Sensex adds 39 pts; oil & gas shares in demand

The key equity indices traded with tiny gains in mid-morning trade. The Nifty hovered near the 22,400 level. Oil & gas shares extended gains for the fourth consecutive trading session.

At 11:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 39.34 points or 0.05% to 73,845.49. The Nifty 50 index rose 59.60 points or 0.09% to 22,398.85.

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

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.18% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.66%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,430 shares rose and 2,340 shares fell. A total of 197 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.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Mukka Proteins received 1,27,22,83,500 bids for shares as against 5,60,00,435 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:30 IST on Monday (4 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 22.72 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.

The initial public offer (IPO) of R K Swamy received 25,13,900 bids for shares as against 82,32,946 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:30 IST on Monday (4 March 2024). The issue was subscribed 0.31 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.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index gained 1.26% to 11,900.50. The index jumped 4.01% in four trading sessions.

Oil India (up 3.33%), Indraprastha Gas (up 3.25%), GAIL (India) (up 2.66%), Gujarat Gas (up 2.24%), Mahanagar Gas (up 2.19%), Petronet LNG (up 1.69%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 1.67%), Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (up 1.43%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 1.25%) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 0.87%) advanced.

On the other hand, Castrol India (down 2.03%), Adani Total Gas (down 1.76%) and Aegis Logistics (down 0.69%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Swan Energy declined 1.68%. The company announced that its subsidiary Swan LNG (SLPL) has pre-paid entire loan, along with interest till date, to the consortium of banks, amounting to approximately Rs 2,206 crore.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone rose 0.33%. The company had handled 35.4 MMT of total cargo in February 2024, implying a healthy 33% YoY growth.

Angel One rose 0.26%.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.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Monday as investors are cautious ahead of China�s National People�s Congress for 2024.

Japan�s Nikkei-225 Stock Average surpassed 40,000 for the first time as the government discusses officially stating that the country�s economy has overcome deflation, as per reports. Chinese equities will be in focus ahead of the 14th National People�s Congress, an annual parliamentary gathering in Beijing, that will begin Tuesday as markets await more stimulus measures to aid a soft economy.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at record highs, as technology stocks rallied on continued enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, with further support from declining Treasury yields. All eyes will be on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell when he testifies before lawmakers on Wednesday and Thursday.

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