Sensex, Nifty trade with minor cuts; strong market breadth

The benchmarks indices below the flat line as volatility gripped the bourses in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 18,350 level. IT, banks and financials edged higher while pharma and healthcare stocks declined.

At 09:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 42.92 points or 0.07% to 61,983.12. The Nifty 50 index added 5.40 points or 0.03% to 18,320.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.23% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.47%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1783 shares rose and 744 shares fell. A total of 101 shares were unchanged.

On the political front, the Congress party is reportedly likely to get a majority of the seats in Karnataka, predicted various exit polls. The majority mark in the 224-seat Karnataka assembly stands at 113 seats. The results of the election will be declared on May 13.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Larsen & Toubro tumbled 4.30%. The EPC major`s consolidated net profit rose 10.11% to Rs 3,986.78 crore on 10.38% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 58,335.15 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22. The order inflow for the quarter ended 31 March 2023 stood at Rs 76,099 crore, registering a growth of 3% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Dr Reddy`s Laboratories slumped 5.59%. The drug major reported consolidated net profit of Rs 959.2 crore in Q4 FY23, which was steeply higher than Rs 87.5 crore reported in Q4 FY22. Revenues increased 15.82% year on year to Rs 6,296.8 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023.

Godrej Consumer Products rose 2.19%. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 452.14 crore in Q4 FY23 as compared to net profit of Rs 363.24 crore reported in Q4 FY22. Total income increased to Rs 3,258.07 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023 from Rs 2,939.58 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2022.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper fell 0.26% to 7.018 as compared with previous close of 7.036.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 81.9600, compared with its close of 81.9400 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2023 settlement lost 0.02% to Rs 61,260.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.02% to 101.45.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.12% to 3.440.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2023 settlement rose 55 cents or 0.72% to $76.96 a barrel.

Global markets:

Asian stocks are trading mixed after Wall Street saw a tech rally as U.S. consumer price index rose less than expected for April.

China`s consumer price index rose 0.1% in April year-on-year, the slowest since early 2021. Month-on-month, prices declined by 0.1%. April`s reading comes after China`s inflation rate eased to 0.7% in March after marking a recent peak of 2.8% in September.

US stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday on lower-than-expected growth in inflation in April.

US inflation was slightly weaker than forecast in April. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 4.9% from April 2022 to April 2023, Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed on Wednesday. That`s just below the 5.0% forecast and under the year-over-year percent increase of 5.0% in March.

The White House said in a statement on Wednesday that easing gas and food prices were providing �some welcome breathing room for families� at a time when the US economy and job market are strong.

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