Key gauges end higher as global sentiment improves

Indian equity benchmarks witnessed some respite on the final trading day of the week, gaining nearly a percent, propelled by buying in market heavyweights Eternal, Power Grid Corporation and ITC. After a flat start, the markets saw a noticeable surge during the early hours of trade, followed by a range-bound move till the close. 

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

India to surpass China in oil demand growth over next decade: Moody's Ratings has said that China drove global oil demand growth over the last decade, but now India is poised to take the lead in demand growth over the next decade. 

Rupee recovers sharply against US dollar: Indian rupee snapped its three-day losing streak and settled for the day higher against the US dollar, on a sharp fall in the dollar index and surge in domestic equities, amid rise in risk appetite for riskier assets.

Heavy FII selling: The provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed foreign portfolio investors turned net sellers of Indian equities after a day of buying on Thursday, as they offload stocks worth Rs 5,045.36 crore.

GST Council to discuss rate rationalization & compensation cess: The GST Council is likely to meet soon to discuss rate simplification and rationalisation and the future of compensation cess.  

Global cues turn favourable: European markets were trading mostly in green as the German economy logged a stronger-than-estimated growth in the first quarter. Asian markets settled mostly higher, as U.S. Treasury yields eased from recent highs and oil prices remained depressed on concerns about oversupply stemming from a potential nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran, and OPEC+ supply hike prospects. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 769.09 points or 0.95% to 81,721.08 and the CNX Nifty was up by 243.45 points or 0.99% to 24,853.15.    

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 81,905.17 and 80,897.00 respectively. There were 29 stocks advancing against 1 stock declining on the index. 

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.50%, while Small cap index was up by 0.45%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.49%, Utilities up by 1.02%, Power up by 1.01%, Bankex up by 0.99% and Oil & Gas up by 0.94%, while Healthcare down by 0.01% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 3.60%, Power Grid Corporation up by 2.42%, ITC up by 2.39%, Nestle up by 2.14% and Bajaj Finserv up by 2.09%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.14% was the top loser.

Meanwhile, Moody's Ratings in its latest report has said that China drove global oil demand growth over the last decade, but now India is poised to take the lead in demand growth over the next decade. China and India are the No. 2 and No. 3 oil consumers in the world. But there are notable differences in demand growth in the two countries.

It stated demand growth and import reliance will be higher in India. It said ‘Demand will grow faster in India than in China over the next decade, as China's economic growth slows and penetration of new energy vehicles accelerates. Consumption of crude oil - the raw material for making fuels like petrol and diesel - in China will peak in the next 3-5 years, while in India, Moody's expect annual growth of 3-5% in the same period.

Stating that both countries rely heavily on oil and gas imports, the rating agency said it expects China's reliance on oil imports to fall, reflecting slower demand growth and increased domestic production. India's reliance on imports will increase if it is unable to stem a production decline. Moody's said China's larger oil and gas consumption underpins the scale of its national oil companies (NOCs), which will likely outpace their Indian peers in production growth over the next 3-5 years.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 24,909.05 and 24,614.05. There were 46 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 3.63%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 3.28%, JIO Financial Services up by 2.49%, Power Grid Corporation up by 2.46% and ITC up by 2.32%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 1.72%, Grasim Industries down by 0.70%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.02% and Bharat Electronics down by 0.01% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 6.76 points or 0.08% to 8,746.02 and Germany’s DAX gained 45.13 points or 0.19% to 24,044.30, while France’s CAC fell 37.43 points or 0.48% to 7,827.01.