Indices soar on FII winds, Nifty crosses 24,300 with RIL leading the charge

Domestic equity benchmarks ended the day with strong gains, fueled by positive earnings reports from index heavyweight Reliance Industries. Global market momentum and robust Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) inflows into India further bolstered buying activity. Adding to the upbeat sentiment, US Treasury official Scott Bessent indicated that India could be the first country to finalize a bilateral trade agreement with the United States, potentially sidestepping the risk of reciprocal tariffs under President Donald Trump. Bessent praised India's trade practices and fewer non-tariff barriers. Current US tariffs on India are under a 90-day suspension, expiring July 8. The Nifty50 closed above the 24,300 mark, and while the Nifty IT index saw a decline, all other sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green. Shares in energy, PSU banks, and pharma rallied.

The S&P BSE Sensex zoomed 1,005.84 points or 1.27% to 80,218.37. The Nifty 50 index soared 298.75 points or 1.20% to 24,328.50.

Reliance Industries (up 5.27%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 2.29%), and ICICI Bank (up 1.69%) were key contributors to the index rally.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.34% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.39%.

Despite the overall positive sentiment, the market breadth was negative, with 1,958 shares advancing and 2,038 shares declining on the BSE. A total of 183 shares remained unchanged.

The India VIX, which measures the market's expectation of volatility in the near term, eased by 1.26% to 16.94, suggesting a slightly more stable outlook ahead.

Economy:

India's industrial production growth marginally accelerated to 3% in March 2025 from 2.7% in February, according to official data released on Monday. However, on an annual basis, the growth in March was down from 5.5% in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal, mainly due to poor performance of manufacturing, mining and power sectors. The government also revised downward the industrial growth figure to 2.7% for February 2025 from the provisional estimate of 2.9% released earlier this month.

India's foreign exchange reserves rose by $8 billion to a six-month high of $686 billion in the week ended April 18 on the back of a rise in gold reserves and foreign currency assets, the latest data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.

Foreign currency assets increased by $3.5 billion in the previous week. The rupee appreciated by 0.8% during the week. Gold reserves increased by $4.5 billion during the week. The special drawing rights (SDRs) were up $212 million to $18.5 billion. India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was also up by $7 million to $4.5 billion in the reporting week.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was up 2.01% to 6.491 as compared with previous close 6.360.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.0350, compared with its close of 85.4150 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2025 settlement shed 0.55% to Rs 94,470.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.10% to 99.57.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.09% to 4.270.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2025 settlement fell 35 cents or 0.52% to $66.52 a barrel.

Global Markets:

European markets surged on Monday, as investors brace for a slew of major earnings and data releases both in Europe and the U.S. this week. Attention will also focus on French and German GDP and inflation data due on Wednesday, alongside earnings reports from HSBC, BP, Deutsche Bank, and Shell.

Asian markets ended mixed as investors assessed China's promises to support domestic businesses as well as developments in trade negotiations between the U.S. and countries in the region.

Over the weekend, China's finance minister, Lan Fo'an, tried to play economic cheerleader, promising that Beijing would roll out more proactive macroeconomic policies to hit its full-year growth targets ' and, by extension, lend a helping hand to the global economy's recovery efforts.

More details could be just around the corner, with Chinese authorities scheduled to host a press conference later today.

Meanwhile, trade tensions are back in the spotlight. Investors are watching developments between the U.S. and its trading partners closely after President Donald Trump, according to the media, suggested he's not keen on hitting the brakes on his reciprocal tariffs strategy anytime soon.

Over on Wall Street, optimism made a small comeback on Friday. Tech stocks led the charge, pushing most major indexes higher. The S&P 500 wrapped up the day with a solid 0.74% gain, the Nasdaq jumped 1.26%, and even the lagging Dow Jones managed a tiny 0.05% uptick. Meanwhile, the dollar posted its first weekly rise in over a month, as traders hunted for any clue that the U.S.-China economic standoff might be losing steam.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) rallied 5.27% after the company's consolidated profit after tax and share of profit/(loss) of associates & JVs increased by 6.4% year-on-year to Rs 22,611 crore in Q4 March 2025 over Q4 March 2024. Gross revenue increased by 8.8% Y-o-Y to Rs 288,138 crore, while EBITDA increased by 3.6% Y-o-Y to Rs 48,737 crore. EBITDA margin contracted by 90 basis points Y-o-Y and by 1.1% quarter-on-quarter to 16.9%. RIL is the first Indian company to cross total equity of over Rs 10 lakh crore.

Annually, RIL's profit after tax and share of profit/(loss) of associates & JVs increased by 2.9% Y-o-Y to Rs 81,309 crore while gross revenue increased by 7.1% Y-o-Y to Rs 1,071,174 crore. EBITDA increased by 2.9% Y-o-Y to Rs 183,422 crore. EBITDA margin contracted by 70 basis points Y-o-Y to 17.1% in FY25.

Meanwhile, RIL's board approved raising up to Rs 25,000 crore through issuance of listed, secured/unsecured, redeemable non-convertible debentures, in one or more tranches, on private placement basis. It also recommended a dividend of Rs 5.50 per equity share for the financial year ended 31 March 2025.

SML Isuzu hit a lower limit of 10% to Rs 1590.05 after Mahindra & Mahindra announced plans to acquire a 58.96% stake in the company at Rs 650 per share, aggregating to Rs 555 crore. In addition M&M launched an obligatory open offer to acquire up to 26% stake of SML Isuzu from eligible public shareholders. The shares would be acquired at Rs 1,554.60 per share, which is at a discount of 12.01% to the scrip's previous close of Rs 1,766.70, dampening investor sentiment and triggering a sell-off.

Meanwhile, shares of Mahindra & Mahindra rose 2.29% to Rs 2927.70.

UltraTech Cement shed 1.05%. The cement major's consolidated net profit rallied 9.92% to Rs 2,482.04 crore on a 12.95% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 23,063.32 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24. Meanwhile, the board recommended a dividend of Rs 77.50 per equity share of face value Rs 10 each.

TVS Motor Company advanced 2.48% after its standalone net profit surged 75.53% to Rs 852.12 crore on 16.91% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 9,550.44 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.

Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals (MRPL) slipped 1.17% after the company reported 68.05% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 363.14 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 1,136.84 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) declined 2.89% YoY to Rs 24,595.87 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

IDBI Bank advanced 2.70% after the bank's standalone net profit jumped 25.95% to Rs 2,051.18 crore on 14.56% rise in total income to Rs 9,035.29 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.

RBL Bank soared 10.25% after the bank reported a reduction in its gross non-performing assets (GNPA) and net non-performing assets (NNPA) ratios in Q4 March 2025. The private lender's standalone net profit tumbled 80.52% to Rs 68.70 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 352.64 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Total income increased 6.19% year on year (YoY) to Rs 4,475.60 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

IDFC First Bank rose 0.48%. The bank reported 58.02% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 304.08 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 724.35 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Total income during the quarter increased 14.67% YoY to Rs 11,308.35 crore.

Rossari Biotech shed 0.97%. The company's consolidated net profit rose marginally to Rs 34.44 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 34.13 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 22.60% to Rs 579.56 crore in the fourth quarter of FY25 as against Rs 472.72 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last year.

UGRO Capital fell 1.22%. The company reported 24.04% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 40.55 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 32.69 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Total income increased 24.83% YoY to Rs 412.44 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

Tejas Networks slumped 13.05% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 71.80 crore in Q4 FY25 as against a net profit of Rs 146.78 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Total revenue from operations soared to Rs 1,906.94 crore in Q4 FY25 from Rs 1,326.88 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter the previous year.

Bank of Maharashtra rose 1.64% after the bank reported a standalone net profit of Rs 1,493.08 crore in Q4 FY25, registering a growth of 22.61% as against Rs 1,217.67 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Total income jumped 18.85% to Rs 7,711.44 crore in the fourth quarter of FY25 as against Rs 6,488.25 crore posted in the corresponding quarter the previous year.

Lloyds Metal and Energy slumped 3.20% after the company's consolidated net profit fell 27.1% to Rs 201.88 crore on 23.49% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 1,182.66 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.

Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) declined 1.17% after the company's net profit fell by 2.06% to Rs 1,681.87 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 1,717.32 crore in Q4 FY24. Total revenue from operations rose by 3.83% year on year (YoY) to Rs 6,722.83 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

Zensar Technologies added 2.66% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 10.39% to Rs 176.4 crore on 2.51% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 1358.9 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q3 FY25.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer of Ather Energy received bids for 86,09,406 shares as against 5,33,63,160 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on 28 April 2025. The issue was subscribed 16%.

The issue opened for bidding on 28 April 2025 and it will close on 30 April 2025. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 304 and Rs 321 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 46 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Ather Energy, incorporated in 2013, is an Indian electric two-wheeler (E2W) company engaged in the design, development, and in-house assembly of electric scooters, battery packs, charging infrastructure, smart accessories, and supporting software systems.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News