Lessons from lockdown: Cities to share experiences with COVID-19

Seoul hosts a teleconference for mayors of 40 major cities to share their experiences dealing with the coronavirus.

As coronavirus restrictions begin lifting around the world, many countries are looking abroad, to understand the different responses to the pandemic.

While some countries shut down immediately, others had a more relaxed approach.

Now, mayors from 40 cities around the world are sharing their experiences via a teleconference hosted by the South Korean capital, Seoul.

Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride reports from Seoul, South Korea.

Sensex jumps 284 pts; Nifty tops 10,000-mark

Extending its winning streak to the sixth session, equity benchmark Sensex surged 284 points on Wednesday, led by gains in HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank amid positive cues from global markets.

After hitting a peak of 34,488.69, the 30-share index ended 284.01 points or 0.84 per cent higher at 34,109.54.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty jumped 82.45 points or 0.83 per cent to 10,061.55.

M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 5 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India, SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and ONGC.

On the other hand, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel and Maruti were among the laggards.

The bulls maintained their grip on the market as stocks surged led by massive foreign fund inflows and positive global cues, analysts said.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors bought equities worth Rs 7,498.29 crore on Tuesday, provisional exchange data showed.

Further, gradual reopening of economies the world over has fuelled bullish trend in global markets, they said.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul closed up to 2 per cent higher.

Exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in early deals.

International oil benchmark Brent crude futures climbed 1.04 per cent to USD 39.98 per barrel.

On the currency front, the rupee surrendered all intra-day gains to provisionally settle 11 paise lower at 75.47 against the US dollar.

Rupee settles 11 paise lower at 75.47 against US dollar

The rupee surrendered all intra-day gains to provisionally settle 11 paise lower at 75.47 against the US dollar on Wednesday, even as domestic equities were trading in positive territory.

Forex traders said positive domestic equities, sustained foreign fund flows, revival of business activities and weak US dollar supported the local unit, but there are still a slew of risks, including US-China trade tiff and concerns that it may jeopardise the Phase-1 deal.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened strong at 75.04, but pared the gains and finally closed at 75.47 against the US dollar, down 11 paise over its last close.

It had settled at 75.36 against the US dollar on Tuesday.

During the session, the local unit witnessed an intra-day high of 75.04 and a low of 75.52.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell by 0.23 per cent to 97.44.

“Now investors have started focusing on the prospect that economies are re-opening all over the world from the pandemic. Thus, the risk sentiment has turned positive and the dollar index is subdued amongst major emerging market currencies,” said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.

Gupta further said that despite strong inflows into equity, USD/INR spot was unable to break the crucial support of 75, and it reversed towards 75.40. The immediate resistance lies around 75.60.”

Warner Music IPO raises $1.9 bln in biggest U.S. listing this year

June 3 (Reuters) – Warner Music Group, the world’s third-largest recording label, on Wednesday raised $1.93 billion in an upsized initial public offering, the biggest U.S. listing so far in 2020.

The company increased the offering to 77 million class A shares at $25 per share, from 70 million shares, valuing it at $12.75 billion.

The deal marks a further sign of recovery for the U.S. IPO market, which was hampered in March by plunging stock prices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York and additional reporting by C Nivedita in New Delhi; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Brazil anti-racism rallies: Protesters blame Bolsonaro

Police brutality and racism in Brazil, a problem protesters say President Jair Bolsonaro is only making worse.

Anti-racism demonstrations are being held in Brazil, where around half the population is Black or mixed race.

The protesters blame President Jair Bolsonaro for the growing discrimination.

Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo reports.

Houston Police Chief Rips Donald Trump’s Violent Rhetoric: ‘Keep Your Mouth Shut’

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo on Tuesday ripped President Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric on the protests that have erupted nationwide following the death of George Floyd.

“Let me just say this to the president of the United States on behalf of the police chiefs in this country. Please, if you don’t have anything constructive to say, keep your mouth shut. Because you’re putting men and women in their early 20s at risk,” Acevedo told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.

“It’s not about dominating, it’s about winning hearts and minds,” the police chief continued, referencing Trump’s order earlier this week that governors should “dominate” anti-racism protesters.

Acevedo clarified that police did “not want people to confuse kindness with weakness, but we don’t want ignorance to ruin what we’ve got here in Houston.”

“And it hurts me to no end because whether we vote for someone or we don’t vote for someone, he’s still our president, but it’s time to be presidential and not try to be like you’re on ‘The Apprentice,’” he added. “This is not Hollywood, this is real life, and real lives are at risk.” 

Check out the interview here: