Benchmarks trade higher; financial services shares advance

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with substantial gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded near the 22,050 mark after hitting the day`s low of 21,777.65 in early trade. Financial services shares advanced after declining for the fourth consecutive trading session.

At 14:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 527.11 points or 0.73% to 73,016.10. The Nifty 50 index added 147.70 points or 0.67% to 22,143.55.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.40% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.12%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,720 shares rose and 2,005 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

Politics:

India is gearing up for its election in 2024. The BJP is looking to consolidate its grip on power as it aims for a historic third term while a band of opposition parties, including the Congress, has formed a united front called INDIA to deny PM Modi another victory. The elections will occur in 7 phases, starting on 19 April and ending on 1 June. The Lok Sabha elections 2024 results will declared on 4 June.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty financial services index slipped 1.11% to 21,132.25. The index has rallied 2.89% in the past four trading sessions.

Bajaj Finance (up 2.14%), HDFC Bank (up 1.95%), Power Finance Corporation (up 1.09%), IDFC (up 1.07%) and Bajaj Finserv (up 0.96%), ICICI Bank (up 0.96%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.52%), State Bank of India (up 0.38%), LIC Housing Finance (up 0.36%) and Axis Bank (up 0.27%) advanced.

On the other hand, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (down 2.5%), HDFC Asset Management Company (down 0.99%) and HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 0.82%) declined.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.53% to 7.218 from previous close of 7.180.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.5200, compared with its close of 83.5250 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2024 declined 0.12% to Rs 72,595.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.05% to 106.10.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 1.40% to 4.584.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2024 settlement rose 5 cents or 0.06% to $87.16 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Aurionpro Solutions was locked in upper circuit of 5% after its board approved acquisition of 67% stake in Mumbai-based banking and insurance focused PaaS startup, Arya.ai, operated through legal entity Lithasa Technologies.

Motilal Oswal Financial Services rallied 7.60% after the company said that its board will meet on Friday, 26 April 2024, to consider a proposal for declaration of bonus equity shares.

Vesuvius India added 3.92% after the firm inaugurated a new mould flux manufacturing plant in Visakhapatnam with an increase in investment outlay to upto Rs 1,000 crore to further strengthen its manufacturing capabilities in India.

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