PremiumMost Asian indices gained as investors showed cautious optimism ahead of key US inflation data and the Fed meeting. Tokyo and Hong Kong gained, while Mainland China shed amidst rising Covid cases in many cities. European markets are trading higher.
Indian indices tracked the overnight Wall Street surge and had a strong day to end with decent gains as investors cheered India's retail inflation easing to an 11-month low at 5.88% on an annual basis in November.
Sensex surged 400 points to close above 62,500, at 62,533 while Nifty closed just above 18,600, at 18,608, a jump of 110 points.
Bank indices, especially the PSU Bank index which jumped 4%, led the rally along with IT and Auto indices. On the other end of the spectrum, Realty, Consumer Durable and FMCG struggled and ended in the red.
Among stocks, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Infosys climbed the most, while Apollo Hospitals and UPL struggled throughout the day and shed.
Asian stocks mostly extended the overnight Wall Street rally as markets showed cautious optimism ahead of key US inflation data and a closely watched Federal Reserve meeting.
Tokyo markets ended higher on Tuesday as the benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.40%, while the broader Topix index was up 0.43%.
China stocks fell on Tuesday as optimism over easing Covid-19 restrictions started fading amid signs of a spike in infections in major Chinese cities including Beijing.
Hong Kong stocks however gained on news that the city would further relax its Covid curbs, boosting consumer and property shares.
The Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.7%.
European markets also got infected by the Asian optimism and edged up on Tuesday. The region-wide STOXX 600 index was up in the morning session.
Digital-asset exchange Binance Holdings Ltd on Tuesday said it had "temporarily paused" withdrawals of the major stablecoin USDC. Taking to Twitter, Binance's chief executive Changpeng Zhao wrote, "On USDC, we have seen an increase in withdrawals."
The Binance CEO further said that swapping USDC Coin with two other crypto tokens – Paxos Standard and Binance USD – requires using traditional dollars at a bank in New York. "The banks are not open for another few hours. We expect the situation will be restored when the banks open," Zhao tweeted. (Read More)
Sovereign Green Bonds are likely to be issued during the January-March period of the current fiscal, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said on Tuesday.
The objective of Sovereign Green Bonds is to mobilize resources for green infrastructure as part of the government’s overall market borrowings in 2022-23, he said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
"The framework for these bonds has been brought out. The bonds are likely to be issued from January to March 2023. The proceeds will be deployed in public sector projects which help in reducing carbon intensity of the economy," he said.
Replying to another question, he said the value of the Indian rupee is market-determined. (PTI)
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. aims to cut at least a few hundred more jobs as the Wall Street titan restructures its struggling consumer business and braces for an uncertain economy in the year ahead. The bank is drafting plans that could eliminate at least 400 positions from its loss-making retail banking operations, according to people familiar with the matter.
Chief Executive Officer David Solomon has said he’s dialing back the firm’s ambitions for consumer banking. The latest cuts show the firm is moving beyond its annual exercise of weeding out underperforming staff, which was the focus just months ago. The CEO has recently also signaled he’s reviewing other business lines to manage headcount and limit costs. (Read More)
The Indian central bank has lifted the informal restrictions on rupee non-deliverable forward trades it had placed on local banks in October, four bankers told Reuters. All banks are now back to building positions in this segment, said one of the bankers with a private sector lender.
The bankers declined to be named as they are not authorized to speak to media.
The RBI, now, does not think that banks exploiting any mis-pricing between the two markets pose a threat to the rupee, another trader at a private sector bank said. (Read More)
Leading manufacturer of Class 8 trucks, Bharat Forge shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday as analysts turn bullish on the company going forward. In an analysts' meeting, the top management of the company stated a healthy growth outlook across segments by leveraging its investments in diversified businesses. The company aims to become a key player in the core components space alongside expanding its presence in the industrial, electric, and aerospace segments. So far in the day, Bharat Forge shares have jumped nearly 9%. Experts have recommended buying the stock with a target price crossing the ₹1,000 mark. (Read More)
The initial public offer (IPO) of Droneacharya Aerial Innovations Limited opened for subscription today and the BSE SME IPO has been subscribed over 6 times within four hours of the issue opening. As per the Droneacharya Aerial Innovations IPO subscription status by 1:36 PM on day one of bidding, the public issue worth ₹33.97 crore has been subscribed 6.76 times whereas its retail portion has been subscribed over 12.91 times.
The BSE SME IPO has made its debut in the grey market as well. According to market observers, Droneacharya Aerial Innovations shares are available at a premium of ₹65 in grey market today. (Read More)
Infrastructure finance firm IL&FS said it has resolved its debt of up to ₹56,943 crore by September 30, 2022 through monetisation of various assets and reduced the number of entities to 101 from 302.
The debt-ridden firm informed about the progress made in the ongoing resolution process till September 30, 2022 in an affidavit filed before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
"Estimated debt resolution as on date" was ₹55,612 crore, and another ₹1,331 crore debt was fully served by its green entities, which are profitable, said Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS). (PTI)
Leading stock exchange BSE on Tuesday said it has added 1 crore registered investor accounts to its platform in a span of 148 days, taking the total count to 12 crore. The exchange added one crore investors' accounts between July 18 and December 13, BSE said in a statement. In comparison, the exchange took 124, 91, 85 and 107 days for the previous milestones of 11 crore, 10 crore, 9 crore and 8 crore, respectively. "BSE crossed the milestone of 12 crore registered users based on Unique Client Code (UCC) on December 13, 2022," the exchange said. (PTI)
Tata Motors Ltd said on Tuesday that it would increase prices of its commercial vehicles by up to 2% from January. While the price increase will vary as per individual model and variant, it will be applicable across the entire range of commercial vehicles, Tata Motors said in an exchange filing.
The company has been absorbing a significant portion of the increased costs, but the steep rise in overall input costs has compelled it to pass on some proportion through this minimal price hike, it added. (Read More)
Punjab National Bank (PNB IN): Rating: Under Review | CMP: Rs58 | TP: NA
Management Meet Update - Focus on a stronger balance sheet
Our recent interaction with MD & CEO of PNB suggests that the bank is on the mend with better visibility on stress reduction led by sustained recoveries while underwriting has become tighter. To avoid further asset quality lapses, most underwriting is now done centrally and branches would only mobilize proposals. Hence fresh assets acquired since July’20, have seen significantly low stress levels with NNPA in agri at 0.25%, retail 0.38% and corporate 0.1%. Guidance is to bring down GNPA to 9.0-9.5% by Mar’23 and increase PCR to 70% from 66% currently. While system loan growth is strong at 16-17%, PNB would remain conservative and prioritize strengthening balance sheet which should result in credit growth between 12-14%. Basis Sep’22 BV, PNB is trading at a valuation of 0.7x compared to 1.0x for BoB and 1.4x for SBI.L
BAJAJ FINANCE: BUY CMP: 6625 TRGT: 7300 SL: 6350
The stock has made a decent correction right from 7750 to 6387 levels and has made a trend reversal with MORNING STAR pattern on the daily chart to indicate improvement in the bias and further rise is anticipated. Also it has completed 50 % retracement level of the recent correction and with a decisive move past 6700 ( 200 DMA ) would further strengthen the trend and can anticipate further upward movement for higher targets. The RSI indicator also has confirmed the buy signal with a trend reversal and we suggest to buy this stock for an upside target of 7300 keeping the stop loss of 6350.
Kotak Bank: BUY CMP: 1865 TRGT: 2040 SL: 1800
The stock after the short correction has attained the trendline support zone of 1850 levels to show signs of bottoming out and is anticipated to give a pullback to improve the bias and indicate a trend reversal. With a move past the significant 50EMA level of 1898, the trend would be further strengthened to expect targets of 2000-2040 in the coming days. With the risk reward ratio favourable, we recommend a positional buy in this stock for an upside target of 2040 keeping a stop loss of 1800.
BSE Ltd: BUY CMP: 590 TRGT: 650 SL: 570
The stock has made a double bottom formation like pattern in the daily chart and has recovered substantially from thereon and is on the rise. We anticipate further momentum in this stock to scale still higher targets and with also the RSI indicator reversing its trend signaling a buy, it has maintained a positive bias. We recommend this stock for a buy for an upside target 650 of keeping a stop loss of 570
Aban Group-backed financial services provider, Abans Holdings' ₹345.60 crore initial public offering (IPO) on Tuesday received strong demand from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) as the portion reserved for this category is fully subscribed with foreign investors making the entire buying. Overall, the IPO so far on the second day is subscribed by 24% on both BSE and NSE. In this public offer, bidding will be allowed till December 15. The IPO is a mixture of fresh issues and offers for sale (OFS). (Read More)
Aditya Birla Capital Ltd., controlled by billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla, is considering selling its insurance brokerage unit as the group seeks to restructure its financial services business, people familiar with the matter said.
The publicly-traded company has held talks with potential buyers about a sale of Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers Ltd. as it failed to scale up the 19-year-old business, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is not public. It is one of India’s largest composite insurers, meaning it offers both life and non-life policies, yet the unit reported revenue of only 6 billion rupees ($73 million) in the year to March 31, 2021, its website shows. (Bloomberg)
One of the crucial issues discussed during the First Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting under India's G20 Presidency which started on Tuesday was about taking a globally-coordinated approach to unbacked crypto assets.
The Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India jointly hosted the three-day gathering, with discussions on the "Finance Track" agenda under India's G20 Presidency. Day 1 saw different sessions on global economy, international financial architecture, infrastructure and sustainable finance.
The G20 Finance Track, which is led by the central bank governors and finance ministers of G20 nations, focuses on economic and financial issues. It offers a useful forum for the discussion of international economic issues and the coordination of policy. (ANI)
Bajaj Capital Limited has announced the appointment of Kamayani Aniruddh Nagar as its chief executive officer for its wealth management business. Nagar, whose last stint was with CitiBank, has a background of over 20 years in setting and scaling up business performance, delivering revenue, profitability, operational targets, customer excellence, building and maintaining solid relationships with channels, trade partners, and internal as well as external stakeholders. (Read More)
While rallying in the last three days, Yes Bank stocks have given a 'sideways trend breakout' at ₹18 that has attracted the attraction of Dalal Street bulls.
However, they are cautious about the three-year lock-in period of big lenders like Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC First Bank, etc. These banks bought a stake in Yes Bank in March 2020 with three-year lock-in, which is expiring in the next three months. Hence, market bulls are worried about the mass sell-off once this lock-in ends in the next three months. (Read More)
Qualifiers of PLI scheme for specialty steel will soon sign agreements with the steel ministry to take their investment proposals forward.
The selected players have already been sent a letter of approval post-selection in the scheme, a senior steel ministry official said.
On Friday, the government announced the selection of 67 entries with an investment potential of ₹42,500 crore under the scheme. The proposed investments are expected to generate 70,000 job opportunities and add 26 million tonnes of speciality steel capacity in the country. (PTI)
Bandhan Bank share prices surged by 2% on BSE after the bank said it has received a ₹916.6-crore claim as a credit guarantee fund from the government.
The Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank received the fund under the Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units (CGFMU), the Trust Fund set up by the Government of India. The fund is managed by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) Ltd as trustee. (Read More)
Bank and IT indices lead the indices rally, while FMCG and Consumer Durable drag
Real estate company Macrotech Developers Ltd, promoter group of Lodha, on Monday announced that the company has raised approximately Rs. 3,547 crores by selling approximately 7.2% of the equity share capital of the company through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) by way of offer for sale. The issue opened on December 07, 2022 post market and closed on December 12, 2022. The issue was priced at Rs. 1,026 as against the floor price of ₹1022.75, according to regulatory filing.
A group of creditors to Byju’s, India’s most valuable startup, has asked the company to immediately repay part of a $1.2 billion loan they recently bought into as they renegotiate terms of the debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
The lenders have hired Houlihan Lokey Inc. to advise them on amending covenants after the edtech titan breached terms, including a September deadline for filing its results for the year ended March 31, 2022, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Rothschild & Co. is representing Byju’s in the talks, they said. (Read More)
Google can likely be the next tech giant to lay off employees after CEO Sundar Pichai hinted at possible cuts. Tech industry saw thousands of layoffs from big tech giants including Meta, Twitter, Amazon, Microsoft.
Recently, during an all-hands meeting, when employees asked CEO Sundar Pichai about layoffs, he said, it is tough to predict the future, as reported by Business Insider. He further added that he can’t honestly make forward-looking commitments about the same. (Read More)
he initial public offer (IPO) of Sula Vineyards Ltd opened for subscription on 12th December 2022 and it will remain open for bidders till 14th December 2022. By 10:44 AM on day two of bidding, Sula Vineyards IPO subscription status suggests that the public issue has been subscribed 0.35 times whereas its retail portion has been subscribed 0.61 times. The public offer has ben subscribed to 0.21 times in the NII category.
After a tepid response by investors, grey market sentiments have gone down after climbing above ₹55 levels on weekend. According to market observers, shares of Sula Vineyards Ltd are available at a premium of ₹31 in grey market today. The Grey market premium (GMP) of Sula Vineyards IPO was ₹34 on day one of bidding. So, after a weak response by investors, Sula Vineyards IPO GMP today has gone down by ₹3 in comparison to yesterday's GMP. (Read More)
The consolidation of Housing Development Finance Corp. and unit HDFC Bank Ltd. will create a more than $200 billion financial services behemoth, and the parent will be able to tap the bank’s deposits to grow, rather than pile on more debt. That’s not all bad for India’s bond world as the hole created by the shadow lender may let new borrowers sell notes, helping India deepen its debt market.
The shadow lender is India’s biggest bond seller in 2022, with its issuance accounting for 7.7% of the country’s total issuance volume this year, higher than an average of about 6% in the last 10 years, Bloomberg-compiled data show. The merged entity will be a bank and is still likely to offer notes when needed to boost its capital buffers and fund infrastructure projects. (Full Story)
The rupee depreciated 20 paise to 82.71 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday due to unabated foreign fund outflows from domestic capital markets.
However, a positive trend in equity markets and a weak dollar overseas capped the rupee's fall, forex traders said.
Investors remained in risk-off mode ahead of the US inflation data release and Federal Reserve decision on interest rates slated to be announced later this week, they added.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.63 against the dollar, then lost further ground to 82.71, registering a decline of 20 paise over its previous close. (PTI)
Indian government bond yields fell today after domestic inflation for November eased within the Reserve Bank of India's target range for the first time this year. The benchmark 10-year yield fell to 7.258%, after settling at 7.2938% on Monday. Bond yields had risen 10 basis points in previous six sessions. On the back of a moderation in food prices, data released on Monday showed retail inflation rose lower-than-expected 5.88% in November, from 6.77% in the previous month. In comparison, analysts had expected the reading at 6.40%.
Bond traders now await US inflation data due later in the day and the Federal Reserve policy decision on Wednesday. The Fed is expected to hike its interest rate by 50 basis points, after raising the same by 375 bps since March. (Read More)
Bulls flooded over India's digital payments giant Paytm stock in the early session of Tuesday as investors keenly await the details of the buyback proposal. The company's board of directors is scheduled to meet today to consider the proposal. The buyback plan is expected to ease the looming concerns in Paytm going forward. The company's management expects the buyback to benefit its shareholders. On the other hand, the stock also picked up after continuing to record healthy growth in payments and loan distributions even in the first two months of the third quarter for fiscal FY23. (Read More)
The board of directors of small-cap company Servotech Power Systems Ltd has considered and approved a stock split in a 1:5 ratio. In its latest communication with the Indian bourse, the inverter maker company said that the company board has approved a stock subdivision of one equity share with a face value of ₹10 to equity shares with a face value of ₹2 each.
The NSE SME stock was launched at ₹31 apiece in 2017 and today this multibagger SME stock is quoting ₹162 per equity share, which is around 5 times its issue price. So, the SME stock has delivered a whopping return to its IPO allottees including those shareholders who failed to get company shares during the allotment process. (Read More)
Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Tuesday, briefly topping the psychologically key 28,000 level for the first time since the start of the month, as investors readied for key U.S. inflation data and the Federal Reserve's policy decision.
The Nikkei opened brightly, hitting a high of 28,116.56 - a level not seen since Dec. 1 - but then gradually pared those gains to close the morning session 0.37% higher at 27,946.09.
The broader Topix added 0.52% to 1,967.48.
The advance followed strong gains on Wall Street overnight, with the S&P 500 rallying 1.43%. (Reuters)
The former CEO of failed crypto firm FTX Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested in the Bahamas at the request of the U.S. government, the U.S. attorney’s office in New York said Monday.
Bankman-Fried is under criminal investigation by U.S. and Bahamian authorities following the collapse last month of FTX. The firm filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, when it ran out of money after the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. (Read More)
STOCK IN FOCUS
RK Forgings (CMP 244): Considering the better business traction, healthy automobile demand outlook, new order wins, strong margin territory and CV upcycle, and healthy margins we have BUY on RMKF with a TP of Rs260, valuing the stock at a P/E multiple of 13.5x FY24E earnings.
Intraday Picks
BRITANNIA (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 4,433) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs4,415-
4,390 for the target of Rs4,490 with a strict stop loss of Rs4,360.
IRCTC (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 724) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs721-717
for the target of Rs738 with a strict stop loss of Rs707.
SRF (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 2,336) SELL
For today’s trade, short position can be initiated in the range of Rs2,344-
2,360 for the target of Rs2,260 with a strict stop loss of Rs2,380.
Dr V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services: The two macroeconomic data which came yesterday have significant implications for the market. The CPI inflation for November at 5.88 % is below the RBI’s upper tolerance limit. This is good news. But the bad news is that the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) shows a contraction of 4 % in October. Taken together these two macro data suggest that the MPC is likely to refrain from further rate hikes. Even though this is a market, positive weakness in manufacturing suggests that it can impact corporate earnings, going forward. Since there is no room for further PE expansion, this will put a cap on the market rally. In the very near term, however, the market will be swayed by the US inflation data due today and the Fed action tomorrow. US inflation is likely to trend down lifting market sentiments.
India now ranks at Number 5 as 20 Indian companies feature in 500 most valuable ones in the world, as per the 2022 Hurun Global list.
India rose from the 9th rank to 5th rank with 20 companies featured in the list. Eleven of these 20 companies are based in Mumbai, 4 in Ahmedabad and one in each of Noida, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata.
With $202 billion, energy giant Reliance Industries is the most valuable company ranked at followed by Tata Consultancy Services with $139 billion valuation and HDFC Bank with $97 billion valuation. (Read More)
Shri Keshav Cements And Infra shares as the small-cap stock has surged from around ₹11 to ₹120 apiece levels in the last one decade, delivering to the tune of 1100 per cent return to its positional investors. The stock has been trading sideways for the last one month, but in year-to-date (YTD) time, it has doubled its shareholders' money by delivering more than 100 per cent return in 2022.
The BSE listed stock has remained sideways for last one month but in last six months, it has risen from around ₹108 to ₹120 apiece levels, delivering around 12 per cent return in this time. In YTD time, this multibagger small-cap stock has surged from around ₹60 to ₹120 apiece levels, doubling investors money in less than one year time. (Read More)
NSE maintains Delta Corp, Bhel, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals, and Punjab National Bank stocks on the list of banned securities under the F&O segment for Tuesday trading as they have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit. (Read More)
BGR Energy Systems on Monday said it has bagged orders worth ₹330 crore from Indian Oil Corporation Ltd for civil and structural works at Panipat Refinery Project Complex.
The contract is valued at ₹330 crore excluding GST (Goods and Services Tax) and the contract completion period is 18 months, according to a regulatory filing.
The company has secured orders from Indian Oil Corporation Ltd for construction of civil and structural works in Panipat, Haryana, the filing added. (PTI)
Oil prices settled up about $2 a barrel on Monday on supply jitters, as a key pipeline supplying the United States closed and Russia threatened a production cut even as China's loosening COVID-19 restrictions bolstered the fuel demand outlook. Brent crude futures settled at $77.99 a barrel, gaining $1.89 or 2.5%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $73.17 a barrel, rising $2.15, or 3%. (Read More)
Private sector ICICI Bank on Monday said it has raised ₹5,000 crore through bonds to fund business growth.
The bank has allotted 50,000 senior unsecured redeemable long-term bonds in the nature of debentures aggregating to ₹5,000 crore on a private placement basis, the date of the allotment being December 12, 2022, it said in a regulatory filing.
The bonds are redeemable at the end of 7 years (redemption date being December 12, 2029), it said.
There are no special rights or privileges attached to the bonds, it added. (PTI)
Tata Motors' board has accorded in -the principle to the company to consider partial divestment of its stake in Tata Technologies, which is due to go public In the current fiscal year (FY23) .
The Company said in the filing that," ...it will make further announcements of all material developments relating to IPO, as and when required, as per SEBI LODR Regulations and other applicable laws."
TTL's IPO makes it the first time in 18 years for a Tata Group entity to list, after TCS' public offering in 2004. (Read More)
Debt-laden Jaypee Group has agreed to sell its cement business to Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd at an enterprise value of ₹5,666 crore, the company said. Jaypee has been trying to reduce debt after State Bank of India initiated insolvency proceedings against it for failing to settle dues of ₹6,892 crore.
It has signed a binding framework agreement with Dalmia to sell its cement, clinker, and power plants, which have a cement capacity of 9.4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), clinker capacity of 6.7 mt, and thermal power capacity of 280MW. “JAL, the flagship firm, is taking steps to reduce debt and repay lenders to meet commitments on a proactive basis," said Manoj Gaur, executive chairman of JAL. “In this regard, JAL divested over 20 mtpa cement capacity in favour of UltraTech Cement in 2014 and 2017, while selling a controlling stake of over 2 mtpa cement capacity to Dalmia in 2015." (Read More)
Vaishali Parekh of Prabhudas Lilladher has recommended two stocks to buy today. Here we list out full details below:
1] RCF: Buy at ₹135, target ₹141, stop loss ₹132; and
2] Apollo Hospitals: Buy at ₹4742, target ₹4850, stop loss ₹4680. (Read More)
The initial public offering (IPO) of Landmark Cars Limited is going to hit primary markets today and subscription for the public issue will remain open for bidders till 15th December 2022. The auto dealer company aims to raise 552 crore from its public offer out of which ₹402 crore is reserved for OFS (offer for sale). The auto company has fixed Landmark Cars IPO price band at ₹481 to ₹506 per equity share.
Meanwhile, shares of Landmark Cars Limited are available in the grey market. According to market observers, shares of Landmark Cars Limited are available at a premium of ₹31 in the grey market today. (Read More)
The shareholders of Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (KBL)have rejected a resolution pertaining to a forensic audit in the affairs of the company, a stock exchange filing said on Monday.
On December 8, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd has called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of its shareholders to consider and approve forensic audit of the affairs of the company by an external agency
As per the filing, 63.99% of the shareholders voted against the resolution while 36.01% were in favour of the resolution proposed by Kirloskar Industries Ltd. (Read More)
India's retail inflation, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), eased sharply to an 11-month low of 5.88% on an annual basis in November from 6.77% in October 2022 amid cooling global commodity prices and higher borrowing costs. The number came within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) tolerance band of 2-6% for the first time this year.
The Central Government has mandated the RBI to maintain retail inflation at 4% with a margin of 2% on either side for a five-year period ending March 2026.
Separately, the factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), contracted 4% in October, data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed today.
"While the IIP posted a deeper-than-expected contraction, mirroring the anaemic performance of exports, this chiefly reflects holidays during the festive period. The YoY growth of most available high-frequency indicators improved in November 2022 relative to October 2022, partly reflecting the subdued base owing to the relatively late onset of the festive season in 2021 vis-Ã -vis 2022," the ICRA Chief Economist said. (Read More)
Stocks closed higher Monday as Wall Street kicked off a busy week when central banks are likely to unload the year’s final barrage of interest-rate hikes meant to drive down the world’s painfully high inflation.
The S&P 500 rallied 1.4%, trimming its loss for the year to 16.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6% and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.3%. Small company stocks also rose, pushing the Russell 2000 index 1.2% higher. The indexes are coming off their first weekly loss in three weeks.
The gains were widespread, with more than 90% of stocks in the benchmark S&P 500 index closing higher. Treasury yields rose broadly.
The market rally comes ahead of a key inflation report on Tuesday and a meeting of policymakers at the Federal Reserve, after which investors expect the Fed to announce Wednesday its last rate hike of the year following a blitzkrieg that began in March. (AP)
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