Nifty around 20,000!
Nifty started off the month at 19,300 and came very close to 20,000 levels in the middle of the month, finally settling at 19,750 on July closing. Small and midcap stocks also had a significant rally.
FII inflows steady
Flls pumped in around 45,000 crore of money in July. The amount was slightly lower than June but still managed to give a good boost to markets.
Inflation softening
The Indian inflation rate for June 2023 rose a bit and is at 4.81% while US inflation stands at 3%, a two year low.
Another Interest Rate Hike
Despite inflation cooling down, the Fed raised interest rates by 25 bps taking it to a range of 5.25 - 5.5%. This is the highest rate the U.S has experienced since 22 years.
There was no difference in Indian interest rates.
Significant stock events
There were some noteworthy corporate action events with large stocks in the last month.
The long awaited HDFC and HDFC Bank merger finally concluded in July. Post the merger, HDFC bank became the most valuable bank in the country and the 7th most valuable bank in the world.
There was also a need for a new stock entrant in the Nifty 50 post the merger. This spot was taken by LT Mindtree increasing the index's exposure to IT.
Reliance demerged it's parent company RIL into two segments - RIL and Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL).