Domestic bourses maintain momentum

Domestic bourses continued to trade in fine contour aided by gains in HDFC Bank and mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) after companies all set to merge their operations. HDFC surged 15.5%, hitting its highest since late November, while HDFC Bank jumped about 13% to a level unseen since mid-October. Sentiments were also upbeat as India's merchandise exports spurt to a record high of $418 billion in the 2021-22 fiscal on higher shipments of petroleum products, engineering goods, gem and jewellery and chemicals. Traders shrugged off report that India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves dipped by $2.03 billion in the week ending March 25, recording a sharp drop for the third consecutive week, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened in the currency markets by way of dollar sales to prevent a slide in the value of rupee amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as strong jobs report provided some reassurance that the recovery in the US economy remained on track but also solidified expectations for more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

Back home, the overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of advances which thumped declines in the ratio of 2555:844; while 167 shares remained unchanged. The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60235.73, up by 959.04 points or 1.62% after trading in a range of 59760.22 and 60845.10. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.69%, while Small cap index was up by 1.27%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.27%, Metal up by 1.48%, Utilities up by 1.32%, Power up by 1.27% and Capital Goods was up by 1.11%, while Realty was down by 0.30% the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 8.00%, HDFC Bank up by 7.85%, Tata Steel up by 1.95%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.37% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was up by 1.34%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 0.85%, ITC down by 0.45%, Asian Paints down by 0.17%, Titan Co down by 0.12% and Axis Bank was down by 0.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Ficci's Economic Outlook Survey has said that India's Gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to grow at 7.4 per cent in the financial year 2022-23 with rising prices triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict posing as the biggest challenge to the global economic recovery. It said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to start a rate hike cycle in the second half of 2022, while a repo rate hike of 50-75 bps is expected by the end of the current fiscal. The RBI is expected to continue supporting the ongoing economic recovery by keeping the repo rate unchanged in its April policy review.

According to the survey, the industry body said the latest round of Ficci's Economic Outlook Survey puts forth an annual median GDP growth forecast for 2022-23 at 7.4 per cent with a minimum and maximum growth estimate of 6 per cent and 7.8 per cent respectively. It said the median growth forecast for agriculture and allied activities has been put at 3.3 per cent for 2022-23. Industry and services sectors are estimated to grow by 5.9 per cent and 8.5 per cent, respectively. However, it said, the downside risks to growth remains escalated.

The survey said rising international commodity prices is the biggest risk emanating from the ongoing conflict as Russia and Ukraine are global suppliers of key commodities. The conflict, if continues for a longer period, will further hit supplies of major raw materials, including crude oil, natural gas, food, fertilizers, and metals. With India being a net importer to meet its energy requirements, the sharp rise in crude prices represents a significant shock to India's macro-economic framework. Moreover, the impact on economy is expected to be more serious if the conflict prolongs.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17931.05, up by 260.60 points or 1.47% after trading in a range of 17791.40 and 18114.65. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC up by 8.42%, HDFC Bank up by 8.25%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 4.02%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.83% and Tata Steel was up by 2.04%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.13%, Tata Consumer Products down by 0.67%, Grasim Industries down by 0.32%, ITC down by 0.30% and Reliance Industries was down by 0.27% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 450.66 points or 2.04% to 22,490.21, Nikkei 225 surged 70.49 points or 0.25% to 27,736.47 and KOSPI was up by 16.95 points or 0.62% to 2,756.80. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 0.56 points or 0.02% to 3,418.55 and Jakarta Composite was down by 11.37 points or 0.16% to 7,067.39.