Morning Alert.. *Manufacturing PMI slips to 58.8 in April from | Equity99

Morning Alert..
*Manufacturing PMI slips to 58.8 in April from March's 16-year high*
Indian manufacturing slowed down a bit in April but growth stayed robust to signal the second-best improvement in the sector's health in three and a half years, said a private business on Thursday. The headline Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), released by HSBC, slipped to 58.8 in April from a 16-year high of 59.1 recorded in March. “Firms experienced a sharp upturn in new business intakes and scaled up production accordingly. With sales expected to remain positive, buying levels were raised, and input stocks were increased to one of the greatest extents seen in over 19 years of data collection. Cost pressures ticked higher, though they remained historically mild, pushing up charge inflation to the strongest since January,” said the survey. A figure above 50 in the index denotes expansion and that below signifies contraction. Indian manufacturers reported robust demand from Indian and foreign clients in April when total new orders rose sharply. The pace of expansion was the second strongest since 2021.

*Bonds rally as US Federal Reserve says no plans for further rate hike*
Government bonds strengthened on Thursday as traders covered short positions following the US Federal Reserve Committee’s announcement of no further rate hikes. However, the US rate-setting panel indicated that interest rates would remain elevated for an extended period, potentially delaying expectations of rate cuts. The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond fell by three basis points to settle at 7.16 per cent, against the 7.19 per cent on Tuesday. Money markets were shut on Wednesday on account of Maharashtra Day. “The market was relieved that at least there won’t be any hike; that is why we could see some rally (price) today,” said a dealer at a state-owned bank. “Primary dealers were covering their short bets. On the selling side, it was public sector banks, and private banks had bought a lot in the last few sessions, so they were on the selling side too,” he added. Price and yield move inversely.

* Global market action*
Dow Jones – Up by 1.11% or 421.12 points
FTSE – Up by 0.63% or 50.91 points
CAC – Down by 0.88% or 70.28 points
DAX – Down by 0.20% or 35.67 points
Gift Nifty – Up by 0.44% or 101.00 points

*FII/DII activities*
FII – Sold 964.47 Cr worth of shares
DII – Bought 1352.44 Cr worth of shares.

*Stocks with high delivery Percentage*
SKF India Ltd – 87.6%
Eris Lifesciences Ltd – 87.2%
Tube Investments of India Ltd – 86.2%
JB Chemicals & Pharms Ltd – 86%
Endurance Technologies Ltd – 83.9%

*Primary market activities*
IPO opening today
Shone Infosystems Ltd (NSE SME) – Issue size 11.06Cr

*Commodities updates*
Gold – Rs 73190/10gm, Silver – Rs 80200/kg, Brcrude – Rs 6592/barrel, Copper – Rs 846.50/kg.

*Corporate News*
Coal India registers 18% growth in annual profit, tepid income rise.

Adani Ports Q4FY24 results: Net profit rises 76% to Rs 2,040 crore.

Godrej family begins process to untangle cross-holdings in listed entities.