Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Register Best Monthly Gains So Far This Year

-The local currency strengthened by 7 paise to close at 83.39 against the US dollar.

-It closed at 83.46 on Thursday.

Source: Bloomberg

Benchmark equity indices rose for the fourth consecutive week to record their best month so far this year. On Friday, however, they snapped their four-day record run to end lower.

The Nifty 50 index ended June 6.56% higher, the most since December 2023, when it had gained 7.9%. Top gainers this month were Shriram Finance, Wipro, UltraTech Cement, and Tech Mahindra. Of the 50 stocks in the index, only seven ended lower.

The Nifty closed at 24010.60, down 0.14% or 33.90 points and the Sensex closed at 79032.73 points down 0.27% or 210.45 points. Intraday, the Nifty hit a record high of 24174 points and the Sensex hit its lifetime high of 79,671.58.

"The improvement in market sentiment over the past week suggests that market has steadied post Lok Sabha elections," said Shrikant Chouhan, head of Equity Research. "Markets remained optimistic about strong government support for the economy, especially for the manufacturing sector, in the upcoming Union Budget."

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd., Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd., Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd., and State Bank Of India Ltd. contributed the most to the gains.

While those of ICICI Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. weighed on the index.

Most sectoral indices ended higher with Nifty Energy and Nifty Oil & Gas leading.

• After the rate hike, airtel’s plans are at 17-20% premium to Jio

• Its 5G services are now comparable to jio’s

• Airtel has hiked voice only plans by 11% while jio has kept its handset plans unchanged

• New tariff will increase ARPU more than the risk of subscriber churn

• Historically, vodafone has hiked without any lag

• Maintains 'Buy', raises target to Rs1,750 (up by 15%), upside 20.2%

• Expect ARPU to Rs.305 by FY27

• There are clear signs of reducing competition

• There is a shift in stance from the market leader Jio towards monetisation

Appoints Anil Kumar Mungad as CFO effective July 1

Source: Exchange filing

Shares of Central Depository Services (India) Ltd. rose to fresh high on Friday as the company is likely to consider bonus share issuance.

Shares of Central Depository Services India Ltd. jumped 15.88% to Rs 2,324.80, the highest level since its listing on June 30, 2017. It was trading 15.17% higher at Rs 2,310.50 as of 1:26 p.m., as compared to 0.07% in the NSE Nifty 50 index.

The scrip has gained 106.93% in 12 months, and 26.94% on year to date basis. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 26 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 71.04, which implied the stock is overbought.

Out of 10 analysts tracking the company, three maintain a 'buy' rating, five recommend a 'hold,' and two suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies a downside of 8.1%

The Ministry of Power announced on Thursday that Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. has secured a Rs 13,300-crore contract to set up a 1,600 MW thermal power plant in Koderma, Jharkhand from Damodar Valley Corp.

• Flights from Delhi T1 canceled until midnight

• Flights for Terminal 1 to arrive in Terminal 2 & 3

Source: X

At 1:10 p.m., the stock traded 2% higher at Rs 353.15. It has risen 11.16% in the last 30 days and 41% year-to-date.

• Signs share purchase pact with Vizag Hospital

• To acquire 51% stake in Vizag Hospital subject to fulfillment of terms & conditions of pact

• Agrees to acquire additional 34% stake in Vizag Hospital

Source: Exchange Filing

Gets tax demand worth Rs 2,087.58 crore including interest from Mumbai Tax Authority for AY2021-22

Source: Exchange Filing

Board approves raising up to Rs 1,000 crore via bonds

Source: Exchange Filing

India's benchmark stock indices continued their record rally on Friday, led by gains in Reliance Industries Ltd. and State Bank of India.

At 11:57 p.m., the NSE Nifty 50 was trading 75.15 points, or 0.31%, higher at 24,119.65. The S&P BSE Sensex gained 176.09 points, or 0.22%, to trade at 79,419.27.

The Nifty 50 hit a fresh high of 24,174.00, and the Sensex touched a record high of 79,671.58 during opening trade today.

The NSE Nifty 50 closed at an all-time high above 24,000 levels on Thursday with strong gains of 6.9% from the last expiry and achieved the 350-breakout target from 23,700 levels, said Vikas Jain, senior research analyst at Reliance Securities.

With the new expiry, the resistance would now move higher to 24,500 levels, while on the downside, 23,700 would be the new support zone, which was a resistance level. The RSI has risen to a range of 70 levels, from which it has repeatedly retraced downward since the year's beginning. The highest call open interest has moved higher to 24,500 strikes, while on the downside, the highest put OI is at 23,500 for the weekly expiry, Jain said.

Reliance Industries Ltd., State Bank of India, Tata Motors Ltd., Oil and Natural Gas Corp., and HDFC Bank Ltd. were contributing to the Nifty 50.

ICICI Bank Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. were weighing on the index.

On NSE, nine sectors advanced and three declined. The NSE Nifty Oil & Gas led gains among other sectors. The NSE Nifty Auto was the worst performing sector.

Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks with the S&P BSE Midcap and Smallcap were trading 0.57% and 0.75% higher, respectively.

On BSE, 17 sectors advanced and three declined. The S&P BSE Energy rose the most and the S&P BSE Capital Goods declined the most.

Market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers. Around 2,307 stocks rose, 1,405 stocks declined, and 141 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.

Shares of Samhi Hotels Ltd. rose on Friday after GTI Capital Alpha Pvt. sold 4.7% equity in the firm in multiple large trades.

Around 1 crore shares of the company changed hands in three large trades at Rs 187.1 per share on BSE. Total transaction value of the deal stood at Rs 193.4 crore, according to date available on Cogencis.

Shares of JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. surged over 6% on Friday after Emkay Global pointed out multiple tailwinds for the company. The brokerage maintains a 'buy' rating with a target price of Rs 700 per share, indicating a 77% upside from the previous close.

In pact with Bajaj Finance for vehicle financing

Source: Bloomberg

Submitted tender in June

Order is yet to be confirmed by DVC

Source: Exchange Filing

Step-down arm signs pact to acquire remaining 86.49% stake in Freaks 4U Gaming for nearly Rs 271 crore

Source: Exchange Filing

UltraTech Cement Ltd. fell as much as 2.11% to Rs 11,469.85 apiece, the lowest level since Jun 27. It pared losses to trade 0.36% lower at Rs 11,675.00 as of 10:39 a.m., as compared to 0.39% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 index.

It has risen 41.26% in 12 months and 11.6% on year to date basis . Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 2.0 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 70.25.

Out of 42 analysts tracking the company, 34 maintain a 'buy' rating, four recommend a 'hold,' and four suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies a downside of 4.2%.

India Cements Ltd rose as much as 5.00% to Rs 307 apiece, the highest level since Jan 2, 2008. It pared gains to trade 0.88% higher at Rs 295.81 as of 10:40 a.m., as compared to 0.41% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 index.

It has risen 37.91% in 12 months, and 14.71% on year to date basis. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 5.0 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 80.44.

Out of seven analysts tracking the company,one recommends a 'hold,' and six suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies a downside of 42.5%.

• Singapore GRMS down to $3.6/bbl in Q1FY25 vs $7/bbl in Q4

• Expects Singapore GRMs to be in the range of $4-5/nnl in FY25

• Expects net realizations of Indian OMCs to be higher by Rs 10/6 for petrol/diesel

• Operating margins of OMCs to be supported from marketing segment

• Cement volumes likely to grow 7-8% to 455-460 MT in FY25

• Demand to be driven by housing, infra sectors

• Expect capacity additions of 33-35 MTPA in FY25

• FY25 Capacity expansions to be led by east, south regions

• FY25 industry revenues expected to grow 7-8%

• Overall debt levels projected to be higher by 4-6% in FY25

• Jio’s tariff hike should translate into 17% ARPU increase

• Assuming similar hike by other players, incremental Ebitda would be $1.6 billion/1.3 billion/ 0.6 billion for Jio/Bharti/Vodafone Idea

• This translates into 20-25% of Bharti’s/ Jio’s annualised Ebitda and 55% of Vodafone Idea

• Expect earnings profile for Jio and Bharti to remain solid

• Expect FCF growth to be faster as 5G capex is almost done

• See stocks to be driven by earnings growth profile

31 financial creditors claim nearly Rs 53,000 crore against company

Admitted claims at Rs 51,914 crore

Major creditors include SBI, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, LIC

Home buyers submit claims worth Rs 2,630 crore

Source: Exchange notice

• Lists at Rs 494.95 on NSE vs issue price of Rs 369

• Lists at a premium of 34.13% on NSE

• Lists at Rs 499 on BSE vs issue price of Rs 369

• Lists at a premium of 35.3% on BSE

Shares of Polycab India extended losses in the fourth consecutive session after a large trade of 2.24% stake in the company happened on the NSE. A term sheet showed that promoters have likely sold this stake.

Shares of JSW Infrastructure Ltd. hit life high on Friday after it's subsidiary, JSW Ports Logistics Private Ltd. acquired 70.37% stake in logistics service provider Navkar Corporation Ltd. at Rs 95.61 per share.

Jio raised tariff charges for multiple plans, which will be effective July 3. 

CLSA on Reliance Jio

• Jio has hiked prepaid tariffs by 13-15% effective 3rd July

• Has changed the threshold for subscribers to avail 5G services from 1.5GB/day to 2GB/day

• Our RJio forecasts factor in 6%-13% increases in FY25/26CL Arpus to Rs206/Rs218 from Rs182.

• We forecast RJio's subscribers to be at 527m by FY26CL from 482m in 4QFY24.

• We remain positive on RJio and also forecast 527m subscribers by FY26CL from 482m in 4QFY 24.

• Jio Takes The Lead On Tariff Hikes

• The magnitude of the hike is impressive

• Monetisation is now a clear priority for Jio

• Combined with the recent muted spectrum auction, suggest competitive intensity is behind us

• Jio has also taken a step towards monetising 5G by raising the minimum spend required to avail benefits.

• Positive for long term, 1-2 years

• Indus would be an indircet beneficiary of the hike

• Postpaid plans hiked 10-20%

• Prepaid plans hiked 11-21%

Benchmark equity indices extended their record run and opened at their highest levels with telecom stocks contributing the most to their gains.

At pre-open, the Nifty was at 24085.90, up 0.17% or 41.40 points and the Sensex was at 79457.58, up by 0.27% or 214.40 points.

"The overall trend of Nifty50 is strong but buying on dips will be an ideal strategy," said Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares. Now, the immediate hurdle is placed at 24,240 while the level of 23,800 will act as strong support.

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Infosys Ltd., and Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. contributed the most to the gains.

While those of UltraTech Cement Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., IndusInd Bank Ltd., ITC Ltd., and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. weighed on the index.

Broader indices also rose. The S&P BSE Midcap rose 0.54% and S&P BSE Smallcap rose 0.76%

At pre-open, the Nifty was at 24085.90, up 0.17% or 41.40 points and the Sensex was at 79457.58, up by 0.27% or 214.40 points.

• The yield on the 10-year bond opened flat at 6.99%.

• It closed at 6.99% on Thursday.

Source: Cogencis

• The local currency strengthened by 6 paise to open at 83.40 against the US dollar.

• It closed at 83.46 on Thursday.

Source: Bloomberg

• Tariff hike by Jio in line with estimates

• Restricted unlimited 5G to 2GB/day and above plans vs Rs 239 (1.5GB/28 days) earlier.

• Potentially lead to up-trading to the 2GB/day plan by higher data consuming users and provide some monetisation

• Incremental rev/EBITDA for 3 players at Rs 40,000 crore (18%) and Rs 30,000 crore (25%) if Bharti and Vi take similar hikes.

• Arm settles claims with NHAI in Hyderabad-Vijayawada road project dispute

• NHAI agrees to pay Rs 1,387.21 crore to arm in 2 tranches, project to be handed back to NHAI

Source: Exchange Filing

• Cuts FY25-27 estimates by 3% on the back of 2% cut to ARPU estimate.

• Overall ARPU to reach Rs 231 by FY27 Vs Rs 181 currently

• Bakes in another 10% hike in FY27

• More confident that its subscribers are unlikely to churn out

• Expect revenue/PAT at 18%/26% CAGR over FY24-27

• Negative surprise as tariffs unchanged for JioBharat users

• Focus on subscriber additions as tariffs unchanged for JioBharat users.

• Post hike, Jio tariffs are at 5-21% premium to Bharti Airtel’s Vs 3-20% discount earlier

• RIL Target at Rs 3,275 vs Rs 3,245 previously.

• Valuing at 12 times FY26 EV/EBITDA, valuation arrives at Rs 840/share (vs Rs 810 previously).

• Expect 20% tariff hike could lead to 15% rise in ARPU, Rs 206 in FY25.

• Increase in Rev/EBITDA by 11/17% in FY25/26.

• Expect EBITDA of Rs 701 billion /Rs 798 billion in FY25/26

• Citi Maintains 'Neutral' on Ambuja Cements at Rs 675 target (2.4% upside)

• Ambuja to acquire 100% of Adani Cementation

• Deal valued at $70 million at current market price

• Deal at enterprise value per tonne of $27

• Adani Cementation 275 MT limestone reserves to support 4 MTPA clinker plant

• Sets price band in the range of Rs 960-1,008/share

• Bid for offer to open on July 3, close on July 5

Source: Company statement

• Price target of Rs 650 (+22.6% upside)

• Management expects around 2 times growth in premiums and 3 times growth in PAT over FY24-28

• Expects combined operating ratio improvement by 1ppt in FY25, and see medium-term combined operating ratio target of 95%

• Co prepared to implement changes in recently issued Master Circular on Health Insurance

• Stock underperformance (26%) prices in the worst while ignoring growth longevity in retail health insurance

• Price target of Rs 500 (+27% upside)

• Stock price more than doubled in a year reflecting improved business fundamentals

• Believes stock is yet to factor in project execution

• Project execution expected to double group’s revenue in 3-4 years

• Expect margins at 11.1% in FY27E vs 9.2% in FY24 with entry into stainless steel business

• Expect group ROE to 17.4/21.0% in FY27E/28E with contribution from Saudi expansion

• Key risks: decline in utilization rates, challenges in newer geographies

• Price target of Rs 700 (+77.8% upside)

• Expects CV industry to enter an upcycle from FY26E

• Believes in improving positioning of Indian tyre companies vs MNCs

• Continues to offer strong risk-reward at 8x FY26E PE vs 16x peer avg

• Improving demand, premiumization enabling cost-offsetting via price hikes

• Maintains 'Buy' on Ultratech Cement at Rs 11,200 target (4.6% downside)

• Believe stake in India Cement could increase and convert into a strategic investment ahead

• Profitability to be capped in the near term

• Continue to favor UltraTech given strong growth/capex plans

• Recent deals, ongoing expansions to solidify company's presence in southern markets

• Expect capacity market share in South/pan-India to rise to 26/27% by FY27

• Expect market share of top 4 cement groups to rise to 59% by FY27

• U.S. Dollar Index at 106.1

• U.S. 10-year bond yield at 4.32%

• Brent crude up 0.42% at 86.75 per barrel

• Bitcoin was up 0.75% at $61,876.5

• GIFT Nifty was flat at 24,043.50

• Nifty July futures up by 0.55% to 23,972.50 at a discount of 72 points.

• Nifty July futures open interest up by 45.23%.

• Nifty Bank July futures up by 0.01% to 52,905.60 at a premium of 94.3 points.

• Nifty Bank July futures open interest up by 0.54%.

• Nifty Options July 4 Expiry: Maximum Call open interest at 25,000 and Maximum Put open interest at 24,000.

• Bank Nifty Options July 3 Expiry: Maximum Call Open Interest at 53,000 and Maximum Put open interest at 53,000.

• Price band revised from 5% to 20%: Sanofi India.

• Price band revised from none to 20%: Zee Entertainment Enterprises.

• Price band revised from 20% to 10%: Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers.

• Ex-Dividend: Bank of Baroda, IndusInd Bank, Kalpataru Projects International, Maharashtra Scooters, Nippon Life India Asset Management, REC, Swaraj Engines, RPG Life Sciences, Syngene International, Vaibhav Global, Welspun Corp, GIC Housing Finance, Bajaj Holdings & Investments.

• Ex-Date Buy back: Godawari Power & Ispat.

• India Cements: UltraTech Cement bought 705.64 lakh shares (22.77%) at Rs 267.74 apiece while Derive Investments sold 41.49 lakh shares (1.33%) at Rs 283.3 apiece, Derive Trading And Resorts Private Limited sold 27.75 lakh shares (0.89%) at Rs 283.3 apiece, Gopikishan Shivkishan Damani sold 251.16 lakh shares (8.1%) at Rs 265.1 apiece, Kiran Devi Damani sold 19.33 lakh shares (0.62%) at Rs 283.3 apiece, Radhakishan Shivkishan Damani sold 351.32 lakh shares (11.33%) at Rs 265.05 apiece and Shrikanta Devi Damani sold 14.58 lakh shares (0.47%) at Rs 283.3 apiece.

• CSB Bank: FIH Mauritius Investments Ltd sold 168.68 lakh shares (9.72%) while Abu Dhabi Investment Authority bought 10.15 lakh shares (0.58%), Amansa Holdings bought 82.77 lakh shares (4.77%), ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund bought 12 lakh shares (0.69%), India Acorn Icav - Ashoka India Opportunities Fund bought 16.06 lakh shares (0.92%) and Sundaram Mutual Fund bought 7.94 lakh shares (0.45%), among others, at Rs 352.75 apiece.

• Route Mobile: NK Securities Research bought 3.85 lakh shares (0.61%) at Rs 1856.73 apiece, while Graviton Research Capital Llp bought 5.37 lakh shares (0.85%) at Rs 1837.85 apiece.

• Fairchem Organics: Msn Holdings bought 0.99 lakh shares (0.76%) at Rs 1361.09 apiece, while Manish Satyanarayan Nuwal sold 0.99 lakh shares (0.76%) at Rs 1361.02 apiece.

• Steel Exchange India: Apex Fingrow bought 81 lakh shares (0.68%) at Rs 14.99 apiece.

• Sakuma Exports: Shubham Ashokbhai Patel bought 18 lakh shares (0.57%) at Rs 35.99 apiece.

• Archean Chemicals: India Resurgence Fund - Scheme 2 sold 57.23 lakh shares (4.63%), India Resurgence Fund - Scheme 1 sold 33.88 lakh shares (2.74%), while Goldman Sachs Funds bought 6.28 lakh shares (0.5%), Piramal Natural Resources sold 33.88 lakh shares (2.74%), and Nishtha Investment & Consultancy Services bought 6.2 lakh shares (0.5%) at Rs 669.22 apiece.

• India Shelter Finance: Mio Starrock sold 11.44 lakh shares (1.06%) at Rs 730 apiece.

• SG Mart: Ashish Rameshchandra Kacholia bought 9.1 lakh shares (0.81%) at Rs 440 apiece, Sg Logistic Management bought 25 lakh shares (2.24%) at Rs 440 apiece, Dhruv Gupta sold 35.76 lakh shares (3.2%) at Rs 442.28 apiece and Meenakshi Gupta sold 24.98 lakh shares (2.24%) at Rs 440 apiece.

• Strynenix Performance Materials: Shiva Performance Materials sold 29 lakh shares (16.49%), while Vallabh Roopchand Bhansali bought 1 lakh shares (0.56%), Enam Investment & Services bought 2 lakh shares (1.13%), Ikigai Emerging Equity Fund bought 1.34 lakh shares (0.76%), Sageone Investment Managers Llp bought 2.4 lakh shares (1.36%), Subhkam Ventures bought 2 lakh shares (1.13%), Bengal Finance & Investment bought 1.07 lakh shares (0.61%), Nippon India Mutual Fund bought 2.5 lakh shares (1.42%), Bandhan Mutual Fund bought 1.34 lakh shares (0.76%), Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund bought 2.25 lakh shares (1.27%), and Sageone-Flagship Growth 2 Fund bought 1.05 lakh shares (0.59%) at Rs 1,861 apiece.

• Warwizard Innovations & Mobility: Wardwizard Solutions India sold 16 lakh shares (0.61%) at Rs 56.59 apiece.

Stanley Lifestyle: The company will debut on the stock exchanges at an issue price of Rs 369 per share. The Rs 537-crore IPO was subscribed 98.96 times on its final day.

• Allied Blenders and Distillers: The Rs 1,000-crore IPO was subscribed to 23.55 times on its third and final day. Bids were led by institutional investors 50.37 times, non-institutional investors 32.40 times, a portion reserved for employees 9.89 times, and retail investors 4.51 times.

• Vraj Iron & Steel: The Rs 171-crore IPO was subscribed to 17.79 times on day two. Bids were led by institutional investors 36.97 times and retail investors 14.63 times.

• Vedanta: The company raised Rs 2,500 crore via NCDs.

• Reliance Industries: Jio raised tariff charges for multiple plans, which will be effective July 3. 

• State Bank of India: The bank raised Rs 10,000 crore via non-convertible long-term bonds.

• Bharat Heavy Electricals: The company has secured a Rs 13,300 crore contract to set up a 1600 MW thermal power plant in Koderma in Jharkhand from Damodar Valley Corp.

• JSW Infra: The company also received a letter of acceptance from Southern Railway for the construction of a multi-modal cargo terminal. Unit JSW Ports will acquire a 70.37% stake in Navkar Corp. at Rs 95.61 per share, which has triggered a mandatory open offer for an additional 26% stake at a price of Rs 105.32 per share.

• India Cements: Radhakishan Damani and associated entities sold a 22.8% stake via open market operations.

• RBL Bank: The lender approved raising up to Rs 3,500 crore via QIP or other means and up to Rs 3,000 crore via debt securities.

• AU Small Finance Bank: The lender will raise up to Rs 5,000 crore via QIP or other means and up to Rs 6,000 crore via debt instruments. 

• Yes Bank: The lender executed a one-time settlement in one of its stressed loan exposures. The borrower will pay $23 million as a settlement against its dues.

• Brigade Enterprises: The company has launched a 6-tower residential project in Yelahanka, Bengaluru, with a revenue potential of Rs 1,100 crore. 

• RVNL: The company incorporated a subsidiary, RVNL Middle East Contracting, in Dubai.

• Inox Wind: The company incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary, Pokhran Wind Energy, as a special purpose vehicle to develop wind farms in India.

• Wipro: Units Designit North America and Wipro Designit Services completed their merger effective July 1. 

• Patanjali Foods: The company received a show cause notice from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board for non-compliance with water pollution regulations at its Mangalore unit.

• Infosys: The company clarified that there is no impact on its financial activities or operations following CEO Salil Parekh's settlement order.

• IPCA Labs: An EU Court upheld a Rs 126 crore fine imposed on subsidiary Unichem Laboratories over a patent dispute with French company Servier. The company has already made provisions in their accounts for the fine. 

• Asian Paints: The Singapore unit completed the acquisition of a 23.4% stake in Egypt's SCIB Chemicals for Rs 34 crore and now holds an 85.6% stake in SCIB. 

• Raymond: The company re-appointed Gautam Hari Singhania as MD effective July 1.

• KPI Green Energy: The company received a sanction letter for Rs 686 crore in credit facilities for a 200 MW solar project in Khavda. Rs 225 crore raised through a QIP earlier will be used to partially fund the project.

• Piramal Enterprises: S&P Global assigned 'BB-' long-term and 'B' short-term ratings and affirmed 'a'stable' outlook.

The GIFT Nifty was trading 1.5 points or 0.01% higher at 24,043.50 as of 07:01 a.m.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific rose Friday, mirroring overnight gains on Wall Street after the US GDP data came in line with estimates, raising hopes for rate cuts.

The Nikkei 225 was 280.14 points or 0.71% higher at 39,621.68, and the S&P ASX 200 was 30.00 points or 0.39% higher at 7,789.60 as of 06:58 a.m.

US stocks rose after data showed America's economic growth declined to 1.4% on year in January-March compared to 3.4% growth in the preceding quarter. This fuelled bets among traders that the Federal Reserve may need to reduce rates this year to aid the economy.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average settled 0.03% and 0.9% higher, respectively on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.30%.

In commodities, spot gold declined 0.27% to $2,321.36 an ounce, while the benchmark August contract of Brent crude on Intercontinental Exchange was 0.25% to $86.61 a barrel.

India's benchmark equity indices saw a third day of record close on Thursday. The NSE Nifty 50 claimed its psychologically crucial 24,000 mark and rose the most in a futures and options series this year.

The Nifty closed up 175.70 points, or 0.74%, at 24,044.50, while the S&P BSE Sensex closed 568.93 points, or 0.72%, higher at 79,243.18. Both the Nifty and Sensex rose 0.92% during the day to 24,087.45 and 79,396.03, respectively.

Foreign portfolio investors recorded the second highest single-day buying of Indian equities so far in 2024 on Thursday. The investors mopped up stocks worth Rs 7,658.8 crore, while domestic investors turned net sellers after a day of buying and offloading equities worth Rs 3,605.9 crore, the NSE data showed.

The Indian rupee strengthened 11 paise to close at Rs 83.46 per US dollar.