Sensex, Nifty trade firm in early deals amid US interest rate cut hopes

Indian equity benchmarks started the session in green on Friday following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight as well as broadly optimistic cues from Asian counterparts in morning deals after data showing a much bigger than expected increase in U.S. jobless claims for last week added to recently renewed optimism that the US Fed will lower interest rates by September. Also, the Ministry of Finance said Japan posted a current account surplus of 3.398 trillion yen in March, up 44 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, Indonesia markets is closed for the Ascension holiday. Closer home, Sensex and Nifty soon gathered momentum are trading firm with notable gains on around half a percent each in early deals on account of bargain hunting after previous session’s sell-off. 

Sentiments got boost as the Export-Import Bank of India forecast India’s merchandise exports to grow 12.3% on-year at $116.7 billion in the April-June quarter of FY25, on strong economic fundamentals and sustained manufacturing and services activity. Besides, a recent report by the Ministry of Commerce said India's exports have surged to as many as 115 countries out of the total 238 destinations during 2023-24 despite the global economic uncertainties. However, some cautiousness prevailed in the markets amid foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 6,994.86 crore on May 9. 

On the sectoral front, Tyre industry stocks remained in focus as ratings agency Icra said domestic tyre sale volumes are expected to see a moderate growth of 4-6 per cent this fiscal after witnessing an estimated pace of 6-8 per cent in the previous financial year. It added this growth in the last fiscal was driven by factors such as elevated base and subdued growth in the commercial vehicle (CV) segment. In stocks specific development, Jupiter Wagons jumped on robust Q4 results.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72758.34, up by 354.17 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 72366.29 and 72783.64. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.11%, while Small cap index was down by 0.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.07%, Utilities up by 0.88%, Power up by 0.71%, Consumer Durables up by 0.69% and Oil & Gas up by 0.58%, while IT down by 0.79%, Realty down by 0.47%, TECK down by 0.29%, Industrials down by 0.15% and Capital Goods down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 2.09%, NTPC up by 1.94%, JSW Steel up by 1.64%, Axis Bank up by 1.52% and Power Grid up by 1.45%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.28%, HCL Technologies down by 0.60%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.42%, TCS down by 0.18% and HDFC Bank down by 0.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s exports growth, the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim) has said India's merchandise exports would grow by 12.3 per cent year-on-year to $116.7 billion in the April-June quarter this fiscal (Q1FY25). It said these positive growth rates are expected to be witnessed in continuation of the positive growth witnessed during the last two quarters of the previous financial year.

It added that the positive growth in India's exports could be the result of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth fundamentals and outlook, and sustained momentum in the manufacturing and services sector.

It further said that the growth in exports is expected to continue to witness a positive momentum in the forthcoming quarters. However, it cautioned that the outlook is subject to risks of uncertain prospects for advanced economies, geopolitical shocks, and the Middle East crisis, leading to the intensification of the Red Sea crisis and deepening geoeconomic fragmentation, among other factors.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22068.85, up by 111.35 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 21950.30 and 22071.45. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 2.92%, ITC up by 2.33%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.04%, NTPC up by 1.91% and JSW Steel up by 1.78%. On the flip side, LTIMindtree down by 1.82%, Infosys down by 1.32%, Grasim Industries down by 0.66%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.41% and Tata Consumer Products down by 0.36% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng jumped 321.79 points or 1.74% to 18,859.60, Nikkei 225 surged 78.72 points or 0.21% to 38,152.70, Taiwan Weighted added 77.89 points or 0.38% to 20,638.66, Straits Times rose 26.76 points or 0.82% to 3,292.71 and KOSPI increased 16.92 points or 0.62% to 2,729.06. on the other hand, Shanghai Composite was down by 7.07 points or 0.22% to 3,147.25.