Markets end flat after choppy session; Metals, auto stocks shine, IT slide

Stock market highlights on March 18: Choppiness continued in the broader markets, too, with the BSE MidCap and Smallcap indices settling flat after see-sawing between gains and losses

4:07 PM

COMMENT:: Global policy makers expected to set market trend this week

"The Indian market followed the positive Asian peers with a mixed bias. Domestic issues, like mutual fund stress tests,  hardly brought any negative views, but premium valuation remains as a concern. Midcap & small caps are attempting to scroll up, however consolidation persists. Both DII & FIIs inflows are strong for large caps, hence sustaining their outperformance. Policy actions, this week, from global central banks, the US FED, BOJ, and BOE will dictate the market direction. Indication, by the FED, that rate cut may be probably in the latter half of CY24, should bring a mixed sentiment in the short term."

 

- Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

4:06 PM

VIEW:: Nifty seems to have established short-term support at 21,900

"Nifty remained volatile throughout the day, oscillating between 21,900 and 22,100. Bulls have thus far managed to defend the 21,900 level successfully. However, a dip below 21,900 could strengthen the bears' position, although for now, any downturn is being met with buying activity. On the upside, a sustained upward movement beyond 22,100 may propel the index towards 22,250 and beyond. Support is established at 21,900, below which the index might decline towards 21,700."

 

- Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

 

3:50 PM

Market breadth was neutral; 2,007 stocks advanced, while 1,933 declined on the BSE

3:48 PM

Sectoral ALERT:: Nifty Metal index surges 2.5%; Tata Steel, Jindal Steel lead

3:47 PM

BSE Smallcap Heatmap:: Manoj Vaibhav Gems, Navkar Corp zoom 20%; CoForge cracks 7%

3:44 PM

BSE Midcap Heatmap:: Lodha soars 12%; JSW Infra, Linde India rally up to 7%

3:40 PM

Broader Market Check:: MidCap, SmallCap indices end in red; VIX climbs 1.5%

3:38 PM

Nifty50 Top 5 Movers & Shakers:: Tata Steel, M&M shine; UPL, Infy whine

3:37 PM

Sensex 30 Heatmap:: Auto, metal stocks gain, IT shares decline

3:34 PM

CLOSING BELL:: NSE Nifty50 gains 32 pts, settles at 22,056

3:33 PM

CLOSING BELL:: S&P BSE Sensex ends 105 pts higher at 72,748

3:25 PM

Global check:: US, UK stock futures exhibit mixed trend

Source: Investing.com

3:18 PM

Pharma stock rallies 9% as Quant SmallCap MF buys 0.5% stake via bulk deal

The names of the seller were not known. Kopran's share price has rallied 170 per cent in the last one year from a level of Rs 104 touched on March 20, 2023. READ MORE

3:09 PM

ALERT:: RITES wins order from NSIC; stock gains 2%

RITES in an exchange filing said, the National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) has given the Letter of Acceptance for engagement of the company as Quality Assurance Agency for quality inspection of 18 trades of Toolkits under PM Vishwakarma Scheme for a consideration of Rs 67.50 crore. 

2:57 PM

Steel stocks surge up to 5% on muted Chinese steel output

The stocks of domestic steel companies surged nearly 5 per cent on Monday, on the back of muted steel production data from China. Share prices of Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and SAIL moved up. READ MORE