Indices trade with minor gains; auto shares advance

The key equity benchmarks traded with small gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered above the 17,750 mark after hitting the day`s low of 17,711.20 in morning trade. Auto stocks extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 97.96 points or 0.16% to 60,228.67. The Nifty 50 index rose 21.45 points or 0.12% to 17,790.75.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.18% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.36%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,902 shares rose and 1,410 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, advanced 1.93% to 11.74. The Nifty 27 April 2023 futures were trading at 17,798.25, at a premium of 7.5 points as compared with the spot at 17,790.75.

The Nifty option chain for the 27 April 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 136.1 lakh contracts at the 17,800 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 205.5 lakh contracts were seen at 17,700 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 0.64% to 12,987.50. The index added 0.73% in two trading sessions.

Eicher Motors Ltd (up 1.81%), Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd (up 1.25%), TVS Motor Company Ltd (up 1.12%), Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd (up 1.05%), Tata Motors Ltd (up 0.94%), Balkrishna Industries Ltd (up 0.81%), Bosch Ltd (up 0.73%), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (up 0.72%), Bharat Forge Ltd (up 0.69%) and MRF Ltd (up 0.62%) advanced.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto Ltd (down 0.68%) declined.

Bajaj Auto shed 0.68%. The auto major reported consolidated net profit rose 11.7% to Rs 1,704.74 crore on 11.97% increase in net sales to Rs 8,929.23 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22. The company`s total auto sales fell 12% to 859,728 units in in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22. During the said period, domestic sales increased 32% while exports slipped 41%.

The board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 140 per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2022. The record date for the dividend is set on 30 June 2022.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Mahindra Lifespace Developers declined 1.09% after the company`s net profit slumped 99.6% to Rs 0.53 crore in Q4 FY23 as against Rs 136.82 crore recorded in Q4 FY22. However, revenue from operations surged 57.9% year on year (YoY) to Rs 255.37 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023.

Tata Steel Long Products rose 0.04%. The company reported a standalone net loss of Rs 184.11 crore in Q4 FY23 as against a net profit of Rs 59.62 crore in Q4 FY22. Net sales declined by 1.9% YoY to Rs 1,765.47 crore during the quarter.

Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) tumbled 7.21% after Shashank Sathe, chief technology officer (CTO) of the company tendered his resignation on account of personal reasons and for better prospects.

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