Market Bizzz

Traders were betting that chances of a 50-basis-point rate hike at the Fed’s March meeting were around 60%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, up sharply from a probability of 31% before Powell’s Tuesday and Wednesday appearances in Congress.

In the second day of his testimony to Congress on Wednesday, Powell reaffirmed his hawkish message, though struck a cautious note that debate on the scale and path of future rate hikes was still underway and would be data-dependent

The dollar index was down from three-month highs scaled on Wednesday, making bullion more affordable for buyers holding other currencies. Fed Chair Powell on Wednesday reaffirmed his message of higher and potentially faster interest rate hikes, but emphasized that debate was still underway with a decision hinging on data to be issued before the U.S. central bank’s policy meeting in two weeks

Stocks had fallen more than 1% on Tuesday after Powell’s comments led investors to dramatically increase bets on a 50-basis-point hike in March compared with the previous widely held expectation for a 25-basis-point hike before Powell spoke

A third-generation entrepreneur, Farah Malik Bhanji leads the 72-year old company and has driven modern retailing at Metro Brands. The company reported a strong 68% growth in turnover in FY22 and an 18% growth in the 9 months ended December 2022.

Stocks that were in focus include names like Mahanagar Gas which was up nearly 9%, Power Finance Corporation was up over 4% and Eicher Motors closed with gains of over 1%.

Promoters held 37.63 per cent stake in the company as of 31-Dec-2022, while FIIs owned 17.28 per cent, DIIs 24.26 per cent.