The headline equity indices were trading with minor gains in early trade. The Nifty traded near the 17,200 level. Media, pharma and healthcare stocks advanced while realty, auto and PSU bank shares declined.
At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 178.01 points or 0.31% to 58,415.86. The Nifty 50 index rose 45.60 points or 0.27% to 17,199.90.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.10% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.08%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,386 shares rose and 1,204 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,546.86 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,418.58 crore in the Indian equity market on 13 March, provisional data showed.
Economy:
Retail inflation, measured by the consumer price index (CPI), eased marginally in February but remained stubbornly above the 6% mark for the second straight month. Data released on Monday revealed that retail inflation stood at 6.44% in February against 6.52% in January. It stood at 6.07% a year ago. Both food and core inflation remained sticky and elevated at over 6% last month and the price pressures were higher in rural areas than urban centres.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Lupin rose 0.97%. Global pharma major Lupin announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has completed an inspection of its Bioresearch Centre in Pune. The inspection closed without any observation.
Tata Chemicals added 0.03%. Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on the company's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Positive from Stable and affirmed the rating at 'BB+.
GAIL (India) shed 0.23%. The company has declared interim dividend for FY 2022-23 of 40% on the paid-up equity share capital, which is Rs 4 per equity share, with a record date of 21 March 2023.
Krsnaa Diagnostics rallied 4.64%. The company has operationalized 100 more pathology collection centers to provide services of Lab Investigation Facilities under Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thakeray Chikitsa for BMC Dispensaries and Hospitals in Mumbai. With this, the company has operationalized 300 pathology collection centers.
Surya Roshni gained 2.32%. The company received orders amounting to Rs. 96.39 crores (including GST) for supply of 3LPE coated Line pipes from HPCL for City Gas Distribution projects in three geographical areas in the state of Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Numbers to Watch:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper declined to 7.360 from 7.365 previous trading session.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.3325, compared with its close of 82.2375 during the previous trading session
MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2023 settlement advanced 2.59% to Rs 57,603.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.30% to 103.90.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 1.55% to 3.569.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2023 settlement fell 88 cents or 1.09% to $79.89 a barrel.
Global Markets:
Asian stocks were trading lower on Tuesday as investors grappled with the fallout of failed banks in the U.S., including Silicon Valley Bank.
US stocks ended lower on Monday even as a plan to backstop all the depositors in failed Silicon Valley Bank, along with other extraordinary measures, failed to boost bank shares. The fallout from SVB's collapse prompted President Joe Biden to promise stronger regulation of U.S. lenders, while reassuring depositors that their money is safe.
Traders are looking to the US consumer price index report later in the day for cues that may trigger further shifts in bets on the Fed's next move ahead of its meeting on March 21 and 22. As per reports, a hot inflation report will raise expectations the Fed could hike rates by 50 basis points, up from the 25 points it implemented in February.
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