Street Investment Institute in Indore

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.

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.

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.

The key equity barometers continued to trade in a volatile manner in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded tad above the 16,950 mark. Metal shares declined for third consecutive session.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 42.63 points or 0.07% to 57,611.23. The Nifty 50 index lost 30.40 points or 0.18% to 16,955.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.72% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was declined 0.89%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 952 shares rose and 2,410 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.21% to 15.26. The Nifty 29 March 2023 futures were trading at 17,001.15, at a premium of 45.85 points as compared with the spot at 16,955.30.

The Nifty option chain for the 29 March 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 183.5 lakh contracts at the 17,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 142.6 lakh contracts were seen at 17,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index slipped 0.77% to 5,331.30. The index has fallen 3.03% in three sessions.

Adani Enterprises (down 6.89%), Jindal Stainless (down 4.08%), Welspun Corp (down 2.13%), MOIL (down 1.51%) and Hindustan Copper (down 1.25%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were Vedanta (down 0.79%), Hindustan Zinc (down 0.73%), JSW Steel (down 0.4%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 0.28%) and National Aluminium Company (down 0.26%).

On the other hand, Hindalco Industries (up 0.85%), Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (up 0.67%) and APL Apollo Tubes (up 0.45%) turned up.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index declined 0.40% to 375.05. The index has fallen 5.05% in seven sessions.

Sunteck Realty (down 3.38%), Indiabulls Real Estate (down 2.43%), Phoenix Mills (down 2.14%), Sobha (down 1.43%) and Prestige Estates Projects (down 1.37%) were the top losers.

Further, Brigade Enterprises (down 0.57%), DLF (down 0.4%), Oberoi Realty (down 0.33%) and Godrej Properties (down 0.03%) edged lower.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index slipped 0.84% to 7,005.15. The index has lost 2.42% in four sessions.

Adani Total Gas (down 5%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 2.13%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (down 2.01%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (down 1.66%) and Gujarat Gas (down 1.21%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were Indian Oil Corporation (down 1.17%), Aegis Logistics (down 0.79%), Indraprastha Gas (down 0.58%), Oil India (down 0.42%) and Gujarat State Petronet (down 0.2%).

On the other hand, Castrol India (up 1.48%), Mahanagar Gas (up 0.7%) and Reliance Industries (up 0.2%) turned up.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Sterlite Technologies fell 2.43%. The company announced that it has signed an amended and restated agreement to transfer its Telecom Products and Software business as an asset sale to Skyvera LLC.

Zydus Lifesciences was up 0.08%. The drug maker said that it has received final approval from US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Levothyroxine Sodium injection and Doxepin Hydrochloride capsules.

Levothyroxine Sodium Injection is indicated for the treatment of myxedema coma. The drug will be manufactured at the group's injectable manufacturing facility at Jarod, near Vadodara (India).

Carysil rose 3.23%. 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 added 2.03%. The company said it has secured regulatory license for establishing an industrial undertaking to manufacture certain industrial items.

Gujarat Ambuja Exports (GAEL) advanced 1.32%. The company announced commissioning of 1200 tons per day Maize processing greenfield project at Malda in West Bengal.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are largely advanced on Tuesday as investor fears over the recent banking turmoil continued to show signs of easing.

Sensex

The key equity barometers ended with limited gains after a volatile session on Monday. After hitting the day's high at 17,091 in mid-afternoon trade, selling in the last hour of trade forced the Nifty to pare most gains and it ended below the 17,000 level. Pharma, healthcare and IT stocks were in demand while realty, media and auto stocks declined.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 126.76 points or 0.22% to 57,653.86. The Nifty 50 index advanced 40.65 points or 0.24% to 16,985.70.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.37% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 1.50%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 926 shares rose, and 2,708 shares fell. A total of 154 shares were unchanged.

Numerous global economic releases are scheduled for the final week of the current fiscal year 2022-2023. Absence of significant market triggers this week in the domestic market, investors and traders at home are likely to turn to the international markets for future direction.

Moreover, the week will witness the monthly derivatives series expiry for March on Wednesday, which shall induce some volatility in the domestic market.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 1.03% to 11,876.55. The index had declined 0.22% to end at 11,755.35 on Friday.

Biocon (up 3.85%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 3.02%), Lupin (up 2.73%), Alkem Laboratories (up 2.7%) and Aurobindo Pharma (up 2.27%) were the top gainers.

Among the other gainers were Natco Pharma (up 1.87%), Abbott India (up 1.75%), Cipla (up 1.39%), Ipca Laboratories (up 1.23%) and Torrent Pharmaceuticals (up 1.2%).

On the other hand, Pfizer (down 1.42%), Gland Pharma (down 1.09%) and Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.93%) turned lower.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries advanced 0.91%. The pharmaceutical major said that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 60% shareholding in Vivaldis Health and Foods from its existing shareholders. The acquisition is being made for a cash consideration of Rs 143.30 crore. The company expects to complete the acquisition by the end of May 2023.

Morepen Laboratories zoomed 7.37%. The company announced successful completion of US drug regulator's inspection of API facility at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 1.50%. RIL said on Friday that its board has designated Srikanth Venkatachari, joint chief financial officer, as chief financial officer (CFO) of the company with effect from 1 June 2023. The current CFO, Alok Agarwal, will assume a new role as senior advisor to the chairman and managing director of the company assisting him on a wide range of strategic issues with effect from 1 June 2023, after 30 years of service.

Tata Steel added 0.20%. The company announced on Friday that it acquired 4,65,116 equity shares of its wholly owned subsidiary, Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services (TSUISL), on rights basis amounting to Rs 10 crore. TSUISL allotted the shares to Tata Steel at Rs 215 each.

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals rose 0.91% while Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances slipped 3.39%. Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals and Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances have announced a merger to accelerate and smoothen the realisation of synergies of the combined business. Both are listed companies and the merger will take place through shares swap.

Upon Merger, 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, as a consideration for the merger. Post-merger, the public shareholders of Butterfly will hold around 3% stake in the combined entity.

L&T Finance Holdings shed 0.95%. The NBFC said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved merger of subsidiaries L&T Finance, L&T Infra Credit, and L&T Mutual Fund Trustee with L&T Finance Holdings.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) lost 0.43%. The company on Monday announced that its Power Transmission & Distribution business has secured 'large' orders in India and overseas. As per L&T classification, the value of the large project is Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.

Bharat Electronics (BEL) rose 0.33%. BEL announced that it has bagged orders worth Rs 4,300 crore from Indian Army and Indian Navy.

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) declined 3.72%. IOB said that it has raised Rs 1,000 crore via issue of 1,000 unsecured, non-convertible, listed, redeemable, Basel-III compliant tier-II bonds through private placement basis.

Dalmia Bharat rose 2.27%. The company said its material wholly owned subsidiary, Dalmia Cement (Bharat), entered into binding agreement to sell its entire stake of 42.36% of Dalmia Bharat Refractories (DBRL) to Sarvapriya Healthcare Solutions for a consideration of Rs 800 crore. The said transaction will be completed on or before 25 April 2023.

ISGEC Heavy Engineering fell 3.48%. The company received order worth Rs 197.25 crore from Maharashtra State Power Generation (MAHAGENCO) for renovation of electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) at Chandrapur thermal power, Maharashtra.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe advanced while Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Monday as investors continue to assess the impact of the banking troubles in the U.S and Europe on the global economy.

In the U.S. early on Monday, First Citizens Bank agreed to buy large parts of Silicon Valley Bank, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said. However, investors remained on high alert for signs of stresses in the banking system, while fears of contagion remain.

The deal includes the purchase of approximately $72 billion of SVB assets at a discount of $16.5 billion, but around $90 billion in securities and other assets will remain “in receivership for disposition by the FDIC.”

Last Friday, Deutsche Bank shares saw a sell-off after the German lender's credit default swaps jumped. The stock was up 3.2% in mid-morning trade on Monday.

Over the weekend, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said in a speech that risks to financial stability have increased, though actions by advanced economies have calmed market stress.

US stocks closed higher on Friday, marking the end of a tumultuous week as Federal Reserve officials calmed investor fears over a potential liquidity crisis in the banking sector.

STOCKS

The key equity indices regained upward momentum and hit fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 17,050 level. FMCG stocks witnessed decent buying demand.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 432.03 points or 0.75% to 57,959.13. The Nifty 50 index advanced 132.05 points or 0.78% to 17,077.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.12% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.98%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,005 shares rose, and 2,557 shares fell. A total of 151 shares were unchanged.

Moreover, the week will witness the monthly derivatives series expiry for March on Wednesday, which shall induce some volatility in the domestic market.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.323 from 7.318 previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.35, compared with its close of 82.40 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2023 settlement declined 0.44% to Rs 59,014.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.06% to 103.06.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 1.44% to 3.427.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2023 settlement was up 43 cents or 0.57% to $75.42 a barrel.

Gainers & Losers:

Reliance Industries (RIL) (up 1.75%), Grasim Industries (up 1.34%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) (up 1.34%), Divi's Laboratories (up 1.23%) and Cipla (up 1.21%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (down 1.65%), Tata Motors (down 1.32%), Axis Bank (down 1.13%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.03%) and Adani Enterprises (down 0.93%) were the top Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) was up 1.75%. RIL said on Friday that its board has designated Srikanth Venkatachari, joint chief financial officer, as chief financial officer (CFO) of the company with effect from 1 June 2023. The current CFO, Alok Agarwal, will assume a new role as senior advisor to the chairman and managing director of the company assisting him on a wide range of strategic issues with effect from 1 June 2023, after 30 years of service.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries gained 1.17%. The pharmaceutical major said that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 60% shareholding in Vivaldis Health and Foods from its existing shareholders. The acquisition is being made for a cash consideration of Rs 143.30 crore. The company expects to complete the acquisition by the end of May 2023.

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals rose 0.97% while Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances slipped 3.34%. Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals and Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances have announced a merger to accelerate and smoothen the realisation of synergies of the combined business. Both are listed companies and the merger will take place through shares swap.

L&T Finance Holdings shed 1.35%. The NBFC said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved merger of subsidiaries L&T Finance, L&T Infra Credit, and L&T Mutual Fund Trustee with L&T Finance Holdings.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 0.05%. The company on Monday announced that its Power Transmission & Distribution business has secured 'large' orders in India and overseas. As per L&T classification, the value of the large project is Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG index advanced 0.60% to 45,332. The index had lost 0.46% in past trading session.

Dabur India (up 1.48%), Marico (up 0.97%), ITC (up 0.81%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.63%) and Varun Beverages (up 0.59%), Nestle India (up 0.56%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.39%), Britannia Industries (up 0.36%) and Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 0.34%)advanced .

On the other hand, Emami (down 2.28%), United Spirits (down 1.22%) and United Breweries (down 0.68%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

FDC rose 0.22%. The pharma company said that the US drug regulator successfully completed its inspection at its Raigad active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) facility with no observations.

Arvind SmartSpaces added 0.87%. The company sold out the entire launched inventory of 2nd phase of its residential plotted development project, Arvind Greatlands in Devanahalli, Bengaluru, within 7 hours of launch. It consisted of more than 150 units valued at more than Rs 100 crore.

ISGEC Heavy Engineering advanced 0.58%. The company received order worth Rs 197.25 crore from Maharashtra State Power Generation (MAHAGENCO) for renovation of electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) at Chandrapur thermal power, Maharashtra.

The key equity indices some gains as they came off the day's high in mid-morning trade. The Nifty slipped below the 17,000 mark. Metal stocks recorded across the board buying after Friday's sell-off.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 157.64 points or 0.27% to 57,684.74. The Nifty 50 index advanced 51.05 points or 0.3% to 16,996.10.

Volatility continued to persist on the domestic bourses, with the NSE India Vix rising 2.11% to 15.56.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.20% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 1.15%.

Dhani Services (down 5.57%), Triveni Engineering & Industries (down 5.14%), Rossari Biotech (down 5.01%), Alok Industries (down 4.47%), RattanIndia Enterprises (down 4.76%) were the top losers in the broader market segment.

Vijaya Diagnostic Centre (up 5.25%), EPL (up 5.09%), Lupin (up 4.80%), Metropolis (up 2.97%) and Phoenix Mills (up 2.75%) were the top broader market outperformers.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 949 shares rose, and 2451 shares fell. A total of 153 shares were unchanged.

Moreover, the week will witness the monthly derivatives series expiry for March on Wednesday, which shall induce some volatility in the domestic market.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index added 0.15% to 5,381.20. The index had fallen 2.27% to end at 5,372.90 in the previous trading session.

Hindalco Industries (up 1.63%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.02%), Vedanta (up 0.87%), JSW Steel (up 0.35%), Tata Steel (up 0.24%) and Jindal Stainless (up 0.19%) edged higher.

Meanwhile, Adani Enterprises (down 2.34%), Welspun Corp (down 2.14%) and MOIL (down 1.52%), Laurus Labs (down 1.22%), Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.73%) and Pfizer (down 0.59%) moved lower.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 0.85% to 11,855.05. The index had declined 0.22% to end at 11,855.05 yesterday.

Aurobindo Pharma (up 3.01%), Lupin (up 2.09%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 1.89%), Biocon (up 1.36%) and Alkem Laboratories (up 1.24%) were the top gainers.

Among the other gainers were Gland Pharma (up 1.15%), Dr Reddys Laboratories (up 1.07%), Zydus Lifesciences (up 0.94%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (up 0.66%) and Divis Laboratories (up 0.65%).

On the other hand, Laurus Labs (down 1.22%), Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.73%) and Pfizer (down 0.59%) moved lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Godawari Power & Ispat rose 1.58%. The company said that the sponge iron plant, power plants, steel melting shop (SMS plant), rolling mill and wire drawing plants at Siltara, Chhattisgarh have partially resumed its operations with effect from 24 March 2023.

Morepen Laboratories zoomed 15.02%. The company announced successful completion of US drug regulator's inspection of API facility at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.

L&T Finance Holdings shed 0.79%. The NBFC said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved merger of subsidiaries L&T Finance, L&T Infra Credit, and L&T Mutual Fund Trustee with L&T Finance Holdings.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Monday as investors continue to assess the impact of the banking troubles in the U.S and Europe on the global economy.

US stocks closed higher on Friday, marking the end of a tumultuous week as Federal Reserve officials calmed investor fears over a potential liquidity crisis in the banking sector.