Japan unexpectedly fell into a recession at the end of last year, which has raised concerns about the country’s monetary policy and its position as the world’s third-largest economy. 

The weak GDP data has led some analysts to warn of another contraction in the current quarter due to factors such as weak demand in China and production halts at Toyota. 

Consumption and capital expenditure, which are key drivers of domestic demand, have been sluggish, causing a lack of momentum in the economy.

 This could make it difficult for the Bank of Japan to justify raising interest rates. The government has highlighted the importance of solid wage growth to support consumption. 

Despite the weak data, the yen remained steady and the Nikkei rose, possibly due to expectations that the central bank will continue with its easing program for longer than anticipated. 

Private consumption and capital expenditure both fell below market forecasts, while exports contributed positively to GDP. 

The Bank of Japan has been preparing to end negative rates, but is expected to proceed cautiously amid ongoing risks.

 Some analysts believe that Japan’s tight labor market and corporate spending plans could lead to an early exit from ultra-loose monetary policy. Overall, growth is expected to remain sluggish this year.

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The National Stock Exchange (NSE) will be holding a unique live trading session on March 2, a Saturday. 

This session is being carried out to assess how well-prepared the NSE is for unexpected disasters. It is part of the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and Disaster Recovery Site (DRS) framework for stock exchanges and depositories.

This means that March 2 will not be a holiday for the stock market. The session will involve switching from the primary site to the disaster recovery site, and it will be divided into two parts.

The first part will take place from 9:15 am to 10 am on the primary NSE website, while the second part will occur from 11:30 am on the disaster recovery site. 

Future contracts will have a 5% operating range, and securities in the Future and Options (F&O) segment will have a price band of 5% for both upper and lower limits. 

The special session is in line with SEBI guidelines, which require testing disaster services preparedness. The last special session took place on January 20 due to the Ayodhya Ram Mandir ceremony.

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Nvidia’s stocks experienced a surge and its market value surpassed Alphabet, just a day after surpassing Amazon, making it the third most valued company globally. 

Nvidia’s market value now only trails behind Apple and Microsoft. The company’s impressive growth can be attributed to its position as a top player in the AI chip market, benefiting from the increasing use of AI in technology products and services.

 Nvidia’s recent success comes ahead of its upcoming quarterly reports, which investors are eagerly anticipating.

 Analysts predict that the company’s revenue and net profit will more than triple in the January fiscal quarter, driven by the high demand for its AI chips. 

Overall, Nvidia’s stocks have experienced significant growth, particularly in the last year, with a substantial increase on the S&P 500 index and a spike of 49% in the first two months of 2024.

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RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has urged banks to remain attentive to potential risks in the banking system, emphasizing that there is no room for complacency.

 In a meeting with bank executives, Das acknowledged the banks’ improved financial performance but stressed the need to address issues such as viability of business models, excessive growth in personal loans, adherence to co-lending guidelines, exposure to the non-banking financial company (NBFC) sector, liquidity risk management, IT and cyber security, operational resilience, digital fraud, and strengthening of internal rating frameworks.

 He also underscored the importance of customer grievance redressal mechanisms and protecting customer interests for the overall safety and stability of the financial system. 

Additionally, Das called on banks to actively engage in the RBI’s fintech initiatives and support the growth of Digital Banking Units (DBUs).

 Ratings agency ICRA predicts a decline in gross and net non-performing assets (NPAs) by March 2025.

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Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) became the first Indian company to achieve a market capitalisation of ₹20 lakh crore. The shares of the company had hit a 52-week high during intra-day trade at ₹2,957.80. On Wednesday, the shares were trading in the red at 2924.55 after opening at ₹2911.40.

The market valuation of the company surged to ₹20,01,279.72 crore during the intra-day session and at close, the market capitalisation stood at ₹19,81,635.72 crore.

On the NSE, shares of Reliance Industries rose nearly 1.89 per cent to reach a record high of ₹2,958 apiece — also its 52-week high level. Later, the blue-chip stock ended 0.74 per cent higher at ₹2,926.20 apiece.

In the past two weeks, the market value of RIL stock has gone up by nearly ₹1 lakh crore.

Reliance Industries continued to rule the chart in the ranking of top-10 most valued firms, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Life Insurance Corporation of India, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever and ITC.

Last month, shares of Reliance Industries were in heavy demand, climbing over 7 per cent, taking its market valuation crossing the ₹19.56 lakh crore mark.

In March 2022, the company’s market valuation had gone past the ₹18 lakh crore mark.

On Tuesday, the BSE Sensex surged 482.70 points to close at 71,555.19 points, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 127.20 points to end the day at 21,743.25 points.

Reliance Industries reported a 9 per cent rise in net profit at ₹17,265 crore in the three months ended December 2023.

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If India does not achieve a permanent solution for public stockholding of food grains at the upcoming WTO ministerial conference, it will remain vulnerable to trade disputes and face increased scrutiny over food subsidies. 

A permanent solution would allow India and other developing countries to provide higher farm support.

 Currently, India is already facing pushback from countries like Australia, Brazil, and Canada who argue that its public stockholding program is highly subsidized and negatively affects global food security. 

India has invoked the peace clause at the WTO multiple times to exceed the prescribed subsidy ceiling for rice procurement. However, there is ambiguity regarding the interpretation of the peace clause provisions, leading to uncertainty for India. 

The Cairns Group is also advocating for a 50 percent reduction in agricultural support by 2030, which would disproportionately impact countries like India. 

India and other developing nations are therefore pushing for a permanent solution to avoid disputes and clarify the conditions for subsidies. Until this issue is resolved, India has stated that it will not discuss any other agricultural issues. 

The ongoing agriculture negotiations at the WTO have been deemed unsuccessful by the WTO Director-General.

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Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has become the first Indian company to surpass a market capitalisation of Rs 20 lakh crore. 

The company’s stock saw a surge, reaching a 52-week high before closing at Rs 2,928.95. The rally was supported by RIL and positive global market trading.

 The Sensex and Nifty also saw gains, with all sectors ending in the green except metals. Public sector undertakings (PSU) stocks also bounced back after recent profit booking.

 The MSCI Global Standard Index’s quarterly rejig could lead to significant inflows from passive foreign institutional investors funds. 

Despite the positive market performance, volatility is expected to persist due to various factors such as geopolitical worries, stretched valuations, and FII selling.

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