Barometers hold firm at higher levels; Europe opens in green

The equity benchmarks continued trading with decent gains in afternoon trade. Shares of public sector companies were in demand due to bargain hunting. The Nifty 50 traded below 9300 mark.

At 13:32 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 245.25 points or 0.78% at 31,635.32. The Nifty 50 index was up 78.55 points or 0.85% at 9,275.95.

The broader market was mixed. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.77% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.24%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1068 shares rose and 1218 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 34 stocks advanced while 16 stocks declined.

Sentiment improved after US index futures climbed. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 802 points, implying a strong opening in the US market on Tuesday.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty CPSE index rose 4.13% to 1,310.95, reversing some of the losses acquired in the previous sessions. The index slipped 6.84% to end at 1259 on Monday.

Steel Authority of India (Sail) (up 7.14%), Power Finance Corporation (up 6.45%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 6.07%), Coal India (up 5.8%), Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF) (up 4.12%), NTPC (up 3.91%), Shipping Corporation of India (up 3.89%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (up 3.8%), NMDC (up 2.03%), MMTC (up 2.01%) and NBCC (up 2.01%) advanced.

ONGC rose 2.49% to Rs 61.65 after the company's board approved an interim dividend of Rs 5 per shares at the meeting held on Monday, 16 March 2020. The record date for dividend is 24 March 2020.

Indian Oil Corporation rose 3.23% to Rs 92.65. The corporation informed about the issue of 29,950 unsecured, rated, taxable, redeemable, non-convertible debentures (Series - XVI) of Rs 10,00,000 each aggregating to Rs 2,995 crore on private placement basis to meet its capex requirements.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Grasim Industries in a regulatory filing announced that the Competition Commission of India has passed an order under section 4 of the Competition Act 2002 imposing a penalty of Rs 301.61 crore on the company. The penalty imposed is in respect of its domestic Man-Made Fibre turnover. Shares of Grasim Industries were trading 1.70% lower at Rs 566.75.

Global Markets:

European markets opened higher while most Asian markets were trading lower on Tuesday a day after Wall Street's historic market rout, as the coronavirus remained a major risk to economic growth.

The Philippine stock market was closed as of Tuesday after the government imposed restrictions on movement in the capital.

Investors watched the rapidly evolving situation surrounding the global coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 168,000 across the world and taken at least 6,610 lives, according to the World Health Organization. Fears over the economic impact of the virus have triggered strong moves in global markets in recent days.

Meanwhile, Europe's lockdown over the coronavirus continues to dominate headlines. Italy and Spain remain the worst hit countries but France and Germany have also reported sharp rises in cases. The French president announced that the European Union would be closing its external borders on Tuesday.

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Sunday a massive monetary stimulus, in an emergency move. On Monday, several central banks in Asia also announced measures to combat the impact of the coronavirus.

In US, on Monday, President Donald said the country could be heading for a recession due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Dow ended nearly 3,000 points lower on Monday, capping an ugly session for Wall Street that saw circuit breakers temporarily halt trading for 15 minutes, amid rising fears that fresh Federal Reserve stimulus won't be enough to combat the threat of lost jobs and wages from the coronavirus outbreak.

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