Markets maintain momentum: Sensex & Nifty notch gains on global cues

The domestic stock markets extended their winning streak for a fourth day, with both Sensex and Nifty closing slightly higher on Monday. Positive cues from global stock markets and India`s better-than-expected Q3 GDP growth fueled investor sentiment. While oil & gas, banks, and financials led the gains, media, IT, and auto stocks saw some selling pressure.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 66.14 points or 0.09% to 73,872.29. The Nifty 50 index added 27.20 points or 0.12% to 22,405.60.

The benchmark Nifty50 hit a record high of 22,440.90 in the mid-morning trade.

HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 3.01%), Reliance Industries (up 1.03%) and ICICI Bank (up 0.77%) boosted the indices.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.16% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.78%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1388 shares rose and 2565 shares fell. A total of 132 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India�s forex reserves jumped $2.975 billion to $619.072 billion for the week ended February 23, according to the latest RBI data. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had dropped $1.132 billion to $616.097 billion.

For the week ending February 23, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $2.405 billion to $548.188 billion.

Gold reserves increased by $472 million to $47.848 billion during the week, the RBI said.

India`s reserve position with the IMF was up by $9 million to $4.839 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper declined 0.06% to 7.056 as compared with previous close 7.060.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.9000, compared with its close of 82.9100 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement rose 0.03% to Rs 63,579.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.03% to 103.83.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.41% to 4.196.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2024 settlement declined 4 cents or 0.05% to $83.59 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Dow Jones index futures were down 109 points, indicating a negative opening in the US stocks today.

European shares traded lower on Monday as investors looked ahead to the upcoming interest rate decision from the European Central Bank on 7 March 2024.

Most Asian stocks ended higher ahead of China`s National People`s Congress (NPC) starting March 5th. The NPC, a key annual political event, is expected to announce further economic stimulus measures to counter a slowing economy.

In Japan, the Nikkei-225 surges past 40,000 for the first time as reports suggest the government may declare deflation officially conquered.

US stocks closed at record highs on Friday, fueled by strong tech stocks and declining Treasury yields. All eyes are on Fed Chair Jerome Powell`s testimony before Congress on March 6th-7th.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Motors fell 0.12%. The company`s board approved a demerger plan. The company will split into two separate publicly traded entities: one for commercial vehicles and another for passenger vehicles (including electric vehicles and JLR). Shareholders will maintain the same ownership proportion in both new companies.

Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services jumped 6.09% after the company has entered into an agreement with Axis Bank to carry sales and distribution, marketing activities bundled with Zaggle expense management.

RailTel Corporation of India slipped 4.08%. The public sector enterprise announced that it has received a work order from State Transport Authority, Odisha, aggregating to Rs 87.85 crore.

PSP Projects declined 3.49%. The civil construction company has announced that it has received two work orders aggregating up to Rs 386.24 crore.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone rose 0.28%. The company had handled 35.4 MMT of total cargo in February 2024, implying a healthy 33% YoY growth.

MOIL soared 7.17% after the company recorded 15% year on year (YoY) increase in production of manganese ore in February 2024 to 1.51 lakh MT.

Angel One advanced 1.66% after the brokerage company�s client base jumped 60.8% to 21.43 million in February 2024 as against 13.33 million recorded in February 2023.

Patel Engineering gained 0.87% after the company along with its joint venture partner has received a letter of award (LoA) from Irrigation & CAD Department of the Government of Telangana, worth Rs Rs 525.36 crore.

Dr. Lal PathLabs declined 2.68%.The company has announced that Bharath Uppilliappan has resigned from the position of chief executive officer (CEO) and key management personnel (KMP) of the company on 3 March 2024.

Biocon rose 0.69% The Biocon Biologics announced the signing of a settlement agreement with Bayer and Regeneron Pharma for introduction of Yesafili, a proposed biosimilar to EYLEA (aflibercept) injection, into the Canadian market.

Kesar India hit an upper limit of 5% after the company said it has fixed Tuesday, 19 March 2024, as the record date for the proposed bonus issue of equity shares.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Mukka Proteins received 7,66,57,45,360 bids for shares as against 5,60,00,435 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Monday (4 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 136.89 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Thursday (29 February 2024) and it will close on Monday (04 March 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 26 to 28 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 535 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

R K Swamy`s IPO received 1,79,73,350 bids for shares as against 82,32,946 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Monday (4 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 2.18 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Monday (4 March 2024) and it will close on Wednesday (6 March 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 270 to 288 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 150 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

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