.jpg)
- India’s Nifty and Sensex keep pushing higher amid outstanding India’s GDP number.
- Nifty and Sensex settled slightly higher on Thursday after losing over 1.0% a day before.
- US Core PCE inflation came in line with estimates, India’s GDP blew out with 8.4% YoY in Q3.
The Sensex 30 and Nifty 50, India’s key benchmark indices, are extending opening gains on Friday, as traders cheer outstanding India’s growth numbers.
Both Indian indices also took the positive lead from Wall Street and Asian stock markets.
At the time of writing, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex 30 are rising about 1.50% on the day to trade at 22,291.45 and 73,539.22. Nifty 50 hit a fresh all-time high at 22,304.
Stock market news
- The top performers on Nifty this Friday are L&T, JSW Steel, Hindalco, Tata Steel and Titan. Meanwhile, the main losers were Apollo Hospitals, Sun Pharma, Britannia, HCL Tech and LTMindtree.
- Shares of Auto, metal, power, bank and capital are up 1% to 3%.
- L&T commissions Green Hydrogen Plant at A M Naik Heavy Engineering Complex in Hazira.
- Bharti Airtel deployed additional sites in Thrissur district to densify its network.
- India’s manufacturing sector climbs to a five-month high of 56.9 in February.
- India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 8.4% on an annual basis in the third quarter (October-December), as against 7.6% in the previous quarter, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed Thursday.
- The US stock markets closed higher on Thursday after the key US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index increased 0.4% for the month and 2.8% from a year ago, as expected.
- Markets are currently pricing in just about a 20% chance that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) could begin easing rates in May, much lower than an over 90% chance a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. For the June meeting, the probability for a rate cut now stands at about 62%, down from 70% seen a week ago.
- Attention now turns toward the US ISM Manufacturing PMI for fresh trading incentives.
- A special stock market live trading session will be conducted by NSE and BSE on Saturday, March 2.
Indian economy FAQs
The Indian economy has averaged a growth rate of 6.13% between 2006 and 2023, which makes it one of the fastest growing in the world. India’s high growth has attracted a lot of foreign investment. This includes Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into physical projects and Foreign Indirect Investment (FII) by foreign funds into Indian financial markets. The greater the level of investment, the higher the demand for the Rupee (INR). Fluctuations in Dollar-demand from Indian importers also impact INR.
India has to import a great deal of its Oil and gasoline so the price of Oil can have a direct impact on the Rupee. Oil is mostly traded in US Dollars (USD) on international markets so if the price of Oil rises, aggregate demand for USD increases and Indian importers have to sell more Rupees to meet that demand, which is depreciative for the Rupee.
Inflation has a complex effect on the Rupee. Ultimately it indicates an increase in money supply which reduces the Rupee’s overall value. Yet if it rises above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 4% target, the RBI will raise interest rates to bring it down by reducing credit. Higher interest rates, especially real rates (the difference between interest rates and inflation) strengthen the Rupee. They make India a more profitable place for international investors to park their money. A fall in inflation can be supportive of the Rupee. At the same time lower interest rates can have a depreciatory effect on the Rupee.
India has run a trade deficit for most of its recent history, indicating its imports outweigh its exports. Since the majority of international trade takes place in US Dollars, there are times – due to seasonal demand or order glut – where the high volume of imports leads to significant US Dollar- demand. During these periods the Rupee can weaken as it is heavily sold to meet the demand for Dollars. When markets experience increased volatility, the demand for US Dollars can also shoot up with a similarly negative effect on the Rupee.
