Key indices trade with minor gains; IT stocks in demand

The key equity barometers continued to trade with minor gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered around the 16,700 mark. IT shares witnessed buying interest second consecutive session.

At 14:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 131.53 points or 0.24% to 55,990.05. The Nifty 50 index gained 39.20 points or 0.24% to 16,697.60.

The continued escalation of the Russia Ukraine conflict and its consequent global economic fallout continued to weigh on the investors sentiment.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.06% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.20%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1841 shares rose and 1529 shares fell. A total of 171 shares were unchanged.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper was currently at 6.755% as compared with its previous close of 6.749%.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 75.5075, compared with its close of 75.3300 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2022 settlement added 1% to Rs 50,721.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2022 settlement added $4.22 or 4.48% to $98.34 a barrel.

Buzzing Segment:

The Nifty IT index rose 0.37% to 33,601.05, extending gains for second day in a row. The index has added 3.24% in two sessions.

L&T Technology Services (up 2.05%), Tech Mahindra (up 1.38%), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (up 1.06%), MindTree (up 0.78%), TCS (up 0.37%), Infosys (up 0.32%) and Coforge (up 0.28%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vedavaag Systems rose 2.60% to Rs 65. The company said it has entered into an agreement with Angel One to act as corporate DRA to facilitate Demat account opening services and equity and mutual fund investment services.

Vipul Organics gained 3.63% to Rs 202.55. The company`s board recommended bonus issue of shares in the ratio of 1:4.

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