Post Session: Quick Review

After witnessing a volatile day, Indian equity benchmarks managed to end higher on Thursday, with both Sensex and Nifty closing above their 59,600 and 17,600 levels respectively. Markets made a positive start of the day but soon turned negative and remained volatile during the entire day, amid continuous foreign fund outflow. National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 13.17 crore on April 19. Some concern also came with private report that India's economy is likely to post a resilient 6% growth in FY24, easing slightly from 7% in FY23 because of softer global growth and higher interest rates.

However, last hour recovery helped key indices to end higher, on the back of buying at Utilities and Telecom counters. Traders got relief, amid a private report stating retail inflation in April will soften with base effect and the inflation print may read a full percentage point lower, after a favourable base effect sharply pulled down Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation to 5.66 percent in March. However, upside remained capped, as another private report stated that India's economy will slow considerably this fiscal year as the global economic slowdown impedes domestic growth prospects, which showed inflation will remain elevated despite recent interest rate hikes.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower, as French manufacturers' confidence decreased further in April to reach its lowest level in five months, as the expected trend in production and the level of overall order books worsened. The manufacturing confidence index dropped to 101.0 in April from 104 in the previous month. Asian markets settled mostly lower, after Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 754.506 billion yen in March.  That beat forecasts for a deficit of 1,294.8 billion yen following the 898.1 billion yen shortfall in February. Exports were up 4.3 percent on year at 8.458 trillion yen - also exceeding expectations for an increase of 2.6 percent following the 6.5 percent gain in the previous month.

Back home, on the sectoral front, paint industry stocks were in focus as Crisil in a report said that continuing healthy demand from construction, real estate and automobile sectors will help the paint sector register a 10-12 per cent revenue growth this fiscal against an 18 per cent estimated rise in the just-concluded fiscal. There was some buzz in pharmaceutical stocks as credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said that the Indian pharmaceuticals market is likely to grow 10%-11% year on year (yoy) in FY24 (FY22: 14.5% yoy; FY23: 9.3% yoy). It maintained a neutral outlook for the Indian pharmaceutical sector for FY24.

The BSE Sensex ended at 59632.35, up by 64.55 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 59489.98 and 59836.79. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.03%, while Small cap index was up by 0.10%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.85%, Telecom up by 0.81%, Power up by 0.74%, Industrials up by 0.63% and Capital Goods up by 0.58%, while Healthcare down by 0.82%, Realty down by 0.54%, Metal down by 0.43%, FMCG down by 0.26% and Energy down by 0.22% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 1.49%, NTPC up by 1.35%, Tata Motors up by 1.31%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.84% and SBI up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.22%, Sun Pharma down by 0.81%, Infosys down by 0.74%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.63% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.59% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, discussing international developments regarding crypto assets, India and the UK have emphasised the importance of robust global approaches to deal with risks attached to this. At the India-UK 2nd Financial Markets Dialogue participants from both countries provided updates on recent developments in their respective banking sectors, discussing banking trends and emerging vulnerabilities and risks in the sector.

The joint statement said ‘scope for augmenting knowledge on Central Banking Digital Currency (CBDC) through mutual learning was explored. Participants discussed international developments regarding crypto assets, and the importance of robust global approaches, and progress in delivering the G20 Roadmap’.

The recent collapse of crypto exchange FTX and the ensuing sell-off in crypto markets have placed a spotlight on the vulnerabilities in the crypto ecosystem. Crypto assets are self-referential instruments and do not strictly pass the test of being a financial asset because they have no intrinsic cash flows attached to them. US regulators have disqualified Bitcoin, Ether and various other crypto assets as securities.

Participants discussed matters relating to the insurance sector, including UK updates on Solvency II reforms and a consultation on the introduction of an Insurer Regulation Regime (IRR). Indian participants updated on developments in the regulatory approach towards insurance in India, in favour of enhancing ease of doing business and encouraging entry of new players for deeper insurance penetration.

The CNX Nifty ended at 17624.45, up by 5.70 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 17584.35 and 17684.45. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 1.58%, NTPC up by 1.56%, Asian Paints up by 1.22%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.17% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.14%. On the flip side, Divi's Lab down by 4.17%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.54%, Eicher Motors down by 1.30%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.04% and JSW Steel down by 0.91% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 17.16 points or 0.22% to 7,881.61, France’s CAC decreased 30.2 points or 0.4% to 7,519.24 and Germany’s DAX decreased 120.65 points or 0.76% to 15,774.55.

Asian markets settled mostly lower on Thursday, followed by another set of reports of mixed corporate earnings from top companies in the United States including Netflix, Travelers and Morgan Stanley. Market sentiments also remained weak on rate hike worries after Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said inflation is still too high and the US Federal Reserve will use all its monetary policy tools to restore price stability. Moreover, Chinese shares declined marginally after the country's central bank PBoC kept its key lending rates steady. Indonesian market was closed for Eid-al-Fitr holiday.