Indices drift lower in early trade

Indices opened tad lower and traded with tiny losses in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 17,150 level. Banks and financial stocks saw selling pressure while media shares rallied.

At 9:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 193.92 points or 0.34% to 57,168.51. The Nifty 50 index lost 28.9 points or 0.17% to 17,124.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.3% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.17%.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1385 shares rose and 1194 shares fell. A total of 123 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

PVR jumped 5.34% while shares of INOX Leisure rallied 12.55% after the board of directors of PVR and INOX Leisure, at their respective meetings, approved an all stock amalgamation of INOX with PVR. INOX shareholders will receive 3 shares in PVR for 10 shares of INOX.

GAIL (India) gained 2.4%. The board of GAIL (India) will consider a share buyback on 31 March 2022.

Dilip Buildcon rose 0.74%. The road construction company on Saturday announced that it has been declared as L-1 bidder for road construction project by the National Highways Authority of India in the state of Telangana.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were trading mixed on Monday as coronavirus lockdown in Shanghai looked set to hit global activity, while throwing another wrench into supply chains that could add to inflationary pressures.

U.S. stock benchmarks closed mostly higher Friday, following choppy trade, after oil prices rebounded on the back of reports of a missile strike on a Saudi Aramco facility and as investors continued to weigh rising interest rates.

New York Fed President John Williams on Friday said he would support a half-point move if justified but indicated it was premature to make a call on the size of a future rate increase.

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