Benchmarks turn rangebound, PSU bank shares advance

The key equity indices traded in narrow range with major gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty marched above the 22,300 level. PSU bank shares extended gains for second consecutive trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 1214.15 points or 1.67% to 73,714.45. The Nifty 50 index surged 350.75 points or 1.60% to 22,333.55.

The Sensex clocked an all-time high of 73,802.55 while the Nifty hit record high of 22,348.40 in afternoon trade.

In the broader market, S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.68% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.64%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,438 shares rose and 1,359 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India�s economy grew much faster than expected in the October to December quarter. Data showed GDP grew 8.4% in the third fiscal quarter on the back of higher private consumption and strong manufacturing and construction activity. The October-December quarter reading was also higher than the 7.6% growth clocked in the prior three months. The government raised its GDP growth outlook for fiscal year 2023-24 to 7.6% from 7.3% forecast earlier.

Meanwhile, India`s eight core sectors posted a growth of 3.6% in January, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on February 29. In December 2023, core sector growth had printed in at 3.8%. The commerce ministry, on February 29, revised this figure up to 4.9%.

Separately, the Central government`s fiscal deficit widened to Rs 11.03 lakh crore in April 2023-January 2024 from Rs 9.82 lakh crore in April-December, data released by the Controller General of Accounts showed on February 29.

Furthermore, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers� Index (PMI) recovered further from December`s 18-month low, rising from 56.5 in January to 56.9 in February. Production levels were raised in tandem with a further steep increase in inflows of new orders, besides advanced technology and buoyant demand conditions.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index jumped 2.07% to 7,073.30. The index rallied 3.40% in previous two trading sessions.

Bank of India (up 3.39%), UCO Bank (up 3.17%), State Bank of India (up 2.72%), Canara Bank (up 2.04%) and Bank of Maharashtra (up 1.84%) advanced.

Among the other gainers were Punjab National Bank (up 1.76%), Central Bank of India (up 1.68%), Bank of Baroda (up 1.53%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 1.01%) and Punjab & Sind Bank (up 0.93%).

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.04% to 7.081 as compared with previous close 7.078.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.8975, compared with its close of 82.8900 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement shed 0.23% to Rs 62,426.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.01% to 104.15.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.65% to 4.280.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2024 settlement rose 8 cents or 0.10% to $81.99 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

H G Infra Engineering rallied 2.65% after the company said that it has been declared as lowest bidder (L-1) by East Central Railway for a construction project, under EPC mode.

Waaree Renewable Technologies was locked in upper circuit of 5% after the company has received letter of intent (LOI) from North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) for aggregating Rs 1,401 crore.

Servotech Power Systems rose 1.71% while Indian Oil Corporation of India jumped 2.75% after the company received an order of 1400 DC fast EV chargers from Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) and other EV charger OEMs.

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