PremiumFIIs have remained net sellers in Indian equities in 2023 so far, offloading 48.06 billion rupees ($580.56 million)in the first half of February and 288.52 billion rupees in January. The US economy shows signs of remaining strong and on a path to avoiding recession despite sky-high inflation and further interest rate hikes in store.
Indian shares extended losses and posted their worst week in more than eight months on fears of aggressive interest rate hikes by global central banks and a fall in liquidity.
The Nifty 50 index fell 45 points to close below 17,500, 17,465. The S&P BSE Sensex edged 140 lower to close below 59,599, at 59,463. Both benchmarks fell over 2.5% this week to register their worst week since June 17, 2022.
Adani stocks continued their downward slide with Adani Enterprises tanking 5% in today's trade followed by Hindalco which shed 4.72%. ONGC jumped 2.6%, and Adani Ports, Asian Paints and Divi's Lab more than a per cent each.
Among sectoral indices, Metal sank 3% and dragged the market the most. Most sectoral ended lower today with PSU and Auto shedding 0.8%. Energy was the only index to end with some decent gains.
Shares in Asia were mixed Friday after Wall Street broke its longest losing streak since December with a modest rally led by tech stocks.
Japan's Nikkei share average posted its biggest jump in a month on Friday, rebounding from a one-month low hit in the previous session, as chip-related stocks surged and the incoming Bank of Japan governor backed the current easy policy.
The Nikkei ended up 1.29% tracking sideways in the afternoon session after climbing steadily in the morning. The index had dipped to the lowest since Jan. 23 on Wednesday. Japanese markets were closed on Thursday for a national holiday.
China stocks closed lower on Friday as Sino-U.S. tensions dented investor sentiment and dragged most sectors lower, though aerospace defence companies jumped.
China's blue-chip CSI300 Index closed down 1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.6%. The Hang Seng Index dropped 1.7%, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slumped 2.3%.
The United States is set to expand the number of troops helping train Taiwanese forces, two U.S. officials said on Thursday, amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.
European shares opened higher on Friday boosted by upbeat earnings reports from French construction materials giant Saint-Gobain and Swedish radiation therapy equipment Elekta. The STOXX 600 index climbed in the morning hours keeping with a rise in most Asian markets.
UK shares rose on Friday as energy giants took an early lead supported by higher oil prices, but the stock market was set for a weekly decline. The blue-chip FTSE 100 gained in the early trading but the index was set to post about 1% drop for the week.
Rejecting a plea, the Supreme Court has clarified that it will not issue any injunction against the media for reporting on Adani-Hindenburg issue till the court pronounces its order.
The top court had reserved its order on 20 February on a batch of public interest litigation (PILs) on the recent Adani Group shares crash triggered by the US-based short seller Hindenburg Research's bombshell report last month accusing it of accounting fraud and stock manipulation – claims the Adani Group have denied. (Read More)
Auto component replacement demand is estimated to grow 6-8 per cent in the next fiscal driven by factors such as the increase in mobility and healthy freight movement, among others, a report stated on Friday.
The improvement in demand has resulted in a positive impact on cash flows for aftermarket dealers and garages while the liquidity remains comfortable, credit ratings agency Icra said in the report.
Also, there have been relatively minimal issues in the collection of receivables, as per the report.
Icra also said that while the medium-term demand prospects are favourable, EV adoption, implementation of scrappage policy, component lifetime elongation, and possible increased use of public transport vis-à-vis private vehicles could cap the growth.
The aftermarket segment constitutes around a fifth of the overall demand and remains a vital cog in the Indian auto component industry, it said. (PTI)
The coal ministry on Friday said that the government has fixed a production target of 1.31 billion tonne of coal for FY 2024-25, which will rise by another 1.5 billion tonne by FY30.
“The rising trend of coal production has further gained pace in the current financial year 2022-23 and the country’s total coal production has recorded an impressive growth of more than 16% with the production of 698.25 MT (million tonne) during the period from April 2022 to January 2023 as compared to 601.97 MT during the corresponding period of the previous year," the ministry said in a press release. (Read More)
India's SpiceJet Ltd reported a nearly five-fold surge in third-quarter profit on Friday, as the embattled low-cost carrier benefited from soaring demand for air travel.
The airline said its profit rose to 1.07 billion rupees ($12.93 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31, from 232.8 million rupees, a year earlier. (Reuters)
The financial viability of many countries is being threatened by unsustainable debt, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, as he called for the Group of 20 (G20) to focus on the world's most vulnerable citizens.
Trust in international financial institutions has eroded, partly because the lenders had been slow to reform themselves, Modi said in a video message at the beginning of a two-day meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors.
"Food and energy security have become major concerns across the world. Even the financial viability of many countries is threatened by unsustainable debt levels," Modi said.
The meeting at a hill resort on the outskirts of the tech hub of Bengaluru is the first major event of India's G20 presidency and coincided with the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Modi alluded to.
"We are also witnessing rising geo-political tensions in different parts of the world. There are disruptions in global supply chains. Many societies are suffering due to rising prices," Modi said in his address to delegates. (Reuters)
The share price of budget carrier SpiceJet on Friday gained more than 2 percent ahead of the board meeting where the company is to consider proposal to shore up its equity capital.
The shares of SpiceJet were up by 2.83% at ₹36.35 on BSE. The airline stock has declined more than 40% in a year's period.
The company in an exchange filing on Tuesday informed that the board will consider issuing equity shares on a preferential basis in a board meet on Friday, February 24, 2023 and mull conversion of outstanding liabilities. The company will also consider raising fresh capital via issue of securities to qualified institutional buyers. (Read More)
India’s most dovish rate setter who warned of a severe growth hit due to aggressive policy tightening wants the central bank to pause, rather than stop, to assess growth-inflation dynamics before acting further.
“I do not recommend a ‘stop’ only a ‘pause’: if we see robust growth and stubborn inflation down the road, we should be ready to raise rates," Jayanth Rama Varma, an external member in the policy panel, said in an interview by email. “Back in December, I recommended a pause at around 6%."
The Reserve Bank of India raised the key lending rate to 6.5% on Feb. 8 as inflation stayed well above the mid-point of its 2%-6% target. Varma, previously India’s most-hawkish rate-setter, teamed up with his monetary policy committee colleague Ashima Goyal to vote against the decision that seemed “complacent about growth."
Divisions in the monetary panel are growing as members debate how much tightening is enough to tamper inflation without sacrificing the growth too much. Varma’s views on keeping the rate-increase option open will aid Governor Shaktikanta Das’ resolve to “remain unwavering" in inflation fight. (Bloomberg)
Improving macroeconomic fundamentals have made the Indian rupee more resilient, but the central bank's 'hands-on' approach amid periods of volatility will also ensure the rupee outperforms its Asian peers going ahead, strategists and analysts said.
The rupee has dropped 1% versus the U.S. dollar so far in February, as uncertainty over the future trajectory of the Federal Reserve's rate hikes rocked markets globally, but its losses have been lower than most other Asian currencies. (Read More)
Germany’s economy shrank more than expected at the end of 2022.
Output contracted 0.4%, compared with a previous reading of -0.2%. The statistics office said that a drop in capital investment and private consumption were primarily to blame, while government spending had a positive effect.
Economists predict another negative result this quarter, which would tip the economy into a recession. Even so, an unusually warm winter has meant Germany dodged the gloomier scenarios feared when Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago.
Recent indicators have given reason for optimism in Germany’s resilience, with Ifo and ZEW expectation gauges published earlier this week both increasing more than anticipated.
Similarly, surveys of purchasing managers signaled private activity returned to growth this month after more than half a year of negative readings, with an easing of supply shortages and expansion in the services sector driving the rebound. (Bloomberg)
In a huge relief for Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday stayed the order directing for initiation of insolvency proceedings against Zee. The move came after NCLAT heard plea of Punit Goenka, chief executive of Zee, challenging insolvency proceedings against the company.
Hailing the NCLAT order, Goenka said, "Remain committed towards protecting the interest of all stakeholders. Our focus continues to be on the timely completion of the proposed merger." (Read More)
Prices of one of key inputs, petroleum coke (petcoke) and coal, used to manufacture cement, continue to ease. According to analysts at IDBI Capital Markets & Securities Ltd, energy prices have been declining since the middle of December 2022. Average prices of imported coal stood $145/tonne (6000 kcal), decreasing 15% month-on-month, the research house said in a report on 22 February. Also, spot prices of coal at $145/tonne is one of the lowest since the Russia-Ukraine war, added the report.
In the December quarter (Q3FY23), the operating performance of cement manufacturers was not very exciting. According to analysts at JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd, while there was a sequential Ebita/tonne improvement in Q3FY23, this metric has not yet recovered completely to previous highs. Ebitda is short for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. (Read More)
German chemicals maker BASF SE will sack 2,600 employees, around 2% of its global workforce to reap cost savings as the company adjusts to a future without cheap Russian gas. The chemical giant will also close a number of factories, including two ammonia plants and related fertilizer facilities, according to Bloomberg news.
The closing down of these factories will result in 700 job cuts at its main Ludwigshafen plant in Germany, the company said, adding that it is also terminating a share buyback program ahead of time due to the deterioration in the global economy. (Read More)
We anticipate a 35.8% revenue CAGR over FY23-FY25 based on FY23’s opening order book of Rs7bn, which shot up ~86% y/y (~24% of it to be recognized in FY23 itself) and the greater contribution from Gtrophy. We expect the A&M business to record a 30% CAGR over FY23-FY25, and the C&E business a 43% CAGR.
We expect EBITDA to clock a ~34.8% CAGR over FY23-FY25. Excl. the Gtropy business, the 9M FY23 EBITDA margin was 53%. The 9M consolidated EBITDA margin was flat y/y at 42.2%, chiefly due to a pick-up in the device-driven IoT/Gtropy businesses. These are margin-dilutive in the first year, but pick up from the next year due to the greater SaaS revenue contribution. Margins were also compressed by higher marketing expenses and due to investments in product development. To factor in the greater contribution from the Gtropy business, we lower our FY25e EBITDA margin 400bps to 41%.
Risks: Competition from large global operators such as Google; high client- concentration (80% of its revenue comes from 35 clients).
MapMyIndia - Growth story unscathed; maintaining a Buy
Shares of information technology solutions provider Redington India opened 5 per cent higher on Friday after Synnex Mauritius likely sold 18 crore shares or 24.13% equity of the company worth ₹3,200 crore in a block deal window.
The stock was trading at ₹177.20 apiece on the NSE at around 11:58 am, higher by 2.96 percent after erasing some of its opening gains. Last year in August, Synnex Mauritius had said it would sell its stake in Redington (India) Limited. (Read More)
The NSE’s index services subsidiary, NSE Indices Limited on Friday that it has launched India’s first ever Municipal Bond Index, Nifty India Municipal Bond Index at a SEBI workshop on Municipal Debt Securities at Bengaluru.
The Nifty India Municipal Bond Index tracks the performance of municipal bonds issued by Indian municipal corporations across maturities and having investment grade credit rating. (Read More)
Amid weakening demand, India's economic growth likely slowed further in the October-December quarter and is set to lose more momentum as a series of interest rate hikes weigh on activity, according to a Reuters poll of economists.
In the last quarter, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth slipped to an annual 4.6%. However, the Indian economy had expanded 13.5% in April to June quarter, boosted largely because of pandemic-related statistical distortions. (Read More)
The share price of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) falls on Friday after the data showed that the insurance giant's investments made in the Adani group companies have turned negative. LIC's investment value in the listed group stocks stood at nearly ₹27,000 crore, as of closing on February 23.
The stock opened the day at ₹590.90 compared to ₹590.95 the previous day, but as the news about the company losing in Adani investments went around, it started to fall. It has touched a high of ₹593.95 and a low of ₹585.50 so far today. (Read More)
The central government has sought applications for the post of chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) a second time after an earlier request for applications did not help in filling up the vacancy.
The government had invited applications for the post of chairperson in July and had held interviews but it did not lead to an appointment. The new request, issued on Thursday, has set 9 March as the deadline for sending in applications. (Read More)
Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) extended decline for the second straight day on the BSE in Friday's early deals after insolvency proceedings were initiated against the company due to a loan default. The stock fell as much as 5% in early trade after closing down nearly 4% in the previous session.
Punit Goenka, chief executive of Zee on Thursday challenged insolvency proceedings against the company by India's bankruptcy court, and still expected a timely completion of a merger with the local unit of Japan's Sony Group Corp. Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday banned the derivatives trading on Zee shares effective from April 28, 2023. (Read More)
Adani Total Private Ltd will receive its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo at the Dhamra terminal on India's east coast in April and expects to start commercial operations 30 to 45 days after receiving the shipment, the Adani Group told Reuters.
The start-up of the 5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) LNG import terminal, delayed from September 2021, is crucial to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to boost natural gas use in the country's energy mix to 15% from about 6% currently.
The Adani Group's first LNG import terminal will boost gas use in India's east, where the Dhamra project is only the second import terminal. The country's five other import terminals are on its western coast.
Adani Total, in which French energy giant TotalEnergies SE has a 50% stake, said the Dhamra terminal expected safety checks and testing to be completed in February, adding that all key regulatory approvals have been achieved. (Reuters)
Led by the heavy sell-off in Adani Group stocks, state-run insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC) investments made in the group companies have turned negative as its investment value in the listed group stocks stood at nearly ₹27,000 crore, as of closing on February 23, as per data analysed from stake held by the insurance firm as per the December shareholding pattern available on the exchanges.
After the release of the Hindenburg report, LIC on January 30 had stated it has ₹35,917 crore under equity and debt at the end of December in Adani Group stocks. It said the total purchase value of equity under all Adani group companies is ₹30,127 crore and the market value for the same on January 27, 2023 was 56,142 crore. (Read More)
Real estate developer, DLF on Thursday said that the company has exercised the option to prepay the non-convertible debentures (NCDs) worth ₹500 crores, according to its regulatory filing.
DLF had allotted 5,000 senior, secured, rated, listed, redeemable, rupee denominated non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of the face value of ₹10,00,000 each in March 2021. (Read More)
Zee Entertainment's petition for relief from insolvency proceedings has been scheduled for consideration by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on February 24.
Puneet Goenka, the managing director and chief executive of Zee Enterprises, appealed the decision by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to allow IndusInd Bank to file for insolvency proceedings against the company. According to a formal statement from the company, Goenka appealed the NCLAT on February 23 in an effort to get the Mumbai bench ruling of the NCLT overturned. (Read More)
STOCK IN FOCUS
Tata Motors (CMP 435) - In view of the expected recovery of JLR’s global business with likely ease on semiconductor supply in subsequent quarters and strong order book, a turnaround of PV business post restructuring of domestic business and strong domestic CV up-cycle, we have a BUY rating on TTMT with the SOTP based the Target Price of Rs600, valuing the business at Rs712 and excluding the net debt of Rs112/share.
Intraday Picks
SBIN(PREVIOUS CLOSE: 521) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of ₹513-
517 for the target of Rs. 534 with a strict stop loss of ₹508.
TATA MOTORS (PREVIOUS CLOSE: 433) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of ₹427-
430 for the target of Rs.444 with a strict stop loss of ₹423.
LT(PREVIOUS CLOSE: 2159) SELL
For today’s trade, short position can be initiated in the range of ₹2170-
2190 for the target of Rs. 2104with a strict stop loss of ₹2210.
Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services: Fifth straight day of losses happening in the third consecutive monthly losing streak has made the market distinctly weak. The bearish grip on the market has been assisted by negative global cues, FII selling and the sentimental fallout of the Adani crisis. Even though there are no clear visible positive triggers for the market now, a mild reversal is possible, going forward, culminating in positive returns in March. This view has the backing of history: Nifty never had four consecutive months of negative returns during the last 20 years. The selling in Bank Nifty is overdone. The fears of the Adani crisis impacting the Indian banking system are exaggerated. Some high-quality banking stocks are attractively valued now and, therefore, banking stocks have the potential to stage a turnaround. The strength in the US economy augurs well for IT stocks too even though concerns of a US recession might weigh down heavily on the IT segment. Capital goods will continue to do well. Long-term investors can accumulate high-quality stocks in this weak environment.
The Indian rupee is likely to open higher against the U.S. dollar on Friday, tracking the overnight decline in the USD/INR non-deliverable forward (NDF) market.
The 1-month USD/INR NDF indicates that the rupee is likely to open at 82.62-82.66, compared with 82.7325 in the previous session.
"We do not see any particular trigger for the USD/INR coming off during the New York session and it was likely related to position adjustments," a trader at a private sector bank said.
The lower opening for USD/INR, despite the decline in the other Asian, lends a downside bias on the pair and possibly a look at the 82.40-82.50 support, the trader said.
Other Asian currencies were mostly lower, pressured by another robust economic data point that supported bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve could maintain a hawkish stance for a prolonged period. (Reuters)
India's top oil and gas producer ONGC will invest over USD 2 billion in drilling a record 103 wells on its main gas-bearing asset in the Arabia Sea as it pivots a turnaround plan that will add 100 million tonnes to production, a company official said.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has three main assets off the west coast - Mumbai High, Heera and Neelam, and Bassein and Satellite, which contributed the bulk of 21.7 million tonnes of oil and 21.68 billion cubic metres of gas it produced in 2021-22.
"We have released a record 103 locations for drilling of wells on the Bassein and Satellite (B&S) assets over the next 2-3 years," ONGC Director (Offshore) Pankaj Kumar said.
The wells will tap smaller and hereto untapped reservoirs and help raise output.
"We estimate that this development drilling will enhance production by over 100 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas over the life of the field," he said. "The investment involved in drilling and facilities will be over USD 2 billion." (PTI)
Vaishali Parekh of Prabhudas Lilladher has recommended three stocks to buy today which are Tata Motors, Gail and EIH Ltd.
Tata Motors: Buy Tata Motors at ₹433, stop loss ₹425, target ₹450
GAIL: Buy GAIL at ₹98, stop loss ₹96, target ₹104
EIH: Buy EIH Ltd at ₹164, stop loss ₹160, target ₹173. (Read More)
Private sector lender Axis Bank on Thursday said that the deal to acquire Citibank's India's consumer business and NBFC business is expected to be completed by 1 March2023.
Axis Bank will acquire Citibank’s India consumer business from Citibank N.A. (CBNA) and NBFC from Citicorp Finance (India) Limited (CFIL), according to its regulatory filing. (Read More)
SpiceJet and Ushdev International will be among the stocks in focus as they will declare their December quarter earnings today. (Read More)
Stainless steel producer Jindal Stainless on Thursday informed that the company has fixed Thursday, March 9, 2023, as the record date for the merger of Jindal Stainless (Hisar) with Jindal Stainless.
“..in terms of Regulation 42 and 60 of SEBI Listing Regulations, the requirements of the stock exchanges and pursuant to Clauses 15 and 34 and other applicable provisions of the composite scheme, to fix Thursday, March 9, 2023 as the Record Date, for the purpose of determining the entitlement for issue of Equity shares of the company to the shareholders of JSHL and JSLLL based on the share exchange ratio," said Jindal Stainless announced in the exchange filing. (Read More)
Amid calls to put a full stop to the repo rate hike, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee member, Prof Jayanth R Varma, batted for a pause in further rate hikes.
Varma on Thursday said that risks to the country's growth are higher than the risk of further inflation as major drivers of price increases are dissipating.
In an interview with Reuters, Varma, who along another MPC member Ashima Goyal voted against the latest quarter-point increase earlier February, said that those rate hikes would work their way through the economy and choke demand. (Read More)
With the resignation of Arvind Subramanian as Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the company -- effective from 22 May, 2023 -- Mahindra Lifespace Developers has announced its MD designate as Amit Kumar Sinha.
Sinha will join as an Additional Director on the Board of Directors of the company with effect from 23 February 2023, the firm said in a stock filing. His appointment has been made for a period of 5 years with effect from 23 May, 2023 to 22 May 2028.
On 1 November 2020, Amit joined the Mahindra Group as President - Group Strategy and became a member of the Group Executive Board from 1 April 2021. Amit is on the Board of Mahindra Finance, Mahindra Logistics, Mahindra Susten, Mahindra First Choice, Mahindra Rural Housing Finance and Fifth Gear Ventures. (Read More)
The United States has restricted exports of critical semiconductor components and technology to China, Beijing's bid to topple Washington as the No 1 economy faces 'unprecedented' pressure, according to The Star reports.
Despite having the world's strongest industrial manufacturing capability, core technologies like China's Achilles' heel are easy prey for Washington in its strategy of tech containment.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's hopes of transforming China into the pre-eminent global digital power, while surpassing the US to become the number one economy in the world, could fall apart, The Star reported as quoted by ANI. (Read More)
Adani Group will hold a fixed-income investor roadshow in Asia next week, a person familiar with the matter said.
The Indian conglomerate will hold the roadshow on Feb. 27 in Singapore and Feb. 28 to March 1 in Hong Kong, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter.
Barclays Plc, BNP Paribas SA, DBS Bank Ltd., Deutsche Bank AG, Emirates NBD Capital, ING, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, MUFG, Mizuho, SMBC Nikko and Standard Chartered Bank have extended the invitation for the roadshow. (Bloomberg)
The country's largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on Thursday announced that it has raised $750 million through a dollar bond sale.
“HDFC Bank Limited acting through GIFT City IFSC Banking Unit has completed the issue of 750 Million US$ Senior Unsecured Bonds," said the bank in its regulatory filing.
HDFC Bank said it will be paying a coupon of 5.686 per cent. The USD denominated senior unsecured instruments will have a three year maturity, with settlement on 2 March 2023, and the maturity on 2 March 2026, according to an exchange filing.
Indian companies may raise wages by an average of 10.3% this year despite concerns about a global slowdown, professional services firm Aon India said, as companies seek to retain talent amid the highest attrition in 14 years.
Employee turnover of 21.4%, changes in talent strategies, and a demand gap in the supply chain are pushing firms to offer double-digit pay hikes, a study by Aon India showed.
“Rising economic uncertainty and concerns over economic volatility are making salary increase planning especially difficult this year. India Inc. has awarded aggressive salary increases over the last two years, which has some companies grappling with higher wage bills," Roopank Chaudhary, partner, human capital solutions, India at Aon, said in an interview. (Read More)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct a 14-day variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auction today, February 24 for a notified amount of ₹50,000 crore. The auction will be held between 10:30 am and 11:00 am, the central bank said in a press release.
The reversal of these funds will take place on March 10.
The VRRR is usually undertaken to withdraw excess liquidity from the system.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, in the monetary policy minutes released on 22 February said that the overall liquidity remains in surplus, with average daily absorption under the LAF increasing to ₹1.6 lakh crore during December-January from an average of ₹1.4 lakh crore in October-November. (Read More)
Punit Goenka, chief executive of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zee), on Thursday approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) seeking relief against the National Company Law Tribunal’s insolvency order passed on Wednesday.
In a statement shared by Goenka, he said he is taking all the necessary steps as per law to protect the interests of all stakeholders of Zee and to achieve timely completion of the proposed merger with Culver Max Entertainment Pvt. Ltd (Sony Pictures Networks India). “Goenka firmly believes in the potential of the merger, to deliver immense value to all stakeholders. Zee is a debt-free and financially strong company and believes in value creation for its stakeholders." (Read More)
Stocks climbed Thursday after a see-saw day on Wall Street to break out of their longest losing streak since December.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% for its first gain in five days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 108 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.7%.
Tech stocks helped lead the way after Nvidia reported better results for the latest quarter than expected. Its shares jumped 14% after it also gave a forecast for upcoming revenue that topped some analysts’ expectations. It cited recovering strength in video gaming and demand for artificial intelligence products.
It’s a turnaround for tech and high-growth stocks, which have struggled recently because of worries about rising interest rates. They’re seen as some of the most vulnerable as the Federal Reserve jacks rates higher in hopes of stamping out inflation.
High rates hurt prices for investments, particularly those seen as the riskiest, most expensive or whose big growth is furthest out in the future. They also raise the risk of a recession because they slow the economy.
After leaping in January, stocks broadly have slammed into a wall this month on worries that inflation isn't cooling as quickly or as smoothly as hoped. A lengthening list of reports have shown the economy is in stronger shape than expected. (AP)
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