Benchmarks end with decent gains on Wednesday

In a volatile session, Indian equity markets staged a smart rebound and settled with decent gains on Wednesday with Nifty and Sensex rising above 17,050 mark and 57,950 mark, respectively. Markets started on a positive note and extended the gains as the day progress, as traders took encouragement with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the country's merchandise and services exports are estimated to cross $760 billion in the current fiscal ending March 31. He said that at a time when the whole world is facing recession, high inflation and elevated interest rates, India is performing well. Sentiments remained positive amid fresh foreign fund inflows. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) turned buyers on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,531.13 crore, according to exchange data.

However, markets erased all the gains in mid-session, as traders got anxious with private report stating that the Reserve Bank of India will raise its main interest rate by 25 basis points on April 6 and then pause for the rest of the year. Depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar too weighed down sentiments. But, final hour buying across the sectors help to end session near day's high. Traders also found solace with a private report that India and China will contribute to half of the world's growth this year, and it highlighted that Asia will remain a crucial growth engine with an estimated 4.5 per cent GDP expansion, making it a standout performer amidst the global economic slowdown. Traders also took a note of Fitch Ratings’ statement that even as the Union Budget has outlined a Rs 10 trillion capital expenditure plan for 2023-24 to spur growth, domestic companies are likely to see a 10% to 12% increase in capital expenditure in the coming fiscal.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher as a closely watched survey by the market research group GfK revealed confidence among German consumers strengthened for the sixth consecutive month on improving income expectations. The consumer confidence index for April climbed to -29.5 from -30.6 in March. Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday after top U.S. regulators expressed confidence that banks were solvent, blaming the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on mismanagement, rather than systemic risks.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 346.37 points or 0.60% to 57,960.09 and the CNX Nifty was up by 129.00 points or 0.76% to 17,080.70.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 58,124.20 and 57,524.32, respectively. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.67%, while Small cap index was up by 1.68%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.55%, Auto up by 1.74%, Industrials up by 1.66%, PSU up by 1.65% and Metal up by 1.57%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.03% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Technologies up by 2.72%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.21%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.93%, Indusind Bank up by 1.93% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.87%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 0.63%, Reliance Industries down by 0.56%, Asian Paints down by 0.53% and ICICI Bank down by 0.49% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Rating agency Crisil in its latest report has said that toll road operators are likely to log in lower top line growth at 9-11 per cent in 2023-24 (FY24) as compared to a robust 16-18 per cent rise in revenue this fiscal (FY23). It said the jump of 16-18 per cent in revenue this fiscal will be on the back of significant hike in toll rates due to elevated inflation, and healthy traffic growth on national highways.

However, it stated the revenue will moderate in FY24 due to falling inflation and a likely moderation in traffic growth.  The report, based on an analysis of 49 toll road assets across 14 states, also said that robust toll collections along with adequate balance sheet liquidity will support credit profiles of toll road operators.

According to Anand Kulkarni, a director at the agency, revenue of toll road operators will soar in fiscal 2023, driven by high toll rate hike of 10.5 per cent, which is linked to wholesale price inflation. Traffic growth at 5-7 per cent will also remain healthy, albeit on a low base of fiscal 2022. In fiscal 2024, traffic growth is expected to taper to 4-6 per cent but will remain higher than the four-year compound annual growth rate of 2-3 per cent seen through fiscal 2022.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 17,126.15 and 16,940.60. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 9.29%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 7.19%, JSW Steel up by 2.86%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.87%, Eicher Motors up by 2.76% and HCL Technologies up by 2.71%. On the flip side, UPL down by 0.79%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.46%, Asian Paints down by 0.34%, Reliance Industries down by 0.26%, and Cipla down by 0.11% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 57.69 points or 0.77% to 7,541.94, France’s CAC rose 83.43 points or 1.18% to 7,171.77 and Germany’s DAX gained 130.28 points or 0.86% to 15,272.30.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday on easing concerns over the banking sector after the sale of assets in US lender Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed earlier this month. Hong Kong shares led regional gains after Alibaba Group announced a major restructuring plan. Japanese shares gained, in spite of fall in Wall Street shares overnight. However, Chinese shares ended slightly lower.