Closing Bell: Nifty around 22,050, Sensex up 105 pts; auto, metal, realty gain

Indian benchmark indices ended on a positive note in the volatile session on March 18 with Nifty around 22,050. At close, the Sensex was up 104.99 points or 0.14 percent at 72,748.42, and the Nifty was up 32.40 points or 0.15 percent at 22,055.70.

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.

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.

The Nifty opened on a weak note, however it recovered during the day to close with gains of 32 points. During the day, Nifty has managed to hold on to the support zone of 21900 – 21850 where support parameters in the form the 40-day average and the previous swing low is placed. It is still trading in the range 21900 – 22200 since the last three trading sessions and a decisive breach shall lead to trending moves in that direction. So, until the support zone is held, we can expect the positive momentum to resume. In terms of levels, 22215 – 22250 is the immediate hurdle zone while 21900 – 21860 is the crucial support.

Bank Nifty closed the day on a negative note for the seventh consecutive trading session. It has however recovered sharply from the intraday lows (46022). It has in the process held on to the 20-week average which is currently at 46300. We expect the Bank Nifty to recover, and, on the upside, it can rise to 47230 – 47400.

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.

Rupee traded with minor weakness of 0.04rs but the trend remains positive for rupee as 83.00-83.10 remains stiff resistance. As we approach the important Federal Reserve policy meeting, USD/INR is expected to remain fairly stable, with prices likely to fluctuate between 82.65 and 83.15. Any uptick in the exchange rate towards 83.15 may encounter selling pressure.

The morning trade was dominated by the bears and the Index almost tested its strong support of 21,900 followed by a swift recovery under the leadership of Metal, Auto, and selected heavyweights which helped the Index reclaim 22,000.

With gains of 32.35 points, Nifty50 settled the day at 22,055.70.

After the initial fall in the morning trade; Mid and Smallcap segments remained rangebound and underperformed the Nifty50. The reading for the Index will remain the same i.e. breakout on either side giving a proper direction (Higher side 22,200 and lower side 21,900).

Indian rupee ended marginally lower at 82.91 per dollar on Monday against Friday's close of 82.88.

Indian benchmark indices ended on a positive note in the volatile session on March 18 with Nifty around 22,050.

At close, the Sensex was up 104.99 points or 0.14 percent at 72,748.42, and the Nifty was up 32.40 points or 0.15 percent at 22,055.70. About 1953 shares advanced, 1827 shares declined, and 110 shares unchanged.

Tata Steel, M&M, JSW Steel, Tata Motors and Apollo Hospitals were among the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers included Tata Consumer Products, UPL, Infosys, Adani Ports and Titan Company.

Among sectors, capital goods, healthcare, auto, realty, metal, media up 0.5-3 percent, while IT and FMCG shed 0.5-1.5 percent.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended on a flat note.

Dilip Buildcon has received the letter of acceptance (LOA) from the Water Resource Department in the state of Madhya Pradesh, District – Narsinghpur worth Rs 412.92 crore.

Sensex Today | BSE Capital Goods index up 0.7 percent led by Thermax, Timken, Sona BLW

-Upgrade Uno Minda, CIE Auto & Varroc Engineering to add from sell given recent correction
-Steady demand trends in the 2-w segment augur well for India business
-Growing premiumisation trend coupled with EV shift augur well for India business
-Expect Uno Minda to continue to outperform industry growth
-Attractive valuations drive upgrade for CIE Auto & Varroc Engineering

Yes Securities has upgraded Paytm stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ and raised the target price to Rs 505 per share from Rs 350 earlier.

Indian Rupee depreciated by 0.04% on Monday on strong US Dollar and surge in crude oil prices. However, a recovery in the domestic markets in the latter half of the day prevented a sharp fall in the Rupee. US Dollar strengthened on rising market expectations of a pushback in rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

We expect Rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on strong Dollar and some selling pressure from foreign investors. Worries over rising global crude oil prices may also weigh on the Rupee. However, a recovery in the domestic markets may support Rupee at lower levels. Investors may remain cautious ahead of US FOMC meeting this week. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 82.70 to Rs 83.10.

Sensex Today | Marke at 3 PM

The Sensex was up 224.63 points or 0.31 percent at 72,868.06, and the Nifty was up 61.70 points or 0.28 percent at 22,085.00. About 1916 shares advanced, 1533 shares declined, and 104 shares unchanged.

-Neutral call, target Rs 2,040 per share
-Deposit mobilisation remains a challenge
-Company has been calling out challenges in deposit mobilisation over past few quarters
-Bank does not see any challenges on the loan growth side
-No challenge on the loan growth side as company only 2% of system credit
-Management indicated loan growth to be 1.75-2.0x of nominal GDP growth over medium-term
-Management highlighted no asset quality concerns in the unsecured retail portfolio

Servotech Power Systems has secured a substantial contract from the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC). This contract involves Servotech supplying, commissioning, and constructing 20 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout the Nashik Municipal Corporation area.

The National Small Industries Corporation Limited has given the Letter of Acceptance worth Rs 67.5 crore for engagement of M/s RITES Limited as Quality Assurance Agency for quality inspection of 18 trades of Toolkits under PM Vishwakarma Scheme.

The dollar edged down a touch on Monday as traders looked ahead to central bank meetings this week, with the Bank of Japan potentially on the brink of ending negative rates and the market waiting for the Federal Reserve's projections for rate cuts.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six other major currencies, was last down 0.1% at 103.38. It has risen around 2% this year as the U.S. economy has fared better than expected, causing investors to rein in their bets that the Fed will cut rates quickly and deeply in 2024.

The yen has had a whirlwind few weeks, weakening to 150.88 to the dollar last month. It then rebounded to a one-month high of 146.48 at the start of March, on the back of stronger than expected economic data and rising bets that the BOJ is preparing to end eight years of negative interest rates.

Sandhar Technologies has been granted patent, by Controller of Patents, for an invention entitled “System For Controlled Actuation of Electronic Handle Lock of a Vehicle and Method Thereof for 20 years with effect from September 5, 2022.

Sensex Today | Nifty Metal index up 2.5 percent led by Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, APL Apollo

Rekha Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Baazar Style Retail has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to raise funds from public.

The initial public offer (IPO) will be a mix of fresh shares of up to Rs 185 crore and an offer-of sale (OFS) of up to 1.68 crore by the promoter group and other selling shareholders.

The OFS will consist of the sale of up to 27.2 lakh equity shares by Rekha Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, up to 22.4 lakh shares by Intensive Softshare, up to 14.9 lakh shares by Intensive Finance, up to 13.1 lakh shares by Chandurkar Investments, up to 9.19 lakh shares by Subroto Trading & Finance Company, up to 8.44 lakh shares by Rajnish Gupta, up to 6.64 lakh shares by Madhu Surana, up to 6.42 lakh shares by Sabita Agarwal, up to 6 lakh shares by Rekha Kedia, up to 6 lakh shares by Shakuntala Devi, up to 5.4 lakh shares by D.K Surana HUF.

British American Tobacco Plc. started a £1.6 billion ($2 billion) buyback program after selling part of its stake in India’s ITC Ltd. The maker of Lucky Strike cigarettes, Vuse vapes and Velo nicotine pouches said Monday that net proceeds of the ITC stake sale totaled £1.57 billion and that it will buy back as much as £1.6 billion of its own shares this year and next.

The London-listed company said it will purchase £700 million of its shares in 2024 and £900 million by the end of 2025. It still owns a 25% stake in ITC, the Indian conglomerate that’s the country’s top cigarette maker and also runs a number of other businesses including food products and packaging. Read More

YES Securities has upgraded Paytm for the first time since its listing assigning a target price of Rs 505, citing several reasons for their decision. Firstly, they note that Paytm's dependence on the Wallet business for revenue has significantly decreased to about one-sixth of its Payments revenue. Additionally, the approval from NPCI for Paytm to participate in UPI as a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) in the multi-bank model is seen as a positive that will keep Paytm's UPI business intact. The firm believes that any client loss due to reputational damage and confusion on the ground will be well contained. They also mention that although there has been a reset in loan distribution, the addition of partners will be supportive. Despite uncertainties surrounding both the Wallet and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) businesses, Yes Securities highlights Paytm's past successes as indicative of its competitive strength as an organization.

Jindal Drilling has approved to purchase jack-up rig “Jindal Pioneer” from Discovery Drilling Pte. Ltd., Singapore, (a joint venture of the Company), a related party, at a consideration of USD 75 million, subject to regulatory approvals.

Sensex Today | Market at 2 PM

The Sensex was up 198.82 points or 0.27 percent at 72,842.25, and the Nifty was up 54.50 points or 0.25 percent at 22,077.80. About 1859 shares advanced, 1563 shares declined, and 104 shares unchanged.

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail has received observation letters from BSE and National Stock Exchange of India with respect to the Scheme of Amalgamation between the company and TCNS Clothing Company. The stock exchanges have issued 'no adverse objection' and 'no objection' on the Scheme. The effectiveness of the Scheme will be subject to the approval of National Company Law Tribunal.

Dish TV India said its Board of Directors has approved the appointment of Ritu Kaura as an independent director; and Manoj Dobhal as an Executive Director of the company, with effect from March 15.

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Goldman Sachs View On Power Sector

-CERC released final tariff guidelines for FY25-29 regulatory period
-Continuity was largely maintained with the draft paper
-Regulations tilted positively especially for thermal and hydro power plants
-There are indications of system’s focus on ‘reliability’ & ‘energy security’
-Continue to like NTPC, buy call on company
-Buy call on NTPC as company will likely benefit from dual tailwinds of coal capex revival
 

The Board of Directors of Godawari Power and Ispat approved the Scheme of Amalgamation of Godawari Energy with the Company and their respective shareholders.

Sensex Today | Nifty Information Technology index down 0.5 percent dragged by Coforge, L&T Technology, Persistent Systems

Gold prices slipped on Monday as the dollar held firm and investors braced for a slew of policy decisions from major global central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve this week.

Spot gold was down 0.3% to $2,149.50 per ounce, as of 0738 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.4% to $2,153.70.

Shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) traded in the red, down more than 2 percent, on plans to raise wages by around 17 percent for its over 1.1 lakh employees.

On March 15, LIC announced that it has received approval from the government for a wage revision for its employees, effective from August 1, 2022. This announcement benefits over 110,000 employees across the organization, LIC stated.

The hike will impact LIC's bottomline, with an estimated annual implication of around Rs 4,000 crore. Once the salary additions have been implemented, the state-run insurance behemoth could see its annual wage bill balloon to more than Rs 29,000 crore.

For this fiscal year, arrears of around Rs 7,000 crore have to be included into the total wage bill, which will take the total wages paid out for FY24 to Rs 32,000 crore. Read More

Sensex Today | BSE FMCG index added 0.4 percent led by Linc, Avanti Feeds, Godfrey Phillip

Shriram Properties has received an excellent response for its recently launched project “Codename Ultimate” near Electronic City, Bengaluru. In its opening weekend, the company sold nearly 70% of its project inventory.

Sensex Today | BSE Oil & Gas index rose 0.5 percnet supported by Linde India, Gail, ONGC

Brahmaputra Infrastructure received a LOA from the office of General Manager ( Tech.) – Ne NHAI, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India for the execution of the contract for four lane divided carriageway Road with paved shoulders configuration from km. 5+500 to km. 35.862 of NH-36 and km. 00+000 to 22+000 of NH-54 including 2.107 km Doboka Bypass in the state of Assam on PBMC Mode- Letter of Acceptance (LOA)- of an total amount Rs 50.80 crores.

The Board of Directors of Transindia Real Estate at their meeting held on March 18, 2024, approved the appointment of Mr. Ram Walase as a Chief Executive Officer and Key Managerial Personnel of the Company with immediate effect.

Sensex Today | Market at 1 PM

The Sensex was up 141.29 points or 0.19 percent at 72,784.72, and the Nifty was up 36.20 points or 0.16 percent at 22,059.50. About 1776 shares advanced, 1611 shares declined, and 100 shares unchanged.

Sensex Today | Nifty Media index up 1 percent supported by Network 18 Media & Investments, TV18 Broadcast, Jagran Prakashan

China's industrial output grew 7.0% year-on-year in the January-February period, data showed on Monday, accelerating from the 6.8% pace seen in December and beating expectations, marking a solid start for 2024 and offering tentative relief to policymakers.

The reading released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was significantly above expectations for a 5.0% increase in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose 5.5% in the first two months of the year, slowing from a 7.4% increase in December. Analysts had expected retail sales to grow 5.2%.

Fixed asset investment expanded 4.2% in the two-month period from the same period a year earlier, versus expectations for a 3.2% rise. It grew 3.0% in the whole of 2023.

-Buy call for ICICI Bank, target Rs 1,225 per share
-ICICI Bank management expects liquidity to remain tight in the near-term
-Tight liquidity in near-term led by advance tax payments in March end
-Expect liquidity situation to gradually improve
-Expect RBI to cut benchmark rates by Q4FY25/Q1FY26
-Expects FY24 margin to be at similar levels of FY23
-Could see 10 bps QoQ compression of margins in Q4FY24, similar to Q3FY24

Sensex Today | Nifty Bank index recoverd more than 500 points from day's low

Nova Agritech has appointed Srinivasarao Mandalapu as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with effect from March 16 and will also invest Rs 10 crore in subsidiary Nova Agri Sciences through Unsecured Optionally Convertible Debentures (OCDs).

Sensex Today | BSE Auto index up 0.5 percent led by M&M, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors

M/s. J. Kumar Infraprojects received LOA in the capacity of sole bidder, from M/s. NBCC (India) Limited for the work of “Development of Hari Nagar Depot of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) in Delhi at Hari Nagar, New Delhi on EPC basis for the total contract value of Rs 334,25,00,000.

The Board of Directors of Procter and Gamble Hygiene and Health Care, at its meeting held todayapproved appointment of Mr. Kumar Venkatasubramanian (DIN:08144200) as Managing Director of the Company for a period of five years effective May 1, 2024.

Sensex Today | Nifty Bank index down 0.5 percent dragged by Federal Bank, SBI, IDFC First Bank

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Nifty Metal and Nifty Auto indices buck weak trend, gain up to 0.9% at this hour

Several of Adani Group’s dollar bonds fell the most in more than half a year, after news that US prosecutors have widened their probe of the port-to-power conglomerate to focus on whether it may have engaged in bribery. Most of the group’s shares declined. READ MORE

The Indian benchmark indices are trading in a rangebound manner, with the Nifty hovering around its psychological mark of 22,000. Nifty snapped its four-week winning streak and ended with losses of more than 2 percent. As per ICICI Securities, experts believe 22,200 levels on higher side to act as immediate hurdle and aggressive longs should be avoided till Nifty is not able to sustain above these levels. READ MORE

-Neutral call, target Rs 2,040 per share
-Deposit mobilisation remains a challenge
-Company has been calling out challenges in deposit mobilisation over past few quarters
-Bank does not see any challenges on the loan growth side
-No challenge on the loan growth side as company only 2% of system credit
-Management indicated loan growth to be 1.75-2.0x of nominal GDP growth over medium-term
-Management highlighted no asset quality concerns in the unsecured retail portfolio

Sensex Today | Market at 11 AM

The Sensex was down 42.85 points or 0.06 percent at 72,600.58, and the Nifty was down 20.10 points or 0.09 percent at 22,003.20. About 1762 shares advanced, 1485 shares declined, and 127 shares unchanged.

Sensex Today | Nifty Realty Index down 0.6 percent dragged by Prestige Estate, Phoenix Mills, Hemisphere Properties

ACC and Ambuja Cement launches two new innovative facilities, making a significant stride in sustainable waste management. The companies proudly announce
the imminent operationalization of two groundbreaking facilities: the Ambuja Marwar Preprocessing and Co-processing Facility and the ACC Jamul Co-processing Facility.

Sensex Today | BSE Auto index up 0.5 percent led by M&M, Tata Motors, Sundram Fasteners

The US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has inspected Lupin’s manufacturing facility at Aurangabad during March 6 to March 15. The inspection closed with the issuance of a Form-483 with one (1) observation. The company is confident of addressing the concern raised by the US FDA and will resolve the same at the earliest.

Shares of Pratham EPC Projects made a bumper debut with a 51 percent premium over the issue price of Rs 75 and traded at Rs 113.30 on the NSE SME platform on March 18.

The company aimed to garner about Rs 36 crore from the public, with a purely fresh issue of 48 lakh shares. The price band was fixed at Rs 71-75. Read More

-Buy call, target Rs 195 per share
-Industry volume up 4% MoM in-line with seasonality
-Our question is if QoQ GMV decline is possible
-Could see some downside to consensus estimates
-Expect YoY growth to remain healthy & within management’s guidance of 20%+ YoY

With this, standalone and group commercial capacity of NTPC will become 59298 MW and 75418 MW respectively.

DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations share price rose 5 percent in the early trade on March 18 after the company secured a contract to supply IT hardware for the Indian Army's drone lab in Jammu and Kashmir.

The provision of IT hardware, including CPUs, monitors, keyboards, and mice, for the drone lab will contribute significantly to the establishment and operation of this state-of-the-art facility, it said. Read More

Sensex Today | Nifty Information Technology index down 0.4 percent dragged by Coforge, Persistent Systems, Infosys

SJVN share price gained 2 percent in early trade on March 18 after the company bagged solar power project from Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL).

"......... arm SJVN Green Energy Limited (SGEL) has received the Letter of Intent (LOI) from GUVNL for 200 MW Solar Project in GUVNL Phase–XXIII," company said in its press release.

The tentative cost of construction and development of this project is Rs 1,100 crore, according to Geeta Kapur, Chairman & Managing Director, SJVN. The project is to be developed at Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL) Solar Park at Khavda, the company added in the release. Read More