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The key equity indices traded near the flat line with minor losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,200 level after hitting the day's high of 22,330 in early trade. IT shares witnessed buying demand for the fourth consecutive trading sessions.
At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 90.57 points or 0.11% to 72,907.93. The Nifty 50 index lost 14.20 points or 0.06% to 22,186.35.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.71% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.79%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,058 shares rose and 1,635 shares fell. A total of 137 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.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.92% to 20.46. The Nifty 30 May 2024 futures were trading at 22,288.90, at a premium of 102.55 points as compared with the spot at 22,186.35.
The Nifty option chain for the 30 May 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 30.8 lakh contracts at the 23,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 37.2 lakh contracts were seen at 21,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty IT index gained 1.43% to 33,589.70. The index added 1.98% in four consecutive trading sessions.
Mphasis (up 3.75%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.08%), L&T Technology Services (up 1.71%), LTIMindtree (up 1.43%), Infosys (up 1.35%), HCL Technologies (up 1.15%), Coforge (up 0.96%), Persistent Systems (up 0.5%) and Wipro (up 0.48%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight :
Honeywell Automation India rallied 6.68% after the company reported 32.3% rise in 148.2 crore on a 11.9% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 950.7 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Q4 FY23.
Jindal Stainless rose 0.01%. The company reported 27.73% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 476.36 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 659.15 crore in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations rose marginally to Rs 9,520.74 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.
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