At 11:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 0.94 points to 48,678.49. The Nifty 50 index was up 11.2 or 0.08% at 14,629.05.
In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.17% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.11%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1439 shares rose and 1264 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,110.50 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 240.61 crore in the Indian equity market on 5 May, provisional data showed.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 154,788,266 with 3,237,808 global deaths.
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India reported 35,66,398 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 230,168 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
India recorded 4,12,784 new cases, by far the highest single-day count in any country so far. Meanwhile, the day's death toll climbed close to the 4,000 mark.
The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (48,80,542), Kerala (17,43,932), Karnataka (17,41,046), Uttar Pradesh (13,99,348), and Tamil Nadu (12,72,602).
Economy:
S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday slashed India's GDP growth forecast for the current financial year to 9.8% saying the second COVID wave may derail the budding recovery in the economy and credit conditions. The US-based rating agency in March had a 11% GDP growth forecast for India for the April 2021-March 2022 fiscal on account of a fast economic reopening and fiscal stimulus.
S&P, which currently has a 'BBB-' rating on India with a stable outlook, said the depth of the Indian economy's deceleration will determine the hit on its sovereign credit profile. It said the projections assume that initial shocks to private consumption and investment filter through to the rest of the economy.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index added 1.52% to 5,045.65, rising for second consecutive trading session. The metal index has rallied 2.52% in two days.
Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.78%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.7%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.2%), JSW Steel Ltd (up 1.11%), Coal India (up 1.05%), NMDC (up 0.96%), Steel Authority of India (up 0.81%), Hindalco Industries (up 0.61%) and Vedanta (up 0.58%) were top gainers in metal space.
Tata Steel jumped 3.56% after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 6,644.15 crore in Q4 FY21 as against net loss of Rs 1,481.34 crore in Q4 FY20. Net sales during the quarter increased 39.4% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 48,950.89 crore. The steel major reported a pre-tax profit of Rs 9,356.86 crore in the fourth quarter compared with net loss of Rs 1,870.55 crore reported in the same period last year. EBITDA surged at Rs 14,290 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with Rs 4,824 crore in Q4 FY20 as Rs 9,652 crore in Q3 FY21. EBITDA per ton surged to Rs 18,253 in Q4 FY21 from Rs 6,838 in Q4 FY20 and from Rs 13,021 in Q3 FY21. While the company's steel production increased by 1.5% to 8.02 million tonnes, deliveries jumped by 10.9% to 7.83 million tonnes in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.
Global Markets:
Asian markets were trading higher as investors look ahead to the U.S. jobs report due later this week for clues about how long the Fed will stay on hold. The U.S. jobs report for April is due on Friday.
U.S. stocks rebounded on Wednesday as strong earnings results and economic optimism pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record high.
The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it supports waiving intellectual patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines, as countries struggle to manufacture the life-saving doses.
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