Indian shares hit all-time highs on Friday, ahead of a central bank decision that could potentially leave interest rates at record lows, with investors keeping a close eye on the apex bank's stance on liquidity.
Indian bond yields rose to their highest in more than five months on Friday, after the country's central bank kept interest rates unchanged, while stock markets retreated after hitting record highs earlier in the morning.
By Reuters Staff
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BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian shares ended higher on Friday and notched their best weekly gain since April as State Bank of India advanced, while bond yields surged after the central bank kept interest rates unchanged.
The NSE Nifty 50 index ended up 0.19% at 14,924.25, having risen as much as 0.8% earlier in the session, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.23% to close at 50,731.63.
For the week, the benchmark indexes closed up more than 9%, their best since the week ending April 10, 2020, largely on optimism from measures announced in the federal budget on Monday.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept rates steady and reiterated that it will continue to support the recovering economy by ensuring ample rupee liquidity in the banking system.
By Reuters Staff
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FILE PHOTO: The GameStop store sign is seen at its shop in Westminster, Colorado January 14, 2014. GameStop Corp, the world s largest videogame retailer, warned of lower-than-expected profit as sales sagged for games played on older versions of Xbox and PlayStation consoles. REUTERS/Rick Wilking
(Reuters) - Shares of videogame retailer GameStop Corp and insurance company Clover Health rose 3.5% and 4.1%, respectively, in early U.S. pre-market trading on Friday.
Clover Health had slumped 12% on Thursday after short-selling specialist Hindenburg Research published a critical report of the Chamath Palihapitiya-backed company.
GameStop’s stock has now slumped to about $53 after scaling as high as $483 last week in a rally fueled by amateur traders on social media forums such as Reddit’s WallStreetBets. It is still up about 177% from levels at the start of the rally.
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PARIS (Reuters) - BNP Paribas warned investors on Friday that a debt-trading bonanza that supported its earnings last year was unlikely to last, while signalling that the worst of the global coronavirus crisis was over for its loan book.
FILE PHOTO: The BNP Paribas logo is seen at a branch in Paris, France, February 4, 2020. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
Charges linked to the COVID-19 pandemic took their toll on fourth quarter net profit at BNP Paribas, which said it had set aside more provisions for loans that could turn sour.
But the eurozone’s biggest listed bank struck a more upbeat note for 2021, saying it expected its cost of risk, which reflects provisions for bad loans, to drop compared to 2020 as the outlook improves in the second half.