Market Commentary - Mid-Session
The key equity indices traded with small gains in the afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,900 level. Realty, PSU Bank, and consumer durables shares advanced while IT and FMCG shares declined.
At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 188.78 points or 0.26% to 75,498.47. The Nifty 50 index added 78.25 points or 0.34% to 22,912.55.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 2.09%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.88%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,972 shares rose and 968 shares fell. A total of 127 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, added 1.30% to 13.38.
Gainers & Losers:
Shriram Finance (up 4.54%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 3.27%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 2.53%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (up 2.43%) and Tata Steel (up 2.45%) were the major Nifty gainers.
Tata Consultancy Services (down 2.04%), Tech Mahindra (down 2.00%), Infosys (down 1.66%), HCL Technologies (down 1.59%) and ITC (down 1.31%) were the major Nifty losers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
UltraTech Cement rose 1.65% after the company said that it commissioned a combined capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) at its Hirmi plant, Chhattisgarh, and Roorkee unit, Uttarakhand, as part of its capacity expansion programs.
G R Infraprojects soared 9.93% after the company received a letter of acceptance (LoA) from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a highway project worth Rs 4,262.78 crore.
Zydus Lifesciences added 1.10% after the firm said that it has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) to manufacture Apalutamide tablets, 60 mg.
Capri Global Capital advanced 3.04% after the company's subsidiary, Capri Loans Car Platform (CLCPPL), partnered with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to drive skill development and employment opportunities.
KPI Green Energy jumped 4.35% after it secured a Rs 272 crore final sanction from the national bank for financing infrastructure and development (NaBFID) to fund a 50 MW hybrid project in Bharuch, Gujarat, with 75.2 MWp solar and 16.95 MW wind capacity
Global Markets:
European markets declined on Wednesday as investors reacted to a historic policy reform in Germany and developments on a ceasefire in Ukraine, and awaited key monetary policy updates.
The Bank of England is widely expected to hold interest rates when it meets on Thursday, as the U.K. faces economic headwinds both at home and abroad. The central bank is highly likely to keep its benchmark interest rate at 4.5% at its March meeting, given the unpredictability of President Donald Trump's trade tariffs and a fledgling global trade war, and how those factors could affect inflation in the U.K.
Most Asian stocks traded higher, amid persistent cheer over more stimulus measures in China. However, investors remained cautious about potential further tariff actions by U.S. President Donald Trump, who reiterated threats of reciprocal trade tariffs beginning in early April. Additionally, attention was focused on negotiations for a U.S.-brokered Russia-Ukraine peace deal.
Japanese markets were in focus for investors as the Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady at 0.5%, in line with expectations, while assessing the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Traders kept a close eye on interest rate decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day.
Japan's trade balance increased less than anticipated in February, amid heightened concerns regarding U.S. trade tariffs. Trade balance rose to a surplus of 584.5 billion yen ($3.91 billion), according to government data released on Wednesday. The print improved from a deficit of 2.76 trillion yen in January. The softer surplus was largely due to weaker-than-expected export growth. Exports grew 11.4% year-on-year, up from the 7.3% pace seen in January.
U.S. indices declined on Tuesday, as a two-day rebound from six-month lows largely dissipated. Tech losses contributed to the decline, as did ongoing concerns regarding higher Trump tariffs and a potential recession. At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.62%, while the S&P 500 index declined 1.07%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 1.71%.
Trump reiterated his threats to enforce reciprocal tariffs against major U.S. trading partners from April 2. He also reiterated plans for automobile and commodity tariffs. Trump has warned of some near-term economic turbulence as he carries out his agenda. Investors fear that trade-related disruptions will undermine U.S. economic growth.
Among tech decliners, NVIDIA Corporation declined by more than 3%, continuing a recent downturn, despite CEO Jensen Huang's statement that the chipmaker is well-positioned to capitalize on the shift in artificial intelligence toward inference from training. The stock fell 0.6% in after-hours trading.
Tesla Inc. recovered 1.2% in after-hours trading, following a 5.3% decline during the session, amid ongoing concerns regarding slowing sales, a deteriorating brand image, and growing public outrage over CEO Elon Musk's interactions with the Trump administration.
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