Key benchmark indices are trading with modest losses in early trade on selling pressure in index pivotals. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 78.24 points or 0.16% at 48,725.44. The Nifty 50 index was down 12.15 points or 0.08% at 14,569.30. Most Asian stocks are trading lower.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.17%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.34%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 1108 shares rose and 622 shares fell. A total of 86 shares were unchanged.
Stocks in news:
Wipro jumped 5%. The company's consolidated net profit grew 27.78% to Rs 2,972.30 crore while revenue increased 3.4% to Rs 16245.40 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. The IT major's consolidated net profit rose 0.14% and its revenue climbed 3.67% in Q4 FY21 over Q3 FY21.
Wipro expects revenue from its IT services business to be in the range of $2,195 million to $2,238 million for the quarter ending 30 June 2021. This translates to a sequential growth of 2% to 4%.
Ashoka Buildcon surged 8.83%. The company has received a Letter of Award (LOA) from Gujarat Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (G-RIDE) for the Project viz. 'Gauge Conversion of Bechraji (63.83 KM) - Ranuj (101.983 KM) Section, Total Length of 38.153 KM Metre Gauge to Broad Gauge with 25 KV AC Electrification in Ahmedabad. The accepted project cost is Rs 333.625 crore.
Aarti Drugs rose 0.65%. ICRA has reaffirmed credit rating on commercial paper and term loan and assigned credit rating on Long term- Fund based term loan, Long term- Fund based CC and Short term- Fund based/Non-fund based facilities of the company.
National Fertilizers advanced 2.74%. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), Ministry of Finance, Government of India has intimated regarding issue of RFP for engagement of Legal Advisors, Merchant Bankers and Selling Brokers for the Disinvestment of 20% paid up equity capital in the company out of Government of India's shareholding through the "Offer for Sale by promoters through the Stock Exchanges" method in the domestic market.
Quess Corp rose 1.91%. Quess Corp announced the acquisition of 30% stake in Conneqt Business Solutions Ltd. (Conneqt) pursuant to the Put Option notice by Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. (Tata). With this transaction, Conneqt will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Quess.
Global Markets:
Overseas, Asian stocks are trading largely lower on Friday as investors reacted to the release of Chinese economic data.
China's gross domestic product surged 18.3% in the first three months of the year from a year ago, the country's National Bureau of Statistics said Friday. The surge in growth comes off a contraction in the first quarter of last year, when the economy shrank by 6.8% during the height of the domestic outbreak of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, China's retail sales jumped 34.2% in March. Industrial production rose 14.1% in March.
In US, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes hit record highs on Thursday, as upbeat earnings reports from companies including Bank of America and BlackRock as well as a strong rebound in March retail sales bolstered hopes of a broader economic rebound.
Retail sales surged 9.8% in March as additional stimulus sent consumer spending soaring, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. A separate report on Thursday showed that first-time filings for unemployment insurance dropped to the lowest level since March 2020. The Labor Department reported 576,000 new jobless claims for the week ended April 10.
Back home, key equity barometers reversed intraday losses and ended with decent gains on Thursday. Trading was volatile as rising COVID-19 cases continue to spook investors. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 259.62 points or 0.53% to 48,803.68. The Nifty 50 index added 76.65 points or 0.53% to close at 14,581.45.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 979.70 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 526.63 crore in the Indian equity market on 15 April, provisional data showed.
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