Nifty 50: US Central Bank rate hike drove nifty lower this week

Stock Market This Week

The Indian market closed the week on the low amid weak global cues - Fed rate hike and banking sector crises. Both benchmark indices ended nearly a percent lower. Let us look at how the week shaped up.

The Indian market started the week on a low on Monday as worries about a potential global banking sector crisis hammered already fragile investor sentiment. Among sectors, all sectoral indices ended in the red with Realty and Capital Goods falling over 1%, while FMCG closed in the green. Reliance and Infosys were index-heavyweights that fell the most.

On Tuesday, the benchmark indices ended higher led by Banks, Financials, and Consumer Durables as the rescue of Credit Suisse provided temporary relief. Investors also remained on the sidelines waiting for cues on the Fed's interest rate decision. Most sectors ended higher but IT and FMCG remained in the red throughout the trading session.

The benchmark indices ended higher on Wednesday ahead of Fed's rate decision as concerns about a banking crisis eased further after the Credit Suisse rescue. Among sectors, it was a mixed day with Pharma and PSU banks ending in the green, while Metal and Realty ended in the red. The day's rally was led by HDFC Life and Bajaj Twins.

On Thursday, the Indian benchmark indices ended lower along with other Asian markets after the Fed raised a key interest rate while noting the end may be near for its economy-crunching hikes to interest rates. The IT, Realty, and PSU banks fell the most and dragged the market. FMCG and Media closed in the green. At specific share levels, SBI and Bajaj Auto were the biggest drags.

The Indian benchmark indices ended lower on Friday. The key highlight for the day was Finance Bill 2023 which made changes to STT and taxation on debt funds. Among sectors, PSU Banks and Metal stocks dragged the market - NIFTY50 closed below 17000. No major sector closed on a positive note.

Key highlights of the week:

Aviation infrastructure to get a boost: India outlined plans this week to invest billions of dollars in airports, aircraft, and recruitment as the world's fastest-growing economy seeks to meet booming air travel demand. Growth will include new airports, more regulators and air traffic controllers, and new flying schools. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government said this year that the country would spend 980 billion rupees by 2025 to boost regional connectivity by constructing airports and modernising existing ones.

Update on the real estate market: Sales of residential property in tier-1 cities in India in 2022 were more than 250% higher than those in tier-2 cities, according to a release by real estate consultancy PropEquity. As per the data released, a total of 4.53 lakh units were absorbed in tier-1 cities, which is significantly higher than the 1.83 lakh units absorbed in tier-2 cities. As per experts, this disproportion in metros and tier 2 cities this due to employment opportunities, better infrastructure with a better standard of living in tier-01 cities.

Global Surfaces listed with gain: Global Surfaces Ltd IPO was subscribed 12.21 times by the final day of the offer on March 15, 2023. The offer received bids for 9.46 crore equity shares against 77.49 lakh shares on offer. Shares of Global Surfaces Ltd made their positive market debut on Thursday with the stock listing at Rs 164 apiece on the NSE, a premium of more than 17% as compared to its IPO issue price of Rs 140 per share. On the BSE, Global Surfaces shares started trading at Rs 163 a piece.

Government to sell stake in HAL: The government proposed to sell up to a 3.5% stake in HAL at a floor price of Rs 2,450 a share, if fully subscribed, the OFS would fetch about Rs 2,800 crore to the exchequer. The OFS received an excellent response on the first day itself. The Finance Ministry decided to exercise the green shoe option after the offer-for-sale of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) received a robust response. This will allow the government to offer more shares for sale than initially planned.

Market this week India: Top Nifty gainers and losers

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