Wholesale price inflation remained in the negative territory for the fourth month in a row in July at (-)1.36 per cent, even though prices of food items, especially vegetables, skyrocketed. The inflation, however, has inched up from (-)4.12 per cent recorded in June fuelled by 62.12 per cent rise in vegetable prices. In July last year, wholesale price index (WPI) was 14.07 per cent.
GDP growth of 7.7 per cent in the first half of this fiscal has "left sceptics gasping and woefully behind the curve", an RBI article said on Wednesday. It also stressed the buildup in the growth momentum is likely to be sustained. The article on the state of the economy published in the Reserve Bank's December Bulletin on Wednesday also said CPI-based retail inflation is expected to ease to 4.6 per cent in the first three quarters of 2024-25 from 5.6 per cent in November.
India, along with Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, is expected to sustain growth in the medium-term in Asia region, replacing China as the key growth driver, Morgan Stanley and Nomura said in two separate reports released on Monday. While Morgan Stanley projected a 6.2 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for India in FY24, Nomura estimated the Indian economy to grow at 5.9 per cent in 2023. "Even with a slowing China, we expect GDP growth in Asia to sustainably outperform other emerging markets and the US. India and Southeast Asia are set to be the fastest-growing economies this decade.
According to Fitch rupee is expected to weaken to 72 to a dollar by the end of December 2019, and further to 73 by December 2020, from 69.82 to a dollar in end December 2018.
Chief statistician T C A Anant says growth figure might go up once indirect tax data is fully in, however, he agrees that private expenditure is yet to pick up
The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday opted for a pause second time in a row, maintaining key benchmark policy rate at 6.5 per cent as inflation moderates. The rate increase cycle was paused in April after six consecutive rate hikes aggregating to 250 basis points since May 2022. Announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously decided to keep the rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent.
Shares of real estate firms have been outperforming over the past year. The rally, analysts say, may hit roadblocks in the near term amid stretched valuations, even as the long-term prospects for the sector remain ebullient. "Most of the positive news flow is already in the price. Hence, investors sitting on hefty profits may partially cash out at current levels," suggests V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
CPI inflation could fall marginally but stay above RBI's comfort level.
While India's GDP is pegged at 7.7%, China is projected to grow at 7%.
Investor sentiment got a boost after the IMF said India will see its growth picking up to 7.4 per cent in 2018-19 to regain the status of the world's fastest growing major economy.
'We are in a sweet spot.' 'Equity, on a standalone basis, will continue to remain the asset class to stay invested in.'
The Indian services sector growth touched a six-month high in December, supported by a robust intake of new work and favourable market conditions, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose from 56.4 in November to 58.5 in December, highlighting the strongest rate of expansion since mid-2022. For the 17th straight month, the headline figure was above the neutral 50 threshold.
Continue to invest normally unless prices fall drastically in April-May. If prices do fall drastically, invest more than normal, advises Devangshu Datta.
Global funds, according to Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, are now beginning to pay more attention to India with the market now offering 30 companies with a market capitalisation over $25 billion.
The partially convertible rupee closed at 61.31/32 per dollar, unchanged from its Tuesday close.
Other top losers in the Sensex pack included Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, TCS, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, SBI, IndusInd Bank and Hero MotoCorp, declining up to 3.28 per cent.
India's economy grew 6.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022-23, pushing up the annual growth rate to 7.2 per cent, official data showed on Wednesday.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday called upon G20 nations to resolutely address the challenges, like threats to financial stability and debt distress that confront the global economy. Addressing the inaugural session of the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, Das said although the outlook for the global economy has improved in recent months and there is now greater optimism that the world may avoid a deep recession and only experience slow growth or softer recession,"yet uncertainties lie ahead of us." "Together we must resolutely address the challenges that confront us, including those that are of medium to long-term nature such as threat to financial stability, debt distress, climate finance, fractures in global trade and strains on global value chains.
The Reserve Bank of India on Monday said the medium-term outlook remains favourable with economy in 2004-05 set to build upon the robust performance recorded in the previous fiscal though a fuller assessment
Modi attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta. Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr Kao Kim Hourn also attended the summit.
The general elections in April/May 2024 are expected to add volatility to the Indian markets, keeping investors on their toes.
Lower revenue collection puts upward pressure on government borrowing, ensuring that it deviates from the glided path of debt reduction
'If all goes well, we may well hit or even surpass the forecast growth rate.'
The members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar.
China, it said, is projected to grow at 6.6 per cent in the current year which will moderate to 6.4 per cent next year.
Unilever, which derives 52-53 per cent of its $70-billion revenues from emerging markets, said it expected economic pressures to continue in 2013.
Globally, gold fell 0.2 per cent to $1,162.25 an ounce in Singapore.
'Earnings will be the catalyst for markets to march higher from here on out.'
There is talk of a fresh approach to a new labour code as well as reforming land acquisition laws in such a way as to be politically.
Private equity (PE) investment in real estate declined 5 per cent year-on-year in April-June to $1.9 billion because of high interest rates, according to Anarock. PE inflows stood at $2 billion in the year-ago period. Real estate consultant Anarock has come out with a report titled 'FLUX Q1 FY24 Market Monitor for Capital Flows in Indian Real Estate'.
