Barometers nudge lower; breadth weak

The key equity indices traded with minor losses in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,350 mark. Private bank, financial services and bank stocks advanced while media, oil & gas and metal shares declined.

At 09:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 78.99 points or 0.11% to 73,598.14. The Nifty 50 index shed 23.05 points or 0.01% to 22,333.25.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.02% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.55%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,105 shares rose and 1,706 shares fell. A total of 101 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 574.28 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,834.61 crore in the Indian equity market on 5 March, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Wipro shed 0.73%. The company announced that the General Motors (GM), global automotive supplier Magna, and Wipro have teamed up to develop a B2B sales platform for buying and selling automotive software. The platform, called SDVerse, aims to revolutionize the automotive software sourcing and procurement process by providing a matchmaking platform for buyers and sellers of embedded automotive software.

Havells India rose 0.60%. The company is planning to expand its existing product portfolio with the introduction of Kitchen Appliances such as Cooktops, Hobs, Chimneys and other built-in appliances, into it. The new venture is expected to bring benefits of synergies of business with its existing range of small domestic appliances.

IRCTC declined 1.15%. The company has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swiggy (Bundl Technologies Pvt. Ltd.) to provide preordered meals to passengers of Indian Railways through IRCTC e-Catering Services. As per the MOU, this service will be made available initially on Bengaluru, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam & Bhubaneswar stations and the number of stations may be increased / decreased on mutual agreement during the currency of Proof of Concept (PoC).

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper fell 0.06% to 7.053 as compared with previous close 7.057.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.9050, compared with its close of 82.9025 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement shed 0.03% to Rs 64,828.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.01% to 103.80.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.34% to 4.150.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2024 settlement added 11 cents or 0.13% to $82.15 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Wednesday, mirroring a tech slide on Wall Street led by Apple, following a report that iPhone sales dropped in China. A report showed iPhone sales plunged in China in the first six weeks of 2024. Investors monitored shares of Apple suppliers in Taiwan and South Korea.

U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday as market participants eyed upcoming economic data and central bank actions. All eyes are on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress. In his semiannual testimony on Wednesday and Thursday, he is reportedly expected to double down on his message that theres no rush to cut rates.

US services industry growth slowed a bit in February. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Tuesday that its non-manufacturing PMI slipped to 52.6 last month from 53.4 in January.

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