NIFTY BELOW 22,450 MARK; MEDIA SHARES DECLINE

The benchmark indices traded with modest losses in mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded below 22,450 mark. Media shares fell after advancing in the past trading session.

At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 318.04 points or 0.43% to 73,801.35. The Nifty 50 index lost 79.25 points or 0.35% to 22,414.30.

In the broader market, The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.29% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 1.44%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,147 shares rose and 2,654 shares fell. A total of 149 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.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Gopal Snacks received 2,51,76,798 bids for shares as against 1,19,79,993 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:25 IST on Monday (11 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 2.10 times.

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.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index declined 1.74% to 1,953.75. The index advanced 2.54% in the past trading session.

Dish TV India (down 2.98%), D B Corp (down 2.48%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 2.48%), Saregama India (down 2.42%) and Nazara Technologies (down 1.82%) declined.

Among the other losers were Network 18 Media & Investments (down 1.55%), PVR Inox (down 1.47%), TV18 Broadcast (down 1.42%), Sun TV Network (down 0.64%) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 0.06%).

Stocks in Spotlight:

NLC India jumped 7.72% 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.

Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) rallied 4.20% after the company 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.

Gensol Engineering dropped 8.23%. 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).

Global Markets:

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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