Market Bizzz

The geopolitical tensions have been eclipsed by persistent concerns over China’s stuttering economic recovery, which has in turn raised worries about global oil demand given the Asian giant is the world’s biggest crude oil importer.

Bitcoin fell to a seven-week low on Monday, hovering below $40,000 for the first time since the launch of 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds on Jan. 11.

Nitin Raheja discusses the valuations of defence stocks and railway stocks, emphasizing the lumpiness of these businesses and the potential for big variances in quarterly performance. He also mentions the signs of revival in the rural economy and the expected increase in spending as the elections approach. Raheja expects better results from FMCG players due to benign inflation in some commodities.

While the gloom adds impetus for the People’s Bank of China to lower interest rates, investors say the monetary authority has less room to cut than its major global peers, whose borrowing costs are now at multi-year highs.

Vincent Mortier, Group CIO of Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager, expects the US Federal Reserve to cut rates in June, not March, due to the softening economy and the need to support the US economy in an election year. Mortier also believes that the market is not prepared for this and there will be a repricing of stocks when investors realize that earnings will not grow as expected.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, remained almost flat at Rs 1280 crore as compared with Rs 1258 crore in the year-ago period. Operating profit also saw margin rise at Rs 551 crore against Rs 544 crore.