India raises interest rates

India's central bank maintains its tightening path. AFP/CNA reports:

India's central bank on Friday raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point in its 12th hike since March last year to combat near double-digit inflation.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised its repo rate at which it lends to commercial banks by 0.25 basis points to 8.25 percent and increased the reverse repo -- the rate it pays to banks for deposits -- to 7.25 percent.

The RBI has become an exception though, as most other central banks that had been on a tightening path are now on hold, including, notably the ECB, or even started easing, for example, Brazil.

The shift in most central bank stances has helped markets rebound. That rebound continued on Friday, with the S&P 500 and the STOXX Europe 600 both up 0.6 percent, the former completing its fifth consecutive day of gain.

There has also been a rebound, albeit small, in US consumer sentiment. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index increased to 57.8 in September from 55.7 in August. The index of consumer expectations, though, dropped to 47.0 in September, the lowest level since May 1980, from 47.4 in August.