Murthy Nagarajan News Today

While slower-than-expected US GDP growth and high PCE core inflation have dealt a blow to hopes of rate cuts, analysts do not expect it to have a major impact on Indian equities

Reserve Bank of India in its bi-monthly monetary policy review again decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 6.50%.

After RBIs status quo, investors may continue to enhance duration across debt schemes with a view of softer rates and stable liquidity conditions going ahead

The six-member Monetary Policy Committee of the RBI will meet from April 3 to 5 to decide on interest rates.

The MPC decided to remain focused on the withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation progressively aligns to the target, while supporting growth. The RBI has been holding rates since February

Budget News: The finance minister's decision to prefer fiscal prudence over populist measures, which include lower fiscal deficit and market borrowing targets for FY25, were considered anti-inflationary by bond market players, leading to a rally in govt bond prices on Thursday that softened yields. FM said that govt is on track to meet glide path of below 4.5% fiscal deficit target for FY26.

According to economists and market experts, the path of fiscal consolidation will attract more foreign investors to India. A low interest-rate environment coupled with higher capex in the private sector is expected to help the economy cruise towards the USD5-trillion mark by FY28.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman laid emphasis on fiscal responsibility, thus giving boost to the debt market, maintained her stance on infra development, inclusive development, green ecosystem and research & innovation.

“While we did not expect any major announcements in this budget, the lower fiscal deficit coupled with higher capex outlay will aid continued momentum of India growth story. Both of these moves are enablers for a pickup in the private capex cycle,” says Ashish Gupta, CIO, Axis Mutual Fund

ET Mutual Funds spoke to mutual fund managers to find out what fund managers are expecting from the budget 2024.