Indian equity
benchmarks edged higher and gained nearly half a percent on Wednesday driven by
gains in Oil & Gas, Energy and Metal stocks. After the initial gap-up move,
the markets remained range bound for most of the session, as traders took
support with a private report that India is expected to see a normal monsoon in
2024, promising some respite after a prediction of more-than-normal heat wave
days in the summer preceding the June-September rainy season. Monsoon rains are
expected to be 102% of the long-period average of 868.6 mm for the four-month
period. Traders took a note of the US National Security Advisor's statement
that the partnership between India and the United States has reached a new
height with collaboration on technology and other fields. Markets added gains
in late afternoon deals, amid ease in crude oil prices as talks for a ceasefire
in Gaza continued. Traders overlooked report by credit rating agency ICRA in
which it has revised the banking sector outlook to Stable from Positive on the
expectation of moderation in credit growth and profitability metrics, though
the same would continue to remain healthy. It said while the compression in the
interest margins over the last 18 months has been driven by rising deposit
cost, the expectations of a rate cut in H2 FY2025 could lead to margin
pressure, driven by a likely downward repricing of advances. Traders also paid
no heed towards report that the Indian Meteorological Department has predicted
that in the April-June period, various parts of the country could record 10-20
heat wave days compared to the normal four to eight days. Nearly half of
India's farmland, which has no irrigation cover, depends on the annual
June-September rains to grow crops such as rice, corn, cane, cotton and
soybeans. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 354.45 points or 0.47% to 75,038.15 and
the CNX Nifty was up by 111.05 points or 0.49% points to 22,753.80.
The US markets ended mostly
higher on Thursday with Nasdaq settling over 270 points. The rally by the
Nasdaq and S&P 500 seemed to coincide with the release of the results of
the Treasury Department's auction of $22 billion worth of thirty-year bonds,
which revealed the sale attracted average demand. The thirty-year bond auction
drew a high yield of 4.671 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.37, while the
ten previous thirty-year bond auctions had an average bid-to-cover ratio of
2.39. The bid-to-cover ratio is a measure of demand that indicates the amount
of bids for each dollar worth of securities being sold. Treasury yields pulled
back off their highs following the release of the results, with the yield on
the benchmark ten-year note giving back ground after reaching a high near 4.60
percent. On the economic data front, the Labor Department released a report
showing producer prices increased in line with street estimates in the month of
March. The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand
crept up by 0.2 percent in March after climbing by 0.6 percent in February. The
uptick matched expectations. Meanwhile, the report said the annual rate of
producer price growth accelerated to 2.1 percent in March from 1.6 percent in
February. The annual rate of growth was the fastest since surging 2.3 percent
last April but came in slightly slower than the 2.2 percent jump forecast by
economists. On the sectoral front, Semiconductor stocks moved sharply higher
over the course of the session, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up
by 2.4 percent.
Crude oil futures ended lower on
Thursday amid concerns the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for
a longer period due to inflationary pressures. On the rate front, with consumer
prices rising more than expected in the month of March, it is now feared that
the Fed is unlikely to reduce interest rate till September. Further, the recent
data showing a sharp jump in U.S. crude inventories last week weighed as well,
offsetting supply concerns stemming from tensions on the geopolitical front. Benchmark
crude oil futures for May delivery dropped $1.02 or 1.85% to settle at $85.02 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery fell
$0.56 or 0.62% to $89.74 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian rupee ended higher against
the dollar on Wednesday taking support from equity benchmarks which climbed to
all-time high levels. Also, a weak greenback against major currencies overseas
boosted investor sentiment. Traders took support with a private report that
India is expected to see a normal monsoon in 2024, promising some respite after
a prediction of more-than-normal heat wave days in the summer preceding the
June-September rainy season. Monsoon rains are expected to be 102% of the
long-period average of 868.6 mm for the four-month period. Traders were braced
for key macroeconomic data i.e. Index of industrial production (IIP) and
Consumer Price Index (CPI) data due on Friday. On the global front, the dollar
edged down on Wednesday ahead of a key inflation report later in the day, while
the yen remained near multi-decade lows, keeping traders on alert for signs
Japanese authorities could intervene to prop up the currency. Finally, the
rupee ended at 83.20 (Provisional), stronger by 11 paise from its previous
close of 83.31 on Monday.
The FIIs as per Wednesday's data
were net buyers in both equity and debt segments. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 31363.61 crore against gross selling of Rs 22837.05 crore,
while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1325.47 crore with
gross sales of Rs 769.01 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 110.36 crore against gross selling of Rs 89.94 crore.
The US markets ended mostly
higher on Thursday with tech-related momentum stocks leading the charge, as
fresh economic data rekindled hopes that inflation remains in a cooling trend.
Asian markets are trading mixed on Friday as investors evaluated economic data
from Singapore and South Korea and also awaited China's trade numbers. Indian
markets ended Wednesday's session at new highs, buoyed by gains in index
heavyweights Reliance Industries and ITC, and optimism over earnings. Domestic
indices remained closed on Thursday on account of Id-Ul-Fitr. Today, markets
are likely to get negative start amid mixed cues from global peers as hopes of
a rate cut in the US faded. All eyes will be on the macro-economic data --
Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) -- to be
out later in the day for more directional cues. Also, Tata Consultancy Services
(TCS), the country's largest IT services exporter, is all set to report its
financial results for the January-March period, the fourth and final quarter of
the financial year 2023-24, on April 12, kicking off a new results season for
India Inc. however, foreign inflows likely to aid sentiments. Foreign
institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 2,778.17 crore on
April 10, provisional data from the NSE showed. Some support will come as the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday raised India's GDP growth forecast for
the current fiscal to 7 per cent from 6.7 per cent earlier, saying the robust
growth will be driven by public and private sector investment demand and
gradual improvement in consumer demand. Besides, Economic Advisory Council to
the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) member Sanjeev Sanyal said India's economic growth
performance is 'good' and efforts now will be needed to sustain it, as there
are concerns about the external environment, which are not quite settled.
Sanyal noted that if the weather condition and the monsoon turns out to be
favorable, then food prices will hopefully get tempered as well. There will be
some buzz in the sugar industry stocks as food ministry said sugar mills have
paid Rs 78,000 crore to sugarcane farmers in the first six months
(October-March) of the current marketing season. There will be some reaction in
healthcare industry stocks with a private report that after the pandemic, there
has been a generational and sentimental shift in how Indian consumers view
health and wellness. In its recent analysis of emerging areas of focus for
health and wellness sentiments, the report highlighted that areas like food as
medicine, anti-ageing technology and products, personalised happiness medicine,
and hormone-boosting lifestyle solutions are going to be in focus in the coming
years. Edible oil industry stocks will be in limelight as the Solvent
Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said India's palm oil imports fell about
2.5% in March from the previous month to stand at 485,354 metric tons.
Meanwhile, Bharti Hexacom is likely to debut on the bourses today.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
22,753.80
|
22,693.10
|
22,795.10
|
BSE
Sensex
|
75,038.15
|
74,862.08
|
75,159.67
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata
Steel
|
641.35
|
165.10
|
163.34
|
168.04
|
Coal
India
|
158.25
|
455.50
|
445.54
|
462.04
|
State
Bank of India
|
145.31
|
777.40
|
767.14
|
784.19
|
ITC
|
140.08
|
436.00
|
428.56
|
440.61
|
HDFC
Bank
|
139.04
|
1534.95
|
1528.64
|
1545.59
|
- LTIMindtree has introduced
Composable Storefront Solution on Salesforce to Quick-Launch Digital Commerce
Experiences.
- Maruti Suzuki India has increased
prices of Swift and selected variants of Grand Vitara with effect from April
10, 2024.
- Infosys has expanded strategic
collaboration with Intel, a global leader in computing innovation, to assist
global enterprises in accelerating their AI journeys.
- Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has
launched the drug-free non-invasive migraine management wearable device Nerivio
in Germany through its step-down subsidiary betapharm.