Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is up by 111.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market
Asian markets saw an uptick in trading on Friday, mirroring the positive momentum from Wall Street’s overnight performance, with investors eyeing upcoming US employment figures. Japan and mainland China’s stock markets remained closed due to public holidays. South Korea’s Kospi climbed by 0.60%, and the Kosdaq saw a 0.77% increase. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index suggested a stronger start to the trading day.
On Thursday, US stocks surged as investors assessed the Federal Reserve’s unexpectedly dovish stance on interest rates announced the day before, amid a slew of varied earnings and economic indicators. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by 322.37 points, equivalent to 0.85%, reaching 38,225.66. The S&P 500 saw a gain of 45.81 points, or 0.91%, closing at 5,064.20, while the Nasdaq Composite rose by 235.48 points, marking a 1.51% increase, to settle at 15,840.96.
Stocks News:
👉 Coforge: The IT services firm reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 229.2 crore for the March quarter of FY24, down 5.6 percent compared to the previous quarter, influenced by weaker operational metrics. Quarterly revenue rose by 1.5 percent sequentially to Rs 2,358.5 crore. Additionally, the board announced an interim dividend of Rs 19 per share. Coforge is set to acquire up to 54 percent of Cigniti Technologies’ shareholding through a share purchase agreement with its promoters and select public shareholders.
👉 Coal India: The nation’s largest coal miner posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 8,640.5 crore for the quarter ending March FY24, marking a substantial 25.8 percent increase over the same period last year, despite a decrease in topline figures. This growth was supported by robust operational performance, driven by reduced input costs and employee expenses. Quarterly revenue decreased by 1.9 percent year-on-year to Rs 37,410.4 crore. The board recommended a final dividend of Rs. 5 per share.
👉 Ajanta Pharma: The specialty pharmaceutical formulation company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 203 crore for the quarter ending March FY24, surging by 66 percent compared to the corresponding period in the previous fiscal year. Quarterly revenue grew by 20 percent to Rs 1,054 crore, with a 14 percent increase in Indian businesses, a 32 percent rise in US generic businesses, an 18 percent uptick in Asia segments, and a 13 percent growth in Africa businesses. EBITDA increased by 86 percent year-on-year to Rs 278 crore. The board approved a share buyback of up to Rs 285 crore at Rs 2,770 per share.
👉 Indian Energy Exchange: The electricity exchange achieved an overall volume of 9,044 million units (MU) in April 2024, marking a 14.1 percent increase over the same month last year. The day ahead market’s market clearing price decreased by approximately 6 percent year-on-year to Rs 5.1 per unit. The real-time electricity market (RTM) continued its growth momentum in April, rising by 22.1 percent year-on-year to 2,629 MU.
👉 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold Rs 964.47 crore shares, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) pumped in Rs 1,352.44 crore on May 2, provisional data from the NSE showed.
Domestic and International Events
- India’s service exports dipped by 1.3% to $30 billion in March, with imports also down by 2.1% to $16.61 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $13.4 billion as per RBI data. However, both exports and imports had shown positive trends in the preceding two months. Meanwhile, the commerce ministry estimates services exports for FY 2023-24 at $339.62 billion and imports at $177.56 billion.
- The number of new claims for unemployment benefits in the US remained unchanged at 208,000 for the week ended April 27, according to the Labor Department, in line with economists’ expectations of 212,000.
- Gold prices retreated on Thursday amidst speculation about prolonged higher US interest rates, with spot gold falling by 0.7% to $2,301.59 per ounce, while US gold futures for June delivery remained steady at $2,311.10.
- Oil prices inched up in early trade on Friday on the potential continuation of output cuts by OPEC+, although both Brent crude futures for July and US West Texas Intermediate crude for June were poised for weekly losses due to US economic uncertainty and minimal crude supply disruptions from the Israel-Hamas conflict, with Brent rising by 16 cents to $83.83 a barrel and WTI up by 19 cents to $79.14 per barrel.
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 18,207 | 2.5 % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,105 | (0.3) % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 38,226 | 0.9 % |
| DAX | 17,897 | (0.2) % |
| FTSE 100 | 8,172 | 0.6 % |
| Nikkei | 38,236 | (0.1) % |
| Straits Times | 3,297 | 0.1 % |
