The domestic equity barometers extended gains and traded near the day's high in mid-morning trade. Shares rose across the board with autos, IT, metals and PSU banks at the the fore. The Nifty was hovering above the 14,650 mark.

At 11:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 226.54 points or 0.46% to 49,030.22. The Nifty 50 index added 86.35 points or 0.59% to 14,667.80.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index, both advanced 1.30%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1752 shares rose and 820 shares fell. A total of 132 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's merchandise exports rose 60.3% at $34.5 billion in March as compared to the same month last year, while country's imports jumped 54% to $48.4 billion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry data showed.

During the 2020-21 financial year, India's overall Merchandise and Services exports dipped 6.6% to $493.2 billion over the same period last year. Overall imports in April-March 2020-21 declined 16.5% to $505.9 billion.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 138,851,279 with 2,984,413 deaths.

India reported 1,569,743 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 174,308 deaths while 12,547,866 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.]

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 1.63% to 9,849. The index had declined 1.29% to end at 9,691.45 yesterday.

Mahindra & Mahindra (up 3.40%), Tata Motors (up 3.01%), TVS Motor Company (up 2.61%), Hero MotoCorp (up 2%), Ashok Leyland (up 1.83%), Bharat Forge (up 1.63%), Eicher Motors (up 1.61%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.98%) and Maruti Suzuki (up 0.33%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Antony Waste Handling Cell rose 2.38% to Rs 254.10 after the economic activity in the regions serviced by the firm has seen a sequential improvement for the third consecutive quarter. The company's total operating revenue (tipping revenue from C&T and waste processing) has shown a growth of approximately 4.4% for Q4 FY21 as compared to Q3 FY21.Total tonnage handled by the collection & transportation (C&T) business (excluding those projects with fixed shifts/trips) in Q4 FY21 has reported approximately 2.1% growth over Q3 FY21. Additionally, total waste processed by the company, during Q4 FY21, has improved by approximately 2.9% as compared to Q3 FY21. Total compost sales during Q4 FY21 stood at 4,834 tons as compared to 2,291 tons in Q3 FY21.

Balaji Amines added 0.51% to Rs 1873. India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) has affirmed Balaji Amines' long-term issuer rating at 'IND AA-' with a stable outlook.

Kirloskar Ferrous Industries jumped 5.31% at Rs 189.25. The company's board will consider final dividend for the financial year 2020-2021 on 5 May 2021. On the same day, the board will also consider financial results of the company for the quarter and the year ended 31 March 2021.

Global Markets:

Asian were trading higher on Friday as investors reacted to the release of Chinese economic data.

China's gross domestic product surged 18.3% in the first three months of the year from a year ago, the country's National Bureau of Statistics said Friday. The surge in growth comes off a contraction in the first quarter of last year, when the economy shrank by 6.8% during the height of the domestic outbreak of Covid-19.

Meanwhile, China's retail sales jumped 34.2% in March. Industrial production rose 14.1% in March.

In the US, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes hit record highs on Thursday, as upbeat earnings reports from companies including Bank of America and BlackRock as well as a strong rebound in March retail sales bolstered hopes of a broader economic rebound.

Retail sales surged 9.8% in March as additional stimulus sent consumer spending soaring, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. A separate report on Thursday showed that first-time filings for unemployment insurance dropped to the lowest level since March 2020. The Labor Department reported 576,000 new jobless claims for the week ended April 10.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News