The benchmark indices rallied in morning trade, buoyed by a strong demand in auto, IT and pharma scrips. The Nifty index re-claimed its 17,000 mark.
At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex advanced 414.29 points or 0.73% at 56,877.44. The Nifty 50 index rose 140.30 points or 0.83% at 17,098.95.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.90%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.91%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 2,050 shares rose while 1,092 shares fell. A total of 136 shares were unchanged.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose about 1% on Wednesday, gaining back some of their losses during the previous session on concerns about energy demand after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its economic growth forecasts.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 5,871.69 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 3,980.81 crore in the Indian equity market on 19 April 2022, provisional data showed.
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COVID-19 Update:
India today reported 2,067 new COVID-19 cases, recording a 65% jump from yesterday. According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the country's active caseload stood at 12,340. The number of deaths reported in the last 24 hours reached 40.
Economy:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its growth forecast for India for FY23 by 80 basis points to 8.2%, warning that Russia's invasion of Ukraine would hurt consumption and hence, growth, by way of higher prices.
"Notable downgrades to the 2022 forecast include Japan (0.9 percentage point) and India (0.8 percentage point), reflecting in part weaker domestic demand - as higher oil prices are expected to weigh on private consumption and investment - and a drag from lower net exports," the IMF said in its World Economic Report, released on 19 April 2022.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto rose 2.02% to 10,829.85. The index lost 1.22% in the past trading session.
Among the components of the Nifty Auto index, Eicher Motors (up 3.84%), Sona BLW Precision Forgings (up 3.21%), Tata Motors (up 2.73%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 2.7%) and Tube Investments of India (up 2.66%) were the top gainers.
Among the other gainers were Ashok Leyland (up 2.33%), Bharat Forge (up 2.32%), MRF (up 2.2%), TVS Motor Company (up 2.16%) and Bosch (up 2.02%).
Escorts fell 0.34%. The company announced that its division, Escorts Agri Machinery (EAM), will increase the prices of its tractors from Wednesday, 20 April 2022. There has been a steady rise in commodity prices necessitating a price hike to offset the impact of the continuing inflation. The increase in prices would vary across models and variants, the company further stated.
Stocks in Spotlight:
ACC rallied 3.89%. The firm's consolidated net profit dropped 29.66% to Rs 396 crore on a 2.58% increase in net sales to Rs 4,322 crore in Q1 March 2022 over Q1 March 2021. On a consolidated basis, profit before tax (PBT) skid 29.44% to Rs 532 crore in Q1 March 2022 from Rs 754 crore in Q1 March 2021. The company's efficiency project 'Parvat' helped it to deliver 1% lower per ton freight & forwarding cost despite fuel inflation and its cost control measures enabled reduction in fixed cost as compared to previous year.
Consolidated EBITDA declined 26.16% to Rs 635 crore in Q1 March 2022 as against Rs 860 crore in Q1 March 2021, due to significant fuel cost increase despite project 'Parvat' delivering strong internal efficiencies. The EBITDA margin stood at 14.7% during the quarter as against 20.4% in the corresponding quarter, last year.
Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI) declined 4.27%. The technology consulting and digital solutions company reported 4.1% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 637.50 crore on 4% increase in revenue to Rs 4301.60 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q3 December 2021. As compared to Q4 March 2021, the company's consolidated net profit and revenue increased by 16.8% and 31.6%, respectively.
EBITDA rose 1.8% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 18.3% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 846.40 crore in Q4 FY22. EBITDA margin was at 19.7% as in Q4 FY22 as against 20.1% in Q3 FY22 and 21.9% in Q4 FY21. In dollar terms, Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI) registered 3.1% increase in consolidated revenue to $570.4 million in Q4 FY22 over Q3 FY22. Constant currency revenue growth was 3.6% QoQ and 29.0% YoY.
Crypto Market:
Among the popular crypto currencies, Doge Coin (Doge) (up 3.07%), Ethereum (ETH) (up 1.12%), Bitcoin (BTC) (up 1.02%) and Binance Coin (BNB) (up 0.48%) advanced.
However, Tether (USDT) (down 0.20%) declined.
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