Market Bizzz

Equities have rallied since hitting lows for the year in mid-October, as signs of cooling inflation sparked optimism that the end of the Fed’s rate hike path could be on the horizon. But the rally has fizzled in December as investors see mixed economic data and a resolute Fed as having increased the chances of a recession.

U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected for a second straight month in November, data released this week showed, with underlying consumer prices advancing by the least in 15 months.

State Bank of India said its board has approved Rs 10,000 crore capital raising plan through Tier I bonds. The fund raising through Additional Tier 1 capital up to an amount of Rs 10,000 crore is subject to approval from the government.

Tesla first crossed above the $500 billion threshold in November 2020, after its share price jumped more than sixfold ahead of its inclusion in the S&P 500. A seemingly insatiable investor appetite for anything related to EVs, and more broadly technology, helped fuel part of that rally in a cash-rich market.

Fed funds futures have priced in a lower terminal rate, where the Fed stops hiking just below 5% by March. Traders are now betting on 25-basis-point increases at each of the Fed’s first two meetings of 2023 and no more, with some chance the last hike could come in May instead of March.

Gold is traditionally known as a hedge against inflation but rising interest rates tend to dim the bullion’s appeal as it increases the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.

Goldman Sachs expects gold, with its real demand drivers, to outperform the highly volatile bitcoin in the long term, the bank wrote in a Monday research note. Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York’s SPDR Gold Trust, rose 0.3% on Friday.