The week saw moderate losses for Indian equity indices, ending a three-week winning trend. However, the BSE Midcap and BSE Small-cap indexes did record modest advances throughout the period under consideration. The Nifty ended up under the 17,650 level.
Investor caution increased as optimism about China’s economic rebound was overshadowed by uncertainty about the US monetary policy’s direction. Market worries over increasing interest rates have reappeared in recent sessions as hawkish remarks from Fed members and signs of some economic resilience in the US fuelled uncertainty about when the Fed will stop raising interest rates.
The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 775.94 points, or 1.28%, during the week that concluded on Friday, April 20th, before levelling off at 59,655.06. The Nifty 50 index decreased by 203.95 points, or 1.14%, to finish at 17,624.05. To finish at 24,844.97, the BSE Mid-Cap index increased by 0.50%. To conclude at 28,234.26 the BSE Small-Cap index increased by 0.30%.
Weekly market summary
With Monday’s steep corrections in the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 index, domestic equities benchmarks ended their nine-day winning streak. The Nifty 50 index dropped by 121.15 points or 0.68% to 17,706.85 while the S&P BSE Sensex dropped by 520.25 points or 0.86% to 59,910.75.
On Tuesday, the domestic equities barometers somewhat declined. The major indexes posted losses for the second straight day, with the Nifty 50 index shedding 46.70 points or 0.26% to 17,660.15 and the S BSE Sensex dropping 183.74 points or 0.31% to 59,727.
On Wednesday, the main market indices fell for the third day in a row. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 0.27%, or 159.21 points, to reach 59,567.80. The Nifty 50 index also dropped by 0.23%, or 41.40 points, to finish at 17,618.75.
On Thursday, the domestic market benchmarks barely managed to turn a profit. The indices experienced an initial surge but could not gain momentum; instead, they stayed inside a narrow range along the horizontal axis. The S&P BSE Sensex increased 64.55 points or 0.11% to 59,632.35, ending a three-day losing run. To reach 17,624.45, the Nifty 50 index rose 5.70 points or 0.03%.
After a choppy day on Friday, the domestic market indexes finished in the same direction. The Nifty finished below the level of 17,650. The S&P BSE Sensex, a barometer index, increased 22.71 points or 0.04% to 59,655.06. To 17,624.05. the Nifty 50 index dropped 0.40 points.
Economic updates
Compared to the 3.85% recorded in February 2023 and the 14.63% in March 2022, India’s annual wholesale price index (WPI) inflation dropped to a 29-month low of 1.34% on March 20th.
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement that the decline in the rate of inflation in March 2023 was primarily caused by lower prices for basic metals, food products, textiles, non-food items, minerals, rubber and plastic products, crude oil and natural gas, and paper and paper products.
Separately, India had a 13.9% fall in March in goods exports to $38.38bn and a 7.9% decline in goods imports to $58.11bn. Exports of goods totalled $44.57bn and imports totalled $63bn in March 2022. The trade deficit for March was $19.73bn. The government estimates a $122bn overall trade deficit for 2022–2023.
Stock movers
HDFC Bank —India’s second-largest bank—saw a 1.51% decline. From Rs 265.09bn in the fourth quarter (Q4) of the financial year (FY) 2021-22 to Rs 320.83bn in Q4 of FY 2022-23, the bank’s net revenue increased by 21%. In comparison to Q4 of FY 2021-22, its net profit increased by 19.8% to Rs 120.47bn.
The HDFC Bank board of directors approved the issuance of long-term bonds, tier II cap bonds, and perpetual debt instruments up to a total of 500bn over the following 12 months through private placement mode.
Tech giant Infosys stock fell 11.61 %. The big IT company projected revenue growth of 4-7% for FY 2023-24. Infosys gave three explanations for the revenue shortfall during an investor call conducted following the results report: unanticipated customer ramp-downs across verticals, delayed decision-making, and a one-time effect.
In Q4 FY 2022-23 vis-à-vis Q3, Infosys reported a 7% reduction in consolidated net profit to Rs 61.28bn on a 2.3% decline in sales to Rs 374.41bn. The company’s net profit and revenues are up 7.8% and 16%, respectively, year over year (Y-o-Y) when compared to Q4 of FY 2021-22.
The loss of HCL Technologies was 2.14%. The IT giant recorded a 2.76% loss in consolidated net profit to Rs 39.83bn and a 0.35% drop in operating revenue to Rs 266.06bn in Q4 of FY 2022-23 vis-à-vis Q3. HCL’s net profit and sales increased by 10.85% and 17.74%, respectively, as compared to Q4 of the previous FY.
HCL’s sales forecast for FY 2023-24 is 6% to 8% in constant currency. Revenue from services is anticipated to increase 6.5% – 8.5% Y-o-Y in constant currency. The expected EBIT margin is between 18% and 19%.
Tata Motors increased by 0.31%. The premium car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), a fully owned subsidiary of Tata Motors, has declared intentions to invest £15bn over the following five years.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone gained 0.02% more. The crisis-ridden company said that on Saturday, April 22nd, its board would meet to discuss the first and partial buyback of certain of its debt instruments, which are either denominated in INR or USD.
Ultratech Cement dipped by 3.79%. The business declared that the successful commissioning of its 2.2 mtpa brownfield expansion has increased the capacity of its grinding mill at Patliputra, Bihar, to 4.7 mtpa. The company’s total capacity to produce grey cement in India is now 129.15 mtpa.
