Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity markets ended last trading day of week in green despite sharp selling during last leg of trade. Markets traded with volatility ahead of the Q4 GDP data, which will be released later in the day. Besides, traders eyeing for election results due on June 4. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index ended in green. Traders were seen piling up positions in Metal sectors’ stock, while selling was witnessed in IT, TECK sectors’ stocks.

Markets made optimistic start and extended their gains tracking gains in Asian counterparts, as weaker U.S. growth data sent the dollar and bond yields tumbling and revived hopes for rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year. Some support also came as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its annual report, projected Indian economy to grow at 7 percent in the current financial year with risks evenly balanced. Further, the report said India' GDP has expanded at a robust pace in 2023-24, with real GDP growth accelerating to 7.6 percent from 7 percent in the previous year - the third successive year of 7 percent or above growth. In afternoon session, indices trimmed some of their gains but continued to trade in green. Traders took note of report that Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Modi government has turned around the banking sector through various reforms and improved governance which has led to banks recovering more than Rs 10 lakh crore from bad loans between 2014 and 2023. She said the Enforcement Directorate has investigated around 1,105 bank fraud cases, which resulted in the attachment of Rs 64,920 crore worth of proceeds of crime. As of December 2023, assets amounting to Rs 15,183 crore have been restituted to the Public Sector Banks (PSBs). In late afternoon session, markets gained traction to trade near day’s high points but soon come off from highs. 

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red as data showed consumer prices in the country rose at a faster rate this month due to higher energy prices. Asian markets ended mixed even as a downward revision to U.S. first-quarter GDP data revived hopes for Fed rate cuts this year. Back home, India's power sector has met a record maximum power demand of 250 GW on May 30, 2024. Moreover, all India non-solar demand met has also touched an all time high of 234.3 GW on May 29.

The BSE Sensex ended at 73,961.31, up by 75.71 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 73,765.15 and 74,478.89. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.06%, while Small cap index was up by 0.76%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 2.10%, Realty up by 2.02%, Power up by 1.80%, Metal up by 1.28%, Telecom up by 1.18%, while IT down by 0.99%, TECK down by 0.84%, Healthcare down by 0.55%, Auto down by 0.32% and FMCG was down by 0.21% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.84%, Tata Steel up by 1.80%, HDFC Bank up by 1.07%, Indusind Bank up by 1.05% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.00%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 2.06%, TCS down by 1.77%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.51%, Infosys down by 1.37% and Asian Paints was down by 0.76% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its latest annual report has said that Indian economy is projected to grow at 7 per cent with risks evenly balanced -- the fastest among major economies across the world -- in the current fiscal year (FY25), underpinned by a sustained strengthening of macroeconomic fundamentals. While the central bank expected headline inflation to moderate further, it flagged risks to food inflation saying that it remains vulnerable to supply-side shocks. It said the Indian economy expanded at a robust pace in 2023-24 (April 2023 to March 2024 financial year), with real GDP growth accelerating to 7.6 per cent from 7.0 per cent in the previous year -- the third consecutive year of 7 per cent or above growth pace. The economy showed resilience in FY24 (2023-24 fiscal) despite persistent headwinds.

It said the GDP growth is robust on the back of solid investment demand which is supported by healthy balance sheets of banks and corporates, the government's focus on capital expenditure and prudent monetary, regulatory and fiscal policies, and added that the Indian economy is navigating the drag from an adverse global macroeconomic and financial environment. Also, MSPs for both kharif and rabi seasons 2023-24 ensured a minimum return of 50 per cent over cost of production for all crops. It noted that Indian economy is well-placed to step up growth trajectory over the next decade in an environment of macroeconomic and financial stability. It highlighted that as headline inflation eases towards the target, it will spur consumption demand especially in rural areas. It further said the external sector's strength and buffers in the form of foreign exchange reserves will insulate domestic economic activity from global spillovers.

However, the report added that geopolitical tensions, geoeconomic fragmentation, global financial market volatility, international commodity price movements and erratic weather developments pose downside risks to the growth outlook and upside risks to the inflation outlook. According to RBI, the external sector's strength and buffers through foreign exchange reserves will insulate the local economic activity from global spillovers. The RBI also emphasised that the Indian economy would have to navigate challenges posed by rapid adoption of AI/ML (artificial intelligence/machine learning) technologies as well as recurrent climate shocks.

The CNX Nifty ended at 22,530.70, up by 42.05 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 22,465.10 and 22,653.75. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 6.80%, Adani Ports up by 3.90%, Shriram Finance up by 2.23%, Coal India up by 1.88% and Tata Steel up by 1.86%. On the flip side, Divi's Lab down by 2.39%, Nestle down by 2.08%, TCS down by 1.74%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.58% and LTIMindtree down by 1.49% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 3.52 points or 0.04% to 7,974.99 and Germany’s DAX was down by 12.48 points or 0.07% to 18,484.31. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 20.07 points or 0.24% to 8,251.12. 

Asian markets ended mostly down on Friday after Chinese shares declined following the release of sluggish PMI data from China. Chinese official manufacturing PMI fell from 50.4 to 49.5 in May, slipping into contraction after two months of expansion, while the non-manufacturing PMI ticked down slightly from 51.2 to 51.1. Market sentiments weakened further by Wall Street’s fall overnight, even as the latest US GDP data showed the world's largest economy grew at a slower pace of 1.3% against the projected 1.6% in the January-March quarter revived hopes for Fed rate cuts this year. Moreover, hawkish comments by Fed officials also put pressure on sentiments. However, Japanese shares gained as the yen declined after data showed Japan's industrial output unexpectedly fell in April and the nation's jobless rate was unchanged. The Nikkei financial news outlet said Japan is preparing to put nearly 100 trillion yen more public money into active investing. Seoul shares ended flat after the release of mixed economic data. Data showed that South Korea's industrial output rebounded in April following a sharp fall a month earlier, but retail sales and investment declined for the second consecutive month.