Benchmarks nudge lower in early trade

The key equity benchmarks traded with minor losses in early trade. The Nifty traded tad below the 17,400 level. Media, realty and consumer durables shares advanced while IT, auto and PSU bank stocks declined.

At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 140.79 points or 0.24% to 59,270.29. The Nifty 50 index lost 53.65 points or 0.31% to 17,397.25.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.10% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.05%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,419 shares rose and 1,044 shares fell. A total of 113 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 424.88 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,498.66 crore in the Indian equity market on 1 March 2023, provisional data showed.

The National Stock Exchange on Wednesday said it has received approval from markets regulator Sebi to launch the rupee-denominated NYMEX WTI crude oil and natural gas futures contracts in its commodity derivatives segment. The launch date for these contracts will be announced soon, NSE said in a release.

The addition of these contracts will expand NSE's product offering in the energy basket as well as its overall commodity segment. These contracts are designed to provide the market participants with a more efficient way to manage their price risk, the release said.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Rail Vikas Nigam jumped 9.07%. The company emerged as the Lowest Bidder (L1) for manufacturing cum maintenance of Vande Bharat Trainsets including up-gradation of the government manufacturing units & trainset depots in JV with partners.

Tata Steel added 0.95%. The steel major has on 1 March 2023, acquired 7,40,00,000 - 12.17% (effective yield) non-cumulative, non-convertible, non-participating, redeemable preference shares (NCRPS) of face value Rs 10 each of TRF, a listed associate company of Tata Steel, aggregating to Rs 74 crore (NCRPS Series - 2), on private placement basis.

Dreamfolks Services rose 0.60%. The company's board approved the proposal to acquire 60% equity shares of Vidsur Golf for Rs 1.5 crore. Upon completion of such acquisition Vidsur will become a subsidiary of the company. The board also approved the proposal for incorporation of a subsidiary company in Singapore.

Global markets:

Asian stock markets were mixed on Thursday, as investors braced for further hikes ahead as Federal Reserve speakers reiterated more hikes are needed to tame inflation.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari on Wednesday said the Fed will continue doing what we're doing until we finish the jobs, and I'm committed to doing that. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield briefly topped 4% overnight.

In the US, all the major averages finished lower on Wednesday as bond yields rocketed higher.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led Wednesday's losses, falling 0.66%, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.47%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added just 5.14 points.

The rise In bond yields and concerns of a potentially larger-than-expected hike from the Federal Reserve have fueled investor concern in recent days.

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