Delay in the tapering of the $85 billion-a-month bond buyback programme by the US Fed (tapering will start from January 1) gave the country time to replenish the forex reserves and rein in the high current account gap.
Among the Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were among the major laggards. Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Nestle and Power Grid were the major gainers.
Global investors have been cautious this year to put money into Indian real estate, as private equity inflow is down 44 per cent till December 12 to $3 billion compared to the entire previous year, according to Knight Frank. Real estate consultant Knight Frank India on Thursday released its data showing that the Indian real estate market received $3,024 million in PE investments from 23 deals between January 1 and December 12 this year, as against $5,357 million recorded in 2022.
Management commentary on demand environment, and forward guidance will be in focus when Indian IT services players declare their September quarter results for financial year 2024-25 (Q2FY25). The industry is exepected to have continued on the path of recovery in Q2, similar to the preceding quarter, rather than sprint towards growth. The top four firms likely grew between 0 per cent and 4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), according to consensus estimates.
'GenAI programmes may not be large in terms of value, but have triggered a lot of new opportunities among clients.'
World champion D Gukesh will take on Fabiano Caruana of the United States in the two-game quarter-final after the latter picked the Indian in a unique format typical of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, in Hamburg, Germany.
'Geopolitics will be the most important driver of financial markets in 2025.'
Domestic macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would guide market sentiments this week, analysts said. After a record rally, markets may face volatile trends this week amid elevated valuations and investors would also keep a track of global oil benchmark Brent crude and rupee-dollar movement for further cues. "Potential volatility in the stock market is anticipated this week. Elevated valuations remain a concern, with investors now focusing on monsoon progress and its impact on the rural economy.
The US Fed has also retained its benchmark rates for the Federal funds in the range of zero to 0.25 per cent, as part of its efforts to help in boosting the economy. After its two-day monetary policy meeting, which ended on Wednesday, the Fed said that 'economic activity is leveling out'.
Net NPAs increased to Rs 36,260 crore in the December quarter from Rs 34,843 crore in September and Rs 33,116 crore in December 2023, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Putin is keen on establishing a good personal rapport with Trump and anchor a meaningful US-Russia partnership, realistic enough to accept that Trump is as good an American president as Russia would ever get, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The RBI is fully aware that the high-cost loans and high indebtedness of the borrowers could pose financial stability risks, if not addressed by these NBFCs. Governor Shaktikanta Das has issued a stern warning, saying the RBI is closely monitoring these areas and will not hesitate to take appropriate action, if necessary, if the culprits don't opt for self-correction. Watch out for some action, soon, notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
With 7 per cent economic growth, India is not creating enough jobs as reflected by the number of applicants for vacant posts in some states, Reserve Bank's former governor Raghuram Rajan said and suggested the government needs to focus on promoting labour-intensive industries to generate employment. Rajan further said some Indians, especially those at upper level, are comfortable and have high incomes, but consumption growth from the lower half of the country has still not recovered to pre-pandemic level.
In the backdrop of an over four-decade high inflation, the US Federal Open Market Committee has raised its key policy interest rate by 75 basis points to 2.25-2.50 per cent, anticipating that the increase in the interest rates will be "appropriate". Hiking interest rates typically cool demand in the economy, thereby putting a brake on the inflation rate. The US Federal Reserve in its June meeting too raised the interest rate by 75 basis points, which was the steepest hike since 1994.
The Reserve Bank is likely to maintain status-quo on the key interest rates for the third time in a row in its upcoming bi-monthly policy review despite the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank hiking benchmark rates, as domestic inflation is within the RBI's comfort zone, say experts. The borrowing cost which started rising in May last year has stabilised with RBI keeping the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent since February when it was raised from 6.25 per cent. In the previous two bi-monthly policy reviews in April and June the benchmark rate was retained.
Stock markets will be driven by domestic inflation data, ongoing quarterly earnings from corporates and global trends this week, analysts said. News flows around the general election would also be tracked by investors, market experts said.
To minimise risk, invest in a debt fund whose duration matches your investment timeframe.
He asserted that the AAP cared for the people of Delhi and that's why they announced financial assistance for the Resident Welfare Associations to help people ensure better security in their neighbourhood by hiring private security guards.
Gold, a safe-haven bet, is likely to continue its record-smashing journey in the New Year, rising to Rs 85,000 per 10 grams and even Rs 90,000 level in domestic markets if geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainties continue.
Among the Sensex firms, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies and Axis Bank were the biggest gainers. Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finance were the laggards.
Indian stock markets are expected to be driven mostly by global factors this week amid a lack of local triggers and earnings season largely coming to an end, say analysts. Crude oil prices, rupee movement and US Federal Reserve meeting minutes to be released this week will also influence the market sentiment. "With the earnings season behind us, global cues would largely dictate the trend in the coming week," Ajit Mishra, SVP - technical research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing Director (MD) Gita Gopinath has condemned the "terrible and disturbing" incident of rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. "Personally, it is terrible to have any event of this kind. It is disturbing," she told Business Standard in New Delhi.
Of the eight RBI governors who have held office since the 1991 economic liberalisation, Bimal Jalan had the longest stint and S Venkitaramanan, the shortest. Current Governor Shaktikanta Das will overtake Bimal Jalan before completing his second term in December, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Announcement of macroeconmic data such as industrial production and inflation, the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision along with trends in global equities would dictate movement in the stock market this week, analysts said. Besides, foreign fund trading activity would also guide the trends in equities. "All eyes are now on the US Fed policy outcome for cues, which is scheduled on June 14. In the following sessions, the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan (BoJ) will also announce their policy decisions.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have pumped Rs 47,148 crore in the Indian equities in June, making it the highest inflow in 10 months, enthused by the country's steadily improving macroeconomic fundamentals. However, inflows in July may be subdued as FPIs might adopt cautious stance due to the recent comments from the US Federal Reserve, Mayank Mehraa, Smallcase manager and principal partner at financial consultancy Craving Alpha, said. Besides, VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said FPIs are likely to turn a bit cautious going forward as valuations in the country are rich from a short-term perspective.
US's terrible political and economic leadership will ultimately cost the dollar its value. India must act early to avoid being dragged down, suggests R Jagannathan.
State Bank of India (SBI), India's largest lender, is looking to raise Rs 10,000 crore through 15-year infrastructure bonds as early as next week, said multiple sources aware of the development. Market participants expect a coupon in the range of 7.15-7.18 per cent for SBI's upcoming infrastructure bond issuance. This comes as demand for longer-tenor papers has remained strong in recent domestic capital market offerings.
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday (local time) raised interest rates by 75 basis points (bps) or three-quarters of a percentage point in the boldest move since 1994.
The central government is expected to complete the auction of the 5.9-million tonne (mt) lithium reserves discovered in the Reasi district of the northern Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) by the end of this calendar year, Union Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said on the sidelines of the launch of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) report on 'New-Age Energy Minerals' on Tuesday. "Auction will be over by the end of this year," said Bharadwaj, adding, "We have already recommended a transaction advisor to the J&K government for the auction of lithium reserves." However, the exact timeline for an auction will be decided by J&K authorities, Union mines minister Pralhad Joshi said in Parliament last month.
In the Sensex pack, 20 stocks ended in the red while 37 of the Nifty constituents closed the session with losses. NTPC was the biggest loser among the Sensex constituents, ending with a loss of 2.71 per cent.
'Inflation is not good for industry. Nor for the economy as a whole.'
Indian government bonds, particularly those of shorter maturity, strengthened sharply on Monday, as the collapse of the California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) prompted investors to rush to the safety of American debt, leading to a decline in US bond yields.
'Putin will not be bound by any kind of deal he would sign with the US.'
An Enforcement Directorate team undertaking searches in a cyber fraud linked money laundering case was allegedly attacked in New Delhi on Thursday, officials said.
Federer may have set the benchmark on how to do tennis retirements. He didn't go out in a blaze of lonely glory but in the warmth of friendships formed over the years, observes Deepti Patwardhan.
If the DMK is able to sustain the momentum until the assembly polls, the AIADMK especially and the PMK and possibly the infant TVK too would find it hard to sign up with the BJP, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Despite its admirable competence and proven track record, the RBI doesn't have the capacity to supervise an economy that's growing so fast and becoming larger by the year, points out T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
Mint Road, on December 21, 2023, flagged the role of self-regulatory organisations (SROs) in strengthening the compliance culture in regulated entities (REs) and providing a consultative platform for policymaking. It also decided to issue an omnibus framework for SROs.
'Indian life is full of chaos. So it captures the cultural chaos quite beautifully and lightly.'
'For the past number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada'
