Barometers end with small gains; Nifty ends below 16,700

Domestic equity benchmarks ended with tiny gains on Thursday, tracking mixed global cues. The Nifty ended below 16,700 mark after hitting the day's high of 16,945.70 in morning trade. IT and metal shares advanced while banks, FMCG and realty shares declined.

As per provisional closing, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex rose 33.20 points or 0.06% to 55,702.23. The Nifty 50 index rose 5.05 points or 0.03% to 16,682.65.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.21% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.32%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1527 shares rose while 1815 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 57.9 in April, up from 53.6 in March. The expansion was the fastest since last November. The output was boosted by higher bookings, the easing of pandemic-related restrictions and favourable demand conditions.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures were down 141 points, indicating a weak opening in the US stocks today.

European markets rallied across the board while most Asian stocks ended higher on Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve doused speculation about more aggressive monetary tightening.

China's services sector activity shrunk further in April, a private sector survey showed Thursday. The Caixin services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) declined to 36.2 for April, lower than March's reading of 42.

Meanwhile, US private payrolls climbed by 247,000 in April, according to the ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday.

The U.S. trade deficit jumped 22.3% to record $109.8 billion in March, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said Wednesday. U.S. imports climbed 10.3% to $351.5 billion, while U.S. exports increased 5.6% to $241.7 billion in March.

In addition, the Institute for Supply Management services index showed weaker new-orders growth and employment, with the number dropping to 57.1% in April from 58.3%.

US Fed Policy Action:

The United States Federal Reserve raised its benchmark short-term interest rate by 50 basis point on Wednesday, its most aggressive move since 2000. This triggered a relief rally across global stocks as investors were worried that Fed might shock markets with a 75 bps hike.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said half-point rises remain on the table for the next couple of meetings. Powell talked about a strong economy, but also the pain consumers have been feeling at the grocery store and gas pump, in afternoon news conference, saying higher interest rates are the cure.

The Fed also outlined plans to reduce its near $9 trillion balance sheet, first by $47.5 billion a month starting in June, but ramping up to $95 billion a month. This will result in a nearly $3 trillion reduction in its record size over the next three years.

Buzzing Segment:

The Nifty IT index jumped 2.01% at 31413. The index fell 3.51% in the past three sessions.

Among the components of the Nifty IT index, Tech Mahindra (up 4.17%), Infosys (up 3.23%), Coforge (up 2.79%), HCL Technologies (up 2.59%), L&T Technology Services (up 2.23%), Wipro (up 1.91%), Mindtree (up 1.19%), Tata Consultancy Services (up 0.97%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (up 0.57%) and Mphasis (up 0.35%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Power Company rose 1.06%. The company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Tata Power Solar Systems bagged single solar EPC order of 1GW (gigawatt) for approximately Rs 5,500 crore from SJVN, hydroelectric power generation company.

Adani Power hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 279.50 after the company's consolidated net profit soared to Rs 4645.47 crore in Q4 FY22 as against net profit of Rs 13.13 crore in Q4 FY21. Net sales in the fourth quarter stood at Rs 10,597.78 crore, up 66.28% from Rs 6,373.60 crore reported in the same period last year.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 0.28%. The company on Thursday announced that its railway arm secured a contract from National High-Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) to construct 116 route kilometre of high-speed ballastless trackworks.

The contract received is for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project, popularly referred to as the Bullet Train Project. As per L&T classification, the value of the 'large' contract lies between Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 5,000 crore.

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