Sensex spurts 1,040 pts, Nifty closes at 16,975.35; NSE VIX slumps below 25 mark

Domestic equity market rallied on Wednesday, tracking positive global stocks. The Nifty managed to close above the 16,950 level. Investors keenly awaited the outcome of US Fed policy scheduled later in the day. All the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green. Firmness in banks and IT shares pushed the benchmarks higher.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, surged 1,039.80 points or 1.86% at 56,816.65. The Nifty 50 index gained 312.35 points or 1.87% at 16,975.35.

The rally was broad based. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.8% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.47%.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 2,306 shares rose and 1,128 shares fell. A total of 100 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, slumped 9.77% at 24.12.

The Nifty 50 index settled below its 50-day, 100-day and 200-day simple moving average (SMA) placed at 17,272.24, 17,388.72 and 16,988.79, respectively.

Crude oil prices retreated from a recent high, but still hovered near $100 a barrel mark. Oil prices have corrected in three consecutive days amid a resurgence of Covid cases in China, and signs of progress in cease-fire talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.719% as compared with 6.821% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 76.2025, compared with its close of 76.62 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2022 settlement fell 0.46% to Rs 51,327.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.47% to 98.63.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2022 settlement fell 71 cents or 0.71% to $99.20 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures were up 363 points, indicating a positive opening in the US stocks.

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Wednesday. The US central bank`s Federal Open Market Committee is due to announce its rate decision later in the global day today, when its two-day meeting concludes. The Fed is expected to hike rates by a quarter point, its first hike since 2018.

Meanwhile, China continues to grapple with its most severe Covid outbreak since the height of the pandemic in 2020, with major cities scrambling to limit business activity.

Buzzing Segment:

The Nifty Bank index jumped 2.07% to 35,748.25. The index fell 0.82% in the previous session.

Federal Bank (up 5.19%), Bandhan Bank (up 4.75%), Axis Bank (up 3.55%), IDFC FIRST Bank (up 3.32%), IndusInd Bank (up 3.27%), RBL Bank (up 2.9%), HDFC Bank (up 1.54%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.40%), ICICI Bank (up 1.33%), SBI (up 1.26%) and AU Small Finance Bank (up 0.54%) surged.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) fell 0.28%. The state-run bank has reported a fraud of Rs 2,060.14 crore in the NPA account of IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company (ITPCL) at Extra Large Corporate Branch, Delhi. PNB has already made provisions amounting to Rs 824.06 crore as per prescribed prudential norms.

Stocks in Spotlight:

IT stocks were in demand as US-based Accenture plc is scheduled to report second-quarter fiscal 2022 results on Thursday, 17 March 2022.

Coforge (up 4.73%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.04%), Wipro (up 1.85%), HCL Technologies (up 1.71%) and Mindtree (up 1.57%) advanced.

Infosys rose 2.70%. The IT major`s board will meet on 12th and 13th April 2022 to consider Q4 results.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) gained 1.64% after the IT bellwether was selected by Singapore Exchange (SGX) as strategic partner for its NSE IFSC-SGX Connect in Gift City. SGX will use TCS` flagship solution, TCS BaNCS, for trading and enabling Nifty Trading Between India and Singapore. SGX selected TCS BaNCS for its multi-broker, low latency capabilities, to serve as the end-to-end solution for its trading, clearing, settlement and risk management operations.

Tata Communications surged 4.13% after the company announced a multi-year strategic collaboration with Formula 1. Under the collaboration, Tata Communications will function as the official broadcast connectivity provider of Formula 1. Tata Communications will empower Formula 1 with global end-to-end managed network services for video contribution.

Zomato fell 0.85%. The company said its board of directors approved acquisition of securities in Mukunda Foods for an aggregate cash consideration of INR equivalent of $5 million and grant of loan up to INR equivalent of $150 million to Grofers India.

Shyam Metalics and Energy advanced 4.98% after the company said that the board has approved setting up of further capacities at its integrated units in Sambalpur and its material subsidiary`s plant at Jamuria. The aim of the capital expenditure is to capitalize business synergies and add facilities for continued cost leadership. The steel maker said that an aggregate amount of Rs 990 crore is will be arranged from cash flows generated from internal accruals.

Unichem Laboratories advanced 3.08% after the drug maker said it received ANDA approval for its Nebivolol tablets from the drug regulator, USFDA to market a generic version of Bystolic (Nebivolol) tablets of Allergan Sales. Nebivolol tablets are indicated for the treatment of hypertension. The product will be commercialized from Unichem`s Ghaziabad plant in Uttar Pradesh.

Tata Motors rose 2.70% after the media reported that the auto major is planning to invest Rs 15,000 crore in the EV segment in the next five years. According to the reports, the company, which is a leader in the newly emerging EV segment with offerings such as Nexon, is also planning to develop around 10 more new offerings in the segment.

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