MARKET ADVANCES IN EARLY TRADE; NIFTY ABOVE 22,450 MARK

The key equity indices traded with strong gains in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. The Nifty traded above the 22,450 mark. All the sectoral indices on the NSE were in green with media, metal and realty stocks gaining the most.

At 09:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 473.23 points or 0.65% to 74,132.87. The Nifty 50 index added 165.65 points or 0.74% to 22,492.55.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.19% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.78%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,240 shares rose and 439 shares fell. A total of 177 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 188.31 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,691.52 crore in the Indian equity market on 28 March, provisional data showed.

Economy:

India�s forex reserves rose $140 million during the week ended March 22 to touch its all-time high of $642.631 billion, according to the latest RBI data. This is the fifth consecutive week of a jump in the overall reserves.

For the week ended March 22, the foreign currency assets decreased by $123 million to $568.264 billion. Gold reserves rose $347 million to $51.487 billion during the week. The special drawing rights (SDRs) were down by $57 million to $18.219 billion, the RBI said.

India�s reserve position with the IMF was also down by $27 million to $4.662 billion in the reporting week, the RBI data showed.

Meanwhile, the combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 6.7% (provisional) in February 2024 as compared to the Index of February 2023. The final growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries for November 2023 is revised to 7.9%. The cumulative growth rate of ICI during April to February, 2023-24 is 7.7% (provisional) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Infosys rose 1.13% after the company received orders under Section 250 & 254 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 from the Income Tax Department, Government of India for assessment years 07-08 to 15-16, 17-18 & 18-19 during the quarter. As per the orders the company expects a refund of Rs 6,329 crores (including interest). The company is in the process of evaluating the implications of these orders on the financial statements for the quarter and year ending 31 March 2024.

NTPC rose 0.82%. The company informed that operation of NTPC Barauni Thermal Power Station Stage-I (2x110 MW) comprising of two Units (Unit 6 & 7) of 110 MW each is permanently discontinued with effect from 31st March 2024.

Avenue Supermarts shed 0.08%. The company has opened three new stores at Chakan - Pune (Maharashtra), Akshay Nagar - Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Gangapur - Nashik (Maharashtra). The total number of stores as on date stands at 365.

Numbers to Track:

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement advanced 1.85% to Rs 68,927.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.04% to 104.50.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.17% to 4.203.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2024 settlement added 31 cents or 0.36% to $87 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most of the Asian stocks were trading higher on Monday as US inflation figures reaffirmed bets for the Federal Reserve to ease policy this year and China�s economic recovery gained momentum. Australian and Hong Kong markets are closed for Easter Monday.

China�s National Bureau of Statistics data showed that manufacturing activity expanded in March, with the purchasing managers index registering a reading of 50.8, compared to February�s reading of 49.1.

U.S. markets remained closed on Friday in observance of Good Friday. The core personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.3% in February after climbing in the previous month, marking its biggest back-to-back gain in a year. The measure is up 2.8% from a year earlier.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Friday the central bank�s preferred gauge of inflation was �pretty much in line with our expectations.� Powell added that it wouldn�t be appropriate to lower rates until officials are sure inflation is in check. Investors are betting the US central bank will make that first cut in June, as per reports.

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