Morning Alert. *India's current account deficit narrows to USD | Equity99

Morning Alert.
*India's current account deficit narrows to USD 10.5 billion or 1.2 pc of GDP in Oct-Dec 2023*
India's current account deficit narrowed to USD 10.5 billion or 1.2 per cent of GDP in the October-December quarter as against USD 11.4 billion or 1.3 per cent in the preceding three months ending September, the Reserve Bank said on Tuesday. When compared to the year-ago period, the narrowing in the CAD was much sharper when compared to USD 16.8 billion or 2 per cent for the October-December 2022 period, the Reserve Bank said in the data on balance of payments. For the first nine months of the fiscal, CAD has moderated to 1.2 per cent of GDP from 2.6 per cent of GDP in the corresponding period a year ago on the back of a lower merchandise trade deficit, the RBI said. Current account balances are the sum total of the entire inflow and outflow of foreign funds in the economy, and are generally taken as a key illustrator of a country's external strength. A widening in the deficit in the past had led to rupee depreciation and also actions by rating agencies on the sovereign rating.

*India's growth projected at 6.8 per cent, inflation to decline to 4.5 percent: S&P Ratings*
S&P Global Ratings has revised India's growth projection from 6.4 per cent to 6.8 per cent. After a better-than-expected 7.6% growth in fiscal year 2024 estimated by the National Statistical Office, S&P India pegged real GDP growth to moderate to 6.8% in fiscal year 2025. Factors contributing to this moderation include restrictive interest rates expected to weigh on demand, regulatory actions aimed at controlling unsecured lending, and a lower fiscal deficit, which is anticipated to dampen growth prospects. The agency also said consumer inflation is expected to decline further to 4.5% on average in fiscal 2025 While non-food Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation softened by approximately 250 basis points, food inflation experienced a slight rise of 40 basis points in the first ten months of the current fiscal year. Despite these fluctuations, headline inflation is estimated to have decreased to 5.5 per cent this fiscal year from 6.7 per cent in fiscal 2023, primarily due to elevated food inflation. In largely domestic demand-led economies such as India, Japan, and Australia, higher interest rates and inflation have impacted household spending power, leading to a reduction in sequential GDP growth in the second half of the fiscal year.

*Global market action*
Dow Jones – Up by 0.33% or 128.71 points
FTSE – Up by 0.17% or 13.39 points
CAC – Up by 0.41% or 33.15 points
DAX – Up by 0.67% or 123.04 points
Gift Nifty – Down by 0.09% or 19.00 points

*FII/DII activities*
FII – Bought 10.13 Cr worth of shares
DII – Bought 5,024.36 Cr worth of shares.

*Stocks with high delivery percentage*
Marico – 98.25%
Dabur India – 96.64%
Bharti Airtel – 95.55%
Infosys– 94.69%
Zee Entertainment– 78.52%

*Primary market activities*
IPO opening today
Radiowalla (NSE SME) – Issue size 14.25 Cr
TAC Infosec Limited (NSE SME) - Issue size 29.99 Cr
Yash Optics & Lens (NSE SME) - Issue size 53.15 Cr

*Commodities updates*
Gold – Rs 66125/10gm, Silver – Rs 74489/kg, Brcrude – Rs 6811/barrel, Copper – Rs 755.00 /kg.

*Corporate News*
Praveg launches Safari Velavadar Resort in Gujarat

Dynacons gets order for Enterprise Servers from National Payments Corporation of India

GAIL to commission its first green hydrogen project in April

Axis Bank introduces digital opening of US dollar fixed deposit for NRI customers at GIFT City

Adani Ports to buy 95% of Odisha's Gopalpur Port for $162 million