BackOpening Bell 20 March | Markets slump following Fed’s hawkish comments
Asian markets tumbled after the US Federal Reserve's hint of an interest rate increase
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Mumbai:Janet Yellen, the Fed’s new chief indicated on Wednesday that interest rates could rise six months after the Federal Reserve stops buying assets to exit its monetary stimulus. The US central bank, as expected, announced a further $10 billion reduction in its monthly asset purchases and revised the interest rate forecast to 1% from 0.75% for 2015, reports Financial Times.
Overnight, US markets ended lower following Janet Yellen’s comments as investors expect bond purchases to end by September this year and interest rates to increase around April of 2015. US government bond prices fell sharply and the dollar rallied as markets interpreted Fed’s comments as hawkish. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, Nasdaq Composite was down 0.6% while Dow Jones Industrial plunged 0.7%.
Asian markets were trading lower on Thursday morning as investors took fright at the prospect of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7% while China’s Shanghai Composite was off 0.4%.
Shares of Polaris Financial Technology Ltdwill be in focus as the company is planning to demerge its products business into a separate entity. Shareholders will get ₹ 42 as cash after the demerger process is complete.
Financial Technologies Ltd’s shares will be under pressure after the market regulator said it was unfit to hold a stake in any stock exchange or clearing corporation and gave it 90 days to divest its holdings in such entities, reports Mint.
SpiceJet Ltd was issued a notice by the aviation regulator asking why its licence should not be suspended for violating safety rules during special Holi flights. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that eight special Holi flights had a dance in the aisles of the plane, threatening passenger safety, reports Mint.
Tata Steel Ltd is expected to rake in ₹ 1,000 crore from selling its land in Mumbai. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Oberoi Realty Ltd, Piramal Realty, Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd and Tata Housing Development Co. are bidding for Tata Steel’s 25 acre land in Mumbai’s suburb Borivali, reports The Hindu BusinessLine.
Tata Power Ltd and Adani Power Ltd shares will be in focus as the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company is set to challenge the compensatory tariff awarded by the electricity regulator for the 4,000 megawatt (MW) of Tata Power’s Mundra plant and the 4,620 MW of Adani plant.
Lastly, Indian techies in the Silicon Valley are turning angel investors for Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Admi Party. Hundreds of Indians in the Valley are contributing to the party’s growth by building technology systems and platforms, reports Economic Times.
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