Aircraft safety in focus: Missing washer identified in Boeing 737 Max during DGCA Inspection Amid the turbulence surrounding Boeing jets right now globally, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday said that about 40 Boeing 737 Max planes with Indian carriers have been inspected for possible loss hardware and during the inspection, one aircraft had a washer missing. Akasa Air and Air India Express and SpiceJet fleets collectively have 40 Boeing 737 Max planes. Boeing suggested conducting a comprehensive inspection of all Boeing 737 Max aircraft by January 10 to check for potential issues with loose hardware. This recommendation was prompted by reports from an operator who discovered a missing nut and washer in the Aft Rudder Quadrant of a Boeing 737 Max plane. It is worth noting that the inspection was recommended before the Alaska Airlines incident, that is now making headlines everywhere and has prompted several actions, and is not related to it. On Tuesday, a senior DGCA official reported that inspections on 39 out of the 40 Boeing 737 Max planes operated by three Indian carriers have been concluded, revealing no issues. However, one aircraft was an exception, as it was found to have a missing washer during the inspection. “Rectification action as per recommendations of Boeing has been taken prior to the release of this aircraft. Inspection on the remaining one aircraft will be completed prior to release for service,” the official said. (With PTI inputs)
However, that doesn’t take into account the fact that geopolitical tensions on the Middle East are undeniably rising again which will mean limited downside.”
In the U.S., oil drilling rigs were up by one at 501 last week, Baker Hughes said in its weekly report.JPMorgan forecasted 26 oil rigs to be added this year, most of them in the Permian during the first half of the year.
“The timing of drilling is paramount, as rig additions at the start of the year will contribute to 2H24 production growth,” the bank’s analysts said in a note.
“Despite an impressive 1 mbd of crude and condensate production growth in 2023, we expect 2024 supply to increase by only 400 kbd due to lower completions activity levels vs 2023.”
However, he believes that the impact on the Indian market is going to be temporary since there could be some short-term impact on flows into Indian equity markets. But since the Indian economy is on a strong wicket and will continue to remain resilient.
“Improved fiscal situation, controlled current deficit, stable interest scenario combined with good corporate earnings should lead to limited impact on the Indian bond market and equity market too,” he added.
The midcap and smallcap indices took a bigger knock with the BSE MidCap fell 2.51%, while BSE SmallCap index dived 4.18%. According to Amnish Aggarwal, head, research, Prabhudas Lilladher, the valuations were already high and some correction was expected. “If the situation sustains as it is then further correction can’t be ruled out,” Aggarwal said.
Telecommunication and industrials indices were the top laggards with BSE Telecommunication declining 3.82%, followed by BSE Industrials falling 3.26%. JSW Steel (-2.99%), Tata Steel (-2.52%) and Tata Consultancy Services (-2.44%) were the top losers of Sensex.
Surprisingly, both foreign portfolio investors and domestic institutional investors were net buyers today. While, FPIs net bought shares worth Rs 252.25 crore, DIIs have purchased shares worth Rs 1,111.84 crore, as per provisional data from exchanges.
Calling this a “normal phenomena” Pankaj Pandey, head, research, ICICI Direct said, “I will not really give too much weight to a single day buying figure. Amid concerns of elevated interest rate and geopolitical tensions, in a typical market cycle, 8-10% correction is possible at any point in time.”
The brunt of geopolitical conflict, elevated interest rates and rising crude oil prices was also felt by other Asian- Pacific markets. Jakarta Composite Index lost 1.57% followed by Shanghai Composite Index and PSEi, which fell 1.47% and 0.89%, respectively. Nikkei and KOSPI declined 0.83% and 0.76%.