The benchmark indices closed with strong gains on Thursday, rising for the third straight day. The Nifty hit an intraday low of 16,447.90, but it bounced and closed below 16,600 level. Barring the Nifty IT index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE advanced.
As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 817.06 points or 1.50% at 55,464.39. The Nifty 50 index advanced 249.55 points or 1.53% at 16,594.90.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.06% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.18%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,433 shares rose and 930 shares fell. A total of 97 shares were unchanged.
Politics:
The elections of the five states - Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand - were held in seven phases between 10 February 2022 to 7 March 2022. The results are being announced today, 10 March 2022.
So far, the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand. In Punjab, Aam Admi Party (AAP) is all set to dethrone the incumbent Indian National Congress (INC).
In UP, BJP under CM Yogi Adityanath is expected to sweep the elections again, as the party currently leads on 244 seats (vote share: 41.96%) while former CM Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) currently leads with 115 seats (vote share: 31.76%), grabbing the second position as of now.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty FMCG index advanced 3.03% to 35,530.30. The index rose 5.56% in three trading sessions.
Radico Khaitan (up 7.44%), Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (up 5.16%), Proctor & Gamble Health and Hygiene (up 3.73%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 3.17%) and United Spirits (up 3.13%) were the top gainers in the FMCG segment.
Stocks in Spotlight:
NTPC rose 1.06%. The state-owned firm informed that, based on achievement of approved norms and due approvals, Unit-3 of 660 MW capacity of Nabinagar Power Generating Company (a wholly owned Subsidiary Company of NTPC) has successfully completed trial operation and consequently included in the installed capacity of NTPC Group. With this, the total installed capacity of Nabinagar Power Generating Company and NTPC Group has become 1,980 MW and 68,567.18 MW respectively.
Bharti Airtel gained 0.67%. The telecom major has entered into an agreement resulting into acquisition of aggregate 9.012% equity stake in Avaada CleanTN Project, a special purpose vehicle formed for the purpose of owning and operating the Captive Power Plant, in terms of the regulatory requirement for captive power consumption under electricity laws.
Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) rallied 4.07%. The steel manufacturer reported a 8% year-on-year increase in steel sales to 5.9 lakh tonnes in February 2022 as compared to 5.47 lakh tonnes sold in February 2021. JSPL said sales would have been higher if not for limited rake availability in the eastern part of the country. The company further said that railway rake availability issue is not yet fully resolved, hampering its sales efforts. Meanwhile, exports contributed 24% to the sales volumes. On production side, JSPL's steel production stood at 6.57 lakh tonnes in February 2022 which was 1% higher than previous year.
Jindal Stainless (Hisar) lost 0.76%. The company said it received AS 9100D Certification, a quality management system for aviation, space, and defence organizations. The certification validates Jindal Stainless (Hisar) (JSHL)'s competence to constantly meet highly stringent standards of the aerospace industry. It also enables JSHL to get listed in OASIS, the Online Aerospace Supplier Information System database, which showcases the company offerings to aerospace manufacturers. The AS 9100D certification journey was driven by the top management and implemented by a team of around 120 people across the supply chain, within 15 months, JSHL said in a statement.
Kalpataru Power Transmission advanced 2.70%. The EPC company received a Letter of Intent (LoI) for power transmission and distribution project in international market. The Letter of Intent is for project involving design, engineering, supply and construction of HVDC power transmission line of 700 km. The estimated value of the project stands at Rs 3,276 crore ($431 million). Kalpataru said the LoI is subject to fulfilment of certain conditions.
Larsen & Toubro spurted 2.18%. The construction major, on Thursday announced that its construction arm secured 'significant' contracts across various businesses. As per L&T's classification, the value of the significant project is 1,000 to 2,500 crore.
Global Markets:
The Dow Jones futures were down 224 points, indicating a weak opening in the US stock market today.
European stocks fell across the board on Thursday, as investors monitor the war in Ukraine and fluctuations in commodity prices. Markets have been closely attuned to developments in Ukraine as Russia's invasion continues. Ukraine accused Russian aircraft late on Wednesday of bombing a children's hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol despite a cease-fire deal to allow evacuations.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin accused Washington of waging a de facto economic war against Russia after the Biden administration announced a ban on Russian oil imports. The U.K. has also vowed to phase out Russian imports by the end of the year.
However, Asian stocks surged, following an overnight bounce on Wall Street after oil prices fell sharply from a recent surge.
Global oil prices slumped on Wednesday by the most in nearly two years after OPEC member United Arab Emirates said it supported pumping more oil into a market roiled by supply disruptions due to sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine. Brent crude futures settled down $16.84, or 13.2%, at $111.14 a barrel, their biggest one-day decline since 21 April 2020.
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