:::LALKAR GROUP::::

The key equity indices continued to trade with minor gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered above 18,550 mark after hitting day's low of 18,514.40 in early trade. All the sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the green, with realty, PSU bank and healthcare shares gaining the most. Trading was volatile due to expiry of weekly index options on the NSE.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 73.05 points or 0.12% to 62,695.29. The Nifty 50 index added 25.30 points or 0.14% to 18,559.70

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.94% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.84%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,200 shares rose and 1,233 shares fell. A total of 150 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.

Gainers & Losers:

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (up 4.04%), Divi's Laboratories (up 2.77%), Bajaj Auto (up 1.79%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.77%) and Axis Bank (up 1.66%) were major Nifty gainers.

Coal India (down 4.68%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 3.66%), Bharti Airtel (down 2.75%), SBI Life Insurance Company (down 1.43%) and HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 1.12%) were top Nifty losers.

Bajaj Auto gained 1.79%. The company's total auto sales jumped 29% to 3,55,148 units in May 2023 from 2,75,868 units sold in May 2022.

Coal India (CIL) fell 4.68% to Rs 229.50 after the offer for sale (OFS) opened for non-retail investors today, 1 June 2023. Through the OFS, the Government of India proposes to sell up to 9,24,40,924 equity shares (representing 1.5% stake), with an option to sell an additional 1.5% stake or 9,24,40,924 equity shares in case of oversubscription. The floor price for the sale has been set at Rs 225, a 6.72% discount to the stock's closing price of Rs 241.20 on Wednesday, 31 May 2023. 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 shed 1.12%. 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).

Stocks in Spotlight:

Escorts Kubota rose 0.87%. The tractor maker said that its Agri Machinery business had sold 9,167 tractors in May 2023, its highest ever May sales recording growth of 8.9% as against 8,421 tractors sold in May 2022.

Escorts further informed that the company's Construction Equipment business in May 2023 sold 425 units, registering a growth of 39.3% as against 305 units sold in May 2022.

Maruti Suzuki India declined 0.11%. The car manufacturer announced that its total sales in the month of May 2023 aggregated to 178,083 units, which is higher by 10.3% as compared with 161,413 units sold in the same period last year.

Mahindra & Mahindra added 0.81% after its overall auto sales for the month of May 2023 stood at 61,415 vehicles, up by 14% from 53,726 sold in same period last year.

Global markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia traded higher on Thursday. 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.