The benchmark indices firmed up and hit the day's high in early afternoon trade. Auto, IT and metal shares rallied. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 160.36 points or 0.33% at 48,837.91. The Nifty 50 index gained 67.25 points or 0.46% at 14,685.10. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.42% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.36%. 

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,527 shares rose and 1,271 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged. 

Derivatives: 

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 0.71% to 21.8050. The Nifty 27 May 2021 futures were trading at 14,740, at a premium of 54.90 points as compared with the spot at 14,685.10. 

The Nifty option chain for 27 May 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 26.5 lakh contracts at the 15,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 34.8 lakh contracts was seen at 14,000 strike price. 

Buzzing Index: 

The Nifty IT index rose 1.10% to 26,070.15. The index has added 2.28% in two sessions. 

Coforge (up 14.46%), MindTree (up 4.26%), Mphasis (up 3.53%), Wipro (up 2.83%) and Infosys (up 0.70%) were the top gainers in IT segment. 

Stocks in Spotlight: 

Angel Broking hit an upper circuit of 20% at Rs 508.30 after the company's consolidated net profit surged 229.9% to Rs 101.91 crore in Q4 FY21 from Rs 30.89 crore in Q4 FY20. Total income during the quarter increased 109.8% to Rs 418.86 crore from Rs 199.63 crore reported in the same period last year. EBDAT increased 34% to Rs 146.30 crore in Q4 FY21 from Rs 109.30 crore in Q3 FY21. EBDAT margin remained stable at 49% in Q4 FY21 as compared to Q3 FY21 despite substantially higher client additions. The company continued to witnessed strong gross client additions of 0.96 million in Q4 FY21 as compared to 0.51 million in Q3 FY21. 

Adani Green Energy gained 1.47% after the company's consolidated net profit soared 62.5% to Rs 104 crore on 41.3% surge in net sales to Rs 979 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. The sale of energy for Q4 FY21 increased by 24% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) to 1,614 million units as against 1,303 million units in Q4 FY20. Total EBITDA jumped 33% to Rs 715 crore in Q4 FY21 from Rs 539 crore in Q4 FY20. Cash profit climbed 120% to Rs 373 crore in Q4 FY21 over Rs 168 crore in Q4 FY20. 

Economy: 

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday slashed India's GDP growth forecast for the current financial year to 9.8% saying the second COVID-19 wave may derail the budding recovery in the economy and credit conditions. The US-based rating agency in March had a 11% GDP growth forecast for India for the April 2021-March 2022 fiscal on account of a fast economic reopening and fiscal stimulus. 

S&P, which currently has a 'BBB-' rating on India with a stable outlook, said the depth of the Indian economy's deceleration will determine the hit on its sovereign credit profile. It said the projections assume that initial shocks to private consumption and investment filter through to the rest of the economy. 

Coronavirus Update: 

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 15,52,16,499 with 32,42,360 deaths. India reported 35,66,398 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 2,30,168 deaths while 1,72,80,844 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. 

India on Thursday reported 4,12,262 new cases of COVID-19 and 3,980 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry. A total of patients infected with the novel coronavirus were 3,29,113 discharged during the same time period. 

The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (48,80,542), Kerala (17,43,932), Karnataka (17,41,046), Uttar Pradesh (13,99,348), and Tamil Nadu (12,72,602).