Sensex up 515 pts, Nifty tops 17,650 on lower-than-expected US inflation

CLOSING BELL: Easing CPI figures reduced the probability of a 75-bps rate hike in the upcoming US FOMC meeting

CLOSING BELL

Stock market highlights: Lower-than-expected inflation in the US bolstered equities across the globe as investors turned to riskier assets. Hopes that the US Federal Reserve may go slow on its rate hike plan pumped up equities, cooled off bond yields, and supported the Indian rupee. The US retail inflation for July came in at 8.5 per cent, as against estimated 8.7 per cent, and 9.1 per cent in June.

"While the CPI continues to hover near a four-decade high, easing CPI figures reduced the probability of a 75-bps rate hike in the upcoming US FOMC meeting. Before this number came in, there was a 68 per cent probability that the Fed would hike another 75 bps in the next FOMC meeting. While we do understand these numbers are higher than the US Fed's comfort level of 2 per cent, the fact of the matter is that inflation has started inching downwards, giving great comfort to investors. That being said, with the way crude prices are declining, it could further ease by the time US inflation data comes in next month," said Sunil Damania, Chief Investment Officer, MarketsMojo.

Back home, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 515 points, or 0.88 per cent, to end at 59,332. The Nifty50, meanwhile, advanced 124 points, or 0.71 per cent, to settle at 17,659.

Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, Tech M, Bajaj Finance, SBI, and Wipro added over 2 per cent each, while TCS, Kotak Bank, Titan, ICICI Bank, Infosys, and HCL Tech rallied between 1 and 2 per cent. On the flipside, Tata Consumer Products, Apollo Hospitals, ITC, NTPC, Airtel, and HUL were the top laggards.

From sectoral viewpoint, the Nifty PSB index gained the most, up 2.3 per cent, followed by the Nifty IT index, up 1.8 per cent. 

Meanwhile, in the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices edged between 0.5 per cent and 0.8 per cent higher.

Global markets

European markets were mixed on Thursday as investors assessed their monetary policy expectations after a cooler-than-expected US inflation print, and digested a raft of corporate earnings. The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered 0.1 per cent higher in early trade, with oil and gas stocks climbing 1.4 per cent while basic resources fell 0.7 per cent. 

Shares in Asia-Pacific, too, climbed. Hong Kong's tech-heavy Hang Seng index led gains, up 2.4 per cent, as the tech sector benefited from the prospect of less aggressive interest rate hikes.

US stock futures ticked up to 0.3 per cent higher in early premarket trade as Wall Street looks to build on a surge that took the S&P 500 to its highest point since early May.

4:04 PM

Expert view:: Markets cheer drop in US inflation, await domestic data

"As softer than expected US inflation data suggested a slower pace of rate hike, the global market encouraged optimism. US CPI inflation smoothened to 8.5 per cent in July as lower energy prices offset increase in food and shelter cost. Domestic investors await the release of India’s inflation data due today, which is expected to show a decline in inflation trend on a MoM basis."

- Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

 

4:03 PM

Key Earnings on Friday:: Apollo Tyres, Grasim, Hero MotoCorp, Wockhardt, Zee

Apollo Tyres, Bajaj Electricals, Bajaj Healthcare, Bharat Dynamics, BGR Energy, Coffee Day, Eros Media, Finolex Cables, Grasim, Hindustan Aeronautics, Hero MotoCorp, Hindustan Oil Exploration, Indiabulls Realestate, India Cements, IVRCL, Muthoot Finance, Power Finance Corporation, RCF, Reliance Communications, Texmaco Rail, Varroc Engineering and Wockhardt and Zee Entertainment are some of the notable companies to report June quarter earnings tomorrow.

3:55 PM

Tech view:: Rally may extend to 17,750 - 17,800

"The Nifty continued to remain above the consolidation on the daily chart, suggesting a continuation of the up trend in the market. On the higher end, however, Nifty had faced a bit of selling pressure that led to a close around the day's low. The current rally may extend towards 17,750-17,800, where crucial trendline resistance is placed. On the lower end, support is there at 17,450-17,500."

 

- Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

3:53 PM

TCPL Packaging jumps 5% on strong Q1 results

Shares of TCPL Packaging hit a record high of Rs 1,191.55, and eventually ended 5.5 per cent higher at Rs 1,101 after the company reported robust earnings for the quarter ended June 2022 (Q1FY23). On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the company’s standalone revenues grew 48.4 per cent to Rs 335.5 crore and cash profits improved 105.6 per cent to Rs 46.9 crore in Q1FY23. READ MORE

3:50 PM

Wonderla Holidays zooms 20%, hits 52-week high on robust Q1 results

Shares of Wonderla Holidays were locked at the 20 per cent upper circuit in trades on Thursday after the company reported robust earnings as profit after tax (PAT) grew to Rs 64.38 crore for the quarter ended June 2022 (Q1FY23) as against Rs 8.51 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal (Q4FY22).

3:48 PM

Eicher Motors hits new summit on strong Q1 show

The company's net profit soared 157.5 per cent YoY to Rs 610.66 crore in Q1FY23, while total income surged 64.4 per cent to Rs 3,446.12 crore.

3:46 PM

ICICI Bank hits new life-time high

Shares of ICICI Bank hit a record high at Rs 866.50 and eventually ended 1.3 per cent higher at Rs 859.80 on Thursday. The stock for the first time surpassed the Rs 6 trillion market cap in intra-day deals. READ MORE

3:43 PM

Outlook on Bank Nifty:: Next upside resistance is placed at 39,000

"The Bank Nifty index continued its strong up move on the back of positive global cues. The index surpassed the immediate hurdle of 38,400 which will now act as support on the downside. The upside resistance is placed at 39,000 and if breached on a closing basis will see further upside towards the 40,000 level. The index is trading in overbought territory and a profit booking scenario cannot be ruled out from the current levels."

 

- Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.

 

3:42 PM

Sectoral Performance:: Banking related indices shine; FMCG, Media whine

3:41 PM

Broader market gains in sync with Nifty50; India VIX dips 6.3%

3:38 PM

Sensex 30 Heatmap:: 21 Gainers v/s 9 Losers

3:37 PM

Top 5 Nifty50 Gainers & Losers

3:35 PM

Nifty50 moved 124pts higher to settle at 17,659

3:34 PM

Closing Bell:: S&P BSE Sensex ends 515pts higher

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 515 points to end at 59,333 on Thursday led by financial shares.

3:25 PM

BSE 500:: Volume Shockers

VIP Industries has witnessed unusually high volume of around 8.85 lakh shares so far on the BSE as against its five-day average volume of around 17,900-odd shares. Similarly, Greaves Cotton, Mazagon Dock, Uflex and Responsive Industries have also witnessed a significant spike in volume in trades on Thursday.