Indices edge higher in early trade; breadth strong

The key equity indices traded with limited gains in early trade. The Nifty traded above 23,500 level. Media, oil & gas and consumer durables shares advanced while auto and pharma stocks declined.

At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 115.10 points or 0.15% to 77,367.77. The Nifty 50 index advanced 27.30 points or 0.12% to 23,514.15.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.04% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.44%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,750 shares rose and 1,060 shares fell. A total of 120 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,240.55 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 696.37 crore in the Indian equity market on 26 March 2025, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) rallied 4.69% after the companys board will convene on Sunday, 30 March 2025, to discuss the proposal for issuing a bonus.

Hindustan Unilever shed 0.30%. The company has appointed Rajneet Kohli, former CEO and executive director of Britannia Industries, to lead its food business from April 7.

Wipro advanced 1.42% after the company won a 10-year strategic deal worth 500 million pounds or over Rs 5,500 crore with Phoenix Group, the UK's largest long-term savings and retirement business.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.33% to 6.690 as compared with the previous close of 6.707.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 85.8600, compared with its close of 85.7000 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 4 April 2025 settlement rose 0.32% to Rs 87,785.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.20% to 104.34.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.18% to 4.346.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2025 settlement advanced 0.07 cents or 0.09% to $73.86 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks traded higher on Thursday, as investors digested U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to impose 25% tariffs on auto imports.

Japanese automaker stocks took a sharp hit after Trump confirmed that the tariffstargeting imported cars and light truckswill take effect on April 2. The move could have significant repercussions for Japanese manufacturers, who rely heavily on the U.S. market.

US market closed lower on Wednesday, with investors fretting over the economic impact of the tariffs. Tech stocks also faced selling pressure amid mounting concerns about an oversupply of AI data centers and computing capacity.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.31%, the S&P 500 lost 1.12%, and the NASDAQ Composite plunged 2.04%.

AI giant NVIDIA dropped 1.2% after already tumbling 5.7% during Wednesdays session. Server makers Broadcom, Dell Technologies, and Super Micro Computer also declined in after-hours trading. Meanwhile, GameStop surged 11% after its management approved a plan to invest excess cash in Bitcoin.

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