At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 125.83 points or 0.17% to 72,861.20. The Nifty 50 index shed 59.05 points or 0.27% to 22,141.50.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.48% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.64%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,997 shares rose and 1,583 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's merchandise exports rose by 1% to USD 34.99 billion in April even as the trade deficit widened to a four-month high of USD 19.1 billion during the month, according to government data. Healthy growth in sectors such as electronics, chemicals, petroleum products and pharmaceuticals has helped register growth in exports despite global economic uncertainties. Imports also increased by 10.25% to USD 54.09 billion in the month under review from USD 49.06 billion in April 2023 due to a significant jump in gold imports.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer of Go Digit General Insurance received bids for 2,50,69,275 shares as against 5,28,69,677 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:20 IST on Thursday (16 May 2024). The issue was subscribed 0.47 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday (15 May 2024) and it will close on Friday (17 May 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 258-272 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 55 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index declined 1.22% to 7,073.50. The index added 1.06% in the past two trading sessions.

Canara Bank (down 4.41%), Indian Bank (down 1.36%), State Bank of India (down 1.28%), UCO Bank (down 0.95%), Indian Overseas Bank (down 0.89%), Bank of Baroda (down 0.76%), Punjab & Sind Bank (down 0.7%), Central Bank of India (down 0.49%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 0.39%) and Bank of India (down 0.2%) slipped.

On the other hand, Union Bank of India (up 1.48%), Punjab National Bank (up 0.04%) edged hjigher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Somany Ceramics soared 15.41% after the company’s consolidated net profit climbed 38.85% to Rs 33.88 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 24.40 crore in Q4 FY23.

Berger Paints India rose 0.44%. The company has reported 19.7% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 222.6 crore on a 3.1% rise in total income from operations to Rs 2,520.3 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Q4 FY23.

Titagarh Rail Systems jumped 5.51% after the company’s consolidated net profit rose 63.66% to Rs 78.95 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 48.24 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023. Sales rose 8.03% to Rs 1052.41 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 974.22 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks rose on Thursday following record highs on Wall Street. This was driven by hopes of interest rate cuts in the US due to softer inflation data.

Data on Wednesday showed US CPI inflation grew at a slightly softer-than-expected month-on-month rate in April, while core CPI , which excludes volatile food and energy prices, fell to an annualized 3.6% from 3.8% in March. Although inflation did slow down slightly in April, it is still higher than the Federal Reserve's target and comes after a strong producer price index reading.

The positive sentiment from Wall Street overshadowed some negative news in Asia, such as a shrinking Japanese economy and increased trade tensions between the US and China.

Japan's gross domestic product shrank 0.5% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to March 31, government data showed on Thursday. It fell sharply from the 0.1% increase seen in the December quarter.