TMS EP451: RBI repo rate pause, PSU banks, markets, Nvidia GPUs

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the benchmark lending rates unchanged for the second consecutive meeting. While Governor Shaktikanta Das appeared bullish on growth and also lowered inflation projections marginally, he remained cautious about external factors that could affect both inflation and GDP growth going forward. So will the pause by RBI lead to a pivot? 

Governor Shaktikanta Das recently acknowledged the role played by banks in supporting the economy and maintaining resilience. But he also sounded a note of caution, and asked public sector banks to further strengthen governance. It comes at a time when the financial health of government-run banks has improved remarkably. So is there reason to worry? And are public sector banks under pressure? 

Most bank stocks, meanwhile, fell on Thursday. Equity markets too nursed losses even as the RBI kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5%. Going ahead, analysts see two key factors moving the markets in the near-term. What are these triggers, and what should be investors’ strategy? 

Staying with the markets theme, the shares of computer chip designer Nvidia have skyrocketed in the last one year, pushing the company’s valuation beyond one trillion-dollar mark. With it, Nvidia has joined the league of tech giants like Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. Nvidia is the largest GPU manufacturer in the world. Listen to this episode of the podcast to know more.