Decline in banks outweighs gains in IT, pharma stocks; Sensex slips 87 pts

IndusInd Bank, Power Grid, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, and Axis Bank, down up to 4 per cent, were the top laggards on both the benchmarks

4:17 PM

TECH VIEW :: Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking

On the technical front, the Nifty index has been trading with the support of 21-Hourly Moving Averages, which points out strength in it. Moreover, The benchmark Index has confirmed Bullish Engulfing Candlestick Pattern on an Hourly Chart which suggests an upside rally for the upcoming session. At present, the Nifty index has an immediate resistance at 14900 levels while downside support is shifted up to 14500 levels.

4:06 PM

TECH VIEW :: Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research

Today the market failed to show resilience to stay above the level of 14750. As of now, the short-term technical condition of the market shows that the expected range of the market is likely to be between 14410 and 14900. While it is subject to further price action evolution, the market expects to gain momentum above the level of 14900. As such the traders are advised to refrain from building a fresh buying position until further decisive movement is seen in the market

3:58 PM

MARKET RECAP :: S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities

Markets opened weak on fears of the recent spike in coronavirus infections in a few states. Afternoon Trade however witnessed a recovery led by Cement stocks ( both large and midcap) with support from Technology stocks

3:52 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Fear of the second wave of Covid-19, elevated bond yield and weak global cues is weighing on the domestic market. The expectation of rise in inflation is also impacting the market. The market has marched well in anticipation of faster economic recovery and is taking a breather given tightening restrictions & an increase in future interest rate, spiking fear of a slower recovery

3:50 PM

BSE Snapshot

3:49 PM

SECTOR WATCH :: IT stocks shine among defensive stocks; index up 2%

3:48 PM

SECTOR WATCH :: Realty stocks outperform; index ends 3% higher

3:47 PM

SECTOR WATCH :: Private Banks slip the most

3:45 PM

Broader market check :: S&P BSE MidCap index ends 1% higher

3:44 PM

Stocks that dragged the Sensex lower today

3:42 PM

Sectoral trends on the NSE

3:39 PM

Sensex Heatmap at Close :: Index stages smart recovery in last hour of trade

3:34 PM

CLOSING BELL

The frontline S&P BSE ended the session at 49,771 levels, down 87 points or 0.17 per cent. On the NSE, the Nifty50 closed at 14,736 levels, down 7.6 points or 0.05 per cent. The benchmark, however, staged smart recovery from their intra-day lows of 49,281 and 14,598, respectively.

3:26 PM

Increase gap between two doses of Covishield to 6-8 weeks: Centre to states

In view of emerging scientific evidence, interval between two doses of a Covishield, has been revisited by National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization and subsequently by National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19, the government said. READ MORE

3:22 PM

MARKET COMMENT :: Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental) at Anand Rathi

Indian markets opened weak with marginal decline following mixed to negative cues from its Asian market peers as investors watched the weakening Turkish Lira and fears of rise in cases due to Covid virus which increased volatility in markets. During the afternoon session, the markets extended their losses and sentiments were dented due to major dampener in the form of fast-rising COVID-19 cases, especially in some economically significant cities like Maharashtra. Restricted economic activity in these regions may impact the optimistic growth projections for FY22. Traders seem to have overlooked RBI’s data that foreign portfolio investors have pumped in a record $36 billion into equities so far this fiscal up to March 10, which is the highest since FY13. On the other hand, net foreign direct investment inflows jumped to $44 billion, till end January, up from $ 36.3 billion a year ago, driven by the massive inflows in November and December. On sectoral front, today's decline was led by Banks and Financial stocks while IT, FMCG and Pharma traded in green

3:17 PM

ALERT :: Sensex recovers from day's lows

3:15 PM

Amazon vs Future Retail

>> n light of Supreme Court being seized of the matter, and due to February 8 stay order, Justice Midha could not have passed the orders, Future Retail Counsel Harish Salve argues

>> SC has only directed that NCLT proceedings will be allowed to go on but will not culminate in any final order of sanction of the scheme, Future Retail counsel says

>> Whether the emergency arbitrator’s order is valid & enforceable in Indian law, pending to be heard by Justice Nariman in Supreme Court on April 27, Harish Salve, Counsel for Future Retail says

3:10 PM

BHEL secures first ever overseas solar project

State-owned engineering firm BHEL on Monday said it has bagged its first ever overseas order for a grid- connected solar power project in Mauritius. The project will be set up by BHEL at Tamarind Falls, Henrietta (Phase II), Mauritius on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis, BHEL said in a statement.

(Text Source: PTI)

3:01 PM

Fractional ownership is for deep-pocketed investors, say analysts

Investors who have bet their money on residential real estate are a disappointed lot today. The rental yield of 2-3 per cent fails to combat inflation and capital appreciation has been poor over the past six-seven years.

 

Meanwhile, large private-equity players have been acquiring the commercial real estate portfolios of Indian developers, a pointer to their bullishness on this asset class. If you, too, have wanted exposure to a grade A commercial property, you can do so now by investing through a fractional ownership platform. READ MORE

2:51 PM

SECTOR WATCH:: IT stocks trade higher in an otherwise subdued market

Company	LATEST(rs)	CHG(%)
Wipro	413.55	0.73
Tech Mahindra	1007.60	1.85
HCL Technologies	972.40	1.21
Firstsour.Solu.	111.25	0.09
Vakrangee	51.00	-0.78

2:41 PM

This pharma stock has zoomed over 10,000% in 96 trading days

Shares of Orchid Pharma were locked in the upper circuit for the 96th straight trading day, up 5 per cent at Rs 1,839.65 on the BSE in Friday's session. The stock has zoomed 102 times or 10,120 per cent from the level of Rs 18 since its relisting on November 3, 2020. Currently, Orchid Pharma is trading under the T group on the BSE. In the T2T segment, each trade has to result in delivery and no intra-day netting of positions is allowed. READ MORE

2:34 PM

Nifty sectoral indices at this hour

2:25 PM

Vehicle scrapping policy unlikely to trigger replacement, says Jefferies

The vehicle scrapping policy, proposed in Parliament last week, is unlikely to make people junk their old vehicles for new ones in a big way, owing to insufficient incentives offered by the government for replacement, a report said on Monday.

 

Under the proposed policy, a scrapped vehicle will be offered a monetary value close to 4-6 per cent of the showroom value. There could even be up to 5 per cent discount on the purchase of a new vehicle if a scrap certificate is produced. READ MORE

2:17 PM

India to emerge as world's third largest economy in 2031: BofA Securities

India is likely to emerge as the world’s third largest economy in 2031 (fiscal 2031-32), suggests a recent report by BofA Securities, and should touch Japan's nominal GDP (in USD) that year. The projections have assumed 6 per cent real growth rate, 5 per cent inflation and 2 per cent depreciation. Currently, India is the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and the third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). READ MORE

2:12 PM

India VIX rises over 3% to 20.65 level

> VIX is a measure of volatility

2:06 PM

European markets check

2:00 PM

Turkish lira languishes near record low after central bank chief sacking

>> Turkey’s lira slid 15% to near its all-time low on Monday after President Tayyip Erdogan’s shock weekend decision to oust a hawkish central bank governor sparked fears of a reversal of recent rate hikes and undermined the bank’s credibility.

>> The currency tumbled to as weak as 8.4850 versus the dollar, from 7.2185 on Friday, back to levels touched in early November when it reached an intraday record of 8.58. 

>> The appointment of Sahap Kavcioglu, a former banker and ruling party lawmaker, in the early hours on Saturday marked the third time since mid-2019 that Erdogan has abruptly fired a central bank chief.

1:56 PM

BUZZING STOCK:: Adani Enterprises rallies 9% in an otherwise weak market

1:50 PM

ACC, Ambuja Cements gain up to 7% in a weak market; trade near record highs

Share of LafargeHolcim Group companies ACC and Ambuja Cements rallied up to 7 per cent on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Monday, in an otherwise weak market, on the back of heavy volumes amid positive outlook. Individually, ACC rallied 7 per cent to Rs 1,865, trading close to its record high level of Rs 1,893.80, touched on March 5, 2021. Shares of Ambuja Cements, meanwhile, were up 4 per cent at Rs 295.35, and were trading near its all-time high level of Rs 298.25, hit on March 5. READ MORE

1:49 PM

Corporate Action :: Colgate declares interim dividend of Rs 20/share for FY21

>>  The Board of Director at their meeting held today have declared a Second Interim Dividend of Rs. 20 per equity share of Re.1/- (face value) for the financial year 2020-21.

>> The Record Date for the said interim dividend is Wednesday, March 31, 2021. The said interim dividend will be paid on and from April 16, 2021