Sensex, Nifty drift higher in early trade

The main indices traded with modest gains in early trade. Barring IT and auto stocks, buying demand was seen across the board. The Nifty hovered around the 17,500 mark.

At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 92.5 points or 0.16% at 58,661.13. The Nifty 50 index was up 30 points or 0.17% at 17,494.65.

In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.41% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.89%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, shares 1,816 rose and 619 shares fell. A total of 62 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 3,088.73 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,145.28 crore in the Indian equity market on 31 March, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Sterlite Technologies gained 1.34% after the company signed the definitive agreement to sell its 64.98% stake of in Maharashtra Transmission Communication Infrastructure Limited (MTCIL). The closing as per the agreement is completed on 31 March 2022.

Adani Enterprises rose 0.56%. Adani Road Transport (ARTL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises received a Letter of Award (LoA) from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a road project in Maharashtra worth Rs 2,008.47 crore.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were trading lower on Friday following overnight losses on Wall Street as a private survey showed Chinese manufacturing activity shrank in March.

The Caixin/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 48.1, below the 50-level that separates growth from contraction. That compared against the previous month's reading of 50.4. Friday's reading was also the lowest since February 2020.

Sentiment at Japan's large manufacturers soured in the three months to March, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan business sentiment survey. The headline index for large manufacturers' sentiment came in at 14, a decline from the previous quarter's reading of 17.

US stocks slumped on Thursday as concerns persisted about the continuing conflict in Ukraine and its inflationary effect on prices and the Federal Reserve's response.

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