The key equity indices ended a volatile session with limited gains on Thursday. The Nifty closed near the 22,650 mark. Auto, metal and oil & gas shares advanced while media, mid-small healthcare and PSU Bank stocks declined.

As per closing provisional data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 128.33 points or 0.17% to 74,611.11. The Nifty 50 index added 43.35 points or 0.19% to 22,648.20.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.88% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.28%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,912 shares rose and 1,926 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 4.46% to 13.45.

Economy:

Despite falling from 59.1 in March to 58.8 in April, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) signalled the second-best improvement in the health of the sector for three-and-a-half years. The PMI was comfortably above both the neutral mark of 50.0 and its long-run average (53.9).

The Indian manufacturing sector started the first fiscal quarter in a high gear, according to the latest HSBC PMI data. Firms experienced a sharp upturn in new business intakes, and scaled up production accordingly.

April's rise in raw material stocks was supported by a further increase in buying levels. Inputs were purchased to the greatest degree since June 2023. Another factor that facilitated this was suppliers' ability to deliver items in a timely manner. Vendor performance improved for the second straight month.

Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC, said: “On the price front, higher costs of raw materials and labour led to a modest uptick in input costs, but inflation remains below the historical average. However, firms passed these increases onto consumers through higher output charges, as demand remained resilient, resulting in improved margins.'

Meanwhile, the Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections hit a record high in April 2024 at Rs 2.10 lakh crore. This represents a significant 12.4% year-on-year growth, driven by a strong increase in domestic transactions (up 13.4%) and imports (up 8.3%). After accounting for refunds, the net GST revenue for April 2024 stands at Rs 1.92 lakh crore, reflecting an impressive 15.5% growth compared to the same period last year.

In the month of April, 2024, the central government settled Rs 50,307 crore to CGST and Rs 41,600 crore to SGST from the IGST collected. This translates to total revenue of Rs 94,153 crore for CGST and Rs 95,138 crore for SGST for April, 2024 after regular settlement.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 1.13% to 22,733.50. The index rallied 2.97% in the two consecutive trading sessions.

Ashok Leyland Ltd (up 4.49%), Bosch Ltd (up 4.07%), Tata Motors Ltd (up 2.18%), Bajaj Auto Ltd (up 2.06%), Tata Motors-DVR (up 1.5%), Balkrishna Industries Ltd (up 1.49%), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (up 1.27%), TVS Motor Company Ltd (up 0.97%), MRF Ltd (up 0.74%) and Hero MotoCorp Ltd (up 0.48%).

On the other hand, Exide Industries Ltd (down 1.57%), Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd (down 0.53%) and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (down 0.36%) turned lower.

April Auto sales:

Ashok Leyland rallied 4.49% after the company reported 10% rise in commercial vehicle sales to 14,271 units in April 2024 from 12,974 units in April 2023.

Tata Motors added 2.18% after the auto major’s total domestic sales rose 12% to 76,399 units sold in April 2024 as against 68,514 units sold in April 2023.

Escorts Kubota jumped 3.64%. The tractor manufacturer said that its agri machinery business division sales declined marginally to 7,515 units in April 2024 as against 7,565 units sold in April 2023.

Hero MotoCorp added 0.48%. The company said that it had sold 533,585 units of motorcycles and scooters in April 2024, which is higher by 34.7% as compared with sales of 396,107 units recorded in April 2023.

Eicher Motors shed 0.04%. The vehicles manufacturer’s unlisted subsidiary, VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) reported 18.1% year on year decrease in commercial vehicles (CV) sales to 5,377 units in April 2024.

TVS Motor Company rose 0.97%. The two-wheeler maker reported monthly sales of 383,615 units in April 2024, registering a growth of 25% as against 306,224 units sold in April 2023.

Maruti Suzuki India fell 0.36%. The car manufacturer announced that its total production increased 16.99% to 169,751 units in April 2024 as against 145,096 units recorded in April 2023.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Adani Power shed 0.99%. The power generation company reported 47.8% fall in net profit to Rs 2,737 crore in Q4 FY24 from Rs 5,242 crore in Q4 FY23. Continuing revenue from operations increased by 27.3% YoY to Rs 13,288 crore in the fourth quarter. The company had recorded revenues of Rs 10,436 crore in Q4 FY23.

Ambuja Cements rose 0.90%. The cement major’s consolidated net profit surged 63.61% to Rs 1,055.16 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 644.94 crore recorded in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations was at Rs 8,893.99 crore in the March quarter, up 11.65% from Rs 7,965.98 crore posted in the same period last year.

Havells India gained 0.31%. The company’s consolidated net profit jumped 24.8% YoY to Rs 447 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue jumped 12% to Rs 5,442 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 4,859 crore in Q4 FY23.

Adani Energy Solutions declined 1.24% after the company said that its consolidated net profit declined 13.3% to Rs 381.29 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with Rs 439.60 crore in Q4 FY23. Revenue jumped 17.4% YoY to Rs 3560 crore in Q4 FY24, on account of the contribution from the newly operationalized transmission assets, commissioning of elements at North Karanpura and MP-II package lines and an increase in the units sold because of higher energy consumption in the distribution business at Mumbai and Mundra.

Adani Total Gas rose 0.15%. The natural gas distribution company’s standalone net profit jumped 58.6% to Rs 165.34 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 104.25 crore recorded in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) rose 4.61% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,165.95 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

Adani Wilmar dropped 1.78%. The edible oil major’s consolidated net profit surged 67.45% to Rs 156.75 crore in Q4 FY24 as against Rs 93.61 crore posted in Q4 FY23. Revenue from operations stood Rs 13,238.04 crore in Q4 FY24, down 4.57% from Rs 13,872.64 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Global Markets:

Most of the European stocks traded higher while Asian stocks declined on Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell ruled out the possibility of a rate hike, easing worries over the central bank likely not being able to rein in inflation.

South Korea’s consumer prices rose at a slower pace in April from March on a year-on-year basis, according to official data. April CPI came in at 2.9% year on year, compared with a 3.1% rise in March. Core CPI, excluding food and energy prices, rose 2.3%. It was slightly slower than a 2.4% increase in March.

US stocks closed with a mixed performance on Wednesday following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep its key interest rate unchanged, as widely anticipated. The central bank indicated a potential rate cut in the future but expressed uncertainty regarding sustained progress on inflation.