The key equity indices pared some gains and traded with limited gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,400 level. Realty, FMCG and IT shares advanced while Healthcare, pharma and oil & gas stocks declined.

At 13:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 142.60 points or 0.19% to 73,791.22. The Nifty 50 index added 46.15 points or 0.21% to 22,382.55.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.54% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.89%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,354 shares rose and 1,369 shares fell. A total of 138 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 20.57% to 10.09. Volatility zoomed as traders roll over their positions in the F&O segment from the near month April series to May series. The April 2024 F&O contracts will expire on Thursday, 25 April 2024.

Economy:

Rising from 61.8 in March to 62.2 in April, the headline HSBC Flash India Composite PMI Output Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India's manufacturing and service sectors – indicated the fastest rate of increase in aggregate business activity since mid-2010. Survey participants overwhelmingly attributed the expansion to buoyant demand from domestic and external clients.

Growth in India remained broad-based across the manufacturing and service sectors. The former saw the sharper rate of increase, albeit one that was softer than in March. In the service economy, business activity rose to the greatest extent in three months.

Gainers & Losers:

Grasim Industries (up 3.11%), Bharti Airtel (up 3.09%), HCL Technologies (up 2.13%), Nestle India (up 1.35%) and Hero Motocorp (up 1.29%) were major Nifty gainers.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 2.79%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) (down 1.23%), Reliance Industries (down 0.90%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.90%) and HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 0.87%) were major Nifty losers.

Reliance Industries fell 0.90%. The company’s consolidated net profit stood at ₹ 21,243 crore in Q4 FY24, marginally higher from ₹ 21,227 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year. Gross revenue jumped 10.8% to ₹ 264,834 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with ₹ 238,957 crore in Q4 FY23. The revenue growth was supported by double-digit growth in O2C and consumer business.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services tumbled 4.64% after the NBFC announced deferment of board meeting for considering quarterly results due to detection of fraud at one of company’s branches in the North East.

Aditya Birla Money was locked in an upper circuit of 5% after the company reported 123.34% surge in net profit to ₹ 16.46 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with ₹ 7.37 crore posted in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations soared 73.05% year on year to ₹ 114.06 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

Tejas Networks was locked in upper circuit of 20% after the company reported consolidated net profit of ₹ 146.78 crore in Q4 FY24 as against ₹ 11.47 crore posted in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations zoomed to ₹ 1,326.88 crore in March 2024 quarter as compared with ₹ 299.32 crore recorded in same quarter last year.

Hatsun Agro Product rallied 11.20% after the company reported net profit stood at ₹ 52.15 crore in Q4 FY24, steeply higher than ₹ 24.98 crore in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations jumped 14.38% to ₹ 2046.87 crore during the quarter as compared with ₹ 1,789.46 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year.

Global Markets:

European stocks advanced while Asian stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as tech shares rebounded on Wall Street and investors look toward flash business activity figures from Australia, Japan and India. Investors remained on edge ahead of earnings from some of the world’s biggest companies this week, while more cues on U.S. interest rates were also in focus.

Wall Street stocks ended higher on Monday following a market sell-off in previous sessions as investors eyed a busy week for quarterly results from key companies that would provide a glimpse of the US economy's health. Markets were now awaiting earnings reports from some of the biggest companies on Wall Street