Closing Bell: Nifty below 22,500, Sensex down 217 pts; mid, smallcaps drag

Indian equity indices closed on a negative note with Nifty below 22,500 on March 10. At close, the Sensex was down 217.41 points or 0.29 percent at 74,115.17, and the Nifty was down 92.20 points or 0.41 percent at 22,460.30.

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.

The Nifty opened on a flat note and witnessed a volatile day of trade. It witnessed swings in both directions and ultimately closed in the red down ~92 points. On the daily charts, we can observe that the Nifty is now in the process of retracing the rise it has witnessed from the 21964 – 22677. It can drift towards 22405 – 22320 which are the 38.2% and 50% Fibonacci retracement levels of the recent rise.

Daily momentum indicators have a positive crossover which is a buy signal and hence this dip towards the support zone should be considered as a buying interest. On the upside, we expect 22800 – 23000. Crucial support 22250- 22230.

Today, the Indian stock market closed on a negative note, with the BSE Sensex down by 217 points to 74,115 and the Nifty 50 declining by 92 points to 22,460. Despite opening flat earlier in the day, both indices succumbed to selling pressure, particularly in mid and small-cap stocks. Among sectors, Nifty FMCG was the best performer with a modest gain of 0.22%, while Nifty PSU Bank was the worst, falling by 1.86.

The market sentiment was influenced by global factors such as US growth concerns and China's negative inflation, which led to a decline in Asian equities. Additionally, oil prices fell due to worries about US import tariffs affecting global economic.

The Nifty remained volatile throughout the day, finding resistance at the 21 EMA on the daily chart, which led to a decline towards 22,400. Going forward, 22,400 might continue to act as crucial support, and sentiment is unlikely to weaken unless Nifty falls below this level.

On the higher end, resistance is placed at 22,750, above which the bulls might gain increased strength. The overall large-cap sentiment could also strengthen if Nifty moves above 22,750.

Markets were choppy as key benchmarks slipped into the red towards the closing stages with broader markets, particularly mid and small-cap stocks boring the brunt. With rupee depreciating sharply and foreign fund outflows showing no signs of cooling off, markets may continue to exhibit volatility.

Global headwinds continue to drag the market sentiment, with the rise in US unemployment rates and tariffs leading to uncertainty, indicating that volatility is here to stay for the near term.

The domestic macros are favouring investors to start accumulating the beaten-down stocks with caution in the short term, while the long term appears attractive. A slew of economic indicators this week, US and India CPI data, will be keenly watched by investors for any ease in the current volatility.

The market initially saw an upward movement led by heavyweights, pushing the Index higher. However, it struggled to sustain its gains and faced difficulty overcoming the resistance level of 22,620. In the second half of the trading session, a sharp decline in the Mid and Smallcap segments weighed heavily on the Index, leading it to close the day with a loss of 92.20 points at 22,460.30.

Barring the FMCG sector, all the other sectors ended in the red, with Realty and PSU Banking being the main laggards. The Broader markets significantly underperformed the Benchmark Index, as the Mid and Smallcap stocks corrected by over 1.50%.

Moving forward, for a trend reversal to occur, bulls need to break through the stiff resistance zone of 22,620-22,730. On the downside, a close below 22,330 could trigger a further decline, potentially retesting the previous swing low of 21,960.

Indian rupee ended 45 paise lower at 87.33 per dollar on Monday versus Friday's close of 86.88.

Indian equity indices closed on a negative note with Nifty below 22,500 on March 10.

At close, the Sensex was down 217.41 points or 0.29 percent at 74,115.17, and the Nifty was down 92.20 points or 0.41 percent at 22,460.30. About 1147 shares advanced, 2776 shares declined, and 140 shares unchanged.

IndusInd Bank, Trent, ONGC, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto were among major losers on the Nifty, while gainers included Power Grid Corp, HUL, Infosys, SBI Life, Nestle India.

BSE Midcap index was down 1.5 percent, and smallcap index was down 2.1 percent.

Among sectors, except FMCG, all other indices ended in the red with auto, Consumer Durables, Metal, Capital Goods, Oil & Gas, realty, PSU Bank down 1-2 percent.

The USFDA conducted a scheduled inspection at the company’s bioequivalence facility in Vadodara from March 3-7. The USFDA issued a Form 483 with one procedural observation. The company will provide a comprehensive response within the stipulated period.

#1 Approval for 1-year term to the CEO could drive company to start a succession process

#2 We think deputy CEO & CFO Arun Khurana could be the front-runner for CEO post

#3 With valuation attractive at 1x FY26e PB, we maintain buy

#1 Demand revival across key verticals & geographies is intact

#2 Will be a big beneficiary of democratisation of AI in mid to long term

#3 Weak Q4 seasonality priced in, demand resilience is intact

#4 Tariff-related uncertainty could lead to wider growth guidance for FY26

#5 Valuation more palatable given cyclical/structural tailwinds ahead

#1 Rising electronics manufacturing has opened new growth opportunity

#2 Samvardhana Motherson has started mobile glass manufacturing

#3 Bharat Forge has tied up with AMD & Compal for servers

#4 Electronics expansion may lift growth outlook & multiples

#5 Motherson has formed JV with HK-based Crystan, an Apple supplier

The Sensex was down 191.01 points or 0.26 percent at 74,141.57, and the Nifty was down 95.50 points or 0.42 percent at 22,457.00. About 1045 shares advanced, 2679 shares declined, and 120 shares unchanged.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. entered into an agreement by which Sun Pharma will acquire Checkpoint, an immunotherapy and targeted oncology company.

Checkpoint is a Nasdaq-listed commercial-stage company focused on developing novel treatments for patients with solid tumor cancers.

Checkpoint has received approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for UNLOXCYT (cosibelimab-ipdl) for the treatment of adults with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) or locally advanced cSCC who are not candidates for curative surgery or curative radiation.

The Board of Directors, in their meeting held on March 10, 2025, considered and approved declaration of Second Interim Dividend of Rs 1.05 per equity  share, i.e. at 10.50% (subject to deduction of TDS) on the face value of Rs 10 each, for the Financial Year 2024-25 and fixed Friday, 14th March, 2025 as Record date for determining the eligibility of shareholders for payment of Interim Dividend.

The company's subsidiary, HTL, has received a contract worth Rs 44.36 crore from the Indian Army for the supply of tactical optical fiber cable assemblies.

Bodal Chemicals stock surged 18 percent early on trade on Monday, March 10, following government's imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports of Trichloro Isocyanuric Acid (TCCA). Government of India recommended anti-dumping duty to be imposed on imports of Trichloro Isocyanuric Acid (falling under tariff items 2933 69 10 or 2933 69 90 of the First Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975) originating in or exported from China and Japan.

Bodal Chemicals recently begun its production of TCCA at its Unit 11 in Khambhat, becoming the sole Indian producer of TCCA. This will benefit the company by bringing in additional Rs 10 crore per annum in its total turnover, from FY 2026 onward. Thus, increasing bottom line of the company.

The company has received a work order worth Rs 28.29 crore from Northern Railway. The order involves indoor and outdoor double distant signaling work. Meanwhile, the board will consider a second interim dividend for FY25 on March 12. Additionally, the company has received another work order worth Rs 47.50 crore from East Central Railway.

The gaming and sports media platform has divested its 94.85% stake in OpenPlay Technologies to Moonshine Technology for Rs 104.33 crore. The transaction will be executed through the issuance of Moonshine’s compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS) to Nazara and other sellers.

OpenPlay Technologies runs the popular rummy platform, Classic Rummy, while Moonshine is the parent company of India’s biggest poker platform, PokerBaazi.

The company has received an offer letter from Maharashtra Industrial Township (MITL), offering 26.39 acres of land in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra, for Rs 37.60 crore for future expansion.

The Sensex was up 80.66 points or 0.11 percent at 74,413.24, and the Nifty was down 1.75 points or 0.01 percent at 22,550.75. About 1189 shares advanced, 2475 shares declined, and 139 shares unchanged.

The company reported consolidated crude steel production for February 2025 at 24.07 lakh tonnes, growing 12% over 21.50 lakh tonnes in the same month last year. Capacity utilization at Indian operations stood at 93.5% for February.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) conducted an inspection at Unit-1 of the company's subsidiary, Shilpa Pharma Lifesciences, at Raichur from March 3-7, 2025. Post-inspection, the company received one observation in Form 483, which is procedural in nature.

The company's subsidiary, Tata Power Renewable Energy, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to develop up to 7,000 MW of renewable energy projects, including solar, wind, and hybrid projects with or without storage solutions. The estimated investment in these projects stands at up to Rs 49,000 crore.

The board has approved an interim dividend of Rs 12.50 per equity share for FY25 and the proposal for divestment of a 100% equity stake in the company's wholly owned subsidiary, GR Galgalia Bahadurganj Highway (GGBHPL).

CONCOR has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) for setting up a Centre of Excellence (COE) for green and sustainable logistics at TERI.

The pharma major has launched Rivaroxaban tablets (USP, 2.5 mg) in the United States after final approval of its Abbreviated New Drug Application from the US FDA. The drug is bioequivalent to Xarelto tablets by Janssen Pharmaceuticals and is used to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease and thrombotic vascular events in patients with peripheral artery disease.

The USFDA conducted a scheduled inspection at the company’s bioequivalence facility in Vadodara from March 3-7. The USFDA issued a Form 483 with one procedural observation. The company will provide a comprehensive response within the stipulated period.

Cyient announced the appointment of K. A. Prabhakaran as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of its DET business.

Stainless steel sales grew by 110% YoY to 8,552 MT in February 2025, while stainless steel average realizations increased 10% YoY to Rs 1.29 lakh per MT.

The real estate developer's subsidiary Omaxe World Street has launched New Singapore in Faridabad, with a project value of Rs 600 crore.

#1 One-year extension for the CEO signals RBI’s discomfort

#2 Uncertainty w.r.t continuity of current CEO beyond 1 year will be a concern

#3 It could be inferred that RBI is allowing more time to explore alternatives

#1 Demand revival across key verticals & geographies is intact

#2 Will be a big beneficiary of democratisation of AI in mid to long term

#3 Weak Q4 seasonality priced in, demand resilience is intact

#4 Tariff-related uncertainty could lead to wider growth guidance for FY26

#5 Valuation more palatable given cyclical/structural tailwinds ahead

The board has approved the allotment of 36.42 lakh equity shares at an issue price of Rs 1,400 per rights equity share to eligible equity shareholders or applicants.

Godrej Consumer Products has inaugurated the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and began commercial production at its newly set-up factory at Chengalpattu, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, focused on the production of Home and Personal Care Products.

Mphasis today announced a strategic partnership with SecPod a SaaS-based cybersecurity products and technology company.

As a part of this partnership, Mphasis will offer disruptive vulnerability management services for its clients through SecPod’s SanerNow CVEM platform.

The Sensex was up 237.40 points or 0.32 percent at 74,569.98, and the Nifty was up 60.90 points or 0.27 percent at 22,613.40. About 1459 shares advanced, 2117 shares declined, and 161 shares unchanged.

Toll collections in February grew by 14.4% to Rs 528.7 crore, compared to Rs 462.2 crore in the same month last year. Further, the per-day toll revenue for February 2025 increased 18% YoY to Rs 18.9 crore per day, compared to Rs 15.9 crore per day.

The company has received permission from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation to import, sell, and distribute Durvalumab solution.

Durvalumab is indicated for the treatment of patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). The approval paves the way for the marketing of Durvalumab solution for infusion 120 mg/2.4 ml and 500 mg/10 ml (Imfinzi) in India.

The company has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, for establishing a Centre of Clean Coal Energy and Net Zero (CLEANZ) at Hyderabad.

The board has approved the sale of the company's fuel stations in Indore and Bengaluru for Rs 7.5 crore.

The Sensex was up 289.74 points or 0.39 percent at 74,622.32, and the Nifty was up 77.85 points or 0.35 percent at 22,630.35. About 1572 shares advanced, 1936 shares declined, and 142 shares unchanged.

#1 Vodafone Idea’s last day to deposit Rs 6,090 crore bank guarantee, is today

#2 Vodafone Idea needs to submit bank guarantee for spectrum acquired after 2015

Hong Kong and China stocks lead Asian markets lower as concern mounts about the pace of growth in the mainland and the outlook for the US economy.

The company's production in February 2025 grew by 10.4% year-on-year to 81,302 units, while sales increased by 13% to 80,641 units, and export sales jumped 99% to 3,061 units during the same period.

The High Court of Delhi has upheld an interim award in favour of BHEL amounting to Rs 115 crore with interest at 18% per annum, effective 30 days from the date of the award (July 27, 2017), against RattanIndia Power.

The pharma major has launched Rivaroxaban tablets (USP, 2.5 mg) in the United States after final approval of its Abbreviated New Drug Application from the US FDA.

The drug is bioequivalent to Xarelto tablets by Janssen Pharmaceuticals and is used to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease and thrombotic vascular events in patients with peripheral artery disease.

The USFDA conducted a scheduled inspection at the company’s bioequivalence facility in Vadodara from March 3-7. The USFDA issued a Form 483 with one procedural observation. The company will provide a comprehensive response within the stipulated period.

#1 Approval for 1-year term to the CEO could drive company to start a succession process

#2 We think deputy CEO & CFO Arun Khurana could be the front-runner for CEO post

#3 With valuation attractive at 1x FY26e PB, we maintain buy