Welcome to ETMarkets Watch, the show about stocks, market trends and money-making ideas. I am Bhaskar Dutta and here are the top headlines at this hour.
Tax collections soar to record high in FY22
RBI pegs economic growth at 7.2% for FY23
RBI restores Liquidity Adjustment Facility corridor after two years
Fuel prices unchanged for 2nd straight day
First quarter residential sales see robust growth
Delhi announces EV scheme for staff
Let’s take a quick glance at what happened on Dalal Street today.
Domestic equity markets snapped a three-day losing streak and ended the week on a strong footing as investors were relieved that the RBI kept the repo rate unchanged and maintained an accommodative policy stance.
While the RBI’s decision to increase its inflation projections while lowering growth projections weighed on sentiment, the central bank’s assurance of sufficient liquidity in the market provided comfort.
Stock markets also took heart from a renewal in buying interest from overseas investors, especially as these players had embarked on a massive selling spree in Jan-Mar.
Hefty buying in FMCG, metals and oil and gas counters lifted the headline indices most, while bank and auto stocks also gained.
The BSE barometer Sensex swung in a band of 778 points before settling 412 points higher at 59,447.18. The index has shed 1,164 points over the last five trading days.
Its broader peer, the Nifty50, moved in a band of 242 points. The index closed just below the 17,800 mark, gaining 161 points for the day.
Broader markets outperformed their headline peers, with the BSE midcap and smallcap indices adding 0.9 and 1 per cent, respectively. Fear gauge India VIX fell 6.9 per cent to end at 17.69.
22 out of the 30 stocks on the BSE Sensex gained, with ITC gaining 4.4 per cent to lead the pack. M&M rose 2.7 per cent, while Dr Reddy’s gained 2.6 per cent. Titan and Reliance gained 2.3 and 1.8 per cent, respectively.
Tech Mahindra led the losers for the day with a 1.3 per cent fall, followed by Maruti, which shed 1 per cent. NTCP shed 1 per cent, while HCL tech slid 0.7 per cent.
67 stocks tested their 52-week highs during the day, whereas 5 hit 52-week lows.
We have Arijit Malakar from Ashika Stock Broking to share his views on the action and the road ahead:
Welcome to the show sir:
1. Markets were largely subdued but managed to end on a firm note. What was the key takeaway from the RBI’s policy?
2. The inflation forecast for the current year has been sharply hiked. Which are the sectors that would be most affected?
We also caught up with Vaishali Parekh from Prabhudas Lilladher to decode the technical charts for you.
1. The Nifty50 settled near the 17,800 level. What do the technical charts suggest about it?
2. Bank Nifty, which has been under pressure this week, underperformed the Nifty. What is your outlook?
Asian markets ended higher for the day. Major European markets were trading with firm gains in the first few hours of trade. Meanwhile, US stock futures were up, signalling a positive start to US equities later in the day.
That’s all for now. Do check out ETMarkets.com for all the news, market analysis, investment strategies and dozens of stock recommendations. Enjoy your evening. Bye Bye!
