Importers are rushing to hedge their dollar positions amid the sharp depreciation of the rupee against the American currency and expectations of further volatility even as exporters are holding off after suffering mark-to-market (MTM) losses on earlier hedges.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the trading hours for the interbank call money market from July 1, and that of repo and tri-party repo markets from August 1. Market participants said the decision is intended to help reduce the large Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) balances held by banks with the RBI, thereby addressing liquidity mismatches.
Here's what Indian investors diversifying into equities, ETFs, and real estate abroad to manage risk, returns, and currency exposure must watch out for.
In response to the panic triggered by Trump's trade policies, the RBI net sold approximately $43 billion in the second half of FY25 to curb volatility, as the rupee plunged to a low of 87.95 per dollar in February this year.
'Many global investors have been overweight on dollar assets, so some diversification or hedging is naturally expected.'
'The RBI's MPC will maintain the current policy rates (6.50%) at the policy meeting, given ongoing inflationary pressures.'
Among the Sensex firms, Kotak Bank, PowerGrid, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, PowerGrid were the major gainers. HUL, TCS, M&M, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech were among the losers.
Anil Agarwal, chairman of metals major Vedanta group, has called for the sale of government stake in Bharat Gold Mine and Hutti Gold Mine so as to increase production of the yellow metal in the country. In a social media post, Agarwal said global gold prices are currently at record highs and India imports 99.9 per cent of its requirement. "With massive investments, we can be a major producer of gold and a big generator of employment," Agarwal said.
If growth reverts to the pre-Covid level, a lot of people may have to temper their rosy optimism, points out Debashis Basu.
Business is down to such an extent that last year these firms could not even meet RBI's capital norm of Rs 50 million for partnerships and Rs 100 million for public and private firms in this line of business.
The rupee depreciated 6 paise to 77.50 against the US dollar in the opening trade on Wednesday as a surging American currency in the overseas markets and persistent foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment. Besides, rising global crude prices impacted the domestic unit, forex traders said. However, a higher opening in the domestic equity market restricted the rupee's fall, they added.
Bangladesh is in turmoil, which is not good news for India, which shares a porous 4000 km border with it. There is a danger of fundamentalism growing there, and India has to move in to reset its ties with the new dispensation before China and Pakistan make capital out of it, alerts Ramesh Menon.
After a technology upgrade, the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) appears poised for an improvement in volumes. The premier commodity and forex exchange reported a loss of Rs 19.1 crore in the July-September quarter (second quarter, or Q2) of 2023-24 (FY24). This was attributed to higher software charges payable under an extended service agreement with 63 moons technologies and a one-off cost towards core guaranteed funds (CGF).
The RBI is still a small player in international gold buying among central banks. But in terms of total gold bought in 2019, it is the sixth largest buyer with 25.2 tonnes purchases in the first 10 months of 2019.
While the fiscal year has just begun, any windfall surplus will be welcomed by the government as it bids to meet the fiscal deficit target of 5.9 per cent of GDP, amidst lack of clarity on exactly to what extent will recession in the West impact India's trade and tax collections.
India's rupee is likely to remain under pressure due to high prices of crude oil and other commodities, and may stabilise at around 79-80 against the US dollar in the near term, say experts amid limited headroom available with the Reserve Bank to check the weakening of the domestic currency. The currency has slumped over 5 per cent this year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent international crude oil prices soaring to a decade high. On Monday, rupee ended at a fresh all-time low of 78.34 (provisional) against the US dollar.
'She delivers on promises, especially on security issues which is a core concern for India.'
Foreign capital inflows also boosted the rupee value against the dollar
Dulat, however, pointedly said engagement with Pakistan has always been "influenced by domestic politics".
Traders who pay in rupees generate over Rs 50 crore in daily cryptocurrency volumes. Indians actually invest a great deal more in forex-denominated trades, observes Devangshu Dutta, explaining why it is impossible to ban cryptocurrency.
Increased selling of the dollar by banks and exporters amid sustained foreign capital inflows supported the rupee.
The euro skidded to a 6-week low of 133.700 yen in the early session.
Rajapaksa's decision was to ensure public security and maintain essential services so as to ensure a smooth functioning of the country, the presidential media division said.
A global association for regulated funds that is leading efforts to shorten the settlement cycle for US equities has reached out to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) with a plea to extend the T+1 implementation timeline by 18 months. The short transition period of four months does not provide foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), their services providers, and broker dealers sufficient time to make the necessary operational and compliance changes to accommodate a shorter settlement cycle, ICI Global said in its letter addressed to Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi written a few days back. ICI Global carries out the international work of the Investment Company Institute (ICI), a global association for regulated funds, whose members manage assets of more than $42 trillion.
Investors are anxious over the US-China trade tension, a sharp devaluation in yuan and uncertainty over Kashmir issue.
IndusInd Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, falling over 5 per cent, followed by HDFC, Axis Bank, PowerGrid, SBI, Bajaj Finserv and Bharti Airtel.
For the banking system a new cycle starts in FY2024. It's fraught with fresh challenges on asset quality and profitability, warns Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
SBI was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 4 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, ONGC, ITC, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank and HDFC Bank.
Avoid thinking of investment as some 'become millionaire in a week' scheme, says Nikhil Sethi, founder and MD, Zuvomo, a crowdfunding firm. Always think of long term gains and plan your trades accordingly.
With days to go before the new tax regime around crypto assets kicks in, several investors are reportedly either booking profits, rejigging their portfolios or moving their crypto assets to their private wallets outside of India. Starting April, gains from trading in crypto and other virtual assets like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will be taxed at a flat 30 per cent, as announced in the Union Budget. And, 1 per cent of tax will be deducted at source (TDS) on every transaction involving crypto and other virtual assets. The new tax regime also bars investors from offsetting losses from one crypto asset (such as Bitcoin) against gains from another (say, Ethereum).
The high-level meeting comes against the backdrop of the rupee touching a record low of 58.98 to a dollar on Tuesday.
Extending losses for the second straight session, the rupee slipped by 11 paise at 66.54 against the US dollar.
The government was also faced with problems on its balance of payments. It took steps to conserve declining foreign exchange reserves, and began to regulate the production, supply and distribution of gold. It banned forward trading in the yellow metal in November 1962, and introduced gold bonds as well, reveals the RBI's annual report for the year ending June 1963.
Weakness in the greenback overseas against the backdrop of sluggish US macro data outcome helped the home currency move higher
The Indian currency had appreciated by a whopping 85 paise in three-day surge
'For all of us at Amazon, it is 'Bharat first'.' 'We are keeping the Indian customer at the centre of what we are doing.'
The rupee is seen weakening against dollar in current week.
The RBI recently met with a handful of foreign banks and asked them to stop acting as market-makers for rupee NDFs, according to three bankers involved in the discussions.
Kotak Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, falling around 3 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints. On the other hand, ONGC, PowerGrid and IndusInd Bank were the gainers.
Weakness in dollar in the overseas market also boosted the rupee value
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