Benchmarks trade firm; metal shares rise for second day

Key equity indices continued trading firm in morning trade amid positive global cues. Metals, IT, financials shares were in demand. The Nifty was hovering near the 15,300 mark.

At 10:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 384.08 points or 0.75% to 51,663.59. The Nifty 50 index added 110.15 points or 0.73% to 15,284.95.

Global investors cheered the European Central Bank (ECB)'s pledge to step up the pace of bond purchases to keep rising yields from derailing the European region's economic recovery. The ECB on Thursday said it would use its 1.85 trillion Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) more generously over the coming months to stop any unwarranted rise in debt financing costs.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.77% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.07%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1667 shares rose and 861 shares fell. A total of 185 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 118,545,934 with 2,629,240 deaths. India reported 1,97,237 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,58,306 deaths while 1,09,53,303 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 1.27% to 3,923, extending gains for second day. The index has added 3.16% in two sessions while the benchmark Nifty has gained 1.26% during the same period.

JSW Steel (up 2.74%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 2.37%), Hindustan Zinc (up 2.14%), SAIL (up 2.05%), NMDC (up 1.96%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.97%), Tata Steel (up 1.79%), Welspun Corp (up 1.68%), Hindustan Copper (up 1.44%) and Coal India (up 0.91%) advanced while APL Apollo Tubes declined 3.14%.

Stocks in Spotlight:

IDBI Bank surged 12.03% to Rs 42.85 after the Reserve Bank of India took the bank out of the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) Framework subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring.

HIL shed 0.07% to Rs 3039. The company said it has commercialized production of Birla Aerocon Flat Board at its plant at Faridabad in Haryana from Wednesday, 10 March 2021.

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