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The domestic equity benchmarks traded with limited losses in early trade. The Nifty traded some points below the 18,550 mark. Private bank and auto stocks declined while IT, pharma and healthcare stocks edged higher.

At 09:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 70.67 points or 0.11% to 62,551.57. The Nifty 50 index lost 12.20 points or 0.07% to 18,522.20.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.31% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.59%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,933 shares rose and 750 shares fell. A total of 106 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The Central government's NSO office on Wednesday released India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the January-March quarter (Q4FY2023). In Q4FY23, GDP growth was at 6.1% compared to 4.4% growth rate witnessed in Q3. Overall, the growth in FY23 fiscal is better-than-expected to 7.2%. However, the FY23 growth has slowed down from 9.5% growth in FY22.

The government's fiscal deficit narrowed to Rs 17.33 trillion or 6.4% of GDP for the financial year ended March 2023 compared with the previous financial year, on the back of higher tax receipts. Official data released on Wednesday showed that the deficit was lower than the revised estimate of Rs 17.55 trillion given in the Union Budget 2023.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Coal India tumbled 4.25%. The government will sell 18.49 crore shares of Coal India, representing 3% of the entire shareholding of the company, through an offer for sale. The floor price for the OFS has been pegged at Rs 225 per share. The OFS will open for non-retail investors on June 1. Retail investors and non-retail investors, who choose to carry forward their bids, can participate in the issue on June 2.

HDFC Life Insurance Company was up 0.09%. abrdn (Mauritius Holdings) 2006 (abrdn), one of the promoters of the company, has intimated that it has undertaken a sale of 3,56,94,105 equity shares (representing approximately 1.66% stake) on 31 May 2023, to various investors through the screen based trading system of the stock exchanges at an average price of Rs. 570.60 per equity share (including brokerage and commission).

Laurus Labs added 2.41%. The company said that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire additional stake of 7.24% in Immunoadoptive Cell Therapy Private Limited (lmmunoACT), an advanced cell and gene therapy company for a cash consideration of Rs.80 crore. Post the completion of the deal, Laurus Labs' stake in ImmunoACT will increase to 33.86% (on fully diluted basis).

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 0.03% to 6.991 from previous close of 6.989.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.3800, compared with its close of 82.7500 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2023 settlement lost 0.49% to Rs 59,870.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.07% to 104.25.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.79% to 3.664.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2023 settlement added 53 cents or 0.73% to $73.13 a barrel.

Global markets:

Asian stocks are trading mixed on Thursday as investors remained cautious amid the passage of US debt ceiling bill and the release of manufacturing data of several Asian countries, including China.

US stocks slipped on Wednesday as investors kept an eye on the federal debt ceiling debate in Washington in the final trading day of May.

The House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Wednesday, with majority support from both Democrats and Republicans, avoiding a catastrophic default. The Republican-controlled House voted 314-117 to send the legislation to the Senate, which must enact the measure and get it to President Joe Biden's desk.