Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Snap Two Days Of Losses To End Marginally Higher

Overseas investors in Indian equities were net sellers for the third straight day on Monday.

Foreign portfolio investors offloaded stocks worth Rs 890.64 crore during the day, according to data from the National Stock Exchange.

Domestic institutional investors remained net buyers for the thirteen day in a row, mopping up stocks worth Rs 1808.94 crore, the NSE data showed.

Foreign investors have been net sellers in the year so far, selling stocks worth Rs 53,692.01 crore

The yield on the 10-year bond closed flat at 7.30% on Monday.

Source: Bloomberg

The local currency strengthened by 11 paise to close at 82.37 against the greenback on Monday. It closed at 82.48 on Friday.

Source: Bloomberg

Indian equity benchmarks abated the morning volatility to hold gains through Monday and end higher in trade. After declining for the second consecutive day and third straight-week on Friday, the indices snapped the two-day losing streak.

Asian markets traded mixed, while the early gains for U.S. equity futures evaporated as markets remained on edge. Contracts on the S&P 500 were little changed while those on the Nasdaq 100 slipped.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index pared an advance of more than 1% at the open, with a gauge of bank stocks climbing after a relatively uneventful weekend for the sector. Shares of Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse AG were steady after last week’s steep losses. Novartis AG surged, leading healthcare peers higher, after promising trial results for a cancer drug.

The S&P BSE Sensex Index closed up 127 points or 0.22% at 57,653.86 while the NSE Nifty 50 Index was higher by 41 points or 0.24% at 16,985.70.

State Bank of India., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., and Reliance Industries Ltd. were positively adding to the change.

Whereas, ICICI Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd were negatively contributing to the change in the Nifty 50 Index.

All the Adani Group company stocks declined in trade on Monday. Adani Total Gas Ltd., Adani Transmission Ltd., Adani Power Ltd., NDTV Ltd. and Adani Wilmar Ltd. corrected the most.

The broader market indices closed lower; S&P BSE MidCap was down 0.37% whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was lower by 1.50%.

Foruteen out of 19 sectors compiled by BSE declined, while five sectors advanced in trade.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of sellers. About 994 stocks rose 2,710 declined, and 154 remained unchanged on the BSE.

• The finance bill 2023 was passed in Rajya Sabha with one amendment

• There was no discussion on the bill before it was returned to Lok Sabha

• The Rajya Sabha is adjourned till 11 am on March 28, 2023

Source: Rajya Sabha Proceedings, Sansad TV

HDFC Ltd board approves the issuance of unsecured redeemable NCDs worth Rs 57,000 crore through various tranches. Debentures to be issued on a private placement basis.

The board also announced an increase in the overall borrowing powers of the corporation from Rs. 6-lakh-crore to Rs. 6.50-lakh-crore. The said decision was taken since the outstanding borrowings of the Corporation as on date is approximately Rs. 5.70-lakh-crore and the Corporation would need to borrow further for its business purposes till the effective date of merger.

Shares of HDFC Ltd. rose 0.41% to Rs 2,570.35 apiece in trade on Monday. The headline index NSE Nifty 50 was trading higher by 0.58%. Scrip gained as much as 0.63% intraday.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

• The power transmission and distribution business of Larsen and Toubro has secured EPC orders in India and overseas.

• These projects will enable transfer of power from Rajasthan to Gujarat during high renewable energy availability scenario.

• The business has also received an order to implement an advanced distribution management system in the Greater Mumbai area, develop distribution infrastructure in a district of Chhattisgarh and construct transmission lines in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Thailand.

• Under project classification of the company, 'large' orders range from Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 5000 crore.

Source: Exchange Filing

Shares of Lupin Ltd. rose 4.39% to Rs 668.1 apiece in trade on Monday. The headline index NSE Nifty 50 was trading higher by 0.67%.

Lupin received tentative approval from the U.S. FDA for the generic version of Valbenazine Capsules, know as, Ingrezza® Capsules, 40 mg, 60 mg, and 80 mg, of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.

The company on Saturday, March 25 also announced the successful completion of the inspection carried out by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency at its Pithampur facilities in India. The inspection was conducted from March 20 to March 24, 2023.

Scrip gained as much as 5.27% intraday, the most in over four months or 19 weeks since Nov. 10, 2023.

Total traded volume stood at 4.5 time its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 50.3

Out of the 43 analysts tracking the company, 10 maintain a 'buy' rating, 16 recommend a 'hold' and 17 suggest to 'sell' the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 6% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Indian equity benchmarks opened volatile in trade and settled to hold gains through midday on Monday.

Asian markets traded mixed, while the U.S. and European stock futures climbed as investors weighed the risk of recession and its impact on interest rates.

Contracts for Euro Stoxx 50 advanced about 1% and those for the S&P 500 rose 0.6%. With the banking crisis casting a shadow over markets, traders are in for another bumpy week. Fed Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said over the weekend that bank turmoil had increased the risk of a U.S. recession.

Additionally, multiple Federal Reserve officials will speak this week, a key measure of U.S. inflation is due, and there are renewed geopolitical tensions with Russia over the stationing of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

As of 12:09 p.m., the S&P BSE Sensex Index was up 275 points or 0.48% at 57,802.09 while the NSE Nifty 50 Index was lower by 90 points or 0.53% at 17,034.70.

HDFC Bank Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Infosys Ltd., ITC Ltd., and Reliance Industries Ltd. were positively adding to the change.

Whereas, ICICI Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. were negatively contributing to the change in the Nifty 50 Index.

All the Adani Group company stocks declined in trade through midday on Monday. Adani Power Ltd., NDTV Ltd. and Adani Wilmar Ltd. corrected the most.

The broader market indices were mixed; S&P BSE MidCap was up 0.11% whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was lower by 0.97%.

Nine out of 19 sectors compiled by BSE declined, while 10 sectors advanced in trade.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of sellers. About 994 stocks rose 2,454 declined, and 150 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Shares of Tilaknagar Industries Ltd. declined 1.54% to Rs 102.3 apiece in trade on Monday. The headline index NSE Nifty 50 was trading higher by 0.23%.

Scrip fell as much as 2.31% intraday, the most since March 20, 2023.

Total traded volume stood at 3.2 time its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 39.3.

Tilaknagar Industries Ltd. an Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) manufacturers announced that the sales of its leading brand, Courrier Napoleon Brandy have crossed the one-million cases mark for current financial year.

By achieving this landmark, Courrier Napoleon Brandy has now become the second brand after Mansion House Brandy, to enter the ‘Millionaire’ club, a select band of highly popular alco-bev brands across all IMFL categories.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of Karur Vysya Bank Ltd. declined 1.49% to Rs 95.95 apiece in trade on Monday. The headline index NSE Nifty 50 was trading higher by 0.28%.

The Reserve Bank of India imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh against the bank for its failure to report a few accounts as frauds to the regulator within a week of the respective Joint Lenders’ Forum decisions to do so.

Scrip fell as much as 4.83% intraday, the most in over eight weeks since Jan. 27, 2023. The relative strength index was at 38.7.

Twelve analysts tracking the company, maintain a 'buy' rating on the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 44.3% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

The yield on the 10-year bond was flat at 7.31% on Monday.

Source: Bloomberg

Shares of Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances Ltd. declined after the company decided to merge with Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. This comes about a year after Crompton moved to pick up a majority stake in the South Indian kitchen appliances manufacturer.

The boards of Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. and Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances Ltd. have proposed a merger of the two companies.

As per the scheme, the public shareholders of Butterfly as on the record date will receive 22 equity shares of Crompton for every 5 equity shares held by them in Butterfly.

After the merger is complete, the public shareholders of Butterfly will hold about 3% stake in the combined entity.

"The merger will unlock various revenue and cost synergies, achieve economies of scale by pooling the combined resources and provide an impetus to grow across all parts of India...Additionally, it will enable more efficient allocation of capital and result in simplification of the corporate structure," the companies said.

As of 10:13 a.m., shares of Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances Ltd. declined 5.10% to Rs 1,210 apiece in trade on Monday. The headline index NSE Nifty 50 was trading higher by 0.53%.

Scrip declined as much as 6.29% intraday, the most since Oct. 17, 2022.

Total traded volume stood at 32 time its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 36.3. One analyst tracking the company maintained a 'buy' rating on the stock.

On the other hand, shares of Cropmton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. advanced 0.03% to Rs 293.85 apiece in trade on Monday.

Scrip advanced as much as 2.96% intraday, the most since March 21, 2023.

Total traded volume stood at 4.5 time its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 44.6.

Out of the 45 analysts tracking the company, 40 maintain a 'buy' rating, three recommend a 'hold' and two suggest to 'sell' the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 30.2% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of One 97 Communications Ltd. advanced 0.69% to Rs 623.75 apiece in trade on Monday. The headline index NSE Nifty 50 was trading higher by 0.47%.

Paytm Payments Services has received an extension from the RBI to resubmit its payment aggregator licence application. Paytm Payments can continue with the online payment aggregation business, while RBI awaits approval from the government on past investment by parent One97. Paytm will have 15 days to submit the application if the government gives its approval. Earlier, RBI had given Paytm Payments 120 days on Nov. 26, 2022 to resubmit a PA licence application.

Scrip rose as much as 2.34% intraday, the most since March 23, 2023. The relative strength index was at 57.1.

Out of the 12 analysts tracking the company, nine maintain a 'buy' rating and three recommend a 'hold' on the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 43.5% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. advanced 0.54% to Rs 978.15 apiece in trade on Monday. The headline index NSE Nifty 50 was trading higher by 0.49%.

Scrip declined as much as 1.01% intraday, the most since March 20, 2023 after the company clarified that the I.T. security breach incident that took place on March 2, 2023, has impacted its business operations, and it has taken steps to contain the impact.

A ramsomware group has claimed responsibility for the incident that occurred on March 2, as disclosed by the company on exchanges. Consequently, company revenues are expected to decrease in some businesses. The company would incur expenses in connection with the incident and the remediation.

Total traded volume stood at 2.8 time its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 52.4.

Out of the 44 analysts tracking the company, 40 maintain a 'buy' rating, three recommend a 'hold' and one suggests to 'sell' the stock.

The return potential as calculated by the consensus of analyst estimates, stand at an upside of 19.2% over the next 12 months.

Source: Bloomberg, Exchange filing

Shares of healthcare companies advanced in trade on Mondayand the headline index NSE Nifty 50 was higher by 0.26% in trade.

The NSE Healthcare Index was up 1.01% in trade. Eighteen out of the 20 constituents compiled by the gauge advanced, while Syngene Ltd. and Laurus Labs Ltd. declined.

Gland Pharma Ltd., Dr LalPath Labs Ltd., Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., Aurobindo Pharma Ltd., Lupin Ltd., Metropolis Ltd., Biocon Ltd., Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. advanced in trade.

Source: NSE

Adani Green Energy Ltd., Adani Transmission Ltd., Adani Green Energy Ltd., and NDTV Ltd. advanced in trade, whereas all the other Adani Group company stocks declined.

Source: Bloomberg

The broader market indices were trading lower; S&P BSE MidCap was down 0.25% whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was lower by 0.70%.

Fourteen out of 19 sectors compiled by BSE declined, while five sectors advanced in trade.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of sellers. About 933 stocks rose 1,648 declined, and 142 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Source: BSE

Infosys Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., and Reliance Industries Ltd. were positively adding to the change.

Whereas, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., ITC Ltd., Power Grid Corp of India Ltd., Titan Co Ltd., and Axis Bank Ltd. were negatively contributing to the change in the Nifty 50 Index.

Indian equity benchmarks eked gains at the opening bell on Monday after declining for the third week, last Friday.

Asian markets traded mixed, while the U.S. stock futures made small gains as investors weighed the risk of recession and its impact on interest rates.

Contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rose about 0.4% after both benchmarks posted small gains on Friday.

With the banking crisis casting a shadow over markets, traders are in for another bumpy week. Fed Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said over the weekend that bank turmoil had increased the risk of a U.S. recession.

Additionally, multiple Federal Reserve officials will speak this week, a key measure of U.S. inflation is due, and there are renewed geopolitical tensions with Russia over the stationing of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

At pre-open, the S&P BSE Sensex Index was up 40 points or 0.07% at 57,566.90 while the NSE Nifty 50 Index was lower by 39 points or 0.23% at 16,984.30.

At pre-open, the S&P BSE Sensex Index was up 40 points or 0.07% at 57,566.90 while the NSE Nifty 50 Index was lower by 39 points or 0.23% at 16,984.30.

Source: Bloomberg

The local currency strengthened by 10 paise to open at 82.38 against the greenback on Monday. It closed at 82.48 on Friday.

Source: Bloomberg

• U.S. Dollar Index at 103.1

• U.S. 10-year bond yield at 3.37%

• Brent crude down 0.23% to $74.82 per barrel

• Nymex crude at $69.14 per barrel

• SGX Nifty up 0.51% at 17,005.5 as of 8:15 a.m.

• Bitcoin up 0.27% to $27,881.01

• Sun Pharma clarifies that the I.T. security breach incident has impacted its business operations, and it has taken steps to contain the impact.

• A ramsomware group has claimed responsibility for the incident that occurred on March 2, as disclosed by the company on exchanges.

• Consequently, company revenues are expected to decrease in some businesses.

• The company would incur expenses in connection with the incident and the remediation.

Source: Exchange filing

• Jindal Steel & Power: Promoter group Siddeshwari Tradex revoked a pledge of 73,000 shares on March 21.

• Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals: Promoter group Zuari International created a pledge of 1.57 lakh shares on March 22.

• Bajaj Holding & Investment: Promoter group Hercules Hoists bought 14,760 shares between March 21 and 22.

• Dhampur Sugar Mills: Promoter Deepa Goel sold 10.35 lakh shares, and promoter group Saraswati Properties bought 10.35 lakh shares on March 22.

• Nirlon: Promoter group Shital Trading sold 5,000 shares on March 24.

• NRB Bearings: Promoter group Aziz Yousuf Zaveri bought 12,903 shares, and promoter and director Harshbeena Zaveri bought 31,131 shares between March 22 and 24.

• Campus Activewear: Investment Trust Fidelity Series Emerging Markets Opportunity Fund bought 33.4 lakh shares, Societe Generale bought 40.56 lakh shares (1.33%), Fidelity Investment Trust Fidelity International Discovery Fund bought 17.11 lakh shares (0.56%) at Rs 347 apiece, TPG Growth III SF sold 2.32 crore shares (7.62%) at Rs 347.24 apiece.

• Zydus Wellness: Zydus Family Trust bought 5.1 lakh shares (0.8%) at Rs 1,499.67 apiece.

• Axita Cotton: Wonderland Suppliers bought 19.96 lakh shares (1.02%) at Rs 51 apiece.

• Bharti Airtel: Societe Generale bought 13.82 lakh shares (0.02%) and BNP Paribas Arbitrage sold 13.82 lakh shares (0.02%) at Rs 762.55 apiece.

• Greenlam Industries: Hydra Trading bought 29.69 lakh shares (2.34%) and Smiti Holding and Trading Company sold 29.69 lakh shares (2.34%) for Rs 313 apiece.

• Asahi India Glass: Allied Fincap Services bought 4 lakh shares (0.16%), and Labroo Sanjay Mohan sold 4 lakh shares (0.16%) at Rs 466 apiece.

• TTK Healthcare: Abakkus bought 2.46 lakh shares (1.7%), and MCAP India Fund sold 2.46 lakh shares (1.7%) at Rs 910 apiece.

• Reliance Industries: The company appointed Srikanth Venkatachari as Chief Financial Officer with effect from June 1, 2023. Alok Agarwal, the incumbent CFO, will assume the role of Senior Advisor to RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani.

• One 97 Communication: Paytm gets an RBI extension for the resubmission of 'Payments Aggregator' licence application. The letter from RBI says that Paytm can continue with the online payment aggregation business while it awaits government approval for past investments from its parent One 97 Communications into Paytm as per FDI guidelines.

• Butterfly Gandhimathi/Crompton Greaves: The boards of the two companies have proposed a merger. In the scheme, public shareholders of Butterfly as of the record date will receive 22 equity shares of Crompton for every five equity shares they hold in Butterfly.

• Bharat Electronics: The company signed a contract worth Rs 3,000 crore with the defence ministry for the supply of integrated electronic warfare systems for the Indian Army. The company also received several contracts, aggregating to Rs 1,300 crore, from the Indian Navy during the last fortnight.

• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries: The pharma major will acquire 60% of the shareholding in animal healthcare player Vivaldis Health and Foods for a consideration of Rs 143.3 crore and the remaining 40% in future as per certain terms and conditions.

• Karur Vysya Bank: The Reserve Bank of India imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh against the bank for its failure to report a few accounts as frauds to the regulator within a week of the respective Joint Lenders’ Forum decisions to do so.

• Tata Steel: The company acquired 4.65 lakh shares of Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services at a premium of Rs 205 per share for Rs 10 crore.

• Mahindra & Mahindra: The company will acquire around 7.68 crore shares of subsidiary Mahindra Aerospace, taking its shareholding to 100%, for Rs 31.47 crore.

• NBCC (India): HSCC (India), a subsidiary of the company, has been awarded a contract for the vertical expansion of a service block from the first to the ninth floor at AIIMS, New Delhi, at a value of Rs 81.19 crore.

• RITES: The company, with a JV partner, has secured project management consultancy work under the Assam Health System Strengthening Project. The likely cost of work for the project is Rs 122 crore, with RITES share at Rs 77 crore.

• Alembic Pharma: The U.S. FDA closed its inspection of the company’s injectable and ophthalmic facility located at Karkhadi with two minor procedural observations. The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency, ANVISA, completed the GMP audit at the API-III facility at Karakhadi without any observations for the company’s 56 APIs.

• Grasim Industries: The company leased 220 acres of land from Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation for Rs 254.7 crore for setting up manufacturing facilities in due course.

• Electrosteel Castings: The company will set up a new ferroalloy plant with two 9 MVA capacities in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

• Godawari Power And Ispat: The company partially resumed operations at the sponge iron plant, power plants, steel melting shop, rolling mill, and wire drawing plants at Siltara, Chhattisgarh. Operations will resume completely from April 1.

• L&T Finance Holdings: The Reserve Bank of India approved the merger of subsidiaries L&T Finance, L&T Infra Credit, and L&T Mutual Fund Trustee with L&T Finance Holdings.

• IndusInd Bank: The bank appointed Vikas Muttoo as COO of its wholly owned subsidiary, Bharat Financial Inclusion.

• Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation: The board approved the reappointment of the chairman and managing director for five years from April 1.

Asian markets traded mixed, while the U.S. stock futures made small gains while a gauge of dollar strength fell fractionally in cautious trading early Monday amid growing concern over the risk of recession.

Contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rose about 0.4% after both benchmarks posted small gains on Friday.

With the banking crisis casting a shadow over markets, traders are in for another bumpy week. Fed Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said over the weekend that bank turmoil had increased the risk of a U.S. recession.

Additionally, multiple Federal Reserve officials will speak this week, a key measure of U.S. inflation is due, and there are renewed geopolitical tensions with Russia over the stationing of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year treasuries was trading at 3.37%. Crude oil prices were trading around the $74 mark, while Bitcoin was hovering around the $27,000 level.

At 8:15 a.m., the Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, was up 0.51% at 17,005.5.

The Indian benchmark indices—Sensex and Nifty—closed lower for a second straight day after a volatile session tracking weak Asia and U.S. trade sparked by a sell-off in banks and a rally in IT stocks.

The Indian rupee closed lower against the U.S. dollar as the domestic equity market registered heavy outflows.

After a brief respite at the beginning of last week, foreign investors continued to sell on Friday, for the second day in a row.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded stocks worth Rs 1,720.44 crore during the day. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors remained net buyers for 12 days in a row, picking up stocks worth Rs 2,555.53 crore, the NSE data showed. Foreign investors have been net sellers in the year so far, selling stocks worth Rs 52,801.37 crore.