Indices trade in the red; market breadth remains strong

The domestic equity barometers traded in the red in early trade, amid some selling in index pivotals. The Nifty was trading tad above the 17,200 mark. Banks, financials, FMCG and IT stocks declined.

At 09:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 117.17 points or 0.20% to 57,478.51. The Nifty 50 index lost 18.25 points or 0.11% to 17,204.50.

Bajaj Auto (up 1.28%), UPL (up 0.71%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.62%), Bharti Airtel (up 0.60%) and ONGC (up 0.51%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Titan Company (down 2.29%), Maruti Suzuki (down 1.42%), Nestle India (down 1.20%), Tech Mahindra (down 0.91%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.89%) were the top Nifty losers.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.10% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.35%.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1595 shares rose and 887 shares fell. A total of 97 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Consumer Products fell 2.83% to Rs 718.45. The meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 29 March 2022 to consider preferential issue of equity shares of the company.

Exide Industries advanced 1.01% to Rs 155.75. Chloride Metals, a material wholly owned subsidiary of the company has started commercial production at its newly set-up green field manufacturing facility of battery recycling at Haldia, West Bengal.

Zen Technologies hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 205.35. The company has received a project sanction order (PSO) from the Indian Army for design and development of prototype of Integrated Air Defence Combat Simulator (IADCS).

Global Markets:

Asian stocks rose in early trade Friday as Wall Street stocks rallied overnight and oil prices fell.

US stocks rose following choppy trading on Thursday, as investors watched western leaders present a unified front against Russia`s invasion of Ukraine. Technology companies lifted US stock indices after a sharp fall in the previous session.

Investors are continuing to monitor the war in Ukraine and weigh the Federal Reserve`s rate hikes amid persistent inflation. NATO leaders met in Brussels Thursday to discuss increasing pressure on Russia, as Ukraine appears to be retaking ground in the war.

US President Joe Biden said Thursday that NATO would respond �in kind� if Russia uses weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine. The president spoke after a marathon of summit meetings with the European Union, G-7 partners and NATO allies. Biden also said he would support an effort to expel Russia from the G-20 group of economies.

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