PremiumGlobal investors remained pessimistic ahead of US non-farm payrolls data due later in the day following volatility spurred by a sharp rise in U.S. jobless claims and a decline in Wall Street bank shares. This tempered bets that the Federal Reserve may have to go big with this month's interest rate hike.
Indian shares fell more than a per cent on Friday, dragged by financials, on concerns of a prolonged high-interest rate regime, while investors awaited the key US nonfarm payrolls data due later in the day.
The Nifty 50 index fell 175 points to close below 17,500, at 17,412, while the S&P BSE Sensex lost 670 points to close at 59,135.
Most of the major sectoral indexes declined, with high-weightage Financials, Metal and IT losing the most, while FMCG and Consumer Durables remained the only sectors to end in green with marginal gains.
Adani Enteprises dropped 3%, while HDFC Bank, HDFC, Apollo Hospitals and IndusInd Bank shed more than 2% each and were among the biggest laggards in the Nifty 50. Tata Motors gained a per cent and NTCP 0.84% and topped the Nifty 50 stock charts.
Japan's Nikkei slumped the most in almost three months on Friday, snapping a five-day winning streak, as financials tumbled after the central bank's decision to maintain stimulus settings hurt their profit outlook.
Japanese stocks, particularly banking and tech, were already under pressure following a slump on Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei closed 1.67% lower after touching a more-than-six-month high in the previous session.
Hong Kong and Mainland China stocks plunged Friday following a rout on Wall Street fuelled by worries over the banking sector. The Hang Seng Index dived 3.04% and the Shanghai Composite Index sank 1.40%.
European shares tumbled to a more than one-month low on Friday as uncertainty regarding U.S. monetary policy gripped investors, with bank stocks sinking 4.5% after a warning from a U.S. bank spurred worries about stress in the sector.
London's blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell on Friday as UK banks joined a decline in global lenders, while uncertainty regarding central banks' moves heightened ahead of U.S. payrolls data.
Ajanta Pharma's board on Friday approved the proposal of buyback of shares worth ₹315 crore at a price of ₹1,425 per share via tender offer route. The company will buyback about 22,10,500 equity shares of the company, representing 2.59% of total equity. The pharma stock was trading more than a per cent lower at ₹1,213 apiece on the BSE in afternoon deals.
“We wish to inform you that the Board of Directors of the company, at its meeting held today has inter-alia considered and approved Buyback of 22,10,500 fully paid-up Equity Shares of face value of ₹2/- each by the company at a price of ₹1,425/- payable in cash for a total consideration not exceeding ₹315 crore, which represents 9.93% and 9.64% of the aggregate of the paid-up capital and free reserves as per the standalone and consolidated audited financials for the year ended as on March 31, 2022," Ajanta Pharma informed in an exchange filing. (Read More)
Assets under management (AUM) of the National Pension System (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) surged 23.45% year-on-year to touch ₹8.82 lakh crore as of 4 March 2023.
On 5 March 2022, the combined AUM stood at ₹7.14 lakh crore, according to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
The number of subscribers in various schemes under the NPS rose to 624.81 lakh as on 4 March from 508.47 lakh in March 2022, showing an increase of 22.88% year-on-year. (Read More)
European shares tumbled to a more than one-month low on Friday as uncertainty regarding U.S. monetary policy gripped investors, with bank stocks sinking 4.5% after a warning from a U.S. bank spurred worries about stress in the sector.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.3%, with HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Unicredit and Commerzbank down between 4.9% and 6.7%.
The European banking index hit a six-week low after U.S. tech-industry lender SVB Financial Group launched a share sale to shore up its balance sheet due to declining deposits from startups struggling for funding.
All eyes are on U.S. non-farm payrolls data due later in the day following volatility spurred by a sharp rise in U.S. jobless claims and a decline in Wall Street bank shares, which tempered bets that the Federal Reserve may have to go big with this month's interest rate hike. (Reuters)
Boeing and GMR Aero Technic will set up a passenger plane to freighter conversion line in Hyderabad, as the American major looks to expand its complex aircraft modification capabilities in India as well as tap the rising cargo market demand.
GMR Aero Technic will be the first Boeing supplier in India that will have the capability to support future conversions of both domestic and foreign aircraft, the aircraft maker said on Friday.
The announcement also came less than a month after Boeing bagged an order for 220 aircraft from Air India.
Without disclosing financial details, Boeing India President Salil Gupte said its cooperation with GMR Aero Technic supports the anticipated growth of the cargo sector in the region.
"Indian market is like no other maret because it combines both an incredible market with an incredible capability, both in civil and defence. There is synergy between civil and defence that is so valuable," Gupte told PTI here after the announcement. (PTI)
Digital advertising rose a robust 52% year-on-year in 2022. The service sector was the top advertiser on the digital medium. A new entrant in the top ten list was ‘building, industrial and land materials’ industry, said a report, ‘Rewinding Y 2022 for Advertising in Digital’ by TAM AdEx. AdEx is the advertising information systems (AIS) division of TAM Media Research. Digital advertising is up 58% since 2018. (Read More)
India will boost fuel imports after gas-fired power stations were asked to increase output to meet soaring demand during the summer months.
Gail India Ltd. will tap the seaborne market to supply state-run power producer NTPC Ltd., which has been asked by the government to run 5 gigawatts of plants to meet peak demand during April and May, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named as the details are private.
New Delhi-based NTPC estimates it will require 250 million metric standard cubic meters of fuel during the two-month period, according to some of people. An additional 4 gigawatts of capacity run by other companies will also be kept ready to operate if needed.
NTPC and a Gail spokesman didn’t immediately reply to emails seeking a comment. (Bloomberg)
Suman Bannerjee, CIO, An US based Hedge Fund investing in alternative assets such as NFTs, Crypto and P2P lending on the NIFTY Crash
· How much impact do Wall Street's banks have on the Indian banking sector?
None at all. The Indian banking system is very insulated from global headwinds. Indian banks don’t lend to foreign companies outside very selected Middle East companies. Net foreign lending is less than 4% of the lending book. The entire book is hedged using currency, swaps and interest-rate swaps.
· What is the outlook for Bank Nifty, should one accumulate quality stocks right now or wait for further correction?
I think prices will correct a little bit more. What we are seeing right now in the broader markets is a bull trap. Prices will likely fall more, so I would wait a bit before accumulating banking stocks. The most important metric to watch out now is the net interest margin. When the RBI raises rates, this affects the value of bonds held as the SLR portion in the banks regulatory capital base. When interest rates rise the value of bonds fall, this can lead to losses if the net interest margin is narrow.
· Where are support and resistance levels?
There is a strong support at 39,500 which the index is likely to break soon. I would prefer accumulating at around 36,000 on the bank nifty.
After the finalisation of share allotment, all eyes are now focussed on Divgi TorqTransfer Systems IPO listing date, which is most likely on 14th March 2023. However, after the stock market crash for two straight sessions, grey market sentiments in regard to Divgi TorqTransfer Systems IPO have tumbled. According to market observers, shares of Divgi TorqTransfer Systems Ltd are available at a premium of ₹45 in the grey market today.
Market observers maintained that Divgi TorqTransfer Systems IPO GMP (grey market premium) today is ₹45, which is ₹25 lower from its Thursday GMP of ₹70 per equity share. They said that Divgi TorqTransfer Systems IPO GMP today tumbled due to the weakness in secondary market sentiments for last two days. (Read More)
India and the US on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership to promote cooperation in the segment.
US Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo and India’s Commerce & Industry minister Piyush Goyal signed the pact during India-US Commercial Dialogue in Delhi.
The India-US Commercial Dialogue was re-launched today to discuss cooperation for unlocking new trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. (Read More)
Deloitte in India has hired close to 50,000 professionals over the last three years, nearly doubling the headcount as it invests in people and productive capacity in the country, the audit firm said on Friday.
In a statement, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP said it focused on building skills to deliver technology-driven growth.
It also announced the completion of a pilot project to help address the issue of stubble burning in North India.
"Deloitte in India has hired close to 50,000 professionals over the last three years," the statement said.
"The organisation plans to continue to invest in people and productive capacities in India, with a focus on innovative approaches to support education, digital skills development, and training opportunities." (PTI)
Natco Pharma Ltd on Friday said it has launched additional strengths for its generic lenalidomide capsules used in the treatment of multiple myeloma, in the US.
The company has launched 2.5 mg, and 20 mg strengths of the generic version of Revlimid (lenalidomide capsules) through its marketing partner Teva Pharmaceuticals, a US affiliate of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Natco Pharma said in a regulatory filing.
"With this launch the companies (have) made available all the strengths of lenalidomide in the US market," it added.
Lenalidomide capsules are a prescription medicine used in adults for the treatment of multiple myeloma, the filing said. (PTI)
Suryalata Spinning Mills shares are one of the multibagger stocks on Dalal Street. This multibagger textile stock has risen 115 per cent in the last month whereas it has risen to the tune of 120 per cent in year-to-date (YTD) time. This Manish Goel portfolio stock managed to maintain an uptrend on Friday despite the stock market crash and hit a lifetime high on 7th day in a row.
Despite the stock market crash today, Suryalata Spinning Mills' share price today opened with an upside gap on BSE and went on to hit an intraday high of ₹679 apiece levels, a new lifetime high. while climbing to a new peak today, this multibagger stock gained over 6 per cent during Friday deals. (Read More)
Consumer spending in China has picked up rapidly in recent weeks, especially on eating out and travel, giving a boost to an economic recovery that’s become increasingly reliant on local demand.
High-frequency indicators of spending in some sectors have shown double-digit growth from a year ago, while leading travel companies and retailers have reported a strong increase in sales so far this year.
China’s consumers are in focus after a government meeting this week suggested officials would avoid large stimulus through infrastructure investment or the property market — leaving household spending to drive demand in the world’s second-largest economy.
A consumer rebound will also help offset the slump in exports as economic growth in some of China’s key markets, like the US and Europe, weakens. After three years of on-off Covid restrictions, economists are betting consumers will help drive China’s growth to above 5% this year. (Bloomberg)
Over two-thirds of Indians worry inflation may hurt their retirement savings, and consequently, their lifestyle, while 67% highlighted the need to have adequate retirement corpus to take care of medical expenses if stuck with a terminal illness during their retirement, according to a new survey.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, in its survey,’Is India prepared for retirement?’, found that retirement is viewed positively as a time full of possibilities. It is seen as a time when one can make a fresh start and live life the way one wants to. A large number of individuals view it as a phase of maintenance, upgrading, and growth. (Read More)
India's gem and jewellery exports witnessed a resurgence in February, supported by a swift recovery of both the Chinese and Middle East markets. In February 2023, the overall gem and jewellery exports witnessed a surge of 24 per cent to ₹28,832.86 crore as compared to ₹23,326.8 crore for the same month last year, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) data showed.
In a breakup, the total gross export of gold jewellery (plain and studded) grew 29.89 per cent to ₹5,829.65 crore in February, compared to ₹4,488.3 crore for the same period last year.
For cut and polished diamonds, the exports witnessed a strong growth of 32 per cent to ₹19,582.4 crore versus ₹14,841.9 crore in February 2022.
Vipul Shah, Chairman, of GJEPC, partly attributed the surge in cut and polished diamond exports to the strong demand from China and the Lunar New Year festivities. (ANI)
Shares of Bajaj Auto Ltd have risen over 5% in the calendar year 2023 so far. However, in the past one year, the performance of the stock, which appreciated 11.5%, has lagged the 27% return in the Nifty Auto index.
One factor weighing on investor sentiments is the weak outlook in its export markets. This high-margin segment formed about 57% of the automaker’s two-wheeler volumes in FY22 and muted demand here has dented the share of export in Bajaj’s earnings. (Read More)
With thousands of employees laid off across tech giants including Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon, Twitter in the past couple of months have left many employees worried about their job security. The layoffs has affected the future of H1B visa holders as in a span of 60 days, they either need to find another company to sponsor their visas or leave the country.
Now, a survey report published by Envoy Global has stated that 89% of US companies hired one or more foreign national employees who were previously laid off by another company in the last six months. The report titled 2023 Immigration Trends has also said also stated that employers are currently recruiting and hiring foreign national employees in the US. The report stated that in 2022, companies with foreign national employees experienced layoffs and hiring freezes due to macroeconomic trends. About 78% of companies instituted a hiring freeze while 58% of companies laid of foreign nationals. (Read More)
It was a bad day for the banking industry Thursday. The benchmark KBW Bank Index tumbled as much as 8.1% in its biggest one-day decline since June 2020. The biggest loser in that index was SVB Financial Group, the parent of Silicon Valley Bank, which plunged 60%. It’s not that Silicon Valley Bank was down in sympathy with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp.; those banking behemoths — and arguably the stock market as a whole — dropped because of Silicon Valley Bank. Wait. Silicon Valley who?
The Santa Clara, California-based bank isn’t exactly a household name, and it’s certainly not big enough to spark a national banking crisis. With around $212 billion in assets, it’s less than a tenth the size of JPMorgan. In fact, it has a very niche business, which is mainly financing technology-related startups. (Read More)
Bharti Airtel’s market share gains among 4G subscribers, hikes in voice tariffs and improving tariff outlook due to Govt’s support for Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL_ should help Bharti drive 13% growth in its mobile ARPUs over FY23-25, said global brokerage Jefferies which believes that market share gains are likely to accelerate amid 5G rollouts.
"While we cut our estimates by 1-4% to factor tariff hike delays, we upgrade Bharti Airtel shares' rating to BUY as, after a 13% fall since November 2022, the stock offers 16% upside potential to our rolled forward target price of ₹900 (earlier ₹850). (Read More)
Oil fell for a fourth session on Friday, heading for its biggest weekly loss in five weeks on worries about the prospect of steep interest rate hikes in the United States slowing growth and hitting fuel demand.
Brent dipped 48 cents, or 0.6, to $81.11 a barrel by 0434 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) were down 60 cents, or 0.8%, at $75.12 a barrel.
Expectations of ongoing rate hikes in the world's largest economy and in Europe have clouded the global growth outlook and driven both crude benchmarks down more than 5.5% so far this week, in their worst drop since early February.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has warned of higher and potentially faster rate hikes, saying the Fed was wrong in initially thinking inflation was "transitory" and was surprised by the strength of the labour market. (Reuters)
The rupee depreciated by 8 paise to 82.14 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, weighed down foreign fund outflows and losses in domestic equities.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.12 against the dollar fell further to 82.14, registering a decline of 8 paise over its last close.
On Thursday, the rupee settled at 82.06 against the US dollar.
"The 81.70-80 zone seems protected by the importer's dollar demand and suspected RBI intervention, which brought the INR back to 82.00 levels," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said.
Moreover, the March seasonality due to the financial year end and prospects of further FDI flows could help the rupee limit losses, despite weaker Asian peers over the past month, Pabari added.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.11 per cent to 105.18. (PTI)
State-owned non-banking finance firm REC Ltd board on Thursday approved ₹1,20,000 crore market borrowing programme for 2023-24 in its meeting.
"Board of Directors of REC Ltd in its meeting held on March 9, 2023, inter-alia approved the market borrowing programme under different debt instruments for the financial year 2023-24," a BSE filing stated.
REC will borrow ₹1,20,000 crore from the market during 2023-24, which includes various types of bonds and loans ( ₹1,05,000 crore), short-term loans ( ₹10,000 crore) and commercial papers ( ₹5,000 crore), it added.
On account of the ease in the US dollar rate, the gold price rebounded from its two-week lows on morning Friday deals. The gold future contract for April 2023 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) opened higher at ₹55,325 per 10 gm and went on to hit an intraday high of ₹55,360 levels within a few minutes of commodity market opening in India. After this rally in the domestic market, gold price today pared some of its recent losses and is now around ₹3,500 per 10 gm away from its lifetime high of ₹58,847 per 10 gm levels.
However, the silver rate today opened lower and hit an intraday low of ₹61,560 per kg on MCX. Silver price in the international spot market was down 0.64 per cent at the $19.938 per ounce level. (Read More)
Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services: The sell-off in US markets yesterday was triggered by a crash of 60% in SVB Financials- a bank that mainly funds start-ups. This impacted sentiments and banking stocks took a beating on concerns that rising interest rates might trigger loan repayment defaults. This is a US-specific issue and will not have an impact on Indian banking stocks. But the sentiment impact can be negative. Today’s US jobs report will be crucial in influencing the Fed’s policy response and the market direction. If the jobs data show declining jobs growth, the Fed will not be as aggressive as the market fears and equity markets will remain resilient. So investors may wait for this near-term uncertainty to pass. However, sharp corrections, particularly in banks, may be used to buy the leading names in private sector banks.
Rhetan TMT shares are one of the multibagger stocks delivered by Dalal Street in the last year. This multibagger stock has risen from around ₹66.50 to ₹509 apiece levels on BSE in the last year, logging around a 650 per cent rise in this time. The small-cap stock is in focus today as it is trading ex-bonus and ex-split today. The board of directors of the company has fixed 10th March 2023 as the record date for the stock split and issuance of bonus shares.
As per the exchange communication of the small-cap company, the board of directors have approved the issuance of bonus shares in the 11:4 ratio whereas the stock split has been approved in the 1:10 ratio. (Read More)
A total of two stocks have been put under the ban for trade on Friday, March 10, 2023, under the futures and options (F&O) segment by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities have been put on ban under the F&O segment as they have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL), as per the NSE.
Balrampur Chini and GNFC (Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd) are the two stocks that are a part of the F&O ban list for today. The NSE updates the list of securities in the F&O ban for trade every day. (Read More)
STOCK IN FOCUS
Kalpataru Power (CMP 575): We have BUY rating on KPTL on the back of a lower pledge by the promoter, closure of BOT projects, completion of Indore real estate projects and improvement in working capital, with a Target Price of ₹645.
Intraday Picks
FEDERALBNK (PREVIOUS CLOSE: RS134) SELL
For today’s trade, short position can be initiated in the range of Rs134-
136 for the target of Rs130 with a strict stop loss of Rs137.
APOLLOTYRE (PREVIOUS CLOSE: RS314) SELL
For today’s trade, short position can be initiated in the range of Rs317-
320 for the target of Rs306 with a strict stop loss of Rs324.
CIPLA (PREVIOUS CLOSE: RS882) BUY
For today’s trade, long position can be initiated in the range of Rs870-
876 for the target of Rs897 with a strict stop loss of Rs864.
The rupee pared its initial gains to settle down by 11 paise at 82.06 against the US dollar on Thursday as the support from the weak dollar was negated by a sell-off in domestic equity markets.
Besides, fresh dollar demand from banks and importers and renewed foreign fund outflows dented investor sentiments, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 81.93 against the greenback, and closed at 82.06, registering a fall of 11 paise over its previous close of 81.95.
During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 81.77 and a low of 82.06 against the American dollar.
"The Indian rupee opened on a positive note but bargain buying from importers and the state-run banks' dollar buying pushed the local unit near 82. The sell-off in the equities ahead of crucial US job data and the surge in short-term bond yields also weighed on the Asian currencies," said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities. (PTI)
The Bank of Baroda board has approved up to 49 per cent divestment in subsidiary BoB Financial Solutions, the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
"We advise that the Board of Directors of Bank of Baroda (BOB) have approved for divestment up to 49 per cent of the Bank's shareholding in its 100 per cent owned subsidiary i.e. BOB Financial Solutions Ltd. (BFSL), and issuance of an advertisement inviting Expressions of Interest, from Suitable Investors/Strategic Partners to acquire the shareholding of BOB in BFSL," the filing said.
BOB currently holds 100 per cent of the total equity share capital of BFSL. (PTI)
Reliance Industries subsidiary Reliance Polyester Limited has completed the acquisition of the polyester business of Shubhalakshmi Polyesters Limited and Shubhlaxmi Polytex Limited.
RIL informed the investors about this acquisition via stock exchange filing. The Mukesh Ambani-backed company wrote, "We wish to inform you that Reliance Polyester Limited (formerly known as Reliance Petroleum Retail Limited), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, has on March 8, 2023, after receipt of the necessary approvals, completed the acquisition of polyester business of Shubhalakshmi Polyesters Limited and Shubhlaxmi Polytex Limited". (Read More)
Indian benchmark indices declined on Thursday, pressured by heavy selling in index heavyweights. Besides, concerns over a sharp interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve and a weak rupee against major currencies overseas further weighed on sentiment, traders said. (Read More)
Vaishali Parekh has recommended two intraday stocks for today, here we list out full details in regard to those shares:
1] SBI Card: Buy at ₹767, target ₹795, stop loss ₹755; and
2] Kaveri Seeds: Buy at ₹565, target ₹587, stop loss ₹556. (Read More)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct a 14-day variable rate repo (VRR) auction on March 10 to inject up to ₹1 lakh crore into the banking system, it said in a release on Thursday. The VRR is usually undertaken to withdraw excess liquidity from the system. (Read More)
The US equity market turned sour on Thursday after a rout in the banking sector stocks. However, US dollar rates continue to remain a favourite asset for investors as Dollar Index sustained above 105 levels. However, the US dollar opened lower in early morning deals on Friday. US bond yield is also witnessing huge profit bookings on Friday morning deals. However, softening inflation print in China reported on Thursday is expected to provide support to the global indices.
Here we list out key triggers from the global markets that may impact the stock market today: (Read More)
As industrial activity in Asia's third-largest economy is boosted by cheap Russian oil, the fuel demand in India hit its highest level in at least 24 years in February, according to data showed on Thursday.
The consumption of fuel rose by more than 5% to 4.82 million barrels pre-day (18.5 million tonnes) in February, its 15th consecutive year-on-year rise. The demand was the highest recorded in data compiled by the Indian Oil Ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) from 1998, Reuters reported. (Read More)
Tata Technologies Ltd., a subsidiary of Tata Motors Ltd., has filed a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an initial public offering.
We wish to inform you that Tata Technologies Limited (“Tata Technologies"), a subsidiary of Tata Motors Limited, has informed the Company that it has today filed a draft red herring prospectus dated March 9, 2023 with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for an initial public offering, Tata Motors informed via an exchange filing on 9 March. (Read More)
A void at the top rung of India’s competition agency underscores a chronic resource crunch and is undermining its capacity to regulate major companies in the world’s fifth-largest economy.
The Competition Commission of India, which has imposed million-dollar penalties on Alphabet Inc.’s Google to Amazon.com Inc., is functioning with just two members — half the sanctioned strength and one short of a quorum. It’s also still missing a chairperson, four months after the previous chairperson retired and seven months since the search for his replacement began. (Read More)
Wall Street fell on Thursday, with bank stocks dragging all three major stock indexes down as investors worried that a jobs report on Friday could spur aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
All three major U.S. stock indexes slid between 1.7% and 2.1% after lender SVB Financial Group announced a $1.75 billion share sale to shore up its balance sheet. This sparked a broad sell-off as investors prepared for the Labor Department's hotly anticipated February jobs data, expected before the bell on Friday.
Stocks had risen early in the session after data showed jobless claims increased by the most in five months last week, providing some hopes for a looser labour market, which could dampen inflation.
But investors remained focused mostly on Friday's closely watched non-farm payrolls report for February with expectations for a large wage increase on their minds. Hawkish comments this week from Fed Chair Jerome Powell had exacerbated concerns about upcoming interest rate hikes.
Traders were betting that chances of a 50 basis point rate hike at the Fed's March meeting were around 80%, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool, up sharply from a probability of 31% before Powell's Tuesday and Wednesday appearances in Congress. (Reuters)
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