Market drift higher amid positive global cues; breadth strong

The key equity benchmarks traded with major gains in early trade, mirroring the positive sentiment across global markets. The Nifty traded above 23,000 level and Sensex scaled above 75,900 mark.

At 09:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 465.84 points or 0.61% to 75,912.04. The Nifty 50 index jumped 135.65 points or 0.59% to 23,043.25.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.66% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.25%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,555 shares rose and 436 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,096.50 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,140.76 crore in the Indian equity market on 19 March 2025, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hyundai Motor India rose 1.89% after the company announced a price increase of up to 3% for its vehicles, effective April 2025, driven by rising input costs, higher commodity prices and increased operational expenses.

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) advanced 1.60% after the companys board approved the issuance of long-term infrastructure bonds amounting to Rs 10,000 crore.

NHPC gained 1.16% after the companys board approved a borrowing plan to raise upto Rs 6,300 crore in FY26 through non convertible corporate bonds in one or more series or tranches on a private placement basis.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.48% to 6.769 as compared with the previous close of 6.769.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 86.3575, compared with its close of 86.3700 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 4 April 2025 settlement rose 0.37% to Rs 88,897.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.07% to 103.40.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.45% to 4.235.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2025 settlement advanced 39 cents or 0.55% to $71.17 a barrel.

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones index futures was up 134 points, indicating a positive opening in US stocks today.

Most Asian stocks advanced on Thursday following a rally on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve signaled it still sees room to cut interest rates later this year because any increase in inflation due to tariffs will be brief.

The Peoples Bank of China kept the 1-year loan prime rate at 3.1% and the 5-year LPR at 3.6%, where they have been since a quarter-percentage-point cut in October. The rate decision follows the U.S. Federal Reserves move to hold benchmark interest rates.

On Wednesday, the Fed maintained its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range and signaled that two quarter-point rate cuts are likely later this year, consistent with its forecast from three months ago. This came even as the central bank Fed cut its US economic growth forecasts and raised projections for price growth. The Fed flagged growing uncertainty over the impact of Trumps policies on the economy.

As per the the Feds quarterly economic projections, real GDP growth is expected to slow to 1.7% by the end of 2025, down from the 2.1% forecast in December. The unemployment rate is projected to rise slightly to 4.4%, compared to the previous estimate of 4.3%. Core inflation is now expected to end the year at 2.8%, up from the prior forecast of 2.5%.

Trump kept up his threats of reciprocal tariffs coming in April 2- a move that is likely to draw more retaliation from major global economies and spark a renewed trade war.

US stocks rallied following the decision amid encouragement that further cuts could be ahead. The Dow jumped 0.92% and the S&P 500 surged just over 1.08%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.41%.

Tesla stock rose over 4% after advancing its robotaxi plans in California, and Boeing Co. jumped 7% on positive operational performance updates from its CFO.

Investors will monitor weekly jobless claims data on Thursday, as well as the Philadelphia Feds manufacturing survey and a report on existing home sales.

On the quarterly earnings front, Darden Restaurants, Nike, FedEx and Micron Technology are set to report Thursday.

SoftBank announced on Wednesday its plan to acquire chip designer Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of the year

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