Bourses scale fresh intraday highs in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets scaled fresh day’s high levels in late afternoon session as RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5% in its second meeting of FY25. Traders continued to buy fundamentally strong stocks. Some support also came in as RBI has raised projection of real gross domestic product (GDP) for the FY25 to 7.2%, from 7% estimated previously. The GDP growth in Q1FY25 is projected to be at 7.3%, 7.2% in Q2FY25, 7.3% in Q3FY25 and 7.2% in Q4FY25. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed ahead of US jobs data that could play a key role in the Federal Reserve's plans for cutting interest rates, with the bank's next policy decision looming next week. European markets were trading lower a day after the European Central Bank eased borrowing costs as was widely expected, with the focus now shifting to the U.S. jobs data to gauge the Federal Reserve's interest rate path.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76608.77, up by 1534.26 points or 2.04% after trading in a range of 74941.88 and 76700.82. All 30 stocks were advancing on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.00%, while Small cap index was up by 1.97%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 3.27%, IT up by 3.20%, TECK up by 3.06%, Auto up by 2.19% and Metal was up by 1.94%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 5.19%, Wipro up by 4.32%, Infosys up by 4.11%, Ultratech Cement up by 3.98% and Tata Steel was up by 3.78%, while there were no losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to Keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.50 per cent for the eighth consecutive time. Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remains unchanged at 6.25 per cent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75 per cent. The MPC also decided to remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation progressively aligns to the target, while supporting growth. These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth.

On the inflation front, the MPC highlighted that headline inflation has seen sequential moderation since February 2024, albeit in a narrow range from 5.1 per cent in February to 4.8 per cent in April 2024. Food inflation, however, remains elevated due to persistence of inflation pressures in vegetables, pulses, cereals, and spices.  CPI core (CPI excluding food and fuel) inflation eased further to 3.2 per cent in April, the lowest in the current CPI series, with core services inflation also falling to historic lows. CPI inflation for 2024-25 is projected at 4.5 per cent with Q1 at 4.9 per cent; Q2 at 3.8 per cent; Q3 at 4.6 per cent; and Q4 at 4.5 per cent.

On the economic growth front, according to the provisional estimates released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on May 31, 2024, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Q4:2023-24 stood at 7.8 per cent as against 8.6 per cent in Q3. Real GDP growth for 2023-24 was placed at 8.2 per cent. On the supply side, real gross value added (GVA) rose by 6.3 per cent in Q4:2023-24. Real GVA recorded a growth of 7.2 per cent in 2023-24. Real GDP growth for 2024-25 is projected at 7.2 per cent with Q1 at 7.3 per cent; Q2 at 7.2 per cent; Q3 at 7.3 per cent; and Q4 at 7.2 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23260.05, up by 438.65 points or 1.92% after trading in a range of 22789.05 and 23281.85. There were 48 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 5.13%, Wipro up by 4.40%, Ultratech Cement up by 4.23%, Infosys up by 4.20% and Tata Steel up by 3.98%. On the flip side, SBI Life down by 1.45% and Tata Consumer down by 0.48% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 109.85 points or 0.6% to 18,366.95, Jakarta Composite plunged 81.93 points or 1.19% to 6,892.97, Taiwan Weighted lost 44.32 points or 0.2% to 21,858.38, Nikkei 225 slipped 19.58 points or 0.05% to 38,683.93. On the flip side, Straits Times rose 1.8 points or 0.05% to 3,332.61, Shanghai Composite strengthened 2.49 points or 0.08% to 3,051.28 and KOSPI was up by 33.17 points or 1.22% to 2,722.67.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 44.16 points or 0.53% to 8,241.18, France’s CAC fell 60.25 points or 0.75% to 7,979.87 and Germany’s DAX was down by 138.55 points or 0.74% to 18,514.12.