Barometers trade sideways, realty stocks in demand.

The benchmark indices traded near the flat line in morning trade. The Nifty traded a tad above the 17,600 level. Realty stocks rallied for the sixth consecutive trading session.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 16.63 points or 0.03% to 59,816.34. The Nifty 50 index added 12.70 points or 0.07% to 17,611.85.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.26% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.14%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,924 shares rose and 1,314 shares fell. A total of 167 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 475.81 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 997.08 crore in the Indian equity market on 6 April, provisional data showed.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index gained 2.95% to 415.90, extending gains for the sixth straight session. The index surged 11.8% in six trading sessions.

Godrej Properties (up 7.81%), Sobha (up 5.08%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 4.11%), DLF Ltd (up 3.64%), Brigade Enterprises (up 2.86%), Oberoi Realty (up 2.67%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 2.65%), Macrotech Developers (up 2.55%) and Mahindra Lifespace Developers (up 0.53%) advanced.

Godrej Properties (GPL) jumped 7.81% after the real estate developer's sales volumes for the quarter grew by 19% QoQ in area terms from 4.42 million square feet (sq. ft) to 5.25 million sq. ft. GPL's sales volumes for the full financial year grew by 40% in area terms from 10.84 million sq. ft. to 15.21 million sq. ft. GPL's cash collections for FY23 grew 41% to Rs 8,991 crore. Q4 FY23 collections stood at Rs 3,822 crore representing QoQ growth of 127% and YoY growth of 52%.

Sobha rallied 5.08% after the company said that its total sales value in Q4 FY23 was Rs 1,463.4 crore, which is higher by 26% as compared with Rs 1,164.2 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. The company's share in the sales value was Rs 1,207.4 crore (up 26% YoY).

Stocks in Spotlight:

CreditAccess Grameen gained 3.51% after the micro finance lender's disbursements improved to Rs 7,171 crore in Q4 FY23, registering a growth of 24% as against Rs 5,792 crore reported in Q4 FY22. Sequentially, disbursements surged 48% in Q4 FY23 from Rs 4,847 crore posted in Q3 FY23. Assets under management (AUM) jumped 27% to Rs 21,032 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023 as compared to Rs 16,599 crore recorded in Q4 FY22 and 18% increase from Rs 17,786 crore in Q3 FY23.

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services shed 0.67%. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday (6 April 2023) imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 6.77 crore on Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services for non-compliance with regulatory norms.

Alkem Laboratories added 0.55%. The pharmaceutical compnay said that the US FDA had conducted a good manufacturing practices (GMP) and pre-approval inspection at the company's API manufacturing facility located at Ankleshwar, Gujarat, from 03 April 2023 to 07 April 2023.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.220 from 7.219 in previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 81.8150, compared with its close of 82.02 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2023 settlement fell 0.84% to Rs 60,001.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.9% to 102.18.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.27% to 3.374.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2023 settlement shed 20 cents or 0.23% to $84.92 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were trading mixed on Monday as some investors returned from a long Easter weekend. Australian and Hong Kong markets remained closed due to a four day Easter holiday till Monday.

The US Stock Market, including the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), remained closed on Good Friday.

Investors are in for a busy week of economic data, including the latest consumer price index and producer price index data - due out Wednesday and Thursday, respectively - which will be key in determining if or when the Fed will pause or put an end to its rate hiking campaign.

Employment data for March indicated the labor market remained tight last month. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 236,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department said. Data for February was revised higher to show 326,000 jobs were added instead of 311,000 as previously reported. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.5% from 3.6% in the prior month.

Market rally for 5th day, Nifty near 17,600, VIX drops 5%.

The benchmark indices reversed early losses and settled with decent gains on Thursday, rising for the fifth trading session. The Nifty ended near the 17,600 level, reversing from the day's low of 17,502.85 in the morning trade. Realty, auto and healthcare stocks were in demand while IT, FMCG and consumer durables shares declined. Trading was volatile due to expiry of weekly index options on the NSE.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 143.66 points or 0.24% to 59,832.97. The Nifty 50 index added 42.10 points or 0.24% to 17,599.15. Both the indices surged 3.8% in five sessions.

The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.71% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.70%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,387 shares rose and 1,139 shares fell. A total of 110 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 4.95% to 11.80.

The domestic stock market will remain shut on Friday, 7 April 2023 on account of Good Friday.

RBI monetary policy:

RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its meeting today (April 6, 2023) decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.50%.

The standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remains unchanged at 6.25% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75%.

All members of the MPC unanimously voted to keep the policy repo rate unchanged. The MPC also decided to remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation progressively aligns with the target, while supporting growth.

These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4% within a band of +/- 2%, while supporting growth.

Assuming an annual average crude oil price (Indian basket) of $85 per barrel and a normal monsoon, CPI inflation is projected at 5.2% for 2023-24 (vs. 5.3% projected in the previous meeting), with Q1 at 5.1%, Q2 at 5.4%, Q3 at 5.4% and Q4 at 5.2%, and risks evenly balanced.

Real GDP growth for 2023-24 is projected at 6.5% (vs. 6.4% projected in the previous meeting) with Q1:2023-24 at 7.8%; Q2 at 6.2%; Q3 at 6.1%; and Q4 at 5.9%, with risks evenly balanced.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Avalon Technologies received bids for 2.51 crore shares as against 1.14 crore shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:36 IST on Thursday (6 April 2023). The issue was subscribed 2.19 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Monday (3 April 2023) and it will close on Thursday (6 April 2023). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 415-436 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 34 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index rose 2.84% to 404, extending gains for the fifth day in a row. The index surged 8.6% in five trading session

Godrej Properties (up 6.31%), DLF (up 4.35%), Oberoi Realty (up 3.94%), Mahindra Lifespace Developers (up 2.6%), Sobha (up 2.01%), Macrotech Developers (up 1%), Brigade Enterprises (up 0.79%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 0.77%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 0.74%) advanced.

Macrotech Developers gained 1%. The realty major said that the it had achieved pre-sales of Rs 3,025 crore in Q4 FY23, recording a decline of 12% on a YoY basis. The real estate developer's pre-sales in the same period last year were Rs 3,456 crore. Collections stood at Rs 2,933 crore, up 3% on a YoY basis in Q4 FY23 and Rs 10,606 crore for FY23 up 23% on a YoY basis.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Steel added 0.14%. The steel major's India business reported 5.1% rise in crude steel production to 5.15 million tons in Q4 FY23 as compared with 4.90 million tons posted in Q4 FY22. On quarter on quarter basis, crude steel production increased 3% from 5 million tons in Q3 FY23.

Infosys shed 0.04%. The IT major announced that it has extended its collaboration with LexisNexis, a data and analytics company, to provide end-to-end information services across their range of content, enterprise, and product applications.

Hero MotoCorp declined 0.20%. The 2-wheeler maker launched a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its staff. The VRS has been designed in line with the vision to make the organization agile and 'Future-ready', consolidating roles and reducing layers to increase empowerment and agility.

Dabur India fell 3.91%. The FMCG major announced that its India business is expected to report mid-single digit revenue growth however, the International business is expected to deliver high single-digit growth in constant currency in Q4 FY23. Overall, Dabur's consolidated revenue is expected to post mid-single digit growth during the quater.

Avenue Supermarts slipped 4.52%. The company's standalone revenue from operations for the quarter ended 31 March 2023 stood at Rs 10,337.12 crore as compared to Rs 8,606.09 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2022.

Kalyan Jewellers India declined 1.36%. The company said that it continued to see strong operating momentum in its business in the recently concluded quarter despite the sharp rise in gold prices during the second half of the quarter. The company recorded consolidated revenue growth of approximately 17% in Q4 FY23.

Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company jumped 7.42% after the company's disbursements surged 65% year on year (YoY) to approximately Rs 21,020 crore in Q4 FY23. The company had recorded disbursements of Rs 12,718 crore in Q4 FY22.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank skid 0.11% after the bank announced that its total deposits aggregated to Rs 25,481 crore as of 31 March 2023, a growth of around 39% over Rs 18,292 crore as of 31 March 2022. On a sequential basis, the bank's deposits have increased by 10%. Total depoits amounted to Rs 23,203 crore as of 31 December 2022.

KEC International rallied 3.23% after the company announced that it has secured new orders of Rs 1,213 crore across its various businesses. In the transmission & distribution (T&D) business, the company has secured orders for T&D projects in India, SAARC, Middle East, East Asia Pacific and Americas. The Civil business of KEC has bagged an order in the urban infra segment in India. The company's Cables business has secured orders for various types of cables in India and overseas.

Equitas Small Finance Bank surged 6.40% after its gross advances surged 36% to Rs 28,061 crore as on 31 March 2023 as against Rs 20,597 crore as on 31 March 2022.

Punjab & Sind Bank gained 1.34% after the bank's gross advances increased by 15.85% to Rs 81,544 crore as on 31 March 2023 as against Rs 70,387 crore as on 31 March 2022. The bank's total business stood at Rs 1,91,212 crore as on 31 March 2023, registering a growth of 10.83% from Rs 1,72,524 crore recorded in the same period last year.

Global Markets:

European markets advanced while Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday as Wall Street digested the latest ADP private payrolls report, which showed slowing job growth in March.

China's service sector activity continued to expand in March, according to the latest Caixin services purchasing managers' index that rose to 57.8. The reading marks the fourth month of acceleration and above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.

It also reached the highest reading since November 2020. The increase in activity was supported by a sustained and sharper rise in new business, Caixin said in its release.

Private company hiring fell sharply in March and was well below expectations, according to a report from payroll processing firm ADP. Payrolls rose by just 145,000 for the month, down from 261,000 in February and below the Dow Jones estimate for 210,000.

Losses in financial activities, profession and business services and manufacturing pushed the total lower. Leisure and hospitality, trade, transportation and utilities and construction led hiring.

US stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as investors look towards OPEC+ production cuts and inflation impact of the same with uncertainty still looming for the global economy.