Market at day`s high; Nifty climbs above 18,300; metal shares shine

The key equity indices traded near the day`s high with modest gains in mid-morning trade. The Nifty marched above the 18,300 level after hitting day`s low of 18,178.85 in early trade. Metal shares saw buying demand for second consecutive trading session.

At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 207.55 points or 0.34% to 61,937.23. The Nifty 50 index added 97.60 points or 0.54% to 18,301.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.51% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.24%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,756 shares rose and 1,609 shares fell. A total of 188 shares were unchanged.

RBI decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 notes:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to start withdrawing 2,000-rupee notes from circulation, citing "clean note policy". The 2,000-rupee note will remain legal tender. People will be able to deposit the Rs 2,000 note at the bank, or exchange it for notes of smaller denominations up to Rs 20,000 at a time between May 23 and September 30. The Rs 2,000 note was introduced in November 2016, after the government announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 2.04% to 5,732.45. The index gained 2.33% in two trading sessions.

Adani Enterprises (up 14.87%), Welspun Corp (up 1.28%), Vedanta (up 1.13%), NMDC (up 1.09%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.89%), JSW Steel (up 0.38%), Jindal Stainless (up 0.33%), Tata Steel (up 0.24%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 0.22%) and Hindustan Zinc (up 0.11%) advanced.

On the other hand, Jindal Steel & Power (down 0.61%), Hindalco Industries (down 0.55%) and National Aluminium Company (down 0.12%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Balaji Amines slumped 11.22% after the company said that Naveena Thammishetty Chandra, Kashinath Revappa Dhole, Satyanarayana Murthy Chavali, Amarender Reddy Minupuri and Vimala Behram Madon have resigned as independent directors of the company from the closing hours on 20 May 2023. The aforementioned former independent directors Balaji Amines have cited `personal reasons` as the reason for their resignation.

Elgi Equipments surged 11.75% after the company`s consolidated net profit stood at Rs 170.10 crore in Q4 FY23, steeply higher from Rs 73.06 crore in Q4 FY22. The net profit for the quarter includes profit on sale of property held by the subsidiary, Pattons Inc., USA, amounting to Rs 77.45 crore (net of tax). Consolidated net sales jumped 14.9% to Rs 835.74 crore in Q4 FY23 as compared with Rs 727.61 crore in Q4 FY22.

Piramal Pharma added 1.81% after the pharmaceutical company said that the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) had conducted a good manufacturing practices (GMP) plus pre-approval inspection of Piramal Pharma`s Pithampur facility from 15 May 2023 to 19 May 2023.

Global markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Monday after the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima concluded and talks on the debt ceiling are slated to resume in the U.S. People`s Bank of China left its 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates unchanged.

U.S. stocks finished lower Friday, weighed down by worries over the debt-ceiling deadline and concerns that more mergers involving regional banks may be needed.

Federal leaders are expected to continue with negotiations on the U.S. debt ceiling on Monday as the country approaches a potential default. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., are scheduled to meet in person at the White House. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1.

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