Sensex rallies 702 pts, Nifty ends at 17,245.05; HUL jumps 4.55%

Domestic equity indices ended with robust gains on Thursday, tracking strong global cues. The Nifty ended below the 17,250 level after hitting the day`s high of 17,322.50 in intraday today. Trading was volatile as the April 2022 F&O contracts expired today, 28 April 2022. Barring the Nifty Media index, all sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green.

The barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex surged 701.67 points or 1.23% at 57,521.06. The Nifty 50 index rallied 206.65 points or 1.21% at 17,245.05.

In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.83% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.12%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,621 shares rose while 1,788 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

India reported 3,303 new COVID-19 cases and 2,563 recoveries as of Thursday, 28 April 2022. The active cases stood at 16,980, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The challenge of COVID-19 is not fully over and the surge in cases in the past two weeks indicates that the country needs to stay alert, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday. Interacting with chief ministers to review the Covid-19 situation in the country, the Prime Minister raised a red flag, specifically highlighting the surge in cases being witnessed in European countries triggered by sub-variants of Omicron.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on the 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.154% from its previous close of 7.083%.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 76.58, compared with its close of 76.57 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 3 June 2022 settlement declined 0.11% to Rs 51,144 .

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.53% to 103.50.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2022 settlement rose 29 cents or 0.28% at $105.24 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Futures were trading 284 points higher, indicating a positive start in the U.S. market today.

Shares in Europe and Asian markets rose across the board on Thursday. Investors in Asia-Pacific have been continuing to monitor developments surrounding the Covid situation in mainland China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for an �all-out� effort to construct infrastructure. His comments come as mainland China has since March been facing its worst outbreak of Covid-19 since the initial shock of the pandemic in early 2020.

Japan`s retail sales rose more than expected in March, according to government data released Thursday. Retail sales gained 0.9% in March as compared with a year earlier.

In US, the trade deficit in goods widened to a record high in March. The goods trade deficit jumped 17.8% to an all-time high of $125.3 billion. The increase likely reflected both higher volumes and prices. Imports of goods accelerated 11.5% to $294.6 billion.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.49%. Shares of Reliance Group companies, Network18 Media & Investments and TV18 Broadcast, tumbled 19.7% and 17.70%, respectively.

RIL and Viacom18 have announced a strategic partnership with Bodhi Tree Systems to form one of the largest TV and digital streaming companies in India. Bodhi Tree Systems is leading a fund raise with a consortium of investors to invest Rs 13,500 crore in Viacom18, to jointly build India`s leading entertainment platform and pioneer the Indian media landscape`s transformation to a �streaming-first� approach. Viacom18 owns and operates the suite of Colors TV channels and OTT platform, VOOT. It is amongst the leading players in the core linear television business with 38 channels across nine languages and a pan India presence.

Hindustan Unilever gained 4.55% after the FMCG major reported 8.59% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 2,327 crore on 10.40% increase in sales to Rs 13,190 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. During the quarter, HUL`s volume growth was flat. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at Rs 3,245 crore, a growth of 10% YoY. EBITDA margin at 24.6% remained healthy despite very high inflationary headwinds. Profit before tax rose 10.84% year on year to Rs 3,128 crore in Q4 FY22 as compared to Q4 FY21.

Bajaj Auto fell 1.85%. The company reported 2% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 1526 crore on 7% fall in revenue from operations to Rs 7975 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. EBITDA fell 10% year on year to Rs 1,396 crore in Q4 FY22. EBITDA margin declined to 17.5% in Q4 FY22 from 18.1% in Q4 FY21.

SBI Life Insurance Company rose 3.99%. On a standalone basis, the company`s net profit surged 26.25% to Rs 672.15 crore on a 33.43% drop in income from investments (net) to Rs 2,999.49 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q4 March 2021. Net premium income jumped 12.07% to Rs 17,433.77 crore in Q4 FY22 as compared to Rs 15,555.74 crore in Q4 FY21. Profit before tax (PBT) grew 11.56% to Rs 694.06 crore in Q4 March 2022 as against Rs 622.13 crore in Q4 March 2021.

Coromandel International rallied 6.23% after the company`s consolidated net profit surged 85.94% to Rs 289.79 crore on a 49.63% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 4,226.81 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. Consolidated profit before tax surged 82.33% to Rs 388.96 crore in Q4 March 2022 as against Rs 213.32 crore in Q4 March 2021. The total expenses increased by 47.24% to Rs 3913.92 crore in Q4 March 2022 as compared to Rs 2658.16 crore in Q4 March 2021.

Trent fell 0.06%. The Tata Group company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 20.87 crore in Q4 FY22 as against a net profit of Rs 17.44 crore in Q4 FY21. Net sales during the quarter rose by 46.7% YoY to Rs 1,328.86 crore. Total expenditure rose by 50.3% YoY to Rs 1,203.84 crore in Q4 FY22 from Rs 800.98 crore in Q4 FY21. Interest costs were Rs 81.43 crore (up 26.6% YoY) and depreciation charges were Rs 88.98 crore (up 31.2% YoY) in the fourth quarter.

Chennai Petroleum Corporation (CCPL) surged 6.01% after the refinery company posted net profit surged 329% to Rs 994.42 crore on a 87.9% increase in net sales to Rs 16,413.57 crore in in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. Operating margin declined to 5.15% in Q4 FY22 as against 6.84% in Q4 FY21. Crude throughput in Q4 FY22 stood at 2.906 MMT, up by 10.12% from 2.639 MMT recorded in Q4 FY21. Crude throughput for 9M FY22 was 9.040 MMT, up 9.67% YoY. Average gross refining margin (GRM) for Q4 FY22 stood at $14.18 per barrel as against $ 6.40 per barrel during the period under review, registering a growth of 121.56% on YoY basis.

Varun Beverages rose 2.12% after the company`s consolidated net profit surged 98.2% to Rs 271.09 crore on 26.2% increase in net revenues to Rs 2827.47 crore in Q1 CY22 over Q1 CY21. Profit before tax climbed 85.5% year-on-year to Rs 361.23 crore in Q1 CY22. Net profit increased due to improvement in margins, reduction in finance cost and higher profitability from the international operations. Despite increase in input costs, EBITDA increased by 39.1% to Rs 531 crore while EBITDA margin improved by 175 bps to 18.8% in Q1 CY2022 led by higher realization and operating leverage from increased sales volume.

Persistent Systems jumped 5.75% after the IT firm`s consolidated net profit rose 13.9% to Rs 200.99 crore on a 9.8% increase in revenues to Rs 1,637.85 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q3 FY22. Consolidated profit before tax (PBT) grew 13% to Rs 267.18 crore in Q4 FY22 as against Rs 236.41 crore in Q3 FY22. EBITDA jumped 12% to Rs 281.17 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q3 FY22. On a constant currency basis (in USD), revenues stood at $217.32 in Q4 FY22, registering a 9.1% quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis and 42.2% year-on-year (Y-o-Y).

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