Stock Market News Today Highlights: Nifty, Sensex Halt Three-Day Losing Streak Over Post-Lunch Rebound

• Nifty 50 closed in the green, up more than 0.5%, and ended above 23,300. UltraTech Cement and M&M were the top gainers on the index, both rising more than 3.5%.
• The broader market lagged the benchmark. Nifty Midcap 150 fell more than 0.5%, with IDBI Bank the top loser on the index, while Nifty Smallcap 250 also ended in the red.
• Sectoral indices ended mixed. Nifty Auto was the top-performing index, up more than 1.5%, while Nifty Oil and Gas and Nifty Realty were the worst performers, both down more than 1.5%. IOC and BPCL led the decline in oil and gas, while Sobha and Oberoi Realty were the main losers in realty.

Indian equity benchmarks ended higher and halted a three-day losing streak after a post-lunch recovery led by HDFC Bank and M&M. The BSE Sensex rebounded 1,500 points from the day’s low and closed up 1%, or 700 points, above 75,300. The NSE Nifty 50 ended 0.9% higher above 23,340.

Oil prices remained elevated, with WTI crude up 1% at $100.06 a barrel and Brent crude higher by 2.2% at $105.37. US stock futures also traded higher, with Dow futures up more than 200 points, or 0.45%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.50% and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.55%.

• WTI crude rose 1% to $100.06 a barrel.
• Brent crude gained 2.2% to $105.37 a barrel.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose more than 200 points, or 0.45%.
• S&P 500 futures gained 0.50%.
• Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 0.55%.

• Sebi has allowed mutual funds to undertake intraday borrowing from April 1 under a formal framework.
• The borrowing will be allowed only to meet redemption payouts, interest payments or income distribution, and only against receivables due on the same day.
• Sebi said asset management companies must follow a board-approved policy and bear all costs or losses arising from such borrowing.

• Nifty recovered sharply and gained more than 350 points in 30 minutes.
• The index was up more than 1% on the day and was set to end a three-day losing run.
• UltraTech Cement and M&M led the gains on the Nifty, both rising more than 3.5%, while the broader market lagged with the Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Smallcap 250 trading in the red.

• Bandhan Bank said it is not aware of any possible stake sale by its promoter, according to an exchange filing.
• The bank said it is not in a position to comment on the accuracy of the reports.

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• Intellect Design will form a 50:50 joint venture with Fintel Plc, according to an exchange filing.
• The company will enter into a joint venture arrangement with Fintel Plc.
• The joint venture entity will be incorporated in the UK.

• The commerce secretary said India will wait for clarity on the US tariff structure before signing the proposed trade deal.
• The secretary said the deal is ready and negotiators are still working on it, with no stand-off or cancellation.
• The secretary said the US is trying to build a new global tariff framework and the final signing will take place after that structure becomes clear.

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• Indian equity benchmarks staged a sharp recovery in post-lunch trade. The BSE Sensex rebounded 1,500 points from the day’s low to trade above 75,600.
• The NSE Nifty 50 rose as much as 1.3% to 23,449.

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• Citi maintained its sell rating on Ola Electric and cut the target price to Rs 22 from Rs 27.
• The brokerage lowered its volume estimates due to continued market share loss and said competition has made it more cautious on pricing.
• Citi also cut its FY26 to FY28 revenue estimates by 5% to 14%.

• The commerce secretary said India is seeing increased buying of Russian oil due to current disruptions.
• On the proposed US trade deal, the secretary said the agreement is ready but India will wait for clarity on the tariff structure before signing.
• The secretary said negotiators are working on the deal and there is no stand-off or cancellation.

• Indian equity benchmarks reversed course in late afternoon trade. The BSE Sensex rose 741 points, or 1%, to 75,305 after falling as much as 610 points earlier in the session.
• The NSE Nifty 50 climbed more than 210 points to trade above 23,350. HDFC Bank and M&M were among the leading stocks in the rebound.

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• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.06% to 596.18 in early trade.
• The UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.40% and Germany’s DAX was up 0.01%.
• France’s CAC 40 fell 0.03%, Spain’s IBEX 35 slipped 0.02% and Italy’s FTSE MIB declined 0.28%.

• DGGI Hyderabad is probing alleged GST evasion linked to online gaming transactions routed through Fino Payments Bank, according to sources.
• Sources said the Enforcement Directorate is yet to receive inputs from GST authorities and may examine the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after the GST probe findings are shared.
• DGGI may recommend filing an FIR if it finds suspicious fund flows linked to the gaming transactions, sources added.

• PhonePe has temporarily deferred its public market listing process due to geopolitical conflicts and market volatility.
• The company said it will resume the process once there is stability in global capital markets. Chief executive Sameer Nigam said PhonePe remains committed to a public listing in India.

Read more here

• CSB Bank gained in trade after the government called off the IDBI Bank disinvestment process as bids from Fairfax and Emirates were below the reserve price.
• Fairfax already owns a 40% stake in CSB Bank. If the IDBI Bank deal had gone through, Fairfax would have had control over both banks.
• The move removed the possibility of a merger between IDBI Bank and CSB Bank that some market participants had factored in.

• On the BSE F&O side, long build-up was seen in Grasim Industries and HDFC Bank.
• Short covering was visible in UltraTech Cement and BSE, while long unwinding was seen in Biocon and Steel Authority of India.
• Short build-up was recorded in Bandhan Bank and Indian Oil Corporation.

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Nifty and Sensex moved in a narrow range as losses in Infosys and Bharat Electronics put pressure on the benchmarks. Gains in HDFC Bank and UltraTech Cement limited the downside.

• Wholesale price inflation rose to 2.13% in February from 1.81% in January, marking the highest reading in 11 months.
• Core WPI inflation stood at 3.3% versus 3.2% in January, while food inflation rose to 1.85% from 1.41%.
• Primary articles inflation increased to 3.27% from 2.21%, fuel and power inflation was at -3.78% versus -4.01%, and manufactured products inflation edged up to 2.92% from 2.86%.

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• Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.07% and the Topix declined 0.98%, while South Korea’s Kospi was unchanged and the Kosdaq dropped 1.72%.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.44%.
• US stock futures rose, with Dow futures up 153 points, or 0.3%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.3% each.

• More than 100 crore shares across nine recently listed companies will become eligible for trading this week as shareholder lock-in periods expire.
• Urban Company will see 94.09 crore shares, or 66% of its equity, become eligible for trade on 17 March. ICICI Prudential AMC will see 70 lakh shares, or 1% of its equity, become eligible on the same day.
• Fractal Analytics, Aye Finance, Park Medi World and Nephrocare Health Services are among the other companies with shares set to become eligible for trading this week.

• Union Bank of India approved an infrastructure bond issue of up to Rs 20,000 crore.
• The bank also approved a green bond issue of up to Rs 5,000 crore.

• On the BSE F&O side, long build-up was seen in UltraTech Cement and Grasim.
• Short covering was visible in Varun Beverages and Vodafone Idea, while long unwinding was seen in NBCC and ABB.
• Short build-up was recorded in IOCL and Bandhan Bank.

Indian equity benchmarks extended losses and hit the day’s low in trade. The BSE Sensex fell 0.8%, or 600 points, to 73,964, while the NSE Nifty 50 dropped more than 0.6% to below 23,000.

• HSBC downgraded BPCL and IOCL to hold from buy, citing pressure on earnings from higher crude prices.
• The brokerage cut IOCL's target price to Rs 150 from Rs 220 and lowered BPCL's target price to Rs 340 from Rs 470.
• HSBC also reduced HPCL's target price to Rs 360 from Rs 620, as it expects higher oil prices to weigh on oil marketing companies.

Read the full report here

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• ITI rose as much as 12% to Rs 273.90, with trading volume at more than 40 times its 20-day average.
• Tejas Networks gained as much as 9.1% to Rs 463, while Aeroflex Industries rose up to 5.9% to Rs 247.90. Trading volume was 83% above the 20-day average for Tejas Networks and nearly three times the 20-day average for Aeroflex Industries.
• Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers fell as much as 5.6% to Rs 114.65, with trading volume 79% above its 20-day average.

Source: Bloomberg

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Indian equity benchmarks opened marginally higher on Monday. The BSE Sensex traded at 74,622, while the NSE Nifty 50 was at 23,175, with both indices little changed in early trade.

• Nomura’s Saion Mukherjee said the current situation has raised macro concerns and that further correction in the market remains possible.
• The brokerage cut its Nifty 50 target to 24,900 from 29,300.
• Nomura said utilities, coal, oil producers, healthcare, pharma, staples and telecom may outperform.

• Nuvama said paint companies have started raising prices after an increase in crude-linked raw material costs.
• Kansai Nerolac announced a price hike of about 2% to 2.5%, while Berger Paints raised prices by 4% to 5% in parts of its solvent-based portfolio.
• Nuvama said paint stocks are in the oversold zone. It also said companies may take another round of price hikes in Q1FY27 if crude stays at $100, while margins may face pressure in the quarter.

• Nifty traded below 23,150 in pre-market trade, while the Sensex fell more than 500 points.
• The early moves indicated weaker opening levels for the benchmark indices.

The rupee opened at 92.43 against the US dollar, compared with Friday’s close of 92.46. The domestic currency started the session marginally higher.

• Central Mine Planning & Design Institute has fixed the IPO price band at Rs 163 to Rs 172 per share.
• The offer is an OFS of 10.71 crore shares, taking the total issue size to Rs 1,838 crore.
• The IPO will open on 20 March and close on 24 March. The stock is scheduled to list on 30 March.

• Nifty March futures fell 2.11% to 23,228.40 and traded at a premium of 77.3 points.
• For the 17 March expiry, the highest call open interest stood at 25,000, while the highest put open interest was at 21,500.
• SAIL and Sammaan Capital remained in the F&O ban period.

Several stocks may remain in focus on fresh orders, regulatory approvals and management changes. Britannia Industries approved the appointment of Rakshit Hargave as CEO and MD, Data Patterns secured a Rs 288 crore order, Seamec’s consortium won a Rs 411 crore contract from ONGC, and Jio Financial Services received IRDAI approval for the Allianz Jio Reinsurance joint venture.

Other names on the watchlist include Nippon Life AMC after DWS agreed to buy a 40% stake in its AIF arm for Rs 733 crore, Ramky Infra after its arm got a Rs 3,000 crore order from MIDC, and VA TECH WABAG and Bajel Projects on fresh order wins. On the downside, Fractal Analytics, Aye Finance and Nephrocare Healthcare Services are set for lock-in expiry, while Salasar Techno, Orient Bell, Aster DM Healthcare, Gillette India, MRPL and Chennai Petroleum may be tracked on company-specific developments.

• Crude oil stayed above $100 per barrel, while Asian markets and US stock futures traded lower.
• Global bond yields rose and gold ended a two-day losing run.
• Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the cash market for an 11th straight session on Friday. FII short positions stood at 89% versus 88%, the highest level in the March series.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 153 points, or 0.3%.
• S&P 500 futures gained 0.3%.
• Nasdaq-100 futures also added 0.3%.

• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.44%.
• Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.07%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.3%.
• China’s CSI 300 was down 0.31%.

• US crude rose above $100 per barrel.
• WTI gained 2.64% to $101.32 per barrel, while Brent rose 2.94% to $106.17 per barrel.
• Prices moved higher as the US weighed possible strikes on Iran's oil export facilities on Kharg Island.

• GIFT Nifty traded at 23,317.50, above the Nifty 50's close of 23,151.10 on Friday.