The domestic equity barometers pared losses and traded with minor gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 17,000 level after hitting day's low of 16,958.15 in afternoon trade. Realty, IT and metal stocks advanced while media, auto and FMCG stocks declined.
At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 94.42 points or 0.16% to 57,729.26. The Nifty 50 index added 44.25 points or 0.26% to 17,029.85.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.32% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.52%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,997 shares rose and 1,429 shares fell. A total of 135 shares were unchanged.
Risk sentiments took a back seat after a consortium of major US private banks announced a $30 billion rescue package for embattled lender First Republic Bank. The package announced by JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and nine other giants consisted of $30 billion uninsured deposits.
Investors will look ahead to the US Federal Reserve's meeting next week to see how the central bank will proceed in its fight against inflation in light of the shakeup in the banking sector.
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The European Central Bank on Thursday announced a further rate hike of 50 basis points despite of recent turmoil in the banking sector.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.369 from 7.352 in previous trading session.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.5275, compared with its close of 82.76 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2023 settlement gained 0.36% to Rs 58,215.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.38% to 104.02.
The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.90% to 3.551.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2023 settlement advanced 46 cents or 0.62% to $75.16 a barrel.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index rose 1.04% to 5,528.80. The index slipped 2.58% in the past trading sessions.
National Aluminium Company (up 3.78%), Vedanta (up 2.89%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 2.79%), Steel Authority of India (up 2.64%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.92%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.83%), Hindustan Copper (up 1.74%), JSW Steel (up 1.37%), Adani Enterprises (up 1.17%) and Welspun Corp (up 1.01%) edged higher.
On the other hand, Jindal Stainless (down 5.91%), APL Apollo Tubes (down 0.27%) and MOIL (down 0.1%) declined.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) fell 0.39%. The housing finance major said that its board will meet on Monday, 27 March 2023, to consider raising of funds through issuance of non-convertible debentures in various tranches aggregating to Rs 57,000 crore, on private placement basis.
Unichem Laboratories slipped 3.25%. The pharma company announced that it has received abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Ranolazine extended-release tablets. The approved ANDA is a generic version of Ranexa of Gilead Sciences Inc. Ranolazine extended-release tablets are indicated for the treatment of chronic angina (chest pain).
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