Benchmark Sensex rallied 455 points and Nifty rose more than 133 points to close above the key 18,000-mark for the first time since April on Tuesday as foreign institutional investors continued to be bullish on the domestic market. Continuing its rally for the fourth straight session, the 30-share Sensex rose 455.95 points or 0.76 per cent to close at 60,571.08 points. The broader Nifty climbed 133.70 points or 0.75 per cent to settle at 18,070.05 points. Previously, the Nifty had closed above the 18,000-mark on April 4 this year.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting over 5 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank and Axis Bank. NSE Nifty jumped 203.15 points to 17,780.00.
The biggest question looming over the summit is whether there will be a joint leaders' declaration in view of the sharp differences between the West and the Russia-China combine on the text to describe the Ukraine conflict in the document.
In a significant development, India is believed to have placed a funding request of around $55 million in its first call with the Pandemic Fund of the World Bank, sources said. The fund has been set up to finance critical investments in a bid to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities at national, regional, and global levels, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. It was created in the aftermath of the Covid-19 global pandemic.
Indian banks are the 2nd-fastest-growing ones.
In the case of Iran, the lifting of sanctions has paved the way for direct relations.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
Aditi Ashok has risen to 15th on the LPGA's Race to CME Globe and could well go better than career-best 48th in world rankings.
If military power is all it would take to finish the menace of an awful terrorist organisation like Hamas, how come five Israeli wars in Gaza since 2003 have failed to do so? asks Shekhar Gupta.
Mukherjee advised European and American policymakers to follow regulatory mechanism on the lines of the Indian banking system.
Equity benchmarks nosedived on Friday, with the Sensex crashing 866.65 points to close below the 55,000-mark amid a sell-off in global markets. Unabated foreign fund outflows and firm crude oil prices also weighed on sentiment. The 30-share BSE Sensex dived 866.65 points or 1.56 per cent to finish at 54,835.58.
Policymakers should aspire to restore the pre-Independence environment where the rupee was trusted and used all over South Asia, in Southeast Asia, in West Asia, and in East Africa, suggests Ajay Shah.
Indian policymakers are almost alone, alongside the United States, in seeking a hard and multi-sectoral global decoupling from China in the expectation that it will boost their economies, observes Mihir S Sharma.
After 2014, our growth has been average of around 5%. If this continues, we will remain here like Egypt, Brazil, South Africa and Bangladesh, points out Aakar Patel.
The Sensex was pulled lower mainly by Maruti, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and SBI -- which suffered losses to the tune of 3 per cent.
FPIs have turned net sellers in 2022 after being net buyers in the last three years.
In the Sensex pack, other gainers were Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, HUL, Asian Paints, HDFC duo and ONGC -- gaining as much as 2.87 per cent.
Kotak Mahindra Bank was the biggest gainer on both the indices, ending nearly 9 per cent higher following reports that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc was planning to pick up stake in the private sector lender.
India has a huge untapped population which doesn't have facilities for financial aid and insurance, and it is perhaps plausible to look at the option of having niche players catering to smaller sectors akin to non-banks and microfinance institutions in lending, said Rakesh Joshi, member (Finance & Investment), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai). Speaking at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit, Joshi said, "Today, most of our insurance companies operate at a national level. There is arguably a case for having differentiated operations, which cater to niche sectors the same way we have non-banking financial companies (NBFC) and microfinance institutions in lending." "The capital requirement for niche players may not be as large as those having national ambitions. "Enabling these niche players, which require lower capital, will enhance the penetration in areas which hitherto had not seen traction from large players," he said.
SoftBank Group-backed Ola Electric is in talks with multiple global suppliers to build a battery cell manufacturing plant in India with a capacity of up to 50-gigawatt hours, sources said. As part of its broader electrification push, the firm plans to invest in companies with advanced cell and battery technology, alongside the 50 Gwh battery plant. Ola Electric needs 40 Gwh of battery capacity to power 10 million electric scooters annually. The remainder will be for its electric cars, which the company plans to manufacture in the future.
Among the prominent gainers on the Sensex chart were Bajaj Finance, Bajaj FinServ, ICICI Bank, Axis bank, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank and HDFC Bank -- rising as much as 3.50 per cent. NSE Nifty soared 271.65 points to settle at 17,625.70.
The rupee depreciated 39 paise to an all-time low of 82.69 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday as elevated crude oil prices and risk-averse sentiment among investors weighed on the local unit. Moreover, a negative trend in domestic equities and firm American currency sapped investor appetite, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 82.68 against the greenback, then slipped further to 82.69, registering a fall of 39 paise over its previous close.
The venture is seen as a rival to the World Bank.
Bajaj Finance was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 5 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra and Infosys. On the other hand, Maruti, Bajaj Auto, Nestle India, PowerGrid and Axis Bank were among the laggards.
The silver lining for India's presidency is likely to be the support by almost all G20 countries to its proposal to include the African Union as a permanent member of the bloc that has emerged as perhaps the most influential multilateral forum after the United Nations.
'Re-electing Jim Yong Kim will allow the World Bank to continue to build on important initiatives and reforms.'
Foreign ministers of G20 major economies will meet in the national capital on March 1 and 2 to deliberate on pressing global challenges amid escalating confrontation between Russia and the West over the Ukraine conflict that entered the second year this week.
Top losers in the Sensex pack include Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Asian Paints, RIL, Coal India, HDFC Bank, HDFC, TCS, ONGC and M&M, falling up to 3.09 per cent.
After turning net buyers last month, foreign investors have become aggressive shoppers of Indian equities and have invested Rs 22,452 crore in the first two weeks of August amid softening inflation concerns. This was way higher than a net investment of nearly Rs 5,000 crore by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in the entire month of July, data with depositories showed. FPIs had turned net buyers for the first time in July, after nine straight months of massive net outflows, which started in October last year.
Investors became poorer by over Rs 4.47 lakh crore on Friday as markets faced severe drubbing, mirroring weak trends in global equities. The 30-share BSE benchmark dived 866.65 points or 1.56 per cent to settle at 54,835.58. During the day, it tumbled 1,115.48 points or 2 per cent to 54,586.75.
The Congress on Monday alleged that a Chinese national played a 'dubious role' in the Adani Group's activities and asked the government if it was not concerned that the conglomerate may be involving that person in important defence contracts.
The EV industry is at an inflection point and batteries will play a critical role ahead -- batteries and related components typically constitute 35-45 per cent of an EV's costs.
Titan was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 3.5 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, SBI, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance, HUL, Axis Bank and Sun Pharma. On the other hand, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid and Infosys were the laggards.
Significantly, for the first time, the FATF put Myanmar in the "high risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action", often referred to as the watchdog's black list.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out Rs 17,696 crore from the Indian markets in December so far amid uncertainty due to a new coronavirus strain, Omicron, and expectations of faster tapering by the US Federal Reserve. According to the depositories data, FPIs took out Rs 13,470 crore from equities, Rs 4,066 crore from the debt segment and Rs 160 crore from hybrid instruments between December 1-17. In November, FPIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,521 crore in Indian markets.
In the Sensex pack, major gainers were Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, SBI and PowerGrid. NSE Nifty rallied 237.90 points to 17,339
Reliance Industries was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 1 per cent, followed by M&M, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HUL. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Maruti, SBI, PowerGrid, NTPC and Tata Steel were among the laggards.
Tata Steel was the top loser in the Sensex pack, sinking nearly 10 per cent, followed by SBI, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, Dr Reddy's and M&M. NSE Nifty tumbled 188.25 points to 17,396.90.
The ruble has recouped most of its losses and become the top-performing currency globally. It continues to gain and is up 60 per cent against the US dollar from its lows in the first week of March. The ruble appreciated to 83 to the dollar intraday on Tuesday against a record low of 139 on March 7.
Equity benchmark Sensex rebounded 454 points on Thursday, boosted by gains in index heavyweight Reliance Industries amid a positive trend in global markets.
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