The benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices are likely to open gap-up on May 2 as trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a positive start for the broader index with a gain of 127.50 points.
In the highly volatile session on April 30, the market erased all the intraday gains and ended lower amid selling seen in the IT, metal, media, oil & gas names.
At the close of April 30, the Sensex was down 188.50 points or 0.25 percent at 74,482.78, and the Nifty was down 38.60 points or 0.17 percent at 22,604.80.
The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty 50 is expected to face resistance at the 22,734 level, followed by 22,785 and 22,867 points. On the lower side, the index may take immediate support at the 22,570 level, followed by 22,519 and 22,437 points.
Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in the currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms, which could impact Indian as well as international markets.
GIFT Nifty
Trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a strong start for the broader index in India, with a gain of 127.50 points or 0.56 percent, earlier this morning. The Nifty futures were trading around the 22,746.50 level.
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US Markets
US stocks ended lower on Tuesday as markets weighed economic data showing rising labor costs and deteriorating consumer confidence on the day of a key Federal Reserve policy decision the direction of interest rates.
The S&P 500 lost 79.92 points, or 1.56%, to end at 5,036.25 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 325.26 points, or 2.00%, to 15,664.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 574.08 points, or 1.47%, to 37,823.57.
Asian Markets
Australian and Japanese markets fell on Wednesday as investors braced for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate decision.
India’s core sector growth rises to 5.2% in March
India’s eight core sectors posted a growth of 5.2 percent in March, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on April 30.
Though the growth in India’s core sector during the previous month was slower compared to February 2024, which came in at 7.1 percent, it was higher than March 2023 at 4.2 percent.
The output of the eight core sectors, which includes coal, crude oil, steel, cement, electricity, fertilisers, refinery products, and natural gas was 7.5 percent in 2023-24 lower year-on-year as against 7.8 percent in 2022-23.
The fall in core sector growth in March was due to five of the eight sectors seeing their output either contract or grow at a slower pace compared to the previous month, with crude oil production posting a growth of just 2 percent compared to 7.9 percent in February 2024.
Godrej family reaches agreement to split conglomerate into two branches
The Godrej family has an reached agreement to split the conglomerate into two branches, with Adi and brother Nadir keeping the listed entities while cousin Jamshyd gets the control of unlisted companies and the land bank, as per the pact shared with the stock exchanges on April 30, late in the evening.
The agreement submitted to the exchanges addresses issues of Royalty, Brand Usage and Land Bank development.
Change in expiry day of Single Stock Derivatives in equity derivatives segment
BSE announced that the expiry day for monthly contracts of single stock derivatives will be changed to the second Thursday of the calendar month. The change will come into effect from July 1, 2024.
Currently, monthly contracts get expired on last Thursday of the calendar month. If it is a holiday, then it gets expired on the previous working day.
In the circular, BSE said the current existing monthly contracts for stock derivatives with last Thursday as expiry day will get expired on June 28, 2024. They “will be removed from contract master file at end of day of June 28, 2024. These contracts will not be available for trading from Monday, July 01, 2024,” the BSE said.
The new stock derivative contracts with three serial monthly expiries which will have second Thursday of the month as expiry day will be generated on June 28 end of the day and will be available for trading from July 1, BSE said.
Europe’s economy shows signs of life with 0.3% growth in 1st quarter
Europe’s economy perked up slightly at the start of the year, recording 0.3% growth in the January-March quarter compared to the last three months of 2023 as the inflation burden on consumers eased and the stagnating German economy, the continent’s biggest, started to show modest signs of life.
The 20-country eurozone recorded its strongest performance since the third quarter of 2022 and improved on shrinkage of 0.1% in each of the last two quarters of 2023, according to official figures released Tuesday by the European Union’s statistical agency Eurostat.
Japan’s factory activity falls slow
Japan’s factory activity shrank at a slower pace in April as declines in output and new orders eased, a private-sector survey showed on Wednesday. Inflationary pressure continued but firms found market demand was strong enough to allow them to raise output costs, the survey found.
The Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 49.6 in April from 48.2 in March, but was off the 49.9 reported in the flash PMI.
The index still stayed below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction in activity but it was the slowest contraction in eight months.
India cuts windfall tax on petroleum crude
India has cut its windfall tax on petroleum crude to 8,400 Indian rupees ($100.66) a metric ton from 9,600 rupees with effect from May 1, the government said on Tuesday.
The tax, which is revised every fortnight, was left unchanged at zero for diesel and aviation turbine fuel.
The government had on April 16 raised the windfall tax on petroleum crude to 9,600 rupees a metric ton from 6,800 rupees.
Highest ever GST collection for April 2024
India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in gross terms hit a record high in April 2024 at Rs 2.1 lakh crore. This represents a 12.4 percent year-on-year growth, driven by a strong increase in domestic transactions (up 13.4 percent) and imports (up 8.3 percent), finance ministry said in a statement on May 1. The government had collected Rs 1.87 lakh crore as GST in the same period last year.
“After accounting for refunds, the net GST revenue for April 2024 stands at Rs 1.92 lakh crore, reflecting an impressive 15.5 percent growth compared to the same period last year,” the ministry said.
Monthly GST collections have risen over the years. From averaging under Rs 1 lakh crore per month in 2017-18 – its first year – collections rose rapidly after the pandemic-hit 20202-21 to average Rs 1.51 lakh crore in 2022-23.
Gross collections in the first month of FY25 was also 17.81 percent higher versus the mop-up in March of Rs 1.78 lakh crore.
Crude
Oil prices fell about 2% to a seven-week low on Wednesday on a surprise build in U.S. crude stocks, the prospect of a Middle East ceasefire agreement and persistent U.S. inflation dampening the expected pace of interest rate cuts and oil demand growth.
Brent futures fell $1.39, or 1.6%, to $84.94 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.39, or 1.7%, to $80.54.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought Rs 1,071.93 crore shares, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) pumped in Rs 1,429.11 crore on April 30, provisional data from the NSE showed.
With inputs from Reuters and other agencies
