Nifty scales above 22,350; financial services advance

The headline equity benchmarks extended gains and hit fresh day`s high in mid-morning trade. The Nifty marched above the 22,350 mark. Financial services shares witnessed buying demand for the second consecutive trading session. Trading could be volatile due to the March F&O series expiry today.

At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was surged 819.89 points or 1.12% to 73,813.04. The Nifty 50 index jumped 246.25 points or 1.11% to 22,369.90.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.48% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.77%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,265 shares rose and 1,309 shares fell. A total of 147 shares were unchanged.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of SRM Contractors received 12,07,43,280 bids for shares as against 43,40,100 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:20 IST on Thursday (28 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 27.82 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Tuesday (26 March 2024) and it will close on Thursday (28 March 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 200 to 210 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 70 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Financial Services index gained 1.46% to 21,095.75. The index advanced 1.88% in two trading sessions.

Bajaj Finserv (up 4.55%), Bajaj Finance (up 4.13%), State Bank of India (up 1.83%), Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company (up 1.7%), ICICI Bank (up 1.61%), LIC Housing Finance (up 1.6%), REC (up 1.47%), Power Finance Corporation (up 1.26%), HDFC Bank (up 1.17%) and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (up 1.15%) advanced.

On the other hand, HDFC Asset Management Company (down 1.08%), Shriram Finance (down 1%) and SBI Cards & Payment Services (down 0.71%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Adani Power added 1.24% after the company`s wholly owned subsidiary, Mahan Energen (MEL) has entered into a significant 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Reliance Industries (RIL) under the electricity rules, 2005.

Alkem Laboratories declined 1.92% after the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) conducted GMP and Pre-approval inspection at its manufacturing facility located in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh.

JSW Energy rose 1.66% after the meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 2 April 2024 to consider and approve raising of funds.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Thursday as sentiment remained strained ahead of key U.S. inflation data and addresses by Federal Reserve officials.

Wall Street indexes rose sharply on Wednesday, rebounding after three days of losses as a drop in bond yields help spur strong gains in utility stocks. S&P 500 closed at record high.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said that there is no hurry to cut interest rate right now. Current inflation reading suggests rates can stay at current level for longer to bring down the inflation sustainably to 2% target rate, Waller reportedly said at Economic Club in New York.

Markets are now awaiting more cues on inflation from PCE price index data- which is the Fed�s preferred inflation gauge. The data is due on Friday, when markets will be closed, but is largely expected to factor into the outlook for U.S. interest rates. Along with the PCE data, addresses from Fed Chair Jerome Powell is also due on Friday.

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