BAROMETERS TURN RANGEBOUND; METAL SHARES RALLY FOR 6TH DAY

The benchmark indices traded in a narrow range with decent gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty scaled above the 22,450 mark after hitting the day`s low of 22,345.65 in morning trade. Metal shares extended gains for the six consecutive trading sessions.

At 14:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 269.44 points or 0.35% to 73,925.15. The Nifty 50 index added 68 points or 0.30% to 22,471.8.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.08% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.26%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,338 shares rose and 1,428 shares fell. A total of 145 shares were unchanged.

The National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange will hold a special live trading session on Saturday, 18 May 2024 in the equity and equity derivative segments with an intra-day switchover from the Primary site to the Disaster Recovery site. The special session would be divided into two parts � the first session will begin at 9:15 am and conclude at 10 am, followed by another session starting at 11:30 am and ending at 12:30 pm.

Economy:

United Nations noted in its latest World Economic Situation and Prospects report that India�s economy is forecast to expand by 6.9% in 2024 and 6.6% in 2025, mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption. Although subdued external demand will continue to weigh on merchandise export growth, pharmaceuticals and chemicals exports are expected to expand strongly. Consumer price inflation in India is projected to decelerate from 5.6% in 2023 to 4.5% in 2024, staying within the central bank�s 2% to 6% medium-term target range.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index added 1.64% to 9,422.20. The index jumped 6.57% in the six consecutive trading sessions.

NMDC (up 4.58%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 3.71%), Jindal Stainless (up 3.12%), Steel Authority of India (up 2.93%), Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (up 2.92%), National Aluminium Company (up 2.76%), Vedanta (up 2.67%), JSW Steel (up 2.57%), Hindustan Zinc (up 2.3%) and Hindustan Copper (up 1.63%) edged higher.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal rose 0.23% to 7.092 as compared with previous close 7.088.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee is edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.3800, compared with its close of 83.5050 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2024 settlement shed 0.13% to Rs 72,885.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.24% to 104.72.

The United States 10-year bond yield added 0.37% to 4.391.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2024 settlement added 33 cents or 0.40% to $83.60 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) shed 0.25%. The company said that the buildings & factories (B&F) business vertical of L&T Construction has won multiple `significant� orders.

Endurance Technologies soared 7.29% after the auto ancillary company�s consolidated net profit jumped 54% to Rs 210.15 crore on 20.16% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 2,684.78 crore in Q4 FY24 over Q4 FY23.

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