Mester said risks to inflation have risen and risks to weaker growth and hiring have diminished, which means in a strong economy the Fed has the space to look for more evidence inflation is moving back to target before cutting rates.

​ Retail darlings GameStop and AMC continued their slide for a second straight session on Thursday, as the euphoria over the return of "Roaring Kitty", who was the central figure in 2021 meme stock rally, fizzles out.

JSFB provides micro financing, secured business loans, loans against property, micro, small and medium enterprises loans, loans against deposits and gold, and loans to finance companies. The bank strives to reduce reliance on unsecured loans by expanding the portfolio of secured loans. At the end of March 2024, its total loan book was worth Rs 24,746 crore.

All three major indexes notched record closes in the previous session after a smaller-than-expected rise in consumer inflation fueled optimism that inflation was easing after three months of hotter numbers.

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty shot up nearly 1% on Thursday, driven by buying in HDFC Bank and Infosys and a rally in the US and Asian markets. In a highly volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 677 points or 0.93% to settle at 73,663. The NSE Nifty surged 203 points or 0.92% to 22,403.85."Immediate resistance of 22,300 (mid part of long bear weekly candle of last week) has been taken out on the upside on Thursday and the Nifty is expected to reach another resistance of around 22,600 levels (upper part of the last weekly candle) in the near term. Immediate support is at 22,280 levels," said Nagaraj Shetti, senior technical research analyst at HDFC Securities.Here are top 4 stock recommendations for Friday:

​Walmart raised its full-year forecast and reported better-than-expected first-quarter results on Thursday, betting that easing inflation will drive stronger sales of groceries and non-essential merchandise like clothing and electronics, sending its shares to a record high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.34 points, or 0.01%, at the open to 39,912.34.

Long unwinding refers to the selling of positions or stocks owned for a longer period either to book profit or to exit it in anticipation of impending bearishness. In Thursday's trading session, five stocks witnessed a top long unwinding. Here's the list:

On the call side, there are notable OI concentrations at the 22,500 and 22,900 levels, suggesting these as resistance levels to watch, with the 22,900 level approaching all-time highs.

Sensex, Nifty bounced back from day’s lows by nearly 1%. Hitachi Energy India, Oberoi Realty, Bharti Airtel were in focus on Thursday. According to an expert, Bharti Airtel seems to be consolidating in the range of 1,295-1,360 in the last few sessions.

Short covering refers to the buying of shares in order to close an existing short position or a position that has been sold. Short covering signals a shift in view on security from extreme bearishness to bullishness. In Thursday's trading session, five stocks saw top short covering. Here's the list:

This will amount to a total payout of Rs 4,089 crore. May 25 has been fixed as the record date for payment of dividend. The announcements were made after market hours and the stock had ended at Rs 433.60 on the NSE — down by Rs 3.80 or 0.87% over Wednesday’s closing price. The company board has also approved setting up of a continuous cast copper rod plant in Saudi Arabia.

The company added Rs 37,159.36 crore taking its market capitalisation (mcap) to Rs 6,26,048.27 crore.

Substantial portions of the proceeds from the sale will be used to make the payment of taxes on current and future ESOP exercises. ESOPs are subject to payment of taxes on exercise in addition to the payment of capital gain tax on the sale of shares. Post the sale Yashish Dahiya will continue to have a 4.83% stake and Alok Bansal will have a 1.63% stake in PB Fintech on a fully diluted basis.

The government of India (GoI) holds many stocks in its portfolio. Here's a look at the stocks wherein the GoI slashed its stake the most in the quarter gone by. (Source: primedatabase.com)

When it comes to PSU banks, all the limelight is taken by the top players, like SBI, BoB, PNB and one or two others. But the fact is that there are many other small PSU banks, which of course have smaller books and less of national presence, but the fact is that they have been also the beneficiary of the “ reconstruction and restructuring" (R&R) which both government and RBI have done in the banking sector in the last seven years. The good part of any R&R exercise in banking is that all the players whether it is small or large have to follow the rules and that ensures that the operating matrix improves across the sector and which leads to long term beneficial impact. We take a look at 5 small PSU banks, which are not normally in news, but over years they have also seen an improvement in their working. Yes, they have their own risks in terms of loan book and other business risk, but then because they are under owned in institutional space, a bit of institutional buying can lead to sharp re-rating.

On a sequential basis, profit after tax was down 23% QoQ from Rs 2,843 crore reported in the preceding December quarter. Meanwhile, revenues also dropped 6% compared with the third quarter period.

The benchmark equity indices tossed between ups and downs throughout the day and finally settled in the green. US rate -sensitive IT stocks contributed majorly to the fag-end rally as all 10 constituents advanced, adding between 1% and 4.2%.

Auto major M&M on Thursday announced a dividend of Rs 21.10 (422%) per share of face value of Rs 5 each, which will be paid out to the eligible shareholders after July 31.

When it comes to PSU banks, all the limelight is taken by the top players, like SBI, BoB, PNB and one or two others. But the fact is that there are many other small PSU banks, which of course have smaller books and less of national presence, but the fact is that they have been also the beneficiary of the “ reconstruction and restructuring" (R&R) which both government and RBI have done in the banking sector in the last seven years. The good part of any R&R exercise in banking is that all the players whether it is small or large have to follow the rules and that ensures that the operating matrix improves across the sector and which leads to long term beneficial impact. We take a look at 5 small PSU banks, which are not normally in news, but over years they have also seen an improvement in their working. Yes, they have their own risks in terms of loan book and other business risk, but then because they are under owned in institutional space, a bit of institutional buying can lead to sharp re-rating.

In the upcoming Amfi Semi-Annual Categorisation for the second half of 2024, seven stocks, including Hero MotoCorp and BHEL, are poised to move to the large-cap category from mid-cap. Stellar rallies have propelled their returns over the past year.

After starting on a positive trajectory, Indian key stock market indices took a downturn in Thursday's trading session, primarily dragged by declines in auto, metal, and energy stocks. Despite this trend, five midcap stocks from the Nifty200 index managed to hit a new 52-week high in Thursday’s trading session. Here's the list:

Investors are closely monitoring India's elections, with low voter turnout and betting market predictions fueling uncertainty. Sensex is down over 1,700 points this month. Analysts assess potential market reactions to different election outcomes, from outright BJP victory to coalition scenarios.

The benchmark index hit a record high on Wednesday, as lesser-than-expected rise in U.S. consumer prices in April boosted bets for a September Federal Reserve rate cut.

A9 Finsight and Vivriti Asset were top performers among AIF Funds in April 2024, outperforming the Nifty50. Several other funds, including Income Builder Fund, also showed impressive growth.

Whether one accepts it or not, when someone uses the word large cap, first names which would come to mind would be nifty stocks. Because somehow the word large cap has become synonymous with nifty stocks. But the fact is that the world of large caps is much bigger and there are stocks which have been able to show strong out performance in troubled times of volatility, we take a look at them. When it comes to long term investing in the same industry, some players are able to show better performance in terms of growth. This could be because of belonging to a strong group, because the management had set the business in a way that it is able to take headwinds or the market size is so large that growth is bound to make and it comes with better margins to efficient players. We take a look at 5 stocks where the underlying business is strong and good to own business for the long term.

​The initial public offer (IPO) of HOAC Foods is getting a bumper response from investors with an overall subscription of 17 times just within a few hours of opening on Thursday. The issue closes on May 21.

ETMarkets' latest mutual fund (MF) analysis focuses on stocks held solely by a single scheme. Originally, there were 147 such stocks in April '24. However, we refined the list to only include those with a market value exceeding Rs 20 crore as of May 2023 and experiencing a price surge of over 25% in the calendar year 2024 so far. Following this criteria, six stocks have made the cut. (Data Source: ACE MF, ACE Equity).

Investors are closely monitoring India's elections, with low voter turnout and betting market predictions fueling uncertainty. Sensex is down over 1,700 points this month. Analysts assess potential market reactions to different election outcomes, from outright BJP victory to coalition scenarios.

Oberoi Realty's shares surged by 9% to reach a new 52-week high of Rs 1,712.30 following the company's announcement of a 65% year-on-year (YoY) increase in its Q4 profit, reaching Rs 788 crore.

IEX Share Price: Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) shares surged by 4% on Wednesday on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), reaching a high of Rs 151.30 for the day. This increase followed the company's announcement of a 14.7% year-on-year (YoY) rise in its quarterly profit after tax (PAT), reaching Rs 95.1 crore for Q4FY24

​The much anticipated U.S. consumer price index (CPI) data for April fueled optimism that inflation was easing, prompting traders to raise bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September and December.

Apollo Tyres' shares rose by 7% to Rs 508 in Thursday's trading session on the BSE, despite the company posting modest financial results for the March quarter of FY24. Although the firm reported a 13.7% year-on-year (YoY) decrease in net profit, amounting to Rs 354 crore compared to Rs 410.3 crore in the same quarter last year, brokerage firms maintained a largely optimistic outlook on the stock.

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) shares surged by 4% on Wednesday on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), reaching a high of Rs 151.30 for the day. This increase followed the company's announcement of a 14.7% year-on-year (YoY) rise in its quarterly profit after tax (PAT), reaching Rs 95.1 crore for Q4FY24

Titagarh Rail Systems saw a notable surge of 10% in its shares on Thursday, reaching a peak of Rs 1,216 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). This increase followed the company's announcement of a substantial year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit for Q4FY24, amounting to Rs 78.95 crore, marking a 63.7% increase.

In the month of April, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Vodafone Idea and Nirlon were the top stocks bought across AMCs in the large, mid and smallcap segment respectively, according to an ICICIdirect report. SBI Mutual fund added Vodafone Idea, GMR Airports and NMDC among other stocks in its portfolio, while a decline in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and ITC among others was witnessed. As per the same report, here are the top 10 bought stocks of SBI mutual fund in the month of April:

A long buildup occurs when there is an increase in open interest and trading volumes alongside a rise in the price of the underlying stock in the Futures and Options segment, indicating a bullish trend in the market. In Thursday's trading session, five stocks experienced a buildup of fresh long positions. Here's the list:

Kotak Institutional Equities, a domestic brokerage, reiterated a sell recommendation for Vodafone Idea, citing it as a high-risk, high-reward opportunity. They maintained that under bullish conditions, the stock could potentially rise to Rs 23, assuming a significant 10% 10-year ARPU CAGR.

.Energy Mission Machineries debuted on the NSE SME platform with a premium of 165%, opening at Rs 366 compared to the issue price of Rs 138. The IPO received overwhelming investor interest, oversubscribed 320 times.

Mutual funds invested Rs 10,000 crore in Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank in April, despite their decline in Nifty rankings. Fund houses like HDFC MF, SBI MF, and Axis MF raised bets on HDFC Bank, while Kotak Mahindra saw buying from Nippon India MF and others. The investments were based on data from Prime Database.

Brokerage firm Jefferies maintained an underperform rating on Dixon Technologies, Nomura upgraded Apollo Tyres to neutral, Jefferies recommend buy on Adani Ports and HSBC downgraded Colgate to hold.

Short-term traders can buy the stock for a possible target above Rs 2,400 in the next 1-3 months, experts advise. The capital goods stock witnessed a breakout from 2,000 levels, which also coincides with the upper trendline of the triangle pattern on the daily charts earlier in May 2024.

Indian benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty50, rose on positive global cues after US consumer inflation data. Nifty IT index surged 1.6%, led by Mphasis, Tech Mahindra, and Infosys. Nifty Pharma lagged, while Jindal Stainless fell 10% on softer steel prices. Markets expect two rate cuts in 2024, based on CMEGroup's FedWatch tool.

Nifty opened higher but withdrew immediately. It stayed in a sideways trajectory and closed flat.

Berkshire owned 25.92 million Chubb shares as of March 31, according to a regulatory filing detailing Berkshire's U.S.-listed holdings as of that date.

Tepid U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for April fueled optimism that inflation was easing after three months of higher-than-expected numbers. This led traders to raise bets that the Fed will cut its policy rate in September and December.

The data provided palpable relief to markets after higher-than-expected U.S. consumer prices in the first quarter had led to a sharp paring of rate cut bets, and even stoked some worries of an additional hike.

Stocks that were in focus include names like Siemens India, which rose 6.33%, Oil India, which jumped 1.98%, and LIC, whose shares increased 6.82% on Wednesday.

"We expect the market to consolidate in a broader range as the election polling progresses and the result season nears the end," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial