Stock Market News Live Updates: Nifty Above 23,200, Sensex Up Over 900 Points, PG Electroplast, Sammaan Capital Rally Up To 10%

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• Sammaan Capital hit a 10% upper circuit at Rs 152.36 after the RBI approved IHC affiliate Avenir Investment’s acquisition of control in the company.

• The RBI also waived the public notice period and approved the indirect change of control of wholly owned subsidiary Sammaan Finserve, according to an exchange filing.

• Under the deal signed last October, Avenir will invest Rs 8,850 crore through a preferential issue to acquire a 41.23% stake. The company will issue over 33 crore shares at Rs 139 apiece to raise Rs 4,587 crore, with the balance to come through two tranches of warrants.

• PG Electroplast rose as much as 9% to Rs 546.90 after the company said it has identified and installed an alternative to LPG, according to an exchange filing.

• The company said room air-conditioner production has almost normalised.

• PG Electroplast said the LPG issue has been addressed to a large extent for the time being.

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• The BSE Sensex rose as much as 1.1% to 74,916 at the opening bell.
• The NSE Nifty 50 also gained 1.1% and climbed to 23,152.40.

• Nifty moved above 23,000 during the pre-market trading session.

• Sensex gained more than 500 points ahead of the open.

• The rupee opened 5 paise weaker against the US dollar.

• It later extended losses and depreciated as much as 7 paise to 93.95 against the US dollar.

• UBS assumed Buy on Sun Pharma and cut the target price to Rs 2200 from Rs 2450. It said a change in sales mix could support growth and margins, with specialty products such as Ilumya, Leqselvi and Unloxcyt in focus. It also said the company is placed well in India and sees semaglutide as a growth trigger.

• UBS assumed Neutral on Aurobindo Pharma from Sell and raised the target price to Rs 1400 from Rs 1200. It said the risk-reward is balanced, with diversification likely to be gradual from a high base. It added that business diversification may contribute more from FY28-29.

• UBS assumed Sell on Zydus Life and cut the target price to Rs 800 from Rs 850. It flagged earnings volatility risk as an exclusive agreement ends in September 2027, though it said the domestic business remains placed well with focus on generic semaglutide.

• UBS assumed Neutral on Cipla from Buy and cut the target price to Rs 1400 from Rs 1750. It said medium-term growth drivers remain in place, but near-term supply issues in Lanreotide could weigh on the outlook. UBS also assumed Sell on Lupin and cut the target price to Rs 1800 from Rs 2050, citing a fall in one-off gains over the next two years and high profit concentration, while noting the India business and balance sheet remain supportive.

• Ramkrishna Forgings saw 17.5 lakh shares change hands in a block deal.
• The transaction accounted for 0.97% of the company’s equity.
• The buyers and sellers were not known immediately.

• JPMorgan maintained its Overweight rating on United Spirits with a target price of Rs 1565. It said the sale of Royal Challengers Sports for Rs 16,660 crore implies a value of about Rs 230 per share and around Rs 195-200 per share after tax, compared with its estimate of Rs 170 per share.

• JPMorgan said Royal Challengers Sports contributed 4% of consolidated revenue and 8% of consolidated EBITDA and profit after tax in FY25. It also said the women’s IPL team was acquired in January 2023 for Rs 900 crore, payable in 10 equal instalments, and that the remaining instalments may now move to the new owners.

• CLSA maintained its Hold rating on United Spirits with a target price of Rs 1300. It said the RCB franchise sale at $1.8 billion is above its valuation of $1.2 billion and sees the deal as a step towards greater focus on the core portfolio through the sale of a non-core asset.

• Sensex monthly expiry will be one of the main events for the session.

• Investors will track US existing home sales data, US crude stocks data and the Bank of Japan monetary policy meeting minutes.

• On the corporate side, V2 Retail will trade ex-split in a 10:1 ratio. MM Forgings and HFCL are scheduled for fund-raising related action, while VMS TMT remains in focus due to share lock-in expiry.

• The market will also watch the finance minister’s address on the Finance Bill and the cabinet meeting scheduled for 1 pm.

• Markets are set for a gap-up opening amid reports of a one-month US-Iran ceasefire, a 15-point US plan to Iran, and a possible US-Iran meeting on Thursday.

• Global markets are rallying for a second day, crude is extending its fall, Asian markets have opened in the green, risk-off sentiment is easing, and global yields continue to cool off.

• The rupee is expected to strengthen at the open. FII short positions stand at 86% versus 85%, while foreign institutional investors remain cash market sellers for a 19th straight day.

New India Assurance, HDFC Life, CRISIL and ICICI Pru Life are on the watchlist after tax demand notices.

VMS TMT is on the watchlist due to share lock-in expiry.

Waaree Energies shares will be in focus today after the company's board approved a capex plan of Rs 3,900 crore.
 

Samman Capital is on the watchlist after RBI approval for IHC to acquire a stake.

• Motilal Oswal has initiated coverage on Bajaj Finserv with a Neutral rating and a target price of Rs 1,900.

• The brokerage said Bajaj Finserv is expanding across the financial services ecosystem through lending, general insurance, life insurance and other subsidiaries.

• It said Bajaj Finance remains the group’s lending business, Bajaj General Insurance is scaling up, and Bajaj Life Insurance is working to improve its position. It added that emerging subsidiaries are widening the group’s presence across financial services.

• Nomura has initiated coverage on Sagility with a Buy rating and a target price of Rs 55.

• The brokerage said the company offers a healthcare-focused technology platform and sees outsourcing demand supporting growth as payer margin pressure continues.

• Nomura said Sagility could benefit from AI-led efficiency gains and expects earnings per share to grow at a 20% CAGR over FY26 to FY28.

• Jefferies said valuations in housing finance have reset lower and sees the risk-reward as favourable for affordable housing finance companies.

• The brokerage said housing disbursement growth has been soft, with slower growth at the lower end, though Q4 year-to-date momentum has been good. It added that lower rates should help stabilise demand.

• Jefferies said large housing finance companies face spread compression that can weigh on earnings. It added that growth at affordable housing finance companies has moderated and valuation premia have normalised, making select names more attractive as growth stabilises and company-specific pressures ease.

• Jefferies said it prefers Home First and added that prime housing finance companies’ asset quality should be more resilient if the Middle East conflict lasts longer.

• Jefferies said the March quarter was driven by launches, with industry data pointing to better sales velocity in the top seven city residential markets during January and February.

• The brokerage said the latter month could be the highest ever by volumes and expects listed property developers to report 10-15% sales growth in Q4. It said this could take FY26 sales growth to more than 20%.

• Jefferies said sentiment impact from the Iran conflict could lead to lower FY27 guidance. It added that valuations are now closer to long-term lows on PNAV and below 20 times reported price-to-earnings.

• BofA said the growth trend in the IT sector is likely to continue this quarter, with Q4 expected to deliver better exit growth rates than last year.

• The brokerage said company guidance may include a cushion for uncertainty linked to the Middle East.

• It also said foreign exchange provides support for profitability and EPS expectations for FY27, and that Infosys could perform better than Wipro.

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.7%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.8%.

• Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 318 points, or 0.7%.

• Bernstein has initiated Adani Power with an Outperform rating and a target price of Rs 177. It has also started JSW Energy with Outperform and a target price of Rs 575, and Tata Power with Outperform and a target price of Rs 443.

• The brokerage has initiated NTPC Green with an Underperform rating and a target price of Rs 80.

• Bernstein said India’s energy security has been tested by disruption around Russian oil and the Iran war. It said the stronger opportunities are in thermal, nuclear, storage and grid-linked names, rather than pure renewable plays alone.

• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.99% to 25,312.54.
• Shanghai advanced 0.79% to 3,911.86.

• Motilal Oswal has initiated coverage on Bajaj Finserv with a Neutral rating and a target price of Rs 1,900.

• The brokerage said Bajaj Finserv is building a wider financial services platform across lending, general insurance, life insurance and other financial businesses.

• It said Bajaj Finance remains the key lending business, Bajaj General Insurance is expanding, and Bajaj Life Insurance is working to improve its position. It added that the group’s other subsidiaries are widening its presence across financial services.

• The semi-annual Nifty rejig is scheduled for March 27. There will be no inclusions or exclusions in the Nifty 50 and Nifty Bank indices.

• The review will include the fourth and final tranche of methodology changes linked to Nifty Bank. The Nifty Next 50 will see six inclusions and six exclusions.

• Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors CV, Cummins, Union Bank and HDFC AMC are set to see the highest inflows. ICICI Bank, ICICI Lombard, Info Edge, HDFC Bank and Havells are set to see the highest outflows.

• Fino Payments said the Telangana High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by its chief executive challenging the arrest, according to an exchange filing.

• The bank said the arrest is linked to program managers and not to GST compliance.

• Fino Payments said the chief executive has filed a bail plea before the Special Judge for Economic Offences. The bank added that operations remain stable and deposits have reached Rs 2,900 crore.

• Sammaan Capital said the RBI has approved Avenir’s acquisition of control of the company and SFL, according to an exchange filing.

• The RBI has also waived the public notice period for the transaction.

• Avenir will infuse Rs 8,849 crore through a preferential issue. Its stake will rise to 41.23% and may increase to 63.36% after the open offer.

• The S&P 500 fell 0.37% to close at 6,556.37.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 84.41 points, or 0.18%, to settle at 46,124.06.

• The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.84% to end at 21,761.89.

• Asia-Pacific markets opened higher on Wednesday after comments from US President Donald Trump on potential talks with Iran lifted sentiment.

• Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 3.05% to 53,847.76, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 3.23% to 5,733.23.

• Australia’s ASX 200 also moved up 2.04% to 8,550.20.

• Oil prices fell more than 5% on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said Washington and Tehran are in negotiations and indicated Iran wants a peace agreement.

• Brent crude futures fell nearly 6% to $98.31 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 5% to $87.65 a barrel.

• GIFT Nifty traded at 23,144, indicating a stronger opening for the Nifty 50.
• The level was above Tuesday’s Nifty 50 close of 22,912.40.