Barometers trade with minor gains; pharma shares advance

The key equity barometers traded with minor gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,100 level after hitting the days low of 21,821.05 in mid-morning trade. Pharma shares rallied for the second day in a row.

At 14:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 86.59 points or 0.12% to 72,751.06 . The Nifty 50 index added 48.90 points or 0.22% to 22,104.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.14% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.21%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,665 shares rose and 2,223 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged

 

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, climbed 11.53% to 20.60.

Economy:

Indias industrial output expanded 4.9% year-over-year in March, slower than the 5.6% in February. Among the major three sectors, electricity output grew the most, up by 8.6%. This was followed by a 5.2% rise in manufacturing output. The slowdown in growth was largely due to a weaker upturn in mining output, which rose 1.2% annually in March versus 8.1% surge in the prior month. During April to March, industrial production expanded 5.8% from the same period last year, data showed.

Meanwhile, after falling for three consecutive weeks, Indias forex reserves jumped $3.668 billion to $641.59 billion for the week ended May 3, according to the latest RBI data. For the week ended April 5, the reserves had hit an all-time high of USD 648.562 billion, following multiple weeks of increases. The foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $4.459 billion to $564.161 billion.

Gold reserves decreased $653 million to $54.88 billion during week ended May 3. The special drawing rights (SDRs) were up $2 million to $18.051 billion, according to the latest RBI data.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index advanced 1.49% to 18,886.45. The index rallied 2.44% in two trading sessions.

Cipla (up 5.79%), Lupin (up 3.23%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 3.22%), Divis Laboratories (up 3.18%), Abbott India (up 2.25%), Gland Pharma (up 1.95%), Zydus Lifesciences (up 1.27%), Alkem Laboratories (up 1.25%), Sanofi India (up 1.16%) and Granules India (up 0.99%) edged higher.

On the other hand, Mankind Pharma (down 2.67%), J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (down 1.43%) and Laurus Labs (down 1.25%) slipped.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal rose 0.10% to 7.120 as compared with previous close 7.127.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee is edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.5275, compared with its close of 83.5100 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2024 settlement declined 0.37% to Rs 72,743.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.01% to 105.29.

The United States 10-year bond yield slipped 0.24% to 4.492.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2024 settlement lost 24 cents or 0.29% to $83.03 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Mahindra & Mahindra shed 0.81%. The auto major said that its total production jumped 19.02% to 70,025 units in the month of April 2024 as compared with 58,830 units produced in the same period last year. The auto major's total sales stood at 68,614 units in April 2024, registering a growth of 13.44% on YoY basis. On the other hand, exports for the period under review rose 2.43% YoY to 1,857 units.

Varun Beverages declined 1.86%. The company said that its consolidated net profit jumped 24.9% to Rs 547.98 crore in Q1 CY24 as compared with Rs 438.57 crore in Q1 CY23. The growth in the net profit was driven by volume growth, increase in net realization and improved profit margins. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) increased 10.9% YoY to Rs 4,317.31 crore in Q1 CY24.

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