At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 187.95 points or 0.26% to 73,856.57. The Nifty 50 index gained 42.15 points or 0.19% to 22,446.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.79% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.88%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,334 shares rose and 1,253 shares fell. A total of 159 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.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer of Go Digit General Insurance received bids for 5,82,49,290 shares as against 5,28,69,677 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:27 IST on Friday (17 May 2024). The issue was subscribed 1.10 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 Auto index added 1.60% to 23,252.95. The index gained 2.25% in the two trading sessions.

Mahindra & Mahindra (up 6.28%), Balkrishna Industries (up 2.03%), TVS Motor Company (up 1.67%), Tata Motors-DVR (up 1.41%), Samvardhana Motherson International (up 1.22%), Tata Motors (up 1.08%), Apollo Tyres (up 0.92%), Exide Industries (up 0.75%), Ashok Leyland (up 0.75%) and Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.08%) edged higher.

On the other hand, Bosch (down 0.98%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.7%) and Eicher Motors (down 0.66%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Indian Hume Pipe soared 16.28% 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.

Kaynes Technology India surged 13.75% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 96.8% to Rs 813 crore from Rs 413 crore posted in same quarter last year.

GAIL India rose 0.38%. The company entered a 14-year (with a 2-year extension option) charter agreement with CoolCo for an LNG carrier starting early 2025.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed 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.