Market Bizzz

Asian shares inched up as investors monitored U.S. inflation data which would be released during the week while the possible impact of a looming credit crunch weighed on the dollar. The report on the U.S. payrolls has already setback easing hopes.

Gold prices remained steady on Monday after a significant drop of more than 2% in the last session. This can be attributed to the cautious approach of investors ahead of the upcoming US inflation data due this week. The US consumer price index data is expected to be released on Wednesday. The fall in bullion prices after stronger-than-expected US payrolls data has lessened the possibility of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The World Gold Council has reported a decline in global gold demand in Q1 2023.

Like always, investors world over are looking forward to the meeting as Buffett and his good old friend Charlie Munger, who is the vice chairman of the world’s 6th most valuable company, will answer a plethora of questions from stakeholders.

The successful bidder has proposed to pay over ₹1,464 crore to acquire the company through an insolvency process, against the total admitted liabilities of ₹1,513 crore.

The rise in the reserves last week was driven by an increase in the RBI’s foreign currency assets, which rose $5 billion to $519.4 billion, latest data showed. The central bank’s gold reserves declined by $494 million to $45.6 billion last week.

HDFC Bank shares declined 5.9% to close at ₹1625.35, and HDFC stock plunged 5.6% to ₹2701.15 on Friday. Friday’s drop is their highest single-day decline since May 2020

The yen was set for its first weekly gain in almost a month due to safe-haven demand amid pressing turmoil in US banks, while the dollar weakened as traders faced the prospect of more aggressive rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The euro declined from its one-year high after the European Central Bank slowed the pace of its interest-rate increases. Shares of PacWest Bancorp fell amid fears over the health of regional banks, and traders are expecting more action from the Fed, with Fed funds futures suggesting that cuts could come as soon as June.