Sensex, Nifty open higher; breadth strong

Equity indices traded with small gains in early trade. Barring metal and oil & gas sector, buying demand was seen across the board.

At 9:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 82.35 points or 0.15% at 56,568.15. The Nifty 50 index gained 8.05 points or 0.04% at 16,879.35.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.43% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.61%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,795 shares rose and 683 shares fell. A total of 83 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 176.52 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,098.62 crore in the Indian equity market on 14 March, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.59%. Reliance New Energy Limited (Reliance), a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL), signed definitive agreements to acquire substantially all of the assets of Lithium Werks BV (Lithium Werks) for a total transaction value of $61 million including funding for future growth.

Persistent Systems rose 0.51%. The IT company announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Princeton, New Jersey-based MediaAgility. MediaAgility is a global cloud transformation services provider with deep expertise building scalable, cloud-based solutions as a Google Cloud Premier Partner.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were in the red on Tuesday as surging COVID-19 cases in China hit the confidence of investors who are already worried about the Ukraine war and the first U.S. interest rate rise in three years, which could come this week.

Major US stock indexes closed mostly lower on Monday as investors sold tech and big growth names ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting and an expected hike in interest rates.

Wall Street kept an eye on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as the two countries resumed talks on Monday. A Ukrainian official reportedly said the country's objectives were to secure a ceasefire and an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops, along with other security guarantees. Hopes that talks between Russia and Ukraine due to resume on Tuesday could provide a resolution to the conflict prompted a sharp fall in global oil prices.

Fighting has intensified around Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, while Russian forces bombard cities across the country, killing civilians who are unable to escape.

Investors were also focused on the Fed, which is expected to raise its target fed funds rate by a quarter-percentage point from zero at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday.

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