In the week ended on Friday, 24 May 2024, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 1,404.45 points or 1.90% to settle at 75,410.39. The Nifty 50 index added 455.1 points or 2.02% to close at 22,957.10. The BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 1.1% to end at 43,519.44. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.08% to close at 47,996.45.

Weekly Index Movement:

Indian domestic equity markets were closed on Monday, 20 May 2024 on account of Lok Sabha Election 2024.

The domestic stocks ended almost flat today, clawing back from early losses on Tuesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 52.63 points or 0.07% to 73,953.31. The Nifty 50 added 27.05 points or 0.12% to 22,529.05.

The benchmark indices clawed their way back today, with the Nifty closing near 22,600 despite early weakness on Wednesday. In the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 267.75 points or 0.36% to 74,221.06. The Nifty 50 added 68.75 points or 0.31% to 22,597.80.

The domestic equity benchmarks rocketed higher today, with the Nifty50 breaching a fresh record and settling above 22,950 on Thursday. In the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, surged 1,196.98 points or 1.61% to 75,418.04. The Nifty 50 index jumped 369.85 points or 1.64% to 22,967.65.

Indian equity benchmarks ended near the flat line with some negative bias on Friday. In the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was, down 7.65 points or 0.01% to 75,410.39. The Nifty 50 index shed 10.55 points or 0.05% to 22,957.10.

Economy:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a transfer of Rs 2.11 lakh crore to the government for the financial year 2023-24. This represents the highest surplus transfer on record by the central bank. This surplus will be reflected in the government's accounts for the financial year 2024-25, providing a significant boost to their fiscal position.

India's business activity continued to expand at a robust pace in May, according to the HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index. The index rose to 61.7, marking the third-strongest growth in nearly 14 years. This strength was driven by a sharp rise in services activity, which hit a four-month high.

HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI, however, slipped from 58.8 in April to 58.4 in May, showing the weakest improvement in the health of the sector for three months but one that remained strong by historical standards.

HSBC Flash India Services PMI Business Activity Index stood at 61.4 in May as against 60.8 in April.

Stocks in Spotlight:

ITC rose 0.01%. The diversified conglomerate’s net profit declined marginally to Rs 5,020.20 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 5,086.86 crore posted in Q4 FY23. Net revenue was at Rs 16,371 crore in the March quarter, up 1.4% from Rs 16,150 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Power Grid Corporation of India increased 0.52%. The company’s consolidated net profit declined 3.62% to Rs 4,166.33 crore on 2.5% fall in revenue from operations to Rs 11,978.11 crore in Q4 FY24 over Q4 FY23.

Grasim Industries added 0.33%. The company’s consolidated net profit rose marginally to Rs 1,369.82 crore in Q4 FY24 from Rs 1,368.92 crore in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations increased 12.75% year on year (YoY) to Rs 37,727.13 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

Reliance Industries added 3.17%. The company entered into licensing agreement with Nel ASA for manufacturing Nel’s alkaline electrolysers in India and for captive purposes globally. Through the agreement, Reliance gets access to Nel’s proven technology platform for manufacturing electrolysers.

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) advanced 1.29%. The state-owned oil & exploration company reported standalone net profit of Rs 9,869.37 crore in Q4 FY24, steeply higher than Rs 527.86 crore recorded in Q4 FY23.However, revenue from operations slipped 4.56% year on year to Rs 34,636.69 crore during the quarter.

Hindalco Industries gained 2.82%. The Aditya Birla Group company’s consolidated net profit surged 31.65% to Rs 3,174 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 2,411 crore posted in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations rose marginally to Rs 55,994 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 55,857 reported in the same period a year ago.

Godrej Properties slipped 4.13%. The media reports suggested that the Ministry of Defence raised objection against the real estate company's ongoing residential project in Kandivali, Mumbai.

As per reports, the Central Ordinance Depot has asked the Godrej company to suspend the project as it is 500 meters away from its office in Mumbai. The estimated income for the company from this project reportedly is Rs 7,000 crore.

The Godrej Reserve project is reportedly being built on an 18.6-acre land parcel. According the media reports, the developer has already launched about 1.91 million square feet and had got bookings for 1.51 million square feet worth Rs 2,693 crore.

Global Markets:

Japan's manufacturing sector showed a positive surprise, expanding to 50.5 in May.

In Japan, inflation moderated for the second consecutive month, as investors continued to assess the Bank of Japan's capacity for further interest rate hikes this year. Core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 2.2% year-on-year in April, according to data released by the Statistics Bureau on Friday. This represents a decrease from the 2.6% increase observed in the previous month.

Initial jobless claims in the United States for the week ending May 18th came in at a higher-than-expected 2.15 lakh, while May’s S&P Global Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to a 12-month high of 50.9 on Thursday.