Barometers nudge higher; breadth negative

The key equity benchmarks traded with minor gains in early trade. The Nifty traded above 22,350 mark. FMCG, IT and bank stocks advanced while metal, oil & gas and PSU bank shares slides.

At 09:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 178.26 points or 0.24% to 73,846.22. The Nifty 50 index added 20.35 points or 0.09% to 22,356.05.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.28% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.52%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,295 shares rose and 1,637 shares fell. A total of 98 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 73.12 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,358.18 crore in the Indian equity market on 12 March 2024, provisional data showed.

Economy:

India's industrial growth slowed down to 3.8% in January, compared to December's revised figure of 4.2%. This suggests a slight decrease in factory output.

India's Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate remained steady at 5.09% in February, staying within the central bank's target range. This is the sixth month in a row inflation has been within the target, but it is still above the medium-term goal of 4%.

Stocks in Spotlight:

ITC jumped 5.83% after the company said that British American Tobacco (BAT), ITC's largest shareholder, is offloading 3.5% of its stake for over Rs 17,486 crore through a block deal.

Vedanta shed 0.89%. SEBI ordered Vedanta to pay Rs 77.62 crore to Cairn for delayed dividend payments and barred its board from accessing the capital market.

Aurobindo Pharma rose 0.23%. Eugia Pharma will resume distribution of aseptic products and begin phased commercial production next week.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.11% to 7.034 as compared with previous close 7.026.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee is edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.8300, compared with its close of 82.8000 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement shed 0.01% to Rs 65,477.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was fell 0.07% to 102.89.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.12% to 4.151.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2024 settlement rose 42 cents or 0.51% to $ 82.34 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most of the Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday after Wall Street jumped overnight, following U.S. inflation data that largely met expectations.

The U.S. consumer price index in February climbed 0.4% on the month and 3.2% year over year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Tuesday.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes climbed after the inflation readings. The tech-heavy Nasdaq saw the biggest jump, while the S&P 500 even reached a new record high.

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