Tag: federal reserve

Indian markets started today's(4 May 2023) trade on a firm note, after the US Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 25 basis points. Key indices Nifty50 traded flat above 18,100 levels, whereas the S&P BSE Sensex gained over 50 points to trade around 61,254 levels. Broader markets, also, were upbeat in the trade as Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices surged up to 0.5 percent. Read more

Asian equities saw massive foreign capital outflows in April. This is mainly driven by the expectations of a hawkish policy by the U.S. Federal Reserve and concerns over the impact of China's lockdowns on regional growth. Overseas investors offloaded Asian equities worth $14.22 billion in their fourth straight month of net selling, Refinitiv data for stock exchanges in Taiwan, India, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand showed. The region's combined net foreign selling from January to April stood at $45.76 billion, the most in the first four months since at least 2008. Read more

Indian stocks in tune with Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher today(16th Dec.2021) after the US Federal Reserve said it would end bond-buying stimulus in March to set up three interest rate increases next year to tackle heated inflation. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 482.5 points, or 0.83 percent, to quote at 58,270.5 levels in early trade. The NSE Nifty, too, climbed 142 points to trade at 17,362. The broader indices on the BSE rose in tandem as well and added up to 0.88 percent. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) laid out a scenario in which the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the emergence of the Omicron variant, gives way to a benign set of economic conditions, with inflation easing largely on its own, interest rates increasing comparatively slowly, and the unemployment rate staying low in coming years. Read more

It was a horrible ‘Black Friday’ for the Indian markets that saw an across-the-board sell-off. The S&P BSE Sensex shaved off over 1,400 points in intra-day deals. Its counterpart on the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty50 index, lost over 400 points. The negative sentiment today(26th Nov.2021) in the Indian markets was on account of weak global cues. Most Asian markets were a sea of red with Japan’s Nikkei down 2 percent and Straits Times slipping nearly one percent. Shanghai Composite, Kospi, and Taiwan were down 0.2-0.4 percent, each. The US markets, however, were shut on account of the Thanksgiving holiday. This weak sentiment across Asian markets was triggered by fears of a sooner-than-expected rate hike by the US Federal Reserve (US Fed). Investors and traders, according to analysts, now expect the US central bank to raise rates faster on the back of the recently released FOMC minutes. Read more

Indian equity markets were volatile in early trade today(22nd Sept.2021) as investors assessed the impact of the Evergrande crisis on India, and ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy outcome. The 30-share BSE Sensex traded 40 points lower at 58,964 levels while the NSE Nifty50 tested 17,550-mark, up 2 points. HCL Tech, BPCL, Hindalco, IndusInd Bank, and Tata Motors were the top gainers on the benchmark indices. In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices added 0.91 percent and 0.80 percent, respectively. Globally, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.26 percent amid the ongoing Evergrande crisis. Elsewhere in Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Japan was down 0.5 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.83 percent higher.

U.S. stock index futures fell 1% today (20th Sept.2021), as investors worried about rising COVID-19 cases and the pace of economic growth at the start of a week in which the Federal Reserve will decide on potentially tapering its massive pandemic-era stimulus. Futures tracking the blue-chip Dow index, which mainly comprises stocks reliant on a steady economic recovery, were down 1.5% by 04:31 a.m. ET. Wall Street's main indexes have been hurt this month by fears of potentially higher corporate tax rates denting earnings and have shrugged off signs inflation might have peaked. The benchmark S&P 500 is on track to snap a seven-month gaining streak. All eyes on Wednesday(22nd Sept.) will be on the Fed's policy meeting, where the central bank is expected to lay the groundwork for a tapering, although the consensus is for an actual announcement to be delayed until November or December meetings. Read more

Markets have been trading sideways ahead of the meetings of the two major global central banks – the US Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – over the next couple of weeks. Market experts expect natural profit-taking to happen with rising markets, but do not see any meaningful correction unless there is a more aggressive taper stance by the US Fed. They are cautiously optimistic on markets for 2021, on surplus global liquidity, and benign interest rates. The US Federal Reserve (US Fed), prior to the pandemic, had an outstanding balance sheet size of $4.2 trillion as of December 2019, which doubled in size to $8.3 trillion. Likewise, the European Central Bank (ECB), which had a pre-pandemic balance sheet size of 4.7 trillion euros also saw a similar proportional increase in size to 8.2 trillion euros. This liquidity is providing support to asset inflation in high-risk asset classes, including emerging equities like India. Read more

A hawkish tone by the US Federal Reserve crushed equities across the globe today(17th June 2021) as investors feared global central banks may hike rates sooner than expected. US Treasury yields gained overnight and the dollar strengthened against the rupee to its highest level in six weeks, hammering equity prices on Dalal Street. This comes on the day of the weekly F&O expiry, adding to the overall volatility. A mild recovery post a gap-down start quickly dismantled during the last hour of the session as market participants offloaded metal and rate-sensitive counters. The frontline S&P BSE Sensex ended at 52,323 levels, down 179 points or 0.34 percent. On the NSE, the Nifty50 index breached below its immediate support of 15,650 and hit a low of 15,616. It recovered marginally to end at 15,691 levels, down 76 points or 0.48 percent. Read more