The domestic equity benchmarks traded in a narrow range with modest gains in early afternoon trade. Positive global cues boosted sentiment. The Nifty traded above the 16,250 mark. Metal and oil & gas stocks lagged the broader recovery.
At 12:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 376.48 points or 0.69% to 54,629.01. The Nifty 50 index added 113.35 points or 0.70% to 16,283.50.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.28% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.09%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,081 shares rose and 1,076 shares fell. A total of 131 shares were unchanged.
The most recent minutes of the Fed's meeting calmed fears of the American central bank turning more hawkish and thereby, contracting worries of aggressive rate-tightening policy by the US Fed. The minutes of Fed's May meeting released on Wednesday confirmed two more 50-basis point hikes each in June and July, but policymakers also suggested the potential for a pause later in the year.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 3.52% to 21.9175. The Nifty 30 June 2022 futures were trading at 16,216.70, at a discount of 66.8 points as compared with the spot at 16,283.50.
The Nifty option chain for 30 June 2022expiry showed maximum Call OI of 22 lakh contracts at the 17,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 31.1 lakh contracts was seen at 15,500 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty IT index fell 1.65% to 28,393.75.The index rose 3% extending its winning run to second consecutive trading sesseion.
Among the components of the Nifty IT index, Coforge (up 4.23%), L&T Technology Services (up 3.76%), Tech Mahindra (up 3.39%), Mphasis (up 2.48%) and Mindtree (up 2.09%) were the top gainers.
Among the other gainers were Wipro (up 1.67%), HCL Technologies (up 1.48%), Infosys (up 1.48%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (up 1.38%) and Tata Consultancy Services (up 0.48%).
Stocks in Spotlight:
ONGC dropped 7.08% after the company said it will invest Rs 31,000 crore in exploration over the next three years. The state-run oil major said it has drawn up a comprehensive roadmap to further intensify its exploration campaign, allocating a capital expenditure of about Rs 31,000 crore in the next three fiscal years during FY 2022-25. This is 150% of its exploration expenditure of Rs 20,670 crore in the last three fiscals during FY 2019-22, it said in a statement on Thursday. ONGC said it also plans to leverage international collaborations with reputed global majors for this, for which talks are in an advanced stage.
NMDC declined 1.91%. The PSU company reported a 36% fall in standalone net profit to Rs 1,815.05 crore in Q4 FY22 as against Rs 2,837.58 crore in Q4 FY21. Net sales was at Rs 6,702.24 crore for the quarter ended 31 March 2022 as against Rs 6,847.57 crore during the same period in the previous year, registering a decline of 2.1%. Profit before tax stood at Rs 2,880.06 crore in Q4 FY22, down by 32.5% from Rs 4,268.15 crore in Q4 FY21. Total expenditure soared 56% to Rs 4, 155 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21.
Berger Paints India rose 0.70%. The paint maker reported a 5.8% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 220.66 crore in Q4 FY22 as against Rs 208.59 crore in Q4 FY21. Revenue from operations rose 8% year on year to Rs 2,187.51 crore during the quarter ended 31 March 2022. Profit before tax in Q4 FY22 stood at Rs 296.44 crore, up 4.6% from Rs 283.37 crore in Q4 FY21.Total expenses were up by 8.8% year on year to Rs 1,841.07 crore during the period under review. Cost of raw material rose 6.1% to Rs 1,349.20 crore in Q4 FY22 from Rs 1,272.17 crore in Q4 FY21.
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