The key equity benchmarks traded with decent gains in the afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,000 level. Metal, healthcare and oil & gas shares advanced while IT and realty stocks declined.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 159.24 points or 0.22% to 72,563.41. The Nifty 50 index jumped 68.65 points or 0.31% to 22,026.15.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.47% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.38%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,933 shares rose and 1,758 shares fell. A total of 149 shares were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers:

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) (up 3.84%), Hero MotoCorp (up 3.01%), NTPC (up 2.40%), Cipla (up 2.19%) and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (up 2.17%) were major Nifty gainers.

TCS (down 1.49%), Infosys (down 1.32%), M&M (down 1.26%), LTIM (down 1.25%) and Kotak Bank (down 1.18%) were major Nifty losers.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation advanced 3.84%. The company?s net profit declined 30.29% to Rs 4,789.57 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 6,870.47 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023. Sales declined 1.32% to Rs 1,16,554.73 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 1,18,115.39 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023.

Earnings Impact:

Abbott India advanced 3.51% after the company?s net profit jumped 24.04% to Rs 287.06 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 231.42 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023. Sales rose 7.11% to Rs 1438.63 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 1343.08 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023.

Relaxo Footwears rose 0.78%. The company?s consolidated net profit declined 3.02% to Rs 61.39 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 63.30 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023. Sales shed 2.32% to Rs 747.21 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 764.94 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023.

Mahanagar Gas declined 2.43% after the company?s net profit declined 6.16% to Rs 252.26 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 268.81 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023. Sales rose 0.13% to Rs 1612.61 crore in the quarter ended March 2024 as against Rs 1610.48 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2023.

Global Markets:

European and Asian stocks advanced on Friday after an upbeat day on Wall Street following jobs data that supported the case for US rate cuts. Hong Kong shares surged after news of a potential tax break for individual investors.

In the US, the Dow on Thursday extended its winning streak to seven days as all major indexes rose on jobless claims data hinting at a possible shift in Federal Reserve policy.

While US initial unemployment claims for the week ending May 4th increased to 231,000, exceeding expectations, the jump was interpreted by markets as a sign of a cooling labor market, potentially prompting the Fed to lower interest rates. This follows a previous report indicating slower US job growth and wage increases.

Next week's release of the April producer and consumer price indexes (PPI and CPI) will be closely watched for signs of continued inflation decline towards the Fed's 2% target, further influencing expectations for interest rate adjustments.

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