MARKET AT DAY`S HIGH; NIFTY NEARS 17,250 MARK

The benchmark indices hit the day`s high in afternoon trade, boosted by FMCG, pharma and IT scrips. At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex surged 724.95 points or 1.28% at 57,544.34. The Nifty 50 index rallied 209.50 points or 1.23% at 17,247.90.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.47%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.02%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1,612 shares rose while 1,711 shares fell. A total of 122 shares were unchanged.

Trading could be volatile as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month April series to May series. The April 2022 F&O contracts will expire today, 28 April 2022.

COVID-19 Update:

India reported 3,303 new COVID-19 cases and 2,563 recoveries as of Thursday, 28 April 2022. The active cases stood at 16,980, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The challenge of COVID-19 is not fully over and the surge in cases in the past two weeks indicates that the country needs to stay alert, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday. Interacting with chief ministers to review the Covid-19 situation in the country, the Prime Minister raised a red flag, specifically highlighting the surge in cases being witnessed in European countries triggered by sub-variants of Omicron.

Gainers & Losers:

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (up 4.42%), Asian Paints (up 3.48%), UPL (up 3.04%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 2.97%) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) (up 2.92%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Bajaj Auto (down 1.50%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.32%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) (down 0.76%), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (down 0.57%) and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) (down 0.48%) were the top Nifty losers.

Crypto Market:

Among the popular crypto currencies, Bitcoin (BTC) (up 1.63%) and Ethereum (ETH) (up 0.96%) edged higher.

However, Doge Coin (Doge) (down 2.75%), Tether (USDT) (down 0.58%) and Binance Coin (BNB) (down 0.33%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) advanced 4.42%.The FMCG major reported 8.59% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 2,327 crore on 10.40% increase in sales to Rs 13,190 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. During the quarter, HUL`s volume growth was flat. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at Rs 3,245 crore, a growth of 10% YoY. EBITDA margin at 24.6% remained healthy despite very high inflationary headwinds. Profit before tax rose 10.84% year on year to Rs 3,128 crore in Q4 FY22 as compared to Q4 FY21.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) slipped 0.57%. Mahindra Electric Mobility, a part of the Mahindra Group, closed the financial year with a market share of 73.4%, recording a 214% growth from FY21. Mahindra Electric has one of the largest portfolio of electric 3-wheelers with the Treo auto, Treo Yaari, Treo Zor, e Alfa Mini and e Alfa Cargo to suit the needs of its varied customers. Treo was the first Li-ion electric 3-wheeler platform to cross 18,000 sales since launch. The Treo auto is one of the top-selling electric 3-wheeler in the passenger category with a market share of 70.4% while the Treo Zor has a market share of 52.1%.

Bajaj Auto fell 1.50%. The company reported 2% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 1526 crore on 7% fall in revenue from operations to Rs 7975 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. EBITDA fell 10% year on year to Rs 1,396 crore in Q4 FY22. EBITDA margin declined to 17.5% in Q4 FY22 from 18.1% in Q4 FY21.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Thursday as investors reacted to a slew of earnings and continued to monitor developments in Ukraine, and Russia`s next move on its gas supplies to Europe.

Investors in Asia-Pacific have been continuing to monitor developments surrounding the Covid situation in mainland China. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for an �all-out� effort to construct infrastructure. His comments come as mainland China has since March been facing its worst outbreak of Covid-19 since the initial shock of the pandemic in early 2020.

Japan`s retail sales rose more than expected in March, according to government data released Thursday. Retail sales gained 0.9% in March as compared with a year earlier.

In US, the trade deficit in goods widened to a record high in March. The goods trade deficit jumped 17.8% to an all-time high of $125.3 billion. The increase likely reflected both higher volumes and prices. Imports of goods accelerated 11.5% to $294.6 billion. They were boosted by a 15.% surge in imports of industrial supplies, which include petroleum products.

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