Post Session: Quick Review

Hefty buying in last leg of trade supported Indian equity markets to end the session with gains of over half a percent. Since morning markets traded volatile amid weekly F&O expiry. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap and Small cap index ended in green. Traders were seen piling up positions in IT sectors’ stocks, while selling was witnessed in Metal sectors’ stocks. 

Markets made positive start following record rally on Wall Street overnight coupled with broadly firm cues from Asian counterparts as traders reacted positively to a closely watched report on US consumer price inflation that showed a smaller-than-expected increase in the month of April to reinforce expectations the US Fed will begin cutting interest rates in September. Some support also came in with report that India's monsoon is forecast to hit the Kerala coast in the southwest on May 31, offering relief to farmers after below average rainfall last year. However, markets wavered between gains and losses in afternoon session amid foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 2,832.83 crore on May 15. Traders were cautious with a private report stating that the Reserve Bank of India may delay the expected policy interest rate cuts, but strong demand for bonds from long-term investors such as retirement funds and insurers will ensure that market interest rates are low, especially for the top-rated borrowers. But, in late afternoon session, markets gained traction to end higher as investors preferred to buy fundamental strong stocks.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower as softer U.S. consumer inflation data brought Fed rate cuts back into focus. Asian markets ended settled higher after Japan's industrial production expanded more than initially estimated in March after falling in the previous two months. Back home, the Periodic Labour Force Survey quarterly bulletin (January to March 2024) has showed that the unemployment rate in urban areas for persons aged 15 and above has decreased to 6.7 per cent during the previous quarter January to March 2024.

The BSE Sensex ended at 73,663.72, up by 676.69 points or 0.93% after trading in a range of 72,529.97 and 73,749.47. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.07%, while Small cap index was up by 0.85%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 2.05%, Industrials up by 1.99%, Consumer Durables up by 1.90%, TECK up by 1.66% and Realty was up by 1.59% while, Utilities down by 0.03% were the only losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.93%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.38%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.34%, Infosys up by 2.13% and Titan Company up by 2.13%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.16%, SBI down by 0.91%, Power Grid down by 0.90%, Tata Motors down by 0.87% and Indusind Bank down by 0.56% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that India's merchandise exports rose marginally by 1.06 per cent to $34.99 billion in April 2024, as against $34.62 billion during the same period last year. Healthy growth in sectors such as electronics, chemicals, petroleum products and pharmaceuticals has helped in registering positive growth in exports despite global economic uncertainties. In March 2024, the exports had dipped to $41.68 billion from $41.96 billion a year ago.

According to the data, imports also increased by 10.25 per cent to $54.09 billion in April 2024 from $49.06 billion in April 2023 due to a significant jump in gold imports. The imports of precious metals more than doubled to $3.11 billion in April this year. Crude oil imports rose by 20.22 per cent to $16.5 billion. Trade deficit, or the gap between imports and exports, widened to a four-month high of $19.1 billion in April 2024 as against $14.44 billion in April last year.

It further stated that non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in April 2024 were $26.11 Billion, compared to $25.77 Billion in April 2023. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in April 2024 were $32.72 Billion, compared to $32.13 Billion in April 2023.

The CNX Nifty ended at 22,403.85, up by 203.30 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 22,054.55 and 22,432.25. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.02%, Tata Consumer up by 2.89%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.69%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.62% and LTIMindtree up by 2.62%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.11%, Tata Motors down by 1.15%, SBI down by 1.02%, BPCL down by 1.01% and Power Grid Corp down by 0.75% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 28.22 points or 0.34% to 8,417.58, France’s CAC fell 52.41 points or 0.64% to 8,187.58 and Germany’s DAX was down by 51.55 points or 0.27% to 18,817.81.

Asian markets settled higher on Thursday after Wall Street's record gains overnight with optimism that US inflation is heading back in the right direction and that there will be two interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve this year. Data showed that retail sales in the US remained steady in April, while consumer prices rose less than expected and the core CPI slowed. Japanese shares rose as weak GDP data for the January-March quarter fuelled fresh doubts over the timing of BOJ rate hikes. Moreover, Chinese shares gained marginally after reports of government plans to buy unsold homes to save property market.