Nifty around 17,550 mark, IT stocks in demand

The key equity indices traded with major gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty marched towards the 17,550 mark. IT, FMCG and financial services stocks were in demand while PSU bank, auto and oil & gas scrips corrected.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 558.07 points or 0.94% to 59,664.51, The Nifty 50 index added 147.30 points or 0.85% to 17,545.35.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.02% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.82%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,489 shares rose and 999 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kicked off its monetary policy meeting on 3 April 2023. The outcome of the meeting will be announced on Thursday, 6 April 2023. The RBI`s monetary policy committee (MPC) is expected to hike the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) in order to combat rising inflation.

Economy:

India`s gross domestic product (GDP) growth will likely soften to 6.3% in FY2024, as against earlier estimate of 6.6%, the World Bank stated in its India Development Update.

The bank stated that growth is set to be constrained by slower consumption growth and challenging external conditions. Rising borrowing costs and slower income growth will weigh on private consumption growth and government consumption is projected to grow at a slower pace due to the withdrawal of pandemic-related fiscal support measures.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper declined to 7.286 from 7.315 in previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.13, compared with its close of 82.32 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2023 settlement added 0.11% to Rs 61,022.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.06% to 101.65.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.55% to 3.355.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2023 settlement gained 25 cents or 0.29% to $85.19a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index rose 1.29% to 29,003.60. The index shed 0.23% in the past trading session.

L&T Technology Services (up 5.17%), Coforge (up 4.99%), Tata Consultancy Services (up 1.73%), LTI Mindtree (up 1.31%), Mphasis (up 0.87%), HCL Technologies (up 0.86%), Infosys (up 0.69%), Wipro td (up 0.5%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.31%) and Persistent Systems (up 0.19%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Motors rose 0.71%. The auto major announced its partnership with Inchcape plc, a leading global automotive distributor, as their distributor for their commercial vehicles in Thailand. Through this partnership, Tata Motors will commence the sales and service of its commercial vehicles (CVs) across Thailand.

Yes Bank declined 0.46%. The private lender`s loans & advances improved to Rs 201,523 crore as on 31 March 2023, registering a growth of 11.3% as compared to Rs 181,052 crore as on 31 March 2022. Sequentially, loans & advances grew by 5.2% as against Rs 191,542 crore posted on 31 December 2022. The bank`s deposits increased by 10.6% year on year (YoY) and 2.1% quarter on quarter (QoQ) to Rs 218,018 crore as on 31 March 2023.

AU Small Finance Bank fell 1.15%. The bank reported 32% increase in total deposits to Rs 69,365 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023 from Rs 52,585 crore recorded in the quarter ended 31 March 2022. The bank`s total deposits have risen by 14% from Rs 61,101 crore reported in the quarter ended 31 December 2022.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News