The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has projected retail inflation at 4.2 percent for the next financial year beginning April while retaining the forecast for 2024-25 at 4.8 percent. The central bank attributed the expected easing of inflation to good kharif production, winter-easing in vegetable prices and favorable rabi crop prospects. However, the RBI also noted that continued uncertainty in global financial markets coupled with volatility in energy prices and adverse weather events presents upside risks to the inflation trajectory.
Equity benchmark indices fell sharply on Tuesday, with the Sensex tumbling nearly 844 points, in line with weak global market trends and foreign fund outflows. The 30-share BSE benchmark slumped 843.79 points or 1.46 per cent to settle at 57,147.32. During the day, it tanked 940.71 points or 1.62 per cent to 57,050.40.
'Currently, EVs are about 30-50 per cent more expensive than ICE vehicles. I believe the inflection point for EVs will come when this price gap narrows to 20-25 per cent. That's when people will start coming in.'
India is all set to make its presence felt in the $47 billion global outsourced semiconductor testing and packaging market, an arena where Malaysia and Vietnam have been way ahead so far. The Cabinet last Thursday cleared two projects, the Tata's assembly testing and packaging plant (ATMP) and the Murugappa-owned CG Power with Renesas from Japan as its tech partner. These, together with Micron's assembly and testing plant which is already being constructed in Sanad in Gujarat, will collectively invest Rs 47,300 crore to set up the factories.
In the shadows of a sliding rupee, India's knitwear hub Tiruppur is weaving a success story. While the domestic currency edges closer to the 86 mark against the US dollar, triggering concerns for many sectors, this textile town in Tamil Nadu is finding opportunity in adversity: Between April and December alone, Tiruppur's exports reached Rs 26,000 crore, almost eclipsing last financial year's total of Rs 30,690 crore.
Zomato emerged as the biggest gainer, followed by Reliance, Nestle, Asian Paints and Power Grid.
Equity markets would take cues from domestic inflation data announcement, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Markets would remain closed on Tuesday for 'Diwali Balipratipada'. "As we enter a truncated week with Muhurat trading on Sunday, global cues will play a pivotal role in shaping the market direction.
'He will be remembered more for what he did as finance minister -- as someone who functioned well when the political fallout was taken care of.'
The RBI is likely to reduce the key interest rate by 25 basis points this week after keeping it on hold for two years, complementing the Union Budget initiatives to push consumption-led demand, though the sliding rupee continues to be a concern. As the retail inflation has remained within the Reserve Bank's comfort zone (less than 6 per cent) for most of the year, the central bank can take rate action to boost growth hit by sluggish consumption, opined experts.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, UltraTech Cement, JSW Steel, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries were the biggest gainers. NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards.
'The intensity and frequency of heatwaves will be much higher than in previous years over Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.'
Global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would largely dictate terms in the equity markets this week amid a lack of major domestic triggers, analysts said. Markets may face near-term consolidation due to elevated valuations, they noted. "While the previous week was predominantly shaped by developments in the US Federal Reserve policy, attention will now shift to the Bank of Japan's policy decision on December 19," Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart Ltd, said.
The index is currently trading at 149 per cent of its historical P/B valuation, surpassing its previous peak of 125 per cent made in 2020-21.
India topped the APAC region with 227 transactions in the first eight months of CY24. The US was second with 133 deals while China ranked third with 69 transactions.
Most global as well as domestic brokerages are upbeat on India's largest IT services provider, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), despite its performance during the December quarter of FY25, when it missed Street estimates. On the bourses, the TCS share price rallied as much as 6.44 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 4,296.80 apiece, before settling 5.67 per cent higher at Rs 4,265.55.
Benchmark Sensex advanced 110 points in a choppy trade on Wednesday, extending its gains to the fourth day in a row helped by buying in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and fresh foreign fund inflows. The 30-share barometer rose by 110.58 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 80,956.33 with 14 of its constituents ending with gains and 16 stocks with losses. During the day, it jumped 399.64 points or 0.49 per cent to 81,245.39 and dipped to a low of 80,630.53.
Equity indices ended lower on Wednesday amid mixed global market trends ahead of the keenly awaited US Fed interest rate decision. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 262.96 points or 0.44 per cent to settle at 59,456.78. During the day, it tanked 444.34 points or 0.74 per cent to 59,275.40. The NSE Nifty went lower by 97.90 points or 0.55 per cent to end at 17,718.35.
From the 30-share pack, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Nestle India, Asian Paints, ITC, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India were among the laggards. Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel and PowerGrid were among the gainers.
The combined market capitalisation of Adani Group companies fell by Rs 54,876 crore, to Rs 10.92 trillion, as investor sentiment turned bearish on Wednesday. Shares of Adani Transmission fell by 7.7 per cent to close at Rs 886 while those of Adani Power lost 7.1 per cent to end the day at Rs 323. The stock of Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the group, lost 6.2 per cent to finish at Rs 2,530.
'If weak indicators persist, there is a risk that India could slip into a prolonged slowdown similar to the one experienced between 2014 and 2019,' warns Debashis Basu.
From the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries fell the most by 2 per cent. Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance were among the other major laggards.
India's merchandise exports dipped by about one per cent to $38.01 billion in December 2024 against $38.39 billion a year ago, according to government data released on Wednesday. Imports increased by 4.8 per cent to $59.95 billion in December 2024 compared to $57.15 billion in the year-ago month.
Benchmark Sensex rose by nearly 91 points to close at a fresh lifetime high while Nifty settled above the 25,400 level for the first time supported by firm global trends ahead of the much-awaited US Fed's decision on interest rates. Extending its record-setting spree for the second day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 90.88 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at a lifetime high of 83,079.66. During the day, it rose by 163.63 points or 0.19 per cent to 83,152.41.
Equity indices fell sharply by nearly 2 per cent each, extending their decline for the third day running on Friday, amid an overall bearish trend in global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 1,020.80 points or 1.73 per cent to settle at 58,098.92. During the day, it tumbled 1,137.77 points or 1.92 per cent to 57,981.95.
Rising for the fourth straight day, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty settled marginally higher after a choppy session on Friday, tracking mixed global trends amid uncertainties on the geopolitical front. The BSE Sensex opened weak and declined 414.44 points to 55,049.95 in opening deals. But within minutes, it pared all its losses and jumped 369.56 points to 55,833.95. Facing volatility, the index finally settled at 55,550.30, higher by 85.91 points or 0.15 per cent.
Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday raised India's economic growth estimate for 2023 to 5.5 per cent from 4.8 per cent pegged earlier, on the back of a sharp increase in capital expenditure in the Budget and a resilient economic momentum. It however revised downwards India's growth estimate for 2022 to 6.8 per cent from 7 per cent pegged in November last year. In its February update to Global Macro Outlook 2023-24, Moody's raised the baseline 2023 real growth projections "meaningfully" for several G20 economies, including the US, Canada, the Euro area, India, Russia, Mexico, and Turkiye, accounting for a stronger end to 2022.
From the 30 blue-chip pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle and ICICI Bank were the biggest gainers. State Bank of India, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Zomato, UltraTech Cement and HCL Tech were among the laggards.
'We don't give any guidance about profitability. We have internal targets but we don't discuss them publicly.'
Investors' wealth climbed Rs 3.20 lakh crore as markets staged a smart comeback on Wednesday after falling in the last eight trading sessions. The BSE Sensex rallied 448.96 points or 0.76 per cent to settle at 59,411.08. During the day, it jumped 513.33 points or 0.87 per cent to 59,475.45.
M&M was the biggest gainer in the Sensex chart, rising 6.51 per cent, followed by NTPC, PowerGrid, SBI, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints and Wipro. In contrast, Axis Bank, ITC, HUL, Nestle India and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.
Titan was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding 1.39 per cent, followed by HDFC, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, Asian Paints, SBI, M&M, TCS, Bajaj Finserv and ICICI Bank were among the winners, spurting as much as 3.25 per cent.
The sharp pullback in mid and smallcap stocks signals a cooling-off period in segments that previously attracted considerable investor interest.
Wipro was the biggest gainer in the Sensex chart, rising 4.79 per cent, followed by M&M, L&T, Tata Motors, Maruti, Infosys, Nestle India and IndusInd Bank.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, and Tata Steel were the biggest gainers. ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards.
Wholesale price based inflation declined to a 3-month low of 1.89 per cent in November on cheaper food items, and experts predicted a 0.25 per cent interest rate cut by the RBI in the policy review in February. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation was 2.36 per cent in October 2024. It was 0.39 per cent in November, last year. In August, 2024, it was 1.25 per cent.
Among the Sensex firms, Maruti, NTPC, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, JSW Steel, ITC and Mahindra & Mahindra were the major laggards. Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were among the gainers.
The other prominent gainers were Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Wipro, State Bank of India and Larsen & Toubro. Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
Investors' wealth soared by Rs 10.58 lakh crore in three days of the market rally, where the BSE benchmark jumped over 2 per cent, and hit an all-time high on Monday. Extending its winning momentum to the third day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 363.20 points or 0.49 per cent to settle at 74,014.55. During the day, it zoomed 603.27 points or 0.81 per cent to hit its record high of 74,254.62.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors and Larsen & Toubro were the biggest gainers. Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.
Tata Elxsi (TelX) reported a weak Q3FY25, with a sharp deceleration in the transportation vertical. However, recent deals in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), higher mix of original equipment makers (OEMs) and partnership with Qualcomm will improve growth. FY25 is the third successive financial year of revenue growth deceleration and second successive financial year of profit deceleration.
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