At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 323.92 points or 0.46% to 74,001.32. The Nifty 50 index gained 62.80 points or 0.28% to 22,466.65.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.03% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.18%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,358 shares rose and 1,376 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

The National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange will hold a special live trading session on Saturday, 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 would be 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.

Gainers & Losers:

Mahindra & Mahindra (up 7.55%), JSW steel (up 2.66%), Ultratech Cement (up 1.72%), Grasim Industries (up 1.43%) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.32%) were major Nifty gainers.

Cipla (down 1.44%), Britannia industries (down 0.96%), Hero Motocorp (down 0.94%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.92%) and Tata Consultancy Services (down 0.87%) were major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vedanta added 2.12% to Rs 442.80 after the mining company on Thursday, 16 May 2024 announced that its board has approved to raise funds up to Rs 8,500 crore by various financial instruments.

In an exchange filing, the company said that its board has declared a dividend of Rs 11 per share for the financial year 2024-25.The record date for the purpose of payment of dividend shall be Saturday, 25 May, 2024.

Vodafone Idea jumped 2.13%. The telecom service provider’s consolidated net loss widened to Rs 7,674.6 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 6,418.9 crore in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations increased marginally to Rs 10,606.8 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 10,531.9 crore posted in Q4 FY23, aided by improving subscriber mix, 4G subscriber additions and change in entry level plan.

Kaynes Technology India locked in 20% upper circuit after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 96.8% to Rs 813 crore from Rs 413 crore posted in same quarter last year. Revenue from operations increased 74.8% YoY to Rs 637.3 crore in Q4 FY24.

Indian Hume Pipe soared 16.66% after the company’s consolidated net profit surged to Rs 43.66 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 16.01 crore posted in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations fell 11% to Rs 404.28 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 454.20 crore in Q4 FY23.

Restaurant Brands Asia advanced 2.49%. The company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 92.09 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with net loss of Rs 79.95 crore in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations jumped 16.319% YoY to Rs 597.14 crore in Q4 FY24.

Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) added 2.51% after the company’s consolidated net profit rose 13.51% to Rs 316.93 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared to Rs 279.20 crore posted in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations grew by 6.45% year on year to Rs 2,325.13 crore during the quarter.

Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) slipped 1.21% after the company reported 29.8% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 65.47 crore in Q4 FY24 from Rs 93.27 crore in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations rose by 10% YoY to Rs 633.80 crore during the period under review.

JK Paper’s rallied 5.96%. The company’s consolidated net profit fell 1.74% to Rs 278.60 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 283.52 crore posted in same quarter last year. Revenue from operations declined marginally to Rs 1,718.61 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

Biocon rose 0.87%. The company reported 56.74% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 135.5 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 313.2 crore posted in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations rose 3.79% year on year (YoY) to Rs 3,917.1 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

Global Markets:

European stocks declined while most of the Asian stocks traded higher on Friday as investors weighed the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path. Fed officials signaled interest rates might stay elevated for longer despite signs of easing inflation.

China's industrial production grew 6.7% year-on-year in April, accelerating from March's 4.5% rise, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. However, consumer spending remained weak, with retail sales growing 2.3% year-on-year in April, down from March's 3.1% increase.

US stocks closed slightly lower on Thursday after the Dow Jones reached an intra-day high of 40,000 for the first time. The rally followed recalibrated investor expectations for Fed rate cuts after April's inflation slowdown. Strong corporate earnings also contributed to the bullish sentiment.

On Thursday, the US weekly Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending May 11 came in at 222,000 from the previous week of 232,000, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Housing Starts climbed 5.7% MoM to 1.36 million in April, while Building Permits declined by 3% MoM in April to 1.44 million.