NIFTY ABOVE 22,950; EUROPEAN MKT OPENS LOWER

The domestic equity indices trimmed losses and traded near the flatline with positive bias in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,950 mark after hitting the day`s low of 22,889.10 in early-afternoon trade. Pharma, healthcare and metal shares advanced while realty, PSU bank and oil & gas shares declined.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 30.18 points or 0.04% to 75,420.68. The Nifty 50 index rose 19.75 points or 0.09% to 22,952.20.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.63% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.92%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,231 shares rose and 2,525 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers:

Divi`s Laboratories (up 2.69%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 1.94%), Grasim Industries (up 1.79%), SBI Life Insurance Company (up 1.71%) and Hero MotoCorp (up 1.65%) and were major Nifty gainers.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 1.52%), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (down 1.49%), Coal India (down 1.09%), NTPC (down 0.93%) and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (down 0.88%) were major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) shed 0.82%. The insurance giant reported 2.49% jump in net profit to Rs 13,762.64 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 13,427.81 crore posted in Q4 FY23. Total premium income surged 15.58% to Rs 1,52,293.13 crore in the fourth quarter of FY24 as compared with Rs 1,31,761.11 crore recorded in the fourth quarter of FY23.

Meanwhile, the company�s board has declared a final dividend of Rs 6 per equity share for FY24. The board has fixed 19 July 2024 as the record date.

AstraZeneca Pharma rose 0.10%. The pharmaceuticals company reported 128.6% surge in net profit to Rs 39.48 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared to Rs 17.27 crore recorded in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations jumped 34.6% to Rs 383.2 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 284.70 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last year.

Vishnu Prakash R Punglia rallied 5.70% after the company�s standalone net profit jumped 67.82% to Rs 67.13 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 40 crore posted in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations increased 44.22% YoY to Rs 657.20 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

Sumitomo Chemical India rallied 4.84% after the company`s consolidated net profit jumped 52.09% to Rs 109.70 crore on a 3.47% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 674.20 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Q4 FY23.

Global Markets:

European and Asian stocks declined on Tuesday, as investors awaited global inflation data expected to impact monetary policy.

The US market was closed on Monday, 27th May, for Memorial Day.

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