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- India’s Nifty and Sensex ended marginally higher on Monday, sitting at record highs.
- Nifty and Sensex held the previous week’s upsurge amid India’s growth story and the global rally.
- The focus shifts toward Fed Chair Powell and US Nonfarm Payrolls data due later this week.
On Monday, India’s key benchmark indices, the Sensex 30 and Nifty 50, concluded the day in positive territory, maintaining close proximity to recent record highs.
Drawing inspiration from the generally positive global stock performance, particularly the achievement of Japan’s Nikkei 225 index reaching 40,000, both Indian indices capitalized on robust domestic economic data, specifically India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, and the overall global stocks rally.
Closing the day approximately 0.10% higher, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 reached around 22,400, while the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex 30 settled near 73,900. Earlier in the session, both indices had marked new record highs.
Stock market news
- Leading the Nifty gainers on Monday were NTPC, Power Grid, ONGC, BPCL, and HDFC Life Insurance. Conversely, the top decliners for the day were JSW Steel, Britannia, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and SBI Life Insurance.
- Moody’s raises India’s 2024 GDP growth estimate to 6.8% from 6.1%.
- Godrej Properties witnessed a 2% increase in its shares following the announcement of plans to develop a township project in North Bengaluru, carrying a booking value of ₹5,000.
- Suzlon, Inox Wind tanked 5% as Centre weighs reverse auctions of wind power.
- Paytm fell 3% amid speculations over Paytm Payments Bank license.
- On Friday, India’s manufacturing sector reached a five-month peak, registering a reading of 56.9 in February.
- Despite an accelerated contraction in business activity within the US manufacturing sector in February, as reflected in the ISM Manufacturing PMI dropping from 49.1 in January to 47.8, missing the market expectation of 49.5, the US stock markets concluded Friday on a positive note.
- As anticipated, the crucial US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index rose by 0.4% for the month and recorded a year-on-year increase of 2.8% on Thursday.
- As per the CME FedWatch Tool, there is currently approximately a 30% likelihood that the Federal Reserve might initiate rate cuts in May, showing a slight increase from the 20% probability observed a week ago. Looking ahead to the June meeting, the chances of a rate cut now hover around 71%, up from the approximately 60% recorded at the beginning of the previous week.
- According to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday, India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 8.4% on a yearly basis in the third quarter (October-December), compared to the 7.6% recorded in the preceding quarter.
- Indian markets will experience a shortened week due to the Mahashivratri festival, leading to closure on Friday. Meanwhile, the key focal points for markets this week include the testimony from US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell and the highly significant US Nonfarm Payrolls data.
- Another noteworthy event involves the convening of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) meeting, which might signal the introduction of new stimulus measures.
