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The benchmark indices hit intraday high during mid-morning trade, buoyed by strong demand in financial services, auto and bank stocks. The Nifty index touched 17,500 mark, retracting quickly to hover tad below 17,500 level.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 643.55 points or 1.11% at 58,587.20. The Nifty 50 index gained 165.85 points or 0.96% at 17,491.15.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.79%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.32%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, shares 2,353 rose and 876 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
Domestic ratings agency ICRA, on Tuesday, slashed India's FY23 real GDP growth estimate by 0.8% to 7.2%, primarily driven by the fallout of Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Bank index rose 1.51% to 36,390.35. The index added 2.76% in three trading sessions.
Axis Bank (up 3.38%), Bandhan Bank (up 3.25%), RBL Bank (up 2.49%), IDFC First Bank (up 2.24%) and ICICI Bank (up 1.88%) were the top gainers in the Bank segment.
Axis Bank advanced 3.38%. As per media reports, private sector lender Axis Bank is close to acquiring Citigroup's retail banking business in India and a deal is likely to be announced soon. According to the media sources, the deal, to be valued at $2.5 billion (about Rs 18,000 crore), will be subject regulatory approvals. In April 2021, American banking major Citigroup announced its plan to exit from the consumer banking business in India as part of its global strategy.
ICICI Bank rose 1.88%. ICICI Bank said that it has accepted the offer to acquire 10,00,000 equity shares of face value of Rs 100 each of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The shares have been acquired for a total cash consideration of Rs 10 crore at Rs 100 per share. Post allotment, ICICI Bank will hold 5.97% stake in ONDC. The shareholding is subject to change and is dependent on closure of transaction by other participating investors.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Welspun Corp lost 0.43%. On Tuesday, the company announced that its associate company, East Pipes Integrated Company for Industry (EPIC) received an order of SAR 497 million from Saline Water Conversion Corporation. East Pipes Integrated Company will complete the supply of its spiral steel pipes to Saline Water Conversion Corp within one year.
Bharat Electronics (BEL) gained 1.40%. The company secured two separate orders from India's Ministry of Defence worth an aggregate Rs 3,102 crore. The Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India, and Navratna Defence PSU BEL on Tuesday, 29 March 2022, signed a contract for Instrumented Electronic Warfare Range (IEWR) for the Indian Air Force. The IEWR will be used to test and evaluate airborne Electronic Warfare (EW) equipment and validate their deployment in an Operational Scenario. The overall cost of the contract is estimated to be Rs 1,109 crore.
Separately, MoD and BEL on Tuesday, 29 March 2022, concluded a contract for supply of Advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) suite for Fighter aircraft of Indian Air Force. The overall cost of the contract is estimated to be Rs 1,993 crore.
Global Markets:
Asian stocks were trading higher on Wednesday as investors watch for developments surrounding the war in Ukraine.
Japanese retail sales fell in February for the first time in five months. Retail sales fell 0.8% in February from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday.
US stocks rose on Tuesday, extending Wall Street's winning streak as traders monitored ceasefire negotiations in Europe and key levels in the bond market.
Russian claimed it would reduce its attacks on Ukraine as delegates from the two countries met for their latest face-to-face peace talks in Istanbul. Moscow said it would cut back its military activity near Ukraine's capital of Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, as per reports. Ukrainian officials have pushed for a cease-fire agreement and a resolution to the humanitarian crisis sparked by Moscow's invasion.
