In the week ended on Friday, 3 May 2024, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 147.99 points or 0.20% to settle at 73,878.15. The Nifty 50 index added 55.9 points or 0.25% to close at 22,475.85. The BSE Mid-Cap index rallied 1.99% to end at 42,414.53. The BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.1% to close at 47,191.41.

Weekly Index Movement:

Indian equity indices ended with major gains on Monday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 941.12 points or 1.28% to 74,671.28. The Nifty 50 index jumped 223.45 points or 1% to 22,643.40.

The domestic equity benchmarks ended with moderate losses on Tuesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 188.50 points or 0.25% to 74,482.78. The Nifty 50 index lost 38.55 points or 0.17% to 22,604.85.

The stock exchanges remained closed on Wednesday, 1 May 2024, on account of Maharashtra Day.

Indian equity indices ended a volatile session with minor gains on Thursday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 128.33 points or 0.17% to 74,611.11. The Nifty 50 index added 43.35 points or 0.19% to 22,648.20.

The headline equity indices witnessed sharp sell-off on Friday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 732.96 points or 0.98% to 73,878.15. The Nifty 50 index fell 172.35 points or 0.76% to 22,475.85.

Economy:

Despite falling from 59.1 in March to 58.8 in April, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) signalled the second-best improvement in the health of the sector for three-and-a-half years. The PMI was comfortably above both the neutral mark of 50.0 and its long-run average (53.9).

The Indian manufacturing sector started the first fiscal quarter in a high gear, according to the latest HSBC PMI data. Firms experienced a sharp upturn in new business intakes, and scaled up production accordingly.

April's rise in raw material stocks was supported by a further increase in buying levels. Inputs were purchased to the greatest degree since June 2023. Another factor that facilitated this was suppliers' ability to deliver items in a timely manner. Vendor performance improved for the second straight month.

Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC, said: “On the price front, higher costs of raw materials and labour led to a modest uptick in input costs, but inflation remains below the historical average. However, firms passed these increases onto consumers through higher output charges, as demand remained resilient, resulting in improved margins."

Meanwhile, the Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections hit a record high in April 2024 at Rs 2.10 lakh crore. This represents a significant 12.4% year-on-year growth, driven by a strong increase in domestic transactions (up 13.4%) and imports (up 8.3%). After accounting for refunds, the net GST revenue for April 2024 stands at Rs 1.92 lakh crore, reflecting an impressive 15.5% growth compared to the same period last year.

In the month of April, 2024, the central government settled Rs 50,307 crore to CGST and Rs 41,600 crore to SGST from the IGST collected. This translates to total revenue of Rs 94,153 crore for CGST and Rs 95,138 crore for SGST for April, 2024 after regular settlement.

Stocks in Spotlight:

ICICI Bank rose 3.08%. The private lender reported 17.38% increase in net profit to Rs 10,707.53 crore on a 20.74% rise in total income to Rs 43,597.14 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Q4 FY23.

HCL Technologies dropped 8.45%. The IT major’s consolidated net profit declined 8.37% to Rs 3,986 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 4,350 crore reported in Q3 FY24. Revenue from operations rose marginally to Rs 28,499 crore in the March quarter from Rs 28,446 crore recorded in the preceding quarter of FY24.

Maruti Suzuki India declined 1.38%. The auto maker's standalone net profit jumped 47.80% to Rs 3,877.8 crore in Q4 FY24 from Rs 2,623.6 crore recorded in Q4 FY23. Net sales jumped 19.06% year on year (YoY) to Rs 36,697.5 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

Meanwhile, the car manufacturer announced that its total production increased 16.99% to 169,751 units in April 2024 as against 145,096 units recorded in April 2023.

Tata Motors added 1.54%. The auto major’s total domestic sales rose 12% to 76,399 units sold in April 2024 as against 68,514 units sold in April 2023.

Hero MotoCorp added 1.23%. The company said that it had sold 533,585 units of motorcycles and scooters in April 2024, which is higher by 34.7% as compared with sales of 396,107 units recorded in April 2023.

TVS Motor Company rose 2.03%. The two-wheeler maker reported monthly sales of 383,615 units in April 2024, registering a growth of 25% as against 306,224 units sold in April 2023.

Adani Enterprises declined 2.9%. The company’s consolidated net profit fell 37.63% to Rs 450.58 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 722.48 crore posted in Q4 FY23. However, the revenue from operations increased marginally to Rs 29,180.02 crore in Q4 FY24 from Rs 28,943.84 crore recorded in Q4 FY23.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) shed 0.55%. The company’s consolidated net profit surged 76.2% to Rs 2,039.66 in Q4 FY24 as against to Rs 1,157.55 crore posted in the same period a year ago. Revenue from operations jumped 18.97% to Rs 6,896.50 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared to Rs 5,796.85 crore recorded in Q4 FY3.

Further, APSEZ handled 36.2 MMT of total cargo in April 2024, registering a growth of 12% YoY. APSEZ said that the growth was witnessed across all three broad cargo categories- dry (over 7% YoY), liquid & gas (more than 29%), and container (over 14%).

Coal India rallied 4.23%. The company reported 25.8% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,640 crore in Q4 FY24 from Rs 6,869 crore in Q4 FY23. Net sales, however, declined 3% to Rs 34,263.89 crore in the fourth quarter from Rs 35,161.44 crore recorded in the same period last year.

Global Market:

Euro Zone inflation came at 2.4% in April, stable compared with March 2024. Core inflation, excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, dipped to 2.7% from 2.9% in March.

China’s factory activity climbed faster than expected in April, with the official purchasing managers’ index coming at 50.4. Factory activity expansion was lower than the 50.8 seen in March.

South Korea’s consumer prices rose at a slower pace in April from March on a year-on-year basis, according to official data. April CPI came in at 2.9% year on year, compared with a 3.1% rise in March. Core CPI, excluding food and energy prices, rose 2.3%. It was slightly slower than a 2.4% increase in March.

March’s core personal consumption expenditures price index of U.S. excluding food and energy, rose 2.8% from a year ago, the Commerce Department reported.