 "stock market, markets, trading, nse, bse, sensex, nifty, rally, coronavirus, covid, lockdown")
Pre-market commentary for May 03, Friday: After ending the month of April with a gain of over 1 per cent, equity benchmark indices – the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty have started the May month on a positive note.
At 07:00 am, Gift Nifty futures quoted near 22,900 levels, hinting of a gap-up start near record levels on the back of positive global cues.
Experts believe that factors such as strong corporate earnings, upbeat economic growth forecast coupled with expectations of continuity of the government at the Centre post Lok Sabha elections were aiding the current bull run, and as such the old adage of ‘Sell in May and go away’ may not hold true this month.
The current bull-run is supported by retail investors, DIIs and HNIs with FIIs taking a backseat. The rally is fundamentally supported by impressive GDP growth and decent corporate earnings. The market has already discounted the NDA/BJP in the elections. Therefore, the election outcome is unlikely to influence the market beyond a point, says V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
However, the market is likely to react to the Budget which the prime minister has already indicated will be 'transformational'.
Investors may adopt a multi-asset investment strategy, going forward, with investment in equity, fixed income and gold. The highest weightage should certainly be for equity, recommends V K Vijayakumar.
Technically, the Nifty has maintained the positive bias intact, currently consolidating near the peak zone of 22,700 levels and the undertone remaining strong, we anticipate further rise in the coming days. On the upside, target for the Nifty is set at 23,200, said Vaishali Parekh, Vice President – Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher in a note.
More From This Section
The Bank Nifty needs to breach above the long-term trendline zone of 50,000 to confirm a breakout and establish conviction of further upside. Support on the downside, stands at 48,600.
On Friday, the Sensex and the Nifty may seek support around 74,200 and 22,500 levels, while the resistance is seen at 75,100 and 22,800 levels, the note stated.
Global cues
On Thursday night, the US market finished on a strong note led by a rally in tech shares, and also some relief as the US Fed ruled out further rate hikes at this point. Dow Jones and the S&P 500 gained 0.9 per cent each, while Nasdaq jumped 1.5 per cent. Tonight the focus will be on government payrolls data.
The yield on the US 10-year bonds eased to 4.581 per cent. It has risen to 4.7 per cent ahead of the US Fed meeting earlier this week.
On the commodities front, Gold futures dipped to $2,312 levels as hopes of interest rate cuts got pushed back. Brent Crude Oil, however, rose to $84 per barrel as Houthis threat of more strikes in the Red Sea weighed on the sentiment.
Near home in Asia, Taiwan was up 1.4 per cent. Kospi and Straits Times gained 0.4 per cent. China and Japan equity markets were shut for a trading holiday today.
Stocks in focus
Bajaj Finance stock to be on investors' radar after RBI removed the restrictions imposed on the NBFCs lending products ‘eCOM’ and 'Insta EMI Card' with immediate effect.
Shares of CoForge and Cigniti Technologies will be in focus post the former’s Q4 earnings and open offer to buy additional stake in the latter.
CoForge reported a 94.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in net profit at Rs 223.7 crore for the March quarter; revenue grew by 8.7 per cent YoY to Rs 2,358.5 crore. CoForge board also approved the acquisition of a 54 per cent stake in Cigniti Technologies at Rs 1,415 per share. The acquisition process is expected to be completed by Q2 FY25.
Further, the company has made an open offer to acquire an additional 26 per cent stake in Cigniti at Rs 1,415 per share. Cigniti Technologies stock closed at Rs 1,373 on Thursday.
Yes Bank stock is likely to be in focus on reports that Carlyle Group is likely to offload a significant chunk of holdings in the private bank through a block deal today.
On the Q4 results front, Aarti Drugs, Adani Green, Britannia, Carborundum Universal, Firstsource Solutions, Godrej Properties, HFCL, JSW Infra, MRF, MRPL, Odyssey Technologies, Raymond, Rane Brake Lining, Tata Technologies, Tatva Chintan Pharma, Titan, Tree House Education and Waree Technologies are scheduled to announce March quarter numbers today.
On Saturday, Avenue Supermarts, IDBI Bank, J&K Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, M&M Financial Services, Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Zen Technologies will be reporting the March quarter earnings.
