Cyprus in August, and even French banks saw sizeable outflows, despite a pledge by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi to do "everything it takes" to defend the euro zone, ECB data showed on Thursday, 27 September 2012. By contrast, deposits at German banks continued their ascent, rising 0.4% to 3.17 trillion euro, the highest level on record. Deposits at Irish and Italian banks also stabilized, the ECB data showed. Asian stocks rose Thursday following reports that China's central bank has injected a record amount of liquidity into the banking system this week. China is the world's second biggest economy after the US. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan rose by between 0.18% to 1.14%. China's Shanghai Composite advanced 2.6%. The People's Bank of China made a record injection of liquidity into the Chinese banking system this week, according to reports. The Chinese central bank put a net 365 billion yuan ($57.9 billion) into the financial system via open-market operations, the reports said. The move was made as the third quarter draws to a close and ahead of holidays in China. China also took steps to prop up equity markets and bolster economic confidence. Thirty-two companies that trade on ChiNext, Shenzhen's board for Nasdaq-style startups, said majority shareholders have agreed to hold their equity stakes beyond the three-year lockup period that expires next quarter, according to a report Thursday in the China Securities Journal. Shares valued at about 38.44 billion yuan ($6 billion) would be affected by the agreement, although the report didn't say for how long investors had committed to extend their holdings or whether the move was voluntary. Other reports showed China's social financing -- a measure of overall credit growth - is expected to surge in the fourth quarter, as funding comes through for infrastructure projects in the April-to-August period. Also on Thursday, China said it will suspend administrative and customs fees for the rest of the year in what's been seen as an effort to help bolster importers and exporters, which have been hard hit by the trade slowdown. China industrial companies' profits contracted 3.1% in January to August from a year earlier, compared to a 2.7% drop in January to July, according to data released on Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics. Industrial companies' profits were 3.06 trillion yuan ($480 billion) in the eight month period, the statistics bureau said. The survey tracked companies with annual income from major businesses of at least 20 million yuan. Markit Economics will release the HSBC China Manufacturing PMI for September 2012 on Saturday, 29 September 2012. The HSBC Flash China manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) had showed activity stabilized in September after hitting a nine-month low in August, with the headline reading ticking up to 47.8 from 47.6 last month. But, it remained below 50 -- the value that separates contraction from expansion. Markit Economics will release the Markit/JMMA Japan Manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for September 2012 on Friday, 28 September 2012. The Bank of Korea said on Thursday the manufacturing business outlook index for October was marginally above the outlook level in August which was the worst in three years, as companies struggled with anemic domestic demand and rising global raw material prices. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Wednesday said Japan will never budge on its ownership over islands in the East China Sea also claimed by China, doing little to ease tensions with Asia's top economic power. Tensions over the islands, known as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese, spilled over to an annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. The foreign ministers of China and Japan held talks on Sept. 25 in New York that failed to ease a feud damaging a $340 billion trade relationship. Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could gain 70 points at the opening bell on Thursday, 27 September 2012. US stocks fell on Wednesday as protests in Spain and Greece over euro zone austerity measures raised fresh concerns over Europe's ability to get its debt crisis under control. US chief executives' view of the economy deteriorated sharply in the third quarter and is now as bleak as it was in the immediate aftermath of the last recession, according to a survey released by the Business Roundtable on Wednesday. Economic data showed prices of new US single-family home sales vaulted to their highest level in more than five years in August, the latest evidence the housing market was making progress. The US Labor Department will release data on weekly unemployment claims on Thursday, 27 September 2012. The Commerce Department will release durable-goods orders for August 2012 and the final reading of second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) on Thursday, 27 September 2012. On the same day, the National Association of Realtors will release the pending home-sales index for August 2012. On Friday, 28 September 2012, the Labor Department will unveil data on personal income and consumer spending for August 2012. On the same day, the Institute of Supply Management will release Chicago PMI report on business activity for September 2012. Election for a new president in the United States, the world's biggest economy, is scheduled on 6 November 2012. Investors are worried about US fiscal cliff. The "cliff" refers to the year-end deadline for the expiration of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tax cuts and the triggering of $109 billion in across-the-board spending cuts. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has said the scenario could throw the country into recession. Congress created the hazardous deadline of 31 December 2012 in August 2O11 when it agreed to a deficit deal as a way out of a deadlock over raising the US debt ceiling.