Markets trade higher ahead of F-;O expiry; Nifty around 17,100 led by pharma, oil -; gas stocks; HUL in focus post Q4

28 Apr 2022 , 09:35 AM

Both benchmarks Sensex and Nifty 50 formed an upward movement on Thursday driven by Pharma, FMCG, oil & gas and healthcare stocks. The domestic equities performance also comes amid mixed global cues as the broader US market ended mixed tracking release of macroeconomic data and quarterly earnings results. Meanwhile, with April F&O expiry in focus today, markets may log steady gains in early trades but volatility is likely to ride high intraday.

At around 09:37 AM, Sensex is trading at 57,043.50 up by 224.11 points or 0.39%. Nifty 50 was trading at 17,105.80 higher by 67.40 points or 0.40%.

Nifty gainers were – Hindustan Unilever surging by 2.5% followed by Divis Lab higher by 2% and Sun Pharma and UPL advancing by 1.5% each. Other stocks like UPL, Asian Paints, ITC, Infosys climbed around 1% each.

Nifty underperformers were – Bajaj Auto tumbled around 1.5%. Stocks like Britannia, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank were marginally down.

Hindustan Unilever stocks in focus today post Q4 result announcement. The heavyweight industry reported earnings better than analysts’ estimates, with profit rising 8.6% yoy to Rs2,327 crore on double-digit growth in topline and operating income, though margin contracted by 30 bps yoy. Revenue during the quarter increased by 11 percent to Rs13,462 crore

Companies that are set to announce their Q4 result today are – Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Ambuja Cements, SBI Life Insurance Company, Vedanta, Agro Tech Foods, Biocon, Coromandel International, Embassy Office Parks REIT, Fineotex Chemical, IIFL Finance, IndiaMART InterMESH, Laurus Labs, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, Mphasis, Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care, PNB Housing Finance, Shoppers Stop, Shriram Transport Finance, Sterlite Technologies, and Varun Beverages.

Investors focus will remain on fourth-quarter performance for fiscal FY22.

On the global front, overnight, US markets see another volatile day as Dow Jones sees swings of over 589 points before closing up 61 points. Nasdaq sees gyrations of over 275 points before closing flat. Meta earnings after hours lift sentiment with Nasdaq seeing gains of over 1% while Meta traded higher by 20%. Bond yields spike to 2.82% while oil prices fall.