Macroeconomic data, global geopolitical developments and rising concerns over AI-related disruptions are likely to dictate sentiment in the stock market next week, even as investors may remain cautious amid ongoing volatility, according to analysts.
Interest rates are expected to remain stable for now despite the Reserve Bank squeezing money supply through a hike in percentage of cash that banks must keep in reserve, ICICI Managing Director and CEO K V Kamath said. Kamath said at this point of time the market has not judged which way interest rates are going, but if yield on 10-year government bond is taken as an indicator, there is in fact a drop in interest rates. The RBI had last month announced a 0.75% hike in CRR.
Since February 2025, the RBI has reduced the policy rate by 100 basis points. In its previous policy review in June, it had trimmed the repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5 per cent.
State Bank of India and Canara Bank said on Thursday interest rates are expected to remain soft and stable in the near future as inflation is down and there is ample liquidity with the banks. "Interest rates are expected to remain stable to down," SBI Chairman O P Bhatt told reporters before participating in a meeting of bankers and exporters with Finance Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi.
Sourav Ganguly supports the IPL's Impact Player rule, despite criticism from players like Axar Patel.
To meet liquidity pressure because of advance tax outflows this month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has adopted a measured approach with its latest announcement of open-market operations (OMOs), worth Rs 1 trillion.
Banks have been reluctant to transmit the entire policy rate cut by RBI to borrowers.
The OnePlus 15T has been officially listed in OnePlus/OPPO's China store and is set to launch on March 24, 2026, marking its entry as a compact flagship focused on performance and battery life.
Interest rates in the economy have peaked, but it is difficult to predict whether they would fall just as property prices have in some parts of the country, a senior official of housing lender HDFC said.
'Investors can consider staying invested in long duration products as there is a possibility of rate cuts in the near term.' Positive macros - lower inflation, high forex reserves and favourable demand-supply dynamics for government bonds - make a strong case for rate cuts from December, says Devang Shah, head of fixed income, Axis Mutual Fund. In an interview with Abhishek Kumar in Mumbai, Shah says this view may not hold true if commodity prices go up sharply.
The 'rescue' operation occurred within kilometres of Iran's underground tunnel complex at Isfahan, assessed by the IAEA and US intelligence as holding a substantial portion of the country's 60 per cent enriched uranium stockpile. Retired senior US military officers have highlighted that the mission's footprint -- hundreds of special operators, multiple heavy-lift aircraft deep inside Iran -- appears outsized for recovering a single airman. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Following the footsteps of other banks, Lord Krishna Bank has hiked interest rates on domestic deposits by 25 to 50 basis points.
This decision would pave the way for crediting Rs 54,000 crore as 8.65 per cent interest for 2018-19, into the accounts of more than 6 crore EPFO subscribers.
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
Amid fears of a third wave of coronavirus pandemic and hardening of retail inflation, the Reserve Bank is likely to maintain status quo on interest rate and watch the developing macroeconomic situation for some more time before taking any decisive action on monetary policy. The RBI is scheduled to announce its bi-monthly monetary policy review on August 6 at the end of the three-day meeting -- August 4-6 -- of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The RBI Governor-headed six-member MPC decides on the key policy rates.
State Bank of India announced on Friday a hike in interest rates on fixed deposits by 0.25 to 0.50 per cent with effect from Saturday.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a U-19 World Cup champion, is now focused on securing an IPL title with the Rajasthan Royals, highlighting his journey from a young prodigy to a key player in the upcoming season.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a new unemployment allowance of Rs 1,500 per month for young job seekers in the state, starting March 7. The announcement comes ahead of the assembly elections and aims to support unemployed youth aged 21-40 who have passed their secondary exams.
Delhi family court directs return of property money to cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, declares Australian orders not binding
Traders rejoice when the Fed drops the rate, but...
.jpg)
Else, more capital outflow and pressure on rupee likely.
The finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India will work together to ensure price stability and benign interest rates in the economy, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Saturday.
If you are willing to spare four hours of your day on a spy action thriller, Dhurandhar The Revenge will surprise, shock and overwhelm you with its nervous energy, notes Divya Nair.
Ahead of RBI policy meet, India Ratings said an interest rate hike of 0.50 per cent in the remaining part of the fiscal will throw the BSE 500 companies into a quandary.
While the RBI deregulated interest rates on fixed deposit schemes in 1997, it continues to fix the rate on savings deposits.
Is the parabolic rise in silver running out of steam or just getting started? Ramalingam Kalirajan offers his take on if you should invest in silver now?
In February, the BBC reported that Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave, and Sunrisers Leeds would not consider signing Pakistani players for the United Kingdom-based competition amid tensions between neighbours India and Pakistan.
'In the long run, India's strong growth story and reforms to make assets globally attractive will determine the rupee's resilience.'
Given the macro setting, the outlook remains positive for each of the four key parameters - inflation, current account deficit, fiscal deficit and currency stability, says Rahul Bhushkute.
Even if the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee decided to hold interest rates in the October meeting, it acknowledged the scope for further rate cuts while waiting for the impact of the past steps to play out.
Their assets under management (AUM) rose from Rs 1.04 trillion (January 31, 2025) to Rs 1.75 trillion (January 31, 2026), an increase of 68.3 per cent.
Some public sector banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, and Bank of India, are increasing the spread on home loans for new customers to protect margins.
An interest rate cut, at a time when demand was not showing any sign of revival, would boost sentiments, especially for interest-rate sensitives like the car and real estate sectors, which had been showing negative growth, a majority of the 15 CEOs polled by Business Standard said.
Reserve Bank of India governor D Subbarao said the rapid expansion of the government borrowing programme was coming in the way of the central bank's monetary policy objective of a lower interest rate regime and called for more independence for the central bank.
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday increased the benchmark lending rate by 40 basis points (bps) to 4.40 per cent in a bid to contain inflation, which has remained stubbornly above the target zone of 6 per cent for the last three months. The decision follows an unscheduled meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), with all six members unanimously voting for a rate hike while maintaining the accommodative stance. While the inflation has remained above the targetted 6 per cent since January, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the inflation print in April is also likely to be high.
There is record underperformance and under-ownership. Some of this is cyclical and will turn on its own. However, we also need to regain our growth credentials. For this, both the government and companies have a role to play, as do investors, points out Akash Prakash.
Among Sensex firms, Eternal, Sun Pharma, Infosys, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, ITC and Adani Ports were the major gainers. However, Tata Motors, Trent, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints were among the laggards.
While inflation dropped to 0.44 per cent for the week ended March 7, the BPLR of the top five Indian banks was in the range of 12.25-16.75 per cent. In the corresponding period last year, inflation was estimated at 7.78 per cent, while lending rates were in the range of 12.25-12.75 per cent. Real interest rate is the difference between WPI-based inflation and the prevailing benchmark prime lending rate.
Bankers on Tuesday said interest rates have bottomed out in the second quarter and rates may start rising in the coming months in line with a pick-up in credit off take, expected on the back of a revival in the economy.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances