Barometers trade with strong gains, PSU bank stocks in demand

The benchmark indices traded near the day`s high in mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded above the 18,600 level. PSU bank shares extended gains for second consecutive session.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 513.21 points or 0.82% to 63,014.90. The Nifty 50 index added 133.30 points or 0.72% to 18,632.65.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.44% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.51%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,050 shares rose and 1,343 shares fell. A total of 192 shares were unchanged.

Investor heaved a sigh of relief after U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy have reached an agreement over the weekend to lift the US debt ceiling and avoid a disastrous and unprecedented default. The deal would suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until January 2025, allowing the American government to pay its bills.

The cap on government spending in Washington`s deal to raise the federal debt limit adds a fresh headwind to a US economy already burdened by the highest interest rates in decades and reduced access to credit.

Economy:

India`s foreign exchange reserves dropped by $6.052 billion to $593.477 billion during the week ended May 19, RBI said on Friday. The drop in the kitty has snapped two consecutive weeks of increases. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased by $3.5 billion to take the overall quantum just shy of $600 billion. In October 2021, the country`s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU bank index rose1.07% to 4,060.05. The index gained 2.29% in two trading sessions.

State Bank of India (up 1.55%), Punjab National Bank (up 0.99%), Canara Bank (up 0.85%), Bank of India (up 0.8%), Union Bank of India (up 0.79%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 0.62%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.52%), Central Bank of India (up 0.38%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 0.34%) and Indian Bank (up 0.2%) edged higher.

On the other hand, Punjab & Sind Bank (down 0.77%) and UCO Bank (down 0.19%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

JK Cement gained 1.50%. The cement maker`s consolidated net profit tumbled 44.2% to Rs 112.27 crore in Q4 FY23 as compared to Rs 201.13 crore recorded in Q4 FY22. Revenue from operations grew by 18.1% year on year to Rs 2,777.88 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023.

Barbeque-Nation Hospitality declined 2.76% after the company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 11.82 crore in Q4 FY23 as compared with net loss Rs 0.06 crore in Q4 FY22. Net sales rose 11.6% year on year to Rs 280.23 crore in Q4 FY23.

GMR Airports Infrastructure tumbled 9.31% after the company`s net loss from continuing operations widened to Rs 636.74 crore in Q4 FY23 as against net loss of Rs 128.95 crore in Q4 FY22. Revenue from operations jumped 47.6% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,894.62 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2022.

Global Markets:

Most of the Asian stocks were trading higher on Monday on improved risk appetite following the deal between US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the debt ceiling.

US stocks rose on Friday as talks on raising the US debt ceiling progressed. President Biden and Speaker McCarthy reached a final agreement to avert US default and to suspend the debt limit through January 2025.

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