Indian equity benchmarks traded firm on the monthly expiry day and gained over a half a percent as strong earnings from major firms overshadowed rising recession fears in the US. After the flat start, the key gauges continued to inch higher throughout the day, as traders took encouragement with Additional Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajeev Singh Thakur stating that the government has released Rs 2,874.71 crore to the beneficiaries of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme till March, with a majority of companies from eight sectors like electronics, telecom, pharma and food processing. Some optimism also came with the commerce and industry ministry stating that various initiatives taken by the government to improve its logistics efficiency has helped India climb six places on the recently released World Bank's Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2023. India has climbed six places on the LPI, now ranking 38th in the 139 countries index, as a result of significant investments in both soft and hard infrastructure as well as technology. Markets extended gains in late afternoon session, taking support from Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das' statement that the Indian banking system has remained resilient and not adversely impacted by recent events in the global financial ecosystem. Some comfort also came as India and the four-nation bloc EFTA discussed ways to resume negotiations for a free trade agreement with a view to strengthening economic ties between the two regions. Meanwhile, the Centre gave its nod to the National Medical Devices Policy 2023 with an aim to achieve 10-12 per cent share in the growing global market over the next 25 years. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 348.80 points or 0.58% to 60,649.38 and the CNX Nifty was up by 101.45 points or 0.57% to 17,915.05.

The US markets ended sharply higher on Thursday with Nasdaq settling around two and half percent higher as strong results from Meta Platforms boosted tech-related names. Shares of Meta spiked by 13.9 percent after the company reported better than expected first quarter results and provided upbeat guidance for the current quarter. Media conglomerate Comcast (CMCSA) also moved sharply higher after reporting first quarter earnings that exceeded street estimates. Big-name companies like eBay (EBAY), Honeywell (HON) and Eli Lilly (LLY) also posted strong gains after reporting their quarterly results. On the sectoral front, Housing stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 3.1 percent to its best closing level in well over two months. On the economic data front, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined in the week ended April 22nd, according to a report released by the Labor Department. The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 230,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level of 246,000. Street had expected jobless claims to inch up to 248,000 from the 245,000 originally reported for the previous week. Besides, preliminary data released by the Commerce Department showed U.S. economic growth slowed by much more than expected in the first three months of 2023. The report said real gross domestic product increased by 1.1 percent in the first quarter after jumping by 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022. Street had expected the pace of GDP growth to slow to 2.0 percent.

Crude oil futures ended higher on Thursday after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said global oil markets were balanced. Novak said OPEC+ does not see the need for further oil output cuts but is always able to adjust its policy. Russia is part of the OPEC+ group of oil-producers that this month announced a combined reduction of around 1.16 million barrels per day, a surprise decision the U.S. described as unwise and which sent oil prices higher. Benchmark crude oil futures for June delivery gained $0.46 or 0.6 percent to settle at $74.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery rose $0.68 or 0.88 percent to settle at $78.37 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange. 

Indian rupee tumbled against dollar on Thursday amid a strong greenback overseas. Traders overlooked Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das' statement that Indian banking system has remained resilient and not adversely impacted by recent events in the global financial ecosystem. Meanwhile, India and the four-nation bloc EFTA discussed ways to resume negotiations for a free trade agreement with a view to strengthening economic ties between the two regions. On the global front, sterling steadied against the dollar on Thursday, after two volatile days largely cancelled each other out, leaving the British currency not far off a 10-month peak. Rouble steadied on Thursday, with the market looking ahead to Friday's interest rate decision, as favourable month-end tax payments propped the Russian currency up amid a significant drop in oil prices. Finally, the rupee ended at 81.84 (Provisional), weaker by 10 paise from its previous close of 81.74 on Wednesday.

The FIIs as per Thursday's data were net buyers in both equity and debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 7916.37 crore against gross selling of Rs 6472.84 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1564.58 crore against gross selling of Rs 631.85 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 4.94 crore against gross selling of Rs 3.01 crore.

The US markets ended higher on Thursday as upbeat earnings from Meta Platforms lifted technology stocks. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Friday ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy meeting later today and the Fed and ECB meetings, due next week. Indian markets ended higher on Thursday to extend recent gains, with upbeat earnings results from U.S. tech companies and short covering on the last day of the April series derivative contracts offering support. Today, markets are likely to get optimistic start tracking firm global cues. Investors await more of financial results from India Inc for domestic cues, with Ultratech Cement SBI Cards, Star Health, Supreme Industries, M&M Financial Services, Vedant Fashions, L&T Finance Holdings, among others will report the January-March quarter (Q4FY23) results. Foreign fund inflows likely to aid domestic sentiments. Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 1,652.95 crore on April 27, according to provisional data from National Stock Exchange. Traders may take note of report that India will soon open a fresh window for inviting new applications for FY24 towards importing gold from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through an import quota system - tariff rate quota (TRQ) - as a part of the trade agreement between both countries. Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department will soon notify rules specifying the class of investors and norm of valuation for implementation of the Budget provision of taxing foreign investment in unlisted companies. The modified valuation rules would provide for ascertaining the fair market value (FMV) of shares of unlisted companies to levy tax on non-resident investments. However, there may be some cautiousness as Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is looking closely at banks' business models to flag any deficiencies that could impact financial resilience, but added that domestic lenders can maintain minimum capital even under severe stress conditions. There will be some reaction real estate industry stocks as on six years of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), real estate industry body National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) voiced that timely approval for projects by authorities has been a big challenge for the industry and said authorities are more buyer-friendly than developers.

Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

Nifty Top volumes

• Tata Motors and Cummins Inc have signed definitive agreement to manufacture a range of low- to zero-emissions technology products in India over the next few years. 
• Infosys has collaborated with Walmart Commerce Technologies to help retailers leverage technology solutions that simplify customer and store employee experiences. 
• Hindustan Unilever has reported rise of 12.74% in its consolidated net profit at Rs 2,601 crore for Q4FY23 as compared to Rs 2,307 crore for Q4FY22. 
• Bajaj Finserv has reported rise of 31.41% in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1768.95 crore for Q4FY23 as compared to Rs 1346.08 crore for Q4FY22.