Indian Stocks Up on Tata Motors Boost, Inflation Data Optimism

BENGALURU, May 15 (Reuters) – Indian stocks rose on Monday after strong earnings from Tata Motors Ltd and DLF Ltd bolstered optimism about the cooling of domestic retail inflation.

The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) was up 0.38% to 18,382.90 as of 10:22 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) was up 0.43% to 62,296.54.

Eleven of the 13 major sector indices rose, with auto stocks (.NIFTYAUTO) and real estate stocks (.NIFTYREAL) rising nearly 1% and 2.5% respectively.

Tata Motors (TAMO.NS), which gained 4%, drove the auto index surge, while DLF (DLF.NS), which rose a whopping 4.89% to a new 52-week high, drove the real estate index up pushed. Both companies reported strong increases in quarterly earnings in March.

“Expect further consolidation due to mixed signals from the global front,” said Ajit Mishra, Vice President – ​​Technical Research at Religare Broking Ltd.

“Thanks to the ongoing earnings season, there will be no shortage of trading opportunities.”

India’s retail inflation data fell to an 18-month low of 4.7% in April, well below the central bank’s upper limit of 6% for the second month in a row. Indian wholesale price index inflation for April, expected on Monday, is also expected to ease on base effects.

Economists now expect India’s central bank to take a “pause” from rate hikes, due to declining inflation.

On the other hand, global equities remained subdued after a survey showed US consumer confidence fell to a six-month low in May amid fears of a potential recession. Caution ahead of key macro data and the interest rate decision from China also weighed on sentiment.

Among individual stocks, drugmaker Cipla Ltd (CIPL.NS) lost more than 4%, the most of Nifty 50 shares, after it reported smaller-than-expected gains.

Meanwhile, Avenue Supermarts Ltd (AVEU.NS), which operates retail chain DMart, fell as much as 4.65% after reporting a drop in profit margins.

Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Edited by Janane Venkatraman

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