Sensex & Nifty touched new record highs, clocking weekly gains of 2.8%. Foreign investments have been a pillar for growth in Indian equity markets, with data from this week showing that foreign investors purchased more than net Rs 1020 billion this financial year, on track to swing from net divestments in the two prior years. On domestic macro-data front, infrastructure output in India stood at 4.3% (Y-o-Y) in May 2023. India's fiscal deficit increased to Rs 2.10 trillion in April-May 2023-24, compared to Rs 2.04 trillion in the same month of the previous fiscal year. GST collections for the month of June stood at Rs. 1.6 trillion.
In the coming week, investors will watch out for US NFP data, FOMC policy-meeting minutes and S&P global PMI levels. Domestic investors will watch out for progress of southwest monsoon and Q2 earnings update.
Equity Market Summary:
- Wallstreet closed on positive note as the PCE (inflation gauge) rose 0.3% (M-o-M) which is lower than previous month rise of 0.4%. On the corporate front, shares of Apple rose 2.3% and the company’s market cap climbed above USD 3 trillion.
- Fed policymakers expect 2 or more rate hikes by the end of the year as the process of getting inflation back down to 2%.
- China manufacturing PMI rose to 49 levels in June 2023 from 48.8 levels in May, matching market estimates while pointing to the third straight month of contraction in factory activity.
- Profits earned by China's industrial firms dropped by 18.8% from a year earlier to CNY 2,668.89 billion in the first five months of 2023, amid stalling economic recovery, weak demand, and margin pressures.
- Brent crude futures traded above USD 74 per barrel on Friday and booked monthly gains as signs of tightening global supply outweighed demand concerns.
