At 09:31 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 144.95 points or 0.19% to 74,058.39. The Nifty 50 index added 50.80 points or 0.23% to 22,516.90.

The National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange are holding a special live trading session today, 18 May 2024, in the equity and equity derivative segments with an intra-day switchover from the Primary site to the Disaster Recovery site. The special session is divided into two parts – the first session will begin at 9:15 am and conclude at 10 am, followed by another session starting at 11:30 am and ending at 12:30 pm.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.62% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.89%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,075 shares rose and 636 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,616.79 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,556.25 crore in the Indian equity market on 16 May 2024, provisional data showed.

Numbers to Watch:

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2024 settlement rose 0.05% to Rs 73,750.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.03% to 104.50.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2024 settlement advanced 69 cents or 0.83% to $83.96 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Wipro rose 0.11%. The company undergoes a leadership change with Sanjeev Jai taking over as the new Chief Operating Officer, replacing Amit Chaudary.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises rallied 4.48% after the company reported net profit of Rs 84.18 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against net loss of Rs 351.01 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023. Sales rose 4.90% to Rs 2029.07 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 1934.22 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023.

JSW Steel declined 1.58% after the company’s consolidated net profit declined 64.55% to Rs 1299.00 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 3664.00 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023. Sales declined 1.51% to Rs 45646.00 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 46346.00 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023.

Balrampur Chini Mills shed 0.10%. the company ‘s consolidated net profit declined 20.07% to Rs 203.39 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 254.45 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023. Sales declined 3.84% to Rs 1434.26 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 1491.53 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023.

Global markets

Asian Market is shut on Saturday.

US equities on Friday gained, with the Dow Jones closing above the historic 40,000-level for the first time ever. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.34% to settle at an impressive 40,003.59. While the broader S&P 500 managed a modest gain of 0.1%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the day flat with a slight downward tilt. These positive market movements likely stem from a combination of strong corporate earnings reports and economic data that has fueled investor optimism about potential Federal Reserve interest rate reductions later this year.