Benchmarks trade with major gains; European mrkt opens higher

The key equity indices traded with robust gains in afternoon trade, supported by ITC. However, further upside may be capped due to concerns over foreign fund flows and the weakening fiscal outlook of the United States. Media stocks extended gains for the third consecutive trading session. The Nifty traded above the 24,850 mark.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, zoomed 886.69 points or 1.10% to 81,835.00. The Nifty 50 index jumped 283.60 points or 1.14% to 24,889.80.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 0.51% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 0.51%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,269 shares rose and 1,561 shares fell. A total of 171 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, added 1.21% to 17.47.

Gainers & Losers:

Eternal (up 4.40%), Jio Financial Services (up 3%), ITC (up 2.62%), SBI Life Insurance Company (up 2.59%), and Power Grid Corporation of India (up 2.46%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 2.82%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.05%) were the major Nifty50 Losers.

ITC added 2.62% after the company's standalone net profit spiked 289.65% to Rs 19,561.57 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 5,020.20 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) was at Rs 17,248.21 crore in the March quarter FY25, up 9.26% year on year.

Economy:

Global rating agency Fitch Ratings has raised India's GDP growth potential by 0.2 percentage points to 6.4% over the next five years. The move comes following a sharper rise in the country's labour force participation rate in recent years. Fitch highlighted that the revised estimate for India shows a stronger contribution from labour inputs, mainly total employment.

At the same time, the global rating agency has scaled down China's growth projection by 0.3 percentage points to 4.3% from 4.6% earlier. The changes are part of Fitch's revised assessment of potential GDP growth for 10 emerging market economies over the next five years.

India continues to remain the world's fastest growing major economy and the only country expected to clock over 6% growth in the next two years, according to an IMF report released last month. The IMF has trimmed the growth forecast for over 120 countries.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Grasim Industries added 0.88%. The company's consolidated net profit rose 9.20% to Rs 1,495.90 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 1,369.82 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations increased 17.33% YoY to Rs 44,267.26 crore in the fourth quarter of FY25, driven by superior performance in cement, chemicals and financial services businesses.

MTAR Technologies shed 0.06%. The company reported a 181.72% year-on-year (YoY) surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 13.72 crore for the quarter ended March 2025 (Q4 FY25), compared to Rs 4.87 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The sharp rise in profit was supported by a 26.57% increase in revenue from operations, which stood at Rs 179.24 crore.

GMR Airports Infrastructure declined 2.28% after the company's consolidated net loss widened to Rs 252.66 crore in Q4 FY25 as against a net loss of Rs 167.58 crore reported in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 17.02% year on year (YoY) to Rs 2,863.34 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025.

Bondada Engineering hit an upper circuit of 10% after the company announced that it has secured a major government order worth Rs 9,000 crore from the Energy Department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Hubtown advanced 2.75% after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 3.53 crore in Q4 FY25 compared with net loss of Rs 88.6 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations tanked 8.54% year on year (YoY) to Rs 105.79 crore in the March 2025 quarter.

Global Markets:

European shares advanced on Friday after U.K. retail sales rose by an estimated 1.2% in April on a monthly basis, according to data from the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics.

Most Asian stocks traded higher as investors evaluated fresh economic data and monitored diplomatic signals. A call between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu and U.S. Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau led to an agreement to maintain communication, according to a statement from China's Foreign Ministry. The two officials discussed key bilateral issues, though no further details were provided.

In Japan, the core consumer price index (CPI), excluding fresh food, rose 3.5% year-on-year in April'up from 3.2% in March and marking the highest rate since early 2023. A separate core CPI measure, which strips out both fresh food and energy and is closely watched by the Bank of Japan, rose to 3% from 2.9%, remaining above the central bank's 2% target. Headline inflation held steady at 3.6%.

Investors are also reviewing South Korea's producer price index (PPI) for April and New Zealand's Q1 retail sales figures.

In the U.S., markets closed mixed Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was nearly flat, falling 1.35 points. The S&P 500 edged down 0.04%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.28%. Concerns about rising interest rates and the growing federal deficit weighed on sentiment. The 30-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest level since 2023 after lawmakers passed a bill that markets believe could widen the deficit.

Meanwhile, the U.S. S&P Global Composite PMI rose to 52.1 in May from 50.6 in April, indicating stronger private-sector activity. The Manufacturing PMI climbed to 52.3 from 50.2, and the Services PMI rose to 52.3 from 50.8.

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