Sensex, Nifty regain positive zone amid initial volatility

Key benchmark indices regained positive zone soon after opening lower amid initial volatility. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 82.19 points or 0.16% at 50,446.15. The Nifty 50 index was up 8.75 points or 0.06% at 14,919.20.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.25%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.49%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is positive. On the BSE, 1126 shares rose and 721 shares fell. A total of 67 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in news:

State Bank of India (SBI) rose 0.3% The Reserve Bank of India (RBl) has, vide its letter dated 16th March,2021, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 2 crore on the bank for contravention of provisions of Section 10 (1 ) (b) (ii) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and specific directions of RBI issued to the bank on payment of remuneration to employees in the form of commission. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Sections 46 (4) (i) and 51 (1 ) of the Act.

SBI Cards & Payment Services lost 3.69%. Private equity firm Carlyle has reportedly launched a block deal to sell around 4% stake in the SBI Cards & Payment Services and raise around $513 million. The offer price range is Rs 981.80 per share to Rs 1,022.10 per share.

BPCL dropped 2.59%. BPCL informed that the board of directors has declared second interim dividend of Rs 5 per equity share for the financial year 2020-21. Further, the board of directors have fixed Saturday, 27th March, 2021 as record date to determine the eligibility of the shareholders to receive the interim dividend.

Vedanta rose 0.04% to Rs 226.65. Vedanta Resources (VRL), along with persons acting in concert with it (PACs), have decided to: (a) increase the number of equity shares to be acquired in the Open Offer to up to 651,000,000 equity shares, representing 17.51% of voting share capital of Vedanta; and (b) increase the offer price to Rs 235 per equity share including interest of Rs 1.29 per equity share. Total consideration for the offer is about Rs 15,300 crore.

Bharat Forge rose 1.31%. The company has formed a new company Kalyani Powertrain to look into electric vehicle (EV) business initiatives. The newly formed subsidiary will look at organic and inorganic opportunities in the EV space.

BEML advanced 2.03%. BEML has received export orders from Cameroon and Bangladesh under Government of India-Lines of credit to supply construction equipment.

H. G. Infra Engineering gained 3.45%. The company has been declared L-1 bidder by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), New Delhi.

Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared the proposal to set up a Development Finance Institution (DFI). Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in the Union Budget that the government will set up DFI to fund long-term infrastructure projects in the country.

The government will initially infuse Rs 20,000 crore in the DFI, Sitharaman said while briefing the media on Cabinet decisions, adding that the government plans to raise up to Rs 3 lakh crore in the next five years. The government will provide tax exemptions and also amend the Indian Stamp Act to attract pension funds, sovereign funds to invest in DFI.

DFI will have a professional board. At least 50% of the members will be non-official directors. Persons of eminence are envisaged to be on the board. "We are making sure that Board will be such as to meet the requirements of 21st century," Sitharaman said.

The DFI will start with 100% ownership of Government of India, and gradually government's ownership will be brought down to 26%.

Global Markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mostly lower on Wednesday as investors wait for the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting later in the day. All eyes are on the US Fed whether the central bank will maintain near-zero interest rates amid the economy's post-pandemic recovery.

In US, the Dow fell from its record high and snapped a seven-day winning streak on Tuesday ahead the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy announcement.

Back home, domestic equity benchmarks gave up initial gains and ended with tiny losses on Tuesday, despite favourable cues from global equities. The S&P BSE Sensex, fell 31.12 points or 0.06% at 50,363.96. The Nifty 50 index declined 19.05 points or 0.13% at 14,910.45.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,692.31 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,168.59 crore in the Indian equity market on 16 March, provisional data showed.

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