Snapping the four-day losing streak, Indian equity benchmarks rebounded from early lows to close higher on Friday, on heavy value buying in Banking, Metal and Consumer Durables shares. The markets opened lower and remained in muted move in first half, as traders were cautious with provisional data from the NSE showing that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 4,260.33 crore on April 18, 2024. Sentiments remained pessimistic with a report stating that India's trade deficit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has surged, more than doubling since the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2010. According to figures released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India's exports to ASEAN member countries stood at $25,627.89 million in the year 2010-11, while imports from these nations amounted to $30,607.96 million. But, the report said the situation has deteriorated significantly over the past decade, with the deficit expanding at an alarming rate. However, benchmark indices wiped off early losses in afternoon deals and edged higher towards the end of trading session as traders found support with report that the International Monetary Fund has applauded India for maintaining fiscal discipline in an election year, saying that the Indian economy is doing well and continues to be the world's bright spot. Krishna Srinivasan, Director, Asia and Pacific Department, at the IMF said at this point in time, India's economy is doing well. Growth at 6.8 per cent is very good. Inflation's coming down. We have to make sure that inflation comes down to target and it is there on a durable basis. Macro fundamentals look pretty good. Some support also came as India's Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth to World Bank stated that despite a challenging global scenario, India's economy has shown robust growth over the past year backed by sustained consumption and investment demand. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 599.34 points or 0.83% to 73,088.33 and the CNX Nifty was up by 151.15 points or 0.69% points to 22,147.00.

The US markets ended mostly lower on Friday as Israel launched retaliatory against attacks on Iran. Nasdaq settled over cut of 2% reflected a nosedive by shares of Netflix (NFLX), with the streaming giant plunging by 9.1 percent. Netflix came under pressure after reporting better than expected first quarter results but providing disappointing revenue guidance. AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) also plummeted by 10.0 percent on the day, contributing to significant weakness in the semiconductor sector. Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dove by 4.1 percent to its lowest closing level since early February. Considerable weakness among computer hardware stocks also weighed on the Nasdaq, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index tumbling by 3.7 percent to its lowest closing level in well over a month. Outside of the tech sector, retail stocks also came under pressure on the day, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index down by 1.5 percent. Meanwhile, the Dow benefitted from a notable advance by shares of American Express, with the financial services giant surging by 6.2 percent. The jump by American Express came after the company reported first quarter results that exceeded expectations on both the top and bottom lines. Banking stocks also turned in a strong performance on the day, driving the KBW Bank Index up by 2.9 percent. An increase by the price of crude oil also contributed to strength among energy stocks after Israel launched retaliatory strikes against Iran.

Crude oil futures ended higher on Friday following escalation in geopolitical tensions after Israel's retaliatory attack on Iran. Though, gains were limited as reports said the attack did not cause much damage. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also confirmed that there has been no damage to Iranian nuclear sites as a result of the Israeli strike confirmed by U.S. officials. A report from Baker Hughes showed oil rig count in the U.S. rose by 5 to 511 in the week. The report said the total oil and gas rig count in the U.S. rose by 2 to 619 in the week to April 19. Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery rose $0.41 or 0.50% to settle at $83.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. However, Brent crude for June delivery declined $0.22 or 0.3% to $87.33 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended higher against the U.S. dollar on Friday tracking a strong rebound in domestic equities. Investors got support as India's Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth to World Bank has said that despite a challenging global scenario, India's economy has shown robust growth over the past year backed by sustained consumption and investment demand. Traders overlooked the report that India's trade deficit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has surged, more than doubling since the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2010. On the global front, the pound was little changed on Friday after falling to a five-month low against the dollar in Asian trading hours as investors responded to reports of an Israeli attack on Iran. Finally, the rupee ended at 83.47 (Provisional), stronger by 5 paise from its previous close of 83.52 on Thursday.

The FIIs as per Friday's data were net sellers in both equity and debt segments. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 18545.07 crore against gross selling of Rs 22708.22 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1741.68 crore with gross sales of Rs 4324.11 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 52.63 crore against gross selling of Rs 35.70 crore.

The US markets ended mostly in red on Friday as technology stocks continued their struggles this earnings season. Asian markets are trading in green on Monday rebounded from Friday's sell-off as investors look to fresh data points out of China, Japan and South Korea this week. Indian markets snapped their four-day losing streak and ended higher on Friday amid some short covering and a surge in index heavyweight HDFC Bank. Today, markets are likely to get positive start tracking firm trade in Asian counterparts. Foreign fund inflows likely to aid domestic sentiments. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 129.39 crore on April 19, provisional data from the NSE showed. Sentiments will get a boost as the tax department said that India's net direct tax collections surged by 17.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 19.58 crore in the fiscal year ended March 2024 and exceeded the revised estimates by Rs 13,000 crore. Some support will come as the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) released its provisional payroll data for February, 2024, indicating a positive trend in employment numbers. According to the data, there has been a net addition of 15.48 lakh members during the month, highlighting a growth in the organised workforce. Traders may take note of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement that India is implementing tailored policies to become an attractive destination for global manufacturing and services. Besides, Sanjiv Puri, president-designate of leading industry body CII, said that India is growing when the world is going through a phase of stress. Meanwhile, the outward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by Indian companies stabilised in FY24 after witnessing a fall in FY23. According to finance ministry data, the actual outward FDI inched up a little to $13.75 billion in FY24 from $13.49 billion in the previous financial year (FY23). This stability came after a sharp fall in outward flows in FY23 from $18.52 billion in FY22. However, some cautiousness may come as the Reserve Bank of India data showed that India's forex reserves contracted by $5.4 billion to $643.16 billion as of April 12. Previously, forex reserves surged by $2.9 billion to an all-time record high of $648.56 billion, for the week ended on April 5, 2024. There will be some reaction insurance industry stocks with report that the new business premium (NBP) of the life insurance industry grew 15.6 per cent in March to Rs 60,214 crore. The premium earned by an insurer from new contracts in a given period is referred to as the new business premium. The largest insurer, the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, recorded a NBP growth of 26.4 per cent. Private life insurance firms reported a growth of 2.34 per cent in the same month. On the earnings front, Reliance Industries, Rallis India, Mahindra Logistics, Hatsun Agro Product, and Tejas Networks will announce their March quarter earnings today.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• Infosys has inked a definitive agreement to acquire in-tech, a leading Engineering R&D services provider focused on German automotive industry.
• Bajaj Auto has received approval for additional investment in equity share capital of Bajaj Auto Credit of Rs 2,250 crore in a phased manner, in addition to existing Rs 600 crore approved earlier.
• Wipro has reported 7.61% fall in its consolidated net profit at Rs 2858.20 crore for Q4FY24 as compared to Rs 3093.50 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.
• HDFC Bank has reported rise of 39.92% in its consolidated net profit at Rs 17622.38 crore for Q4FY24 as compared to Rs 12594.47 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.