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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is preparing for its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting announcements on Friday, marking the inaugural session of the RBI MPC for the new financial year 2024-25. The meeting was scheduled from April 3rd to 5th. RBI is expected to uphold interest rates at their current level. All 38 economists surveyed by Bloomberg foresee the central bank maintaining its benchmark repurchase rate at 6.5 per cent, indicating the seventh consecutive meeting without alteration.
Despite the government’s caution regarding an imminent heatwave and the economy’s better-than-expected growth, the majority of economists surveyed in the report anticipate the central bank adopting a cautious stance. However, some economists speculate that it may hint at potential rate cuts in the future.
Stock market investors will also watch the RBI announcements on Friday. The GIFT Nifty trends suggest a subdued beginning for the broader index in India, with a decline of 90 points or 0.40 per cent.
In the previous trading session on Thursday, the Indian benchmark indices surged to reach record highs, then experienced some pullback before ultimately closing positively in a volatile trading session. The Sensex concluded 350.81 points, or 0.47 per cent, higher at 74,227.63, while the Nifty rose by 80 points, or 0.36 per cent, closing at 22,514.70, marking their highest closing levels to date. The market commenced the session with a gap-up at record highs, as the Sensex peaked at 74,501.73 and the Nifty at 22,619. However, these gains were retraced in the initial hours, leading to fluctuations between gains and losses throughout the session.
Furthermost, on Wednesday, the government issued a notification revealing its plan to raise the windfall tax on petroleum crude, marking the fifth increase since February. The new rate is set at Rs 6,800 ($81.43) per metric tonne, up from Rs 4,900. As reported by Reuters, this adjustment, effective from April 4, highlights the government’s endeavours to regulate the profits earned by oil production companies amid the volatility of global oil prices.
Blue Dart said on Friday that it is starting a new facility in GIFT City, Ahmedabad. Under this facility, the firm will provide a 20-hour delivery service to the prominent financial hub in Gujarat from major metropolitan cities across India. The facility will boast modern infrastructure and benefit from express connectivity via Blue Dart’s fleet of eight Boeing freighters serving all major metropolitan regions, as per the company’s statement.
The fintech firm Angel One announced on Friday that it has successfully raised Rs 1,500 crore through the Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) route to fulfil the company’s working capital needs. The issue, which was open from March 26 to April 2, garnered significant interest from both domestic and foreign institutional investors, as per Angel One’s statement.
The Sensex and Nifty experienced minimal movement in a volatile trading session on Friday following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to maintain key interest rates unchanged. However, the midcap index continued its upward trend for the tenth consecutive day. By the closing bell, the Sensex had risen by just 20.59 points or 0.03 per cent, reaching 74,248.22, while the Nifty remained unchanged at 22,513.70.
Teerth Gopicon Ltd, an engineering construction and development firm, has set the issue price at Rs 111 per share for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), scheduled to debut in the capital market on April 8. The Ahmedabad-based company, primarily engaged in road, sewerage, and water distribution projects, aims to generate up to Rs 44.40 crore from the SME public issue, as per the company’s statement. The IPO will be available for subscription starting Monday and will conclude on April 10.
Kia, the second-largest car manufacturer in South Korea, announced on Friday that it will invest 38 trillion won (equivalent to $28 billion) in future mobility solutions by 2028. This investment will include bolstering its lineup of gasoline hybrid vehicles, a move prompted by the deceleration in electric vehicle (EV) sales. This planned investment over the next five years represents an increase from the previously announced figure of 33 trillion won.
Technology solutions provider Redington Limited announced a strategic collaboration with tech firm Zoho Corporation on Friday to expedite the digital transformation of businesses in India. Through this partnership, Redington intends to leverage its extensive network of partners to bring Zoho’s cloud solutions for office productivity, team collaboration, and customer engagement to a broader customer base across the country, as per the company’s statement.
Vikrant Mehta, Head of Fixed Income, ITI Mutual Fund, said, “The MPC meeting’s decision on the policy rate and stance were on expected lines, which pushed bonds in a tight range post policy. With strong US data keeping global markets guessing on the timing of the US Fed rate cut, it appears that the RBI may want to see some further traction on the same before moderating its policy stance and then towards an eventual easing of the policy rate.”
“As expected MPC kept the policy rate and stance unchanged. The softening of core inflation gives sufficient room to MPC, however volatile food inflation and recent uptick in crude and other commodity prices is to be watched and MPC kept the full years projection at 4.5 per cent. The strong momentum in growth also gave comfort to MPC to align the CPI on a durable basis to 4 per cent. We expect rate cuts in 3rd quarter of FY 25, possibly after US FOMC starts rate cut cycle. RBI is expected to keep liquidity neutral so that further transmission of higher rates can continue. There is possibility of modification of LCR framework going forward which may augur well for bonds,” Parijat Agrawal, Head – Fixed Income, Union Mutual Fund.
The Reserve Bank announced on Friday its decision to authorise the investment and trading of Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Gandhinagar. As per the announcement made in the Union Budget for 2022-23, the government issued Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) in January 2023. Following this, SGrBs were incorporated into the government borrowing calendar for 2023-24.
The Reserve Bank is set to launch a mobile application to facilitate the participation of retail investors in the government securities (G-Secs) or government bonds market. Launched in November 2021, the RBI Retail Direct Scheme provides individual investors with access to maintain gilt accounts with the RBI and invest in government securities.
Business News Highlights: Stock Market Closes Flat, Sensex Settles 20 Points Up, Nifty Above 22,500 As RBI Kep – ABP Live
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