Opening Bell:
Gift Nifty is up by 5.0 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market
Asian markets showed a mixed performance, echoing the trends seen on Wall Street overnight. Investors are holding off, anticipating crucial trade figures from China. Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up by 0.15%, accompanied by a 0.29% increase in the Topix. Conversely, South Korea’s Kospi experienced a 0.21% dip, while the Kosdaq saw a decline of 0.13%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures hinted at a subdued start.
On Wednesday, the US stock market closed with a mixed performance, influenced by an uptick in Treasury yields. Notably, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed the 39,000 mark for the first time in five weeks, gaining 172.13 points, or 0.44%, to reach 39,056.39. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 experienced a marginal decline of 0.03 points, settling at 5,187.67. Conversely, the Nasdaq Composite closed lower by 29.80 points, or 0.18%, ending the session at 16,302.76.
Stocks News:
đLarsen and Toubro, the infrastructure giant, reported a net profit of Rs 4,396 crore for the quarter ending March FY24, marking a 10 percent growth compared to the same period last year. Despite a robust top line, the company faced a weaker operating margin. Quarterly revenue from operations surged by 15 percent year-on-year to Rs 67,079 crore. The board proposed a final dividend of Rs 28 per share. However, order inflow during the quarter declined by 5 percent year-on-year to Rs 72,150 crore. Nonetheless, the group’s order book as of March 2024 stood at Rs 4,75,809 crore, indicating a substantial 20 percent year-on-year growth.
đ Tata Power Company, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, disclosed a consolidated net profit of Rs 895.2 crore for the quarter ending March FY24, marking a 15.1 percent increase compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year, despite experiencing a decreased operating margin due to fuel costs. Quarterly revenue from operations surged by 27.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 15,846.6 crore.
đ TVS Motor Company, the manufacturer of two-and-three-wheelers, has announced a standalone net profit of Rs 485.4 crore for the quarter ending March FY24, marking an 18.3 percent increase compared to the corresponding period in the previous fiscal year, supported by strong top line and operating figures. Revenue from operations surged by 23.7 percent year-on-year to Rs 8,168.8 crore, with total sales volume rising by 22.4 percent to 10.63 lakh units during the quarter.
đ BSE, the stock exchange, has reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 106.9 crore for the January-March quarter of FY24, marking a 20.6 percent increase compared to the corresponding period in the previous fiscal year, driven by robust top-line growth. However, this growth was affected by a provision of Rs 169.77 crore for SEBI regulatory fees. Quarterly revenue from operations soared by 110.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 544.8 crore. The board has proposed a final dividend of Rs 15 per share.
đ Foreign Institutional Investors have net sold Rs 6,669.10 crore worth of Indian shares while Domestic Institutional Investors bought Rs 5,928.81 crore shares as markets closed flat.
Domestic and International Events
- The Reserve Bank of India has mandated non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) to adhere strictly to the IT Act regarding cash disbursements, restricting cash loans to Rs 20,000. As per a Reuters report, this directive is aimed at discouraging cash transactions, citing Section 269SS of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which prohibits individuals from receiving more than Rs 20,000 as a loan amount in cash. The RBI issued this directive to gold loan NBFCs such as Muthoot Finance and Manappuram Finance, following enforcement actions against IIFL Finance for breaching regulations on cash loan disbursements and collections surpassing the statutory limit.
- According to Reuters, Susan Collins, President of the US Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, emphasized the necessity for the US economy to moderate as a means to steer inflation back towards the central bank’s 2% objective. Regarding monetary policy, Collins noted, the recent unexpected increases in activity and inflation indicate the probable requirement to maintain policy at its present level until we are more assured that inflation is steadily progressing towards 2%.
- Gold prices dipped as investors awaited U.S. data to gauge the likelihood of Federal Reserve rate adjustments, although a marginal increase in the dollar constrained gains. Spot gold declined by 0.2 percent to $2,308.29 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down by 0.3 percent at $2,316.30. A 0.1 percent uptick in the dollar heightened expectations for rate cuts this year, reducing gold’s appeal for foreign investors. Attention is focused on the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index and statements from Fed officials. The release of U.S. consumer price index data is scheduled for May 15.
- Oil prices fell in early Asian trading due to reports of increased U.S. crude and fuel stockpiles, indicating weak demand. Brent crude futures dropped 0.3 percent to $82.95 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.2 percent to $78.25 a barrel.
| EMERGING | LATEST | % 1D |
| Hang Seng | 18,314 | (0.9) % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,128 | (0.6) % |
| DEVELOPED | LATEST | % 1D |
| Dow Jones | 39,056 | 0.4 % |
| DAX | 18,498 | 0.4 % |
| FTSE 100 | 8,354 | 0.5 % |
| Nikkei | 38,202 | (1.6) % |
| Straits Times | 3,265 | (1.1) % |
