Snapping 7-day losses, Indian stock indices gather some steam

NEW DELHI: Stock indices in India rose for the second straight session after their seventh consecutive day of decline.

At 9.47 am, Sensex and Nifty were 0.5-0.6 per cent higher each.

Till Friday, the stocks declined over concerns that global growth will continue to slow in 2023 due to monetary policy tightening by various central banks to control inflation.

The US central bank's policy rate is now in a target range of 4.50-4.75 per cent, the highest level in 15 years, and notably, it was near zero in the early part of 2022.

Raising interest rates is a monetary policy instrument that typically helps suppress demand in the economy, thereby helping the inflation rate decline.

"The only sensible investment strategy in this highly uncertain time is to slowly accumulate high-quality stocks for the long-term, ignoring short-term volatility.

Banks, capital goods and IT stocks can give good returns for the medium to long run," said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Stocks in the US closed a rough February with losses on Tuesday, with the Dow booking the sharpest monthly drop since September, as rising interest rates and the drag of stubborn inflation in the US and abroad rattled investors, said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC securities.

For instance, inflation in the US moderated to 6.4 per cent in January from 6.5 per cent in December, and 7.1 per cent the previous month but still is way above the 2 per cent target.