Moneycontrol Selects: Top stories this afternoon

A round-up of the big stories

Here are the top stories this afternoon:

What if Fed hikes to 6%? Indian equities among most vulnerable, says UBS

Jerome Powell said stronger-than-expected macroeconomic data warranted larger rate hikes and the Federal Reserve was prepared to do more to tame scorching inflation. India’s sticky core inflation at 6 percent and strong breadth make it likely that the RBI maintains its hawkish stance, UBS said in a recent note. India is among the more sensitive markets to US rates, demonstrating the most sensitivity to local rates given the higher influence of domestic flows into the market, UBS analysts said.  More here

Adani Group stocks gain for 6th session; loan pre-payment stokes rally

Adani shares soared for the sixth straight session on March 8 after the ports-to-FMCG conglomerate prepaid Rs 7,374-crore loan to release some pledged shares in its group companies. Adani Green Energy, Adani Total Gas, Adani Power and Adani Transmission touched the 5 percent upper circuit. According to Bloomberg data, about 4.43 million shares of Adani Power also changed hands on the NSE in three bunched trades. More here

RBI likely to extend IndusInd Bank CEO Sumant Kathpalia’s term by 3 years

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to extend by three years the term of IndusInd Bank's chief executive officer Sumant Kathpalia, sources told CNBC TV18. Kathpalia’s performance as a CEO is good and RBI is likely to root for stability at IndusInd Bank, they added. In September 2022, IndusInd Board approved a three-year extension for Kathpalia. More here

Citibank deal: In no hurry to raise capital, have enough for organic growth, says Axis chief

Axis Bank is “absolutely in no hurry” to raise capital after completing the Citibank deal as the private lender “has sufficient capital for funding organic growth”, managing director and chief executive officer Amitabh Chaudhry said on March 8. Chaudhry also said valuation for Axis Bank’s acquisition of Citi remained competitive and that the price paid “is around the market valuations”. More here

Rupee bear StanChart now sees it rising to its highest since August

Standard Chartered Plc, which was among the most bearish forecasters for the Indian rupee over the past couple of years, is turning more upbeat on the currency amid an improvement in the nation’s trade deficit and a softer dollar. The British lender now sees the base case for the rupee at 81 per dollar by end-2023 but says the currency can easily gain to even 79 levels. More here

Rang barse on beaches, at spiritual destinations: Travel demand sees uptick this Holi

More Indians are stepping out this Holi compared to 2022 when celebrations were hit due to the Omicron wave. Over 2.5 times more searches were recorded for Holi travel compared to last year, despite the festival falling on a weekday this year, noted digital travel platform Agoda. More here