Closing Bell: Another day of gains; Nifty above 22,500, Sensex up 610 pts; all sectors in the green

Indian equity indices ended on strong note with Nifty above 22,500 on March 6. At close, the Sensex was up 609.86 points or 0.83 percent at 74,340.09, and the Nifty was up 207.40 points or 0.93 percent at 22,544.70.

We wrap up today's edition of the Moneycontrol live market blog, and will be back tomorrow morning with all the latest updates and alerts. Please visit https://www.moneycontrol.com/markets/global-indices for all the global market action.

Markets extended their rebound, gaining nearly a percent on the weekly expiry day, driven by strong cues. After a gap-up opening, Nifty dipped in the early session but witnessed a notable recovery in heavyweight stocks across sectors, pushing the index higher and closing near the day's high at 22,528.15 level.

On the sectoral front, metal, energy, and pharma led the gains, while realty and IT remained subdued. The broader indices traded mixed, though a recovery in the small-cap segment resulted in strong market breadth.

The recent cool-off in crude oil and the dollar, along with the potential negotiations on US tariffs, has improved global sentiment and fueled this rebound. We expect Nifty to face resistance around the 22,700 level (20 DEMA), while the 22,250-22,400 zone will act as support in case of any dip. Our stance remains unchanged—focus on stock selection while maintaining disciplined position sizing.

The domestic benchmark index, Nifty, opened with a gap up, maintained buying interest, and settled the day on a bullish note at 22,545. Technically, Nifty has crossed and sustained above the first bearish gap (22,450-22,514), forming a green candle, which indicates strength.

The next major resistance is around 22,668-22,720, where the next bearish gap is placed, followed by the previous breakdown point at 22,800. Thus, 22,720 and 22,800 will act as stiff resistance for the index.

On the downside, 22,240 will act as immediate support. Though the overall market suggests strength, traders should wait for a move above 22,800. Until then, buy near support and take profits around resistance.

Bank Nifty opened gap up, faced profit booking in the first half, but recovered in the second half, and concluded the day on a positive note at 48,628. Technically, Bank Nifty has formed a red candle on the daily chart, indicating strong resistance near 48,660 levels. A sustainable breakout above this level could trigger a fresh move towards 49,000. On the downside, 47,840 remains firm support. Traders should closely watch these levels for potential trading opportunities.

The Nifty continues to rise, filling the recent gap on the daily chart. The RSI is recovering from a historical low and is currently in a bullish crossover. In the short term, the sentiment appears to favor the bulls. On the higher end, the index may move towards 23,750–23,800. The sentiment is likely to remain strong unless the Nifty falls below 22,300.

The recovery is because of the incessant fall markets witnessed over the past few weeks and some of the stocks from several sectors have become attractive as their business fundamentals remain strong. However, the recovery could face disruptions as Trump's tariff statements will continue to make investors nervous and trigger selling going ahead.

The Indian indices exhibited resilience, owing to positive global cues following Trump’s softened tariff stance on automakers from Canada & Mexico amidst the weakening dollar index. Additionally, a correction in crude oil prices, influenced by a slowdown in demand and further economic stimulus from China, ignited optimism in the energy and metals sectors. Gains were further supported by strength in heavyweight banking and consumption stocks driven by improved liquidity conditions.

The market experienced significant volatility throughout the day, with the Index initially showing strength after a strong opening but then facing resistance at higher levels, leading to a reversal and a dip into the red. As the session progressed, the Index began to recover, with a sharp rise in several heavyweight stocks pushing the Index higher, ultimately closing at 22,544.70 with gains of 207.40 points.

Except for the Realty, all the other sectors ended in the green, with Metal and Energy showing particularly strong performance. Within the broader market, a disparity was observed, as Midcaps underperformed while Smallcaps advanced by over 1%, outperforming the Frontline Index.

On the daily chart, Nifty50 formed a bullish candle, indicating that positive momentum is likely to persist. However, a strong resistance is expected around 22,620, while the 22,320 level is seen as a strong support on the downside.

Indian rupee ended 15 paise lower at 87.11 per dollar on Thursday versus Wednesday's close of 86.96.

Indian equity indices ended on strong note with Nifty above 22,500 on March 6.

At close, the Sensex was up 609.86 points or 0.83 percent at 74,340.09, and the Nifty was up 207.40 points or 0.93 percent at 22,544.70. About 2857 shares advanced, 979 shares declined, and 104 shares unchanged.

All the sectoral indices ended in the green with FMCG, metal, oil & gas, pharma up 1-2 percent.

Asian Paints, Coal India, Hindalco Industries, BPCL, NTPC were among major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Tech Mahindra, Trent, Bharat Electronics, HDFC Life, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

BSE Midcap index rose 0.6 percent and smallcap index added 1.6 percent.

Indian Rupee lost initial gains and fell against the US Dollar on selling pressure by FIIs. Rupee opened firm on RBI’s announcement to inject liquidity by Rs 1.9 trillion through OMOs. US Dollar fell to a four-month low as US decided to delay implementing higher tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.

We expect Rupee to trade with a slight positive bias on positive domestic markets and weakness in the US Dollar. A Decline in crude oil prices may further pressurise the Rupee. However, FII outflows may cap sharp gains.

Uncertainty over the trade tariff issue may also weigh on the Rupee. Traders may take cues from weekly unemployment claims data from the US and ECB monetary policy decision. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 86.80 to Rs 87.25.

#1 Wipro enjoying a gradual recovery in demand & is comfortable with the guidance band

#2 Demand improvement is progressing at a sedate pace & is not secular

#3 GenAI propositions are across revenue generation & cost management

#4 Under CEO Srini Pallia, the strategic focus has been on reigniting growth through a concentrated effort on large deals

#5 Rebuilding domain capabilities, & GenAI-led consulting

#6 While EBIT margin have sharply improved to 17.5 percent

#7 Wipro remains confident of maintaining them in a tight band

#8 Wipro is committed to returning at least 70 percent of PAT to shareholders

#9 Over a block of three years that keeps room for largely tuck-in acquisitions

AstraZeneca Pharma India has received permission from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, Directorate General of Health Services, Government of India to import pharmaceutical formulations of new drug for sale or for distribution in Form CT-20 for Sodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate powder for oral suspension 5 g and 10 g (Lokelma).

Through this approval, Sodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate is indicated for the treatment of hyperkalaemia in adult patients.

The receipt of this permission paves way for the launch of Sodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate powder for oral suspension 5 g and 10 g (Lokelma) in India for the above specified indications, subject to the receipt of related statutory approvals, if any.

#1 Management remains constructive on demand outlook for C&W in India

#2 It sees limited impact from the new entrant

#3 With demand strong enough to even accommodate an additional player, as industry continues to grow

#4 With 75 percent of total cost being RM cost, management believes there is not much scope for any player to adopt a deep discounting strategy for gaining market share

#5 Management notes that exports outlook remains strong even in the event of additional US tariffs

#1 Despite a high base following two very strong growth years

#2 L&T was upbeat about order inflow growth prospects

#3 Company sees traction in real estate, energy and defence segments

#4 Company is defocusing domestic water segment

#5 Target price cut on back of valuation repricing of listed subsidiaries

#1 Robust sales trends for anti-IL drugs imply a strong market backdrop for Sun’s Ilumya to sustain growth

#2 While Ilumya has room to grow before its sales peak

#3 Clarity on launch time for Leqselvi is key for specialty sales trajectory

The Sensex was up 620.24 points or 0.84 percent at 74,350.47, and the Nifty was up 208.10 points or 0.93 percent at 22,545.40. About 2805 shares advanced, 787 shares declined, and 83 shares unchanged.

RailTel Corporation of India has received the work order from State Transport Authority Odisha for project Business amounting to Rs 30,26,06,124 (Including Tax).

The company received the work order from State Transport Authority Odisha for project business amounting to Rs. 2,62,33,85,540 (Including Tax).

Also, company received the work order from Border Security Force for an order amounting to Rs 19,08,82,886 (Including Tax).

#1 Recent management interaction suggests utilisation for LCVs/ SCVs is slowly improving growth in non-auto business should stay strong

#2 We see loan growth holding up at 23 percent in FY26

#3 NIM should improve on better auto yields & rate cut gains

#4 Auto loan stress should ease in Q4

#5 Unwinding of partnership book should lower credit cost in FY26

#6 We expect EPS to grow at 29 percent CAGR & ROE to improve over FY25-27

The Sensex was up 481.31 points or 0.65 percent at 74,211.54, and the Nifty was up 172.05 points or 0.77 percent at 22,509.35. About 2804 shares advanced, 760 shares declined, and 89 shares unchanged.

#1 PFC/REC have declined in past few months which is due to weak PSU sentiment

#2 Believe concerns like a decline in growth, increasing competitive intensity & soft power demand are overblown

#3 Maintain outperform; REC – target price Rs 700 & PFC target price Rs 680

#4 Structural story remains intact - lower credit risk, strong ROEs & valuations remain inexpensive

The company has acquired the Building along with leasehold land situated at 81A and 82C, Devas Industrial Area - I, M B Road, Devas (M.P.) for expansion of its manufacturing business of Aluminium Extrusion & value added services.

#1 Improving liquidity & easing regulatory challenges are positives

#2 Elevated competitive intensity & structural changes to liquidity requirements & certain profit pools will weigh on profitability

#3 Large private banks are best placed – ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, & Axis Bank

#4 Moved Bank Of Baroda to underweight

#1 Free cash flow set to surge for Bharti Airtel & Jio with rising mobile ARPU

#2 Growth in home broadband subscribers & more importantly, declining network capex intensity

#3 With no spectrum renewals over next five years

#4 Reiterate buy on Bharti Airtel, target price Rs 1,985

#5 Reduce on Vodafone Idea, target price Rs 6.5

Proximus Global, the leading global digital communications company combining the strengths of BICS, Telesign, and Route Mobile, will partner with Nokia to explore opportunities that utilize their respective strengths in network API solutions. This partnership aims to support developers in creating new applications for enterprises, including financial services and healthcare.

The company has entered into an agreement with Tech Mahindra. Tech Mahindra will utilize Zaggle’s spend management dashboard, Zatix, for improved visibility on their corporate and purchase card spends, issued in partnership with SBI Cards.

#1 Deterioration in operating metrics priced-in; positive catalysts missing

#2 Retail health growth optically lower; group health run-down begins

#3 Combined ratio to remain elevated post change in accounting norm

#4 Cut premium forecasts by 6 percent to 8 percent for FY25/FY26 & reduce profit forecasts by 18 percent to 20 percent respectively for FY25/FY26

The company's subsidiary, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) (DCBL), has entered into a Share Subscription and Shareholders’ Agreement to acquire a 34.52% shareholding in Kilavikulam Rajalakshmi Solar Power Developer, for Rs 3 crore in one or more tranches. The acquired capacity is up to 10 MW in Tamil Nadu, with the transaction expected to be completed within 2 months.

#1 Real estate stocks have underperformed Nifty on multiple macro worries

#2 Risk of missing guidance: think it’s beta

#3 3Q/9MFY25 performance, existing balance sheets, launch pipelines, unsold inventory gives fewer reasons to be fearful

#4 Maintain buys but reduce target price on expectation of potential peaking of residential cycle which will lower NAV accretion

In November 2024, Mahesh Chhabria had announced his early retirement as the Managing Director of the company, effective March 31, 2025.

On March 5, 2025, Mahesh Chhabria also announced his resignation from the Board of the company as Director, effective March 31, 2025.

MosChip Technologies announces the launch of MosChip DigitalSky GenAIoT, a comprehensive digital soluƟons suite designed to accelerate the development of next-gen connected and intelligent products.

Greaves Electric Mobility (GEML), the electric mobility arm of Greaves Cotton, has partnered with Indofast Energy, a 50-50 joint

venture between Indian Oil and SUN Mobility to enhance last-mile transportation for B2B fleets and ride-sharing services by aiming to offer innovative, efficient and tailored e-2W and energy solutions that meet the industry’s evolving needs.

Mistral Solutions (Mistral) a subsidiary of AXISCADES Technologies announced a strategic partnership with Altera (an Intel Company) to advance high-performance computing solutions for mission-critical defense applications.

Verso Altima India, a subsidiary of Adroit Infotech, bags order worth Rs. 2.10 crores from PT Supra Primatama Nusantara for SAP BRIM – Managed Services

The digital product engineering company has launched its IoT Smart C2C Connector. Built on Amazon Web Services (AWS), the IoT Smart C2C Connector addresses challenges faced by service providers in managing and integrating a diverse range of smart home devices.

The Board meeting is scheduled for March 10 to consider raising funds through the issue of listed non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis.

The Board has appointed Nishant Saigal as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company, effective April 14, 2025. However, Sandeep Jain has resigned as the Chief Financial Officer due to health reasons.

Kalyani Powertrain, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharat Forge, entered into a Technology licensing agreement with COMPAL ELECTRONICS, INC for manufacturing of X86 platform Servers in India.

The Sensex was up 81.97 points or 0.11 percent at 73,812.20, and the Nifty was up 32.80 points or 0.15 percent at 22,370.10. About 2706 shares advanced, 695 shares declined, and 95 shares unchanged.

Bandhan Mutual Fund acquired an additional 1.23% stake in the company at an average price of Rs 81 per share, amounting to Rs 48.69 crore.

However, Goldman Sachs Funds – Goldman Sachs India Equity Portfolio exited Sterlite by selling its entire 2.13% shareholding at a price of Rs 81.04 per share, valued at Rs 84.09 crore.

Cofipalux Invest S.A. sold 10.2 lakh shares in the company at an average price of Rs 130.5 per share, and 2.43 lakh shares at an average price of Rs 135.93 per share. In total, Cofipalux Invest offloaded a 3.69% stake.

Multitude Growth Funds acquired 9.91 lakh shares in the company at an average price of Rs 11.3 per share.

#1 NSE expiry day change negative for BSE options market share

#2 This change in expiry day would matter the most for weekly option contract expiries

#3 From Jan 1, 2025, when NSE changed the expiry day to Thursday & BSE was on Tuesday

#4 BSE witnessed share gain from 16 percent during the month of Dec’24 within index options premium, to 20 percent/22 percent during Jan’25/Feb’25

#5 Had anticipated more relative liquidity build-up in BSE’s contracts

#6 Not expecting any change in expiry days, & had forecasted a rise in BSE market share to 0.30 percent by Oct’25

#7 This matters as BSE sourced 50 percent of top-line from options trading

#1 Reliance Industries’ underperformance to Nifty is due to a slowdown in retail & subdued earnings in O2C

#2 Pessimism seems extreme with current market cap implying USD 48 billion EV for retail versus USD 106 billion in last funding round

#3 Combination of SSG growth & area addition should restore 15 percent growth in retail in FY26

#4 A tariff hike, likely listing of Jio & improvement in O2C profitability are other potential triggers

Envestcom Holding RSC acquired a 0.73% stake in the company at an average price of Rs 2,168.1 per share, valued at Rs 1,831.82 crore.

Abu Dhabi-based IHC Capital Holding, through its subsidiaries Green Energy Investment Holding RSC and Green Vitality RSC, sold the same stake of 0.73% at the same price.

The company, through its group companies, has entered into a strategic collaboration with one of its global customers to provide EPC services.

The EPC services comprise process design and know-how, procurement, engineering and construction, and commissioning of their performance surfactants and specialty ingredients plant at an overseas location. The company is also in advanced stages of discussions to enhance this collaboration post-commissioning of the plant.

The Board has approved a borrowing budget of up to Rs 1,22,500 crore for the financial year 2025-2026 through loans and/or the issue of redeemable non-convertible debentures.

The share price extends gain on third consecutive session.

The technology services and consulting company launched TelcoAI360 to transform operations for telcos by leveraging AI. The AI-first Managed Services platform will empower telcos to roll out differentiated technology solutions at scale and speed, while delivering a better customer experience at a fraction of the cost.

The Sensex was down 108.17 points or 0.15 percent at 73,622.06, and the Nifty was down 25.05 points or 0.11 percent at 22,312.25. About 2480 shares advanced, 731 shares declined, and 103 shares unchanged.

#1 Overall loan portfolio growth partially offset by lower growth in Karnataka

#2 Collection efficiency (ex-Karnataka) at over 99.5% in Feb-25

#3 Collection efficiency in Karnataka At 95.1% in early Feb & 98% by last week

Gold inched up on Thursday, helped by a pullback in the U.S. dollar, while investors awaited U.S. non-farm payrolls data due later this week to assess the Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory as global trade tensions escalated.

Spot gold firmed 0.1% to $2,922.86 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures added 0.2% to $2,931.60.