Closing Bell: Nifty above 18,000, Sensex gains 463 pts; all sectors in the green

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

The benchmark Nifty has moved deeper into the gains as the bulls took the index above 18000, following a "Head and Shoulder" pattern on the daily timeframe.

The current rally was well predicted by the writers, as they had a decent short PE position at the 17800 strike price. On the higher end, less significant short CE built up at the higher strike prices was visible.

On the higher end, Nifty might continue its upward journey till it holds above 18,000 on a closing basis. Resistance on the higher end is placed at 18,200, above which a further rally might come.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services:

Despite concerns about potentially weaker US GDP numbers and high inflation, the stronger-than-expected earnings reported by Meta propelled IT stocks to the forefront of the Wall Street rally. The trend was reflected in the domestic market, as beaten-down IT stocks helped to lift broader market sentiment. However, with US inflation remaining high, the prospect of another rate hike by the Fed is looming, keeping global markets volatile in the coming days.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking

Markets ended the week on a strong note and gained nearly a percent. After the muted start, buying in select index majors aided gradual recovery however the actual momentum came in the final hour, which pushed the Nifty closer to the 18,100 mark.

All sectors contributed to the move wherein energy, IT and auto were among the top performers. The market breadth was also inclined strongly towards the advancing side, reflecting noticeable interest in midcap and smallcap space.

The recent rebound in the US markets has fueled this surge while indications are mixed from the earnings so far. We feel the continued recovery in other key sectors like energy and IT pack would be critical to maintain the momentum. Meanwhile, we suggest continuing with a bullish view and focusing on accumulating quality stocks on dips.

Rupee Close:

Indian rupee closed flat at 81.83 per dollar against previous close of 81.84.

Market Close:

Benchmark indices ended higher on April 28 with Nifty above 18,000.

At close, the Sensex was up 463.06 points or 0.76% at 61,112.44, and the Nifty was up 150.00 points or 0.84% at 18,065. About 2167 shares advanced, 1238 shares declined, and 128 shares unchanged.

Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Britannia Industries, Wipro and Nestle India were among the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Axis Bank, ONGC, HCL Technologies, JSW Steel and Titan Company.

All the sectoral indices ended in the green with capital goods, infra, power, PSU Bank and Information Technology up 1 percnet each.

BSE Midcap and smallcap indices up 1 percent each.

Supreme Industries Q4 Results:

The company's net profit was up 10.9% at Rs 359.4 crore versus Rs 324 crore and revenue was up 1.6% at Rs 2,598.3 crore versus Rs 2,557 crore, YoY.

HFCL bags purchase orders of Rs 66 crore

HFCL along with its material subsidiary HTL has received the purchase orders of Rs 65.72 crore from Reliance Retail for supply of optical fiber cables to one of the leading private telecom operators of the country.

Thermax order win

Thermax Limited has secured an order of Rs 271.50 crore from India’s biggest oil refinery in the private sector for a mechanical balance of plant (MBoP) works for the captive power plant (CPP) at their new oil-to-chemical (O2C) facility inwestern India. The proposed CPP is expected to meet the incremental power demand of upcoming projects at the customer’s premise as part of O2C expansion and the establishment of a mega factory.

CSB Bank Q4 earnings

CSB Bank recorded a net profitof Rs 156.3 crore in the fourth quarter, reflecting 19.6 percent on-year growth. Net interest income also rose 14.8 percent year-on-year to Rs348.5 crore in the March quarter from rs 304 crore in the year-ago period.

Gross non-performing assets(NPAs) were down to 1.26 percent from 1.45 percent in the previous quarter. Net NPAs also witnessed a sequential decline to 0.35 percent in Q4 from 0.42 percent in Q3.

Tata Metaliks Q4 results

Tata Metaliks posted a net profitof Rs 55.6 crore during the January-March period, up 5.9 percent from Rs 52.5 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue also jumped 14.6 percent on year to Rs 926 crore as against Rs 808 crore in the same quarter last year. EBITDAmargin also expanded to 10.1 percent in Q4 from 7.2 percentlast year.

Trent falls 3% as Zudio hits Q4 margins

Tata Group's Trent has recorded stellar growth in topline and bottom line for the March 2023 quarter. Its net profit came in at Rs 54.2 crore against Rs 20.87 crore in the year-ago period.

Revenue from operations grew 64 percent YoY to Rs 2,182.8 crore from Rs 1,328.9 crore in Q4 FY22. While EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) jumped 50.8 percent to Rs 203 crore, margins declined to 9.3 percent from 10.1 percent.

But, analysts are not too worried. According to ICICI Securities, the decline in margins can be attributed to the increased revenue share from Zudio, which accounts for approximately 35 percent of revenue based on their estimates.

Market at 1 pm

Benchmark indices were trading at day's high, with the Nifty above 17,950.

The Sensex was up 164.19 points or 0.27 percentat 60,813.57, and the Nifty was up 56.80 points or 0.32percentat 17,971.80. About 1,995 shares advanced, 1,167 declined, and 109 were unchanged.

Jefferies on Laurus Labs

-Downgrade to 'underperform' from 'hold' rating, cut target to Rs 250 from Rs 325 per share
-Big miss in Q4FY23, multiple headwinds
-Laurus missed our estimates for a 3rd consecutive quarter
-Formulations sales recovered QoQ
-Decline in CDMO sales ex-Paxlovid was sharper than expected
-Co expects improvement from 2HFY24
-Tepid base biz growth, no big CDMO pdt & unused capacity will lead to margin pressure
-Cut FY24-25 EPS estimate by 22-23 percent

Glenmark Life scales 52-week high on strong Q4 earnings

Shares of Glenmark Life Sciences surged over 9 percent in early trade on April 28, a day after the company posted a robust set of earnings for the March quarter, reflecting growth across all parameters.

The company recorded revenue growth of 20.9 percent on year to Rs 621.3 crore backed by strong traction in the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) segments. Steady growth momentum across regulated as well as emerging markets supported growth in the API business, while pick-up in demand from one project which was affected by inventory rationalization aided rise in CDMO revenues.

Strong revenues also aided the drugmaker's bottomline which rose 48 percent on year to Rs 146.36 crore in Q4 whereas EBIDTA margin also expanded 500 basis points to 33.7 percent.

Kotak Institutional Equities on LTIMindtree 

Kotak Institutional Equities has given LTIMindtree a ‘reduce’ rating at a TP of Rs 4,500. Q4 revenue missed expectations while margin was in-line, it said adding that revenues were impacted due to delay in the ramp-up of deals and extended furloughs in the hi-tech vertical. It believes management guidance appears aggressive and expects a slow start to FY24. The brokerage has cut its FY25 EPS estimate by 0.9 percent and revenue estimates by around onepercent for FY24-25 on demand headwinds.

Market at 12 pm

Benchmark indices sustained their marginal gains as the Nifty hovered around 17,950. Among sectors, IT and automobiles gained while financialsremained weak.

TheSensexwas up 91.10 points or 0.15 percentat 60,740.48, and the Nifty was up 40.20 points or 0.22percentat 17,955.20. About 2,054 shares advanced, 1,060 declined, and 107 were unchanged.

Cartrade Tech Q4 results

Cartrade Tech posted a net profit of Rs 15 crore for the January-March period, as againsta net loss of Rs 25.7 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue also rose 3.2 percent YoY to Rs 96 crore, from Rs 93 crore a year ago. EBITDAmargin was at 12.4 percent.

RVNL rises on order win

Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) shares jumped 8 percent in the morning trade on April 28 after the company announced winning a Rs 121-crore project from the North-Central Railways.

The project is for the provision of E1-based automatic signalingwith continuous track circuiting and other associated works on the Jhansi-Gwalior section of the Jhansi Division of North Central Railway, the construction arm of the rail ministry said in an exchange filing.

As on March 31, 2023, based on the projections, the company will have an order book of around Rs 55,000-60,000 crore. Out of Rs 55,000 crore, 20 percent is through market bidding, and the rest are railway projects, which have been given on a nomination basis, RVNL said in its latest conference call.

Nuvama view on Axis Bank

Nuvama Institutional Equities says Axis Bank reported a weak quarter with too many merger adjustments and a miss on core earnings.

But, as the stock trades at a discount to peers, Nuvama says it makes its risk-reward attractive. The broking firm also sees pressure on Axis Bank's operational expenditures from Citi’s integration and also on NIMs from the higher cost of funds.

Nonetheless, cheap valuations support Nuvama's reasoning to retain a “buy” rating on the stock, with a price target of Rs 1,100.

Motilal Oswal Q4 results

The shares of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd slipped 3 percent in early trade on April 28after the firm reported a considerable drop in net profit on a year-on-year basis. Motilal Oswal's consolidated net profit is down about 45 percent to Rs 165 crore against Rs 299 crore in the same period last year.

The company's revenue from operations also fell 2 percent to Rs 1,027 crore over the previous year period. The company also declared a final dividend of Rs 3 per share for the financial year 2022-23. The profit for the capital market business stood at Rs 135 crore, and that from the asset and wealth business stood at Rs 66 crore.

IRB Infra gains 4% on order win

Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers rose over 4 percent on April 28 after the company bagged an order from Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA).

The company has emerged as the selected bidder for the project of Tolling, Operation, Maintenance and Transfer of Nehru Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad, Telangana. And IRB Infrastructure has secured an order from HMDA.

Kotak Institutional Equities sees 17 percent YoY growth in revenues for the company during the quarter ended March due to improved execution of under-construction projects and toll revenues. Execution will ramp up further from Ganga Expressway in the coming quarters, it said.

Jefferies view on Coforge

-Upgrade to Hold, target at Rs 3,760 per share
-Q4 revenues in-line; profits miss estimates
-Growth led by the ramp-up of orders in insurance & other verticals
-Steady deal wins; In-line FY24 growth guidance
-Investments in growth to limit margin expansion
-Raise our FY24 estimates by 4 percent but lower FY25 estimates by 2 percent

Market at 11 am

Benchmark indices were trading flat amidst high volatility. Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises and Wipro were among the top gainers.

The Sensex was up 13.84 points or 0.02 percent at 60,663.22, and the Nifty was up 17.70 points or 0.10 percentat 17,932.70. About 1,936 shares advanced, 1,083 declined, and 111 were unchanged.

Macquarie view on Axis Bank

Global research and broking firm Macquarie has given Axis Bank an “outperform” rating with a target of Rs 940 a share. It, however, says that growth needs to pick up, as losses were as expected.

The firm also believes that credit costs are driving Return on Assets (RoA) for the lender. The bank has prioritised margin over loan growth, which Macquarie has taken note of.

Macquarie also suggests closely monitoring the full impact of the Citibank acquisition on the lender’s performance in FY24.

HDFC Bank board approves Kaizad Bharucha as deputy MD

HDFC Bank's board of directors has approved the appointment of Kaizad Bharucha as Deputy Managing Director, and Bhavesh Zaveri as Executive Director of the bank for three years from April 19, 2023.

HDFC Bank was quoting at Rs 1,676.85, down Rs 4.20, or 0.25 percent on the BSE.

LTIMindtree Q4 profit jumps 11.3% QoQ to Rs 1,113.7 crore

LTIMindtree's consolidated profit grew by 11.3 percent QoQ to Rs 1,113.7 crore and revenue increased by 0.8percentto Rs 8,691 crore compared to the previous quarter. Operating numbers remained strong, boosting the bottomline.

Revenue in dollar terms increased by 1percentQoQ to $1,057.5 million and the same in constant currency grew 0.7 percent. The board recommended a final dividend of Rs 40 per share for FY23.

LTIMindtree was quoting at Rs 4,364.55, up Rs 44.25, or 1.02 percent on the BSE.

Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities:

Gold prices firm with spot gold at Comex was trading higher by 0.04% at 1987 per ounce in the morning trade. In previous session gold price was settled marginally weak after falling below USd 1980 per ounce as the US Dollar and bond yields rose following data showed the personal consumption expenditure price rose more than estimated while initial Jobless claims also unexpectedly fell in previous week. Meanwhile, market discounted another 25-basis point rate hike by Federal Reserve in its next week policy meeting. Higher interest rate scenario negative for non-yielding metal.

We expect gold price can fall further once price break support of USD 1965 per ounce. Buying should avoid until price trades below USD 2019 per ounce.
Comex spot gold having supports at USD 1965/1940 per ounce and resistance at USD 2005/2019 per ounce. MCX Gold June future having support at Rs 59100 per 10 gram and resistance at Rs 60300 per 10 grams.

BSE Information Technology index up 1 percent supported by Sasken Technologies, Cressanda Solution, Coforge

Nirmal Bang View on Wipro

The brokerage firm has cut its revenue estimates by 3 percent across FY24-FY26 and trimmed the margin, leading to a 4-5 percent cut in PAT. However, incorporating the impact of the buyback at the EPS level, the impact is very minimal.

Around 4.9 percent of the equity is being bought back. Nirmal Bang expects the buyback to provide support to the stock in the immediate term.

It maintains the target PE multiple at 13.5x on FY25E EPS (30 percent discount to the target multiple of TCS, the brokerage’s industry valuation benchmark) to arrive at a target price of Rs 350. It maintains its “sell” call on the stock.

Wipro was quoting at Rs 385.40, up Rs 11.05, or 2.95 percent on the BSE.

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services:

There is global support to the ongoing rally in the Indian market. The mother market, US, is doing well supported by better-than-expected earnings from Big Tech companies. The latest GDP numbers from the US indicate a strong but slowing economy. Markets are now discounting a 25 bp rate hike by the Fed next week and then a pause. This will be favourable for the market in the short-term.

Since the Nifty has moved up by 5 percentin the April series, some profit booking can happen in the near-term. An important sectoral trend in the market is that while large-cap IT has been performing poorly, mid-cap is doing well and some of them have given optimistic guidance for FY24. Stay invested in mid-cap IT. Long-term investors can utilise weakness in large-cap IT to accumulate these stocks. Banking stocks will remain resilient.

Market at 10 AM

Indian benchmark indices were trading flat amid volatility.

The Sensex was down 31.70 points or 0.05 percentat 60,617.68, and the Nifty was up 0.50 points or flatat 17,915.50. About 1,909 shares advanced, 919 declined, and 94 were unchanged.

Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities

Gold and silver prices ended flat in a choppy session on Thursday, while the US Dollar and bond yields climbed following the weaker-than-expected first-quarter Gross Domestic Product.

The U.S. data released on Thursday were mixed. Economic data from the US showed the economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.1 percentduring the first quarter, below the 2percentmarket consensus and way lesser than the 2.6percentgrowth registered in the previous quarter. The Core PCE rose 4.9 percent,above the expected 4.7 percent.

Technically, gold has support at USD 1,980-1,965 while resistance is at USD 2,005-2,015. Silver has support at USD 24.76-24.58, while resistance is at USD 25.12-25.25. In INR terms gold has support at Rs 59,740-59,550, while resistance is at Rs 60,320, 60,510. Silver has support at Rs 73,480-73,050, while resistance is at Rs 74,650–75,030.

Kotak Institutional Equities View on Wipro

The research house has kept a “reduce” rating with a target of Rs 360 per share. The company reported a QoQ constant currency (CC) revenue decline of 0.6 percent, meeting lower end of its guidance band, it said.

It was a weak end to the year, however, the energy vertical helped to meet guidance.

The company's guidance for 1QFY24 CC revenue decline of 1-3 percent was below Kotak's expectations.

The only positive is the reasonable TCV. The brokerage expects Wipro to continue underperforming peers on revenue growth over FY24-25, while some margin improvement is likely to be consumed by the lack of growth leverage.

The firm has cut its FY2024-25e revenue estimates by 1-2 percent, leading to a 3-4 percent EPS cut.

The buyback plan, however, can provide a stabilising force to the stock price in the near term.

Nifty PSU Bank index up 1 percent led by Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, UCO Bank

Gold set for monthly gain on economic woes, softer dollar

Gold prices were poised for a second monthly gain on Friday as lingering economic concerns and a weaker dollar drove investors to the safe-haven asset, with markets now focused on the Federal Reserve's meeting due next month.

Spot gold held its ground at $1,989.50 per ounce by 0310 GMT, and was headed for a 1.1% monthly gain.

U.S. gold futures were flat at $1,999.00.

Praveen Singh – Associate VP, Fundamental currencies and Commodities, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas

Spot goldbarely changed yesterday as hotter than expected 1Q A core PCE QoQ (4.90percentVs the estimate of 4.70 percent) and 1QA GDP price Index (4percentvs the estimate of 3.70 percent) stoked inflation concerns, which led to a rise in the US yields, thus supported the weak looking US Dollar to some extent.

Gold once again tumbled sharply lower from $2,000+ level. The Q1 US GDP stood at 1.1percentas against the forecast of 1.90 percent; however real final sales were robust. Weak-looking commodities were helped by disappointing US pending home sales in March fell 5.2percenty-o-y vsthe forecast of a rise of 0.8 percent.

Bank of Japan will deliver its monetary policy decision today, though no changes are expected with respect to benchmark interest rate or yield curve control range. Still, some movement may be expected based on the presser of Governor Ueda.

Today's US data include crucial core PCE deflator (March).

Gold is still stuck in $50 range ($1,969-$2,020). The US inflation data may break the deadlock.

Results on April 29

Results Today: