Sensex adds 545 pts; broader mkt rallies

The key equity indices continued to trade with significant gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,000 level. All the sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the green, with realty, metal and PSU banks gaining the most.

At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 545.29 points or 0.76% to 72,646.98. The Nifty 50 index gained 170.95 points or 0.78% to 22,010.05.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.75% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 1.90%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,774 shares rose and 946 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The HSBC Flash India composite PMI rose to 61.3 in March as compared with 60.6 in February. It indicated a sharp rate of expansion that was the strongest since July 2023.

The data showed the strongest increase in private sector output for eight months during March, amid a pick-up in growth at goods producers. Buoyant demand conditions fuelled growth, with aggregate sales rising at a sharp and accelerated pace. The manufacturing industry led the upturn with the fastest expansions in factory orders and production in nearly three-and-a-half years.

Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC, said, �Led by the strongest manufacturing output in nearly three-and-a-half years, the composite output index rose quickly. New orders rose at a faster pace than in the previous month, and within that both domestic and export orders showed improved vigour. Input prices grew at a faster pace in March, and all the increase was not passed on to output prices, leading to some softening in composite margins.�

Gainers & Losers:

NTPC (up 3.57%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) (up 3.06%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 2.76%), Tata Steel (up 2.75%) and IndusInd Bank (up 2.56%) were major Nifty gainers.

Hero MotoCorp (down 0.72%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.60%), Bharti Airtel (down 0.58%), UPL (down 0.48%) and Nestle India (down 0.38%) were major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

NHPC advanced 2.06% after the meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 27 March 2024 to consider the proposal for raising of debt during financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25.

GE Power India gained 4.78% after the company announced that it has received a purchase order from Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), Tarapur, Maharashtra.

Jupiter Wagons added 2.97% after the company announced acquisition of Bonatrans India Private (BIPL) for a sum of Rs 271 crore. BIPL, situated in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), Maharashtra, stands as a distinguished manufacturer of rolling stock wheelsets.

Global Markets:

Most of the European shares declined while its Asian peers advanced on Thursday as the Federal Reserve signaled it remains on track for three interest-rate cuts this year despite a recent uptick in inflation.

Wall Street`s main stock indexes closed higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve eased investor jitters by keeping borrowing costs unchanged.

Following its two-day policy meeting, the central bank�s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee said it will keep its benchmark overnight borrowing rate in a range between 5.25% - 5.5%. Along with the decision, Fed officials penciled in three quarter-percentage point cuts by the end of 2024. However, Fed`s outlook for rate cuts in 2025 has come down to three times, than earlier four. Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed also did not elaborate on timing but said he still expects the cuts to come, as long as the data cooperate.

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