The Reserve Bank of India on Friday revised upwards the GDP growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.2 per cent from 7 per cent on rising private consumption and revival of demand in rural areas. Unveiling the bi-monthly monetary policy, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said estimates released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) placed India's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 8.2 per cent in 2023-24. "During 2024-25 so far, domestic economic activity has maintained resilience," he said, adding that manufacturing activity continues to gain ground on the back of strengthening domestic demand.
Foreign investors have pulled out a massive Rs 22,000 crore from Indian equities so far this month, due to uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections and outperformance of Chinese markets.
Jie Zheng beat Rushmi Chakravarthi 6-3, 6-0 and Na Li tamed Shikha Uberoi 6-1, 6-2 to give China a 2-0 lead.
India blanked Singapore, primarily junior players, 3-0 in the Asia Oceania zone group 1 tie.
Foreign banks and private credit funds are queuing up to fund acquisitions by Indian companies who are buying out their local rivals. The Adani Group, Torrent Group, and the Hindujas have approached several foreign banks and private equity (PE) firms to fund their acquisitions. Global investors have about $2 trillion of funds to invest, and about $100 to $150 billion is set aside for India, according to an estimate by JP Morgan.
Crucially, the US central bank softened the blow by making its forward guidance even more dovish.
Sunitha Rao and Shikha Uberoi scored impressive wins as India beat Kazakhstan 3-0 in their opening rubber of the Fed Cup zonal qualifiers.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) continued their buying spree and poured close to Rs 4,800 crore in the Indian equity markets in the first week of January driven by confidence in the country's robust economic fundamentals. Additionally, they injected Rs 4,000 crore in the debt market during the period under review, data with the depositories showed. With expectations of a prolonged decline in US interest rates in 2024, there is an anticipation that FPIs will likely escalate their purchase, particularly in the initial months of the New Year leading up to the general elections, V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.
The Pool B comprises Chinese Taipei, Japan, Thailand and Korea.
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.
US's terrible political and economic leadership will ultimately cost the dollar its value. India must act early to avoid being dragged down, suggests R Jagannathan.
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.
I am happy I didn't knock anyone down, driving recklessly or trying to show off. However, in one instance of road rage (the consequence of arguing with a driver who disrespected my right to cross the road peacefully) I did find a man in a SUV taking his anger out on me by driving his vehicle over my feet, recalls Shyam G Menon.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 20,170 crore ($2.4 billion) recently. This marked the fifth-highest weekly outflow from overseas funds since the beginning of 2008 and the largest since the last week of March 2020. Due to the Covid scare, FPIs had sold shares worth Rs 21,951 crore during that week, causing the market to decline by nearly 20 per cent.
While the Fed and the ECB slash and raise rates when needed, the RBI seems to move in just one direction.
Global liquidity expected to continue amid ECB stimulus
Global leader in express transportation, FedEx Corp, on Thursday announced its service expansion in India aiming to connect 4,348 cities and towns across the country.
'Yet the market didn't do all that badly because it was cushioned by domestic inflows.'
India's tennis campaign at the Paris Olympics lasted just a day as Sumit Nagal and the men's doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji bowed out after losing their respective opening matches to French challengers in Paris Sunday.
Gold prices tumbled by Rs 3,350 to Rs 72,300 per 10 grams in the local market in New Delhi on Tuesday amid subdued demand by jewellers after the government announced the customs duty cut on the yellow metal and silver to 6 per cent.
Ganesh Puja in Alibag taluka is about simplicity and minimalism. It's about quiet devotion too.
Among Sensex firms, HDFC Bank climbed more than 2 per cent. TCS, Maruti, Infosys, Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel were among the major gainers. State Bank of India, JSW Steel, ITC, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement and Nestle were among the laggards.
Jewellery stores remained deserted as buyers deferred their non-essential purchases awaiting softness in gold prices.
From the Sensex basket, Sun Pharma, Maruti, Power Grid, Titan, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India were the major laggards. Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services and Nestle were the gainers.
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.
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology-Palakkad (IIT-Palakkad) have introduced a pioneering method of generating renewable energy from human urine.
RBI will now increasingly shift focus to domestic parameters
'Just today a shopkeeper I went to was saying how bad business is. He must have been a BJP supporter.' 'He finally said, "It's a good thing there's an NDA government, not a BJP government, 'they' had become too big for their boots,".'
India earned the opportunity to get promotion to Asia/Oceania Group I of the Fed Cup after qualifying for the play-off tie, following a 2-1 win over Phillipines in the last round-robin tie in Shenzhen on Friday.
'The more educated a young person is, the higher the chances of him or her remaining unemployed.'
Sania Mirza won the crucial second-round singles match and then combined with Isha Lakhani to clinch the decisive doubles rubber as India earned promotion to Asia/Oceania Group I in Fed Cup after a 2-1 victory over Hong Kong in the play-off tie on Saturday.
With farm Acts out of the picture, the government may look at reforming the input side of the agriculture sector - regulations and rules that govern seeds, fertilisers and plant chemicals. Sources said such a blueprint, which is aimed at making the life of farmers easier, with quicker approvals but not compromising on quality, is in the works as part of the 100-day agenda of Modi 3.0. Also, ways to administer fertiliser subsidy more effectively and cutting down on leakages and diversions to build on the success of neem-coated urea are being thought of.
'We are confident that over the next few years the government will strike a fine balance between populist measures and growth, and manage coalition partners well.'
Equities went into a tailspin on Wednesday after the Reserve Bank surprised the market with a mid-cycle rate hike in a bid to tame soaring inflation.
'Industrial countries are still struggling, with a few exceptions, to grow and the uncertainty about growth in the US as well the world is probably what impelled the Fed to stay on hold.'
Sania Mirza and veteran Rushmi Charavarthy registered contrasting singles victories as India blanked Kyrgyzstan 3-0 in the play-off tie to win back their place in the Asia/Oceania Group I of the Fed Cup tennis tournament in Kuala Lumpur.
'The main worry is lots of new investors coming into the markets in order to make a quick buck/easy money.' 'Those things are happening again and have happened in the past as well.' 'All that has led to problems.' 'We are not there yet, but will get there eventually.'
The Reserve Bank of India's interest rate decision, macroeconomic data and global trends will drive investors' sentiment this week, with markets hoping to continue the positive momentum after ending FY24 on a buoyant note, analysts said. In addition, the trading activity of foreign investors, the rupee-dollar trend and the movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude would also influence trading in equity markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 14,659.83 points or 24.85 per cent in the 2023-24.
Debt mutual fund (MF) schemes, which witnessed relatively muted inflows in the past three years, saw a surge in investor interest in April amid election-induced volatility in the equity markets. Active debt funds garnered nearly Rs 66,000 crore net inflows in April, most at least since December 2020.
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