Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is up by 25.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market
Asian markets opened mixed after Wall Street declined on Thursday. South Korean stocks rose, Japanese stocks were mixed, and Australian equities fell due to BHP Group Ltd.’s negative impact. Hong Kong stocks saw gains following strong results from tech giants Microsoft and Alphabet. The Hang Seng Index rose by 0.30% while the Shenzhen Composite Index fell by 0.13%, and the Shanghai Composite Index edged up by 0.07%.
On Thursday, Wall Street experienced a downturn as investors grappled with sluggish US economic growth and persistent inflation. Disappointing results from Meta Platforms exacerbated the decline, triggering a sell-off in large-cap stocks. The most recent data unveiled the slowest growth in nearly two years for the US economy in the first quarter, along with an increase in inflation, dampening expectations for immediate interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.98%, closing at 38,085.80, while the S&P 500 dropped by 0.46%, ending at 5,048.42. The Nasdaq Composite also faced a setback, declining by 0.64% to settle at 15,611.76.
Stocks News:
👉 Tata Steel: Following seven months of extensive discussions with UK trade unions, Tata Steel has confirmed its commitment to invest £1.25 billion in constructing an electric arc furnace in Port Talbot, South Wales. Additionally, the company will begin the phased closure of its existing heavy-end assets in the coming months. Port Talbot’s blast furnaces, No 5 and No 4, are scheduled to cease operations by the end of June and September respectively. Tata Steel UK will initiate a voluntary redundancy process across its operations on May 15, 2024.
👉 Bajaj Finance: The prominent non-banking finance firm reported a net profit of Rs 3,825 crore for the fourth quarter of FY24, marking a 21 percent increase compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Net interest income surged by 28 percent year-on-year to Rs 8,013 crore for the quarter. The company witnessed a 4 percent rise in new loans booked, reaching 7.87 million, while its customer base expanded by 21 percent to 83.64 million. Assets under management soared by 34 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,30,615 crore for the quarter. The board has proposed a dividend of Rs 36 per share for FY24.
👉 Cyient: The engineering and technology solutions provider reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 196.9 crore for the fourth quarter of FY24, representing a 28.5 percent increase over the previous quarter, attributed to a low base effect. Revenue from operations rose by 2.2 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 1,860.8 crore.
👉 L&T Technology Services: The engineering services company posted a net profit of Rs 341.4 crore for the January-March quarter of FY24, reflecting a marginal 1.4 percent increase compared to the previous quarter due to pressure on the EBIT margin. Revenue from operations grew by 4.8 percent sequentially to Rs 2,537.5 crore for the quarter. In constant currency terms, revenue increased by 5.1 percent quarter-on-quarter, with dollar terms growth at 5 percent. Amit Chadha, CEO and Managing Director, anticipates revenue growth of 8–10 percent in constant currency for FY25.
👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold Rs 2,823.33 crore shares, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) pumped in Rs 6,167.56 crore on April 25, provisional data from the NSE showed.
Domestic and International Events
- In the first quarter, US inflation, measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, reached 3.7%, surpassing projections for a 3.4% uptick and significantly exceeding the US Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
- Last quarter, the US economy expanded at its slowest pace in two years, with the gross domestic product (GDP) rising at an annualized rate of 1.6% in January-March 2024. This figure fell short of Wall Street’s expectations of a 2.4% increase for the period, marking a deceleration from the 3.4% growth seen in the final three months of the previous year.
- Gold prices lost some ground on Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields climbed in response to economic data indicating persistent inflation, diminishing hopes for any imminent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
- Oil prices saw an uptick in early trading on Friday, driven by remarks from the US Treasury secretary suggesting that the nation’s economy may be stronger than suggested by lackluster first-quarter data. Concerns over supply persisted amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. Brent crude futures rose by 34 cents (0.38%) to $89.35 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased by 33 cents (0.39%) to $83.90 a barrel.
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 17,285 | 0.5 % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,053 | 0.3 % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 38,086 | (1.0) % |
| DAX | 17,917 | (1.0) % |
| FTSE 100 | 8,079 | 0.5 % |
| Nikkei | 37,628 | (2.2) % |
| Straits Times | 3,288 | (0.2) % |
