Indices trade with significant gains; media shares advance

The key equity benchmarks traded with substantial gains in the mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty above the 22,000 level in mid-morning trade. Media shares advanced after declining for the two consecutive trading sessions.

At 14:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 535.99 points or 0.74% to 72,633.41. The Nifty 50 index gained 170.15 points or 0.78% to 22,009.25.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.99% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 2.03%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,797 shares rose and 968 shares fell. A total of 117 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The HSBC Flash India composite PMI rose to 61.3 in March as compared with 60.6 in February. It indicated a sharp rate of expansion that was the strongest since July 2023.

The data showed the strongest increase in private sector output for eight months during March, amid a pick-up in growth at goods producers. Buoyant demand conditions fuelled growth, with aggregate sales rising at a sharp and accelerated pace. The manufacturing industry led the upturn with the fastest expansions in factory orders and production in nearly three-and-a-half years.

Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC, said, Led by the strongest manufacturing output in nearly three-and-a-half years, the composite output index rose quickly. New orders rose at a faster pace than in the previous month, and within that both domestic and export orders showed improved vigour. Input prices grew at a faster pace in March, and all the increase was not passed on to output prices, leading to some softening in composite margins.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media Index gained 1.77% to 1,826.70. The index declined 2.63% in the two trading session.

Dish TV India (up 3.6%), PVR Inox (up 3.26%), Sun TV Network (up 2.9%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (up 2.58%) and TV18 Broadcast (up 1.57%) were the top gainers.

Among the other gainers were Nazara Technologies (up 1.5%), D B Corp (up 1.28%), Network 18 Media & Investments (up 0.93%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (up 0.64%).

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper fell 0.48% to 7.063 as compared with the previous close of 7.095.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.1375, compared with its close of 83.1900 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement gained 1.44% to Rs 66,699.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.24% to 103.59.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.45% to 4.250.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2024 settlement added 34 cents or 0.40% to $86.29 a barrel.

Stocks in spotlight:

Wockhardt rose 0.64%. The companys board of directors has approved the opening of qualified institutional placement (QIP) of equity shares with the floor price of Rs 544.02 per share.

NMDC rose 0.12%. The state-owned iron ore miner informed that it has decreased prices of lump ore and fines, effective from 21 March 2024.

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