Indices edge higher, Nifty above 21,850 mark

Indian equity indices traded with minor gains in early trade. The Nifty traded above the 21,850 mark. PSU bank, media and realty stocks were in demand while private bank and FMCG shares declined.

At 09:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 133.70 points or 0.19% to 71,956.53. The Nifty 50 index added 30.50 points or 0.14% to 21,870.55.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 0.93% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 1.30%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,259shares rose and 660 shares fell. A total of 61 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,929.60 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,897.98 crore in the Indian equity market on 14 February, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) declined 0.66%. The Andhra Pradesh Government and HUL are looking to collaborate on palm oil production in the state. HUL seeks to partner with more than 15,000 farmers in Andhra Pradesh to create at least 30,000 hectares of oil palm plantations.

Avenue Supermarts shed 0.38%. The company has invested an amount of Rs. 100 crore by subscribing to 28,969,000 equity shares of Rs. 10 each of Avenue ECommerce Limited (AEL), a subsidiary of the company at an issue price of Rs. 34.52 per share on preferential basis.

Gland Pharma fell 0.61%. The company reported 17% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 191.9 crore in Q3 FY24 from net profit of Rs 231.9 crore recorded in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations rose 65% to Rs 1545.2 crore in the third quarter of FY24 from Rs 938.3 crore posted in Q3 FY23.

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank (USFBL) rose 1.79%. USFBL has received a communication from its holding company Utkarsh CoreInvest (UCL) stating that a resolution has been passed by the board of directors of UCL, whereby UCL has proposed to initiate steps in furtherance of a proposed reverse merger of UCL with the bank. The board of directors of the bank will meet in due course and evaluate the proposal and other options to achieve regulatory compliance.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper declined 0.31% to 7.092 from previous close of 7.144.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.9925, compared with its close of 83.0200 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement fell 0.23% to Rs 61,300.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.02% to 104.70.

The United States 10-year bond yield slipped 0.70% to 4.237.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2024 settlement shed 33 cents or 0.40% to $81.27 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks advanced on Thursday after Wall Street resumed a rally as robust earnings helped overcome worries about persistent inflation.

GDP numbers from Japan showed that Asias second-largest economy had entered a technical recession. Provisional gross domestic product contracted 0.4% in the fourth quarter compared with a year ago, after a revised 3.3% slump in the July-September period.

US stocks rose on Wednesday as the robust earnings of big technology firms helped ease worries about persistent price pressure. Shares of ride-hailing platforms Lyft and Uber rallied, while Nvidia displaced Alphabet as the US stock market's third most valuable company.

US producer prices fell more than initially thought in December, revised government data showed on Wednesday. The producer price index for final demand dropped 0.2% in December instead of dipping 0.1% as previously reported, annual revisions of the PPI data published by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed.

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