INDICES DRIFT HIGHER IN EARLY TRADE; BREADTH STRONG

The key equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in early trade. The Nifty traded near the 22,550 mark. Barring the Nifty IT index, all the other sectoral indices on the NSE were traded in green.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 418.32 points or 0.57% to 74,247.23. The Nifty 50 index jumped 144 points or 0.64% to 22,549.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.91% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.70%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,158 shares rose and 986 shares fell. A total of 173 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 792.90 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,723.82 crore in the Indian equity market on 13 March 2025, provisional data showed.

Economy:

India`s forex reserves increased to $653.97 billion in the week ending March 7, 2025, up by $15.26 billion, said the Reserve Bank of India on Friday.

According to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI, foreign currency assets (FCAs) were up by $13.93 billion to $557.28 billion.

Gold reserves saw a surge of $1 billion to $74.32 billion. Meanwhile, SDRs for the above-mentioned week increased by $212 million to stand at $18.21 billion. Reserve position in the IMF was up by $69 million to $4.1 billion.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Quality Power Electrical Equipment declined 3.32% to Rs 319.10. The company�s consolidated net profit jumped 23% to Rs 13.83 crore in Q3 FY25 as compared with Rs 11.24 crore. Net sales declined 48.9% YoY to Rs 72.59 crore during the quarter ended 31st December 2024.

Tata Communications rose 0.86% to Rs 1,516.90. The company announced the appointment of N. Ganapathy Subramaniam as the chairman of the board of directors of the company, effective from 14 March 2025.

G R Infraprojects gained 2.07% to Rs 978.20 after the company announced that it has been selected as the preferred bidder for the Agra-Gwalior Greenfield Road Project, tendered by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.67% to 6.807 as compared with the previous close of 6.690.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.8400, compared with its close of 87.0550 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 4 April 2025 settlement were declined 0.20% to Rs 87,818.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.01% to 103.71.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.02% to 4.309.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2025 settlement advanced 42 cents or 0.60% to $71.00 a barrel.

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones index futures slipped 174 points, setting the stage for a weak opening in US stocks today. Market sentiment remains fragile amid persistent concerns over US trade tariffs and slowing economic growth. Investors are also bracing for a series of central bank meetings this week, particularly from the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.

Asian stocks edged higher on Monday, buoyed by optimism over China`s economy after Beijing introduced targeted measures to boost spending. However, lingering fears of a US-led trade war kept gains in check.

China`s retail sales rose by 4.0% in the January-February period from a year ago, compared with the 3.7% year-on-year growth in December. The country`s industrial production climbed 5.9% in the first two months of the year from a year ago, slower than the 6.2% growth in December. Its fixed asset investment, reported on a year-to-date basis, rose by 4.1%, beating the 3.2% increase last year.

The data came shortly after Chinese policymakers over the weekend unveiled an action plan to boost consumption, a top policy priority for Beijing. The plan said the government will work to increase income for both urban and rural residents, while also taking measures to boost employment. It pledged to expand trade-in programs for home appliances and cars while vowing to stabilize the nation�s stock and property market, which affects consumer confidence.

After a bruising market correction, US stock indices bounced back on Friday, powered by bargain hunting in beaten-down tech stocks. The S&P 500 surged 2.1%, the NASDAQ jumped 2.6%, and the Dow Jones gained 1.7%.

However, consumer sentiment remains shaky. The University of Michigan�s Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 57.9 in March�its lowest since November 2022�down from 64.7 in February. The decline reflects growing uncertainty over tariffs and economic stability.

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