Sensex jumps 443 pts, Nifty ends above 15,550; auto shares rally

The key equity barometers ended with strong gains on Thursday. The Nifty 50 index settled above the 15,550 mark, after hitting the day`s low of 15,367.50 in the afternoon trade. Trading was volatile due to the expiry of weekly index options on the NSE today. Barring the Nifty Oil & Gas index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green. Auto and IT shares were in demand.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 443.19 points or 0.86% to 52,265.72. The Nifty 50 index gained 143.35 points or 0.93% to 15,556.65.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.40% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.18%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,096 shares rose and 1,208 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 1.97% to 20.88.

Investors digested U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell`s comments on central bank`s aim to slow down the inflation. Powell told Congress on Wednesday that the central bank is "strongly committed" to bringing down inflation after the rate hit a 40-year high in the United States. He also noted that a recession is a "possibility" � a fear that has continued to weigh on investors sentiment.

The sentiment got a boost as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the government expects the Indian economy to grow by 7.5% this year. During a virtual address at the opening ceremony of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) Business Forum, Modi said there are investment opportunities to the tune of $1.5 trillion under the country`s National Infrastructure Pipeline.

Buying was also supported by the RBI data showing that the country`s foreign exchange reserves in nominal terms, including valuation effects, rose by $30.3 billion in 2021-22 fiscal against $99.2 billion expansion in FY2020-21.

Economy:

India`s current account deficit (CAD) decreased to $13.4 billion (1.5% of GDP) in Q4 2021-22 from $22.2 billion (2.6% of GDP) in Q3 2021-22. The sequential decline in CAD in Q4 2021-22 was mainly on account of a moderation in trade deficit and lower net outgo of primary income.

In the financial account, net foreign direct investment (FDI) at $13.8 billion was higher than $2.7 billion in Q4 2020-21. Net foreign portfolio investment (FPI) recorded an outflow of $15.2 billion - mainly from the equity market. Net external commercial borrowings (ECBs) to India were lower at $3.3 billion in Q4 2021-22 as compared with $6.1 billion a year ago. There was a drawdown of $16.0 billion in the foreign exchange reserves (on a BoP basis) as against an accretion of $3.4 billion in Q4 2020-21

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.420 compared with 7.396 at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee was flat against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 78.32, compared with its close of 78.32 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2022 settlement declined 0.36% to Rs 50,720.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.36% to 104.57.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2022 settlement fell 0.3% at $111.41 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones index futures were up 175 points, indicating a negative opening in the US stocks today.

Most European shares recovered from initial losses while most Asian stocks ended higher on Thursday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a top-level meeting on Wednesday that approved a plan for the healthy development of China`s large payment firms and fintech sector.

US stocks fell slightly Wednesday in choppy trading as markets struggled to sustain a rebound from earlier in the day. Traders also weighed comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who reiterated the central bank`s stance to fight inflation. Powell added that ongoing increases in the Fed`s policy rate would be appropriate, with the exact pace dependent on the economic outlook.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index surged 4.39% to 11,359.50. The index fell 0.85% in the previous session.

Maruti Suzuki India (up 6.65%), Hero MotoCorp (up 6.08%), Eicher Motors (up 5.87%), Ashok Leyland (up 4.53%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 4.49%), TVS Motor Company (up 3.78%), Tata Motors (up 3.57%), Sona BLW Precision Forgings (up 3.27%), Balkrishna Industries (up 3.01%), Bosch (up 2.86%), Bharat Forge (up 2.09%) and Escorts (up 2.06%) advanced.

Bajaj Auto advanced 3.97% after the company said its board is scheduled to meet on Monday, 27 June 2022, to further deliberate on the proposal for buyback of fully paid-up equity shares of the company.

Stocks in Spotlight:

GPT Infraprojects surged 10.39% after the company said it bagged an order valued Rs 292 crore from East Coast Railway in Odisha. This contract is in joint venture. It was awarded by the office of the ECOR-CONST-HQ-ENGG, 2nd Floor, North Block, Rail Sadan, Samanta Vihar, Chandrasekarpur, Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

Acrysil jumps 10.34% after the company announced doubling the supply of quartz kitchen sinks to IKEA Supply AG (Switzerland) for their global requirement. IKEA Supply AG (Switzerland) is a part of International IKEA Group Sweden. IKEA has an expertise in distribution and supply of home improvement products. The production of aforesaid additional "composite quartz kitchen sinks" for IKEA will start from end of July 2022 and supply will commence from August 2022, the company said in a statement on Wedneday.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals rallied 2.73%. The drug maker on Wednesday announced that the US drug regulator has issued Form 483 with six observations to the company`s formulation manufacturing facility in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh (India).

Vodafone Idea shed 0.23%. The board of directors of Vodafone Idea approved raising of funds aggregating upto Rs. 436.21 crore to Euro Pacific Securities (a Vodafone Group entity and promoter of the company), on a preferential basis. In case warrants are allotted, each warrant would be convertible into 1 equity share and the rights attached to warrants can be exercised at any time, within a period of 18 months from the date of allotment of warrants. Separately, the board of directors of the company has approved the exercise of the option of deferment of the AGR related dues by a period of four years with immediate effect.

Larsen & Toubro rose 1.20% after the hydrocarbon division of L&T Energy secured three offshore packages from an overseas client for engineering, construction, and installation of various new offshore jacket structures. As per L&T classification, the value of the `large` contract lies between Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 5,000 crore.

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