On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Interim Budget for 2024, a precursor to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, which is commonly known as an Interim or vote-on-account budget.

The difference between men and boys in managing their countries is now apparent during COVID. Suppose you consider or compare ourselves with similar countries on a per capita basis or otherwise and our neighbours in our neighbourhood, like Pakistan or Sri Lanka. In that case, we can realise how good and lucky we are.

Wednesday’s trading frenzy was fueled by a delightful influx of MSCI-related flows, injecting a cool USD 550 million into the market.

In the Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the highest-ever capital outlay for railways of Rs 2.4 lakh crore, which is nine times the amount of FY14.  

RBI Governor stated that despite a fall in crude oil prices and commodity prices, inflation is at an uncomfortably high level. However, the domestic activity has been resilient while PMI in July is at an eight-month high. For the next financial year, RBI retains its CPI forecast at 6.7 per cent.

At 11.30 am on Wednesday, the core equity indices i.e., Sensex & Nifty 50 were trading higher by almost 1 per cent each as the dollar rose higher and the IMF cut the growth forecast by almost a per cent, owing to the effects of the ongoing war in several countries.

At 11 am, the core equity indices i.e., Sensex and Nifty 50 were trading flat amidst mixed global cues. The Asian markets plunged due to a fall in the technology stocks as well as the surge in COVID-19 cases.  

At 11.30 am, the core equity indices i.e., Sensex & Nifty 50 were still trading 2 per cent lower as the markets crashed at the time of market opening on Monday amidst higher dollar appreciation and rising crude oil prices

At 10.30 am on Tuesday, the core equity indices i.e., Sensex and Nifty 50 fell by almost a per cent each, owing to the persistent geopolitical tensions coupled with rising supply chain difficulties in China.  

On Tuesday morning, the markets opened on a lower note amidst weaker global cues. Asian markets are down, owing to the supply chain disruption caused due to the lockdown restrictions in China.  

At 1 pm on Monday, the core equity indices i.e., Sensex and Nifty 50 were trading marginally lower amidst weak global cues.

At  noon on Friday, the core equity indices i.e., Sensex and Nifty 50 were trading higher as RBI kept the policy rates unchanged in the bi-monthly policy meet. The monetary policy stance remains accommodative as the repo rate also remains unchanged at 4 per cent.