PremiumAdani stocks continued to rise on Monday with many stocks hitting the upper circuit. Asian markets rose on Monday tracking gains on Wall Street in the previous session after U.S. Federal Reserve officials calmed fears of policy overtightening.
Indian shares advanced on Monday aided by a rise in high-weightage information technology stocks after strong economic data from the United States and investment in the Adani group of companies boosted risk appetite.
The Nifty 50 index rose 117 points to close at 17,711, while the S&P BSE Sensex closed above 60,000, at 60,224, a gain of 415 points.
Adani Enterprises continued its forward march as it gained 5.5%. ONGC and Tata Motors climbed more than 2.5%. Britannia, Tata Steel and JSW Steel dropped more than a per cent and were among the biggest laggards.
Almost all sectoral indices rose on Monday except Realty and PSU Bank, with IT and Energy stocks leading the market rally with each jumping more than a per cent. Realty and PS Bank dropped marginally in today's session.
Most Asian markets rose on Monday tracking gains on Wall Street in the previous session after U.S. Federal Reserve officials calmed fears of policy overtightening.
Japan's Nikkei share average rallied more than 1% on Monday to hit a three-month high as rate-sensitive tech shares outperformed in Japan, just like in the U.S., after comments from Richard Fed President Thomas Barkin that inflation is "likely past peak".
The Nikkei rose 1.11%. The index had opened above the key psychological 28,000 mark and then probed as high as 28,288.62 for the first time since Dec 1 earlier.
China stocks fell on Monday after Beijing set a modest economic growth target of 5% for 2023, undercutting expectations of big stimulus, while Hong Kong shares rose slightly.
China's blue-chip CSI 300 closed down 0.5%, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.2%, and the China Enterprises Index was little changed.
European shares opened higher on Monday, with shares of Telecom Italia jumping to the top of the continent-wide STOXX 600 index, while mining companies slid after top consumer China set a modest annual growth target. The STOXX 600 index was up in the morning session after clocking its best week since the beginning of the year.
UK's blue-chip FTSE 100 was trading flat on Monday after miners slumped following top metals consumer China's decision to set a modest growth target for the year, offsetting a strong performance by Ireland-based gaming company Flutter.
Rupee extends its rally against the US dollar on Monday reaching its highest level in over a month. The rupee touched as high as 81.7275 against the American currency in the intraday trade. The reason behind the strong performance of the rupee could be attributed to a pullback in the dollar, dips in treasury yields, and positive sentiment in domestic equities.
At the time of writing, the rupee was trading at 81.76 up by 0.25% against the US dollar. The rupee has appreciated to 81.7275 against the dollar -- which its the highest level since February 2nd. (Read More)
Astral shares are one of the multibagger stocks that the Indian stock market has delivered in recent years. This stock has given a 275 per cent return to its shareholders in the last five years. It has given a stellar return in the post-Covid stock market rebound as it surged from around ₹630 apiece to ₹1925 per share levels in the last three years, giving more than a 200 per cent return in this time. However, this multibagger stock has remained sideways for the last one year. But, in the last one week, Astral shares have given some upside movement that has attracted the attention of market experts. As per Axis Securities, Astral shares may surge to the tune of 10 per cent this week and the brokerage has given 'buy' tag to the stock in its weekly stock pick for this week.
On the outlook and valuations of this multibagger stock, Axis Securities report said, "Strong volume growth across industry players reflects strong construction activities in Q3FY23. The Capex phase for Astral is almost peaked and is well-placed to fulfil upcoming demand as current capacity utilization stands at 57 per cent." (Read More)
The UK equity market’s record valuation gap to the US is increasing pressure on its companies to maximize shareholder returns through options such as relisting abroad, according to Citigroup Inc.
The MSCI United Kingdom Index now trades at a record 40% discount to the US on a 12-month forward earnings-based valuation, strategists including Beata Manthey wrote in a note dated March 6. Early in February, Manthey correctly predicted that European stocks’ outperformance versus the US had more room to run due to low valuations and subdued fund flows.
The UK is dealing with a slew of companies, including SoftBank Group Corp.-backed technology firm Arm Ltd. and European building materials producer CRH Plc, that are fleeing to the US for their primary listings. The trend is ominous for flagging initial public offerings in the UK. It also sets back efforts to transform an equity market that’s overly reliant on old economy sectors such as oil and banks. (Bloomberg)
Sterlite Power on Monday announced that it has commissioned its green energy corridor project – Lakadia-Vadodara Transmission Project Limited – in Gujarat, which aims to deliver over 5,000 MW renewable energy from Bhuj and Kutch to the national grid.
Built with an investment of ₹2,024 crore, this inter-state transmission connects the 765/400 kV substation at Lakadia to Vadodara through a 335 km long 765 kV double-circuit transmission line.
“With 812 towers spanning seven districts in Gujarat, this power transmission corridor is also one of the largest transmission corridors built in India till date," said a media release. (Read More)
Retail sales of vehicles in India jumped 16% to around 1.8 million units in February, helped in part by strong demand during the wedding season, an industry body of automobile dealers said on Monday, adding that festivals could push the sales higher in March.
Sales have picked up in the last two months as chip shortages eased and automakers launched new models to tap into the demand ahead of the festival and wedding seasons. However, rising interest rates amid elevated inflation are seen as a sentiment dampener, with overall sales in February still below pre-Covid levels.
Sales of two-wheelers advanced 15%, while those of three-wheelers jumped 81%, passenger vehicles 11%, tractors 14%, and commercial vehicles 17%, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said in a statement.
Changes in emission norms from April, which would see vehicle prices increase, and automakers rolling out promotional offers in the final month of the fiscal year, should help push sales higher in March, FADA added. (Reuters)
Oil declined at the start of the week after China set a modest growth target for this year and avoided any large stimulus, while concerns lingered over further monetary tightening from the Federal Reserve.
West Texas Intermediate dropped toward $79 a barrel after closing more than 4% higher last week. China’s Premier Li Keqiang announced a goal for gross domestic product of around 5% at the annual National People’s Congress on Sunday, lower than economists had expected. The nation, the world’s largest oil importer, ended its restrictive Covid Zero policy late last year. (Bloomberg)
Shares of FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, the parent of cosmetics-to-fashion retailer Nykaa, fell as much as 2 per cent on Monday after brokerage house Macquarie initiated coverage on the stock with an 'underperform' rating.
The brokerage firm kept a target price of ₹115 per share, signalling a downside of 22 per cent from Nykaa's current market price of ₹147.8 apiece.
Macquarie’s target price for Nykaa is the lowest among brokerages covering the stock. The brokerage firm's bear case target for Nykaa ₹70, half the price from the current levels. (Read More)
IT company HCL Technologies expects to double semiconductor services business in 3-4 years following capabilities that it will develop around electronic chip plants to be set by its group firm, a senior company official said here.
HCL Group is among the companies that have applied to set up electronic chip plants under the "Scheme for Compound Semiconductors" and HCL Technologies will assist HCL Corporate in end-to-end processing of chips.
"One of the focus sectors for HCL Technologies, especially in engineering services is semi-chip. Our plan is to double our business. There is an internal plan to do it in a period of three to four years. I say only three to four because it is ongoing and we see demand enough to do that," HCL Technologies executive vice president and BU head Ameer Saithu told PTI. (Read More)
Indian states will look to raise an aggregate of 289.58 billion rupees ($3.54 billion) on Monday through a sale bonds maturing in two to 30 years.
The Reserve Bank of India will likely set cutoff yields for the 10-year bonds in the 7.68%-7.71% band, according to a Reuters poll of 14 traders.
2-year 10 7.53% 7.50% 7.55%
6-8 year 29.58 7.64%-7.67% 7.58% 7.70%
10-11 year 55 7.68%-7.71% 7.65% 7.74% (Read More)
A significant percentage of women professionals in the social sector miss leadership opportunities because of their own self-limiting biases, says a report.
According to a recent survey by India Leaders for Social Sector (ILSS) of women professionals in the social sector who have 8-15 years of experience, more than 50 per cent of the respondents felt, at times, slowed down by their own self-limiting biases.
Self-limiting biases often stem from social and cultural conditioning women experience, which can shape a sense of inferiority.
These beliefs lead to "self-limiting" behaviour that often leads to women having stereotypes about their own abilities, talents, opportunities, and goals that could end up holding back one's career, it said. (PTI)
At its Investor Day, Tech Mahindra highlighted its plans of focusing on driving organic growth through large deals, account expansion, focus on P&P and co-creating industry-specific solutions, as per analysts.
"Tech Mahindra aims to improve margins by reducing subcontracting and onshore mix, automation and optimizing business mix. With a leadership change around the corner, strategic priorities could potentially change," said global brokerage house Jefferies which has maintained Hold on the IT stock with a target price of ₹1,030 per share. (Read More)
Alembic Pharmaceuticals on Monday said it has received approval from the US health regulator to market a generic drug to treat cancer.
The company has received approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for Fluorouracil Injection, the drug firm said in a statement.
The approved product is therapeutically equivalent to Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc's product.
Fluorouracil injection is indicated for the treatment of patients with adenocarcinoma of colon and rectum, adenocarcinoma of the breast, gastric adenocarcinoma and pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
According to IQVIA data, Fluorouracil Injection USP, 2.5 g/50 mL (50 mg/mL) vial, has an estimated market size of USD 5 million in the US market. (PTI)
Netflix, the American streaming platform, will see its revenue grow 12% to top $4 billion this year, compared with 9% growth in 2022, while local content investment will reach $1.9 billion, representing 47% of revenue, according to a report by Media Partners Asia (MPA), an independent provider of research, advisory and consulting services across the media and telecoms sectors in Asia Pacific.
Netflix’s revenue growth in 2023 will benefit from a rebound in the Australia market, where its performance will be gradually bolstered by advertising growth, higher-ARPU revenue growth in Japan and Korea, and material gains and contributions from India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. (Read More)
China set a modest economic growth target of around 5% for the year, with the nation’s top leaders avoiding any large stimulus to spur a consumer-driven recovery already underway, suggesting less of a growth boost to an ailing world economy.
Premier Li Keqiang announced the goal for gross domestic product in his final report to the Communist Party-controlled parliament, which kicked off its annual meeting on Sunday. Economists had expected a more ambitious target of above 5% following a rebound in consumer spending and industrial output after the end of coronavirus restrictions.
Having missed the GDP goal last year by a wide margin for the first time ever, a more cautious aim this year could restore Beijing’s credibility and give President Xi Jinping and a line up of new top economic officials more room to focus on long-term policies.
Equity markets were muted Monday, the first day of trading after the growth target was announced. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, a gauge of Chinese stocks traded in Hong Kong, fell as much as 1.2% before paring the bulk of those losses. Commodities from iron ore to oil dropped. The onshore yuan traded 0.1% weaker as of 12:14 p.m. local time. (Bloomberg)
Automobile retail sales in India witnessed a double-digit year-on-year growth in February driven by robust sales across segments including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers, automobile dealers' body FADA said on Monday.
Total registrations across segments rose 16 per cent year-on-year to 17,75,424 units last month, as compared to 15,31,196 vehicles in February 2022.
Passenger vehicle retail sales rose 11 per cent to 2,87,182 units last month, against 2,58,736 units in the year-ago period.
"Launch of new models, continuously improving supply, coupled with healthy booking-to-cancellation ratio and wedding bells kept the momentum going for the segment," Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) President Manish Raj Singhania said in a statement.
Two-wheeler registrations rose 15 per cent last month to 12,67,233 units, from 11,04,309 units in February 2022. (PTI)
The three-day initial public offering (IPO) of Systango Technologies Limited opened for public subscription last week on March 2, 2023 and will conclude on Monday, March 6, 2023. The price Band of the issue is fixed at ₹85-90/share.
As of 10:30 am on the last day, the Systango Technologies IPO is oversubscribed 7.93 times with 17.83 times bid seen in the retail investors' category, 0.61 times in the Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) category, and 9.16 times in the non-institutional investors (NII) category, as per the exchange data.
As per market observers, the shares of the company are commanding a premium (GMP) of ₹25 in the grey market today. (Read More)
Two wheeler major Hero MotoCorp on Monday said it has inked a pact with the US-based Zero Motorcycles to collaborate on premium electric motorcycles.
The collaboration combines the expertise of Zero in developing power trains and electric motorcycles with the scale of manufacturing, sourcing and marketing of Hero MotoCorp, the country's largest two wheeler maker said in a statement.
In September 2022, Hero MotoCorp's board approved an equity investment of up to USD 60 million in California-based Zero Motorcycles, a leading player in electric motorcycles and powertrains.
"Our partnership with Zero Motorcycles is a significant milestone in our journey towards ushering in an era of sustainable clean technology in the mobility space. With Zero as our partner, we look forward to accelerate the transition of electric mobility in India and across our global markets," Hero MotoCorp Chairman & CEO Pawan Munjal said.
The company has forayed into the electric scooter segment with the VIDA V1 scooter. Hero MotoCorp has also initiated operations of its public charging infrastructure in Bengaluru, Delhi and Jaipur. It has already set up nearly 300 charging points across the three cities for public use. (PTI)
Adani's Mundra power plant has more liabilities than assets and has run up $1.8 billion of losses, as per a Bloomberg report which added that the conglomerate has deployed more than $1 billion of creative debt-financing to paper over the deficit and reassured investors and lenders that profits will come soon.
But Adani Power Ltd.’s auditor can’t fully make sense of the math underpinning this claim — and neither can accounting experts who spoke with Bloomberg News. “The Mundra Thermal Power Plant — and its debt, which experts say appears designed to shield Adani Power from extraordinary writeoffs, regardless of the unit’s losses — exemplifies this balancing act, where a single asset writedown could have cascading ramifications," stated the Bloomberg report. (Read More)
Amid the Adani row, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan asked why markets regulator SEBI did not get to the bottom of the issues that were raised by US-based short-seller Hindenburg research. He also questioned why SEBI didn't get in touch with the agency if it needed help from probing agencies.
"Why has SEBI not yet got to the bottom of the ownership of those Mauritius funds which have been holding and trading Adani stock? Does it need help from the investigative agencies?" news agency PTI quoted Rajan as asking. (Read More)
Billionaire Gautam Adani now owns a majority stake in Prannoy and Radhika Roy-promoted news broadcasting company New Delhi Television Ltd.
On Friday, Adani Enterprises, through its indirect subsidiary RRPR Holdings, acquired additional 1.76 crore shares of NDTV for around ₹602 crore ( ₹342.65 apiece) from the Roys, amounting to 27.26% in the company.
The transfer of shares was done through an inter-se transfer under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Regulations, 2011, which allows share transfer at a premium to current market price, if the company is an existing promoter group. (Read More)
Samvardhana Motherson Automotive Systems — a subsidiary of Samvardhana Motherson International Limited has fully acquired SMR Jersy as its stake in SMR Jersy has surged to 100 per cent in latest 1.55 per cent stake buy. As per the latest exchange filing by Samvardhan Motherson International Ltd, its subsidiary Samvardhana Motherson Automotive Systems has bought additional 1.55 per cent stake in SMR Jersy paying 18.4 million Euro. After this stake buy, SMR Jersy has become a subsidiary of Samvardhana Motherson International.
Samvardhan Motherson International informed Indian bourses about the development citing, "Samvardhana Motherson Automotive Systems Group B.V., Netherland (‘SMRP B.V.’), a material subsidiary of Samvardhana Motherson International Limited (formerly Motherson Sumi Systems Limited) (‘the Company’) has acquired additional 1.55% shares of Samvardhana Motherson Reflectec Group Holdings Limited (‘SMR Jersey’) from an independent third party at Euro 18.4 million. After acquisition of aforesaid 1.55% stake, SMR Jersey has become 100% subsidiary of SMRP B.V." (Read More)
Dr V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services: The trend reversal in Nifty led by banking and metals has more legs to go. When the market gets oversold, as happened in recent weeks, the bounce back triggered by short-covering can be sharp. This week may throw up some important triggers relating to US non-farm payroll data and takeaways from the Fed chief Powell’s views on the US economic outlook. Since the trends from the mother market US are crucial for global equity markets, investors have to watch out for these data. The rally in banking stocks may gather momentum taking cues from the GQG investment in four Adani stocks. The oversold IT stocks also have the potential to stage a mild rally. Oil & Gas and capital goods segments appear strong.
The Indian rupee is expected to open higher versus the U.S. currency on Monday, building on last week's rally, helped by the pullback in the dollar index and U.S. yields and an upbeat risk sentiment.
The non-deliverable forwards indicate the rupee will open at around 81.85 to the dollar compared with 81.9650 in the previous session. The local currency climbed about 1% last week, its best weekly performance in eight, helped by equity inflows.
The dollar index was marginally lower in Asia, extending Friday's decline. The recovery in U.S. equities on Friday and the pause in the selloff in Treasuries undermined demand for the dollar. Asian shares followed their U.S. peers higher.
More than the dollar index and U.S. yields, it is the overall momentum that may carry the rupee higher at open, a trader at a Mumbai-based bank said.
The dip at the open on USD/INR could "very well run into a barrage of dollar bids" from importers and public sector banks, he added. (Reuters)
On Friday, after a gap-up opening, Nifty traded above 17,500 after making a day low of 17,427 & remained up throughout the day. A weekly trend line is giving support & it closed above 200 DMA without retesting 200 DMA. Intraday traders can look for long opportunities only above the resistance level of 17,660 & the price should sustain above 17,660 for 15 minutes to confirm long. Traders can look for fresh shorts only if nifty breaks the 17,400 level & remains below for 15 min to ensure short.
Shares of Goyal Aluminiums Ltd is one of the multibagger stocks that the Indian stock market has produced in the last six months. This small-cap stock with a market cap of around ₹400 crore has almost tripled shareholders' money in this period as the multibagger stock has risen more than 200 per cent on BSE in this period. However, in the last five years, this stock has surged from around ₹11.50 to ₹280 apiece levels, giving more than 2300 per cent return to its shareholders.
The multibagger stock is in news these days for foraying into the electric vehicle segment through the newly incorporated venture namely Wroley E India. According to an exchange filing, Goyal Aluminiums will manufacture electric scooters and low-speed scooters for the Indian market. The company in a statement said that the decision is in line with the government's initiative of 'Clean India and Green India' in view of the rising levels of pollution. Wroley E India has secured sanction for financing from Shri Ram Finance to offer customers financing solutions to purchase its electric scooter in monthly instalments. (Read More)
FIIs made a buying of over ₹6,010 crore in the last week driven by a mega block deal in Adani stocks. On the other hand, DIIs invested more than doubled the amount as FIIs, by pumping in nearly ₹12,559 crore in the equities. (Read More)
Indian government bond yields are expected to trend lower in the early session on Monday, tracking a sharp reversal in U.S. yields.
The 10-year benchmark 7.26% 2032 bond yield is expected to remain in the 7.38%-7.43% band, after closing lower at 7.4161% on Friday, a trader with a private bank said.
"The sudden drop in U.S. yields will be positive for local bonds today as we have been tracking global factors very closely," the trader said.
Treasury yields slipped on Friday after hitting new highs last week as they met resistance following comments from Federal Reserve officials that temporarily calmed fears around the direction of inflation and interest rates.
The 10-year U.S. yield touched 4.09%, its highest in four months on Thursday, but eased after short covering, traders said. Yields had been rising on bets that the Fed may continue to hike rates for a longer duration. (Reuters)
Automotive component manufacturer Divgi TorqTransfer Systems' initial public offering (IPO) was subscribed 5.44 times by the last day of the offer that opened on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, and concluded on Friday, March 3, 2023. The ₹412 crore offer received bids for 2,08,87,225 shares against 38,41,800 shares on offer, as per NSE data.
The quota meant for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) got subscribed 7.83 times, the category for Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) received 4.31 times subscription and the non-institutional investors quota was subscribed 1.40 times.
As per market observers, Divgi TorqTransfer Systems shares have been commanding a premium (GMP) of ₹72 in the grey market today. The equity shares of the company are expected to list next week on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 on the leading stock exchanges BSE and NSE. (Read More)
Bajaj Electricals on Saturday said its EPC division has bagged a contract worth ₹564.87 crore from South Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd (SBPDCL).
The contract is for supply of goods and services by SBPDCL, a domestic entity, under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), the company said in a regulatory filing.
The work includes the supply of plant and installation services for the development of distribution infrastructure of electric supply circle Sasaram and Munger of Bihar, it added.
The projects, whose aggregate value is ₹564.87 crore "shall be completed within 30 months from the date of issue of contracts," it added. (PTI)
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday gave its approval for the merger of HDFC Property Ventures and HDFC Venture Capital with HDFC Capital Advisors, taking the merger of the parent with HDFC Bank a step closer.
The tribunal is yet to approve the merger of its two insurance arms and the asset management company as also the patent into the bank as part of the USD 40-billion reverse merger.
In its final order, the NCLT sanctioned a composite scheme of amalgamation of HDFC Property Ventures and HDFC Venture Capital into HDFC Capital Advisors, HDFC said in an exchange filing.
The amalgamation will result in simplification, streamlining and optimisation of the group structure and efficient administration, the order said.
Early this week, the tribunal had reserved the order for its approval of the HDFC and HDFC Bank merger after the parties sought 180 days more for the process.
HDFC has already received the required approvals from the Securities and Exchange Board, shareholders of HDFC and HDFC Bank, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority and the Competition Commission of India. (PTI)
The Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2022-23 - Series IV will open for subscription today, 5 March. The gold bond scheme will remain open for subscription for five days from Monday. The issue price has been fixed at ₹5,611 per gram of gold. "The nominal value of the bond...works out to ₹5,611 per gram of gold, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said.
The RBI issues the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) on behalf of the government of India. (Read More)
French multinational advertising company Havas Group’s India unit has hired former Skoda Auto India’s marketing head Tarun Jha for the newly created position of chief executive of Havas Creative India.
The move is in line with Havas Group’s overall restructuring of the company in India into three verticals—Havas Media Group, Havas Creative India and Havas Health Group. Jha will report to Rana Barua, group CEO of Havas Group India.
“Over the last four years, we have grown from 200 people and three companies to over 1,500 people and 16 companies within Havas Group. As we are gearing up for next phase of growth, a vertical restructuring was required. So, we have Mohit (Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group) and Sangeeta (Barde, MD, Havas Health) looking after two businesses, and we were looking for someone to head the creative group," Barua said. (Read More)
The Board of Kansai Nerolac Paints (KNPL) has approved the acquisition of shares (40 per cent of the total shareholding) of Nerofix from Polygel for a cash consideration of ₹37 crore.
In January 2020, KNPL had acquired a 60 per cent stake in Nerofix. With the decision to buy the remaining 40 per cent shares, the firm is set to expand its ownership to 100 per cent.
"Consequent to the said acquisition of shares, Nerofix Private Limited will become a wholly owned (100 per cent) subsidiary of Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited," the exchange filing noted. The acquisition is expected to be completed by 31 March this year. (Read More)
Vaishali Parekh has suggested three intraday stocks for today, here we list out full details in regard to those three shares:
1] United Spirits or McDowell: Buy at ₹756, target ₹772, stop loss ₹744;
2] Piramal Enterprises Ltd or PEL: Buy at ₹782, target ₹800, stop loss ₹770; and
3] L&T Finance: Buy at ₹91.30, target ₹96, stop loss ₹89.50. (Read More)
Embattled Adani Group has approximately $2 billion in foreign-currency bonds which are set for repayment in 2024. There are no bond maturities in 2023, however, three Adani companies' bond issuance is due the next year. Currently, Gautam Adani's ports-to-energy empire is under the market radar for a host of allegations after the Hindenburg report.
According to a PTI report, which cited the presentation the conglomerate made to investors, there are no maturities in 2023 but three issuances - $ 650 million by Adani Ports and two of renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd ($ 750 million and $ 500 million - are due for payment in 2024. (Read More)
Wall Street stocks posted strong gains while Treasury yields and the dollar pulled back on Friday as data pointing to U.S. economic growth boosted risk appetite, even as expectations for rate hikes kept bond yields near multi-year highs.
The U.S. services sector grew at a steady clip in February, with new orders and employment rising to more than one-year highs, suggesting the economy continued to expand in the first quarter.
U.S. shares jumped, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.17%, the S&P 500 1.61% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite adding nearly 2%.
"Following weeks of relentless upward pressure on interest rates, the S&P 500 got a bit of a reprieve today," said Bill Sterling, global strategist at GW&K Investment Management in Boston.
He added that the small differential between shorter-term bonds indicated lower recession risk: "Market participants seem to be saying that the economy – and corporate profits - can withstand a higher-for-longer interest rate path."
Asian stocks already jumped on investor optimism of a Chinese economic rebound. The positive market sentiment continued during the European session, with Europe's STOXX 600 up 0.92%. (Reuters)
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