Sensex gains 166 points; Nifty above 14,650

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Benchmark Indian equity indices opened on a positive note tracking Asain peers which were up on the back of U.S. stocks rebounded on Wednesday as strong earnings results and economic optimism. However, weekly options expiry might keep trading volatile. In opening trade, Sensex rose 166 points or 0.34% at 48,844; while the broader market index Nifty was at 14,668 jumped 50 points or 0.35%.

Bajaj Auto, ONGC, Bajaj Finance, Titan & ITC were top gainers on the Sensex rallying up to 1.21%. On the downside, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank & HCL Tech lost up to 0.67%.

All sectoral indices were trading in the green with the Nifty Pharma index was leading the pack with gains of 0.86%. Nifty Realty, Nifty Bank, Nifty FMCG, Nifty IT, Nifty Auto & Nifty Metal surged up to 0.46%.

Market breadth was in favour of the bulls as 1,185 shares advanced versus 708 stocks declining whereas 100 scrips remained unchanged. Broader market mirrored benchmark indices BSE MidCap & BSE SmallCap rose 0.31% and 0.15% respectively.

Earnings today:

Adani Power, Adani Transmission, Blue Star, Bombay Burmah Trading, Century Textiles & Industries, Hero MotoCorp, ICRA, IIFL Finance, Praj Industries, Raymond, Sundram Fasteners, Tata Consumer Products, Procter & Gamble Health, amongst others are set to announce their quarterly earnings today.

Stocks in spotlight:

Pharam stocks will be buzzing today Biden administration announced that it supports waiving intellectual patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines, as countries struggle to manufacture the life-saving doses

Tata Steel reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 6,644.15 crore in Q4 March 2021 (Q4FY21) as compared with net loss of Rs 1,481.34 crore in Q4 March 2020 (Q4FY20). Total income rose 34.6% to Rs 50,430.36 crore.

Wipro announced a partnership with Transcell Oncologics to transform vaccine safety assessment using augmented intelligence (AI). This partnership combines Transcell’s innovative stem cell technology with the advanced augmented intelligence capabilities of Wipro HOLMES to improve the safety of global vaccine immunization programs.

Shares of Cipla will be in focus. Roche India announced that the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) has provided an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for Roche’s antibody cocktail (Casirivimab and Imdevimab) in India. This approval was based on the data that have been filed for the EUA in the United States, and the scientific opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in the European Union.

This Emergency Use Authorisation will now enable Roche to import the globally manufactured product batches to India and will be marketed as well as distributed in India through a strategic partnership with Cipla.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment along with transfer of management control in IDBI Bank. GoI and LIC together own more than 94% of equity of IDBI Bank (GoI 45.48%, LIC 49.24%). The extent of respective shareholding to be divested by GoI and LIC will be decided at the time of structuring of the transaction in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

On a consolidated basis, Adani Green Energy posted an 8.91% rise in net profit to Rs 105 crore on a 50.56% rise in total income to Rs 1,082 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

On a consolidated basis, Angel Broking posted a 223.9% surge in net profit to Rs 105.60 crore on a 109.8% rise in total income to Rs 418.90 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

Macrotech Developers’ sales bookings rose 72% year-on-year to Rs 2,013 crore in 4QFY21 over 4QFY20. Collections rose 5% year-on-year to Rs 1,991 crore in 4QFY21 over 4QFY20.

Global markets:

Overseas, most Asian stocks are trading higher as investors look ahead to the U.S. jobs report due later this week for clues about how long the Fed will stay on hold. The U.S. jobs report — one of the most influential economic reports in global financial markets — for April is due on Friday.

U.S. stocks rebounded on Wednesday as strong earnings results and economic optimism pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record high.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it supports waiving intellectual patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines, as countries struggle to manufacture the life-saving doses.