Nifty scales 16,400 mark

Equity indices further pared losses in afternoon trade. The Nifty scaled 16,400 mark. IT and pharma shares were in demand while auto, metals and realty scrips were under pressure.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 161.44 points or 0.29% at 54,941.46. The Nifty 50 index shed 65.15 points or 0.39% at 16,432.45.

The continued escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war, soaring oil prices and continued FIIs selling dampened sentiment. FIIs were net sellers Rs 6,645 crore while DIIs were net buyers Rs 4,799 crore yesterday.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index lost 1.3% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.57%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,344 shares rose and 1,901 shares fell. A total of 127 shares were unchanged.

India's services sector output increased to 51.8 in February from 51.5 in January, pointing to a moderate rate of expansion, as per a report by IHS Markit. Greater bookings, better demand conditions and the retreat of the pandemic drove this moderate expansion. The composite PMI output rose to 53.5 in February from 53.0 in January, signaling a solid rate of expansion that was nonetheless below its long-run average, the IHS Markit stated.

Economy:

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called for increasing India's share in global trade to 10% and taking India's share of exports in GDP to about 25%. Addressing the closing session of the Post-Budget Webinar on Make in India for the World', Goyal said these are ambitious targets, but doable.

He said other countries are also talking of programmes very similar to AatmaNirbhar Bharat. Goyal called for taking India among the top three nations in Global Services Trade.

Stating that the government is looking at a more liberal regulatory regime for the Drones sector barring the Defence systems, he said that the Industry should aim to make India become the manufacturing hub of Drones.

He called for integrating quality in full value chain and said it should not just come into picture once the final product is made. Underlining the need to develop technical skills of tomorrow for the industry, the Minister called for the need to reorient academic courses to make it relevant to the "needs of today."

Nifty Gainers & Losers:

Dr. Reddy's Lab (up 2.41%), ITC (up 2.23%), UltraTech Cement (up 1.81%), Tech Mahindra (up 1.69%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Inds (up 1.52%) were top gainers in Nifty 50 index.

Maruti Suzuki India (down 3.88%), HUL (down 3.58%), Asian Paints (down 3.47%), JSW Steel (down 3.26%) and Titan Company (down 3.1%) were top losers in Nifty 50 index.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Gabriel India surged 3% after HDFC Mutual Fund bought 30.66 lakh equity shares or 2.13% stake of the company on 2 March 2022. Post transaction, HDFC Mutual Fund (i.e. HDFC Trustee Company A/c - HDFC Multi Cap Fund HDFC Small Cap Fund) increased its shareholding to 9.17% stake from 7.04% stake held in Gabriel India. The deal was executed in open market.

Premier Explosives rose 0.62%. The company bagged two orders from Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) worth a total of Rs 17.70 crore. The two orders are supply of primary explosives plant on turnkey basis to HEMRL of DRDO for a total value of Rs 4.50 crore and fabrication and supply of R-III rocket motors (propulsion system) to DRDL of DRDO for a total value of Rs 13.20 crore.

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