Benchmarks stage rebound after early slide; broader market tumbles

The key equity benchmarks erased intraday losses and ended with modest gains on Wednesday. The Nifty50 settled above the 22,470 mark after hitting the day�s low of 22,224.35 in early afternoon trade. Broader markets, however, took a beating today amid stretched valuations. Banks and healthcare stocks were in demand, while media, realty and oil & gas stocks were under pressure.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 408.86 points or 0.55% to 74,085.99. The Nifty 50 index added 117.75 points or 0.53% to 22,474.05. Both the indices attained record closing high levels.

The Sensex and the Nifty 50 hit all-time highs in late trade at 74,151.27 and 22,497.20, respectively.

Titan Company (up 1.52%), TCS (up 1.34%) and ICICI Bank (up 0.80%) boosted the indices.

The broader market tumbled. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.65% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.91%.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of sellers. On the BSE, 904 shares rose and 2,954 shares fell. A total of 82 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.59% to 14.30.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper declined 0.07% to 7.052 as compared with previous close 7.057.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.8400, compared with its close of 82.9025 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement shed 0.17% to Rs 64,734.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.18% to 103.61.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.56% to 4.159.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2024 settlement rose 55 cents or 0.67% to $82.59 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures were currently up by 87 points, signaling a positive opening for US stocks today.

European stocks advanced as investors looked forward to the U.K. budget and the European Central Bank rate-setting meeting later in the week.

Most Asian stocks climbed on Wednesday. A report showed iPhone sales plunged in China in the first six weeks of 2024. Investors monitored shares of Apple suppliers in Taiwan and South Korea.

U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday as market participants eyed upcoming economic data and central bank actions. All eyes are on Fed Chair Jerome Powell`s testimony before Congress. In his semiannual testimony on Wednesday and Thursday, he is reportedly expected to double down on his message that there�s no rush to cut rates.

US services industry growth slowed a bit in February. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Tuesday that its non-manufacturing PMI slipped to 52.6 last month from 53.4 in January.

Stocks in Spotlight:

JM Financial tumbled 10.73% after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ordered the company to cease and desist from doing any form of financing against shares and debentures. RBI has asked the company to stop sanction and disbursal of loans against Initial Public Offering (IPO) of shares as well as against subscription to debentures.

"The company shall, however, continue to service its existing loan accounts through the usual collection and recovery process,� the RBI said. This action was necessitated due to certain serious deficiencies observed in respect of loans sanctioned by the company for IPO financing as well as NCD subscriptions.

IIFL Finance hit a lower circuit of 20%. The company informed that the Fairfax India Holdings Corporation has agreed to provide liquidity support to the company amidst the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) embargo on the company`s gold loan disbursements with effect from 5 March 2024.

Force Motors dropped 8.35%. The company announced that it has registered 5.81% increase in domestic sales to 2,366 units in February 2024 as against 2,236 units sold in February 2023.

Havells India declined 1.29%. The company intends to expand its existing product portfolio with the introduction of kitchen appliances, such as cooktops, hobs, chimneys and other built-in appliances, into it.

Ajmera Realty & Infra India gained 1.50% after the company announced that it has successfully secured credit facilities totaling to Rs 500 crore from Standard Chartered Bank and ICICI Bank for Ajmera Manhattan residential project, to partly prepays the GCP loan.

Sakar Healthcare surged 6.38% after the company`s oncology unit has attained EU GMP approval valid for three years from the audit date of 5th March 2024.

Centum Electronics fell 2.48%. The company said that it has received an order for realization of space-based electronic warfare (EW) payloads from Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

KPI Green Energy advanced 2.65% after the company announced that it has bagged orders aggregating to 9.40 MW for executing solar power projects.

NLC India rose 0.31%. The company announced that it has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary NLC India Green Energy (NIGEL) to carry out future renewable projects.

RPG Life Sciences added 3.61% after ICRA upgraded the company�s long-term (LT) rating to `[ICRA] A+� from `[ICRA] A� with `stable� outlook.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Gopal Snacks received 66,61,628 bids for shares as against 1,19,79,993 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Wednesday (6 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 56%.

The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday (6 March 2024) and it will close on Monday (11 March 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 381 to 401 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 38 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

J G Chemicals` IPO received 5,21,75,446 bids for shares as against 81,68,714 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Wednesday (6 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 6.39 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Tuesday (5 March 2024) and it will close on Thursday (7 March 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 210 to 221 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 67 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

R K Swamy`s IPO received 21,22,36,550 bids for shares as against 82,32,946 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Wednesday (6 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 25.78 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Monday (4 March 2024) and it will close on Wednesday (6 March 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 270 to 288 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 150 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

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