Sensex adds 157 pts, Nifty above 17,000 level, Adani Enterprises spurts over 8%.

The key equity indices traded with decent gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 17,000 level after hitting the day's low of 16,940.60 early afternoon trade. Barring the Nifty Oil & Gas index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE were in the green.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 156.73 points or 0.27% to 57,770.45. The Nifty 50 index added 64.80 points or 0.38% to 17,016.50.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.90% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.02%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,998 shares rose and 1,404 shares fell. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.

Trading could be volatile today as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month March series to April series. The March 2023 F&O contracts will expire today, 29 March 2023.

The domestic stock market will remain shut on Thursday, 30 March 2023 on account of Ram Navami.

Gainers & Losers:

Adani Enterprises (up 8.22%), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (up 6.40%), Eicher Motors (up 2.24%), Bajaj Auto (up 2.06%) and UltraTech Cement (up 1.90%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Reliance Industries (down 1.02%), UPL (down 0.87%), Bharti Airtel (down 0.87%), BPCL (down 0.47%) and Power Grid Corporation of India (down 0.43%) were the top Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vedanta gained 2.52%. The diversified minerals company on Tuesday announced that its board has approved the fifth interim dividend of Rs 20.50 per equity share. The dividend will lead to a total payout of Rs 7,621 crore to shareholders. The record date for the same has been fixed on Friday, 7 April 2023.

Meanwhie, the mining company said that Ajay Goel has resigned from the position of acting chief financial officer (CFO) with effect from 9 April 2023, to pursue career outside the group. The company will announce the details of the successor in due course, Vedanta stated.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) added 0.13%. The EPC major said that its Minerals & Metals (M&M) business has secured 'large' orders from the Vedanta Group. As per L&T classification, the value of the large project is Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.

Separately , the EPC major on Tuesday announced that it has issued and allotted 2 lakh rated, listed, unsecured, redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of Rs 1 lakh each aggregating to Rs 2,000 crore, which will mature on 28 April 2028. The coupon rate on the NCD is fixed at 7.725%.

Jindal Stainless (JSL) rose 0.02%. JSL entered into a collaboration agreement with New Yaking Pte. Ltd. for the investment in, development, construction and operation of a Nickel Pig Iron (NPI) smelter facility located in an industrial park in Halmahera Islands, Indonesia. JSL will acquire a 49% equity interest for a consideration of around $157 million.

G R Infraprojects advanced 2.76%. The company has received letter of acceptance (LoA) for a project 'construction of tunnel work & allied works of Khurda - Bolangir new rail line project in east coast railway'. The estimated project is worth Rs 587.59 crore.

NHPC shed 0.41%. The power generation company on Tuesday announced that its board has approved raising of debt upto Rs 5,600 crore during financial year 2023-24 via corporate bonds and/or raising of term loans or external commercial borrowings.

Global Markets:

Markets in Europe and Asia advanced on Wednesday as Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares spiked at the open after the Chinese tech giant announced it will split into six business groups.

Australia's monthly inflation pace for February came in at a slower pace at 6.8% compared to the same period a year ago. This is lower than January's figure of 7.4%. Data from the country's statistics bureau revealed that the most significant price rises were in the housing, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages, then in transport.

US stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday as investors weighed comments from a top US regulator on struggling banks and sold shares of technology-related names after their recent strong run.

Consumer confidence inched up in March after two straight monthly declines. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 104.2 in March from 103.4 in February. The board said that despite the uptick in confidence, the index remains below 2022's average level of 104.5.

Equity barometers trade sideways; PSU banks stocks edge higher.

The domestic equity barometers traded sideways in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded tad above the 16,950 mark. PSU bank stocks witnessed across the board buying.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 43.89 points or 0.08% to 57,569.83. The Nifty 50 index added 0.95 points or 0.01% to 16,952.65.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.70% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.68%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1920 shares rose and 1406 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

Trading could be volatile today as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month March series to April series. The March 2023 F&O contracts will expire today, 29 March 2023.

The domestic stock market will remain shut on Thursday, 30 March 2023 on account of Ram Navami.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 4.42% to 14.43. The Nifty 27 April 2023 futures were trading at 17,064, at a premium of 111.35 points as compared with the spot at 16,952.65.

The Nifty option chain for the 27 April 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 36.6 lakh contracts at the 17,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 59.7 lakh contracts were seen at 17,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.78% to 3,595.15. The index had lost 0.21% to end at 3,567.35 yesterday.

UCO Bank (up 3.99%), Bank of India (up 2.59%), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 2.53%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 2.38%) and Indian Overseas Bank (up 1.9%) were the top gainers.

Among the other gainers were Union Bank of India (up 1.79%), Central Bank of India (up 1.55%), Canara Bank (up 0.94%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.72%) and Punjab National Bank (up 0.56%).

On the other hand, State Bank of India (down 0.16%), Indian Bank (down 0.09%), turned lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

NBCC (India) jumped 5.46%. The company received work orders worth Rs 146.39 crore from Ghani Khan Choudhary Institute of Engineering and Technology, (GKCIET) in West Bengal and Small Industrial Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

HFCL rose 1.03%. The company said that it has secured an order worth Rs 282.61 crore from Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) for setting up of telecommunication systems for Surat Metro Rail Project Phase-I.

RPP Infra Projects gained 1.39%. The company announced that it has received a letter of acceptance (LoA) for a new project aggregating to Rs 148.08 crore in Uttar Pradesh.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are mostly higher on Wednesday as Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares spiked at the open after the Chinese tech giant announced it will split into six business groups.

Australia's monthly inflation pace for February came in at a slower pace at 6.8% compared to the same period a year ago. This is lower than January's figure of 7.4%. Data from the country's statistics bureau revealed that the most significant price rises were in the housing, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages, then in transport.

US stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday as investors weighed comments from a top US regulator on struggling banks and sold shares of technology-related names after their recent strong run.

Consumer confidence inched up in March after two straight monthly declines. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 104.2 in March from 103.4 in February. The board said that despite the uptick in confidence, the index remains below 2022's average level of 104.5.

Key indices edge higher; market breadth strong.

The key equity benchmarks edged higher in early trade, as decent buying demand in index pivotals led the key indices higher. The Nifty traded tad above the 17,000 mark. Barring oil & gas, shares across sectors advanced with auto, FMCG and financials rising the most.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 115.08 points or 0.20% to 57,728.80. The Nifty 50 index advanced 50.15 points or 0.3% to 17,001.85.

Adani Ports (up 1.79%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.39%), Adani Enterprises (up 1.22%), Bajaj Auto (up 1.04%) and Eicher Motors (up 1.03%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Reliance Industries (up 0.71%), Tata Steel (down 0.63%), Infosys (down 0.34%), Apollo Hospitals (down 0.12%) and IndusInd Bank (down 0.11%) were the top Nifty laggards.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.33% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.56%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,720 shares rose and 798 shares fell. A total of 97 shares were unchanged.

Trading could be volatile today as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month March series to April series. The March 2023 F&O contracts will expire today, 29 March 2023.

The domestic stock market will remain shut on Thursday, 30 March 2023 on account of Ram Navami.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vedanta rose 0.47%. The board of directors of the company approved the fifth interim dividend of Rs 20.50 per equity share on face value of Re 1 per share for the financial year 2022-23. The record date for the purpose of payment of dividend is 7 April 2023.

Granules India shed 0.18%. The US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) has approved Granules India's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Gabapentin tablets USP, 600 mg and 800 mg. The drug is bioequivalent to the reference listed drug product (RLD), Neurontin tablets, 600 mg and 800 mg, of Viatris Specialty LLC.

Zydus Lifesciences was up 0.08%. The company has received final approval for Loperamide Hydrochloride Capsules USP, 2 mg (USRLD: Imodium Capsules) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA).

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced to 7.337 from 7.321 in previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.2500, compared with its close of 82.1600 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2023 settlement declined 0.20% to Rs 58,923.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.15% to 102.58.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.15% to 3.573.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2023 settlement added 15 cents or 0.19% to $78.80 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are mostly higher on Wednesday as Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares spiked at the open after the Chinese tech giant announced it will split into six business groups.

Australia's monthly inflation pace for February came in at a slower pace at 6.8% compared to the same period a year ago. This is lower than January's figure of 7.4%. Data from the country's statistics bureau revealed that the most significant price rises were in the housing, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages, then in transport.

US stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday as investors weighed comments from a top US regulator on struggling banks and sold shares of technology-related names after their recent strong run.

Consumer confidence inched up in March after two straight monthly declines. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 104.2 in March from 103.4 in February. The board said that despite the uptick in confidence, the index remains below 2022's average level of 104.5.

Key indices end with minor cuts; auto stocks witness significant selling.

The key equity barometers ended with minor cuts on Tuesday as volatility on domestic continued to persist. The Nifty ended tad above the 16,950 level after hitting the day's high of 17,061.75 in early trade. Auto, metal and oil & gas stocks declined while banks & financials managed to end in the green.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 40.14 points or 0.07% to 57,613.72. The Nifty 50 index lost 34 points or 0.2% to 16,951.70.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.42% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was declined 0.79%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 1045 shares rose and 2500 shares fell. A total of 99 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index fell 0.97% to 11,917.95. The index has slipped 2.36% in the three sessions.

Tata Motors (down 2.77%), Hero MotoCorp (down 2.65%), Sona BLW Precision Forgings (down 2.32%), Samvardhana Motherson International (down 1.95%) and MRF (down 1.63%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were TVS Motor Company (down 1.15%), Eicher Motors (down 1.09%), Bharat Forge (down 1.04%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.98%) and Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.85%).

On the other hand, Tube Investments of India (up 1.76%), Balkrishna Industries (up 1.47%) and Bosch (up 1.13%) moved up.

Stocks in Spotlight:

One 97 Communications fell 1.01%. Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) announced that its full KYC wallet customers will be able to make payments on every UPI QR codes and online merchant where UPI payments are accepted. Paytm Payments Bank has the largest scale in India, in terms of mobile transactions.

Kalyan Jewellers slumped 9.22%. On the BSE, over 74.51 lakh shares of the company had changed hands at the counter as against an average trading volume of 3.39 lakh shares in the past two weeks.

Warburg Pincus will reportedly offload a 2.5% stake in the company through a block deal. The shares would be offloaded at Rs 110 apiece, as per reports.

Aditya Birla Capital rose 1.13%. The company received board approval for sale of its entire 25.65 lakh shares or 50.002% stake in Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers (ABIBL), to Edme Services. Infocyber India, the other shareholder of ABIBL, will also sell its 25.64 lakh shares, or 49.998% stake of the company, to Edme Services. The total enterprise value of the transaction is set at Rs 455 crore.

Adani Enterprises slumped 7.08%. AMG Media Networks (AMNL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, has completed the acquisition of 49% stake in Quintillion Business Media (QMBL) for a cash consideration of Rs 47.84 crore.

PNC Infratech jumped 6.33%. The EPC company has been declared the L1 (Lowest) bidder for a highway project in Uttar Pradesh on hybrid annuity mode (HAM) with a bid project cost of Rs 819 crore. Project is to be constructed in 24 months and operated for 15 years, post construction.Dilip Buildcon tumbled 4.87%. The company has been declared as L-1 bidder for new HAM project 'Bengaluru - Vijayawada under Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I (Package -7) in Andhra Pradesh. The order is worth Rs. 780.12 crore.

Carysil slipped 1.34%. The company renewed contract with US-based Karran Inc. for supplying quartz kitchen sink worth about $68 million over the period of five years.

Paras Defence and Space Technologies declined 2.33%. The company said it has secured regulatory license for establishing an industrial undertaking to manufacture certain industrial items.

Gujarat Ambuja Exports (GAEL) shed 0.69%. The company announced commissioning of 1200 tons per day Maize processing greenfield project at Malda in West Bengal.

Allcargo Logistics added 1.21%. The company said it will buy a 30% stake in Gati-Kintetsu Express for Rs 406.71 crore. Post completion of this transaction, Allcargo Logistics will hold 30% stake and Gati will continue to hold the existing 70% stake in GKEPL.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Tuesday as investor fears over the recent banking turmoil continued to show signs of easing.

Policymakers and central bank officials have continued to stress the banking system is not heading for a crash, though jitters remain.

Overnight in the U.S., stocks on Wall Street ended higher - bank stocks broadly rose as investors attempted to move on from the turmoil after First Citizens bought a large chunk of failed Silicon Valley Bank.

Nifty below 16,950 mark ; media stocks decline.

The domestic equity barometers continued to trade with minor losses in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 16,950 mark after hitting the day's high of 17,061.75 in early trade. Media stocks witnessed selling pressure for fifth day in a row.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 80.81 points or 0.14% to 57,573.05. The Nifty 50 index lost 45.15 points or 0.27% to 16,940.55.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.62% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was declined 0.83%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 950 shares rose and 2,521 shares fell. A total of 120 shares were unchanged.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.330 from 7.312 previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.2075, compared with its close of 82.3150 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2023 settlement was up 0.05% to Rs 59,014.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.14% to 102.72.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.80% to 3.556.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2023 settlement was up 31 cents or 0.40% to $78.43 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty media index declined 2.12% to 1,641.85. The index slipped 5.85% in past five trading sessions.

Dish TV India (down 5.26%), New Delhi Television (down 4.04%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 3.46%), Sun TV Network (down 3.36%) and TV18 Broadcast (down 2.3%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were Network 18 Media & Investments (down 1.68%), Nazara Technologies (down 1.59%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 1.45%), PVR (down 1.4%) and Navneet Education (down 0.11%).

Gainers & Losers:

IndusInd Bank (up 1.85%), UPL (up 1.76%), Coal India (up 0.84%), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.83%) and HDFC Bank (up 0.79%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Adani Enterprises (down 6.63%), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (down 5.56%), Tech Mahindra (down 2.99%), Hero MotoCorp (down 2.20%) and ONGC (down 2%) were the top Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

G R Infraprojects declined 4.99%. The company has been emerged lowest bidder (L1) bidder for two projects in Karnataka.

Allcargo Logistics rose 1.37% after the company said it will buy a 30% stake in Gati-Kintetsu Express for Rs 406.71 crore. Post completion of this transaction, Allcargo Logistics will hold 30% stake and Gati will continue to hold the existing 70% stake in GKEPL.

One 97 Communications rose 0.60%. Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) announced that its full KYC wallet customers will be able to make payments on every UPI QR codes and online merchant where UPI payments are accepted. Paytm Payments Bank has the largest scale in India, in terms of mobile transactions.

Kalyan Jewellers slumped 8.88%. On the BSE, over 70.31 lakh shares of the company had changed hands at the counter as against an average trading volume of 3.39 lakh shares in the past two weeks.

Warburg Pincus will reportedly offload a 2.5% stake in the company through a block deal. The shares would be offloaded at Rs 110 apiece, as per reports.

Aditya Birla Capital shed 0.48% after the company received board approval for sale of its entire 25.65 lakh shares or 50.002% stake in Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers (ABIBL), to Edme Services. Infocyber India, the other shareholder of ABIBL, will also sell its 25.64 lakh shares, or 49.998% stake of the company, to Edme Services. The total enterprise value of the transaction is set at Rs 455 crore.

Adani Enterprises tumbled 6.63%. AMG Media Networks (AMNL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, has completed the acquisition of 49% stake in Quintillion Business Media (QMBL) for a cash consideration of Rs 47.84 crore.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Tuesday as investor fears over the recent banking turmoil continued to show signs of easing.

Overnight in the U.S., stocks on Wall Street ended higher - bank stocks broadly rose as investors attempted to move on from the turmoil after First Citizens bought a large chunk of failed Silicon Valley Bank.