Indices advance in early trade; breadth strong

The benchmark indices are trading higher in early trade, mirroring the gains in their Asian peers. Oil & gas, IT and metal stocks led the upmove.

At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 309.23 points or 0.56% to 55,778.13. The Nifty 50 index added 100.90 points or 0.61% to 16,706.85.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.80% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.21%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2219 shares rose and 366 shares fell. A total of 74 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vedanta added 0.25% to Rs 388.30. The mining major has declared a third interim dividend for the fiscal year 2021-22 of Rs 13 per equity share. The record date for the purpose of payment of the dividend is 10 March 2022.

UPL rose 0.44% to Rs 692.10. The agri-chemicals major has announced its board has approved the proposal to buy back fully paid-up equity shares from shareholders (other than the promoters, the promoters group, and persons in control of the company), for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 1,100 crore, the maximum buyback size. The company`s board has proposed a share buyback plan at Rs 875 per share.

Hind Rectifiers jumped 4.04% to Rs 190.50. The company has secured orders of Rs. 57.32 crore in the month of February 2022.

Global Markets:

Shares in Asia-Pacific were largely higher in Thursday trade as U.S. stocks bounced back overnight. Oil prices, however, continued to move higher following a price surge in recent days.

A private survey released Thursday showed slowing Chinese services activity growth in February, with the Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers` Index coming in at 50.2 for that month. That compared against January`s reading of 51.4.

The 50-point mark in PMI readings separates growth from contraction. PMI readings are sequential and represent month-on-month expansion or contraction.

Investors continued monitoring movements in the oil market, with crude prices spiking to their highest level in years on Wednesday, amid Russia`s escalating war on Ukraine.

The sanctions imposed on Russia have caused traders to back away from its resources, stoking fears of shortfalls in energy, grains and metals.

Meanwhile, the OPEC and its allies decided Wednesday to hold production steady despite the recent dramatic spike in oil prices.

U.S. equities were higher at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the basic materials, financials and oil & gas sectors propelled shares higher.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell backed a quarter-point interest-rate hike this month to commence a series of increases and didn`t rule out a larger move at some stage, despite uncertainty caused by Russia`s invasion of Ukraine.

Fed officials are pivoting to tackle the fastest inflation in 40 years and a few have publicly discussed the potential need to hike by a half point some time this year if inflation comes in too hot.

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