Barometers turn rangebound, broader market outperforms

The headline equity benchmarks continued to trade in a narrow range with minor losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered below 22,450 marks after hitting day�s high of 22,497.60 in early trade. Media shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 178.79 points or 0.24% to 73,831.76. The Nifty 50 index lost 39.60 points or 0.18% to 22,422.40.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.94% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.08%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,643 shares rose and 1,052 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India manufacturing purchasing managers� index (PMI) climbed to a 16-year high of 59.1 in March from 56.9 in February.

The notable improvement in operating conditions reflected stronger growth of new orders, output and input stocks as well as renewed job creation.

The HSBC India PMI climbed to a 16-year high on the back of the strongest increases in output and new orders since October 2020, parallel to the second-sharpest upturn in input inventories in the history of the survey. Employment returned to positive territory and firms scaled up buying levels. There was a mild pick-up in cost pressures during March, but customer retention remained a priority for goods producers who raised their charges to the least extent in over a year, the press release stated.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 2.95% to 11.73. The Nifty 25 April 2024 futures were trading at 22,549.60, at a premium of 127.2 points as compared with the spot at 22,422.40.

The Nifty option chain for the 25 April 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 27.1 lakh contracts at the 22,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 30.2 lakh contracts were seen at 22,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index advanced 1.02% to 1,899.20. The index rallied 5.75% in two trading sessions.

Saregama India (up 3.28%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (up 2.65%), Nazara Technologies (up 1.25%), Tips Industries (up 0.52%) and PVR Inox (up 0.41%) advanced.

On the other hand, TV18 Broadcast (down 0.72%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 0.47%) and Dish TV India (down 0.28%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

TVS Motors Company rose 1.08% after the company announced that it has sold 354,592 units in March 2024, registering a growth of 12% as against 317,152 units sold in March 2023.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IERDA) was locked in 5% upper circuit after the company�s total disbursement jumped 13.98% to Rs 12,869 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 11,291 in Q4 FY23.

CSB Bank rallied 3.06% after the bank`s total deposits jumped 21.27% to Rs 29,719 crore as on 31 March 2024 from Rs 24,506 crore as on 31 March 2023.

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