The US Federal Reserve has earned a whopping $14 billion profit on loan programmes made in the last two years, says a media report.
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.
From the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paint, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries and Tata Steel were the biggest gainers. HDFC climbed 2.59 per cent after the housing finance major on Thursday reported a 20 per cent growth in standalone net profit to Rs 4,425 crore for the quarter ending March 2023 on the back of higher interest income. IndusInd Bank, Nestle, Power Grid, ITC, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra were the major laggards.
Crucially, the US central bank softened the blow by making its forward guidance even more dovish.
Strong currency and sagging oil prices are spooking policymakers.
Weaker-than-expected growth in US jobs in recent months had already forced US central bankers to put off a rate hike at their meeting last week
Upon his arrival, the PM was accorded a welcome by the pachyderms and he fed sugarcane to some of the elephants in the Theppakkadu camp at the tiger reserve in Mudumalai.
'The risk is in not being invested and missing out on an upmove.'
India will drive growth in the Asia-Pacific (Apac) region as the growth engine is likely to shift from China to South and Southeast Asia in the coming years, S&P Global Ratings said in a report on Tuesday. The rating agency's report projected China's growth to slow down to 4.6 per cent by 2026 from an estimated 5.4 per cent in 2023. India is likely to clock 7 per cent economic growth from 6.4 per cent estimated for 2023.
With US Fed increasing interest rates to 3%, equity money flows into emerging markets like India could be impacted in the medium term.
'It makes sense to have gold in one's portfolio keeping the political and economic risks of 2024 in mind.'
This was the weakest endorsement ever extended to a chairman in the central bank's 96-year history.
Gold is up 0.8 per cent for the week, after hitting a near-two-week high earlier in the week.
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.
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.
The world economy has been run for too long by finance enthusiasts. It is time that finance sceptics began to take over.
In the United States, economic data is likely to take a back seat next week.
tailwinds of a remarkable year and handsome investor returns, Indian equities are set for an eventful journey in 2024, with a slew of local and global cues -- varying from interest rates to Lok Sabha polls to geopolitical happenings. Analysts are of the view that the bull run in the domestic equity market will continue, and over the next 3-6 months, the benchmark indices -- Sensex and Nifty -- could climb up to 7 per cent. In 2023, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 11,399.52 points or 18.73 per cent, and the NSE Nifty climbed 3,626.1 points or 20 per cent.
The ongoing second quarter earnings, movement of oil benchmark Brent crude and the uncertainty in the Middle East would dictate terms in the domestic markets this week, analysts said. Furthermore, the activities of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) will also influence trading in the markets. "A slew of earnings reports from heavyweights expected this week will significantly impact market direction.
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.
In a memorable year for the equity market, Dalal Street investors added a whopping Rs 81.90 lakh crore to their wealth in 2023 as a raft of positive factors powered a stellar rally in stocks. Experts said India's strong macroeconomic fundamentals, political stability owing to the BJP's success in recent elections in three significant states, optimistic corporate earnings outlook, signals from the US Federal Reserve about three prospective rate cuts next year and heavy retail investors participation played a major role in fuelling the stock market rally in 2023. In the year 2023, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 11,399.52 points or 18.73 per cent.
On one hand, the RBI will have to initiate measures to contain inflow of foreign capital -- which is expected to increase as an after effect of the Fed rate cut, on the other it will need to ensure that such inflows do not fuel inflationary pressures.
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.
The rupee is expected to become more jittery and choppy in the near-term
Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and ITC were the top losers along with ICICI Bank and SBI
The deficit data was the latest in a run of positive signs for the sluggish domestic economy and could put India in a better position should the Fed start tapering, than in the summer when the rupee hit a record low.
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty faced heavy drubbing on Thursday, falling over 1 per cent each, in tandem with weak global markets following the US Federal Reserve's interest rate hike and its hawkish stance. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 878.88 points or 1.40 per cent to settle at 61,799.03. During the day, it tumbled 962.3 points or 1.53 per cent to 61,715.61.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday pointed to a possible December interest rate "liftoff" but said rates would rise only slowly from then on to nurture the U.S. economic recovery.
Though the Reserve Bank would want to keep excess liquidity under check to contain inflation, it may still go for a CRR cut to enable banks lower interest rates in order to spur growth through increased credit offtake.
There are already some signs of stress in this market.
Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Vedanta, Coal India, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, HCL Tech and Bajaj Finance, rising up to 2.65 per cent.
Rupee ends flat against dollar ahead of Fed policy outcome.
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.
Month-end dollar demand from oil companies mainly affected the rupee value against the US currency, a forex dealer said.
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.
64% of 800 investors polled think it will start this week but weak US data suggest it might not be aggressive.
Foreign Portfolio Investors' (FPIs) selling spree continues as they pulled out over Rs 3,400 crore from the Indian equity markets in the first three trading sessions of November on rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. This came after such investors withdrew Rs 24,548 crore in October and Rs 14,767 crore in September, data with the depositories showed. Before the outflow, FPIs were incessantly buying Indian equities in the last six months from March to August and brought in Rs 1.74 lakh crore during the period.
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.
Some investors had speculated that the US central bank might put its plans on hold given the jitters overseas.
It is surprising that central bankers around the world have cautioned the US Federal Reserve against raising rates.
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