Extending their previous day's rally, Indian equity benchmarks ended at record closing highs on Wednesday on the back of all-round buying support. Positive cues from the global markets and a dip in Crude Oil prices boosted the sentiment. Markets made a positive start and remained in momentum throughout the session, as traders took encouragement with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data showing that India's current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to $1.3 billion or 0.2 per cent of GDP in the January-March quarter of FY23, mainly due to moderation in the trade deficit and a robust increase in services exports. Further, foreign fund inflows also supported domestic sentiments. According to the provisional data available on the NSE, foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth a net Rs 2024.05 crore on June 27. Markets extended gains in second half of trading session, as sentiments remained up-beat with UK Minister for Investment Lord Dominic Johnson stating that an India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) is really important for both nations and it is for businesses on both sides to help drive that agenda. Johnson said he is very optimistic about an FTA even as he declined to put a timeframe to it. Traders took note of report that Taiwan has an enormous appetite to expand ties with India and firming up the proposed free trade agreement between the two sides will be a big encouragement for Taiwanese companies to set up manufacturing bases in India. Traders overlooked Reserve Bank of India's data showing that net profit of the manufacturing, and the IT sector moderated in 2022-23. The net profit margin of the manufacturing sector declined to 8.7 per cent in 2022-23, against 10.6 per cent in 2021-22. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 499.39 points or 0.79% to 63,915.42 and the CNX Nifty was up by 154.70 points or 0.82% to 18,972.10.

The US markets ended mostly higher on Thursday, with Dow Jones Industrial Average settling over 250 points. The higher close on markets partly reflected a positive reaction to the results of the Federal Reserve's annual bank stress test. The Fed said the results demonstrate that large banks are well positioned to weather a severe recession and continue to lend to households and businesses even during a severe recession. The Fed said all 23 banks tested remained above their minimum capital requirements during the hypothetical recession, despite total projected losses of $541 billion. Meanwhile, traders were also reacting to another batch of largely upbeat U.S. economic data, which further eased recession worries but also renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The Labor Department released a report showing an unexpected pullback by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended June 24th. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 239,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week's revised level of 265,000. Street had expected jobless claims to rise to 270,000 from the 264,000 originally reported for the previous week. The upwardly revised figure for the previous week reflected the most jobless claims since the week ended October 23, 2021. On the sectoral front, oil service stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.0 percent to its best closing level in nearly two months. The strength in the oil service sector came amid a continued increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for August delivery rising $0.30 to $69.86 a barrel.

Crude oil futures ended higher on Thursday, extending previous session's rally, supported by a bigger draw than expected in U.S. crude inventories. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories dropped by 9.6 million barrels in the week ended June 23. However, concerns about rising interest rates and economic slowdown limited the uptick in oil prices. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the US central bank would deliver more interest rates hikes by the end of the year in its prolonged fight against high inflation. Benchmark crude oil futures for August delivery rose $0.30 or about 0.4 percent to settle at $69.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August delivery gained $0.31 or 0.4 percent to settle at $74.34 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar on Wednesday amid rebound in the greenback. Traders were worried after Reserve Bank of India's data showed net profit of the manufacturing, and the IT sector moderated in 2022-23. The net profit margin of the manufacturing sector declined to 8.7 per cent in 2022-23, against 10.6 per cent in 2021-22. Traders took note of report that Taiwan has an enormous appetite to expand ties with India and firming up the proposed free trade agreement between the two sides will be a big encouragement for Taiwanese companies to set up manufacturing bases in India. On the global front, the yen was under pressure against most other major currencies on Wednesday, even as Japanese authorities said they could intervene to prop it up, while the Aussie dollar dropped after data showed inflation eased in May. Finally, the rupee ended at 82.04 (Provisional), weaker by 2 paise from its previous close of 82.02 on Tuesday.

The FIIs as per Wednesday's data were net buyers in equity segment, while net sellers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 10096.72 crore against gross selling of Rs 8266.08 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 397.86 crore against gross selling of Rs 2253.21 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 14.51 crore against gross selling of Rs 14.79 crore.

The US markets ended mostly in green on Thursday ahead of inflation figures. Asian markets are trading mostly higher on Friday amid a set of strong U.S. economic data bolstered the view that the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates higher for longer. Indian markets posted strong gains for a second straight day to hit record highs on Wednesday driven by strong institutional inflows, positive global cues. Today, start of the session is likely to be on a positive note as investors return to trade following a mid-week Bakri Eid holiday. Foreign fund inflows continue to aid domestic sentiments. According to the provisional data available on the NSE, foreign institutional investors (FII) net bought shares worth net Rs 12,350 crore on June 28. Sentiments will get a boost with Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das' statement that the Indian economy has made a solid recovery and is among the fastest-growing large economies despite heightened uncertainties and formidable headwinds. He said that financial stability is non-negotiable and all stakeholders in the financial system must work to preserve this at all times. Traders will be taking encouragement as S&P Global Ratings Senior Economist (Asia Pacific) Vishrut Rana said Indian economy is expected to clock an average growth rate of 6.7 per cent till 2026-27 fiscal driven by domestic consumption. Traders may take note of report that increasing economic ties between India and the US would help boost the country's exports to America. Besides, markets regulator Sebi has cleared the proposal to reduce the listing time for shares in public issues to three days from existing six days, a move that is expected to allow issuers to receive their funds and allottees their securities in a shorter period. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has extended the deadline to apply the proposed changes in Tax Collection at Source (TCS) rates from October 1. There will be some buzz in the banking stocks as the Reserve Bank of India in the latest edition of its Financial Stability Report noted that scheduled commercial banks' net non-performing assets (NPA) ratio fell to a 10-year low of 3.9 per cent in March 2023. Telecom stocks will be in focus as the latest data from Trai showed the number of mobile phone connections in India fell by 0.8 million in April this year, after an increase of 1.96 million in March, the highest in nine months. There will be some reaction in auto stocks with a private report that sales of passenger cars in India are set to cross the two-million mark in the first half of 2023 for the first time. Sugar sector stocks will be in limelight as the Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs hiked the fair and remunerative price (FRP) of sugarcane by Rs 10 per quintal to Rs 315 for the 2023-24 season that will start from October. The increase in FRP last year was of Rs 15 per quintal.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• ONGC has reportedly sold initial gas produced from its KG basin fields in the Bay of Bengal to three firms, including Torrent Gas. 
• ITC has acquired 857 Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares of Rs 10 each of Mother Sparsh at a consideration of around Rs 11.54 crore. 
• HDFC Life Insurance Company and Aavas Financiers have entered into a strategic Corporate Agency tie-up. 
• Bajaj Finance has partnered with Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD's subsidiary BYD India.