PremiumThe Federal Reserve will announce what's largely expected to be its latest increase in rates on Wednesday. With the turmoil in the banking industry, traders are betting the Fed will stick with an increase of 0.25 points, which is much lower than what traders were betting before the crisis in the banking sector.
Indian shares rose on Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve rate decision, as concerns of a banking crisis eased further after the Credit Suisse rescue.
The Nifty 50 index gained 45 points to close at 17,151 while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 140 points to end at 58,214.
Most sectoral indices ended in the green with Pharma, PSU Bank, Auto and FMCG climbing the most, while Metal, Realty and Media ended in the red in today's session.
Bajaj twins (Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance) along with HDFC Life led the stock chart. BPCL, NTPC, Coal India and Adani Ports shed more than a per cent each and were among the biggest laggards.
Asian shares mostly advanced on Wednesday after a Wall Street rally led by the banks most beaten down by the industry's crisis as investors prepared for the Federal Reserve’s much-anticipated interest-rate decision later Wednesday.
Japan's financial stocks joined a global rally on Wednesday to help lift the Nikkei share average by 1.9%, its biggest gain in two months, even as investors braced for a crucial U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision later in the day.
Nomura Holdings and Daiwa Securities each posted gains of about 4.5% as investors took heart from assurances by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that deposits at smaller lenders will be safeguarded.
China and Hong Kong stocks rallied for a second day after U.S. banking stocks rebounded overnight on hopes that a global banking crisis has been averted for now.
China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index were up 0.43%, while the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.31%. Hang Seng Index jumped 1.73%, while Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 1.38%.
A two-day bounce in European stocks stalled on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's policy outcome after signs of troubles in the banking sector raised hopes of a tempered approach to further U.S. interest rate hikes.
London's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 opened lower on Wednesday, as the pound gained strength following a hotter-than-expected UK inflation reading, with rate-sensitive real estate stocks leading declines.
Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani suffered a loss of ₹3,00 crore every week over the last year as his wealth came down to $53 billion, according to data from M3M Hurun Global Rich List 2023 released on Wednesday.
Gautam Adani slipped from the position of world's second richest billionaire to the 23 positions as the Adani Group bore the brunt of Hindenburg report. Adani's wealth nosedived by more than 60 per cent in January after the report by short-seller Hindenburg. (Read More)
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has released recommendations on issues related to community radio stations such as the inclusion of not-for-profit companies in the list of eligible organizations, increasing of permission period from existing five years to 10 years, maximum duration of advertisement per hour of broadcast on CRS and number of CR stations operated in each district of operation by not-for-profit organizations, operating in multiple districts.
Trai has said that not-for-profit companies established under Companies Act 2013 are already covered in the extant eligibility criteria for CRS and existing criteria prescribed in guidelines of the information and broadcasting ministry barring certain type of entities for setting up Community Radio Stations are equally applicable to these companies also. (Read More)
UBS Group AG has announced its intention to repurchase its euro-denominated senior unsecured bail-in notes maturing in March 2028 and March 2032, as per a statement released by the company.
“The Issuer is offering to purchase the notes at their respective re-offer price in light of the exceptional corporate actions announced on 19 March 2023, shortly after the issue date," it said on Wednesday.
“The Issuer has decided to launch this exercise as a result of a prudent assessment of these recent developments and the Issuer’s long-term commitment to its credit investors." (Read More)
Shares of retail brokerage company Angel One Ltd rallied over 3 per cent on Wednesday as the company's board of directors have approved a fourth interim dividend of ₹9.60 per equity share for the financial year 2022-23.
The record date for determining the eligibility of shareholders for payment of the said interim dividend is 31 March, 2023.
The dividend will be paid on or before 20 April, 2023 to those members, whose names appear on the Register of members or in records of depositories as beneficial owners of the shares as on Friday, March 31, 2023, Angel One said. (Read More)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said India is moving fast to become a big exporter of telecom technology from being only a user few years ago.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area Office and Innovation Centre here, Modi said India is one of countries to have rolled out 5G mobile technology at the fastest pace.
He said the services have been expanded to 125 cities within 120 days of the launch of 5G.
"Within 6 months of the rollout of 5G technology we are talking about 6G," Modi said. This, he said shows the confidence of the country.
"Before 4G, India was only a user of telecom technology, but now India is moving fast to become a big exporter of telecom technology," he said. (PTI)
After the finalisation of the Global Surfaces share allotment process, the Global Surfaces IPO listing date is fast approaching. As per the tentative schedule of the public issue worth ₹154.98 crore, the Global Surfaces IPO listing date is most likely on 23rd March 2023. Meanwhile, ahead of Global Surfaces share price debut on Dalal Street, the grey market has gone slightly bullish on the public issue.
According to market observers, shares of Global Surfaces Ltd are available in the grey market at a premium of ₹19 in grey market today. However, market observers are reminded that US Fed officials talking hawkish on interest rates post-FOMC meeting today, may spoil the grey market and secondary market mood and it may impact the Global Surfaces share debut, which is most likely on Thursday i.e. on the 23rd March 2023. (Read More)
UK inflation rose unexpectedly for the first time in four months after food and drink prices soared at the fastest pace in 45 years.
The Consumer Prices Index rose 10.4% in February after a 10.1% gain the month before, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. Economists had expected the reading to fall back into single digits.
The pound jumped after the report, which will fuel arguments that the Bank of England needs to boost interest rates again as soon as Thursday. Policy makers led by Governor Andrew Bailey had expected inflation to fall sharply this year back to their 2% target.
Once almost certain of another hike this week, investors now have Thursday’s decision on a knife edge after turmoil in the banking industry rattled markets.
After delivering the quickest set of rate increases in three decades, the UK central bank already was sending more neutral signals about the future direction of rates. Bailey has said investors shouldn’t assume more hikes are needed even before regulators stepped in to rescue Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse Group AG. (Bloomberg)
Shares of Sobha Ltd plunged a little over 6 per cent in Wednesday's trade as the Income Tax Department carried out searches at the real estate developer's registered office and other premises. The stock was trading at 6.19 per cent lower at ₹487.10 apiece at around 1:20 pm on the NSE.
The Bengaluru-based company said it is extending full cooperation to the tax officials. However, it didn't specify the reason behind the searches.
"We would like to inform you that a search by the Income Tax Department is being carried out at the registered office and other premises of Sobha Limited. Further, as a responsible company all the concerned employees/staff of the Company are extending their full cooperation to the Officials," the company said in a filing. (Read More)
India's Adani Airports, part of billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate, will bid for more airports in the country in its ambition to become the leading airport operator there, Chief Executive Arun Bansal said on Wednesday.
In the last round of airport privatisation by the government, Adani Airports won bids to operate six airports.
India is expected to privatise about a dozen more airports over the next few years and Bansal said the group would participate in the bidding. (Read More)
World Bank arm IFC has decided to invest ₹600 crore in Mahindra Group's last-mile electric mobility business to scale up electric three-wheelers and small commercial vehicles that are more affordable.
In a stock exchange filing, Mahindra Group said that IFC would be investing RS 600 crore in NewCo, the new subsidiary of Mahindra Group.
This would be IFC's first investment in an EV manufacturer and its first in electric three-wheelers globally, in the form of compulsory convertible instruments at a valuation of up to ₹6,020 crore. (Read More)
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, a renowned stock market investor who passed away last year at the age of 62, is set to receive the Padma Shri award posthumously on March 22.
The award is being conferred in recognition of Jhunjhunwala's significant contributions to the field of trade and industry. The ceremony will take place in the evening and the family of the late investor is expected to be in attendance to receive the award on his behalf. (Read More)
State Bank of India (SBI) share price has been in base-building mode after climbing to its life-time high of ₹629.55 apiece on NSE in December 2022. SBI share price today is around ₹525 apiece, which is around 17 per cent lower from its record high and Motilal Oswal believes that the fundamentals of the largest Indian commercial bank are strong enough and SBI shares are poised to come out of the base building mode and climb to a new peak in long term.
Highlighting the reason for being bullish on SBI share price, Motilal Oswal said, "SBIN’s robust performance has been aided by strong loan growth, margin expansion and lower provisions. The improvement in its treasury performance (which supported other income) and controlled opex led to healthy growth in core PPOP. A high mix of floating loans, which will benefit from the re-pricing of MCLR loans, will continue to aid NII and earnings, even as the cost of deposits may see some increase. The asset quality performance remains strong with consistent improvements in headline asset quality ratios, while the restructured book remains under control at 0.9%." (Read More)
Shares of food delivery major Zomato rose nearly 1 per cent in Wednesday's trade after analysts at HSBC Global Research said they expect the stock to hit ₹87 going ahead, implying an upside potential of 64 per cent from the current levels.
Zomato has lost over 11 per cent in the year-to-date period and has underperformed the S&P BSE Sensex. Despite this underperformance, HSBC has maintained a 'Buy' rating on the stock.
The food delivery industry has slowed down sharply in recent months and may slow down further in 4Q23, but the brokerage expects Zomato to reclaim its market share. (Read More)
Recruiters across the world are getting an unprecedented flood of calls from Credit Suisse Group AG bankers seeking new jobs as the embattled Swiss lender is set to be taken over by UBS Group AG.
From Singapore to London to New York, headhunters and rival lenders have been fielding calls over the past few days from anxious Credit Suisse staff, according to people from more than a dozen firms with knowledge of the matter.
One firm in Singapore handled questions from some 30 mostly Credit Suisse private bankers about available jobs on Monday, while another recruiter in Hong Kong has been talking to more than 20 senior investment bankers since last week, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Meanwhile, a firm that’s focused on managing director hires said it has received such calls since late Friday, especially for the wealth area. (Bloomberg)
Gold rates today opened lower but soon attracted buying interest and went on to hit an intraday high of ₹58,648 per 10 gm on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX). However, profit booking was soon triggered and gold price retreated from its intraday highs and hit an intraday low of ₹58,505 per 10 gm levels. In the international spot market, yellow metal price is trading in a tight range of $1,938 to $1,946 per ounce levels. According to commodity market experts, the precious yellow metal may remain tepid till final outcome of the FOMC meeting arrives today.
Market experts said that the gold rate today has immediate support placed at $1,920 per ounce levels whereas it is facing hurdles at $1,980 and $2,010 per ounce levels in the international spot market. On MCX, the gold price has immediate support placed at ₹58,100 whereas it is facing a hurdle at ₹59,000 per 10 gm levels. However, they advised gold investors to maintain buy on dips till the FOMC meeting outcome arrives. However,, experts maintained that gold price may trade in ₹57,800 to ₹59,500 per 10 gm range ahead of the FOMC meeting. (Read More)
TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Chew plans to tell Congress his app does more to protect young users than rival social media and that Beijing has no authority over its data, invoking familiar arguments to head off a US ban or forced sale.
The app owned by Chinese internet leader ByteDance Ltd. expends a lot of effort protecting its mostly youthful contingent, Chew plans to say when he testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Thursday, according to prepared comments reviewed by Bloomberg News. And the executive, who took the helm of the viral video phenom just two years ago, reiterated that it would never share information demanded by the Communist Party, which has no sway over ByteDance’s US- and Singapore-based subsidiary.
Chew’s comments are meant to head off a barrage of questions expected from Representatives on the committee about teen safety and the impact on mental health of the endless, personalized feed of videos the app serves up. That’s not the only contentious topic Chew expects to address. During his first testimony before Congress, Chew will also be queried on data protection policies and whether the app’s ownership by a Chinese tech company poses a national security risk. (Bloomberg)
The Reserve Bank of India is optimistic about India’s growth outlook, “whatever the odds", and expects it to maintain the pace seen in the current fiscal year.
“Unlike the global economy, India would not slow down – it would maintain the pace of expansion achieved in 2022-23," RBI staff wrote in the March bulletin of the State of the Economy, published on Tuesday. “We remain optimistic about India, whatever the odds."
Forecasts of India’s real GDP growth for 2023-24, including those by the RBI, stand at between 6.0 and 6.5%. (Read More)
Oil fell in Asian trade on Wednesday morning, paring two straight days of gains after an industry report showed U.S. crude inventories rose unexpectedly last week in a sign fuel demand may be weakening.
Brent futures, which have risen more than 3% this week, were down 37 cents, or 0.5%, at $74.95 a barrel at 0400 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 39 cents, or 0.6%, at $69.28.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday showed U.S. crude inventories rose by about 3.3 million barrels in the week ended March 17, sources said.
That defied expectations for a drawdown of about 1.6 million barrels from eight analysts polled by Reuters.
Traders and analysts will be looking out for data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday to see whether it confirms signs of weaker crude demand. (Reuters)
India recorded 1,134 new coronavirus cases, while the active cases increased to 7,026, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
The death toll climbed to 5,30,813 with five deaths with one each reported by Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra and one reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The daily positivity was recorded at 1.09 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.98 per cent.
The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,98,118).
The active cases now comprise 0.02 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.79 per cent, the ministry said. (PTI)
Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) share price today ascended in early morning deals. In the opening bell today, Shipping Corporation of India's share price opened upside and went on to hit an intraday high of ₹139.35 apiece on NSE, logging to the tune of nearly 2 per cent intraday rise within a few minutes of the stock market's opening today. On Tuesday, the Shipping Corporation of India fixed the demerger record date on 31st March 2023. The state-owned company has already announced the demerger of its land and assets in 1:1 ratio. (Read More)
Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services: Today’s Fed decision will be crucial in determining the direction of the market. The most likely outcome will be a 25bp hike in rates along with assurances of financial stability. Since inflation continues to be high and unemployment is at record lows the Fed has to keep its vigil on price stability. If the Fed decision is a pause, there will be a strong rally in markets. An important market trend is the steady decline in the volatility index CBOE VIX in recent days from 26 to around 21 now. This means there is no fear in the market unlike during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.
Investors should remain cautious and wait for stability to emerge. Safety is in large caps. Long-term investors can nibble at high-quality large caps.
Sri Lanka’s bailout by the International Monetary Fund will help the bankrupt nation lower its borrowing costs, thanks in part to a change in how the cash can be used, central bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said.
The Washington-based lender for the first time will allow Sri Lanka to use funds from the $3 billion bailout to cover government spending, Weerasinghe said in an interview late Tuesday in the capital Colombo. The South Asian country’s 16 previous bailouts only targeted balance-of-payment support.
“That will ease the government borrowing requirement from domestic markets," Weerasinghe said. “This will help bring down the interest rates and ease the pressure on the domestic interest rates further."
Currently, the yields for the one-year Sri Lanka treasury bills stand at nearly 26%
Domestic bonds due July 2033 were steady on Tuesday after the IMF announced a 48-month program for the country. The first tranche of $333 million will be released soon and is expected to help restore stability and rebuild foreign exchange reserves in an economy battling recession. (Bloomberg)
STOCK IN FOCUS
CROMPTON (CMP 292): Considering healthy growth led by strong brand equity, product innovation, ongoing Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy, better margin profile in the medium-term and synergies of Butterfly, we have our BUY rating on the stock with a Target price of ₹430.
Intraday Picks
VEDL (PREVIOUS CLOSE: RS284) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs280-
283 for the target of Rs290 with a strict stop loss of Rs277.
LTIM (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 4674) SELL
For today’s trade, short position can be initiated in the range of Rs4700-
4730 for the target of Rs4604 with a strict stop loss of Rs4760.
SBI (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 522) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs519-
521 for the target of Rs535 with a strict stop loss of Rs513.
With just only 10 days till the annual closing of the current financial year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed all banks to keep their branches open until the end of the working hours on March 31.
The central bank has written a letter to all the agency banks that they should keep their designated branches open for over-the-counter transactions related to government transactions up to the normal working hours on March 31, 2023.
It directed all government transactions done by agency banks for the Financial Year 2022-23 must be accounted for within the same financial year.
It also added, "Transactions through National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System will continue up to 2400 hours (12 midnight) as hitherto on March 31, 2023." (ANI)
Cooling products maker Blue Star on Tuesday said it has bagged four orders worth ₹575 crore which mark its entry into the railway electrification space.
The company has secured orders from West Central Railway, Central Organization for Railway Electrification (CORE) and Metro Railway, Kolkata, said Blue Star in a statement.
This will consolidate Blue Star's position in the projects Business space, where it is already present in air conditioning and tunnel ventilation works of the Metro Rail segment, it added.
"Railways being one of the key focus areas by the Indian Government, we are glad that we are contributing towards the growth and development of the railway's infrastructure in India," Blue Star Managing Director B Thiagarajan said.
"Blue Star, with its superior project management expertise and experience in working on various HVAC&R and MEP projects, is in a perfect place to leverage the growing opportunities in the Railway Electrification space," he said. (PTI)
Vedanta Group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) on Tuesday said its board has approved a fourth interim dividend of ₹26 per equity share or 1,300 per cent for FY2022-23 amounting to ₹10,985.83 crore.
This takes the Udaipur-based Hindustan Zinc's total payout to shareholders at a record ₹32,000 crore this fiscal, making it among the top-dividend payers in the country.
"The board of directors of the company in its meeting held on March 21, 2023 have approved fourth interim dividend of ₹26 per equity share i.e. 1300 % on face value of ₹2 per share for the financial Year 2022-23 amounting to ₹10,985.83 crore," Hindustan Zinc said in a filing to BSE.
The fourth interim dividend will be paid within stipulated timelines as prescribed under law, it said.
Hindustan Zinc (HZL) said that it has declared its ever-highest dividend of ₹32,000 crore for FY'23 by announcing the fourth interim dividend. (PTI)
Biocon and Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd are the two stocks that continue to be part of the F&O ban list for Wednesday trading. (Read More)
Average salary in India is expected to increase by 10.2 per cent in 2023, mainly driven by e-commerce, professional services and information technology, a report said on Tuesday.
The average salaries in India will increase by 10.2 per cent in 2023, lower in comparison to 10.4 per cent (actuals) in 2022, but still in double digits, according to a 'Future of Pay' 2023 report by professional services organisation EY.
The projected salary increases for 2023 are slightly lower than the actual increases for 2022 across all job levels, except for blue-collar workers, who are projected to have a slightly larger decrease in compensation in 2023, it stated.
The top three sectors with the biggest projected salary increases are tied to technology, said the report.
E-commerce has the highest projected salary growth at 12.5 per cent, followed by professional services at 11.9 per cent and IT at 10.8 per cent, it added. (PTI)
Amid the FOMC meeting, the US stock market finished higher on Tuesday though Us stock futures traded in a tight range. As the market is abuzz with a 25 bps rate hike in the FOMC meeting today, the US dollar and US bond yield have depreciated in early morning deals. Crude oil price is still under pressure as WTI crude oil is 0.42 per cent lower in the morning session. However, the First Republic after the brutal selloff rebounded strongly on potential government backing to encourage buyers.
Here we list out key triggers that may dictate Indian stock market today: (Read More)
Vaishali Parekh has recommended three stocks to buy today, here we list out full details in regard to those intraday stocks:
1] GNFC: Buy at ₹534, target ₹552, stop loss ₹525;
2] Axis Bank: Buy at ₹855, target ₹880, stop loss ₹842; and
3] REC: Buy at ₹118, target ₹124, stop loss ₹116. (Read More)
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has dismissed an application by Yatra Online against its operational creditor Ezeego One Travel that sought to initiate insolvency resolution against the former.
Ezeego had filed the insolvency application under Section 9 after Yatra defaulted on its dues. A bench led by Justice Kishore Vemulapalli and Justice Prabhat Kumar rejected the application filed by Yatra challenging maintainability of Ezeego’s insolvency application. Following the dismissal, Yatra’s insolvency case will be now heard on merits by NCLT. (Read More)
The rupee slipped 3 paise to close at 82.59 against the US dollar on Tuesday ahead of the much-anticipated US Federal Reserve decision on key policy rate.
A rebound in crude oil prices and unabated foreign fund outflows weighed on the local unit while a weak US dollar ahead of the interest rate decision and gains in domestic equities supported the rupee sentiment, forex dealers said.
Investors are keenly awaiting the interest rate decision by the US Federal Reserve due on Wednesday.
The US dollar weakened against a basket of global currencies amid expectations that the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England would not hike rates much further, or at all, due to the banking crisis.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened strong at 82.54 against the dollar. During the day, it went as high as 82.53 and hit the lowest level of 82.70. It finally settled at 82.59 against the American currency, registering a fall of 3 paise against its previous close. (PTI)
Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL) on Tuesday said it has received a letter of award from MSEDCL to set up a 200 MW solar project in Solapur, Maharashtra.
The letter of award has been received from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL).
The project will be commissioned within 18 months from the PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) execution date. The project was awarded through competitive bidding, followed by a reverse e-auction, TPREL said in a statement.
The installation will reduce around 432.94 million kg of CO2 emissions annually and will be one of the most substantial solar PV projects. (PTI)
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd is in advanced talks with global investors to raise $1-1.3 billion by selling shares in its electric vehicles (EV) unit, people familiar with the development said, adding the move is aimed at accelerating the expansion plans of its newly formed subsidiary, EV Co.
Mahindra is likely to raise capital in multiple tranches over the next two fiscal years, primarily through stake sales in the EV subsidiary, which is currently valued at over $9.1 billion, the people said, requesting anonymity. (Read More)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has no record of what transpired at the crucial monetary policy committee meeting on 3 November that discussed its failure to meet the inflation target, the central bank said in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query.
Responding to Mint’s RTI request for a copy of the minutes of the meeting, RBI’s central public information officer (CPIO) replied on 25 January that the “information sought is not available". Then on 17 March, responding to an appeal on the same query, executive director Radha Shyam Ratho said that “no minutes are available in respect of the MPC meeting held on 3 November 2022." (Read More)
Tensions over plans to transform Air India into a global airline with hundreds of new jets rippled across the aviation sector on Tuesday as foreign carriers clamoured for more access to the world's fastest-growing economy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government faces growing demands to ease a near-freeze on capacity that can be deployed on many routes to and from India, now that India's flag carrier has been sold to the cash-rich Tata conglomerate. (Read More)
Stocks rallied Tuesday, led by the banks most beaten down by the industry’s crisis, and some of Wall Street’s fear washed out on hopes the U.S. government will offer more help if needed.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.3% to lock in its first back-to-back gain since Silicon Valley Bank’s rapid failure began two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 316 points, or 1%, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.6%.
Markets around the world have pinballed sharply this month on worries the banking system may be cracking under the pressure of the fastest set of hikes to interest rates in decades. This week’s rally now runs into a huge test: On Wednesday afternoon, the Federal Reserve will announce what's largely expected to be its latest increase to rates.
Tuesday's strength for stocks came after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a bankers’ group more government assistance “could be warranted" if risks arise that could bring down the system. That could mean making sure customers at a weakened bank get all their money, even those with more than the $250,000 limit insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Central banks have jacked up rates at a blistering pace in hopes of getting high inflation under control. But such moves act like huge hammers with little nuance. They try to bring down inflation by slowing the entire economy.
That raises the risk of a recession later on. Higher rates also hurt prices for stocks and other investments. That’s one of the factors that hurt Silicon Valley Bank, which saw the value of its bond investments drop with the rise in rates.
Earlier this month, much of Wall Street was bracing for the Fed to reaccelerate its hikes and raise by 0.50 percentage points on Wednesday. A string of reports on the economy had come in hotter than expected, including data on the job market, retail sales and inflation itself.
But all the turmoil in the banking industry has traders betting the Fed will stick with an increase of 0.25 points. (AP)
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