Mr. Mitul Shah - Head of Research at Reliance Securities.
Indian equities ended on a positive note with the benchmark Nifty closing 0.8% higher. Broader markets too were strong with the Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap up 1.2% and 0.8% respectively. All the sectoral indices ended in green except Nifty Consumer Durables which ended 0.3% lower. Nifty PSU bank was the biggest gainer, up 2.5% followed by Nifty Media and Nifty IT which ended 1.8% and 1.3% higher respectively. Meanwhile, CMIE data suggests that the Index of consumer sentiment is expected to grow by 2-3% in April, higher than 1.2% growth registered in March but lower compared to a growth of 4-5% registered in January and February.
U.S. markets surged on Thursday as Wall Street logged one of its best days in the year, powered by earnings from Big Tech companies. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 recorded their best days since January, gaining 1.6% and 2.0% respectively, while the Nasdaq saw its best day since March, rising 2.4%.
The markets are in the thick of the earnings season both in India and globally. Sample of 70 companies to have reported their 4QFY23 results so far shows revenue growth of 9.7% YoY and PAT growth of 12.7% YoY. Investors will closely analyse the quarterly numbers and the management commentary on the demand scenario in the economy. Commodity prices including Brent crude prices will depend on the extent of the recessionary conditions in the US and recovery in China. The Fed Reserve is likely to hike interest rates by 25bps in its meeting scheduled next week. Bond yields in India have cooled down following the pause in rate hikes from the RBI which lowers the borrowing costs for the government as well as corporates. The decline in the dollar index and the stable macros have also led to the rupee strengthening to 1 month high. The Indian markets will remain shut on Monday on account of Maharashtra Day.