Stocks in India might see an incremental rise as investors respond to advantageous global signals and anticipate this week's RBI policy meeting for directional guidance. However, potential profit-making at higher levels, along with arising geopolitical stress, may restrain substantial growth. There are concerns that rising commodity prices pose a further threat to the inflation and interest rate forecast.
The country's main indices, the Sensex and Nifty, observed a marginal dip in the previous session, while the Rupee closed at an unprecedented low of 83.43 against the American dollar. The drop is accounted by the local oil companies' increased dollar demand and the weak stance of its Asian counterparts.
Madhabi Puri Buch, SEBI Chairperson, remarked at a CII event on corporate governance that India's capital markets hold high values due to the accelerated economic growth anticipated by foreign investors. This bullish outlook is a result of robust domestic macroeconomic data.
On an optimistic note, Asian stocks witnessed a predominant rise with the marketplaces of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong being on a holiday. Commodity-dependent shares showed a rising trend as gold achieved a new record high, oil marked a fresh five-month peak and copper maintained near its 13-month height due to supply disturbances and rising geopolitical tensions.
On the American front, stock shifts were minimal with a mixed closure due to the need for further debate and data emphasized by Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and Fed Chair Jerome Powell before opting for rate cuts. The economic indicators showed private-sector jobs experiencing their fastest expansion since July 2023 in March, while the services industry's growth showed signs of further slowing.
The Dow lost another 0.1%, marking its third consecutive day of loss, whereas the S&P 500 saw a microscopic 0.1% gain and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.2% to its score.
Contrarily, the European stock market displayed a positive stance on Wednesday due to the euro zone inflation reading showing a more significant fall than anticipated in March. The ECB's Robert Holzmann alluded that the central bank might commence interest rate cuts from June. The pan-European STOXX 600 elevated by 0.3%, Germany's DAX by half percent, France's CAC 40 by 0.3% and the FTSE 100 of the UK ended marginally higher.
