A sustain buying helped Indian equity benchmarks to end near their intraday high points on Monday, aided by positive cues from other Asian markets, as Middle East tensions eased and investors looked ahead to a slew of U.S. data due this week for additional clues on when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. After a strong start, markets remained in good mood for the whole day, amid foreign fund inflows. The provisional data from the NSE showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 129.39 crore on April 19. During the day, sentiments got a boost as the tax department said that India's net direct tax collections surged by 17.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 19.58 lakh crore in the fiscal year ended March 2024 and exceeded the revised estimates by Rs 13,000 crore. Adding more relief among traders, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Centre has tailored policies to make India an attractive destination for manufacturing and services, and the aim was to produce not just for the domestic market but for exports as well. In the last hours of the trade, indices added more gains, tracking positive European markets. Sentiments remained positive, as the retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest Provisional payroll data report showed that 15.48 lakh net members have been added in the month of February 2024. The data further indicated that around 7.78 lakh new members have been enrolled during February 2024. Meanwhile, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das stressed that the success in controlling inflation has to be preserved and taken forward to achieve a 4 per cent inflation target on a durable basis. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 560.29 points or 0.77% to 73,648.62 and the CNX Nifty was up by 189.40 points or 0.86% points to 22,336.40.

The US markets ended higher on Monday as traders indulged in some bargain hunting after recent losses. Easing worries about Middle East tensions helped underpin sentiment. The markets gained amid slightly easing fears of a wider Middle East conflict after Iran and Israel completed measured counterattacks that were calibrated to avoid any casualties. However, investors awaited a slew of key U.S. economic data this week, including reports on new home sales, durable goods orders and personal income and spending. The Commerce Department's personal income and spending report includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve. Earnings season also starts to pick up steam this week, with Tesla (TSLA), Boeing (BA), IBM (IBM), Caterpillar (CAT), Honeywell (HON), Alphabet (GOOGL), Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT), Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) among the companies due to report their quarterly results. In the stock specific development, Verizon ended 4.7 percent down. The company, which announced weak profit and slightly higher revenues in its first quarter, maintained its fiscal 2024 earnings outlook. For 2024, Verizon continues to expect adjusted earnings per share of $4.50 to $4.70.

Crude oil futures ended lower on Monday as Middle East tensions appeared to ease. Oil prices fell amid easing concerns about supply disruptions after Israel’s retaliation last week to Iran's attack earlier in the month caused did not cause any big damage to oil facilities. Further, Concerns about the outlook for global oil demand, and the recent data showing a sharp jump in U.S. crude inventories weighed as well on oil prices. Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery fell $0.29 or 0.34% to settle at $82.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery declined $0. 29 or 0.3% to $87 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended higher against the U.S. dollar on Monday on positive domestic markets and a soft American currency. Traders took support as Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has said that India's net direct tax collections surged by a massive 17.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 19.58 trillion in the fiscal year ended March 2024, surpassing even revised estimates by a wide margin. Besides, the Retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest Provisional payroll data report has showed that 15.48 lakh net members have been added in the month of February 2024. On the global front, the dollar held steady against the euro and the yen on Monday after the most volatile week of trading for the currency market in months, as investors assessed policy and geopolitical developments. The market is laser-focused on the yen ahead of the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) policy review on Friday. Finally, the rupee ended at 83.36 (Provisional), stronger by 8 paise from its previous close of 83.44 on Friday.

The FIIs as per Monday's data were net buyers in equity segment, while they were net sellers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 16861.29 crore against gross selling of Rs 16088.52 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1516.26 crore with gross sales of Rs 2335.54 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 12.95 crore against gross selling of Rs 16.96 crore.

The US markets ended higher on Monday as traders indulged in some bargain hunting after recent losses. The Asian markets are trading mostly in green following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Indian equity markets ended higher on Monday amid value buying by investors. Today, markets are likely to make positive start on firm cues from global markets. Falling crude oil prices are likely to support domestic sentiments. Some support may also come in as the risk of a significant escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran eased. Further, traders may get support as RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Shashanka Bhide said as sustaining the economic growth momentum of 7 per cent in 2024-25 and beyond is feasible on the back of favorable monsoon, higher farm productivity and improved global trade. During 2023-24, the economy is likely to record a growth rate of near 8 per cent on account of good performance of manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. However, foreign fund outflows likely to dent sentiments. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 2,915.23 crore on April 22, provisional data from the NSE showed. There may be some buzz in medical devices industry related stocks as the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) said that India’s exports of medical devices to Russia can be tripled in the next five years through collaborative efforts by both countries. The push to shore up Indian medical device exports to Russia comes after players from both countries recently held an online meeting to explore opportunities in the areas of manufacturing and marketing life-saving medical equipment and devices.

Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

Nifty Top volumes

• Tata Motors has achieved milestone of 4 lakh happy customers of the Tata Magic - India’s most preferred van.
• Bharti Airtel has unveiled affordable international roaming packs for customers travelling abroad.
• ICICI Bank has unveiled a range of initiatives to make banking more convenient to its senior citizen customers in West Bengal.
• UltraTech Cement has acquired a grinding unit from India Cements for Rs 315 crore and it will invest an additional Rs 504 crore to expand capacity of two units.