India Stocks: Indian shares log third straight month of gains on strong quarterly results

Can Fin Homes

30/04/2024 11:43

(Updates to close)
    By Manvi Pant
       BENGALURU, April 30 (Reuters) - Indian shares logged
their third straight month of gains on strong quarterly earnings
by behemoths, even as the benchmarks reversed early gains to
settle lower during the session. 
    Blue-chip indexes Nifty 50  .NSEI  settled 0.2% lower to
22,604.85 points and the S&P BSE Sensex  .BSESN  declined 0.3%
to end at 74,482.78. 
    However, the benchmarks logged 1.2% and 1.1% gains each
during the month as behemoth companies, including Reliance
Industries  RELI.NS , ICICI Bank  ICBK.NS  and Wipro  WIPR.NS 
reported strong results. 
    The market sentiment looks positive, with most companies
reporting strong quarterly profit numbers, said Anita Gandhi,
founder and head of institution at Arihant Capital Markets.
        During the session, the Nifty IT index  .NIFTYIT  fell
1.1% to lead losses in the benchmark index as investors awaited
the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, scheduled later in the
day, to determine if the U.S. central bank will keep rates
unchanged for longer or introduce cuts. 
    Markets are pricing in a 97.3% chance of the Fed keeping
rates unchanged in May 2024, according to the CME's FedWatch
tool, compared with a 90.7% chance at the end of March. 
    However, the most-weighted sub-index - Nifty financials
 .NIFTYFIN , extended an upward rally - up 0.1% to hit a record
high at 21,841.15 and capped some losses. 
        India's top refiner, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
 IOC.NS , fell nearly 5% after its quarterly profit 
    more than halved
    , leading to a 0.6% fall in the Nifty oil and gas index
 .NIFOILGAS  and was the top loser rank on the Nifty energy
index  .NIFTYENR , which ended flat. 
  
        Seven of the 13 major sectoral indexes ended in the red.
  
    Indian markets will be closed on Wednesday for a holiday and
trading will resume on Thursday, May 2.

 (Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich,
Mrigank Dhaniwala, Sonia Cheema and Sohini Goswami)
 ((Manvi.Pant@thomsonreuters.com; +918447554364;))