Indices further pare gains; breadth strong

Key equity indices further pared gains in mid-morning trade. Metal stocks were trading firm. The Nifty held above the 14,400 mark. Positive cues from other Asian stock markets boosted investors sentiment.

At 11:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 129.51 points or 0.27% to 48,078.93. The Nifty 50 index added 46.85 points or 0.33% to 14,406.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.47% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.17%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1903 shares rose and 688 shares fell. A total of 125 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 141,828,958 with 3,027,604 deaths.

India reported 2,031,977 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 180,530 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 0.77% to 4,399.60, resuming uptrend after a day`s pause. The index declined 1.53% yesterday.

In the past one month, the index has gained 14.98% while the benchmark Nifty 50 index has lost 2.27% during the same period.

APL Apollo Tubes (up 5.48%), Hindustan Copper (up 2.18%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.87%), SAIL (up 1.85%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.11%) and Mishra Dhatu Nigam (up 1.07%) were the top index gainers.

Earnings Impact:

ICICI Prudential Life spurted 9.81% to Rs 496.60. On a standalone basis, the company`s net profit tumbled 64.5% to Rs 63.78 crore on 364.5% surge in total income to Rs 19,897.44 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. Net premium income increased by 13.40% to Rs 11,879.28 crore in Q4 FY21 over Rs 10,475.12 crore in Q3 FY20.

New business Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE) grew 27% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) in Q4 FY2021 to Rs 2,509 crore, on the back of 108% Y-o-Y growth in March 2021 to Rs 1,101 crore. The Value of New Business (VNB) for the quarter surged 26% Y-o-Y to Rs 591 crore. VNB margin was at 23.6% in Q4 FY21 as against 23.8% in Q4 FY20.

The solvency ratio stood at 217% on 31 March 2021, well above the regulatory requirement of 150%. Assets under Management (AUM) stood at Rs 2,14,218 crore at 31 March 2021, registering a growth of 40% Y-o-Y over 31 March 2020.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks were trading higher on Tuesday as China kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged.

On the economic data front, China kept its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans steady for the 12th straight month at its April fixing on Tuesday, matching market expectations. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept at 3.85%. The five-year LPR remained at 4.65%.

U.S. stocks slipped from record levels to start the week on Monday as weakness in the technology sector weighed on the broader market.

On the coronavirus front, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said he expects the U.S. will resume administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration asked states last week to temporarily halt using the single dose vaccine ?out of an abundance of caution? after six women developed a rare blood-clotting disorder.

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