Indian equity benchmarks resumed their upward march and ended nearly a percent higher on Thursday amid buying in index majors Bajaj Finance, HDFC and HDFC Bank. After the flat start, key gauges gradually inched higher tracking positive cues from Asian counter parts. Traders took support with provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showing foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 1,338 crore on May 3, 2023. Domestic sentiments got boost amid a private report stating that India's exports of goods and services could touch $900 billion in the current financial year, up from $770 billion in the previous year, keeping resilient despite global headwinds. Key gauges extended gains in late afternoon deals, taking support from another private report stating that as many as 163 Indian companies have invested more than $40 billion in the United States so far which has created nearly 425,000 jobs in the country. Adding to the optimism, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar emphasized that agriculture remains prime pulse of the Indian economy, and said that the agriculture is at the core of the socio-economic development of the country. It accounts for around 19 per cent of the GDP and about two-thirds of the population is dependent on the sector. Traders overlooked report that the Centre has advised states to be prepared for worst situation and ensure adequate availability of seeds for kharif sowing season in case of less rainfall, amid concerns over possible impact of evolving El Nino conditions on monsoon rains. Meanwhile, a Reserve Bank report said India's green financing requirement is estimated to be at least 2.5 per cent of GDP annually till 2030. The country aims to achieve net zero emissions target by 2070. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 555.95 points or 0.91% to 61,749.25 and the CNX Nifty was up by 165.95 points or 0.92% to 18,255.80.

The US markets ended lower on Thursday, magnifying previous session's losses. The continued weakness on the US partly reflected ongoing concerns about turmoil among regional banks, with shares of PacWest Bancorp (PACW) plummeting by 50.6 percent. The steep drop by PacWest came after the company confirmed that it its reviewing strategic options, including a potential sale. Besides, continued uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates also weighed on markets following the Federal Reserve's tenth straight rate hike on Wednesday. On the sectoral front, airline stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, resulting in a 4.6 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Steel stocks also showed a significant move to the downside amid concerns about demand, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 3.4 percent to a four-month closing low. On the economic data front, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by slightly more than expected in the week ended April 29th. The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 242,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 229,000. Street had expected jobless claims to rise to 240,000 from the 230,000 originally reported for the previous week. A separate report released by the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit shrank to $64.2 billion in March from a revised $70.6 billion in February. The Labor Department also released another report showing U.S. labor productivity tumbled by much more than expected in the first quarter of 2023, while unit labor costs spiked more than expected.

Crude oil futures ended slightly lower on Thursday on demand concerns in major consuming countries. However, losses remained capped after the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to slow the pace of interest rate hikes. The ECB increased its three policy rates by 25 basis points, the smallest hike since the central bank starting lifting them last summer. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, started voluntary output cuts at the beginning of May. Benchmark crude oil futures for June delivery lost $0.04 or 0.05 percent to settle at $68.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.  However, Brent crude for July delivery added $0.17 or 0.23 percent to settle at $72.50 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee strengthened against the dollar on Thursday, tracking the weakness of the American currency in the overseas market. Traders took support with private report stating that India's exports of goods and services could touch $900 billion in the current financial year, up from $770 billion in the previous year, keeping resilient despite global headwinds. Besides, another private report stated that as many as 163 Indian companies have invested more than $40 billion in the United States so far which has created nearly 425,000 jobs in the country. On the global front, British pound was steady against the dollar on Thursday having hit an 11-month high overnight after the Federal Reserve raised rates but signalled an end to its tightening cycle is in sight. Finally, the rupee ended at 81.78 (Provisional), stronger by 2 paise from its previous close of 81.80 on Wednesday.

The FIIs as per Thursday's data were net buyers in equity segment, while net sellers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 7537.46 crore against gross selling of Rs 6148.04 crore. In the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1050.28 crore against gross selling of Rs 2191.79 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 3.14 crore against gross selling of Rs 3.44 crore.

The US markets ended lower on Thursday on bank contagion worries after PacWest confirmed that it is reviewing strategic options, including a potential sale. Asian markets are trading mostly in red on Friday. Investors will track China's services PMI for April later today. Indian markets ended higher with notable gains on Thursday on the back of strong corporate earnings and renewed FII buying. Today, markets are likely to start last trading session of week in red following renewed banking fears on Wall Street overnight. In the US, contagion fears in the regional bank space resurfaced with shares of LA-based bank PacWest Bancorp sliding over 50 per cent overnight.  However, some respite may come later in the day as Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) reportedly said India's exports of goods and services could touch $900 billion in the current financial year, up from $770 billion in the previous year, keeping resilient despite global headwinds. Foreign fund inflows likely to aid sentiments. Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 1,414.73 crore on May 4, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed. Some support will come with a private report that Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said he wants to see a greater presence of American aircraft and aerospace major Boeing in India as it has recently received a large order of planes from the Tata group-owned Air India. Traders may take note of a private report that market borrowings by India's state governments are likely to be lower than the amounts indicated in their budgets, as off-balance sheet liabilities will continue to be adjusted in this fiscal year. Meanwhile, apex exporters body FIEO has also urged the government to support domestic exporters in undertaking overseas marketing initiatives with a view to boost outbound shipments. Automobile industry stocks will be in focus as data shared by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said owing to a dip in customer demand for two-wheelers and pre-buying in March, the automobile retail sales in April saw a four per cent decline to 1.72 million units, down from 1.79 million units in April last year. Besides, among top Indian companies set to announce their March quarter results are Britannia, Federal Bank, Marico, Piramal Enterprises, Alembic Pharma, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Tatva Chintan, One 97 Communications or Paytm, Symphony, Adani Power among others.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• Axis Bank and India Shelter Finance Corporation have entered into a strategic partnership under the co-lending model.
• HDFC has sold 1,87,06,774 equity shares of Re 1 each of Siti Networks, representing 2.15% of the paid-up share capital of Siti.
• Titan Company has reported rise of 39.66% in its consolidated net profit at Rs 736 crore for Q4FY23 as compared to Rs 527 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.
• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone has handled 32.3 MMT of total cargo in April 2023, implying a Year-on-Year growth of 12.8%.