Markets maintain gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices maintained their gains in late morning deals as market participants indulged in enlarging their positions. There was broad based buying witnessed in the markets and apart from the blue chips, the broader markets also participated in the rally. BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gained in the range of 0.80-0.95%. Positive cues from other Asian markets supported domestic sentiments. Further, support also came in markets after the White House delayed a decision on U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict. Traders took note of report that Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India is in trade dialogues with countries with whom it doesn’t compete but can complement the economies involved. Shares of power financiers such as Power Finance Corportation, REC, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, and Housing & Urban Development Corporation were buzzing on the heels of the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to ease project financing norms.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green after the People's Bank of China left its benchmark interest rate unchanged. The central bank maintained its one-year loan prime rate (LPR) at 3.0 percent. Likewise, the five-year LPR, the benchmark for mortgage rates, was retained at 3.50 percent. Back home, all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in green led by Realty, Telecom, PSU, Metal and Power.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82037.33, up by 675.46 points or 0.83% after trading in a range of 81323.20 and 82186.37. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.94%, while Small cap index up by 0.80%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.12%, Telecom up by 1.81%, PSU up by 1.54%, Metal up by 1.54% and Power up by 1.54%, there were no losers.  

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.44%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.95%, Power Grid up by 1.89%, SBI up by 1.74% and Bharat Electronics up by 1.59%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.51%, Infosys down by 0.22%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.08% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.08% were the few losers.

Meanwhile, RBI’s recent data released showed that the sales of listed private non-financial companies grew by 7.1 per cent during January-March quarter of 2024-25 as compared to 8 per cent expansion in the previous quarter and 6.9 per cent during the year. The Reserve Bank has released data on the performance of the private corporate sector during the fourth quarter of 2024-25, drawn from abridged quarterly financial results of 2,936 listed non-government non-financial companies. The data showed an aggregate sales growth (year-on-year) of 1,659 listed private manufacturing companies moderated to 6.6 per cent during Q4 FY25 from 7.7 per cent during the previous quarter. 

RBI indicated that the major industries such as electrical machinery, chemicals, food products and pharmaceuticals industries have recorded a double-digit sales growth, meanwhile, the performance of petroleum industry pulled down the sector's sales growth. It added, sales growth of IT companies improved further to 8.6 per cent in Q4 from 6.8 per cent in the previous quarter and 3.1 per cent a year ago. On the other hand, sales of non-IT services companies continued to grow in double digits at 10.9 per cent in Q4, on the back of good performance of telecommunication and transport & storage companies.

The data revealed that the manufacturing companies’ expenses on raw material rose by 8.3 per cent (year-on-year) in tandem with their sales growth, however, raw material to sales ratio broadly remained stable during Q4 from the previous quarter. Moreover, the staff cost of manufacturing, IT and non-IT services companies rose by 10 per cent, 6.4 per cent and 9.5 per cent, respectively, during Q4 FY25. The staff cost to sales ratio for manufacturing, IT and non-IT services companies broadly remained stable at 5.5 per cent, 48.0 per cent, and 10.1 per cent, respectively, during Q4 FY25.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25004.00, up by 210.75 points or 0.85% after trading in a range of 24783.65 and 25040.45. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JIO Financial up by 2.78%, Shriram Finance up by 2.55%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.38%, JSW Steel up by 2.24% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.12%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.18%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.17%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.42%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.32% and Infosys down by 0.21% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 216.14 points or 0.92% to 23,453.88, Shanghai Composite strengthened 4.3 points or 0.13% to 3,366.41, KOSPI increased 35.68 points or 1.18% to 3,013.42, Nikkei 225 surged 11.78 points or 0.03% to 38,500.12 and Taiwan Weighted added 42.24 points or 0.19% to 22,045.74. However, Straits Times fell 0.14 points or 0% to 3,894.04 and Jakarta Composite plunged 50.4 points or 0.73% to 6,918.24.