BENCHMARKS TRADE LOWER; EUROPEAN MKT DECLINE

The key equity indices traded with moderate losses in the afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below 22,450 mark. Pharma, FMCG and IT shares advanced while media and banking stocks declined.

At 13:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 317.07 points or 0.43% to 73,802.32. The Nifty 50 index declined 81.70 points or 0.36% to 22,411.85.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.09% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 1.43%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,012 shares rose and 2,872 shares fell. A total of 148 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

Continuing the gaining streak, India�s forex reserves surged $6.55 billion to $625.626 billion during the week ended March 1, according to the latest RBI data.

For the week ended March 1, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $6.043 billion to $554.231 billion, the data said.

Gold reserves increased by $569 million to $48.417 billion during the week. The special drawing rights (SDRs) were down by $17 million to $18.18 billion, according to the data.

India�s reserve position with the IMF was also down by $41 million to $4.798 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.

Gainers & Losers:

Nestle India (up 2.11%), Bajaj Finserv (up 1.65%), Cipla (up 1.61%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (up 1.53%) and Dr Reddy`s Laboratories (up 0.91%) major Nifty gainers.

Tata Consumer Products (down 2.96%), Tata Steel (down 2.13%), Power Grid Corporation of India (down 2.10%) State Bank of India (down 2.02%) and Bajaj Auto (down 2%) were major Nifty losers.

Power Grid Corporation of India fell 2.10%. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (RRVPNL) to incorporate a joint venture company for the development of an Intra State Transmission System in Rajasthan.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Coal India shed 0.46%. The company and Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RRVUNL) have executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for exploring various opportunities for securing power to meet the growing energy demand in Rajasthan.

Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) rallied 4.47% after the company announced that it has received an order from Madhya Pradesh Poorv Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company (MPPKVVCL) and Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEBL), aggregating to Rs 1,139.61 crore.

SJVN shed 0.98%. The company said that it�s wholly owned subsidiary SJVN Green Energy (SGEL) has signed a PUA for 500 MW solar power and a PPA for 100 MW solar power with Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services (RUVITL).

Gensol Engineering dropped 8.86%. The company announced that it has emerged as lowest (L-1) bidder for a partial capacity of 70 MW/140 MWh out of 250 MW/500 MWh standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) floated by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL).

NLC India jumped 8.85% after the company announced the signing of an MoU with the Government of Rajasthan for formation of joint venture to set up 125 MW Lignite-based power plant and 1000 MW Solar power plant.

D B Realty slipped 5.46%. The company said that it has received a letter of acceptance (LOA) from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for renting out approx. 186.52 acres of land parcels owned by the company�s partnership firm Mira Real Estate Developers.

Torrent Power rallied 4.18% after the company said that it has emerged as a successful bidder and received letter of award (LoA) from MSEDCL for setting up of 306 MW grid-connected solar power project at Nasik in Maharashtra.

Global Markets:

European market declined and Asian stocks traded mixed on Monday taking cues from the decline on Wall Street as investors assessed Japan`s GDP data and awaited the U.S. CPI print.

Japan averted a technical recession, with revised official data showing the economy expanded 0.4% in the October-December period last year. This comes after earlier estimates had shown that Japan�s economy shrank 0.4% in the fourth quarter on an annualized basis, following a revised 3.3% slump in the third quarter.

Separately, China recorded its first month of inflation in four months with the country�s consumer price index climbing 0.7% year on year in February. The figure is a marked reversal from the 0.8% fall in January.

U.S. stocks lost ground on Friday with artificial intelligence major Nvidia finishing down more than 5% in its worst session since late May. Investors also assessed fresh data, with the Labor Department�s Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting that nonfarm payrolls increased by 275,000 for the month while the jobless rate moved higher to 3.9%.

Investors look ahead to US inflation data due Tuesday that is expected to show a further slowing in core prices.

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