Stock Market LIVE Updates: GIFT Nifty indicates a firm start; US markets fall, Asia trades mixed

Maruti Suzuki India, HCL Technologies, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, Bajaj Finserv, SBI Life Insurance Company, Shriram Finance, Bajaj Holdings & Investment, CSB Bank, Eveready Industries India, Force Motors, Indiabulls Real Estate, Bank of Maharashtra, Mastek, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, and SBI Cards and Payment Services will release their March quarter earnings on April 26.

Net profit rose 5.3% at Rs 393.2 crore versus Rs 373.6 crore and revenue up 2.2% at Rs 3,412 crore versus Rs 3,337 crore, QoQ

The US economy grew at its slowest pace in nearly two years as a jump in imports to meet still-strong consumer spending widened the trade deficit, but an acceleration in inflation reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve would not cut interest rates before September.

The slowdown in growth reported by the Commerce Department in a snapshot of first-quarter gross domestic product on Thursday also reflected a slower pace of inventory accumulation by businesses and downshift in government spending. Domestic demand remained strong last quarter.

Gross domestic product increased at a 1.6% annualized rate last quarter, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said. Growth was largely supported by consumer spending. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP rising at a 2.4% rate, with estimates ranging from a 1.0% pace to a 3.1% rate.

The economy grew at a 3.4% rate in the fourth quarter. The first quarter growth’s pace was below what U.S. central bank officials regard as the non-inflationary growth rate of 1.8%.

Inflation surged, with the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy increasing at a 3.7% rate after rising at 2.0% pace in the fourth quarter.

-Q4 saw sharp reduction in slippage ratio, which was key positive

-Other metrics were in-line with estimates

-Loan growth outlook remains healthy

-NIM should remain stable aided by loan mix and deployment of liquidity

-Sustaining strong asset quality delivery could drive a re-rating

Wall Street stocks closed lower on Thursday as markets were stunned by data showing slower-than-expected U.S. economic growth and persistent inflation, coupled with a sell-off in large cap stocks triggered by disappointing results from Meta Platforms.

Data on Thursday showed that the U.S. economy grew at its slowest pace in nearly two years in the first quarter while inflation accelerated, dampening hopes that the Federal Reserve would begin cutting interest rates this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 375.12 points, or 0.98%, to 38,085.80, the S&P 500 lost 23.21 points, or 0.46%, to 5,048.42 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 100.99 points, or 0.64%, to 15,611.76.

-Q4 result largely in line; FY27 targets cast in stone for company to deliver

-Multiple positives from Q4, glimpse of what lies ahead

-Cut our EBIT margin and EPS by 13%/12% for FY25/26

Asian shares rose cautiously on Friday as markets sobered up to the idea that U.S. rate cuts were most likely some time away, while the yen and Japanese government bonds struggled ahead of a closely watched policy decision by the Bank of Japan.

U.S. stock futures jumped after tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street estimates. Nasdaq futures advanced more than 1%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.7%.

The highlight of the Asia day was on the BOJ’s rate decision at the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy meeting, as well as Governor Kazuo Ueda’s news conference thereafter.

Ahead of the outcome, the yen languished near a 34-year low and was little changed at 155.62 per dollar, while the 10-year JGB yield rose to a five-month high of 0.93%.

Trends on GIFT Nifty indicate a positive start for the broader index in India, with a gain of 99 points or 0.44 percent. The Nifty futures were trading around 22669.5 level.

The Indian market made a smart recovery from the day’s low to extend the winning streak to a fifth straight session on April 25 but last-hour profit booking capped the gains.

At close, the Sensex was up 486.50 points, or 0.66 percent, at 74,339.44, and the Nifty was up 167.90 points, or 0.75 percent, at 22,570.30.

The market opened lower on weak global cues and traded flat in the fist half. It saw a sharp surge in the second half amid buying across the sectors, led by PSU banks.

Biggest Nifty gainers were Axis Bank, SBI, Dr Reddy’s Labs, JSW Steel and Nestle India, while losers included Kotak Mahindra Bank, LTIMindtree, HUL, SBI Life Insurance and Titan Company.

Among sectors, except realty, all indices ended in the green, with the PSU Bank index rising nearly 4 percent to hit a record high of 7,421.20.

BSE midcap and the smallcap indices gained 0.5 percent each.