Closing Bell: Sensex up 341 pts, Nifty above 22,500; metal, pharma, auto shine

Indian equity indices ended on strong note with Nifty above 22,500 on March 17. At close, the Sensex was up 341.04 points or 0.46 percent at 74,169.95, and the Nifty was up 111.55 points or 0.50 percent at 22,508.75.

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.

Nifty mostly remained sideways before closing with a gain. On the hourly chart, the index has given a symmetrical triangle breakout, indicating positivity in the short term. The index might move towards 22,670/22,880 in the near term. On the lower end, support is placed at 22,350, below which the index might see some weakness.

Markets started the week on a positive note, gaining nearly half a percent as the consolidation phase continued. Strong global cues, along with buying interest in select heavyweights, particularly from the banking and financial sectors, led to a firm start, followed by a range-bound session. By the close, the Nifty index settled at 22,508.75, up 0.50%.

Among sectors, pharma, financials, and auto emerged as the top gainers, while realty and FMCG remained subdued. The broader indices also edged higher, posting gains of nearly half a percent each.

Markets are now looking for a decisive trigger to surpass the key hurdle of the 20-day exponential moving average (DEMA) near 22,600 and end the prevailing consolidation phase. While the strength in banking and financial majors continues to support sentiment, the underperformance of other heavyweight sectors is limiting the upside. We maintain our view of focusing on stock selection based on relative strength amid consolidation and waiting for further clarity.

Today, the Indian stock market closed on a positive note, with the BSE Sensex ending at approximately 74,189, up by about 341 points, and the Nifty50 closing at around 22,508, gaining 111 points. This uptrend was supported by a rebound in global markets and positive domestic macroeconomic indicators, such as a GDP growth rate of 6.2% for Q3 FY25 and a decline in February CPI inflation to 3.61%.

Sector-wise, Nifty Pharma and Healthcare led the gains with a 1.56% increase, followed by Nifty Metal. However, IT stocks like Infosys and Wipro remained under pressure, falling by 6% and 7% respectively over the past week.

The market's near-term trend is expected to remain stable with a positive bias, though global uncertainties and trade tensions could impact sentiment. Key stocks like IndusInd Bank and Apollo Hospitals were in focus, with IndusInd Bank recovering some ground after a significant drop earlier in the week.

Despite a small hiccup, markets quickly gained ground to trade in positive territory as optimism across global markets aided recovery in local indices. However, with a lot of uncertainty surrounding the impact of US tariff policies on key economies, including India, investors would be watchful of the global events before taking any call.

The market experienced a rangebound session after a strong opening, with the Index ultimately closing at 22,508.75 with gains of 111.55 points. The Pharma and Auto sectors were the top performers, while Media and Realty lagged. Mid and Smallcaps followed a similar pattern to the Frontline Index.

On the daily chart, the Nifty50 formed a bullish marubozu candlestick pattern, indicating a continuation of the current trend. However, the upside appears to be capped at 22,620, while the downside is protected at 22,320. A breakout beyond either of these levels would provide a directional trend for the market.

The national market experienced a positive trading session, driven by strong performance in the healthcare and financial sectors. However, lower participation from domestic investors due to tariff-related uncertainties may cause the market to fluctuate within a range in the near term.

A decisive momentum will depend on signs of earnings growth, while improving domestic economic indicators suggest a potential recovery.

Investors are closely monitoring the upcoming FED and BOJ meetings, with expectations leaning towards maintaining the current stance due to inflation risks associated with tariff uncertainties.

Indian rupee ended 21 paise higher at 86.79 per dollar on Monday versus Thursday's close of 87.

Indian equity indices ended on strong note with Nifty above 22,500 on March 17.

At close, the Sensex was up 341.04 points or 0.46 percent at 74,169.95, and the Nifty was up 111.55 points or 0.50 percent at 22,508.75. About 1541 shares advanced, 2403 shares declined, and 115 shares unchanged.

On the sectoral front, auto, bank, metal, power, pharma rose 0.5-1.5 percent, while realty, media were down 0.5 percent each.

BSE Midcap index up 0.7 percent and smallcap index ended on flat note.

Bajaj Finserv, SBI Life Insurance, Dr Reddy's Labs, Trent, Axis Bank were among the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers included Britannia, Hero MotoCorp, Wipro, BPCL, ITC.

#1 Indus Towers is now accounted in Bharti Airtel consolidated finance as arm instead of as an associate

#2 Forecast EBITDA to expand from USD 6.8 bn in FY25 to USD 9 bn in FY28

#3 Primarily on an average 10 percent ARPU increase & 200 bps margin expansion in the same period

#4 Cut FY25E/26E/27E EPS estimate by 3.6 percent/42.2 percent/28.3 percent respectively

#5 EPS estimate cut driven by Indus consolidation

#6 Catalysts: tariff hike, stronger dividend payout

#1 MFI asset quality trends remain volatile but have improved so far this month

#2 Bank expects credit costs to peak in Q4FY25/Q1FY26

#3 Management guided for deposit growth of 24 percent-25 percent YoY

#4 Loan growth could moderate a bit, as guided earlier

#5 Bank expects MFI loan mix to continue to move lower over FY26 margin

#6 Management said margins could moderate in near term

#7 See continued moderation in MFI loan book and potential increase in wholesale loan book

#1 Investor discussions on company have referred to concerns on weak power demand, lower merchant prices

#2 Rising net debt: EBITDA post acquisitions

#3 Address each of these below & have factored O2 & KSK Mahanadi acquisitions

#4 Value-accretive acquisitions given the sub 10x EV/EBITDA purchase value

#5 Valuing it at 15x EV/EBITDA FY27, lower end of 15-20x range

Blackstone has launched an open offer to acquire up to 26 per cent stake in Pune-based realty firm Kolte-Patil Developers from public shareholders for Rs 758.56 crore.

#1 Recovery in domestic SCV business, reduction in discounts & warranty costs in JLR are triggers for margin expansion

#2 JLR achieving its guidance in Q4 is a re-rating trigger

#3 New launches in domestic PV market should help its market share

#4 Valuation de-rating in last 2-3 quarters – now looks reasonable

#5 JLR is now trading at 1.8x FY26 EV/EBITDA, at the lower end of the historical average

The Sensex was up 343.91 points or 0.47 percent at 74,172.82, and the Nifty was up 112.35 points or 0.50 percent at 22,509.55. About 1489 shares advanced, 2199 shares declined, and 105 shares unchanged.

#1 Has a power portfolio totaling 11.6 GW, making it the largest renewable energy company in India

#2 Increased renewable energy capacity is at the core of countries goal

#3 Believe this makes for a compelling investment case for company

#1 Exports down 11% at USD 36.91 billion Vs USD 41.41 billion, YoY

#2 Imports down 16% at USD 50.96 billion Vs USD 60.92 billion, YoY)

Royal Orchid Hotels (ROHL) has launched two new properties under Regenta brand in the coastal town of Colva, Goa bringing the total number of ROHL properties in the city to six.

The board of directors on 17th March, 2025 have approved the sale of remaining Phase 1 and Phase 2 of lands situated at Aralvaimozhi Village,Thovalai Taluk, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu to Annai Group and its Directors/Promoters.

#1 Integrated model & healthy track record differentiates company from peers

#2 Favourable industry dynamics, healthy molecule pipeline

#3 Adequate capacities should drive revenue/EBITDA CAGR of 15 percent/29 percent over FY25-27

#4 However, Sai trades at punchy valuation of 32x/26x FY26/27 pre-industry

#5 EV-EBITDA is at a 30 percent premium to peers, see limited upside

Options trading data reflected the bullish sentiment, with call contracts seeing significant demand. Around 43,800 Muthoot call options were traded, the highest volume in over a month and well above the 20-day average of 12,600 contracts.

The shares of Reliance Industries declined as much as a percent at intraday.

Zota Health Care announced a significant milestone in the growth of its Davaindia network, with the total number of operational stores increasing to 1,530 as of 17th March, 2025 with the blend of 805 Company Owned Company Operated (COCO) stores

and 725 Franchisee Owned Franchisee Operated (FOFO) stores, up from 1,413 as on 28th January, 2025.

The Sensex was up 335.52 points or 0.45 percent at 74,164.43, and the Nifty was up 109.65 points or 0.49 percent at 22,506.85. About 1549 shares advanced, 2106 shares declined, and 105 shares unchanged.

Adar Poonawalla-owned Sanoti Properties has decided to sell its stake in its insurance subsidiary, Magma General Insurance, to Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved and DS Group, for Rs 4,500 crore. Patanjali Ayurved is one of the promoters of Patanjali Foods.

The Board has approved and declared an interim dividend of Rs 18 per equity share for FY25. The record date for the payment of this interim dividend is set as March 20.

#1 India's solar installations are set to grow at 24 percent CAGR over FY24-30

#2 Govenment policy favouring domestic modules & US policy shunning Chinese modules

#3 Created attractive economics for Waaree (aided by backward integration)

#4 See tide turning by late-2027 as India goes into oversupply & US nears self-sufficiency

#5 Value company on normalised profits

#6 Stronger solar installation/policy changes are upside/downside risks

Qualcomm Ventures LLC is set to acquire a shareholding worth up to 10 million euros in the Qorix GmbH joint venture. Qualcomm will be the third shareholder in Qorix GmbH, alongside KPIT and ZF.

The company has received Rs 123.45 crore from the Department of Telecommunications as an incentive for FY24 under the PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme for telecom and networking products.

The company has withdrawn its proposal for the acquisition of a 51% equity stake in Solitude Flame, leading to the termination of the share swap agreement. The termination of this proposal will not have any material adverse financial or operational impact on the company.

#1 Company has evolved into a diversified consumer franchise

#2 Company is scaling up organically & via acquisition of margin-accretive portfolios from parent

#3 Higher-margin foods & HPC is now 60 percent of EBITDA & >70 percent of SoTP value

#4 Expect company to deliver near-double digit top-line growth, along with margin expansion

In a groundbreaking step towards accelerating Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 adoption in India, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), Volvo Group, and Bharti Airtel today announced their research partnership to explore the potential of Extended Reality (XR) ,Digital Twin technologies and AI in the manufacturing sector.

A seasonal drop in food prices, specifically prices of vegetables and pulses, has resulted in moderation of WPI to food index from 7.47% in January 2025 to 5.94% in February 2025. Overall, wholesale inflation has marginally increased on the account of the rise in rate of manufactured products to 2.86% in February 2025 from 2.51% in January 2025.

Manufacturing inflation needs to be watched, particularly in context of the rupee depreciation. A steady currency will enable more predictability around inflation even as we expect a near-normal monsoon.

The Sensex was up 242.45 points or 0.33 percent at 74,071.36, and the Nifty was up 74.35 points or 0.33 percent at 22,471.55. About 1522 shares advanced, 2092 shares declined, and 116 shares unchanged.

#1 Two key trends are improving for sector

#2 Demand uptick from Dec’24 onwards led by revival of govt capex

#3 Industry nearing end of massive consolidation period witnessed over FY23- 25

#4 End Of consolidation period due to dearth of acquisition candidates

#5 These trends should tone down competitive intensity

#6 These trends should drive mean reversion of sector profitability

The company has launched its residential project – Ebony at Brigade Orchards in Devanahalli, with a revenue potential of over Rs 380 crore, and another residential project – Brigade Eternia in Yelahanka, with a revenue potential of over Rs 2,700 crore.

#1 Company will increase value addition in mobile & EMS segment from next year

#2 Incorporate them into numbers raising estimates slightly

#3 Margin benefit, is offset by loss in PLI benefit for mobile phone segment (ending in FY26)

#4 See limited potential for company to surprise on already optimistic-looking estimate

Ramco Systems will implement its next-gen Aviation Software at Indamer Technics Pvt. Ltd., a leading Indian aviation services company, designing and delivering technical, operational and financial solutions to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of the Indian commercial aviation and government sectors.

Kiddopia, the award-winning early learning app, has teamed up with Hasbro, a leading games, IP and toy company, to bring the beloved PJ Masks characters to its immersive digital platform.

Shri Vikas Kaushal has been appointed on the board of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation as Chairman and Managing Director (C&MD) at the board meeting held today.

The Board has appointed Nikhil Arora as Chief Financial Officer of the company, effective May 5, and Jayanand Vasudeorao Kaginalkar as an Additional Director of the company, categorized as Executive Director, effective April 1.

The company has acquired 27,228 equity shares worth Rs 2.95 crore in Central Depository Services, and 1,29,685 equity shares worth Rs 2.65 crore in La Opala RG for investment purposes.

The Board will meet on March 19 to declare the third interim dividend for FY25. The record date for the dividend, if declared, will be March 25.

#1 Sector is turning the corner

#2 Upgrade Ambuja Cement to buy, target Rs 555

#3 Post sharp correction, valuations have turned favorable with downside protection

#4 Retain buy call on Ramco Cements (target: Rs 905)

#5 5 Neutral call on Dalmia Bharat, target Rs 1,750, Nuvoco with target Rs 320 & ACC with target Rs 2,010

Manba Finance announced forming a strategic alliance  with BGauss Auto, Fin Coopers Capital, and ProsParity to drive India’s shift towards sustainable mobility and empower the aspirations of customers across the country.

Cosmo Specialty Chemicals, a 100% subsidiary of Cosmo First, has announced the launch of its innovative COSEAL-601 heat seal coating solution.

The share price rises on second consecutive session.

The company has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture Eluxadoline tablets, which are available in 75 mg and 100 mg strengths. Eluxadoline is a mu-opioid receptor agonist indicated for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) in adults.

Key listed companies associated with palm oil imports in India include Adani Wilmar, Cargill India, Bunge India, Marico and K.S. Oils

India expected to take more soyabean oil than palm due to comparatively cheaper prices

The Board has appointed K V Sridhar as the Chief Financial Officer of the company, effective April 1, 2025, upon the superannuation of Jitender Pal Verma. Additionally, the Board has approved the transfer of overseas branches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to the company’s subsidiary, Universal MEP Contracting LLC, Dubai, UAE, for Rs 45-70 crore.

The company announced its intention to appoint Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP as statutory auditors, effective FY28, subject to the completion of all regulatory compliances. BSR & Co LLP, the current statutory auditors, will continue to audit Tata Motors until FY27.

Kolte-Patil Developers has forged a transformative strategic partnership with global investment giant Blackstone. This partnership is a pivotal milestone in KPDL’s growth trajectory, positioning the company to leverage Blackstone’s global expertise and financial strength to accelerate expansion, drive innovation, and reinforce its leadership in the dynamic Indian real estate sector.

The company has received an order worth Rs 298 crore for the supply of seamless pipes for the oil & gas sector.