5 issues it’s best to know earlier than the inventory market opens on Monday June 28th

Here are the key news, trends, and analysis investors need to start their trading day:

1. S&P 500 appears to add to Friday’s record high

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, June 25, 2021.

Source: NYSE

US stock futures were mixed on Monday after the S&P 500 closed at another record high on Friday and posted its best weekly gain since February. The Nasdaq, which fell from a record close of the previous session on Friday, had its best week since April. The Dow rose on Friday, now within 1% of its last record high in early May. The 30-share average saw its best weekly rise since March. Investors look to the second half of the year as the second quarter ends on Wednesday. Ahead of the new week, the S&P 500 rose nearly 14% in 2021; the Dow rose 12.5% ​​year-to-date; and the Nasdaq rose 11.4% in 2021.

2. Bond traders await June government employment data

Signage at a Job News USA careers fair in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, on Wednesday, June 23, 2021.

Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The 10-year government bond yield ticked lower on Monday, trading around 1.51%, with the government’s latest monthly employment report due out next Friday, ending a busy week of economic data. Economists estimate 683,000 non-farm payrolls were created in June when the country’s unemployment rate fell to 5.7%. Average hourly wages are up 3.7% year-on-year, up from 1.98% in May. After further signs of surging price pressure in the recovering economy last week, Wall Street will be closely monitoring this wage data for signs of labor inflation.

3. Republicans say a bipartisan infrastructure deal is back on track

President Joe Biden speaks to a bipartisan group of Senators outside the White House in Washington on Thursday, June 24, 2021. Biden invited members of the group of 21 Republican and Democratic senators to discuss the infrastructure plan.

Jacquelyn Martin | AP

It looks like the bipartisan infrastructure deal is back on track. Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said Sunday the compromise agreement could move forward after President Joe Biden made it clear he would sign the measure even if it did without a second set of Democratic priorities. The president said last week that he would refuse to sign the contract unless the two bills came together. The Democrats want to pass this second law through reconciliation, a process that does not require Republican votes.

4. FAA sends a letter to Boeing; J&J reaches opioid agreement

A Boeing 777X airliner takes off on January 25, 2020 in Everett, Washington, for its maiden flight at Paine Field.

Stephen Brashear

Boeing will not receive certification of its 777X long-haul aircraft until mid to late 2023 at the earliest. This emerges from a letter from an FAA official to Boeing received from CNBC saying there are numerous technical issues that need to be resolved. Boeing, a Dow component, fell 1% in the premarket on Monday.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference to announce criminal justice reform on May 21, 2021 in New York City, United States.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Johnson & Johnson has reached a $ 230 million settlement with New York State that prevents the healthcare company from promoting opioids. J&J confirmed that sales of such products have ceased in the US J&J has not marketed any opioids in the US since 2015 and completely ceased business in 2020. Dow shares rose 0.5% in pre-trading hours.

5. ‘F9’ sets a record weekend for the Covid era at the home box office

Still from Universal’s “F9”.

Universal

Comcast’s “F9”, the latest in the Fast and Furious franchise, led the North American weekend box office with $ 70 million in ticket sales. That’s most of the films released after the pandemic. The previous record holder from the Covid era was Paramount’s “A Quiet Place Part II”, which was owned by ViacomCBS and opened in May for just under 50 million US dollars on its debut weekend. With an additional $ 37.9 million in international ticket sales, “F9” has grossed more than $ 405 million since debuting outside the US and Canada in May.

– Follow all market activity like a pro on CNBC Pro. Get the latest on the pandemic with coronavirus coverage from CNBC.

Disclosure: NBC and CNBC are owned by Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit.

Trump Group, Allen Weisselberg face attainable legal expenses

Then-President-elect Donald Trump along with his son Donald, Jr., arrive for a press conference at Trump Tower in New York, as Allen Weisselberg (C), chief financial officer of The Trump, looks on, January 11, 2017.

Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump were warned this week by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office that prosecutors as soon as next week may criminally charge the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.

The New York Times and later NBC News reported that Trump’s lawyers were told that DA Cyrus Vance Jr. is considering charging Trump’s New York-based company and Weisselberg in connection with fringe benefits the CFO received from the company.

Vance could announce criminal charges as early as next week if he decides to seek an indictment, people with knowledge of the matter told the newspaper.

Trump’s lawyer, Ronald Fischetti, effectively confirmed the Times’ first report of possible criminal charges shortly after it was published online.

Prosecutors are known to be investigating whether taxes were paid on those benefits to Weisselberg and other executives at the Trump Organization for items that include apartments and school tuition.

Fischetti in a statement to NBC News said that “there are no charges that are going to be leveled against Mr. Trump himself.”

“The corporate office will plead not guilty and we will make an immediate motion to dismiss the case against the corporation,” Fischetti said. “Mr. Trump is outraged that they are still going after him by going after his company where he has loyal employees for decades.”

“It looks like they are going to come down with charges against the company and that is completely outrageous,” Fischetti said.

“I’ve been practicing for over 50 years and I’ve never seen a case like this where they would indict or charge an individual or a company on tax evasion for using a company car or company apartment and then tie it to the company that he is working for without any evidence that what he did benefited the company.”

Weisselberg has been eyed for months by Vance’s investigators, who more broadly are probing allegations that the Trump Organization illegally manipulated the stated value of real estate assets to receive more favorable terms on insurance and loans and to lower its tax liability.

Prosecutors were believed to be pressuring Weisselberg to cooperate with their broader probe of the company.

“They could not get Allen Weisselberg to cooperate and tell them what they wanted to hear and that’s why they are going forward with these charges,” Fischetti said.

“And they could not get him to cooperate because he would not say that Donald Trump had knowledge or any information that he may have been not deducting properly the use of cars or an apartment.”

Fischetti confirmed that he and other Trump lawyers met Thursday with senior prosecutors in Vance’s office in a bid to get them not to charge the company.

CNBC Politics

Read more of CNBC’s politics coverage:

Mary Mulligan, Weisselberg’s lawyer, declined to comment to CNBC about the Times report.

Danny Frost, a spokesman for Vance, also declined to comment.

CNBC has reached out to request comment from Trump and his company.

Trump has repeatedly called Vance’s investigation, and a related one by New York state Attorney General Letitia James, a “witch hunt.”

Vance is known to be using a special grand jury for his investigation of Trump.

JT Tweets A Message Following The Metropolis Women’ BET Awards Efficiency

City Girls

‘It’s time for the Twerkulator!’ Last night the City Girls hit the stage together for their first BET Awards show performance. JT & Yung Miami stopped on the pre-show red carpet and expressed their excitement for their performance with DJ Envy. Yung Miami, who was standing beside her mother Keenya, said that the performance meant everything to her because JT was incarcerated the last time she performed at the awards in 2019. 

JT standing beside her man, Lil Uzi Vert, explained that she had a mixture of feelings, including nervousness and excitement. The excitement was apparent and written all over JT’s face once she and Miami hit the stage. Both rappers killed their performance and brought the dance moves from Tik Tok that helped Twerkulator’s sample get officially cleared from Afrika Bambaataa. There were so many dancers on the stage, but the spotlight remained on the City Girls.

Towards the end of their performance, JT and Miami had a mini dance battle while Cajmere’s “Percolator” played in the background. Following the performance, the innanet gave their opinion on how well the duo performed, but it seems like all folks were focused on was JT’s appearance. All night it seemed like her lace front wig was the topic of discussion. One Twitter user wrote, “Whoever did JT’s wig for the red carpet needs to go to jail right now.” Another wrote,” Y’all are doing way too much over JT’s hair. Some of y’all should really keep quiet because a lot of the wigs in these avi’s are giving very much fried and frumpy.” 

JT had enough of folks giving their unsolicited opinion so she took the time to tweet a message for the critics who were worried about her hairline. 

Roommates, let us know what yall thought of the performance below!

Want updates directly in your text inbox? Hit us up at 917-722-8057 or https://my.community.com/theshaderoom

How the UK with the delta variant is a blueprint for the US

Medical staff member Mantra Nguyen installs a new oxygen mask for a patient in the Covid-19 intensive care unit (ICU) at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas.

Go Nakamura | Getty Images News | Getty Images.

Delta ‘greatest threat’ to U.S.

The first thing to note is how quickly the delta variant spread across the U.K.

In a relatively short amount of time, the strain supplanted the alpha variant to become dominant in the country (in mid-June delta was responsible for 90% of all infections, a government study showed) — and this happened despite the U.K.’s advanced vaccination rate.

Meanwhile, cases attributed to the delta strain now make up around 20% of newly diagnosed cases in the U.S. according to White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Fauci warned last week that the delta variant is set to become the dominant Covid strain in the country in a matter of weeks, citing the U.K. as precedent. “It just exploded in the U.K. It went from a minor variant to now more than 90% of the isolates in the U.K.,” Fauci said on NBC’s “TODAY” show.

He said the variant has a doubling time of about two weeks. “So you would expect, just the doubling time, you know, in several weeks to a month or so it’s going to be quite dominant, that’s the sobering news,” he added.

Read more: Fauci says delta accounts for 20% of new cases and will be dominant Covid variant in U.S. in weeks

Fauci had already warned that delta appears to be “following the same pattern” as alpha. “Similar to the situation in the U.K., the delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate Covid-19,” he said.

In the U.K., infections attributed to delta have spread rapidly among young people and anyone older who has not yet been vaccinated. Similarly, in the U.S., there are concerns that delta could rapidly spread in parts of the South where vaccinations have stalled, NBC News reported Sunday.

The U.S. is not alone in its concern over the delta variant. In Australia, Sydney was put under a two week lockdown over the weekend amid a growing outbreak of the strain. The Australian government’s Covid response team is set to meet Monday to discuss the spread of the virus and the possibility of more restrictions.

Vaccination rush

New outbreaks of infections largely blamed on the delta variant have prompted the U.K.’s government to speed up the last leg of its immunization program for people aged 18 and over.

It’s hoped that stepping up vaccinations will help stop the wild spread of the strain. Analysis from Public Health England released June 21 showed that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective against hospitalization from the delta variant.

To date, almost 60% of all U.K. adults have received two doses of the vaccine, while in the U.S., 56% of the population over 18 has been fully vaccinated. The U.K. has not yet authorized Covid shots for adolescents, unlike the U.S. which is giving vaccines to the over-12s.

Read more: Delta Covid variant has a new mutation called ‘delta plus’: Here’s what you need to know

Perhaps wary of how infections have spread in the U.K., the U.S. wants to speed up its vaccinations too. It could take more time than the White House would like, however.

The Biden administration said last Tuesday that it likely won’t hit its goal of 70% of American adults receiving one vaccine shot or more by the Fourth of July.

Read more: Covid boosters in the fall? As calls grow for third shots, here’s what you need to know

White House Covid czar Jeff Zients said the administration had met its 70% target for people aged 30 and older and is on track to hit it for those aged 27 and older by July Fourth. Zients said U.S. officials were working with state and local leaders to reach younger people.

“We think it’ll take a few extra weeks to get to 70% of all adults with at least one shot with the 18- to 26-year-olds factored in,” he said.

-CNBC’s Nate Rattner and Dawn Kopecki contributed reporting to this story.

Covid vaccines are working, however extra individuals need to get the injections: US physician

Vaccines work against Covid-19, including the highly contagious Delta variant – but the challenge is getting enough people vaccinated, according to a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

“It doesn’t help to leave it in the refrigerator, it won’t prevent disease. You have to take this vaccine in your arms,” ​​said William Schaffner on Monday in CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia.

Data compiled by the online scientific publication Our World In Data showed that around 22.6% of the world’s population received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine – but most of them are in high-income, affluent countries in North America and Western Europe.

Less than 1% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.

Covid booster recordings

It remains unclear whether those vaccinated against Covid-19 would need booster shots across the board.

A group of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently said that there is currently insufficient data to support the recommendation of booster shots for the general population, but that more vulnerable groups such as the elderly or transplant recipients may need an additional dose .

Medical assistant Odilest Guerrier administers a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Pasqual Cruz at a clinic established by Healthcare Network in Immokalee, Florida on May 20, 2021.

Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Schaffner said the need for booster vaccinations would depend on two things.

“The length of time our current vaccines will be protected has yet to be determined, but so far so well, and whether new variants will emerge that can bypass the protection of our current vaccines,” he said, adding that such variants are still ongoing are appear. “We just have to get (Covid vaccines) more acceptance among the population.”

The coronavirus has mutated many times since the pandemic began last year.

One variant that experts say poses a major threat to the elimination of Covid-19 is Delta – a virulent strain that was first discovered in India and has since spread in over 90 countries around the world. Delta is becoming the predominant variant of the disease worldwide and has been declared a “worrying variant” by the World Health Organization.

Vaccine hesitate

Many countries face vaccine hesitation, in part due to misinformation spread about the gunfire.

Even in the United States, where more than 50% of the population received at least one dose of the vaccine, vaccination efforts in some states have hit a wall as the Delta variant is rapidly spreading across the country. It could become a potential problem in parts of the US, especially in rural areas where vaccination rates remain low, making more people susceptible to the Delta variant.

We risk new variants that may escape the protection of our vaccine as the virus spreads. Not just here in the United States, but all over the world.

William Schaffner

Vanderbilt University Medical School

Schaffner said the US is in a “slightly better position” to tackle the new variant, but it is far from ideal. He explained that in some areas the vaccination rate achieved is between mid-20% to mid-30%, while the ideal range to stop the spread of the Delta variant is around 70% to 80%. Many people who are hospitalized for Covid-19 are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, according to Schaffner.

“The more transmissions that occur, the more new people are infected, the more opportunities the virus has to multiply. When it multiplies, it mutates. And when it mutates, it has the opportunity to create new variants, ”he said.

“We are threatened with new variants that can evade the protection of our vaccine the further the virus spreads. Not just here in the US, but all over the world, ”added Schaffner.

GOP senators say deal can go ahead after Biden walkback

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), following a bipartisan meeting with U.S. senators about the proposed framework for the infrastructure bill, at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2021.

Kevin Lemarque | Reuters

U.S. Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said Sunday that the bipartisan infrastructure deal can move forward, following President Joe Biden’s clarification that he’ll sign the bill even if it comes without a reconciliation package.

The president had said last week that he’d refuse to sign the deal unless the two bills came in tandem, a remark that angered and surprised Republican lawmakers.

After backlash from Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Biden released a lengthy statement on Saturday walking back the comment and reiterating full support for the deal.

“We were all blindsided by the comments the previous day, which were that these two bills were connected,” Portman said during an interview with ABC’s “This Week.”

“I’m glad they’ve been de-linked and it’s very clear that we can move forward with a bipartisan bill that’s broadly popular not just among members of Congress, but the American people,” Portman said. He added there’s been “good faith” from both parties throughout negotiations.

The second bill, called the American Families Plan, would have spending for Democrat-backed issues like climate change, child care, health care and education. It would be passed through reconciliation, a process that doesn’t require Republican votes to pass through Congress.

Administration officials have called the issues in the reconciliation package “human infrastructure,” while the bipartisan infrastructure bill focuses primarily on improving roads, bridges and broadband.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that McConnell will likely favor the infrastructure deal, but that “he didn’t like the president throwing a wrench in there.”

In a statement, Biden said his remarks “created the impression that I was issuing a veto threat on the very plan I had just agreed to, which was certainly not my intent.”

The president also requested that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., schedule the bipartisan deal and reconciliation bill for Senate action and anticipates both bills to go to the House.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a key negotiator of the deal, said he believes enough Republicans will support the infrastructure bill to get it passed and he’s confident the president will sign it.

“A lot of my colleagues were very concerned about what the president was saying … but I think the waters have been calmed by what he said on Saturday,” Romney said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Infrastructure deal resulted in a “jailbreak” second in shares

Wall Street experienced a breakout moment in trading Thursday as stocks rebounded after Washington lawmakers reached an infrastructure deal, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said.

“If you want to sum up today’s grandiose action in one word, that word is jailbreak,” Cramer said in Mad Money. “I call it a jailbreak because pretty much everyone has been let loose today, rather than the usual I-win-you-lose pattern that has spoiled so much of the action lately.”

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite posted record closing highs, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 300 points to approach its all-time high.

Cramer took on an optimistic tone in the marketplace as he shifted his focus from the Federal Reserve’s economic forecasts and future rate hikes to a breakthrough in stalled infrastructure negotiations.

President Joe Biden announced during the session that an agreement had been reached with a bipartisan group of Senators on “hard infrastructure” to allocate significant funds for road and bridge reconstruction and broadband deployment.

Cramer warned that a reweighting of the Russell indices on Friday could cause stocks to decline, but he expects it will only fuel bullish momentum.

“Right now, I think any decline will come at the price of buying because this is a positive, opportunistic moment, folks, and there are many out there who want to put their money on work,” said Cramer. “Today’s jailbreak shows you that the cops are still in charge.”

Cramer highlighted stocks from a number of industries that he said benefited from the White House news. These included drug maker Eli Lilly, automaker Tesla, heavy machinery company Caterpillar, and Darden Restaurants, the parent company of Olive Garden.

Eli Lilly’s shares rose more than 7%. Tesla and Darden each gained more than 3%, while Caterpillar gained 2.6%.

Busta Rhymes, Michael Okay. Williams and Extra Honor DMX on the BET Awards

This is just one of many honors in honor of DMX.

Weeks after the rapper’s death in April, a public memorial service was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, co-produced by Swizz Beatz and Kanye Westwhose Sunday service choir performed at the event.

“Our father is a king, our father is an icon” Xavier Simmons said then. “I’m so honored to have a father like us … This man has deepened my ability to love … I’ve cried so many tears of joy, so much.”

Earlier this month, DMX’s family confirmed the heartbreaking news of his death.

“We are deeply sad to announce today that our darling, DMX, birth name Earl SimmonsHe died at White Plains Hospital at the age of 50 with his family by his side after being put on life support for the past few days, “his family said in a statement at the time.

“Earl was a warrior who fought to the end. He loved his family dearly and we appreciate the time we spent with him,” it continues. “Earl’s music has inspired countless fans around the world and his iconic legacy will live on forever. We appreciate all the love and support in this incredibly difficult time. “

Singapore goals to be a worldwide e-commerce hub as Asia’s digital financial system grows

Singapore aims to become a leading e-commerce hub in Asia – but challenges may lie ahead.

As the pandemic changes consumer behavior around the world, more and more people in the region are shopping online and the digital economy in Southeast Asia is growing significantly.

“E-commerce in Southeast Asia – it’s booming. But what sets Singapore apart is its policies and initiatives that help create an environment for the digital industry and economy to thrive, ”said Ben King, Country Director, Google Singapore.

Still, the city-state is facing a shortage of digital talent – and that’s critical to its ambition to become a global e-commerce player, he told CNBC’s Christine Tan.

The problem we are seeing is not necessarily jobs, but skills. There is an urgent need to help the workforce build digital skills to take on these jobs.

Ben King

Country Director at Google Singapore

To address this issue, the government has partnered with Google as part of the Skills Ignition SG initiative to provide job training for those looking to pursue a digital career.

“The only challenge we see in realizing this vision of truly becoming a much more meaningful and progressive regional e-commerce hub in Singapore is talent development,” said King. “The problem we’re seeing isn’t necessarily jobs – it’s skills. There is an urgent need to help the workforce build digital skills to take on these jobs. “

A group of online Black Friday shopping purchases, photographed in delivery boxes filled with Styrofoam packing pellets, captured on September 13, 2019.

Neil Godwin | Future release | Getty Images

The U.S. tech giant has also focused on retraining people affected by the pandemic.

“We really developed this program to meet Covid’s needs in real time. It’s really geared towards laying off people who have become unemployed and giving them the opportunity to train over six or nine years. Month window, “said King.

“We are trying to develop skills that we believe will be critical to the development and development of e-commerce across the region.”

Shifts in consumer trends

Despite the pandemic headwind, internet usage continued to grow across Southeast Asia.

According to an e-commerce report on Southeast Asia by Google, Temasek, and global consulting firm Bain & Company, around 40 million new users in the region came to the Internet last year.

The pandemic has led to a “permanent and massive digital acceptance surge,” the report says.

About 36% – or more than 1 in 3 consumers of digital services – were new to online services. 90 percent of them intend to continue using these services after the pandemic, the report said.

The three pillars of the Smart Nation (are) really a digital economy, a digital government – but also a digital society.

Selena Ling

Chief Economist, OCBC Bank

For Singapore to benefit from these trends, several factors need to come together to fuel this growth, said Selena Ling, chief economist at OCBC Bank in Singapore.

“You need a fairly internet savvy population, high mobile penetration (and) a good internet connection that is affordable,” she said. Many offers in terms of goods and services are also essential, she added.

Young woman taking perfume from cosmetic gift box. She is sitting on the floor next to the laptop at home

YakobchukOlena | iStock | Getty Images

As part of Singapore’s e-commerce strategy, the government plans to deploy two 5G networks across the city-state by 2025. 5G networks are the next generation of mobile internet connectivity that promises higher speeds.

They will form “the backbone” of Singapore’s digital economy and increase the capacity of the infrastructure to manage large online sales orders internationally, according to the Department of Commerce and Industry.

The Singapore government has taken the lead by adopting a “smart nation” strategy, OCBC’s Ling said.

“The three pillars of the Smart Nation (are) really a digital economy, a digital government – but also a digital society. So it covers all the requirements for a successful e-commerce strategy, ”she explained.

Moody’s on influence of Covid-led disruptions on India’s infrastructure corporations

A container ship docked at India’s Adani Port Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) in Mundra, India.

Sam Panthaky | AFP | Getty Images

India’s second wave of coronavirus outbreak will affect the country’s infrastructure firms to varying degrees, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Power companies and ports are expected to better withstand the impact of pandemic-led disruptions compared with airports and toll road operators, the ratings agency said in a recent report.

The South Asian country suffered a devastating second wave when reported coronavirus cases jumped sharply between February and early May. It left hospitals overwhelmed and medical necessities like oxygen and medicines in short supply.

While the central government resisted imposing another nationwide lockdown like last year’s, state authorities stepped up localized restrictions to stem the spread of the virus — that included regional lockdowns.

“The lockdowns, along with public behavioral changes, are curbing economic activity and mobility, which will have a varied impact on infrastructure companies,” Abhishek Tyagi, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s, said in a statement.

India’s regional lockdowns led to lower electricity demand as well as lower traffic volumes for transportation companies. But, labor availability has not been significantly affected so far.

Here is what Moody’s had to say about the country’s infrastructure companies:

Power

The business models of rated power companies allow them to manage the current contraction in demand and withstand a moderate extension of the cash conversion cycle, which refers to the number of days it takes for a firm to convert its investments into cash flows from sales. That is because Indian power companies are dependent on state-owned distribution firms that are likely to be under financial stress due to lower demand.

In the event that demand stays low for longer and there is a subsequent cash squeeze, Moody’s said the power companies have good access to liquidity and support.

Airports and toll road operators

Moody’s expects that the recovery of Indian airports, some of which are undergoing debt-funded expansion plans, will be pushed back further due to the second wave and subsequent regional lockdowns. International travel is set to take even longer to recover due to border closures.

Though domestic and international traffic is set to rise between October this year and March 2022 — the second half of India’s current fiscal year — Moody’s said that the disruption caused by the second wave will “likely lead to lower traffic and revenue in fiscal 2022, and potentially fiscal 2023, relative to our earlier forecasts.”

The ratings agency downgraded Delhi International Airport this month to a B1 rating — seen as speculative and a high credit risk — stating that the airport will likely need additional debt to complete its expansion because of lower operating cash flow.

An increase in India’s Covid vaccination rates could be a major driver for a recovery for airports, according to Moody’s.

Prolonged restrictions on movements or renewed lockdowns will continue to have an adverse impact on toll road operators and put pressure on their credit quality, the ratings agency said.

Ports

India’s rated ports performed well in the last fiscal year despite the economic contraction due to the pandemic and were able to improve their market shares, according to Moody’s.

Port operators have remained mostly unaffected by the regional lockdowns because “the movement of goods across the country has remained normal and both ports also have sufficient buffer in their financial profiles to absorb any temporary disruptions,” Moody’s said.

Path to economic recovery

Daily reported Covid-19 cases in India have been on a downward trend since reaching a peak in early May. As the situation gradually improves, many states are easing restrictions to reopen the economy, but experts have warned against an inevitable third wave of infections.

Moody’s pointed out that with vaccination rates still relatively low, it leaves open the risk of subsequent infection waves that could push states to introduce further lockdowns.

“The government’s ability to limit the virus spread and materially increase its vaccination drive will have a direct impact on the economic recovery,” the ratings agency said.