Investors' wealth has eroded by over Rs 680,441 crore in three days of market fall amid weak global trends and muted domestic sentiments. Extending its losses for the third straight day, BSE benchmark Sensex on Thursday finished below the 60,000-level, weighed by hectic selling in IT, energy and finance stocks amid a sell-off in European equities. The index has lost 1,844.29 points in three sessions.
The recession-hit American economy is slowly witnessing signs of stabilisation, with significant reduction in the pace of GDP contraction and job losses. Going by the latest Beige Book from the US Federal Reserve, economic activity in most of the districts in the country have either improved or stabilised.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday raised the benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points to 5.40 per cent to tame inflation.
The rupee plunged 20 paise to close at an all-time low of 78.13 against the US dollar on Monday, as a lacklustre trend in domestic equities and stronger greenback overseas weighed on investor sentiments. Forex traders said weak Asian currencies and persistent foreign capital outflows were the other major factors that dragged the local unit down. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 78.20 and witnessed an intra-day high of 78.02 and a low of 78.29 against the US dollar.
After a spirited eight-hour debate in which 60 members participated, the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, with 454 members voting in favour and two against it.
The US Federal Reserve has earned a whopping $14 billion profit on loan programmes made in the last two years, says a media report.
IPO market hopes to come out of slump in festive season, reports Sundar Sethuraman.
On one hand, South Indian states have been complaining about denial of a proportionate portion of the sharable funds from the Centre, based on population. On the other hand, they stand to lose Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats that again are based on population, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The US Federal Reserve, on Wednesday, announced a 0.25 per cent cut in benchmark interest rate, which is expected to increase capital flow from foreign institutional investors in the Indian stock market.
ICICI Bank, HUL, HDFC Bank, M&M, Ultra Cement, IndusInd Bank and Tech Mahindra were among the losers in the Sensex pack. NSE Nifty slipped 13.95 points to 17,355.30.
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.
Despite markets turning volatile, share sale activity at India Inc has surged to its highest level in five months. So far in March, promoters, strategic investors and other large shareholders have been able to offload shares worth more than Rs 33,000 crore-the most since November-defying uncertain market conditions. Both the Sensex and the Nifty are on course to post their fourth straight monthly loss amid headwinds, such as interest rate tightening by the US Federal Reserve and the global banking crisis.
Equity investors became poorer by over Rs 6.71 lakh crore on Thursday as domestic benchmark indices tumbled amid a global market meltdown. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex tanked 1,416.30 points or 2.61 per cent to settle at 52,792.23, tracking weak global markets and persistent foreign fund outflows. In line with the weak market trend, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms tumbled by Rs 6,71,051.73 crore to stand at Rs 2,49,06,394.08 crore.
For the first time, the rupee declined to the low level of 80 against the US dollar in intra-day spot trading on Monday before ending the session 16 paise lower at 79.98 amid a surge in crude oil prices and unrelenting foreign fund outflows. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 79.76 against the greenback but lost ground to touch the psychological low mark of 80 against the American currency. The local unit clawed back some lost ground and closed at 79.98, registering a fall of 16 paise over its previous close.
Brokers said investor sentiment turned choppy on selling by foreign institutional investors ahead of the September month derivatives expiry on Thursday.
The central government is on track to meet its fiscal deficit target of 6.4 per cent of the GDP for 2022-23 on the back of strong growth in revenue collections, the World Bank said in its India Development Update on Tuesday. High nominal GDP growth in the first quarter supported strong growth in revenue collection, especially Goods and Services Tax (GST), despite tax cuts on fuel. Notwithstanding an increase in spending due to expanded fertilizer subsidies and food subsidies for vulnerable households in response to the commodity price shock, the government is on track to meet its FY22/23 fiscal deficit target of 6.4 per cent of GDP and the general government deficit is projected to decline to 9.6 per cent from 10.3 per cent in FY21/22 and 13.3 per cent in FY20/21.
'We are not entirely out of the woods.' 'The broader trajectory remains tentative.' 'However, we may expect some near-term bounce.'
Loan against gold as a product is catching on fast. Let's keep the momentum going, but aim for sustainable growth. A few bad apples should not ruin the brunch, argues Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
This was the near-unanimous replies of 10 market participants.
China would contribute $41bn towards the pool. Brazil, India and Russia would contribute $18bn each; South Africa $5bn.
'Then select those that are well-aligned with your risk-return profile and investment time horizon.'
Historically, March has been a volatile month for Indian equity markets. To begin with, it marks the end of a financial year, wherein there is some compulsive portfolio rebalancing trade by large funds - domestic and foreign. Retail investors, too, prefer to 'cash in' on their gains and losses before the financial year runs out.
State Bank of India's (SBI) two-year-long wait to expand its operations in the United States is set to end with the New York State Banking Department (NYSBD) clearing the bank's application for opening another branch, senior SBI officials confirmed.
Gold price is declining due to the strengthening of dollar in the wake of the US Federal Reserve's move to control rate on inflation concerns.
Benchmark indices failed to hold on to early gains and closed in the red for the seventh straight session on Thursday, with participants remaining in wait-and-watch mode ahead of the RBI's interest rate decision. Unabated selling by foreign funds added to the pressure, though a modest recovery in the rupee cushioned the fall, traders said. After rallying in early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex came under selling pressure in the afternoon session and closed 188.32 points or 0.33 per cent lower at 56,409.96.
Gains in realty, teck, IT, power, consumer durables, banking and oil & gas stocks helped both the key indices to score gains.
FPIs have turned net sellers in 2022 after being net buyers in the last three years.
The case is linked to an alleged fraud of over Rs 512 crore in a Panvel-based cooperative bank.
'India is an equity market with a breadth and depth of companies to invest in.'
Sensex witnessed the biggest single day gain since May 2009 in absolute terms.
India's exposure to Greece being limited fuelled the rally.
Hero MotoCorp was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting 4.46 per cent. IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Vedanta, SBI, M&M, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, HDFC and HDFC Bank too rose up to 3.63 per cent.
Nine of the top-10 most valued companies together lost a whopping Rs 309,178.44 crore in market valuation last week as selloffs continued. In a holiday-shortened past week, the 30-share BSE Sensex plummeted 1,836.95 points or 3.11 per cent amid geopolitical tensions, global sell-off triggered by a hawkish US Federal Reserve and unabated foreign fund outflows. From the top-10 list, State Bank of India was the lone gainer as its valuation jumped Rs 18,340.07 crore to reach Rs 467,069.54 crore.
Benchmark stock indices opened the week on a muted note on Monday, with the Sensex plunging nearly 483 points due to selling in IT, capital goods and banking shares amid losses in global equities. The Sensex tanked 482.61 points or 0.81 per cent to settle at 58,964.57. During the day, it tumbled 552.78 points or 0.92 per cent to 58,894.40. The 50-issue Nifty declined by 109.40 points or 0.62 per cent to finish at 17,674.95 as 29 of its stocks declined.
Images from Day 2 of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, on Tuesday.
An escalation in the already simmering tensions between North and South Korea, China and Taiwan, and Russia and Ukraine could prove to be a bigger worry for the markets over the next few months rather than central bank policy action, said analysts. The markets, they said, are still not fully factoring in this possibility. "The conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia is another geopolitical worry.
Consumer goods firms and auto companies are witnessing an upturn in rural demand, which had been lagging for most of FY24. Expectations of a bumper rabi crop harvest have helped turn the tide. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged last week, noting that as rural demand catches up, consumption is expected to support economic growth in 2024-25.
Vinesh clears way for Antim Panghal's inclusion
In Phase 6, indications are that the BJP, which is defending 40 seats, will lose in double digits and gain in single digits. Not good, if you are the ruling party scrambling to earn a working majority, with just one phase left to go, argues Prem Panicker.
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