Domestic stocks edged higher today, with the Sensex and Nifty gaining around 0.7% each. This resilience comes despite a shift in expectations for US rate cuts. The stronger-than-anticipated US economy has some believing the Fed may only cut rates twice this year, down from earlier projections of seven. However, global market optimism continues to buoy Indian equities. All eyes are now on the upcoming Q4 earnings season, with IT giant TCS kicking things off on April 12th. Investors favored auto, oil & gas, and realty stocks today, while PSU banks and IT stocks saw some selling pressure. In the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 494.28 points or 0.67% to 74,742.50. The Nifty 50 index added 152.60 points or 0.68% to 22,666.30. The Sensex and Nifty both reached new all-time highs in afternoon trading today. The Sensex hit 74,869.30, while the Nifty reached 22,697.30. The Nifty Bank index also set a new record high of 48,716.95. M&M (up 3.22%), Larsen & Tourbro (up 1.92%) and Reliance Industries (up 1.75%) boosted gains. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.26% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.06%. The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,898 shares rose and 2,033 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged. The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 2.40% to 11.61. Economy: India's foreign exchange reserves surged to a fresh all-time high of $645.58 billion for the week ending March 29th, marking the sixth consecutive week of increase. This positive trend is driven by a rise in foreign currency assets and gold reserves. Numbers to Track: The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.49% to 7.152 as compared with previous close 7.154. In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.3150, compared with its close of 83.3175 during the previous trading session. MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2024 settlement was up 0.40% to Rs 70,918. The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies rose 0.07% to 104.37. The United States 10-year bond yield was up 1.47% to 4.439. In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2024 settlement lost 87 cents or 95% to $90.30 a barrel. Global Markets: European stocks climbed, but Asian markets were mixed as investors awaited key central bank meetings and inflation data releases. This week, central banks in South Korea, New Zealand, Thailand, and the Philippines are expected to hold their interest rates steady. US stocks rose after a stronger-than-expected jobs report showed the world's largest economy adding 303,000 jobs in March. Stocks in Spotlight: Titan Company shed 0.32%. The company said that it has registered a revenue growth of 17% YoY for the quarter ended 31 March 2024. Titan added 86 stores during the quarter. Its retail network presence stood at 3,035 stores. Voltas surged 6.07% after the company announced that it has achieved the highest-ever sales of 2 million air conditioner (AC) units in the financial year 2023-24. Dr.Reddy's Laboratories shed 0.04%. The company said entered into a partnership agreement with Bayer to market and distribute a second brand of Vericiguat in India. FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa) rallied 6.38% after the company witnessed growth accelerate in Q4 FY24 with strong GMV growth of early thirties at a consolidated level, on a YoY basis. Bandhan Bank tumbled 6.31%. The bank informed that its managing director & chief executive officer Chandra Shekhar Ghosh would retire from the services of the bank upon completion of his current tenure on 09 July 2024. Grasim Industries added 2.03% after the company informed that its B2B e-commerce business unit for building materials Birla Pivot crossed Rs 1,000 crore revenue-mark in FY24, which is the first year of its operations. JSW Steel gained 2.39% after its consolidated crude steel production grew 3% to 6.79 million metric tonnes (MMT) in Q4 FY24 as compared with 6.58 MMT recorded in Q4 FY23. Godrej Properties (GPL) advanced 3.58% after the company announced that it has sold over 1,050 homes worth over Rs 3,000 crore in its project, Godrej Zenith, located in Sector 89, Gurugram. Godrej Consumer Product gained 2.87% after the company said that India organic business continued to deliver strong underlying volume growth at high-single digit with growth being broad-based across both home care and personal care. Tata Steel rose 1.10%. The steel major's India business reported 4.46% increase in crude steel production to 5.38 million tons in Q4 FY24 as compared with 5.15 million tons posted in Q4 FY23. Bank of Baroda fell 0.45%. The public sector bank reported 12.80% rise in domestic advances to Rs 8,97,366 crore as on 31 March 2024 from Rs 7,95,560 crore as on 31 March 2023. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |