The domestic equity benchmarks nudged lower during the week marked with volatility. The US Federal Reserve's hawkish undertone on interest rate fuelled pessimism amongst the investors. The Nifty settled below the 17,350 level. In the week ended on Friday, 23 September 2022, the Sensex fell 741.87 points or 1.26% to settle at 58,098.92. The Nifty 50 index declined 203.50 points or 1.16% to settle at 17,327.35. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.12% to settle at 25,271.41. The BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.32% to settle at 28,812.76 Weekly Index Movement:

The key equity barometers ended with modest gains on Monday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 300.44 points or 0.51% to 59,141.23. The Nifty 50 index added 91.40 points or 0.52% to 17,622.25.

Equity barometers rallied on Tuesday, tracking positive Asian cues. Steady foreign investment flow also boosted sentiment. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 578.51 points or 0.98% to 59,719.74. The Nifty 50 index added 194 points or 1.10% to 17,816.25.

Domestic equity barometers ended a volatile session with modest losses on Wednesday, snapping a two-day rising streak. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 262.96 points or 0.44% to 59,456.78. The Nifty 50 index declined 97.90 points or 0.55% to 17,718.35.

Equity benchmarks declined for the second consecutive session on Thursday, tracking negative global cues. Trading was volatile due to expiry of weekly index options on the NSE. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 337.06 points or 0.57% to 59,119.72. The Nifty 50 index declined 88.55 points or 0.50% to 17,629.80.

The domestic equity benchmarks ended near the day's low after a weak session on Friday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 1020.80 points or 1.73% to 58,098.92. The Nifty 50 index tumbled 302.45 points or 1.72% to 17,327.35.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) dropped 2.4%. Reliance New Energy (RNEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of RIL has signed definitive agreements to invest in Caelux Corporation (Caelux), a company headquartered in Pasadena, California, in the United States of America, engaged in the development of perovskite-based solar technology. RNEL will invest USD 12 million to acquire 20% stake in Caelux.

Hero MotoCorp rose 2.91%. The company has made an upward revision in the ex-showroom prices of its motorcycles and scooters, with immediate effect i.e. 22 September 2022. The price revision has been necessitated to partially offset the impact of cost inflation. The price revision will be up to Rs. 1,000 and the exact quantum of increase will vary by model and market.

Cipla rose 2.15%. The company has received the establishment inspection report (EIR) indicating closure of the inspection. The company had earlier informed about the product specific pre-approval inspection (PAI) by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) at the Indore plant from 27th June 2022 to 1st July 2022.

Maruti Suzuki India rose 1.28%. The company has announced to recall 5,002 super carry vehicles manufactured between 4 May 2022 and 30 July 2022. The auto maker said that the recall is being undertaken for inspection and torquing of a bolt attached to seat belt buckle bracket of co-driver seat. It is suspected that there is a possible defect in bolt torquing, which in a rare case, may loosen in the long run.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) shed 0.86%. TCS and Zurich Insurance Germany (Zurich) have expanded their partnership, making TCS the exclusive strategic IT partner for Zurich's life insurance IT landscape.

Wipro declined 1.85%. The company said that it has partnered with Finastra, a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, to help the corporate banks in India to accelerate digital transformation by deploying Finastra's leading solutions.

Economy:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has slashed its GDP growth forecast for India by 50 basis points to 7% for the current financial year ending in March 2023, citing higher than expected inflation and monetary tightening.

For the next financial year ending in March 2024, the ADB has cut its GDP growth estimate for India by an even larger 80 basis points to 7.2%.

Direct tax collections continue to grow at a robust pace, a clear indicator of the revival of economic activity post pandemic, as also the result of the stable policies of the Government, focusing on simplification and streamlining of processes and plugging of tax leakage through effective use of technology. The figures of Direct Tax collections for the FY 2022-23, as on 17 September 2022 show that net collections are at Rs 7,00,669 crore, compared to Rs 5,68,147 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding Financial Year i.e. FY 2021-22, representing an increase of 23%.

Global Markets:

The People's Bank of China kept its one-year and five-year loan prime rates (LPR) unchanged, in line with predictions. The one-year loan prime rate remains at 3.65%, and the five-year rate closely tied to home mortgages stands at 4.3%.

Meanwhile, core consumer prices in Japan rose 2.8% in August from a year ago, government data showed. That's the fastest growth in nearly eight years, and the fifth consecutive month where inflation has exceeded the central bank's target of 2%.

The Bank of Japan decided Thursday to keep its current massive monetary easing policy unchanged, making even more apparent its different policy stance from those of U.S. and European central banks. The BOJ Policy Board unanimously voted to keep its short-term policy interest rate at minus 0.1% and continue to guide 10-year government bond yields around 0%.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday cut its growth forecasts for developing Asia for 2022 and 2023 amid mounting risks from increased central bank monetary tightening, the fallout from the war in Ukraine and Covid-19 lockdowns in China.

The ADB now expects the area's combined economy, which includes China and India, to grow 4.3% this year, after previously trimming the forecast to 4.6% in July from 5.2% in April. For 2023, the ADB expects the region's economy to expand 4.9%, slower than the April and July forecasts of 5.3% and 5.2%, respectively, it said in the September edition of its flagship Asian Development Outlook report.

The US Federal Reserve hiked its key interest rate by 75 basis points on Wednesday for the third consecutive time. The central bank's officials forecast the target range for the benchmark policy rate to rise to 4.4% by the end of 2022 and reach 4.6% in 2023, as per the updated quarterly estimates published in conjunction with the statement.

The central bank has reiterated its commitment to fighting the decades-high inflation and works to push it under the targeted 2% range. The FOMC in its statement on Wednesday underlined that it is 'Highly attentive to inflation risks'.

With the 75-bps rate hike on September 21, the benchmark policy rate now lies in the 3-3.25% range, the highest level since before the financial crisis of 2008.

The projections by Fed officials indicate a probable fourth 75-bps rate hike in the next FOMC meeting in November.

The US current account deficit narrowed sharply in the second quarter amid a surge in goods exports, data showed on Thursday. The Commerce Department said that the current account deficit, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country, contracted 11.1% to $251.1 billion last quarter. The current account gap represented 4% of gross domestic product, down from 4.6% in the January-March quarter.

The Bank of England raised its key interest rate to 2.25% from 1.75% on Thursday and said it would continue to "respond forcefully, as necessary" to inflation, despite the economy entering recession. This is its seventh consecutive rise and takes U.K. interest rates to a level last seen in 2008.

Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate to 0.5%, a shift that brings an end to an era of negative rates in Europe.