Indices trade with modest gains

Barometers traded sideways with modest gains in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 124.17 points or 0.25% at 49,858.65. The Nifty 50 index gained 47.1 points or 0.32% at 14,911.40.

Trading was volatile as traders roll over positions in F&O segment from the near month April series to May series. The April 2021 F&O contracts will expire today.

The broader market underperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.13% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.23%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 1,340 shares rose and 1,544 shares fell. A total of 177 shares were unchanged.

 

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank slipped 1.32% to 2,072.90, snapping its five day winning run. The index rallied nearly 8% in the past five days.

Canara Bank (down 2.41%), PSB (down 2.14%), Central Bank of India (down 1.8%), Bank of India (down 1.76%), Punjab National Bank (down 1.68%), SBI (down 1.44%) and Indian Bank (down 1.23%) were top losers in PSU Bank space.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) rose 0.79% after the FMCG major's standalone net profit surged 41.07% to Rs 2,143 crore on 34.46% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 11,947 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

The growth in the quarter was competitive and profitable with domestic consumer growth at 21% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) with underlying volume growth of 16%. Health, hygiene and nutrition forming 80% of business grew in double-digits for the third consecutive quarter, while discretionary and out-of-home categories improved sequentially. Standalone EBITDA margin stood at 25% Y-o-Y, remaining healthy.

Home Care grew 15% Y-o-Y, backed by a strong recovery in fabric wash. Beauty & personal care segment climbed 20% Y-o-Y with skin cleansing, hair care and oral care delivering high double-digit growths. Foods & refreshment segment delivered another quarter of strong performance and galloping 36% Y-o-Y.

ONGC rose 0.1%. The state-run oil major said that ONGC Videsh consortium has put LNG project in Mozambique on hold due to force majeure. "Considering the evolution of the security situation in the north of the Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique, the Area 1 Operator Total E&P Mozambique Area 1 Limitada informed the withdrawal of all Mozambique LNG project personnel from the Afungi site. Thissituation leads Total E&P Mozambique Area 1 Limitada, as operator of Mozambique LNG project, to declare force majeure," ONGC said in a statement.

Steel Strips Wheels (SSWL) gained 2.18% after the company said it received new orders worth over Rs 25 crore from US and Europe. In a regulatory filing made during market hours today, the company said that it had received export orders of over 170,000 wheels for US & EU caravan trailer market, US mobile home and US truck trailer market.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee fell to 73.9750 compared with its previous closing of 74.36.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.054% as compared to its previous close of 6.053%.

MCX Gold futures for 4 June 2021 settlement slipped 0.3% to Rs 46,952.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.04% to 90.632.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2021 settlement rose 44 cents to $67.22 a barrel. The contract rose 1.28% to settle at $67.27 in the previous trading session.

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