EQUITY BENCHMARKS TRADE WITH STRONG GAINS; MARKET BREADTH STRONG

The domestic equity barometers edged higher in early trade as the bourses witnessed strong buying demand in key index pivotals. The Nifty traded above the 17,650 level. Barring oil & gas and pharma, shares across sectors advanced with IT, consumer durables and bank stocks rising the most.

At 09:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 231.58 points or 0.39% to 59,799.38. The Nifty 50 index added 58.05 points or 0.33% to 17,676.80.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.21% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.42%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,744 shares rose and 727 shares fell. A total of 88 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

UltraTech Cement rose 0.59%. The company announced an increase in the capacity of its grinding unit at Patliputra, Bihar to 4.7 mtpa with the successful commissioning of its 2.2 mtpa brownfield expansion. The company`s total grey cement manufacturing capacity in India now stands at 129.15 mtpa.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) added 0.84%. The board of directors of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone is scheduled on 22 April 2023, to consider first and a partial buyback of certain of its debt securities, either denominated in INR or USD, in this financial year, subject to market conditions.

Tata Communications gained 0.13%. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 326.64 crore in Q4 March 2023 as compared to net profit of Rs 368.67 crore in Q4 March 2022. Total income rose to Rs 4,630.45 crore in Q4 March 2023 from Rs 4,526.55 crore in Q4 March 2022.

ICICI Securities fell 3.82%. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 262.7 crore in Q4 March 2023 as compared to net profit of Rs 340.3 crore in Q4 March 2022. Total income fell to Rs 885.2 crore in Q4 March 2023 from Rs 892.3 crore in Q4 March 2022.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper declined 0.10% to 7.220 from its previous closing of 7.227 recorded yesterday.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.1650, compared with its close of 82.2500 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2023 settlement lost 0.13% to Rs 60,210.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.01% to 101.98.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.31% to 3.591.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2023 settlement declined 81 cents or 0.97% to $82.31 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks mostly advanced on Thursday as investors on Wall Street digest more earnings reports from names like Netflix, IBM and Morgan Stanley.

Japan posted a trade deficit for a 20th consecutive month in March. The country`s trade deficit reached a record high of 21.7 trillion yen ($161.14 billion) for the twelve months ending March, a sharp spike from the 5.59 trillion yen recorded in the same period a month ago.

US stocks closed mostly flat on Wednesday after earnings reports from Netflix and Morgan Stanley as investors worried about the Federal Reserve`s next move on interest rates.

The banking crisis in March took its toll on financial activity, particularly in the New York and San Francisco regions, according to the Federal Reserve`s periodic economic review released Wednesday.

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