The domestic stock market rebounded on Thursday, fueled by buying across most sectors. The Nifty 50 ended near 22,150, recovering from an intraday low of 21,917.50. Expiring weekly index options on the NSE caused volatile trading. Oil & gas, metals, and media stocks saw strong demand, while banks and financials dipped. However, analysts warn of potential overvaluation in some mid-and small-cap stocks. This comes after market regulator Sebi raised concerns about "frothy" valuations in these segments and urged mutual funds to moderate their investments. The stress test results from these mutual funds are due on March 15th.
In the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 335.39 points or 0.46% to 73,097.28. The Nifty 50 index added 148.95 points or 0.68% to 22,146.65.
Adani Enterprises (up 6.29%), Adani Ports & SEZ (up 5%) and Infosys (up 2.53%) boosted the indices.
The broader market rallied. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 2.28% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap surged 3.11%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2679 shares rose and 1197 shares fell. A total of 82 shares were unchanged.
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The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 5.61% to 13.62.
Economy:
Fitch Ratings raised India's GDP growth forecast for the next fiscal year (FY25) to 7% from their previous estimate of 6.5%. They expect the strong economic growth to continue. The rating agency also expects a reduction in interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and a decline in inflation by the end of 2024.
Meanwhile, India's wholesale price inflation fell to a four-month low of 0.20% in February, compared to 0.27% in January. Positive rate of inflation in February 2024 is primarily due to increase in prices of food articles, crude petroleum & natural gas, electricity, machinery & equipment and motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers, etc.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.07% to 7.044 as compared with the previous close of 7.039.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.8225, compared with its close of 82.8100 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement was down 0.15% to Rs 65,797.
The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies rose 0.02% to 102.81.
The United States 10-year bond yield gained 0.10% to 4.196.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2024 settlement added 68 cents or 81% to $84.71 a barrel.
Global Markets:
The US Dow Jones index futures is currently up by 162 points, signaling a positive opening for US stocks today.
Most of the European stocks edged higher on Thursday as investors awaited another key U.S. inflation reading for February.
Asian stocks ended mixed as traders were focused on the outcome of spring wage negotiations in Japan.
Japan's wage negotiations have concluded, with early reports indicating large companies offered significant pay raises. This could lead the Bank of Japan to tighten its monetary policy when they meet next week.
In the US market, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed slightly lower on Wednesday as investors took profits from chipmaker stocks. This comes as they await producer price data and further signs on the inflation trend before the Federal Reserve meeting next week.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 1.81% after the company s Hydrocarbon Business, L&T Energy Hydrocarbon has secured major order for gas pipeline project from a prestigious client in the Middle East.
Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) soared 9.27% after the company said that its joint venture, RVNL-SALASAR has received a letter of award (LoA) from Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Company (MPPTC) worth Rs 173.98 crore.
Tata Motors shed 0.54%. The company announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Tamil Nadu to setting up a vehicle manufacturing facility in the state.
Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) advanced 4.18% after the company announced that it has signed two contracts with Minsitry of Defence for Rs 8,073.17 crore on 13 March 2024.
Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) rallied 6.96% after the companys board has appointed Anupma K. Iyer as a chief financial officer (CFO) and key managerial personnel (KMP) of the company with effect from 11 March 2024.
Indian Hume Pipe Company surged 15.66% after the companys joint venture received a work order worth Rs 1,137.77 crore from the Public Health and Municipal Engineering Department, Government of Telangana.
Kalpataru Projects International gained 3.70% after the company, along with its joint ventures (JVs) and international subsidiaries, announced the receipt of new orders worth Rs 2,445 crore.
Antony Waste Handling Cell jumped 4.59% after the companys subsidiary Antony Lara Enviro Solutions has been awarded contract for bio-mining approximately 8.6 lakh tonnes of legacy waste by CIDCO.
PC Jeweller hit an upper limit of 5% after State Bank of India approved the jeweller's one-time debt settlement plan.
IIFL Finance fell 3.33%. The company approved raising up to Rs 2,000 crore via share and NCD issuance.
New Listing:
Shares of Gopal Snacks settled at Rs 360.05 on the BSE, representing a discount of 10.21% as compared with the issue price of Rs 401.
The scrip was listed at Rs 350, exhibiting a discount of 12.72% to the issue price.
On the BSE, over 5.47 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.
IPO Update:
The initial public offer (IPO) of Krystal Integrated Services received 10,78,460 bids for shares as against 29,99,448 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Thursday (14 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 36%.
The issue opened for bidding on Thursday (14 March 2024) and it will close on Monday (18 March 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 680 to 715 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 20 equity shares and in multiples thereof.
Popular Vehicles and Services' IPO received 1,77,74,350 bids for shares as against 1,44,15,110 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Thursday (14 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 1.23 times.
The issue opened for bidding on Tuesday (12 March 2024) and it will close on Thursday (14 March 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 280 to 295 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 50 equity shares and in multiples thereof.
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