Indices end the day in Green; Sensex gains 28 points & Nifty closed at 14,618

Domestic equity markets witnessed a see-saw traded and closed with a modest gain on Friday, April 16, 2021. The domestic stocks rose amid the gains in global equity markets as investors sentiment boosted after the many big companies worldwide posted a good profit for the quarter ended last month.

The Sensex added 28.35 points, or 0.06 per cent, to finish at 48,832.03. The Nifty 50 climbed 36.40 points, or 0.25 per cent, to settle at 14,617.85. However, the Nifty Bank index fell 135.40 points, or 0.42 per cent, to close at 31,977.45.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap closed 1.71 per cent higher and the SmallCap indices closed 1.05 per cent up.

On the BSE, 1,648 shares rose and 1,253 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index, 32 shares advanced and 18 shares declined. The top five gainers on Nifty 50 were Wipro (up 9 per cent), Hindalco (up 4.16 per cent), Cipla (up 2.83 per cent), Asian Paints (up 2.56 per cent) and UltraTech Cement (up 2.52 per cent). The top five losers were JSW Steel (down 1.85 per cent), ICICI Bank (down 1.76 per cent), Bajaj Finance (down 1.32 per cent), L&T (down 1.25 per cent) and Tata Steel (down 1.22 per cent).

COVID-19 Update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 13,91,09,041 with 29,86,608 deaths. India reported 15,69,743 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,74,308 deaths while 1,25,47,866 patients have been discharged, data showed.

India's Merchandise Exports

India's merchandise exports rose 60.3 per cent at $34.50 billion in March compared to the same month last year while imports jumped 54 per cent to $48.40 billion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry data showed. During FY21, India's overall merchandise and services exports dipped 6.6 per cent to $493.20 billion over the same period last year.

Overall imports in April-March 2020-21 declined 16.5 per cent to $505.90 billion.

Surge in China's GDP

China's GDP surged 18.3 per cent in the first three months of the year from a year ago, the country's National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. The surge in growth comes off a contraction in the first quarter of last year when the economy shrank by 6.8 per cent during the height of the domestic outbreak of Covid-19. China's retail sales jumped 34.2 per cent and industrial production rose 14.1 per cent in March. The rebound has been led by strong industrial output and robust exports.

US Retail Sales & Unemployment Insurance Filings

US retail sales surged 9.8 per cent in March as additional stimulus sent consumer spending soaring, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday. A separate report on Thursday showed that first-time filings for unemployment insurance dropped to the lowest level since March 2020. The US Labour Department reported 5,76,000 new jobless claims for the week ended April 10.