Post Session: Quick Review

Indian markets showcased courageous performance on Tuesday with Nifty and Sensex settling above the psychological 23,700 and 78,000 levels respectively. Indices marched to newer heights during the day. In first half of the session, markets traded with limited gains. However, in afternoon session markets gave optimistic performance. The healthy buying was witnessed in Banking sector’s stocks. However, broader indices ended muted. 

Markets made positive start and remained in green, as traders took support after The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said India recorded a current account surplus of $5.7 billion or 0.6 per cent of GDP in the March quarter. In the year-ago period, the current account deficit stood at $1.3 billion or 0.2 per cent of GDP. It added for FY24, the current account deficit narrowed to $23.2 billion or 0.7 per cent of GDP against $67 billion or 2 per cent of GDP in FY23. Traders took a note of RBI MPC member Jayanth R Varma’s statement that with retail inflation nearing the RBI’s target of 4 per cent, the monetary policy needs to shift focus on promoting growth. He further said CPI inflation in 2024-25 is projected to be only about 0.5 percentage point above target, and core inflation is extremely benign. Sentiments remained positive in afternoon session with CRISIL Ratings’ report stated that capital goods makers are likely to see revenue rise 9-11% in fiscal 2025, led by continued significant outlays towards railways (including metros), defence, conventional and renewable sectors. This compares with an expected around 13% growth in fiscal 2024. Buying got intensified in late afternoon session as investors continued to hunt for fundamentally strong stocks. Finally, markets concluded the day’s trade with gains of over half a percent.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower after a 7% drop in chipmaker Nvidia dragged down U.S. tech companies on Monday, in a sign of nervousness about the artificial intelligence boom. Asian markets ended mostly in green after China's Premier Li Qiang said the country is capable of achieving the full year growth target of around 5 percent. Back home, finance ministry has called a meeting with heads of state-owned banks and financial institutions to review the progress of the government's flagship financial inclusion schemes such as the Jan Dhan Yojana, Jan Suraksha Yojana, and Mudra Yojana ahead of the budget.

The BSE Sensex ended at 78,053.52, up by 712.44 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 77,459.60 and 78,164.71. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional) 

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.26%, while Small cap index was down by 0.03%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.87%, IT up by 0.53%, TECK up by 0.43%, Capital Goods up by 0.28% and Industrials was up by 0.12%, while Realty down by 1.82%, Power down by 1.05%, Utilities down by 0.95%, Metal down by 0.84% and Oil & Gas was down by 0.75% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 3.66%, ICICI Bank up by 2.48%, HDFC Bank up by 2.32%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.80% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.56%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.64%, Tata Steel down by 1.24%, Asian Paints down by 1.16%, Nestle down by 0.56% and NTPC down by 0.52% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its report on the Developments in India's Balance of Payments has said that India recorded a current account surplus of $5.7 billion or 0.6 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the January-March quarter. In the year-ago period, the current account deficit stood at $1.3 billion or 0.2 per cent of GDP, and the same was $8.7 billion or 1 per cent of GDP in the preceding quarter ending December 2023. For FY24, the current account deficit narrowed to $23.2 billion or 0.7 per cent of GDP against $67 billion or 2 per cent of GDP in FY23.

In January-March 2024, the merchandise trade deficit stood at $50.9 billion, lower than the $52.6 billion a year ago. It said net services receipts at $42.7 billion were higher than the $39.1 billion on the back of a 4.1 per cent growth in the segment, and added that this helped in swinging the current account into the surplus territory. Net outgo on the primary income account, mainly reflecting payments of investment income, increased to $14.8 billion from $12.6 billion a year ago.

Private transfer receipts, which mainly represent remittances by Indians employed overseas, grew 11.9 per cent to $32 billion in the March quarter. The non-resident deposits also surged to $5.4 billion in January-March compared to $3.6 billion in the year-ago period. Net foreign direct investment flows were $2 billion in Q4 FY24 against $6.4 billion a year ago. Foreign portfolio investment recorded a net inflow of $11.4 billion during the quarter compared to a net outflow of $1.7 billion a year ago. Net inflows under external commercial borrowings to India were $2.6 billion against $1.7 billion. In FY24, the portfolio investment recorded a net inflow of $44.1 billion against an outflow of $5.2 billion a year ago, while net FDI plummeted to $9.8 billion from $28 billion in FY23.

The CNX Nifty ended at 23,721.30, up by 183.45 points or 0.78% after trading in a range of 23,562.05 and 23,754.15. There were 26 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 3.73%, Axis Bank up by 3.53%, ICICI Bank up by 2.38%, HDFC Bank up by 2.33% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.98%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 2.93%, Eicher Motors down by 1.97%, Power Grid down by 1.67%, Asian Paints down by 1.30% and Tata Steel down by 1.28% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 12.49 points or 0.15% to 8,269.06, France’s CAC fell 48.74 points or 0.64% to 7,658.15 and Germany’s DAX was down by 185.78 points or 1.02% to 18,139.80. 

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Tuesday ahead of crucial US economic reports that could provide insights into the Federal Reserve's interest rate timeline. Japanese shares gained, even as the yen rose for the second straight session against the dollar due to verbal intervention by Japanese authorities. However, Chinese shares declined, even after China's Premier Li Qiang said the country is capable of achieving the full year growth target of around 5%. The Joe Biden administration has launched an investigation into major Chinese telecom firms over concerns that these firms could potentially exploit their access to American data through their US cloud and internet operations to benefit Beijing.