Morning Alert. *Growth in range of 7% perfectly good for India | Equity99

Morning Alert.
*Growth in range of 7% perfectly good for India unless external environment improves, says Sanyal*
India should be satisfied with the current growth rate unless the external environment improves, Member of Economic Advisory Council to the PM, Sanjeev Sanyal, said on Wednesday, terming economic expansion in the range of 7 per cent perfectly good. Sanyal further said it was necessary to protect the hard-earned macroeconomic stability. "Now look, it is possible for us to hit double-digit growth, but I would actually be rather careful about it. This whole game is about compounding growth," Sanyal said while speaking at the Times Now Summit. India's economy grew at better-than-expected 8.4 per cent in the final three months of 2023, logging the fastest pace in the past one-and-a-half years. The growth rate in October-December helped take the estimate for the current fiscal to 7.6 per cent. "We should not attempt to grow this economy by anything more than what it is growing now. "If the external environment does not dramatically improve, because what will happen then, is that our external accounts will begin to overheat, our inflation will begin to overheat and so on," Sanyal said.

*India's March gold imports set to drop 90% as prices surge*
India's gold imports are set to plunge by more than 90% in March from the previous month to hit their lowest level since the COVID pandemic as banks cut imports after record-high prices hit demand, a government official and two bank dealers told Reuters. Lower imports by India, the world's second biggest consumer of the precious metal, could limit a rally in global prices that hit a record high earlier this month on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year. The drop in imports could also help India narrow its trade deficit and support the rupee. India's gold imports are likely to fall to 10 to 11 metric tons in March from 110 metric tons in February, said a government official, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media. Gold imports in March 2024 are expected to be the lowest since the COVID pandemic, when air traffic restrictions limited imports and lockdowns led to the closure of jewellery shops.

*Global market action*
Dow Jones – Down by 0.01% or 5.76 points
FTSE – Up by 0.01% or 1.02 points
CAC – Up by 0.24% or 20.06 points
DAX – Up by 0.50% or 92.74 points
Gift Nifty – Unchanged at 22,180.00

*FII/DII activities*
FII – Bought 2170.32 Cr worth of shares
DII – Bought 1197.61 Cr worth of shares.

*Stocks with high delivery percentage*
Dr Reddy’s Lab – 99.13 %
Axis Bank– 98.56%
SBI– 98.223%
M&M– 98.22%
NTPC– 97.40%

*Primary market activities*
IPO opening today
Jay Kailash Namkeen (BSE SME) – Issue size 11.93 Cr
K2 Infragen (NSE SME) - Issue size 40.54 Cr
Aluwind Architectural (NSE SME) - Issue size 29.70 Cr
Creative Graphics Solutions India (NSE SME) - Issue size 54.40 Cr

*Commodities updates*
Gold – Rs 66399/10gm, Silver – Rs 74677/kg, Brcrude – Rs 6775/barrel, Copper – Rs 756.35/kg.

*Corporate News*
Emami acquires additional 4.64% stake in Brillare

Info Edge (India) to invest Rs 30 crore in Redstart Labs (India)

Bhagiradha Chemicals’ arm starts commercial production in agrochemicals manufacturing plant

Cyient enters into strategic partnership with Deutsche Aircraft

Jio Financial Services subscribes to 40 lakh equity shares of Rs.10/- each of Jio Payments Bank, for cash at par, aggregating Rs. 4 crore