Markets trade with limited losses; European Mkt open higher

The key equity indices continued to trade in a narrow range with minor losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered below 22,450 marks after hitting day�s high of 22,497.60 in early trade. Consumer durables, realty and media stocks advanced while IT, healthcare and pharma shares declined.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 200.51 points or 0.28% to 73,806.83. The Nifty 50 index lost 44.05 points or 0.20% to 22,417.95

The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.93% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.09%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,673 shares rose and 1,065 shares fell. A total of 122 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India manufacturing purchasing managers� index (PMI) climbed to a 16-year high of 59.1 in March, from 56.9 in February.

The notable improvement in operating conditions reflected stronger growth of new orders, output and input stocks as well as renewed job creation.

The HSBC India PMI climbed to a 16-year high on the back of the strongest increases in output and new orders since October 2020, parallel to the second-sharpest upturn in input inventories in the history of the survey. Employment returned to positive territory and firms scaled up buying levels. There was a mild pick-up in cost pressures during March, but customer retention remained a priority for goods producers who raised their charges to the least extent in over a year, the press release stated.

Gainers & Losers:

Bajaj Auto (up 2.56%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 2.52%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.55%), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (up 1.38%), and Nestle India (up 1.28%) were major Nifty gainers.

Hero Motocorp (down 2.30%), ICICI Bank (down 1.58%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.48%), Larsen & Toubro (down 1.43%) and HCL Technologies (down 1.22%) were major Nifty losers.

Hero MotoCorp slipped 2.30% after the company�s total sales fell 5.57% to 490,415 units in March 2024 as against 519,342 units sold in March 2023.

Bajaj Auto added 2.56% after the company reported 25% increase in total auto sales to 3,65,904 units in March 2024 as compared with 2,91,567 sold in March 2023.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Maruti Suzuki India shed 0.73%. The company announced that its total production increased 8.16% to 166,730 units in March 2024 as against 154,148 units recorded in March 2023.

TVS Motors Company rose 0.70%. The auto major announced that it has sold 354,592 units in March 2024, registering a growth of 12% as against 317,152 units sold in March 2023.

Atul Auto added 1.04%. The company said that its total sales shed 0.82% in March 2024 to 3,128 units as against 3,154 units sold in March 2023.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IERDA) hit an upper circuit of 5% to Rs 149.75 after the company�s total disbursement jumped 13.98% to Rs 12,869 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 11,291 in Q4 FY23.

Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail (ABFRL) rallied 11.55% after the company�s board has authorized the management to evaluate vertical demerger of Madura Fashion & Lifestyle business from the company into a separate listed company.

Sterlite Technologies advanced 3.05% after the company announced that it has been awarded orders worth Rs 900 crore in FY24 to provide integrated optical solutions to the leading service providers in the country.

CSB Bank rose 2.87% after the bank`s total deposits jumped 21.27% to Rs 29,719 crore as on 31 March 2024 from Rs 24,506 crore as on 31 March 2023.

Tata Technologies jumped 5.31% after the company announced the signing of an agreement to form a Joint Venture (JV) with the BMW Group for developing automotive software and business IT solutions.

Ashok Leyland rose 0.83%. The company said that its total vehicle sales have declined by 4% to 22,866 units in March 2024 as compared with 23,926 units in March 2023.

Global Markets:

European stocks advanced while Asian stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as investors assessed economic data from South Korea and Australia. Investors are also awaiting for jobs data for further insight into the U.S. labour market.

U.S. stocks closed mostly lower on Monday to kick off the second quarter, pausing a rally that has recently brought all three indexes to fresh record highs.

US manufacturing grew for the first time in 1-1/2 years in March. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Monday that its manufacturing PMI increased to 50.3 last month, from 47.8 in February.

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