Market recovers lost ground; but fears remain

Corporate results, Karnataka Assembly elections and a tense external environment are some stress points

The market has recovered lost ground in the past fortnight with help of an optimistic Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy review and reasonable macroeconomic data. Trading over the next few weeks is likely to be driven by corporate results. However, the external environment is tense.

Inflation has moderated. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 4.28 per cent year-on-year in March. This was the lowest level in five months. The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee opted to hold status quo, with one member advocating a hike in policy rates.

The Central Bank expects GDP growth to accelerate to 7.4 per cent in