HOME > MARKETS > MARKET COMMENTARY
  MARKET COMMENTARY
EQUITY
Decent macro-economic data, good Q4 earnings take markets higher in April
May-02-2023

April turned out to be a remarkable month of trade for Indian equity benchmarks with frontline gauges garnering gains of three and a half percent, as decent macro-economic data coupled with good Q4 numbers by most of the corporates boosted investors’ confidence. Markets started the first month of new Financial Year on an optimistic note amid reports that India's manufacturing sector activity improved in the month of March, as growth of factory orders and production quickened to the strongest in three months. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surged to 56.4 in March from 55.3 in February, signaling the strongest improvement in operating conditions in 2023 so far. Meanwhile, India’s services sector growth eased in the month of March however remained in growth territory (above 50.0) for the twentieth successive month, amid favourable demand conditions and new business gains. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index fell to 57.8 in March from 59.4 in February. Traders took support with report that GST collection grew 13 per cent in March to Rs 1.60 lakh crore - the second highest mop-up since the rollout of the indirect tax regime. Some optimism also came as Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal exuded confidence that India’s merchandise and services exports will cross $2 trillion by 2030 from the current level of $765 billion. Moreover, the output of eight core industries recorded an almost flat growth rate of 6 percent in February 2023 as against 5.9 percent in the same month last year. Markets extended rally as traders took support with Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that India's merchandise exports touched $447 billion in FY23, up from $442 billion in FY22. This would translate into a 6 per cent year-on-year jump in exports. Traders took support from IMF Working Paper stating that India has built a world-class digital public infrastructure which is transforming lives and economy and can be a lesson for many countries to follow. Sentiments remained upbeat with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the state-run official weather agency, predicting ‘normal’ rains during this year’s monsoon season - June to September - at 96 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) in spite of the anticipated El Nino conditions. Positive momentum continued on Dalal Street after CPI-based retail inflation in India eased further and fell to a 15-month low of 5.66% in March on an annual basis as food inflation moderated on account of falling vegetable prices. Also, India's industrial output rose to 5.6 per cent in February from 5.5 per cent in January 2023, mainly due to good performance of the power, mining and manufacturing sectors. However, sentiments turned pessimistic and traders started booking initial gains after the dismal fourth-quarter performance by big IT companies. TCS, Infosys both reported lower-than-expected Q4 numbers. Sentiments also remained downbeat with data showing that investment in the Indian capital markets through participatory notes dropped to Rs 88,398 crore month-on-month in February amid higher valuation of domestic markets. Some concern also came with Crisil’s report stating that India Inc is likely to report a halving of revenue growth in the fourth quarter of FY23, as companies start reporting their financials. It said the revenue growth will come down to 10-12 per cent as against 22.8 per cent for the January-March period in the year-ago. Some pessimism also came as Moody's Investors Service said higher interest rates have increased repayment amounts and limited refinancing options for SME borrowers who have availed loans against property, heightening default risk for these loans.

BSE SENSEX Monthly Gainers

Company     

Last Price 

(April 28’23)

Last Price 

(March 31’23)

Change 

(%)

Tata Motors

485.15

420.60

15.35

Bajaj Finance

6280.40

5615.40

11.84

Kotak Mahindra Bank

1937.70

1733.50

11.78

ITC

425.15

383.45

10.87

Nestle India

21758.95

19691.85

10.50


  • Tata Motors remained the top gainers for the month of April on the Sensex. Tata Motors opened bookings of the Altroz iCNG, India’s first twin cylinder CNG technology. Tata Altroz, which is India’s safest premium hatchback is open for bookings in its much awaited iCNG avatar, from April 19, 2023.  With this vehicle, Tata Motors aims at increasing the acceptance of CNG cars in India, similar to petrol and diesel cars. Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings upgraded its long-term ratings on Tata Motors to speculative grade 'BB' with stable outlook on earnings improvements and potential deleveraging. The ratings agency had earlier placed Tata Motors in 'BB-'.
  • Bajaj Finance remained second in the list of gainers for the month on Sensex. Bajaj Finance remained on buyers’ radar during the month, after reporting better-than-expected Q4 numbers. On consolidated basis, the company has reported rise of 30.51% in its net profit at Rs 3,157.79 crore for fourth quarter ended March 31, 2023 as compared to Rs 2,419.51 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the company increased by 31.68% at Rs 11,363.14 crore for Q4FY23 as compared to Rs 8,629.35 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.
BSE SENSEX Monthly Losers

Company      

Last Price 

(April 28’23)

Last Price 

(March 31’23)

Change 

(%)

Infosys

1252.55

1427.70

-12.27

Tech Mahindra

1023.75

1101.85

-7.09

Hindustan Unilever

2454.40

2558.75

-4.08

NTPC

171.55

175.25

-2.11

HCL Technologies

1063.65

1086.20

-2.08


  • Infosys remained the top loser for the month of April on the Sensex. Information & technology (IT) sector stocks remained under pressure as a bigger jolt has come from a recession warning in the US, issued by the Federal Reserve. The US Federal Reserve has projected a mild recession later this year. Meanwhile, the company reported a weak set of Q4 numbers with the revenue guidance for FY24 disappointing the street. The company posted 8% Y-o-Y growth in its consolidated net profit in Q4 at Rs 6134 crore, while revenue increased by 16% to Rs 38112 crore.
  • Tech Mahindra remained another loser for the month on Sensex. The company reported weaker than expected Q4 numbers. On consolidated basis, the company has reported fall of 27.20% in its net profit at Rs 1125.00 crore for fourth quarter ended March 31, 2023 as compared to Rs 1545.30 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income of the company increased by 12.77% at Rs 14023.70 crore for Q4FY23 as compared to Rs 12436.10 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.
Buying in last week of the month mainly helped markets to enlarge monthly gains as traders took encouragement with decent Q4 numbers released by the some of the heavyweights in banking and auto counters. Traders took encouragement with a private report that stating FY24 on a positive note, Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been buyers throughout the trading sessions in April month so far. On a reasonable valuation of stocks, they invested Rs 8,643 crore in Indian equities. Besides, according to the RBI data, India’s forex reserves rose by $1.657 billion to $586.412 billion as of April 14, marking their second consecutive week of increase. Sentiments remained positive as the Finance Ministry in its monthly economic review said that India’s banking system is ‘strong enough to survive’ stress caused by interest rates increasing and it will continue aiding economic growth. Additional Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajeev Singh Thakur stating that the government has released Rs 2,874.71 crore to the beneficiaries of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme till March, with a majority of companies from eight sectors like electronics, telecom, pharma and food processing.

The Nifty April expiry rollover is at 64.11% on Thursday compared to 74.00% on same day of previous expiry. The Nifty April rollover is lower than its three-month average of 75.41% and lower than its six-month average of 77.23%. The Market wide April expiry rollover is at 92.11% on Thursday as compared to 93.08% on same day of previous expiry. The market wide April expiry rollover is higher than its three-month average of 92.95% and higher than its six-month average of 92.42%. On sectoral front, Textile (96.73%), Cement (96.52%) and Power (95.79%) stocks witnessed the highest rollover of positions in April expiry, while the Media (85.20%), Oil and Gas (85.70%) and Telecom (85.81%) space witnessed relatively low rolls into the April series. In stock wise rollovers, highest rollover was observed in Grasim Industries (99.26%), Jindal Steel & Power (98.29%) and Hindustan Unilever (98.27%), while rollover activity was relatively low in Gujarat Gas (77.56%), Hero MotoCorp (77.67%) and HDFC (78.38%). 
  RELATED NEWS >>
Most Viewed >>
April 06 , 2024
RBI to allow UPI payments from PPI wallets via
April 06 , 2024
World markets today: US stocks surge on robust
April 04 , 2024
High valuations could tame the bull this fisca
April 06 , 2024
Cardless cash deposits via UPI apps: Everythin
EXPLORE
© CITRUS INTERACTIVE
Designed & Developed Accord Fintech Pvt. Ltd.