ITC surpasses HDFC in market cap, RIL Q4 results

Indian Markets:

• Nifty 50 Movement: The Nifty commenced the day on a slightly positive note, but subsequently lost momentum and declined. However, the index made a comeback in the latter half of the day, with certain heavyweight stocks leading the recovery charge. Ultimately, the index managed to settle above the crucial 17,600 level.
• The major stock indices exhibited consolidation and closed with minimal change, indicating a lack of any major market-moving factors and a sense of contemplation among investors.
• The FMCG and IT sectors had a good day, concluding on a positive note. Conversely, the realty, metal, and auto sectors remained under pressure throughout the trading session.
• TCS, ITC, Britannia Industries, Wipro and Asian Paints were among the major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were HDFC Life, Tech Mahindra, Adani Enterprises, SBI Life Insurance and Maruti Suzuki.

Global Markets:

• Investors in Europe and Asia had a muted reaction on Friday to a series of corporate earnings announcements and economic data releases, with most shares declining.
• Flash purchasing managers index figures from S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank indicated that Frances private sector experienced the fastest growth since May 2022, but this growth was primarily driven by services, while factory production decreased. Germanys business upturn was also led by services, with a modest increase in manufacturing output.
• In the UK, retail data for March showed a 0.9% decline in sales volumes, which retailers attributed in part to the unusually wet weather.
• Meanwhile, in Asia, Japans core inflation for March remained unchanged from February at 3.1%, marking the second consecutive month of slowing inflation after reaching a 41-year high of 4.3% in January.

Stocks in Spotlight:

• ITC continued its upward trend for the third consecutive day, surpassing HDFC Ltd in terms of market capitalization and briefly crossing the Rs 5.04 trillion mark. This follows ITC’s achievement on April 20, when it became the 11th listed Indian company to cross the Rs 5-trillion market capitalisation milestone, after its shares hit an all-time high, propelled by a 21 percent surge in value so far this year.
• Dr. Reddy’s announced the launch of Treprostinil Injection in the United States market. This generic version of Remodulin (treprostinil) Injection has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and is used to treat the symptoms of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
• Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom subsidiary of Reliance Industries, announced a net profit of Rs 4,716 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, reflecting a 13 percent increase from the corresponding period last year. The company’s net profit in the December 2022 quarter was Rs 4,638 crore.

News from the IPO world?

• EbixCash receives SEBI clearance to float IPO
• Mankind Pharma sets IPO price band at Rs. 1026-1080
• Retina Paints launces IPO with closing date of April 24th

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