Good Afternoon!
The Indian equity market closed lower today. Sensex fell 571 pts to 57,292 and Nifty lost 169 points to 17,117. PowerGrid, UltraTech, Asian Paints were the top Sensex loser, falling up to 2.93%.
Meanwhile, bulls extended gains for the second straight week tracking strong global cues linked to a US Fed rate hike and pullback in crude oil prices.
The 30-share benchmark BSE Sensex advanced 4.16 per cent, or 2,314 points to 57,863.93 for the week ended March 17. Likewise, the 50-share Nifty index settled 3.95 per cent higher at 17,287 during the same period.
The domestic equity market was closed on Friday on account of the Holi festival.
What's next? Here are the latest updates!
3:38 pm: Market closes lower
Sensex falls 571 pts to 57,292 and Nifty declines 169 points to 17,117. PowerGrid, UltraTech, Asian Paints are the top Sensex losers.
3:22 pm: Will make Ruchi Soya, Patanjali global brands: Baba Ramdev
Ruchi Soya Industries, a part of the Patanjali Group, has fixed a price band of Rs 615 to Rs 650 per share for its follow-on public offer, which will open on March 24.
The offering comprises of a fresh issuance of equity shares for an amount totalling Rs 4,300 crore.
The company plans to use the offer proceeds primarily to make the company debt-free and thereafter for corporate purposes. Currently, the company has a debt of Rs 3,300 crore.
The company, which was acquired by Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Group through the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), is among the largest branded oil packaged food company of the country with brands like Ruchi Gold, Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Star & Ruchi Sunlight along with soya foods under the 'Nutrela' brand. READ MORE
2:57 PM: Market check
Sensex tanks 601 points to 57,262 and Nifty falls 176 points to 17,110.
2: 30 pm: LIC IPO: Govt files updated draft papers with Q3 financials
The government has filed updated draft papers with market regulator Sebi for an initial public offer of LIC, incorporating December quarter financials of the insurance behemoth, an official said on Monday. In the run-up to the mega IPO, on February 13, the government had filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the regulator giving details of financial results till September. READ MORE
2: 14 pm: Market in negative zone
Market breadth is negative with 1,613 shares rising against 1846 stocks trading in the red. 146 shares remained unchanged.
2:10 pm: Market cap of BSE-listed firms stood at Rs 259.36 crore.
1:49 pm: BSE midcap and smallcap indices fell 50 points and rose 170 points, respectively.
1:30 pm: Market check
Sensex tanks 550 points to 57312 and Nifty falls 161 points to 17,125.
1:00 PM: 600% up from issue price, 115% in 12 months; should you buy this multibagger?
Ashok Soota-led Happiest Minds have managed to double investors' money in the ongoing financial year due to industry-leading revenue growth. Shares of the company rallied 115 per cent to Rs 1,159.45 on March 17, 2022 from Rs 540.10 on March 31, 2021. On the other hand, the benchmark BSE Sensex gained nearly 17 per cent during the same period. READ MORE
12:34 pm: Market check
Sensex falls 269 points to 57,594 and Nifty loses 88 points to 17,198.
12:30 PM: Titan Company stock hits all-time high
Shares of Titan Company hit a fresh all time high today amid a weak broader market sentiment. Titan share gained 2.38% to Rs 2,767.55 against the previous close of Rs 2703.25 on BSE. The share has gained 16.25% in eight sessions.
12:15 pm: Godrej Properties stock climbs over 2% on Rs 1,000 cr sales in Pune project
Shares of Godrej Properties rose over 2% today after the real estate developer said it has achieved FY 22 sales worth Rs 1,002 crore for its township project Riverhills in Mahalunge, Pune. The share rose 3.59% intra day to Rs 494 on BSE. Godrej Properties stock opened higher at Rs 1,601 against the previous close of Rs 1,597.20 on BSE. The stock has gained 10.44% in three sessions.READ MORE
11:45 am: Top gainers and Losers
Maruti Suzuki and Titan were the top gainers on Sensex, followed by Tata Steel, Wipro and Tech Mahindra.
On the other hand, Power Grid and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top losers.
11:30 am: JSPL stock rises 3% after firm prepays $357-million loan of Mauritius arm
Shares of Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) rose over 3 per cent today after the firm said it has prepaid a loan of $357 million of its wholly-owned subsidiary Jindal Steel & Power (Mauritius) (JSPML). The prepayment of loan will help clear the entire debt of JSPML. The loan also had corporate guarantees from JSPL India, which will also get released.
JSPL stock opened higher at Rs 485 against the previous close of Rs 476.90 on BSE. The stock has gained 9.16 per cent in three sessions.
The stock rose 3.59 per cent intraday to Rs 494 on BSE. The share has gained 30.08 per cent since the beginning of this year and gained 56.68 per cent in one year.
Read: JSPL stock rises 3% after firm prepays $357-million loan of Mauritius arm
11:00 am: Rupee declines 26 paise to 76.10 against US dollar in early trade
The rupee declined 26 paise to 76.10 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday, following its Asian peers after crude oil prices and the American dollar reversed their recent declines.
Besides, a lacklustre trend in domestic equities also weighed on investor sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 76.08 against the US dollar, then slipped further to 76.10, registering a decline of 26 paise from the last close.
On Thursday, the rupee spurted by 37 paise to close at 75.84 against the US dollar.
10:30 am: Maruti shares zoom 3% as Suzuki Motor to invest Rs 10,440 crore in Gujarat
Shares of Indian auto major Maruti Suzuki zoomed 3 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 7937.45 on BSE after Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) signed MOU with the State of Gujarat for Electric Vehicles and Batteries Manufacturing in India.
"Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) signed MOU with the State of Gujarat, India to invest approximately 150 billion yen (approximately 104.4 billion rupees) for local manufacturing of electric vehicles (BEV) and BEV batteries," the company said in its regulatory filing.
9:40 am: Ruchi Soya stock tanks 17% after firm fixes FPO price band
Shares of food delivery firm Ruchi Soya fell over 17% in early trade today after the edible oil major fixed a price band of Rs 615-650 per share for its upcoming follow-on public offer (FPO). The higher end of the price band - Rs 650 a share - amounts to a 35 percent discount from Thursday's closing price.
The firm said the minimum bid will be for 21 shares and in its multiples thereafter. Ruchi Soya stock opened 17.27% lower at Rs 831 against the previous close of Rs 1004.45 on BSE.
At 9:41 am, the stock was down 11.53% to Rs 888.60 on BSE.
9:16 am: Market opening
Equity benchmark Sensex opened over 240 points higher at 58,105.02. Likewise, Nifty was trading over 42 points higher at 17,329.50.
Maruti Suzuki was the top gainer on Sensex, advancing over 2 per cent, followed by HDFC, Power Grid, Nestle India and Titan.
Asian Paints and M&M were the top losers.
8:50 am: Pre-opening market comments by Prashanth Tapse, Vice President (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd
Benchmarks are expected to continue with their upward momentum as short covering along with value buying is likely to be the order of the day with aggressive targets on Nifty at 17,501-17,807 zone.
That said, volatility is likely to ride high as the Russia-Ukraine war continues to command investors’ attention with the ongoing peace talks between the two countries not yielding any significant progress, raising fears of further sanctions and prolonged disruption to oil supply.
Technically speaking, Nifty’s biggest supports are placed at the 17,127/16,827 mark. Only below the Nifty 16,827 zone, expect a waterfall of selling. From a chartist standpoint, the technical landscape will improve considerably only if Nifty closes above its biggest hurdles at the 17,807 mark.
8:40 am: Global Updates
Wall Street's three major indexes closed higher on Friday, with the biggest boost from recently battered technology stocks, after talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping over the Ukraine crisis ended without big surprises.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 274.17 points, or 0.8%, to 34,754.93, the S&P 500 gained 51.45 points, or 1.17%, to 4,463.12 and the Nasdaq Composite added 279.06 points, or 2.05%, to 13,893.84. Wall Street's three main indexes boasted their biggest weekly percentage gains since early November 2020 with the S&P adding 6.2% while the Dow rose 5.5% and the Nasdaq jumping 8.2%.
Asian share markets started the week in a cautious mood on Monday as investors clung to hopes for an eventual peace deal in Ukraine, but the fighting raged on with no sign of stopping.
Japan's Nikkei was shut, but futures traded around 300 points above the cash close. Most share markets rallied last week in anticipation of an eventual peace deal on Ukraine, but it could take actual progress to justify further gains.
8:35 am: FII and DII action
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,800.14 crore on March 17, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 678.45 crore, as per provisional data available on NSE.
8:30 am: SGX Nifty
The Indian equity market is likely to open in the green today as SGX Nifty was trading 61 points higher at 17,387.
The Singapore Stock Exchange is considered to be the first indication of the opening of the Indian market.
8:15 am: Market on Thursday
Sensex surged past the 57,000-mark on Thursday, tracking a bullish trend in global equities despite the US Federal Reserve hiking rates. Sensex closed 1,047.28 points or 1.84 per cent higher at 57,863.93 and Nifty surged 311.70 points or 1.84 per cent to close at 17,287.05. Sensex and Nifty have closed higher for the second consecutive session amid positive global cues.
HDFC was the top Sensex gainer today, rising 5.50 per cent, followed by Titan, Reliance, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma and Tata Steel. Infosys and HCL Tech were the only Sensex losers, falling up to 1.81 per cent .
BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gained 251 points and 322 points, respectively. On the sectoral front, consumer durables shares were the top gainers with the BSE consumer durables rising 1169.47 points to 43,967. Banking and auto goods shares also gained, with their BSE indices rising 829 points and 506 points, respectively.