Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova overpowered Lucie Safarova 6-2, 6-4 in the second reverse singles to pull Russia level with the Czech Republic at 2-2 in their Fed Cup final on Sunday.
The new Samvat 2080 is viewed as a year of hope for industrial and precious metals. A key reason is the expectation of US interest rates peaking, followed by a reduction in the coming months. Regarding crude oil, its trajectory depends more on how the situation unfolds in West Asia.
Equity benchmark Sensex surged past the 57,000-mark by rallying over 1,000 points on Thursday, tracking an overall bullish trend in global equities despite the US Federal Reserve hiking rates. The 30-share BSE index closed 1,047.28 points or 1.84 per cent higher at 57,863.93. Likewise, the NSE Nifty surged 311.70 points or 1.84 per cent to end at 17,287.05.
Former world number one Andy Murray is in line to play Grigor Dimitrov in the opening round of the inaugural ATP Cup, with Bulgaria qualifying among the final six teams in the nation-based tournament.
A gradual increase works best for the US, as well as global markets, says Nizam Idris managing director, head of strategy (fixed income and currencies), Macquarie Bank.
Among the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finserv and ICICI Bank were the major gainers. Power Grid, Nestle, Asian Paints and Hindustan Unilever were among the laggards.
The US faces the Czech Republic in the first round from April 26-27.
The broader NSE Nifty dropped by 48.65 points, or 0.45 per cent to 10,808.05 after shuttling between 10,773.55 and 10,833.70.
The Czech Republic defended their Fed Cup title on Sunday as Karolina Pliskova became the home team's hero with a starring performance in their thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Russia.
Defending champions Russia took an unassailable 3-1 lead over Israel in their Fed Cup world group first-round tie on Sunday after Maria Sharapova and Anna Chakvetadze won their singles rubbers.
Stock markets will be largely driven by global trends and macroeconomic data announcements in a holiday-shortened week which may see volatility amid monthly derivatives expiry, say analysts. Equity markets will remain closed on Monday for Gurunanak Jayanti. Trading activity of foreign investors and the movement of the rupee against the dollar will also be tracked by investors.
Sara Errani romped to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Alisa Kleybanova in Cagliari to hand Italy an unassailable 3-0 lead over Russia and their third Fed Cup title in five years on Sunday.
Elevated food price-led inflation could become a sore point for markets, which they seem to be ignoring at current levels, observe analysts. Retail inflation in India - as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) - came in at a three-month high of 6.52 per cent in January 2023, compared with 5.72 per cent in December and 5.88 per cent in November 2022. The inflation print for February, according to Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, will be critical for the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee.
Boom, bust or a bit of both: as the jury bides time before ruling on the US 'recession', the economy's vital signs at a perplexing time of high-interest rates, still-punishing inflation, and surprisingly strong economic gains are a study of a growing debate over whether the world's largest economy is barrelling into a new downturn. With the US Federal Reserve's (Fed's) inflation fighters attempting the risky pursuit of 'pillow-soft landings' and its economy sending out mixed signals, if there is indeed a recession, it could spell trouble for domestic equities and corporate earnings growth.
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke touched off the biggest one-day rally in US stocks this month by hinting that the Central Bank is almost done with raising interest rates. The indices had their biggest rise since June 29.
'Valuations of midcaps and smallcaps have reached very high levels, and hence to that extent leave little margin of safety.'
Paul Meggyesi, Vice President of Global currency and commodity at JP Morgan, says that the Fed may raise rates one more time in December.
India were relegated to the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone group II after top seeds Australia blanked them 3-0 in their third and final group I match in Bangkok on Friday.
Glenn Maguire, chief economist (Asia Pacific) at Societe Generale, says that the Fed may raise rates once more, before pausing.\n\n
He adds that it is unlikely to see the Fed rate move above 5.5%.\n\n
'It makes sense to have gold in one's portfolio keeping the political and economic risks of 2024 in mind.'
'When you are playing team events in these Games, it's a completely different atmosphere.' 'There's pressure, there's excitement, it's a completely different vibe.'
Williams, who played an exhibition match last December in the United Arab Emirates, where she lost to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, said in addition to working on her serve and returns, she needs to manage her time better now that she has her daughter in tow.
Among the Sensex firms, ITC, NTPC, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints and Tata Steel were the major gainers. Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
In signs that the country's growth is on track, the economic activity across the country improved in recent months, according to the US Federal Reserve.
The rupee had plunged by 48 paise, logging its biggest fall in more than five weeks, to close at over one-month low of 61.13 against the greenback on Monday following demand for the US currency from importers.
He particularly expressed his disappointment with the US seeking more market for its goods in the developing economies, while putting restrictions on its import of services.
There will very little direct impact from the US Fed's rate hike this time, as we are well prepared both to handle liquidity, outflow of FII funds and managing our currency. But that doesn't mean India will be out of the woods anytime soon, says M V Subramanian.
She pulled out of the Fed Cup semi-finals against the US as she is not fully fit.\n
US won 4-1 against Argentina in the Fed Cup World Group II tie.
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday surprised the markets by saying it will continue with its monthly $85-billion bond buying programme and wait for more evidence of growth recovery.
It could be a tough week In the run-up to such an event, the market is always nervous.
Wall Street-correlated stock markets are facing the risk of correction, as Christopher Wood, the global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, conveys to investors in his latest edition of GREED & fear. Rising crude oil prices, which are nearing $100 a barrel (Brent), pose a threat to the global central bank's battle against inflation and have led to a re-evaluation of its exposure to Indian stocks. "The potential for more US Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hikes, combined with the risk that monetary tightening finally bites as regards the economy, remains a risk for Wall Street-correlated world stock markets. "There is also the oil factor. This is why GREED & fear continues to believe the pain trade is down. "Areas in Asia, such as Indian midcaps, which have already done very well, are at obvious risk of some profit-taking," writes Wood.
The chances of a rate cut in September have risen.
Crucially, the US central bank softened the blow by making its forward guidance even more dovish.
Among the Sensex firms, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement, JSW Steel, Titan, Bajaj Finance, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Nestle were the major laggards. Maruti, Power Grid, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, NTPC, HDFC Bank, ITC and IndusInd Bank were the gainers.
Roads are being expanded, bridges are being built, hotels are springing up, and the crowds are pouring in. Bringing with them promise of unforeseen economic boom. Ayodhya, it seems, has opened up its heart, Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com discovers on his first day in the city.
It is operations of a different kind at the international airport here when FedEx's "midnight hub" comes alive, taking advantage of the complete pause in the activities at the airport for four hours every night.
The Pool B comprises Chinese Taipei, Japan, Thailand and Korea.
With US Fed increasing interest rates to 3%, equity money flows into emerging markets like India could be impacted in the medium term.
