Bulls charge ahead, pushing Nifty above 18K; VIX drops below 11

The Indian stock market ended the week with a bang, as the key equity indices posted significant gains on Friday. Despite the Nifty 50 index briefly stumbling in the morning, it quickly regained its footing and surged ahead to settle above the coveted 18,000 mark. The NSE sectoral indices were a sea of green, with only Nifty Consumer Durables index failing to ride the wave of gains. Nifty PSU Bank, Media, IT and Healthcare indices rose over 1% each.

The S&P BSE Sensex, the barometer index, rose by 463.06 points or 0.76% to close at 61,112.44, rising for the seventh consecutive session. Similarly, the Nifty 50 index advanced 149.95 points or 0.84% to 18,065, marking its fifth straight session of gains.

Adani Enterprises (up 3.85%), ITC (up 2.24%) and Reliance Industries (up 1.80%) boosted the indices.

The broader market also witnessed a rally, with the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gaining 1.32% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rising 0.91%.

Market breadth was strong, with 2,242 shares rising and 1,255 shares falling on the BSE. A total of 132 shares remained unchanged.

The India VIX, which gauges the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 4.17% to 10.95 on the NSE.

The domestic stock market will remain closed on Monday, 1 May 2023, on account of Maharashtra Day.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced to 7.115 from 7.097 in previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 81.8150 compared with its close of 81.79 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2023 settlement fell 0.18% to Rs 59,792.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.48% to 101.99.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 1.56% to 3.473.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2023 settlement added 39 cents or 0.50% to $78.76 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones futures indicated a negative opening in the US stock market today, with a decline of 134 points.

While most Asian stocks advanced on Friday, European shares declined across the board.

In his first policy meeting, the newly appointed Governor Kazuo Ueda left the interest rates unchanged at the Bank of Japan, in line with market expectations for no changes to the benchmark interest rate. The rate has been held at minus 0.1% since the central bank took rates below zero in 2016.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks closed sharply higher thanks to the upbeat results from bellwether tech firms. Meta Platforms Inc, Microsoft Corp, and Alphabet Inc soared after reporting results.

The data showed that gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 1.1% in the first quarter of the year, which is down from a 2.6% increase in the final three months of 2022.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Wipro rallied 2.89% after the IT firm said that its board has approved a share buyback of upto Rs 12,000 crore at a price of Rs 445 per equity share through tender offer route, on a proportionate basis. The company plans to buyback up to 26.96 crore equity shares, representing 4.91% of the total paid-up equity shares of the company.

Members of the promoter and promoter group of the company have indicated their intention to participate in the proposed buyback.

Meanwhile, the IT major`s consolidated net profit rose 0.71% to Rs 3,074.5 crore on 0.17% decline in revenue form operations to Rs 23,190.3 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q3 FY23. On a year on year (YoY) basis, the IT firm`s net profit declined 0.41% while revenue jumped 11.17% in Q4 FY23.

Axis Bank slipped 2.39% after the private lender reported a net loss of Rs 5,728.42 crore in Q4 FY23 as against a net profit of Rs 4,117.77 crore in Q4 FY22. Total income increased 31.2% year on year (YoY) to Rs 28,865.08 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023.

Net profit (excluding exceptional items) grew by 61% YoY to Rs 6,625 crore in Q4 FY23 and jumped 68% YoY to Rs 21,933 crore FY23. Exceptional items during the quarter and year ended 31 March 2023, aggregated to Rs 12,490 crore.

Tech Mahindra rose 1.95%. The IT major`s consolidated net profit declined 13.8% to Rs 1,117.7 crore in Q4 FY23 as against Rs 1,296.6 crore posted in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations fell marginally to Rs 13,718.2 crore in Q4 FY23 as against Rs 13,734.6 crore recorded in Q3 FY23. On a year on year (YoY) basis, Tech Mahindra`s net profit tumbled 25.77% while revenue jumped 13.22% in Q4 FY23.

ACC rose 0.91%. The cement major`s consolidated net profit tumbled 40.5% to Rs 235.63 crore in Q1 March 2023 as against Rs 396.31 crore in Q1 March 2022. Net revenue rose 8.2% year on year to Rs 4,790.91 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023.

During the March 2023 quarter, volume increased by 9% QoQ and 7.6% YoY at 8.5 million tonne, supported by an increase in blended cement (clinker factor reduced from 56.1% to 54.8%), better route planning and higher operational synergies with parent, Ambuja Cements. Market leadership was maintained across key markets, said ACC.

Glenmark Life Sciences rallied 5.19% after the company`s net profit jumped 48% to Rs 146.36 crore on 20.9% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 621.32 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22.

Raymond tumbled 7.37% and Godrej Consumer Products slipped 4.93%. Raymond said that its associate company Raymond Consumer Care (RCCL) has entered into a business transfer agreement (BTA) with Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) for sale of its FMCG business for a consideration of Rs 2,825 crore. The Gautam Singhania-led Raymond Group has announced the demerger of its lifestyle business to RCCL to create a listed entity with pure play B2C focused lifestyle business. Raymond will be a real estate company with investments in engineering & denim business. Each Raymond shareholder to get 4 shares of RCCL for every 5 shares held.

Trent declined 0.96%. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 54.16 crore in Q4 FY23, steeply higher than Rs 0.16 crore posted in Q4 FY22. Net revenue from operations jumped 64.3% year on year (YoY) to Rs 2,182.75 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023.

Shriram Finance dropped 5.14%. The NBFC reported 20.5% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 1,308.31 crore on 52.7% jump in total income to Rs 7,769.15 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22. Total assets under management (AUM) as on 31 March 2023 stood at Rs 1,85,682.86 crore as compared to Rs 1,27,040.86 crore as on 31 March 2022 and Rs 1,77,498 crore as on 31 December 2022.

Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals` (MRPL) jumped 5.33%. The company`s standalone net profit tumbled 36.57% to Rs 1,907.98 crore in Q4 FY23 as compared to a net profit of Rs 3,008.18 crore in Q4 FY22. Gross revenue from operations rose 4% year on year to Rs 29,401.49 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) stood at Rs 25,400.91 crore in Q4 FY23, up 2.4% YoY

Apcotex Industries tumbled 7.76% after the company`s net profit declined 24.89% to Rs 23.21 crore on 7.70% decline in net sales to Rs 256.10 crore in Q4 March 2023 over Q4 March 2022.

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