The key equity indices traded with decent gains in early trade. The Nifty traded above 22,500 level. Media, PSU bank and banking shares advanced while realty and healthcare stocks declined.
At 13:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 404.55 points or 0.55% to 74,134.71. The Nifty 50 index added 91.10 points or 0.41% to 22,511.05.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.50% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.34%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,198 shares rose and 771 shares fell. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,408.88 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 4,356.83 crore in the Indian equity market on 26 April, provisional data showed.
Numbers to Watch:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper fell 0.19% to 7.187 from previous close of 7.199.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.4300, compared with its close of 83.3800 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2024 settlement fell 0.42% to Rs 71,200.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.05% to 105.99.
The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.28% to 4.657.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2023 settlement fell 81 cents or 0.91% to $88.69 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
ICICI Bank rose 1.10% after the bank reported 17.38% increase in net profit to Rs 10,707.53 crore on a 20.74% rise in total income to Rs 43,597.14 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Q4 FY23.
Maruti Suzuki India advanced 1.18% after the auto maker's standalone net profit jumped 47.80% to Rs 3,877.8 crore in Q4 FY24 from Rs 2,623.6 crore recorded in Q4 FY23. Net sales jumped 19.06% year on year (YoY) to Rs 36,697.5 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.
HCL Technologies declined 3.52%. The IT major’s consolidated net profit declined 8.37% to Rs 3,986 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 4,350 crore reported in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations rose marginally to Rs 28,499 crore in the March quarter from Rs 28,446 crore recorded in the preceding quarter of FY24.
Global Market:
Most of the Asian stocks are trading higher on Monday as stocks on Wall Street gained after the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge rose in line with expectation.
Traders look toward the Federal Reserve’s meeting this week, following another hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation reading Friday. March’s core personal consumption expenditures, excluding food and energy, rose 2.8% from a year ago.
US stocks closed higher on Friday, buoyed by a rally in megacap growth stocks following robust quarterly results from technology heavyweights Alphabet and Microsoft in addition to moderate inflation data.