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The Reserve Bank of India had announced its plans to expand the market in April and on Tuesday laid out guidelines for non-deliverable forward (NDF) contracts that can be issued to non-retail participants for hedging and are settled in Indian rupees.

​Here is a list of the five most and least preferred mutual funds of the last financial year.

Life Insurance Corp (LIC) has raised its stake in Indian IT services firm Tech Mahindra to 8.8% from 6.8%, having added 1.96 crore shares through open market transactions. LIC saw its income from investments increase slightly to INR67,846 crore ($10.5bn) for the January-March period. Tech Mahindra shares ended 0.85% higher at INR1,095 on the NSE on 28 June, and the company has an average target of INR1,086.09, just under the current price, according to Trendlyne.

The US Federal Reserve is not expected to raise rates at its June meeting, according to a Reuters poll, although a number of analysts expect at least one further increase this year. The poll saw 90% of the 86 economists surveyed predict that the federal funds rate will remain at 5.00% to 5.25%. A minority predict a further rise of 25 basis points to 5.25%-5.50%. However, over a third of respondents expect a rate hike later this year, including eight analysts who see one coming in July.

The price was at a 4.94% discount to the floor price of Rs 29.94 per share. The QIP, which opened on June 1, was fully subscribed and received a strong response from domestic as well as foreign investors, the bank said. Life Insurance Corporation of India took up the biggest chunk of shares with an allotment of 8.34 crore shares, which is nearly 24% of the capital raised.

Traders and investors should be cautious while trading in crude oil futures due to currency fluctuations, according to Anuj Gupta, the VP of commodity and currency research at IIFL Securities. Although Saudi Arabia has said it will start reducing its daily oil output to help stabilise the oil markets, Gupta advises traders and investors to buy on dips for mid to long term as the demand for crude oil is expected to increase. Gupta predicts that crude oil prices are likely to remain range-bound, with prices expected to test $80 to $85 levels in the near term.

​Here is a list of the five most and least preferred mutual funds of the last financial year.

Equity mutual funds with exposure to IT stocks have seen returns of 15-20% in the last five years. Five technology funds are recommended: ICICI Prudential Technology, Tata Digital India, Aditya Birla Sun Life Digital India, SBI Technology Opportunities, and Franklin India Technology. Each has varying net asset values and trailing returns over different time periods, as well as assets under management, expense ratios, and minimum investment requirements. Despite concerns over recession and cuts in spending, technology investments appear to have weathered the storm.

Over half of equity investors in India are from non-metro areas, according to a study by equity investment advisory firm Research and Ranking. Of the 2,000 respondents, around 50% of investors had not experienced a complete business cycle, suggesting potential limited exposure to market fluctuations, but around 60% adopted a long-term investing approach. The survey also found that 57% of investors yearned to invest a lump sum in equity, while 43% preferred a more measured approach via investing through systematic investment plans.

Dow falls 10.81 points, S&P 500 opens higher by 1.62 points and the Nasdaq Composite gains 18.85 points