Gains in telecom stocks and index heavyweight Infosys aided small upmove for key benchmark indices. At 14:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 47.41 points or 0.19% at 25,317.05. The gains for the Nifty 50 index were higher in percentage terms than those for the Sensex. The Nifty was currently up 24.25 points or 0.31% at 7,737.30. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,453 shares rose and 998 shares fell. A total of 149 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.15%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.39%, outperforming the Sensex.
In overseas stock markets, Asian and European stocks edged higher after US monthly job data reinforced market expectations that the US Federal Reserve will adopt a slower path for interest-rate increases. US stocks registered modest gains during the previous trading session on Friday, 1 April 2016, as investors bet that a spate of strong economic data, including the March jobs report, won't speed up the pace of interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve. In a speech in New York on 29 March 2016, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen stressed a need for a cautious stance on interest-rate increases in the backdrop of global economic slowdown.
Stocks of public sector banks were mostly lower. Union Bank of India (down 1.54%), IDBI Bank (down 1.52%), Syndicate Bank (down 1.12%), Punjab National Bank (down 1.25%), Bank of Baroda (down 0.75%), Bank of India (down 0.85%), State Bank of India (down 0.31%), Canara Bank (down 0.13%) edged lower. United Bank of India (up 2.79%), Corporation Bank (up 1.13%), Dena Bank (up 1.51%) and Vijaya Bank (up 1.25%) edged higher.
Stocks of private sector banks edged higher. HDFC Bank (up 0.3%) and IndusInd Bank (up 0.18%) rose. Axis Bank (down 1.35%) and ICICI Bank (down 0.38%) edged lower.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will announce the First Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2016-17 at 11:00 IST tomorrow, 5 April 2016. Market expectations are that the RBI will cut its benchmark lending rate viz. the repo rate by atleast 25 basis points on 5 April 2016, with the government sticking to its fiscal deficit target for year 2016-17 in the Union Budget 2016-17 on 29 February 2016.
Yes Bank rose 0.96% at Rs 863.95 after the private sector bank said that has raised Rs 545 crore of Basel III compliant Tier II bonds on private placement basis. The Bonds will be listed on the BSE. The announcement was made during market hours today, 4 April 2016. Separately, Yes Bank announced lending rates based on marginal cost of funds effective from 1 April 2016. Yes Bank's Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) for overnight loans will be 9%, for one month will be 9.1% and for three months will be 9.25%. The MCLR on 6-month loans will be 9.4% and for one-year loans the rate would be 9.6%, the bank said.
Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMBL) was up 0.72% at Rs 684.30 after the private sector bank announced lending rates based on marginal cost of funds effective from 1 April 2016. Kotak Mahindra Bank's Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) for overnight loans will be 8.9%, for one month will be 9% and for three months will be 9.25%. The MCLR on 6-month loans will be 9.4% and for one-year loans the rate would be 9.6%, the bank said. The MCLR on two-year loans will be 9.65% and for three-year loans the rate would be 9.65%, the bank said.
Telecom stocks were in demand. Idea Cellular (up 5.71%), Bharti Airtel (up 3.01%), Reliance Communications (up 1.99%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 2.66%) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (up 0.28%) edged higher.
Index heavyweight and IT major Infosys was up 2.4% at Rs 1,235.25. The company is set to announce its Q4 March 2016 results on 15 April 2016.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 3.68% at Rs 1,238.55 after the company announced the launch of its new sport utility vehicle (SUV) NuvoSport built on the same new generation platform as the Scorpio. The NuvoSport's base variant is priced at Rs 7.35 lakh ex-showroom Thane. It is available in six variants. NuvoSport will be available across the company's dealerships pan India with immediate effect. The announcement was made during market hours today, 4 April 2016.
Meanwhile, the outcome of a monthly survey showed that the growth in India's manufacturing accelerated last month. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) hit eight-month high of 52.4 in March 2016. The index rose from 51.1 in February 2016. Despite gathering momentum, growth of production and new orders still remained below trend rates. The latest monthly survey showed that inflationary pressures in India's manufacturing are on the upside, with cost burdens rising at the quickest pace in three months in March and output charge inflation reaching a 16-month high in the month just gone by. The build-up in inflationary pressures may lead the Reserve Bank of India to hold off from cutting rates, especially as solid growth was seen in March, said Pollyanna De Lima, Economist at Markit.
On the macro front, the finance ministry after trading hours on Friday, 1 April 2016, announced that as per initial estimates, the fiscal deficit for 2015-16 is expected to be within the target of 3.9% of GDP. It further said that the government remains committed to the path of fiscal consolidation. The government's Plan Expenditure for 2015-16 is expected to be around Rs 4.70 lakh crore, which will be higher than the budget estimate and also higher than the actual plan expenditure in 2014-15.
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